Military Aviation News Archive

Russian Inspectors to Fly Over Turkey Under Open Skies Treaty

10/12/2015

The head of the Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said that Russian military experts will conduct an observation flight over Turkey this week to facilitate transparency of mutual military activity.

Iraq Joint Operation Center Confirms ISIL Leader Injured in Airstrike

10/12/2015

he leader of the Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist group has been injured in an airstrike in Iraq, the Baghdad Information Center confirmed. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was injured in the bombing that targeted his motorcade,” the center said in a statement on Sunday.

India May Buy 12 Russian Next Generation S-400 Air Defense Systems - Media

10/12/2015

The purchase of 12 S-400 systems was initiated by the Indian Air Forces and would be discussed at the next summit of the Indian Defense Acquisition Council chaired by Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, the source said, as quoted by Times of India.

Turkey Says Its Jets Harassed by Syrian Warplanes, Missile Systems

10/12/2015

Syrian fighter jets and missile systems harassed Turkish F-16 warplanes near the Turkish-Syrian border on Saturday, the Turkish military said on Sunday, once again bringing the conflict to NATO's southeastern flank.

Threats Arising on NATO's Southern Flank

10/11/2015

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s visit to Europe last week inevitably focused on Russian bombing in Syria, but he also stressed the growing danger of instability in North Africa after making stops in Spain and Italy. Speaking at the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Carter described "the challenges facing NATO's southern flank, including the ripple effects of [the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant] and state instability in North Africa and the Middle East.”

Why Beijing Isn't Backing Down on South China Sea

10/11/2015

Late last month in Shanghai, a top Chinese businessman gave me and three other visiting journalists as clear a distillation as any of Beijing’s attitude toward the United States. “The U.S. wants to dominate the world, China only wants to keep America from dominating its neighborhood,” said Eric Li, a prominent Stanford- and Berkeley-educated political scientist and venture capitalist.

Urgently Wanted: A Protocol to Keep Russia and the West From Slipping Into War

10/11/2015

We all know that over the last 18 months the relationship between Russia and the West has deteriorated considerably. There has been a fundamental breakdown of trust amid divergent and, at this point, totally incompatible accounts of what has happened in Ukraine and why.

Pratt, GE Battle for Future of Military Engines

10/11/2015

The US Air Force and the Army are moving full speed ahead toward next-generation engines the services hope will significantly increase fuel efficiency and power. And both endeavors pit two giants in the engine-building world against each other: GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney.

RAF ready to shoot down Russian aircraft over Syria

10/11/2015

RAF Tornados bombing Isis targets in Iraq are to be armed with air-to-air missiles to protect them from attack by Russian aircraft — as a senior cabinet minister warned that Britain was prepared to shoot down Vladimir Putin’s jets. Combat aircraft involved in Operation Shader over Iraq will be fitted with Asraam heat-seeking missiles, which can destroy any military aircraft flying today.

Chinese Company Builds Growing African Presence

10/11/2015

A Chinese aviation company reported progress in its ambitious African expansion plans to set up an aviation training center, two regional marketing offices, two maintenance and support centers, and three spare-parts warehouses to promote sales and maintenance for Chinese-made aircraft.

Moscow, Washington Make Progress on Flight Safety Issue in Syria

10/11/2015

Russia and the United States discussed their proposals on flight safety in Syria during a video conference, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday in a statement.

US-China Military Agreements Dodge Deep Differences

10/10/2015

The new U.S.-China agreed rules for military air-to-air encounters are being hailed in some quarters as “ground-breaking” and a “milestone.” But like their 2014 agreement on safe military encounters at sea, this “annex” does not address the fundamental differences that give rise to these encounters .

US weighing Russian response on Syria flight safety

10/10/2015

Russian leaders have responded to a proposed draft of safety guidelines for military aircraft flying missions in the increasingly crowded skies over Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Friday that a second round of talks between the two countries about the plan could take place as soon as this weekend. The U.S. and Russia are trying to hash out flight procedures to ensure that there are no collisions or other incidents as both countries conduct bombing operat

Russian planes complete 67 combat missions in Syria, hitting 60 ISIS facilities

10/10/2015

The Aerospace Forces of Russia continue to strike positions of the international terrorist organization ISIS in the Syrian territory, Chief of the Russian Air Force's Main Staff Lt. Gen. Igor Makushev has said. "Sixty-seven combat flights were completed from the Hmeimim airbase in the past 24 hours. Sukhoi Su-34M, Su-25SM planes defeated 60 facilities held by terrorists," Makushev told a briefing conference on Oct. 9.

