Military Aviation News Archive

French courtship of Gulf monarchies is risky: experts

05/07/2015

Hungry for defence deals, France has cosied up to the Gulf monarchies, winning several billion-euro contracts in the process, but its strategy of backing one side in the region's Sunni-Shia power struggle is risky, say experts.

Congress Should Stop Playing Games With the Pentagon Budget

05/07/2015

Ever since the Budget Control Act of 2011 placed caps on the Pentagon's base budget, Congress and the Obama administration have been using creative accounting to evade them. But this year's House Armed Services Committee (HASC) version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) set a new standard for budget gimmickry.

Air Force announces first female F-35 pilot

05/07/2015

The Air Force announced Wednesday it has crossed a new milestone for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter this week — its first female pilot. Lt. Col. Christine Mau, deputy commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing Operations, completed her first training flight in the fifth-generation fighter jet Tuesday, according to an official Air Force report.

India's Tejas and China's Xiaolong fighters compared

05/07/2015

An article in Sina's Chinese-language military news web portal compared the abilities of India's HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and the FC-1 Xiaolong/JF-17 Thunder developed jointly by China and Pakistan. Overview of the Aircraft

Parliamentary panel concerned that Sukhoi-30 fighters have no protective shelters

05/07/2015

The Parliamentary Committee on Defence has noted with concern that the frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Sukhoi-30MKI, do not have protection of hardened shelters in air bases which would save them from direct hits of bombs in the event of a war.

US arms Pakistan with 14 combat aircrafts, 59 trainer jets, 374 armoured carriers

05/07/2015

The US has handed over to Pakistan 14 combat aircraft, 59 military trainer jets and 374 armoured personnel carriers, which were earlier used by American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the US withdraws its forces from neighbouring Afghanistan, the major defence articles have been transferred to Pakistan under its 'Excessive Defence Article' category, an internal Congressional report has said.

France offers 25% discount to India on purchase of 36 Rafale jets

05/06/2015

France agreed to a 25% discount on its earlier offer to clinch the deal for an off the-shelf purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris last month. This will be the base on which further negotiations will take place on Wednesday. The ballpark cost per aircraft as per Dassault's winning bid for the 126 MMRCA programme — the old, nowscrapped, Rafale deal — came to about $300 million, taking into account the estimates of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Saudis’ UK-made war jets outnumber RAF’s

05/06/2015

Saudi Arabia has twice as many British-made warplanes at its disposal for its bombing campaign in Yemen than those that are available for the entire Royal Air Force, The Telegraph can disclose. British-made Tornado GR4 ground attack fighters and Eurofighter Typhoons are playing a central role in the Royal Saudi Air Force’s bombing campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

US arms Pak with combat aircraft, trainer jets

05/06/2015

As the US withdraws its forces from neighbouring Afghanistan, the Obama administration has armed Pakistan with 14 combat aircraft, 59 military trainer jets and 374 armoured personnel carriers, an internal Congressional report has said. The major defence articles have been transferred to Pakistan under its 'Excessive Defence Article' category, which are mostly from its war combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Australia Accepts New Boeing CH-47F Chinook Aircraft

05/06/2015

At a ceremony yesterday at Royal Australian Air Force Base Townsville in northern Queensland, Australia commissioned their first two Boeing CH-47F Chinook advanced configuration aircraft. It’s a major milestone in the updating of the Australian Army’s cargo helicopter fleet.

US Approves Multimillion Air-to-Air Missile Sale to Indonesia and Malaysia

05/06/2015

The United States has approved a proposed $47 million sale of air-to-air Sidewinder missiles and associated parts to Indonesia, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. DSCA explained that the sale will reduce Indonesia’s reliance on the United States to intervene in Southeast Asia to maintain stability, while improving Indonesia’s interoperability with the United States.

US Approves $3Bln Osprey Aircraft Sale to Japan

05/06/2015

The United States has approved a possible military sale of 17 Osprey aircraft and associated parts and equipment to Japan in a $3 billion defense deal with the island country, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Tuesday.

UK Royal Air Force Set to Guard Baltic Airspace

05/06/2015

UK Royal Air Force pilots and four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft took over the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission from their Spanish colleagues at an airbase near Tallinn on Tuesday, the Estonian Defense Forces reported. Their Spanish partners had been patrolling the skies there since January 2.

