Military Aviation News Archive
03/20/2015
Eventually, the U.S. Air Force wants to replace the low and slow-flying A-10 Warthog with the fast-moving F-35 stealth fighter. But it’ll take years before the troubled jet fighters are ready for duty. In the meantime, the Air Force still needs a plane for dedicated close air support missions?—?something the A-10 excels at. So what does the flying branch propose? Not keeping the Warthog.
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03/20/2015
The crews of the Baltic Fleet's naval aviation conducted a series of night training operations and are planning to practice bombing shortly, the Russian Defense Ministry's press service said Thursday. "As part of the large-scale exercise…the crews of Su-27 fighter jets and Su-24M bombers of the Baltic Fleet's naval aviation conducted a series of night training flights," the press service said.
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03/20/2015
On Tuesday, US-led aircraft carried out 11 airstrikes throughout Iraq. A key target was a drone which had found its way into the hands of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), marking the first time the US has targeted a UAV controlled by the terrorist group.
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03/20/2015
Demonstrations of Russia's nuclear capability during a time of crisis with the West are provocative and concerning, US Strategic Command Commander Admiral Cecil Haney said on Thursday. "The demonstration of their capability during crisis such as long-range strategic aircraft flights, their violation of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), etc., really shows where we are as a world.
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03/19/2015
NATO jets scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft as they neared Latvian airspace, officials said on Wednesday. Estonian radar detected the aircraft over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday night, NATO said. Other than the lead aircraft, NATO said, none of the other Russian military aircraft was on a flight plan. NATO sent jets to identify the planes and later reported that the military aircraft flew on into Russian airspace.
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03/19/2015
Iraqi security forces surrounding Tikrit continue to receive reinforcements ahead of the final phase of the operation to clear Islamic State fighters from the heart of the city. The call to battle has attracted fighters from popular volunteer groups including the Badr Organization, the League of the Righteous, the Peace Brigades and their affiliates.
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03/19/2015
Imagine an aircraft carrier—in the sky, not on sea. From its bay, it deploys swarms of armed drones that can fly, spy and kill, all guided by the touch of a computer keyboard thousands of miles away. This isn’t a scene from a science-fiction movie. It’s part of a recent proposal from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon skunk works that brought us the Internet, videoconferencing and GPS. Now Darpa is soliciting ideas from companies on how to bring this technology to life.
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03/19/2015
Aviation industry professionals and fans will not want to miss this year's Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015 or Lima '15 in short. Two combat-proven Rafale aircrafts, a single-seater and a two-seater belonging to the French Air Force, are ready to dazzle visitors at the fair. Specially flown in to showcase the capabilities of a true multirole fighter aircraft.
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03/19/2015
Reports from the US Department of Defence Inspector General and Director of Operational Test and Evaluation into the controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter question the project’s ability to produce an aircraft which is safe to fly — let alone overcome more than 50 issues identified by audit.
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03/19/2015
Belarus will get four combat and training aircraft Yak-130 in April, BelTA learned from Oleg Demchenko, President of Irkut Corporation. “We are going to deliver four Yak-130 aircraft to Belarus in April,” said Oleg Demchenko during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) 2015 in Malaysia.
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03/19/2015
Lockheed Martin delivered today a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) P-3 Orion aircraft 37 days ahead of schedule. This is the 12th of 14 aircraft in the program to receive Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) modifications and phased depot maintenance. The MLU replaces the outer wings, center wing, horizontal stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer leading edges. All necessary fatigue life-limiting structures are replaced, leading to significantly reduced maintenance and sustainment costs.
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03/19/2015
The Russian military will deploy ten Tu-22M3 Backfire C supersonic strategic bombers to Crimea as part of the current large-scale snap inspection of combat readiness, a source in the Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. "In the framework of the snap inspection of the combat readiness of the Northern Fleet and some units of the Western Military District, 10 TU-22M3 strategic bombers will be deployed to the Crimean Peninsula," the source said.
