Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Mig-21 crash: No replacement for the ‘Flying coffin’ in near future

08/25/2015

A Mig-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in the fields of Soibugh, Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir this morning, with no loss of life reported in the accident. The pilot was able to eject from the aircraft and was rescued by an army helicopter.

Germany Takes Over From UK in Guarding Baltic Airspace

08/25/2015

German Air Force fighters will guard Baltic airspace beginning Tuesday, taking over from the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) under regular NATO rotation, the Latvian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.

Combat Ready: PAK FA Gets Improved Highly Maneuverable Missiles

08/25/2015

The Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name: AA-11 Archer) is an infrared heat-seeking air-to-air missile with an operational range of up to 19 miles. It was designed to engage virtually any type of aircraft – from cutting-edge jet fighters to drones and cruise missiles.

Two Moroccan Women Infect 16 ISIL Terrorists with AIDS

08/25/2015

As militants of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) continue to hold off an international air strike coalition and advances from local fighters in Syria and Iraq, the terror group is now facing a new threat that has already wiped off some of its members: sexually transmitted disease.

U.S., Turkey to launch 'comprehensive' anti-Islamic State operation

08/25/2015

Turkey and the United States will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State fighters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday. Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday and regional allies including

Military: 41 PKK members killed in operations in Turkey, northern Iraq

08/24/2015

A total of 41 members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in military operations carried out in southeastern Anatolia and northern Iraq on Friday and Saturday, the Turkish military said on Saturday.

Eight South Korean and US fighter jets practice bombing in show of force against North Korea

08/24/2015

South Korean and US fighter jets were spotted sweeping through the skies of South Korea in a powerful show of force against North Korea's threat of military action. Eight planes simulating bombing of enemy targets circled the skies as tensions mount between the North and South.

Air show crash: 11 'highly likely to be dead'

08/24/2015

A day after a relic military jet plunged from the sky and crashed onto a busy UK highway, authorities searched Sunday for more possible victims. Sussex police announced at a press conference that they have the names of 11 people whom they are treating as "highly likely" to be dead. The identification process was a "technical" one that requires the help of the victims' next of kin. Earlier, they said seven people had been killed.

Inside the B-1 crew that pounded ISIS with 1,800 bombs

08/24/2015

For almost five months, B-1 crews from the 9th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, focused on one town — Kobani in Syria — in the battle against the Islamic State group. Kurdish forces were entrenched in their own city as waves of Islamic State fighters advanced. The enemy was “sending troops there constantly,” said a weapons systems officer from the 9th Bomb Squadron identified for security reasons only as Scram. “They were very willing to impale themselves on that city.”

Osprey readiness a challenge years after troubling report

08/24/2015

The Marine Corps has made strides to improve standards for the MV-22B Osprey nearly two years after a report found unsettling evidence the service was deploying squadrons that were not mission-ready. But some problems persist due to high operational demand and a lack of resources.

Chinese Radar Strongly Resembles Israeli Product

08/24/2015

A Chinese avionics marketing and manufacturing firm has put Israeli-US relations under a microscope after marketing an advanced fire control radar identical to Elta’s ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA). Elta is the same Israeli state-owned subsidiary at the heart of an incendiary chapter in US-Israel relations that continues to reverberate 15 years after Washington forced Israel to cancel a controversial Phalcon airborne early warning aircraft contract with Beijing.

Iran Could Receive Russian S-300 Systems by 2016

08/24/2015

Iran could receive S-300 missile defense systems from Russia by the end of 2015, country's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said. No new agreement between Iran and Russia was reached on the issue, but only a complement was added to the previous deal, because some changes were introduced in some parts of the S-300 systems, which increases its costs, the minister was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency as saying.

