Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

House panel passes $612B defense bill

05/01/2015

The legislation rejects Pentagon proposals to close excess military bases and infrastructure and plans to trim support for military grocery stores and housing allowances for troops. The legislation backs pay raises for troops at 2.3 percent, versus a Pentagon call for 1.3 percent. The bill also adds additional funding for fighter aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps, including six more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters than requested and 12 extra F/A-18 Super Hornets.

House panel votes to keep A-10s

05/01/2015

A House panel early Thursday approved a defense bill that would again bar the Pentagon from scrapping the Air Force’s A-10 fleet. There are 18 A-10 airplanes stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township that support about 650 full- and part-time jobs.

The U.S. Miilitary's Fighter Aircraft Crisis: What Comes After the F-35?

05/01/2015

Earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said that he believed that the F/A-XX, the Navy’s planned eventual follow-on to the F-35C, would be "optionally manned". On April 15 at the Sea-Air-Space conference, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus leaned further forward, noting how he believed that "the F-35 should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly.”

Lockheed Martin Delivers 1,000th Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod

05/01/2015

ockheed Martin marked the 1,000th Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) delivery during a ceremony held yesterday at its Missiles and Fire Control facility in Orlando, Florida. The 1,000th pod, which was delivered to the U.S. Air Force, is a sensor-enhanced Sniper ATP that provides fighter and bomber aircraft with advanced modes for non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR); enhanced target identification; maritime tracking; and two-way datalink communication.

Boeing Upgrades to Keep B-1 Bomber Soaring for Decades to Come

05/01/2015

The Boeing B-1B Lancer celebrates its soon to be 30th anniversary with the U.S. Air Force at Dyess Air Force Base this week – marking one of many milestones in a legacy that will continue long into the future as Boeing’s B-1 team ushers the supersonic bomber into the digital age with new upgrades.

Come Fly With Me: Spanish and Russian Warplanes Meet Over Baltic Sea

05/01/2015

Just as the 37th rotation of NATO's air policing mission is coming to an end and Spanish and Polish jets are returning to their home bases, Spanish media has released some images of what it claims to be “Spanish Air Force Typhoons escorting some Russian Air Force planes”.

China’s J-11D Fighter Copied From Russian Su-27 Jet Makes Maiden Flight

05/01/2015

China's high-end J-11D fighter aircraft, a copy of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 jet, has made a maiden flight, local media reported Thursday. Photos uploaded to the Internet on Wednesday show the latest modification of China's domestically-constructed J-11B aircraft, initially designed as a copy of the Soviet-made Su-27, the Sina.com news portal said.

A Tablet app was used to direct an Air Strike with a MV22 Osprey in a live fire training exercise

04/30/2015

On March 27, DARPA successfully tested the full Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) prototype system for the first time as part of TALON REACH, a U.S. Marine Corps infantry/aviation training exercise conducted in the southwest region of the United States in partnership with the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One and the Marine Infantry Officer Course (IOC).

Congressman to offer A-10 compromise

04/30/2015

A Massachusetts Democrat and Iraq War veteran is pushing a compromise to let the Air Force keep flying half of its A-10 fleet and retire the rest. Rep. Seth Moulton on Wednesday sent a letter to colleagues in the House of Representatives containing a compromise that would keep 119 A-10s out of the current 283.

Bulgaria May Withdraw MiG-29s From Service

04/30/2015

Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev has announced the Air Force likely will pull its 12 MiG-29 fighter jets out of service rather than proceed with what he called an "overpriced" maintenance and repair deal with Russia. Nenchev told local daily Sega that signing an extended deal, until 2019, priced by the Russian side at some 80 million leva (US $46 million), would be unfavorable to Bulgaria, and so he refused to sign the contract.

A Fighter Pilot's Six Steps to Surviving the Most Dangerous Threat - Change

04/30/2015

We all know we are in a period of profound change, as well as an extremely disruptive time in technology. I’m excited about the possibilities, but I also have to manage in this time of change. I’ve spent a lot of time focused on how to do that well, both at the helm of an incumbent business and at an upstart. How can I focus my team? How do we really make a difference?

Will the F-35 change Middle East warfare?

04/30/2015

US Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Washington April 23 on the occasion of Israeli Independence Day celebrations. He announced that in 2016, the United States will deliver two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Israel. Yet, the debate still rages on the cost-effectiveness of the Joint Strike Fighter project, with rumors circulating that the project may be terminated due to its phenomenal $1 trillion budget.

Know what Cameron is helping Modi with

04/30/2015

Guess who has applauded PM Modi's 'Make in India' initiative now? It is British Prime Minister David Cameron. According to a recent Economic Times report, the man has not only praised India's initiative to become a global manufacturing hub, but has also offered technological assistance to achieve its targets, including in developing its "own world class fighter aircraft" that is "better than Rafale."

