Military Aviation News Archive

Harper to outline details of combat mission Friday

10/03/2014

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will provide details on Friday of an expanded military contribution to battle militants in northern Iraq. A spokesman for Harper says the prime minister will also talk about ongoing humanitarian support.

The Bleeding Edge Of Combat Software

10/03/2014

The U.S. Air Force and Navy agree on one thing; AI (artificial intelligence) is going to be a major element in future combat aircraft avionics (aircraft electronics). This is in large part due to the fact that AI has been a growing factor in avionics for decades in the form of software controlled landingsystems for commercial aircraft, system monitoring and a growing number of other uses. All this began with the software developed for instrument landings (where the pilot relied on instruments, w

RAF Tornado aircraft in 60 seconds

10/03/2014

David Cameron has announced that II Squadron, comprising 16 Tornados, will no longer be disbanded in March as it will help with air strikes in Iraq. The squadron was due to be broken down in March as Britain withdraws from operations in Afghanistan and replaced by a new squadron of advanced Typhoon fighters.

U.S. Sending A-10 Plane to Combat While Trying to Kill It

10/03/2014

Another batch of Cold War-vintage A-10 “Warthogs” is on its way to Afghanistan, even though the Pentagon says it no longer needs the plane. About a dozen of the snout-nosed “flying guns” will arrive in Afghanistan early this month as part of a six-month deployment for the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard, according to U.S. Central Command.

Russian Mi-17 Helicopter ‘Game Changer’ for Afghan Forces: US General

10/03/2014

Russian Mi-17 helicopter has been a "game changer" in the movement of Afghan forces and supplies in the fight against Taliban insurgents, the United States Army general in charge of American operations and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said.

Islamic State: Turkey MPs back Iraq-Syria deployment

10/02/2014

The resolution - passed with a three-quarters majority - will also permit foreign troops to use Turkish territory for the operation. Turkey has been under pressure to play a more active role in the US-led fight. The government dropped its reluctance to combat IS militants directly after the release of 46 hostages last month. The Turkish citizens had been held by IS in northern Iraq.

Royal Australian Air Force planes complete first flights over Iraq as part of international coalition against 'apocalyptic death cult'

10/02/2014

Defence said an RAAF surveillance aircraft and refuelling plane supported a coalition flight and returned to Australia's base in the Middle East. Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced yesterday that Australian planes would be supporting the US-led coalition against IS targets in Iraq. He told Parliament no decision had been taken yet to commit Australian combat aircraft to the fight against the "apocalyptic death cult".

Fighter plane Tejas undergoes safety audit

10/02/2014

As the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) prepares to go into series production, a safety audit of the entire fighter jet development programme is underway to ensure reliability of the new combatant. Sources said EADS, now known as Airbus Group, has been hired as the consultant for the safety audit. The move comes before IAF pilots start training on the aircraft. The training of the pilots has been delayed as the flight manuals of the aircraft were still being written.

Canadian fighter jets intercept Russian military aircraft in Baltics

10/02/2014

Canadian CF18 Hornet fighter jets armed with Sidewinder missiles intercepted a Russian air force aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the RCAF revealed Monday.The drama took place Sept. 11 in international air space, Lt.-Col. David Pletz said in an interview. The Canadian warplanes flew beside a Russian An26, looked into the cockpit and then followed the potential intruder for several minutes, said Pletz, the commander of the detachment of four CF18s based in Lithuania and head of the CATF.

Boeing Delivers First New-Build MH-47G Special Operations Chinook

10/02/2014

Boeing completed initial flight and delivery of the first, new-build MH-47G configured Chinook helicopter to the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command Sept. 29, 2014 – a full month ahead of schedule.

Iraq Gets Third Batch of Russian Mi-35M Helicopters: Arms Think Tank

10/02/2014

Iraq's Ministry of Defense has received the third batch of Russian Mi-35M helicopters, as part of a contract signed in 2012, an official representative of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) told RIA Novosti Wednesday. "The exact number of helicopters in the third batch is not mentioned, but, most likely, Baghdad received four Mi-35Ms, like in the first two batches," the CAWAT representative said.

The A-10s of Selfridge, and others, could win the war on ISIS

09/28/2014

The implications are thick with irony – the A-10 aircraft that the Air Force brass have tried for years to kill, to send to the military boneyard, may be just the weapon to help defeat the ISIS terror group without exposing large numbers of U.S. ground troops to combat. On the battlefield, the A-10s, such as those stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, pave the way for ground troops by obliterating enemy military vehicles and inflicting mass casualties.

