Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Gripen Abides

11/13/2014

Sweden recently announced another export customer for its JAS 39E Gripen jet fighter. This time it was Brazil, which ordered 36 aircraft. This is the largest export order so far. Most of the other five export customers received only 14 aircraft, and often on lease, not purchase. Brazil is buying the Gripens for $150 million each (including spares, training and support). The Brazil sale might still be cancelled, but that appears unlikely.

Modi Policy Step Opens India Military Maintenance Market

11/13/2014

A deadly Indian naval accident last week underscored the nation’s need for the upkeep of military hardware, a requirement that’s seen stoking opportunities for private companies following an easing of defense rules. A little-publicized change in June scrapped a rule that forced private companies to obtain permits before seeking military maintenance work.

Russian bomber patrols to reach Gulf of Mexico

11/13/2014

Russia's long-range bombers will conduct regular patrol missions from the Arctic Ocean to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, the military said Wednesday, a show of muscle reflecting tensions with the West over Ukraine. A statement from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu came as NATO's chief commander accused Moscow of sending new troops and tanks into Ukraine — a claim quickly rejected by Russia.

The Pentagon Wants to Build Massive Flying Motherships for Drones

11/13/2014

The Pentagon's most famous mad scientists have started asking around to see if anyone has any bright ideas about how to launch and recover drones from other aircraft in flight. The recent announcement by DARPA — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — has resulted in a little cascade of nerdgasms shivering across the internet, particularly by those who are just a little too into The Avengers because of the movie's ginormous flying-ship-helicopter-base-carrier thing.

National Guard plans low-altitude F-15 flyover

11/13/2014

A group of F-15 fighter jets will be flying over eastern and southeastern Massachusetts on Thursday as part of a planned training and media mission, officials said. The 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard will fly five of its F-15 Eagle fighter jets from its Westfield base to Hanscom Air Force Base, where the flyover will begin at about 8:10 a.m., said Lieutenant Colonel James Sahady, spokesman for the Massachusetts National Guard.

Canadian military aircraft have conducted 62 sorties over Iraq

11/13/2014

As of 1500 (Eastern Standard Time) 11 November 2014, Canada’s Air Task Force-Iraq conducted 62 sorties, according to the Canadian Forces. CF-188 Hornet fighters conducted 42 sorties, CC-150T Polaris aerial refueller conducted nine sorties, delivering some 418,000 pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft; and CP-140 Aurora aircraft conducted 11 reconnaissance missions.

Pentagon Signs $306Mln Drone Deal: Northrop Grumman Corporation

11/13/2014

The US Department of Defense signed a $306 million contract to continue logistics and sustainment services for the RQ-4 Global Hawk, an advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aircraft, defense contractor Northrop Grumman has said. "The new agreement continues an existing contract for Global Hawk maintenance, inventory management, parts procurement and other tasks necessary to ensure the availability of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system.

Russia Refused S-300 Missiles Sale to Iran Because of Pressure From West

11/13/2014

Russia's decision to refuse supply of S-300 (SA-10 Grumble) surface-to-air missile defense systems to Iran was made under pressure from Western countries, Iranian ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei stated Wednesday. "Attempts of Russia or Iran to enter into relations with the West have always had a bad impact on our Russian-Iranian relations. An example of this is the situation with the supply of the S-300s and the imposition of sanctions," Sanaei said at Russia's Civic Chamber session.

Karabakh Military Helicopter Shot Down by Azerbaijan Forces

11/13/2014

The press service of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense stated that it was “a Mi-24 helicopter belonging to the Republic of Armenia’s armed forces,” and that it “made an attempt to attack Azerbaijani positions.” According to a statement issued by the ministry, the helicopter was shot down in the vicinity of the village of Chemengly in the Agdam district of Azerbaijan, and crashed in territory controlled by Azerbaijani forces. Azerbaijani forces were deployed to secure the crash site.

White House details new $5.6B war request, billions for O&M

11/12/2014

The White House's new $5.6 billion request for additional funding to fight the military advances of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria contains specific provisions that begin to detail the scope of the missions launched so far and how expensive it will be to station US ground troops in Iraq in the coming months.

A Psychologist Reassured the Stealth Fighter Pilots

11/12/2014

Aviator morale plummeted in 2012 when it became evident that the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor stealth fighters were choking their pilots. The stealth fliers’ moods got so bad that the flying branch assigned a psychologist to help with “allaying pilot concerns.” That’s one surprising revelation in Air Combat Command’s official history for 2012, a heavily-redacted copy of which War Is Boring obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Norway Intercepted Russia's Meanest Combat Jet For The First Time

11/12/2014

A pair of Norwegian F-16s intercepted a Russian flight of mighty Su-34 'Fullback' fighter bombers off the coast of Denmark this week. It is said that this was the first time that Norway, which shares a border with Russia and is active in surveying their military drills, has intercepted the greatly enhanced deep strike optimized variant of the Su-27 Flanker.