Iran and Russia will cooperate in the “joint designing and manufacturing” of combat aircraft, the Islamic Republic’s defense minister announced on Saturday

08/24/2015

Briefing reporters in Tehran, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said Russia had agreed to cooperate with Iran after learning about the Islamic Republic’s capabilities, Tasnim news agency reported. “In the field of (manufacturing) fighter jets, we will not develop such cooperation with any country other than Russia,” General Dehghan emphasized.

Islamic State has Damascus in its crosshairs

08/23/2015

The terror group’s advance on Syria’s capital is slow but relentless; one major incident, such as the fall of a base or a strike against a key figure, could bring about the collapse of Assad’s military system.

Russia Seeks Middle East Deals at MAKS Air Show

08/23/2015

Political upheaval over the last year has created a radically different business, political and security environment for this week's biennial International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) compared with the 2013 exhibit. Russian defense firms under Western sanctions imposed for Moscow's annexation of Crimea last year have effectively cut the industry off from Western credit and customers.

India’s MMRCA: Implications for Russia

08/23/2015

The serial drama of the MMRCA tender; for purchase and licensed production of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft; reached an intermediate junction. During a visit in April 2015 to France by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an announcement was made about the signing of an ‘agreement in principle’ on direct purchase of 36 fighter jets by the Rafale Company which, in 2013, was declared the formal winner of the MMRCA Tender.

Israeli War Jet Shot Down Over Syria - Media

08/23/2015

The Israeli fighter jet was targeted over the city of Al-Quneitra on Friday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Israel regularly violates the Syrian airspace and launches missile attacks against the country. On Friday, the Israeli Air Force resumed airstrikes on Western Syria, targeting a government army base at Khan Al-Sheih in Damascus province and another in the al-Quneitra province after a six-hour halt in attacks that followed their multiple air raids over the Golan Heights.

Unknown Surveillance Drone Shot Down in Western Iran

08/23/2015

Iran’s air defense shot down an unknown drone on a surveillance mission, which had crossed the country’s western borders, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

What Do Russia-China Joint Naval Drills Really Mean?

08/23/2015

The Sino-Russian joint naval exercises started in the Sea of Japan. The drills include 25 ships, 15 aircrafts, 8 helicopters, and 400 marines. The theme of the exercises is joint protection of routes.

S Korea, US Scramble Air Power in Show of Force Against N Korea

08/23/2015

Eight South Korean and US fighter jets took to the South Korean skies on Saturday, simulating bombings of enemy targets as tensions shot up on the peninsula after North Korea fired shells on Thursday in protest of Seoul’s anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts.

No MiG-31s for Damascus: Russia Denies Sending Interceptors to Syria

08/23/2015

Russia has not sent Mikoyan MiG-31 supersonic interceptors to Syria and does not intend to operate the aircraft in the war-torn country, CEO of Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG Sergei Korotkov stated refuting recent rumors.

Pentagon’s New Asia-Pacific Strategy Addresses China’s Island Building

08/22/2015

The Pentagon released a new maritime security strategy for the Asia-Pacific region Aug. 21 that criticizes China’s aggressive claims to sovereignty over most of the South and Southeast China Seas and declares that the US “will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”

Source: Contract signed with Egypt for delivery of MiG-29 fighters

08/22/2015

Russia and Egypt have signed an intergovernmental contract for the delivery of Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters, a source in the MiG Corporation told Interfax-AVN on August 21. "A contract has been signed with Egypt at an intergovernmental level, and we will be next," the source said.

Holes in Australia’s weapon capability need to be filled

08/22/2015

The war scenario that we were required to analyse was that a major power, with significant naval assets including an aircraft carrier, had invaded and established a considerable military force presence in north Western Australia. Due to the size of our coastline and our limited logistic ability, we were unable to prevent the successful hostile establishment of a bridgehead.

Reactivated 71st Fighter Training Squadron at Langley acts as adversary for pilots

08/22/2015

When P.E. MacAllister uncovered the flag of the Air Force's 71st Fighter Training Squadron, he uncovered the flag of a unit he helped establish in World War II — a unit that had been inactivated five years ago.