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03/19/2015
The Indian Air Force plans to start mounting BrahMos cruise missiles on its aircraft in 2016, BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Mishra told RIA Novosti Wednesday. The short-range supersonic missile was jointly developed by Russia and India and has been in use by the Indian Navy since 2005.
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03/18/2015
A unit of Malaysian maintenance, repair and overhaul firm Airod has proposed an upgrade programme for Malaysia’s fleet of 10 RAC MiG-29 aircraft. The upgrade, which an industry source says is being considered by the air force, would see the type upgraded to what it refers to as the “MiG-29NM” standard.
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03/18/2015
The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) has begun flight operations on the first deployment of its upgraded Airbus Helicopters Puma Mk. 2 utility helicopter. Three Pumas are being sent to support the U.K.’s contribution to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. The new NATO mission has been set up to help Afghan ministries and institutions, as well as support command levels of Afghan security forces, and the helicopters will be used to carry personnel around the Kabul region to avoid useing ground transport.
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03/18/2015
Russia plans to station state-of-the art missiles in its westernmost Baltic exclave and deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Crimea as part of massive war games to showcase its resurgent military power amid bitter tensions with the West over Ukraine. The Russian military exercises this week range from the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean and involve tens of thousands of troops, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
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03/18/2015
An MQ-1 Predator was lost Tuesday while flying over northwest Syria, according to a defense official. Syria's official news agency claimed the drone hwas shot down, but the defense official was unable to say exactly how the unmanned aircraft crashed. The Air Force is in the process of phasing out Predators in favor of the newer MQ-9 Reaper.
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03/18/2015
Negotiation is taking place for procurement of medium multi-role combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation France but “no final decision” has been taken, the government informed the Rajya Sabha today. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also said review of existing fleet and induction of new aircraft is a continuous process and such a review is carried out keeping in view the operational requirements of the Air Force.
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03/18/2015
As the UK’s largest remaining defence contractor, BAE Systems is in a state of flux, with its domestic market continuing to experience reduced spending, but the need to provide a sovereign capability remaining at a consistent high.
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03/18/2015
Subsequent to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) of Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has handed over the First Series Production (SP1) of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 17.1.2015. The requirement of fighter aircraft is periodically reviewed and it is ensured that the operational requirements of the IAF are met.
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03/18/2015
About 10 Russian warships led by the Admiral Ushakov torpedo boat have conducted air defense exercises in the Barents Sea as part of the Northern Fleet snap drills, the Defense Ministry announced in a statement. "In the course of the snap Northern Fleet combat readiness drills, a group of diverse strike forces led by the Admiral Ushakov destroyer held joint military exercises with two antisubmarine ship search and strike groups in the Barents Sea," the statement said.
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03/18/2015
About 10 Russian Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback) strike fighters and Russian modernized Sukhoi Su-27 (Flanker) multirole fighters have been relocated to the country's Kaliningrad Region to conduct bombing drills, the Defense Ministry said. "After the relocation the crews of the multipurpose Su-34 aircraft are to conduct bombing of ground targets at an unknown firing field in the Kaliningrad Region," the ministry said in a statement.
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03/18/2015
Russia delivered two Mil Mi-17 "Hip" helicopters to Nepal, and the two countries are negotiating the supply of more, the head of Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport's regional department told RIA Novosti. "Our relations with Nepal are developing rapidly. Two Russian-supplied Mi-17s fly in the country. We are negotiating the additional delivery of helicopters for the Interior Ministry and the armed forces [of the country]," Vladimir Ereschenko said.
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03/17/2015
The Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet are among the platforms Boeing will showcase at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia, March 17-21, 2015. Other key Boeing capabilities featured include the AH-6i Light Attack/ Reconnaissance helicopter and the ScanEagle from Boeing subsidiary, Insitu Pacific.
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03/17/2015
The first of three C-295 transports ordered from Airbus Military for the Philippine Air Force is scheduled for delivery later this month. "It will serve as additional transport support for the Armed Forces' requirements (and complement) the three existing C-130s" now in use, the Philippine Star newspaper quoted Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Enrico Canaya. "They will be especially helpful in HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster response) operations."
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