Military Aviation News Archive
08/04/2015
U.S. military aircraft will provide defensive air cover to “moderate” Syrian rebels, the Pentagon announced on Monday. My colleague, Richard Sisk, has the story on Military?.com:
The small group of lightly equipped “moderate” Syrian rebels vetted and trained by the U.S. and now on the ground in northern Syria will be provided with limited defensive air cover, a Pentagon official said Monday.
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08/04/2015
As Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) take to the skies, it is essential for safety that UAS operators and pilots are aware of each other. To help provide this shared situational awareness, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has deployed the first components of a UAS traffic management (UTM) system that is available to the UAS community now.
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08/04/2015
A ground force of 2,800 pro-government troops, accompanied by tanks and armored personnel carriers, pushed toward a Houthi-controlled military base in Yemen Monday as Saudi-led coalition airstrikes cleared their path.
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08/04/2015
The United States has started flying armed drones from a Turkish airbase, but they have not conducted any airstrikes against the Islamic State yet, according to US media reports citing Pentagon on Monday.
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08/03/2015
Egyptian armed forces killed a leading member of the country's Islamic State affiliate in a shootout outside his North Sinai home, the army spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.
Selim Suleiman al-Haram, identified in the statement as a leader of the militant group known as Sinai Province, was asked to turn himself in by a group of soldiers that surrounded his house in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, the army said.
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08/03/2015
The United States has decided to allow airstrikes to defend Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military from any attackers, even if the enemies hail from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. officials said on Sunday. The decision by President Barack Obama, which could deepen the U.S. role in Syria's conflict, aims to shield a still-fledging group of Syrian fighters armed and trained by the United States to battle Islamic State militants -- not forces loyal to Assad.
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08/03/2015
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 based in Yuma, Arizona, is the first squadron in military history to become operational with an F-35 variant, according to a Marine Corps release. A five-day Operational Readiness Inspection that ended July 17 cleared the way for Friday’s announcement.
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08/03/2015
Latvia’s National Defense Forces say a Russian naval ship was spotted nine kilometers from the country’s territorial waters. According to the Latvian military’s official Twitter feed, the vessel was a Russian mine launcher, the Aleksandr Obukhov, which had entered the country’s exclusive economic zone, an area stretching some 200 nautical miles from its shores.
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08/03/2015
A flying contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are on a maiden visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They are in the Kingdom from Aug. 1-4. Indian Embassy Charge d’Affaires Hemant Kotalwar, while addressing a press conference, called the visit significant, and yet another feature that is set to give the Indo-Saudi relations a boost.
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08/03/2015
It is one of the most famous lines in 1980s movies. “I feel the need...” bellows an impossibly young Tom Cruise as he marches across the runway to a waiting F14-A Tomcat fighter jet, “...the need for speed!” And there have been plenty of Top Gun fans who’ve felt a similar desire to experience the heady rush of combat aircraft roaring across cinema screens one more time.
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08/03/2015
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Egypt’s leadership to move forward with political reform as part of a strategy to combat religious extremism, citing parliamentary elections this fall as an important test for the Arab country. The Obama administration’s top diplomat stressed in weekend meetings with senior Egyptian officials that the U.S. is committed to supporting President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s fight against extremist groups who have launched attacks across their country.
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08/03/2015
In another major step towards self reliance in the defence sector, a plan is being finalised to produce 90 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in India, informed sources said. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be drafted soon after the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) comes in place.
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08/03/2015
A video reveals a Mi-28N Night Hunter helicopter crash at a competition in central Russia. The commander of the crew was killed in the crash as the second pilot narrowly escaped from the burning fuselage.
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08/02/2015
After nearly 15 years of development and a half-dozen years of testing, the first squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters is officially operational. The decision was formally announced by Marine Commandant General Joseph Dunford on Friday, making the Marines the first military branch to declare its version of the aircraft combat-ready.
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08/02/2015
Airbus confirmed the news that a CN235 military transport aircraft crashed in Colombia today claiming the lives of 11 Colombian military personnel. Their transport plane suffered motor failure and crashed in the northern province of Cesar, killing all on board, according to a statement from the Air Force.
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08/02/2015
South Korea authorities confirmed a North Korea military aircraft crashed at an airfield in the port city of Wonsan around July 15 and the casualties may have included members of Kim Jong Un's entourage. The site of the accident is most likely the same place where Kim Jong Un attended an air force tournament held in commemoration of North Korea's July 27 "Victory Day," South Korean television network SBS reported.
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08/02/2015
Throughout its history, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has lagged behind the aerial programs of other world powers such as the United States. Now, the PRC has set its sights on producing indigenously designed “fifth generation” fighter jets comparable to the US F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
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08/02/2015
The Block 60 is the latest upgraded version of the Kfir, which was used by the Israeli air force between 1975 and 1994. Some aircraft are being offered with General Electric J79 engines with zero hours following a complete overhaul, while other examples would need to have this work performed after their powerplant reaches 1,600 flight hours.
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08/02/2015
TURKEY has killed 260 Kurdish militants in a week-long air offensive on targets in northern Iraq as regional Iraqi authorities said it was time the Kurds withdraw from the front line with ISIS as concerns grow over civilian casualties.
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08/02/2015
Russian MiG-31 interceptor jet pilots performed a unique six-hour non-stop flight with three air refueling operations, head of the press service of the Russian Central Military District, Col. Yaroslav Roshchupkin, said Saturday. "The pilots from the Central Military District devoted the unique flight of MiG-31BM interceptor jets to today's opening of the International Army Games," Roshchupkin said in a statement.
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07/31/2015
The first Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130J gunship made a historic entrance aboard Hurlburt Field on Wednesday — complete with a flyover and taxi underneath a fire truck water arch. The gunship, a heavily-armed, ground-attack aircraft, is one of the Air Force’s most advanced weapons. It’s known for its ability to shoot a large amount of cannon fire at night, as it’s equipped with smart bombs.
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07/31/2015
Thirty-one Iraqi helicopter pilots are being trained in the Czech Republic, the Defense Ministry's spokesman Petr Medek told the Czech News Agency today. Medek said the training of the helicopter pilots is organized by the LOM Praha state firm. The Defense Ministry corrected its original information after Aero Vodochody that will resell 15 L-159 aircraft from the Czech military stock to Iraq dismissed the information about 31 pilots of L-159 planes.
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07/31/2015
The "Ironmen" will be back flying at Langley Air Force Base next month. The 71st Fighter Squadron will be re-activated under a slightly different name -- the 71st Fighter Training Squadron -- during a ceremony Aug. 21, according to a statement from the base.
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07/31/2015
Fighter jets from Nato’s Baltic air policing mission have scrambled to intercept 22 Russian aircraft in multiple formations over the past week, including two of the largest interceptions over eastern Europe since tensions with Moscow began to rise 18 months ago.
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07/31/2015
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) delivered the 29th C-5M Super Galaxy to the U. S. Air Force on July 28. A Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) aircrew ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin facility here to Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, where it will undergo internal paint restoration. Once paint restoration is completed, the aircraft will then be flown to Travis Air Force Base, California, where it will be permanently based. It will be the eleventh Super Galaxy assigned to
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