Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Arms modernization and military transformation in Indonesia

07/10/2015

The recent crash of an Air Force C-130B airlifter was the latest in a long line of fatal accidents involving the country’s military hardware. Between 2006 and 2015, there were a total of 18 accidents or an average of two incidents per year. These have caused huge material losses and most importantly, claimed the lives of well-trained military personnel.

Finland scrambles to intercept Russian military aircraft

07/10/2015

Nordic and Baltic airspace violations by Russian planes intensify regional tensions. It's been revealed that Finland's Air Force scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft recently after violating the Nordic country's airspace. The Russian IL-76 was travelling west en route from Russia when it entered a kilometer into Finnish territory, border officials said, according to the BBC.

George Washington CSG kicks off Talisman Sabre 15

07/10/2015

Sailors from the George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWCSG) began their portion of Talisman Sabre 2015 off the north coast of Australia, July 7. Exercise Talisman Sabre is a biennial training activity aimed at improving Australian and U.S. combat readiness and interoperability.

Chinese Aircraft Carrier to Acquire First Battle Group

07/10/2015

Sometime next year, the Liaoning aircraft carrier expects to gain its first aircraft battle group in order to compensate for the limited combat radius of existing fleets, according to Xinhua News Agency. China is looking at various strategies in forming its aircraft carrier battle group, according to the report.

Iraqi militias vow to push Islamic State from Fallujah, site of tough US battle

07/10/2015

Iraq's powerful Shiite militias are vowing to drive Islamic State fighters out of Fallujah, setting off a panic in the city where U.S. Marines saw their bloodiest combat of the war. The militias' campaign to besiege the city 40 miles west of Baghdad comes as Iraq's U.S.-backed regular armed forces are gearing up for a counteroffensive in Ramadi, which fell to the Islamic State two months ago.

First female F-35 pilot completes initial flight

07/10/2015

The first female F-35 pilot has taken flight. Air Force Lt. Col. Christine Mau, deputy commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing Operations group, flew her first flight in an F-35A on May 5 at the pilot training school at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Mau, previously an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot, completed 14 simulator flights before taking to the skies.

Pentagon Reconsidering Total F-35 Buy, Dunford Says

07/10/2015

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he’s willing to rethink the acquisition plan for the most expensive weapons program ever. Much has changed about the Pentagon’s Joint Strike Fighter program in the past 13 years, but one thing has remained steady: the number of F-35s to be bought for the Air Force, Navy and Marines.

Red Tails fighter wing, 1,400 jobs could 'go away'

07/10/2015

If the military doesn't pick the Montgomery-based Air National Guard fighter wing for a jet upgrade, the wing could be no more — potentially eliminating nearly 1,400 jobs and shelving the Red Tails, a squadron that carries with it the name and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. "There's a real potential that we could go away," 187th Fighter Wing Commander Randy Efferson said.

Project to build new, improved version of ‘Tejas’ fighter may be given to private sector

07/10/2015

Frustrated by the persistent delays and design flaws that have dogged the Light Combat Aircraft, or LCA, programme, the government is seriously considering whether to hand over the project to build a new, improved version of the 'Tejas' indigenous fighter plane to the private sector for timebound and efficient execution.

Australia Refuses to Buy F-35B for Its Military

07/10/2015

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot wanted to put short-take-off and vertical-landing F-35Bs – made by American defense contractor Lockheed Martin – on the decks of the Navy's two 27,000-ton troop transport assault ships.

Iraqi F-16s to fly out of Iraq, not Jordan

07/09/2015

Iraqi F-16s and pilots will not be based out of Jordan, as reported by Iraqi media, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said. Abed Issawi, a Shiite member of Iraq's parliament, had told reporters that that the U.S. government was demanding that the Iraqi F-16s fly combat missions from Jordan, not Iraq, according to Rudaw, a Kurdish media outlet.

US Air Force leader sees Russia as 'biggest threat'

07/09/2015

Russia is the biggest threat to US national security and America must boost its military presence throughout Europe even as Nato allies face budget challenges and scale back spending, Deborah James, US Air Force Secretary, said on Wednesday.

Tejas Mark II – Aeronautical Development Agency needs to have realistic goals

07/09/2015

I read two articles with great interest – “First Tejas Mark II engine to arrive in September” and “From Tejas to AMCA” – on July 6, both by Ajai Shukla of the Business Standard. As a retired Colonel of Indian Army, Shukla speaks with a certainty that comes from experience and in these articles he rails against “self-appointed patriots who see no irony in their advocacy of expensive foreign weaponry”.