All You Need is Su-35: China Should Buy Russian Fighter Jets – Media

05/06/2015

China will have to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E) supermaneuverable multirole fighter jets despite the fact that Beijing is developing its own fourth generation aircraft, according to the Want China Times website.

Russian Arms Exporter Plans to Expand Deliveries to Turkey

05/06/2015

Russian-Turkish technological cooperation will continue in joint projects to include short-range missile defense systems, tactical digital communications, orbital space systems, as well as various military and marine equipment.

U.S. Special Ops wants to add a laser cannon to its new 'Ghostrider' gunship

05/05/2015

Much like the husky A-10 Warthog, the Air Force's combat-chiseled AC-130 gunships can claim legendary status among soldiers, aviators, historians and politicians. Steady-flying turboprop aircraft like the Spectre, Spooky, and Stinger II gunships are continually on patrol around the globe, ready to rain down fiery spit and fury at a moment's notice in support of American and coalition ground troops.

Legendary pilot observes final mission of OH-58 helicopter

05/05/2015

The Army’s OH-58 helicopter is retiring from service this year. As the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk used this classic war bird a final time for rotational unit support in April, a big fan of the aircraft was invited to observe one of its final missions. That fan is retired Lt. Col. Hugh L. Mills, also known as “Darkhorse 1-6,” whose legacy was born over the muddy deltas and thick jungles of Vietnam in 1969.

Navy Not Following Marines’ Lead in Developing V-22 Osprey Tanker

05/05/2015

The Navy has no immediate plans to explore using its planned fleet of V-22 Ospreys carrier onboard delivery aircraft to refuel its carrier aircraft, while the Marines are actively looking to include a tanking capability in its own tilt-rotor V-22s by 2017, service officials told USNI News on Monday.

CORRECTED-Saab dismisses prospect of Gripen jet fighters sale to Argentina

05/05/2015

Sweden's Saab AB on Monday ruled out facilitating the sale of Gripen fighter aircraft to Argentina as the result of a deal to build and export combat jets from Brazil. Argentina has expressed interest in buying 24 Gripen fighter jets from its Latin American neighbour once Brazil is able to export them, early next decade. Such a deal would face an almost certain veto from Britain, which provides some 30 percent of the Gripen's content, including the radar on its next-generation Gripen E/F.

Baltic military shadow-boxing is now at Cold War levels

05/05/2015

A daily game of Cold War cat-and-mouse is ratcheting up tensions in the Baltic and drawing the biggest military presence into the region for over 20 years, Swedish military officials say. Eye-to-eye encounters with Russian combat jets and reports of suspected submarines in Swedish and Finnish waters are fuelling regional concerns about Russian assertiveness in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and reversing years of defense cuts.

Boeing Upgrading Australian F/A-18 Trainers to Aid Maintenance Effectiveness

05/05/2015

Boeing will update two maintenance trainers for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) so they better support the RAAF’s F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft. Australia is the only nation other than the United States flying F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft. While it operates the two-seat F variant of the Super Hornet, its current trainer configuration is for the single-seat variant.

Sudan Official Says Ground Intervention Needed in Yemen

05/05/2015

The Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen will not yield any significant results without a ground operation, Sudan's Defense Ministry adviser told Sputnik Monday. Mahmoud also stated that in the last two days several troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition landed in Yemen's southern city of Aden to create a military base that will deal with distribution of humanitarian aid for the city's residents.

US, Denmark Inspectors to Fly Over Russia in Observation Aircraft

05/05/2015

Within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty, American and Danish inspectors will perform an observation flight over the territory of Russia May 4-8. According to sources a joint mission of the United States and Denmark will fly over the Russian territory on board an American observation aircraft OC-135B. The aircraft will take off from an airfield in Khabarovsk.

US Navy Starts Accompanying British Ships Off Iranian Coast

05/05/2015

US warships have begun accompanying British merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. The US Department of Defense announced that US warships would accompany all US-flagged commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It also did not rule out that assistance could be extended to other countries as well.

French President Inks Rafale Sale Deal During Qatar Visit

05/05/2015

The 6.3-billion-euro agreement includes an order for 24 jets manufactured by French defense group Dassault with an option on a further 12 planes, AFP reported from Doha. Another contract will involve the training of 36 Qatari pilots and around one hundred mechanics. Hollande met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to discuss the crises rocking the region, including Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on anti-government rebels in Yemen.