Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Navy report: 2014 Super Hornet crash was preventable

01/15/2015

Several thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean, a year ago Thursday: Two Navy fighter jets banked toward each other at more than 400 mph.The roaring F/A-18 Super Hornets converged, crossing within 1,000 feet of each other before zooming back into formation and preparing to do it again.

India Removes Head Of DRDO

01/15/2015

In a surprise move, India has removed the head of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Avinash Chander, "to pave way for younger generation to head the nodal agency." The Appointments Committee of the federal Cabinet approved the termination of Chander’s contract effective Jan. 31, 15 months ahead of schedule.

Canadians step up airstrikes in Iraq

01/14/2015

Canadian fighter jets flying over Iraq have stepped up the pace of their attacks on Islamic State extremists, dropping bombs for five straight days. Details are sometimes vague about what was hit but since combat operations started in late October, CF-18 fighters have dropped munitions 22 times and eight of those missions have happened since New Year’s Day.

Russia should start serial production of the T-50 PAK-FA air superiority fighter jet this year

01/14/2015

The Russian T-50 PAK-FA appears to be optimized for the air-superiority role like the F-22 more so than the multirole, strike-optimized F-35. Like the Raptor, the PAK-FA is being designed to fly high and fast to impart the maximum amount of launch energy to its arsenal of long-range air-to-air missiles—which would greatly increase the range of those missiles.

India may reconsider $20 billion French Rafale jet deal in favor of Russia

01/14/2015

India wants France to stick to the original terms of its deal to buy Rafale fighter jets, or it might call it off. If the manufacturers fail to comply, India may opt for the Russian designed Su-30 currently being produced domestically. France’s Dassault Aviation still has a chance to ink the huge $20 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract to deliver 126 Rafale fighter jets to the Indian Air Force if the company complies with the contractor’s original demands.

Charles de Gaulle to sail for Gulf, possible participation in Islamic State air strikes

01/14/2015

The French Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is deploying with its battlegroup to the Gulf, and is understood to be preparing to contribute to coalition air strikes against Islamic State. Sailing on 13 January, the carrier battlegroup - which includes a nuclear-powered attack submarine - will head from Toulon through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf on Operation 'Arromanches'. The deployment is scheduled to last until May at the earliest.

Russia and India agree preliminary design for FGFA fighter

01/14/2015

Russian and Indian officials have agreed the preliminary design for the Sukhoi/Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Russian state media reported on 10 January. Design of the export variant of the Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA combat aircraft has now been completed, the Sputnik news agency quoted Andrey Marshankin, the regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company, as saying.

Rafale - Then And Now

01/14/2015

Flight testing isn't what it used to be. Usually, a comment like that would be a throwback to the days of The Right Stuff and fighters that went supersonic on their maiden flights, but even in the 1980s - as our report on the start of flight tests with the Dassault Rafale A shows - things moved faster, literally.

Russia to Merge Air, Space Forces in 2015: Defense Ministry

01/14/2015

Russia will create an Air-Space Force from the merger of its Air Force and Space Forces in 2015, the country's Armed Forces General Staff chief, Valery Gerasimov, said Tuesday. “A new type of armed forces will be created in 2015, the Air-Space Forces, by combining two already existing types of military armed forces: the Air Force and Space Forces,” Gerasimov said.

The Foreign Policy Essay: Why China Will Become a Global Military Power

01/12/2015

For over a decade, academics, policymakers, and government officials have been engaged in a relentless debate about Chinese military capabilities and intentions. To some, China is likely an expansionist country akin to Germany before WWI. Others argue that China’s assertive behavior in its regional offshore island disputes is simply a manifestation of the Chinese Communist Party’s focus on domestic stability, which precludes any broader global ambitions.

UK Bolsters Falkland Defenses to Counter Argentine Air Ambitions

01/12/2015

British military capability planners are eyeing a major improvement to ground-based air defenses in the Falkland Islands amid continuing signs that Argentina is looking to update its Air Force with modern strike aircraft. Argentina and the UK fought a short but bloody war over the British territory in 1982. The dispute received new life recently by Argentinean President Cristina Kirchener's launching a diplomatic war of words in an effort to eject the British.

Japan wrestles with wartime legacy as it starts selling weapons

01/12/2015

Seventy years after the end of World War II, talk about any kind of military expansion remains highly sensitive here in Japan. Just consider the position of Akifumi Arai, president of the Tamagawa Trading Company, a relatively small Nagano-based business that supplies sensors and gyroscopes used to guide torpedoes and missiles for Japan's self-defense forces.

