Military Aviation News Archive
03/18/2015
A unit of Malaysian maintenance, repair and overhaul firm Airod has proposed an upgrade programme for Malaysia’s fleet of 10 RAC MiG-29 aircraft. The upgrade, which an industry source says is being considered by the air force, would see the type upgraded to what it refers to as the “MiG-29NM” standard.
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03/18/2015
The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) has begun flight operations on the first deployment of its upgraded Airbus Helicopters Puma Mk. 2 utility helicopter. Three Pumas are being sent to support the U.K.’s contribution to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission. The new NATO mission has been set up to help Afghan ministries and institutions, as well as support command levels of Afghan security forces, and the helicopters will be used to carry personnel around the Kabul region to avoid useing ground transport.
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03/18/2015
Russia plans to station state-of-the art missiles in its westernmost Baltic exclave and deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Crimea as part of massive war games to showcase its resurgent military power amid bitter tensions with the West over Ukraine. The Russian military exercises this week range from the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean and involve tens of thousands of troops, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
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03/18/2015
An MQ-1 Predator was lost Tuesday while flying over northwest Syria, according to a defense official. Syria's official news agency claimed the drone hwas shot down, but the defense official was unable to say exactly how the unmanned aircraft crashed. The Air Force is in the process of phasing out Predators in favor of the newer MQ-9 Reaper.
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03/18/2015
Negotiation is taking place for procurement of medium multi-role combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation France but “no final decision” has been taken, the government informed the Rajya Sabha today. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also said review of existing fleet and induction of new aircraft is a continuous process and such a review is carried out keeping in view the operational requirements of the Air Force.
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03/18/2015
As the UK’s largest remaining defence contractor, BAE Systems is in a state of flux, with its domestic market continuing to experience reduced spending, but the need to provide a sovereign capability remaining at a consistent high.
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03/18/2015
Subsequent to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) of Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has handed over the First Series Production (SP1) of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 17.1.2015. The requirement of fighter aircraft is periodically reviewed and it is ensured that the operational requirements of the IAF are met.
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03/18/2015
About 10 Russian warships led by the Admiral Ushakov torpedo boat have conducted air defense exercises in the Barents Sea as part of the Northern Fleet snap drills, the Defense Ministry announced in a statement. "In the course of the snap Northern Fleet combat readiness drills, a group of diverse strike forces led by the Admiral Ushakov destroyer held joint military exercises with two antisubmarine ship search and strike groups in the Barents Sea," the statement said.
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03/18/2015
About 10 Russian Sukhoi Su-34 (Fullback) strike fighters and Russian modernized Sukhoi Su-27 (Flanker) multirole fighters have been relocated to the country's Kaliningrad Region to conduct bombing drills, the Defense Ministry said. "After the relocation the crews of the multipurpose Su-34 aircraft are to conduct bombing of ground targets at an unknown firing field in the Kaliningrad Region," the ministry said in a statement.
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03/18/2015
Russia delivered two Mil Mi-17 "Hip" helicopters to Nepal, and the two countries are negotiating the supply of more, the head of Russia's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport's regional department told RIA Novosti. "Our relations with Nepal are developing rapidly. Two Russian-supplied Mi-17s fly in the country. We are negotiating the additional delivery of helicopters for the Interior Ministry and the armed forces [of the country]," Vladimir Ereschenko said.
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03/17/2015
The Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet are among the platforms Boeing will showcase at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia, March 17-21, 2015. Other key Boeing capabilities featured include the AH-6i Light Attack/ Reconnaissance helicopter and the ScanEagle from Boeing subsidiary, Insitu Pacific.
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03/17/2015
The first of three C-295 transports ordered from Airbus Military for the Philippine Air Force is scheduled for delivery later this month. "It will serve as additional transport support for the Armed Forces' requirements (and complement) the three existing C-130s" now in use, the Philippine Star newspaper quoted Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Enrico Canaya. "They will be especially helpful in HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster response) operations."
