Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Lockheed's F-35 fighter to start testing on USS Nimitz carrier

11/03/2014

Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet is slated to begin two weeks of developmental testing on board the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, marking another key milestone for the Pentagon's biggest weapons program. Weather permitting, the first of two F-35 C-model jets slated for the testing is due to arrive on the carrier on Monday. That will mark the first time the new warplane will land on a carrier using a tailhook that had be redesigned after initial problems engaging the cable.

Eurofighter confident of new orders to avert production slowdown

11/03/2014

The CEO of the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium on Monday said he is confident of winning a new export order for the combat plane to avoid having to reduce production. The consortium, founded in 1986, has only sold the Typhoon to Austria, Saudi Arabia and Oman, outside of the consortium's home markets of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. The United Arab Emirates last year decided against placing a 6 billion pound ($9.60 billion) order.

Korea Won’t Send Aerobatics Team to China Air Show

11/03/2014

South Korea dropped a plan to send an aerobatics team to an air show in China less than two weeks before the event, after Washington raised concerns about exposing key U.S. fighter-jet technology. The South Korean air force’s Black Eagles team, which consists of eight T-50 light combat aircraft, was scheduled to be a main attraction at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, the country’s main aviation trade show, in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai.

ISIS mission: Canadian CF-18s drop laser-guided bombs over Iraq

11/03/2014

Canadian CF-18 fighters jets have dropped laser-guided bombs over Iraq for the first time as part of the ongoing combat mission against ISIS, the Department of National Defence confirmed Sunday. Two CF-18s targeted ISIS positions with laser-guided GBU-12, 500-pound bombs "in the vicinity of Fallujah," a large city in central Iraq about 70 kilometres west of the capital Baghdad, according to a statement released by Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson.

China Successfully Develops Laser System Able to Shoot Down Drones in Seconds: Reports

11/03/2014

China has successfully developed a laser defense system that can shoot down small-scale low flying drones within a two kilometer radius in five seconds, Xinhua news reported. The laser system with its precision, speed and low noise can shoot down drones at an altitude of 500 meters and a speed of 50 meters per second (180 kilometers per hour or 112 miles per hour), the news agency reported on Sunday evening citing a statement published by the China Academy of Engineering Physics.

NATO Baltic Jets Intercept Russian Airplanes for Third Day

11/02/2014

NATO jets in the Baltic countries intercepted two Russian military aircraft today as the alliance said Russian air activity has surged on its borders. F-16 jets from NATO’s Baltic air policing mission intercepted a Russian Su-27 fighter and Eurofighter aircraft later shadowed an IL-76 military transport plane, Latvia’s army said on its Twitter account. It reported interceptions of seven Russian jets yesterday and on Oct. 28.

UK air force intercepts Russia military aircraft

11/02/2014

The RAF has intercepted Russian military aircraft as they neared UK airspace for the second time this week, the Ministry of Defence has said. The Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-95 aircraft – also known as a Bear bomber – flying in international airspace was intercepted by Typhoon fighters from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on Friday and escorted through British skies. A spokeswoman said the Russian aircraft had been picked up by the RAF control and reporting centre at Boulmer, Northumberland.

Peshmerga in Kobane fire rockets at ISIL

11/02/2014

Iraqi Peshmerga forces have started combat operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Kobane, less than twenty four hours after arriving in the besieged Syrian town. Peshmerga fighters in Kobane, a town near the Turkish border that has become a focal point in the battle against the armed group, fired at least six rockets from pick-up trucks at ISIL positions on Saturday.

U.S. now confirms ISIL stole and has deployed surface-to-air missiles

11/02/2014

The United States has acknowledged that Islamic State of Iraq and Levant deployed surface-to-air missiles. The Defense Department has determined that ISIL achieved limited air defense capability. Officials said ISIL acquired the weapons from Iraqi or Syrian arsenals.

Airpower’s impossible dream

11/02/2014

President Obama’s refusal to consider committing U.S. ground forces to the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS, has revived a debate about the effectiveness of airpower that is as old as military aviation itself. The question involves the degree to which airpower alone can win wars. In response to the horrors of trench warfare in World War I, airpower theorists such as Italy’s Giulio Douhet and America’s Billy Mitchell conceived the idea of bombing targets in the enemy’s heartland.

J-31 could bring one-two punch to China's air power: expert

11/02/2014

China's mysterious fifth-generation J-31 stealth fighter jet, set to make its debut later this month, could form a lethal tandem with the country's existing J-15 carrier-based fighter aircraft, says a Chinese military expert. The J-31, also known as "Gyrfalcon," or Falcon Hawk by some military enthusiasts, is a twin-engine, mid-size fifth-generation jet fighter currently under development by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

US Pacific air force chief says wary of risky flying by China jets

11/02/2014

The U.S. is concerned Chinese jets may engage in further risky intercepts of its military aircraft, even after starting talks aimed at avoiding such encounters, the new commander of U.S. air forces in the Pacific said. A Chinese fighter jet flew within 20 feet of a U.S. P-8 Poseidon aircraft flying at more than 400 miles an hour near Hainan Island -- China’s gateway to the contested South China Sea -- on Aug. 19, an encounter that the Pentagon described as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

N Korea Deploys Ballistic Missile Sub: Reports

11/02/2014

North Korea has deployed a new submarine, capable of carrying ballistic missiles, another step forward in the nuclear weapon development. Sources in the government of South Korea have said that the North “imported a Soviet-era Golf-class diesel submarine and modified it”, according to a Yonhap News report. Subs of this series are also known as ‘Project 629’. They are powered with a hybrid diesel-electric engine and are able to carry ballistic missiles and/or Scud missiless.