Rafale deal hits rough weather

01/12/2015

India plans to take a final call, one way or the other, on the gigantic $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France and Germany in April.

Swedish Forces Admit Second Submarine Hunt Near Stockholm: Reports

01/12/2015

A second, this time secret submarine hunt was launched in the Stockholm archipelago when a "very credible" informant reported seeing a possible conning tower a week after Sweden called off the initial search operation, the Swedish Armed Forces said Sunday. “We consider the informant to be very credible. We had ships and ground units nearby, so we were able to quickly respond to that observation.

North Korea Offers to Suspend Nuclear Tests if U.S. Suspends Military Drills

01/11/2015

North Korea said on Saturday it was willing to suspend nuclear tests if the United States agreed to call off annual military drills held jointly with South Korea, but Washington rejected the proposal as a veiled threat.

Dassault Insists on Latest Rafale Version for India, Doubles the Price

01/11/2015

Dassault has offered the latest version of the Rafale fighter, the F3R for nearly double the price of the F3 version it originally bid with in the Indian fighter aircraft competition. The company is reportedy insisting that India take the latest version as the French company is upgrading aircraft in the French Air Force to the F3R version and all future aircraft manufactured will be of the latest version.

Japan wrestles with wartime legacy as it starts selling weapons

01/11/2015

Seventy years after the end of World War II, talk about any kind of military expansion remains highly sensitive here in Japan. Just consider the position of Akifumi Arai, president of the Tamagawa Trading Company, a relatively small Nagano-based business that supplies sensors and gyroscopes used to guide torpedoes and missiles for Japan’s self-defense forces.

Light Combat Aircraft Tejas-PV1 equipped with new generation electronic warfare suite

01/11/2015

An advanced electronic warfare (EW) suite developed by the DRDO was successfully tested onboard the country's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas-PV1 today. "After obtaining due flight clearances and certification, the first flight sortie of LCA PV1 with the EW equipment operational took place today. The equipment was noted to be detecting radar signals operating in and around the flight path," a Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) release said here.

Russia, India Complete Draft Project for Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft

01/11/2015

The regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company reported Saturday that Russia and India have completed the creation of the export version of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.

U.S. air strikes destroy U.S. battle tanks stolen by ISIL from Iraq

01/10/2015

The United States has conducted thousands of sorties in an effort to destroy its combat platforms stolen by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Officials said the U.S. Air Force conducted thousands of missions against ISIL. They said the air strikes damaged or destroyed 3,222 targets since August 2014.

Military establishes new Pacific task force

01/10/2015

Military officials held a ceremony yesterday at U.S. Naval Base Guam in Santa Rita to establish a new Navy task force as part of a rebalance of forces in the Asia-Pacific region. "In the past few years, it's been a priority to rebalance forces as we wind down from Afghanistan and Iraq and move into the Pacific region," said Joint Region Marianas Public Information Officer Lt. Tim Gorman.

Russia is modernizing Soviet era airborne combat laser program to match US and China combat lasers

01/10/2015

Russia is also developing combat laser weapons alongside with the US said army general Yury Baluevsky, former Chief of the Russian General Staff. The US is field testing various combat 50-150 KW combat lasers on ships, trucks and fighter jets. Last year, China indicated that their combat lasers were shooting down drones. The Chinese laser defense system is able to shoot down various small aircraft within a two-kilometer radius and can do so in five seconds after locating its target.

Advice to student F-18 pilots: Bomb the right target

01/10/2015

Minutes after returning from a flight over the Avon Park Air Force Range, where they participated in laser-guided weapons practice, Navy Lts. Kevin Loughmiller and Nick Adams stood on the soggy flightline at MacDill Air Force Base recalling “a mindblowing” experience from a few days earlier.

Air Force losing more drone pilots than it trains

01/10/2015

The Air Force expects to lose more remotely piloted aircraft pilots to attrition than it trains this fiscal year, Air Combat Command spokesman Benjamin Newell said Friday. The active-duty Air Force already has a shortfall of RPA pilots, in part because more RPA pilots are joining Air National Guard units, an Air Combat Command official told reporters Thursday.

Army Nearing Decision On Who Will Protect Helicopters Against Heat-Seeking Missiles

01/10/2015

The biggest threat to U.S. military helicopters flying in combat zones today is heat-seeking missiles. The compact, shoulder-fired missiles are gradually becoming available to virtually every militant group that threatens U.S. overseas interests, and the latest versions are equipped with seekers that can readily distinguish between real targets and simple countermeasures such as flares.