Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Joint U.S., Israeli device seeks to reduce airflow drag

06/20/2015

U.S. Army and Israeli scientists are conducting testing and research on active flow control devices as a means to reduce drag on future Army aircraft. The Suction and Oscillatory Blowing Actuator, or SaOB, invented by Israeli scientist, Dr. Avraham Seifert of Tel Aviv University, uses the active control of airflow to reduce drag.

Lockheed Seeks Savings to Land 3-Year F-35 Block Buy by U.S.

06/20/2015

Lockheed Martin officials said at the Paris Air Show the company is working with suppliers and engineers to find savings to land a block buy of up to 500 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to convince U.S. and international lawmakers to approve the deal. Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program manager, said the company is aiming for about a 10 percent savings in exchange for a three-year order of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. The U.S. has been making orders on an annual basis.

Experts: Accidental Conflict Is True Danger Of Russia-West Clash

06/20/2015

Military posturing and increasingly hostile rhetoric between Russia and the West are raising the risk of an accidental slide towards a wider conflict that neither nuclear-armed side wants, experts warn. Within days of reports that the United States was poised to send heavy military equipment to eastern Europe and the Baltic states, Russia retorted by announcing it planned to add 40 intercontinental nuclear missiles to its arsenal.

Deliveries of Airbus military plane to re-start two months after crash which killed four crew members

06/20/2015

Airbus is to resume deliveries of its military transport plane the A400M which had been stopped after a crash in Spain. The wings are made at the firm’s plant in Filton, just outside Bristol, then shipped to Seville where the plane is assembled. Four crew members were killed when the plane crashed during a test flight near the Spanish city in May.

Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 To Train Italian Pilots For Eurofighter Operations

06/20/2015

Italian Air Force will start testing the capability of Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 Master, a military transonic trainer aircraft, as an "aggressor" in dissimilar combat training missions with the Eurofighter aircraft. Starting next August the students of the Italian Air Force who are to fly on the combat aircraft will accomplish the training’s phase IV on the new M-346, the final step before the passage to the operational airplanes.

Controlling chaos: ground troops guide fire from sky

06/20/2015

The enemy is near – and within sight. A coordinated network of exacting service members pinpoint their location, and then relay this critical information to highly skilled fighter pilots in the sky. One’s imagination can picture the rest.

F-35B Completes First Release of a U.K. Paveway IV Bomb

06/20/2015

The F-35 Lightning II program made aviation history June 12 as Royal Air Force (RAF) Test Pilot Squadron Leader Andy Edgell released two inert 500-pound dual mode Paveway IV precision-guided bombs over the Atlantic Test Ranges, the U.S. Navy reported.

Ghana to buy 5 Combat Aircrafts in Brazil

06/20/2015

The Government of Ghana (GoG) through the Ministry of Defense has entered into a contract for the supply of five combat aircrafts with Brazilian Aircraft manufacturer, Embraer Defense and Security. The aircrafts in question are A-29 Super Tucano light attack and advanced training turbo props. This information was contained in a press statement released in Paris by the company.

US Navy Acquires Advanced Radar for Surveillance Aircraft

06/20/2015

The US Navy will acquire 53 advanced radars for its P-8A Poseidon aircraft in a $153 million deal to outfit the anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare surveillance and reconnaissance plane, US defense contractor Raytheon said in a statement on Friday.

New V-280 Valor Tiltrotor May Replace Entire US Army Helicopter Fleet

06/20/2015

The V-22 Osprey has had a number of setbacks. It has earned a reputation for being unsafe after a series of fatal crashes, most recently last month. Its price tag has also ballooned far past the original $2.5 billion estimate. By 2008, $27 billion had been spent on production, with another $27 billion still to go.

The Year of the Scorpion (Jet)

06/19/2015

The Scorpion reconnaissance and attack aircraft displayed at the Paris Air Show this week is currently on its second European tour, visiting mainland Europe and the UK. Following this week the aircraft will perform demonstration flights as the guest of several European air forces, before arriving at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, UK, from July 17 to 19.

Cockpit video of the Pakistani JF-17 Thunder during air display at Paris Air Show

06/19/2015

The JF-17 Thunder is a light, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft jointly manufactured by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China. The Pakistan Air Force plans to operate 160 JF-17 multirole jets about one-third of those are already in active service.

What it’s like onboard an aircraft carrier

06/19/2015

The steel deck shakes as the steam powered catapult and the deafening roar of 40,000 pounds of jet thrust propels the 20-tonne Hornet strike fighter from zero to 260km/hr and skywards in just two seconds.