Exclusive: Lockheed, Textron final suitors for Sikorsky Aircraft - sources

07/09/2015

Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Textron Inc (TXT.N) have emerged as final contenders to buy United Technologies Corp's (UTX.N) Sikorsky Aircraft business, which could be valued at around $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. UTC is weighing offers from the two companies and may come to a decision by the end of the month, one of the people said.

Is It Getting Easier or More Difficult to Fly a Fighter Jet?

07/09/2015

First, from one point of view, it's getting harder to fly fighter jets because there are fewer around and the requirements to even climb in to one are remarkably high. I'm very glad I didn't have this kind of competition for so few slots. Let's move on to the other aspect.

Large Russian Aircraft Carrier Design Unveiled

07/09/2015

A design for a large, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was unveiled at the seventh maritime and defense show (IMDS’2015) held last week in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Krylov State Research Center—a government-owned scientific institute specializing in marine technologies—showed a scale model of a “multipurpose aircraft carrier” that was comparable in size to the U.S. Navy Nimitz class. The Russian ministry of defense is funding Krylov’s work under Project Shtorm (Storm).

Northrop Grumman’s Naval Combat Drones Get Lifeline

07/09/2015

The Navy has decided to hold off sending its X-47B combat drones to an aviation museum. For now, the Northrop Grumman aircraft will be kept in flying condition pending high-level decisions on how to move forward. “The Navy is examining a range of potential follow-on activities involving the X-47B air vehicles,” Navy Capt. Beau Duarte, program manager for unmanned carrier aviation, told National Defense in a statement.

Indian Air Force ad invites recruits to fly aircraft it doesn't operate

07/09/2015

An Indian Air Force (IAF) recruitment advertisement has generated controversy - and ridicule - in domestic military circles for depicting a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, an aircraft that it does not operate. The F/A-18 image, featuring in several Indian newspapers on 5 July, appeared alongside Sukhoi Su-30MKI and Dassault Mirage 2000H combat aircraft that are in IAF service and above the tagline 'Join the mission'.

US predicts 42,000 unmanned Chinese military planes by 2023

07/09/2015

According to the United States Defense Department’s latest report on China’s military build-up the “Middle Kingdom” will spend more than $10 billion on land and sea based unmanned aircraft. These will include fixed wing and rotary aircraft to conduct surveillance, attack and even air combat missions.

China Seeks New Strategic Bomber

07/08/2015

A recent report in a military affairs magazine has shed light on a recent meeting in the Chinese military where the need for a strategic aerial capability was made clear. China already has strategic bombers in its inventory but they will not meet the future military needs of the country.

US Air Force and Pentagon want hypersonic planes that can cross the globe in 4 hours by 2023

07/08/2015

The US Air Force has decided to team up with the Department of Defense to speed up the development of hypersonic aircraft and hopes to achieve its goal by 2023. Hypersonic refers to any aircraft that travels at five times the speed of sound, which is about 3,800mph and known as Mach 5. In order to achieve this, the plane needs to be lightened using Supersonic Combustion Ramjet Engines (Scramjet) technology.

Pave Hawk Maintainers Keep Rescue Birds Flying

07/08/2015

Airmen assigned to the 41st Expeditionary Helicopter Maintenance Unit here constantly work maintaining HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters so that the combat rescue mission in Afghanistan can be a success if and when it is needed. The 41st EHMU is part of the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and is responsible for delivering airworthy helicopters to the expeditionary rescue squadron to complete its personnel recovery mission.

Japan’s Abe facing opposition in bid to broaden defense options

07/08/2015

Support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to expand Japan’s military role has waned in recent months, and moving forward with a “collective self-defense” proposal could jeopardize his political influence, recent polls suggest. n a July 5 Yomiuri Shimbun poll, 80 percent said the government hadn’t properly explained the proposed changes that, among other things, would allow the Japanese military to legally defend U.S. forces in combat.

Most combat sorties in Iraq end without striking ISIS

07/08/2015

U.S. aircraft are coming back from most combat missions in Iraq without dropping any bombs, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Martin Dempsey said Tuesday. "At a similar period in the Afghanistan conflict in 2012, the number of aircraft that returned with their ordnance because there were not targets available on the ground was 83 percent," Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It's 65 percent in Iraq right now."

Military fixed wing aircraft market will be worth $72 billion in 2023

07/08/2015

The global fixed wing military aircraft market will go from earning revenues of $63.33 billion in 2014 to $72.77 billion in 2023 as the market grows due to procurement and modernisation programmes, according to a new report.