South Africa's Dirt-Cheap War Machine

10/10/2015

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker dominate the headlines when it comes to the combat aircraft market, but there are many places in the world where such extravagant machines are just not needed.

As Russia Bombs Syria, U.S. Pulls Aircraft Carrier Out of Persian Gulf

10/10/2015

As Russian warships rain down cruise missiles as part of its military strike in Syria, there's now a glaring absence in the region: For the first time since 2007, the U.S. Navy has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Military officials said Thursday that they've pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is home to about 5,000 service members and 65 combat planes, so that it can undergo maintenance.

Now on Sale: China Set to Export New Fifth Generation Fighter Jet

10/10/2015

China's leading aircraft manufacturer is about to start exporting its fifth-generation fighter jet, according to industry sources. In a recent report, China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) revealed some tactical and technical characteristics of the J-31 Gyrfalcon fighter at the last air show in Beijing.

Greece Scrambles Jets After Turkish F16s Violate Airspace

10/10/2015

Greece scrambled fighter jets to intercept a pair of Turkish F16 planes over neutral waters of the Aegean Sea in a move condemned by Ankara but described by Athens as fully consistent with international procedure.

Russian Army to Receive 16 Helicopters, 29 Combat Aircraft by Year End

10/10/2015

The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive 16 Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters, 18 Su-30SM Flanker multi-role fighter jets and 11 MiG-31 Foxhound supersonic interceptor aircraft before the end of the year, the aircraft manufacturers told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Friday.

Russia, US to Hold Talks on Anti-ISIL Air Operations in Syria Over Weekend

10/10/2015

Russia and the United States are expected to hold military-to-military talks on Syria, where both countries have been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State (ISIL) militants, this weekend, the Pentagon said. Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said on Friday that the US Department of Defense had received a formal response from Russia on the issue of ensuring safe air operations over Syria and was in the process of reviewing the response.

How to Rebuild a Shrinking, Aging American Military

10/09/2015

Today’s U.S. military is shrinking and using older equipment as troops face more deployments and emboldened adversaries abroad, according to a new report that lays out a plan to revitalize American defenses. The new report from the American Enterprise Institute said that “America’s military power has been declining ever since the first wave of cuts in the aftermath of the Cold War.”

U.S. officials say Russian missiles heading for Syria landed in Iran

10/09/2015

A number of cruise missiles launched from a Russian ship and aimed at targets in Syria have crashed in Iran, two U.S. officials told CNN Thursday. Monitoring by U.S. military and intelligence assets has concluded that at least four missiles crashed as they flew over Iran. The U.S. believes, based on intelligence reports of damage assessments, that some buildings were damaged and civilians may have been hurt.

Chinese Newspaper: Spy Satellites Will Target US Carriers

10/09/2015

China’s military is getting its ducks in a row for what many experts see as a realistic competence at destroying US aircraft carriers during a confrontation scenario over Taiwan. In a recent issue of the Chinese-language state-run China Youth Daily newspaper, a report claims that the Gaofen-4 geostationary earth observation satellite will be launched by the end of this year with the express purpose of hunting US aircraft carriers.

Taranis to enter third testing phase

10/09/2015

The test programme had gone quiet after two phases of testing in Woomera in Australia, but it will now continue for one more phase to develop technology that could be incorporated into a future combat air system. Details of what will be tested in this third phase remain unknown.

Lockheed demonstrates F-16V capabilities in Indonesia

10/09/2015

Lockheed Martin has sent an F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter cockpit demonstrator to Indonesia, in a bid to demonstrate the capabilities of F-16V. Indonesia is planning to replace its old fighter aircraft. The latest version of Lockheed's Fighting Falcon, the F-16V features advanced fourth generation capabilities, including scalable agile beam radar (SABR).