Malaysia is a Typical Battleground for the Euro-Canards

06/19/2015

At the ILA Berlin Airshow three years ago, the head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) publicly bemoaned the fact that the continent’s prime aerospace companies were engaged in damaging and wasteful competition to export three rival fighters. That nothing has changed was quite evident at the recent Langkawi International Marine and Aerospace (LIMA) airshow and exhibition in Malaysia.

Russian Yak-130 Training Jet Being Lined Up For Sale As Fighter-Bomber To Foreign Customers, Including Syria

06/19/2015

Russia is considering plans to convert its Yakovlev Yak-130 combat training aircraft into a fighter-bomber for future foreign customers, possibly including the Syrian regime. The proposal, which was floated by an executive of the Russian state-owned weapons exporter Rosoboronexport at the Paris Air Show on Thursday, would offer air forces unable to afford high-end fighter jets a chance to operate a state-of-the-art machine that can fulfill several roles.

Lockheed Martin to Deliver Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pods to Royal Jordanian Air Force

06/19/2015

Lockheed Martin recently received a contract to deliver Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP) to the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) in support of urgent operational requirements. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will deliver 10 Sniper ATPs and provide integration support beginning later this year. The RJAF is currently conducting precision-strike missions with five Sniper ATPs it acquired in 2014.

Japan: New Chinese Islands Don’t Resolve South China Sea Tensions

06/19/2015

As Beijing announces it’s nearing completion of its controversial land reclamation projects in the South China Sea, it’s received a fresh warning from Tokyo. The message: just because you built it, doesn’t mean you own it.

US-led Coalition Conducts 22 Airstrikes Against Islamic State

06/19/2015

The airstrikes in Syria destroyed two IS tunnel systems, multiple fighting positions and several vehicles, according to the anti-IS coalition. The airstrikes in Iraq destroyed an IS pontoon bridge, weaponry, a bunker and fighting units.

Hungarian Air Force is in a 'Catastrophic' State – Ex-Defense Minister

06/19/2015

Commenting on several incidents involving Hungarian Airforce Saab JAS-39 Gripens over the past few months, Hungarian Defense Minister Imre Szekeres stated that the Hungarian air force is in a catastrophic state, Slovakian newspaper Sme reported.

Crash of Airbus A400M military transport plane last month hasn't affected orders: CEO

06/18/2015

The A400M military transport plane last month hasn't affected export orders, the firm's chief executive said Wednesday, adding Airbus hoped to land new customers soon. An A400M plane crashed during a test flight on May 9 near Seville in Spain, killing four of the six people on board and seriously injuring the two others.

Navy, Air Force to Develop Sixth-Generation Unmanned Fighter

06/18/2015

Navy and Air Force developers are immersed in early conceptual work on a new, sixth-generation fighter aircraft designed with breakthrough technologies and an ability to perform for both manned and unmanned missions. Few details are available about the new aircraft, called F/A-XX by the Navy, because the early work is at this point purely conceptual, said Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, Director of Air Warfare.

The US-Philippine military agreement that was supposed to counter China is facing another roadblock

06/18/2015

A U.S.-Philippine defense agreement that would help counter China's growing naval power in the disputed South China Sea has yet to be implemented more than a year after it was signed, and could now face a fresh political hurdle in Manila.

JF-17 Thunder displays eye-catching manoeuvres

06/18/2015

A large number of people gathered to witness the eye-catching manoeuvres of JF-17 Thunder, the latest addition in the inventory of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) which displayed aerobatics at Paris Air Show on Wednesday.

Textron’s Scorpion Heads To UK For RAF, Royal Navy Trials

06/18/2015

When Textron unveiled the Scorpion I will admit I was a serious sceptic. Where was the market? Who were the likely customers? Why did they spend their own money on such a venture? The first crack in my skepticism occurred when Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, told reporters that the Scorpion might make sense as a lower-cost COIN (CounterInsurgency) and CAS (Close Air Support) platform.

One Does Not Simply Embed US Troops In Iraq

06/18/2015

It may be tempting to put U.S. troops alongside Iraqis on the front lines against ISIS, but it would be far more difficult and complicated than it may seem, the military’s top officer told Congress Wednesday. Augmenting an Iraqi unit with a U.S. specialist — say, a joint terminal attack controller, skilled in guiding air strikes — would require a lot of hidden support.