Russia plays nuclear war-games in Barents Region

11/01/2014

At 09:20 am (Moscow time), this silo-based Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Plesetsk in Arkhangelsk Oblast. A few minutes later, the dummy nuclear warhead hits its target on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s far eastern corner, the Ministry of Defense reports. The Ministry adds that the Topol-M missile has an “extremely high accuracy of target destruction.”

Gripen Fighters Won’t Save the Argentine Air Force

11/01/2014

Argentina has expressed interest in buying 24 Gripen E fighters from Brazil, which has just inked a licensing deal with Sweden permitting the South American country to manufacture its own copies of Saab’s new single-engine fighter. “Our willingness to cooperate with Argentina, our neighbor and ally, is total,” Brazilian defense minister Celso Amorim said.

Seoul Deploys 20 New Fighter Jets, 40 More Planes Expected in Future

11/01/2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has praised the deployment of South Korea’s FA-50 aircrafts on Thursday, while ordering the country’s military to remain at full readiness, Yonhap News Agency reported. “Now, our security situation is very grave”, Park said in a ceremony, marking the deployment of the fighter jets, as quoted by Yonhap News.

Fisher: Weather deters Canadian fighter jets from joining fight against Islamic State (with video)

11/01/2014

A second pair of CF-18 Hornet fighter jets returned Friday from a combat mission over Iraq with a full bomb payload because cloud cover had obscured Islamic State positions. For the same reason the first two Canadian combat aircraft – which launched from an airfield in Kuwait on Thursday along with a Canadian Aurora CP-140 spy plane and a CC-150 air-to-air refueling tanker – also did not drop their munitions during a six-hour mission over territory held by Islamic State.

Pentagon Claims Russian Air Force Planes Endanger Civil Flights

11/01/2014

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby during a press briefing on Friday stated that Russian Air Force planes pose a risk to civil aviation. “Well, we certainly don't see this - these increased flights and activity as helpful to the security situation in Europe. Clearly, they - they pose the potential risk of escalation.

One Pilot Dies, Another One Injured in Suborbital Spaceplane Crash in US: Reports

11/01/2014

One pilot died and another one was seriously injured in the suborbital spaceplane SpaceShipTwo crash on Friday in Mojave Desert, California, CNN reported. “One person died and another was seriously injured as a result of Friday's incident involving Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo,“ California Highway Patrol Officer Jesse Borne said, as quoted by CNN.

Why Russia has been buzzing NATO lately

10/31/2014

In a single 24-hour period this week, Russia dispatched 19 combat aircraft — including “Bear” strategic bombers — to probe North Atlantic Treaty Organization air defenses. It also test-launched a ballistic missile in the Barents Sea, north of Sweden, that hit a target in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East.

A-10 retirement restrictions imperil F-35A IOC for USAF

10/31/2014

The US Air Force's (USAF's) goal to make its new fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter combat aircraft operationally deployable in August 2016 has been imperilled by lawmakers' efforts to halt the service's plan to retire its Cold War-era Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt close air support (CAS) aircraft fleet, the Pentagon's F-35 programme manager said on 30 October.

Canadian warplanes begin Iraqi combat mission; weather frustrates strikes

10/31/2014

Canadian warplanes have begun flying combat missions over Iraq although no bombs have yet been dropped. CF-18 fighters and Canada’s surveillance spy planes and a refuelling tanker have all flown sorties over Iraq starting Thursday, sources say. The fighters also flew a second combat mission Friday morning. Bad weather thwarted the CF-18s’s ability to launch air strikes Thursday as their laser-guided munitions were frustrated by the clouds.

THE GROWING INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE OF RUSSIA'S MILITARY: WHAT IS PUTIN DOING?

10/31/2014

This week, Russian aircraft have probed NATO defenses to a degree unseen since the Cold War. Fighter aircraft from eight NATO members were reportedly scrambled to intercept more than two dozen aircraft just on Tuesday and Wednesday. As the Wall Street Journal report details, the intercepts of Russian aircraft have occurred more than one hundred times this year, which is about three times the number of intercepts conducted last year.

Eurofighter can step in if talks with Rafale fails: UK

10/31/2014

UK today said the Europe-backed Eurofighter could hold negotiations with India for the supply 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) if the talks for the multi-billion dollar deal with French major Dassault Aviation do not make progress. Making it clear that his country respects the "position the Indian government has adopted", visiting UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said.

North Korea Can Miniaturize Nuclear Warheads for Medium-Range Missiles: US Military Expert

10/31/2014

A US military expert believes North Korea has the ability to miniaturize nuclear warheads for its medium-range missiles, however Pyongyang does not appear to have technical capacity to conduct tests, Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday. “My analysis is that North Korea could probably miniaturize a warhead that should fit for a Rodong missile,” director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Mark Fitzpatrick told Yonhap News.