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03/17/2015
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey would eliminate its dependency on external suppliers for its defense industry. In a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Radar and Electronic Warfare Technology Center, launched by Turkey's leading state-owned defense system producer, ASELSAN, in Ankara, Erdogan said: "We plan to eliminate external dependency on defense equipment supply with ongoing projects and investments by 2023.
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03/17/2015
For a $55 billion program that is supposedly shrouded in mystery, we sure do hear a lot about the significance of the Long-Range Strike Bomber competition to the companies vying for the win. So who is the frontrunner? That definitely depends upon who you ask. Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute, an Arlington-based think tank that focuses on defense, has made it clear that his money is on The Boeing Co., teamed with Lockheed Martin Corp..
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03/17/2015
Residents in Hawaii noticed an increase in fighter aircraft activity as well diversity of airframes in and around the airspaces of the state in the last couple of weeks as the Hawaii Air National Guard hosted its second large-scale "Sentry Aloha" fighter exercise of 2015.
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03/17/2015
vetlana Alexandrova — Pakistan would like to expand military technical cooperation with Russia by purchasing Russian Mi-35 helicopter gunships, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain told Sputnik. "Pakistan would like to procure a variety of Russian military hardware," Hussain said.
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03/17/2015
ussian fighter jets and ground support aircraft will practice penetration of "enemy's" air defenses during a month-long exercise in Siberia, the Eastern Military District said Friday. "During the drills Su-30SM fighter jets and Su-25 attack aircraft will practice interoperability in penetration of air defenses and joint attacks on communications networks behind enemy lines," the district's press service said in a statement.
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03/17/2015
Russian inspectors will conduct an observation flight over Germany, as well as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, on March 16-21 under the Treaty on Open Skies, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov announced.
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03/17/2015
The crews of two military planes that collided mid-air near Fort Bragg in December had failed to complete visual scans of their flight paths and were too reliant on automated anti-collision systems, according to an Air Force investigative report obtained by The Fayetteville Observer.
The Army and Air Force planes, which were carrying 13 people on separate training exercises, declared emergencies and landed safely, the report said.
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03/16/2015
Rafale International has re- emphasised its commitment to Malaysia that goes beyond defence technology through its participation in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015 (LIMA'15). In a statement Monday, it said its two combat-proven Rafale, a single-seater and two-seater fighter aircraft, were already parked on the LIMA tarmac, ready to take to the skies over the five days of the exhibition.
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03/16/2015
The US Navy is aiming to have a forward presence of 120 ships by 2020, up from 97 ships today, putting ships "where it matters, when it matters." That's according to the latest update of the US maritime strategy, a document that guides the concepts and development of the sea services — the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
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03/16/2015
As Defense Secretary Ashton Carter settles into office, a formidable challenge awaits him: eradicating the menace of the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Syria and Iraq. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Carter reiterated that he and the Obama administration hope “with our air power and other kinds of assistance, [to] inflict defeat on ISIS, and then make it a lasting defeat.”
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03/16/2015
They’re big. They’re ugly. And they fly. No, they’re not mosquitoes from Alaska. They’re B-52 Stratofortress bombers from North Dakota. And they’re old, too. Older than the pilots who fly them. The one that 32-year-old Capt. Jeffrey “Shredder” Stock flew in last week’s Red Flag air combat exercises at Nellis Air Force Base.
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03/16/2015
China has overtaken Germany as the world’s third-largest arms exporter and cut its own dependence on imports by producing more-sophisticated weapons, according to a new report. State-owned defense suppliers such as Norinco Group have become prominent at arms fairs, opening new markets beyond established customers in South Asia by, for example, selling armed drones to Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram rebels.
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03/15/2015
China should allow potential overseas buyers to learn more details of the FC-31 or Shenyang J-31, the nation's second fifth-generation stealth fighter designed by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, writes the Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada.
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