Will The F-35 Be The Last Manned Fighter Jet? Physics, Physiology, and Fiscal Facts Suggest Yes.

04/30/2015

Earlier this month Navy Secretary Ray Mabus remarked that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly.” This sparked a lot of discussion both inside and outside the military about the advantages, vulnerabilities, and ethical concerns of armed remotely piloted aircraft.

Making Unmanned Search And Rescue A Reality: Unmanned K-MAX® Helicopter Conducts First Collaborative Casualty Evacuation

04/30/2015

Dangerous frontline operations call for a safe and efficient method to locate and evacuate wounded personnel. To address this critical need and help save lives, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Kaman Aerospace (NYSE: KAMN), and Neya Systems demonstrated the first ever collaborative unmanned air and ground casualty evacuation using the unmanned aerial system (UAS) Control Segment (UCS) Architecture and K-MAX® cargo helicopter on March 26.

US, Japan Prepare Joint Air Patrols in South China Sea

04/30/2015

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in Washington to discuss his plans for Japan to take on a wider security role beyond the direct defense of its home islands. The talks resulted in the two countries unveiling new guidelines for defense.

Russia to Renew Production of Tu-160 'Blackjack' Strategic Bomber

04/30/2015

Russia will renew the production of its Tu-160 (Blackjack) supersonic strategic bomber and missile carrier, Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. "Today it is already necessary to solve the task of not only maintaining and modernizing long-range aviation, we must also produce the Tu-160 missile carrier," Shoigu said during a visit at the Kazan Aviation Plant.

US Air Force refuelling jet lands safely at British base after disappearing off radar over English Channel

04/29/2015

A US Air Force refuelling aircraft disappeared off the radar over the English Channel last night but has since landed safely in Britain. The Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker left Amiens in northern France at 0.05am local time (11.05pm BST) and was last reported on a flight tracking website between Dover and Calais 15 minutes later.

Editorial: Manned aircraft still vital

04/29/2015

For decades, senior military leaders and analysts have predicted the demise of manned aircraft. The Navy, expressing that the end is on the horizon, has created a new office to oversee unmanned air systems. Unmanned aircraft have certainly proven indispensable for more than a dozen years in reconnaissance, strike, communications relay and even transport. And the Air Force plans to increase its reliance on unmanned aircraft to remove worrying "about the limitations of the human body."

Ukrainian Civilians Prepare for All Out Russian Invasion

04/29/2015

Outside this city at a Ukrainian army facility called the Polygon, which is typically used for tank training, about 200 civilian volunteers gathered this past weekend for a military exercise. Many had no military experience; some had never held a weapon. But many decided to train for war due to widespread worries about an escalation in the Ukraine conflict and the potential for it to spread all the way to Dnipropetrovsk, with its nearly 1 million residents, is Ukraine’s fourth largest city.

What Did Saudi Arabia Achieve in Yemen?

04/29/2015

Hundreds of air strikes later, Hadi remains in Riyadh and the Houthis remain near Aden. Riyadh needs a new approach. After nearly four weeks of consistent aerial bombardment against Houthi military positions across Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — with full backing from its colleagues in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, and Morocco — announced with great fanfare on April 21 that Operation Decisive Storm had ended.

Why India Needs Rafale Jets immediately!

04/29/2015

Ending the deadlock over Rafale fighter aircraft deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finalised the delivery of 36 fighter jets in fly-away condition during his France visit two weeks back but more shocking is how the Indian government sidelined the ‘Make In India’ project to seal the deal with Dassault Aviation, a French defence manufacturer. There are multiple reasons behind the immediate actions of buying the Rafale jets

Air Force Mulls Mothballing F-16s if Congress Blocks A-10 Retirement

04/29/2015

The House Armed Services Committee inserted $683 million into the 2016 defense bill to stop the Air Force from retiring the A-10 Warthog. However, Air Force leaders said the service will have to mothball F-16s and delay the deployment of the F-35 in response to the move by the committee.

Saab Develops Mk4 Version Radar For Gripen C/D Fighter Aircraft

04/29/2015

Saab announced today that it has developed PS-05/A fighter radar to a new version designated Mk4 for Gripen C/D improved performance and operating range. The PS-05/A Mk4 is the recent development of PS-05/A radar, originally developed for the Gripen fighter. A new hardware configuration with a complete new radar back-end gives improved radar performance and operational range, enhancing Gripen Weapon System capabilities and offers full AMRAAM and Meteor integration.

Just Google It: Info to Hack a Military Drone is Already Online

04/29/2015

The information necessary to hack a military drone is freely available to the public, in academic publications and online documents, according to an Israeli defense manufacturer. One such paper was published just a month before Iran claimed it downed a CIA stealth drone in 2011, Esti Peshin said Monday at the Defensive Cyberspace Operations and Intelligence conference in Washington DC. Peshin is the director of cyber programs for Israel Aerospace Industries.