Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

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.

Qatar Deal Helps France Set Export Record

05/04/2015

Qatar's planned signing of €6.3 billion (US $7.1 billion) of contracts for the Rafale fighter jet and missiles boosts French arms exports to more than €15 billion, the highest value France has ever reached in a single year, defense officials said. President François Hollande is due to attend the May 4 signing for 24 fighters by Dassault Aviation and missile maker MBDA in Doha, signaling high-level ties.

Alarming Conditions at U.S. Air Base in Djibouti

05/04/2015

Pilots and passengers using Djibouti International Airport, site of the only U.S. air base in Africa, take their lives into their hands thanks to a dangerously incompetent air traffic control system there. Documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the air traffic controllers, civilians who work for the Djibouti government, regularly nap, listen to music, play video games and text on their mobile phones while directing military traffic from several nations.

U.S. keeps watchful eye as China builds 'Great Wall of Sand'

05/04/2015

The crew of Pelican One keeps a watchful eye as the U.S. Navy patrol plane swoops low to identify a ship operating near waters off southwestern Japan that China now claims as its territory. After a radio check and a close look confirms the ship is a harmless Panama-flagged commercial tanker, Pelican One veers off and resumes a patrol that can last up to 12 hours and takes the plane thousands of miles from its base in Okinawa, Japan.

US Ospreys, other aircraft and troops arrive in Nepal to aid relief effort

05/04/2015

Several large transport aircraft and four tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys landed at Kathmandu’s international airport Sunday as U.S. forces arrived to assist in the Nepal earthquake relief effort. People’s Liberation Army soldiers, whose own massive transport jet was parked next to the first American C-17 to land on the tarmac, were clearly impressed when a group of Marines unloaded a UH-1 Huey helicopter.

With New Rules, Japan Emerges in Pacific

05/04/2015

A new agreement between the US and Japan sets up the island nation to take a larger role in the politics of the Pacific while opening new opportunities for military research and development. The updated guidelines for the US-Japan military relationship reflect the changes in the Pacific that have occurred since the last version in 1997.

India Runs Out Of Patience With Russia

05/04/2015

India is running out of patience with Russia and its shoddy military equipment. The most irritating issue, one that lasted more than five years, has been the low reliability of the Su-30MKI jet fighters. Fifty of these Russian designed aircraft were built in Russia and the rest of the 272 aircraft order are being assembled locally. Deliveries should be complete by 2019 and at the moment India is not keen on ordering any more.

Afghan forces suffer heavy toll in battles with Taliban

05/04/2015

Afghan security forces are suffering record casualties in their first battles against the Taliban since the US combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December after more than 13 years. The number of killed and wounded so far this year was about 70 per cent higher than during the same period last year, said Colonel Brian Tribus, director of public affairs for NATO's Afghanistan mission.

Saab's Gripen Enters a New High-fly Zone

05/04/2015

Saab's Gripen jet, for years often seen as an also-ran in international fighter competitions, is turning that reputation around. The trajectory began to change in October by the finalization of a deal to sell 36 Gripen NG aircraft to Brazil and a 2015 Swedish government commitment to buy 60 JAS 39 Gripen Es and Fs.

Rafale deal: Dassault likely to enter joint venture with HAL

05/04/2015

The multi-billion deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets could see French defence major Dassault Aviation entering into a joint venture with state-run HAL or any private player to set up a base here for augmenting its existing production line. Defence sources said such a step, if taken will not only allow the French firm to ramp up its production rate but will help it to meet offset obligations in India, likely to be 30-50 per cent of the sales value.

Taiwan to hold computer-aided war games next week

05/03/2015

The military will conduct five days of computer-assisted war games May 4-8, with the focus this year on emergency response, as part of the country's annual Han Kuang exercises. In a bid to test the military's combat readiness in the face of a military threat from China, the drill will focus on swiftly preparing troops for battle and the mobilization of supplies and reservists.

Pakistan military says strikes kill 44 suspected militants

05/03/2015

Pakistan's military says airstrikes have killed 44 suspected militants in the tribal region near the Afghan border. A statement Saturday said 28 suspected militants were killed when jets struck hideouts in the Tirah Valley of the Khyber tribal region. It said separate strikes in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan killed 16 suspected militants, most of them foreigners.

Russian nuclear bombers intruded U.S. defense airspace zone

05/03/2015

Two Russian military bombers, which are capable of delivering nuclear warheads, flew into a U.S. air defense zone near Alaska last week, a Washington news website reported Friday. A pair of Tu-95 Bear H bombers reportedly flew into the airspace on April 22 -- perhaps a sign, officials said, that Russia has begun its long-range aviation spring training cycle.

U.S. sending Ospreys, Hueys and other aircraft to Nepal

05/03/2015

The U.S. is sending more aircraft to Nepal to fly relief supplies from Kathmandu to refugees in need, defense officials said on Saturday. The Marine Corps is sending four MV-22 Ospreys and two KC-130 cargo aircraft to Nepal, said Maj. Christopher Logan, a spokesman for Marine Forces, Pacific. Three UH-1Y Huey helicopters are being flown to Nepal in Air Force C-17s, he said.

Indo - French Naval Exercise Varuna 2015 Concludes

05/03/2015

Fourteenth ( 14th ) edition of Indo-French naval exercise (VARUNA) concluded today off Goa. The ten day long exercise commenced on 23 April 2015 and included both a harbour and sea phase. Mr Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Minister of Goa, French ambassador Mr. Fran?ois Richier along with Vice Admiral SPS Cheema, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and other senior naval officers embarked the French Navy's Aircraft Carrier.

Why the Iranian Purchase of the S-300 Should Worry the Gulf States

05/02/2015

Saudi Arabia’s decision to intervene militarily in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has raised regional tensions to a boiling point. In a cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia that is growing increasingly hot, the move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift the ban on the sale of S-300 missiles to Iran has come at just the wrong moment.

Why Gulf states went to war with the Houthis

05/02/2015

With the conflict there now in its second month the UN estimates more than 1,200 people have been killed and thousands more displaced, amid a growing humanitarian crisis. But according to the official, who asked not to be named, Gulf Arab governments decided they had to intervene to stop the Houthi takeover of Yemen after new intelligence emerged in January this year.

France and Qatar seal $7 bln Rafale fighter jet deal

05/02/2015

Qatar has agreed to buy 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets in a 6.3-billion-euro ($7 billion) deal, the French government said on Thursday, as the Gulf Arab state looks to boost its military firepower in an increasingly unstable region. Tensions in the Middle East with conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Libya, as well as concerns over Shi'ite Muslim power Iran's growing influence in the area, have fuelled a desire across Sunni Gulf Arab states to modernise their military hardware.