65th Aggressor Squadron falls prey to Nellis budget cuts

09/28/2014

Nellis Air Force Base closed a chapter Friday in the storied history of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, but the legacy of the pilots who flew its F-15 Eagles continues in the Middle East, where their U.S. and coalition sparring partners are bombing Islamic State targets. “You have prepared the world’s greatest Air Force to fly, fight and win,” Col. Gary E. Rose, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group, told the 65th’s pilots and maintenance personnel at the deactivation ceremony.

Australia could launch strikes on Iraq within days

09/28/2014

AUSTRALIA could launch air strikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq within days, with the government expected to sign off on Australia’s deployment this week. As Tony Abbott flew into Canberra after attending security talks at the United Nations in Iraq, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said a decision on Australia’s military involvement in Iraq would be made in a matter of days.

U.S., Defending Kurds in Syria, Expands Airstrikes Against Islamic State Militants

09/28/2014

The Pentagon said on Saturday that it had conducted its first strikes against Islamic State targets in a besieged Kurdish area of Syria along the Turkish border, destroying two armored vehicles in an area that has been the subject of a weeklong onslaught by the Islamic State. The action around Kobani, where at least 150,000 refugees have crossed into Turkey, appeared to signify the opening of a new front for American airstrikes in Syria.

RAF planes fly first combat missions over Iraq

09/28/2014

Armed British Tornado jets have completed their first mission over Iraq since MPs authorised air strikes on Islamic State targets. The two Tornados have returned to RAF Akrotiri seven hours after taking off on Saturday morning. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the jets carried out reconnaissance operations, gathering intelligence which would be "invaluable" but did not conduct air strikes.

Military aircraft crashes in Kazakhstan

09/27/2014

Sukhoi Su-27 military airplane has crashed in Almaty Oblast killing both of its pilots in the evening on Tuesday this week, Tengrinews reports. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, communication with the aircraft was lost on 23 September at about 20:42 local time during training flights. The crew, Leutenant Colonel Yerlan Nauanov and Leutenant Colonel Denis Gorbunov, are now known to be dead.

Turkey’s strategic reliability as a NATO ally has become questionable at best

09/27/2014

Increasing Turkish divergence from U.S., European Union, and Western strategic objectives has given urgency to Western military planning as to how to compensate for the probable lack of access in the near future to Turkish bases, air space, and surface transit options.

Islamic State fight could breathe new life into the A-10

09/27/2014

Months after staving off a trip to the boneyard, the embattled A-10 Thunderbolt II is headed to the Middle East where it could be used to fight Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. An Indiana Air National Guard unit that flies the Cold War-era gunships, known as Warthogs, is planning to deploy about 300 airmen and an unknown number of its aircraft to the U.S. Central Command region early next month, says a Sept. 17 news release from the unit.

More Israel F-35s on order soon, US says

09/27/2014

The Pentagon's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II programme office is close to signing a deal with Israel for more stealthy combat aircraft, the programme manager said on 25 September. "We are in discussion with another one of our partners, Israel, to increase their buy and those discussions are going very, very well," said US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan.

Meet the Women Fighting the Islamic State

09/27/2014

The history of women serving in armed conflicts probably goes back hundreds of years - if not longer. In the United States, during the American Revolution, women served on the battlefield as nurses, water bearers, laundresses and saboteurs. Ever since then, their roles in the military have continued to expand in numbers, skills and responsibilities.

British Eurofighter aircraft to arrive in India next week

09/27/2014

Six Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and two mid-air refuelling aircraft of the Britsih Air Force will be here next week on their way to Singapore and Malaysia to take part in an exercise. "Six Royal Air Force Typhoons and two A330 Voyager tanker transport aircraft will be staging through Delhi, between September 30 and October 2, en route to long-planned drills in Singapore and Malaysia called Exercise BERSAMA LIMA 2014," a British High Commission release said.

Who is in the anti-Islamic State coalition and what they are contributing?

09/27/2014

The US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) now counts 62 countries among its members, according to list published by the State Department on Thursday. Twenty of the partners, which include two non-states in the form of the European Union and Arab League, are providing air support or other military equipment. Others, broken down below, are supplying logistical or humanitarian aid.

US Launches New Anti-IS Airstrikes in Syria

09/27/2014

The United States have carried out another series of airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) positions on the Syrian territory, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Saturday, citing an anonymous US defense official. "I can confirm US air operations are ongoing in Syria," the official was quoted by the agency as saying.

Foreign Secretary: UK Ready to Extend Airstrikes Against IS Into Syria

09/27/2014

The United Kingdom is prepared to make the case to extend airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) beyond Iraq into Syria, if the circumstances call for it, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Friday. Speaking in the Today program on BBC Radio 4, Hammond said that, if the circumstances are right, and if Britain feels that it can contribute to the goal of defeating the IS and its poisonous ideology, it will make the case for extending airstrikes into Syria.