Fighter jet dogfight – Britain will block Argentina’s purchase of Gripen aircraft

11/12/2014

Argentina’s Defense Minister Agustin Rossi announced on Oct. 21 that his government would purchase 24 Saab Gripen E fighters. So far, so good for Saab. But as my colleague Andrew Chuter at Defense News pointed out, Rossi’s announcement seemed to ignore a likely insurmountable hurdle to the sale: Britain, its longtime foe, has a near veto on the export of the combat jet as a result of the substantial number of UK systems in the jet.

Russian provocations on the rise: Is it a new Cold War?

11/12/2014

The largest submarine hunt in Swedish waters since the end of the Cold War. A near collision between a Russian military plane and a Swedish passenger aircraft carrying 132 people. And the abduction of an Estonian official from the territory of the NATO member, only days after U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Baltic nation.

Video - The military driven Russian aviation industry

11/12/2014

The Russian aviation industry in 2007 was largely concentrated on military aircraft, with 15% civil aircraft for 85% military. With this in mind the state United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) consortium, which incorporates all Russian aircraft manufacturers, set a goal to reverse this ratio by 2025 : that of building two-thirds of civilian aircraft to one third military aircraft.

US Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin Majority Share Of Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Contract

11/12/2014

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a $40.3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for follow-on production of Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) kits. The contract represents the majority share of fiscal year 2014 funding and the eighth award under the five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. Deliveries will begin in June 2015 and will include computer control groups and airfoil groups for GBU-10 and GBU-12 bombs.

NATO Continues Military Pressure on Russia: Defense Official

11/12/2014

NATO is set to continue its military pressure on Russia and has held numerous exercises on Russia's border, a senior Russian Defense Ministry official said Tuesday. "It is evident that our colleagues from NATO are set to continue military pressure on Russia, which… is unlikely to make Europe safer," Sergei Koshelyev, the head of the Defense Ministry's department for international military cooperation, told journalists.

Israeli Woman Joins Kurds in Fight Against Islamic State

11/12/2014

Gill Rosenberg, a Canadian-born 31-year-old woman who had emigrated to Israel, made contact with YPG, the People’s Protection Units in Syrian Kurdistan, via the internet. In 2009 Rosenberg was arrested in a joint Israeli police and FBI operation on suspicion that she had been part of a criminal racket that cheated elderly American citizens out of their money by posing as lottery officials and convincing the unsuspecting seniors to pay for fictitious services, according to the Israeli news.

LCA Tejas completes its maiden flight successfully, ready for production

11/11/2014

The final version of the two-seater trainer jet Tejas (PV-6) made its maiden flight today, in a milestone for India's overall indigenous Light Combat Aircraft programme. The aircraft took to the skies at 13.36 PM and was piloted by Group Captain Vivart Singh along with Group Captain Anoop Kabadwal.

Qatar Seeks Natives As Pilots

11/11/2014

The Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar recently received the first two of 24 Pilatus PC-21 basic flight training aircraft. In 2012 Qatar joined its neighbors (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) by adopting the PC-21. Qatar is in the midst of expanding its combat air force from nine Mirage 2000 fighters to as many as 72 modern jet fighters.

U.S. troops back in Iraq’s Anbar, scene of heaviest combat of 2003-11 war

11/11/2014

The first U.S. troops to enter an active combat zone since President Barack Obama ordered the American military back to Iraq arrived Monday in Anbar, the Iraqi province where Americans suffered their heaviest losses during the 2003-2011 occupation, the Pentagon announced Monday. The force of 50 troops has been tasked with determining how to send more American advisers and trainers to the restive province to prepare Iraqi forces to combat the Islamic State.

With a Stealth Fighter, China Tries to Gain Attention

11/11/2014

Amid the whine of high-performance jet engines at the start of an air show in Zhuhai, the Chinese government is hoping to generate a different sort of buzz: admiration, and perhaps purchases, of its shadowy J-31 stealth fighter, which is expected to make its first public appearance. For almost 20 years, the event, Airshow China, has been a showcase for the country’s homegrown hardware, and a marketplace for those interested in selling to the world’s most populous country.

China’s 5G fighter to fly Russian jet engines

11/11/2014

An exportable Chinese fifth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with gas-turbine jet engines developed and assembled by Russian companies, confirmed the head of Russian delegation at the Airshow China exhibition. The mid-sized advanced J-31 fighter jet developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation got off the ground for the first time on October 31, 2012, and has been in the process of modification ever since.

UK and France Allocate $190 Million to Future Combat Aircraft

11/11/2014

The U.K. Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with the Armaments Procurement Agency of the French Ministry of Defense, has allocated $190 million to the following companies to continue design studies for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS): Dassault Aviation, BAE Systems, Thales, Selex ES and Rolls-Royce Snecma.

Russian Knights Qualify to Perform at Airshow China 2014: Colonel

11/11/2014

The Russian Knights aerobatic team has qualified to perform on Tuesday at Airshow China 2014, Russian Air Force representative, colonel Igor Klimov said. “The Knights carried out a qualifying flight in Zhuhai and examined the region of upcoming flights. The training took 30 minutes; they flew in groups of five, four, and in a pair and also rehearsed individual aerobatics under both normal and adverse weather conditions.