Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

IAF to extend technical life of Kiran trainer planes

08/06/2014

Due to “inordinate delay” in intermediate jet trainer (IJT) programme of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the Indian Air Force (IAF) has initiated action to look for alternatives and extend the technical life of the Kiran trainer aircraft, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

PAF to buy affordable yet best combat aircraft

08/06/2014

Philippine News Agency – With two South Korean F/A-50 “Fighting Eagle” jet aircraft expected to arrive and be in commission by 2015, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) announced that it will soon form an assessment team that will sift through the technical specifications of the various fighter aircraft available and decide which one is the best and affordable for the country.

ISIS advance takes Iraqi Kurds by surprise

08/05/2014

Kurdish military commanders and observers have been left stunned by an offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in northern Iraq over the weekend which has seen the group seize control of a number of areas from Kurdish forces. Reports over the weekend said ISIS fighters had captured a number of towns in northern Iraq, and came close to seizing Iraq’s largest dam.

Ukraine’s army positioning to move on rebels in Donetsk

08/05/2014

The Ukrainian military on Monday appeared to be readying a long-awaited major assault on the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, warning civilians to leave as troops tightened their ring around the city amid heavy fighting. Extra evacuation corridors were set up for cars bearing white flags, said Andriy Lysenko, a military spokesman. The Donetsk city government posted the corridor routes on its Web page.

Ukrainian Mig-29 Fulcrum evacuated from Crimea, back to operational status

08/05/2014

When Russian forces invaded Crimea Ukrainian Air Force aircraft deployed near Sevastopol were dismantled, loaded on trucks and relocated to the mainland Ukraine. But 7 healthy MiG-29, MiG-29UB two seater Fulcrums and 3 L-39 stored there remained on the Crimean repair plant.

Need for Speed: Pilot Recalls Record-Setting Supersonic Flight

08/05/2014

On a September day in 1974, Capt. Harold "Buck" Adams set the world speed record in the U.S. military's SR-71 Blackbird aircraft. At the controls of the twin-engine supersonic plane, Adams flew from London to Los Angeles in a blistering 3 hours, 47 minutes and 39 seconds.

Our Aircraft Carriers Are Not Sitting Ducks

08/05/2014

The U.S. Navy is greatly endangered by the global proliferation of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles. Some analysts, like Dennis Gormley, Andrew Erickson, and Jingdong Yuan at the National Defense University, say U.S. aircraft carriers in the western Pacific are sitting ducks for communist China’s missiles, especially their CM-400AKG Mach 5.5 Wrecker cruise missile and their DF-21 ballistic missile, dubbed “the carrier killer.” They are wrong.

ANALYSIS: India's air force modernisation challenge

08/05/2014

The modernisation of the Indian air force is massive in scale and hugely expensive, but should deliver capability that will put the service at the forefront of any future conflict. At the beginning of this decade New Delhi embarked on a modernisation of the Indian air force on an unprecedented scale. The process is under way as part of the long-term integrated perspective plan, which spans a period of 15 years from 2012.

Sukhoi to sign another contract with India on FGFA

08/05/2014

Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer plans to sign another contract with India in the framework of the joint project for the construction of a fifth generation multipurpose combat jet, Alexander Klementyev, a Sukhoi deputy director general told Itar-Tass. “We hope the contract [for experimental design works] will be signed soon,” he said.

The Cold War is back: Russian, US and British combat jets are once again engaging in games of “chicken” in the skies

08/05/2014

The Cold War brinkmanship between Russia, NATO and the United States is back with military aircraft once again playing their deadly game of “chicken” in the skies. The latest incident at the weekend — involving a US “electronic intelligence” surveillance jet flying in what the US insists was international airspace over the Baltic Sea — is just one of an apparently escalating series of probe, counter-probe and mid-sky standoff. Such aerial bravado has been rare since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Lockheed Martin Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb Achieves Objectives in Marine Corps Training Exercises

08/05/2014

Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb (DMLGB) was successfully employed during recent U.S. Marine Corps weapons and tactics instructor training. During the training exercises at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, AV-8B Harrier aircrews released 19 GBU-12F/B DMLGB weapons. The weapons were released in tactically representative engagements, and used various targeting modes against fixed targets.

Ukraine crisis: Russia boosts air force near border

08/04/2014

Russia's defence ministry has announced it is holding military exercises this week involving 100 aircraft in the west of the country near the Ukraine border. A spokesman said fighter jets, helicopters and the latest bombers would take part in the operation. Every time Russia announces a new round of military exercises it is seen as a show of strength in the conflict with Ukraine, a BBC correspondent says.

Islamic State builds forces, targets for Baghdad bomb attacks

08/04/2014

The al Qaeda offshoot terrorizing Iraq is in the process of consolidating territorial gains and increasing the target list in Baghdad, a U.S. official and defense analysts say. But at this point, the Islamic State army of Sunni extremists does not have the capacity to take Baghdad, where a huge Shiite population and stiffer Iraqi forces defend the capital.

U.S. Continues Testing Surveillance Plane in Singapore Exercise

08/04/2014

A U.S. surveillance plane is joining Singapore’s military in exercises as the navy tests the aircraft’s capabilities after the Pentagon found it ineffective at some tasks. The P-8A Poseidon, a Boeing Co. 737-800 modified with radar and sensors, is conducting anti-submarine and surface warfare sorties as part of the CARAT Singapore maneuvers that end Aug. 8, according to mission commander Lieutenant Commander Colette Lazenka.

US: Spy plane flew over Swedish airspace to avoid Russian military

08/04/2014

The U.S. military acknowledged Sunday that an Air Force spy plane slipped into Swedish airspace without permission last month to avoid a possible encounter with a Russian aircraft. The statement by Navy Capt. Gregory Hicks confirms widespread published reports alleging the July 18 incident.

Airstrike Near U.N. School Kills 10, Gaza Officials Say

08/04/2014

As Israel began to redeploy significant numbers of its troops away from populated areas of Gaza on Sunday, an Israeli Air Force missile struck near the entrance of a United Nations school sheltering displaced Gazans in Rafah, killing 10 people and wounding 35 others. Even as Israel moved unilaterally to reduce military contact with Palestinians on the ground in Gaza, while waiting to see how the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad would respond, it continued to fight around Rafah,

ran's elite Guards fighting in Iraq to push back Islamic State

08/04/2014

In early July, hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of Kamal Shirkhani in Lavasan, a small town northeast of the Iranian capital Tehran. The crowd carried the coffin past posters which showed Shirkhani in the green uniform of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and identified him as a colonel.

Companies Show Move Toward Increased R&D Funding

08/04/2014

Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall last summer challenged defense firms to spend more of their money on internal research-and-development (IRAD) projects. Kendall’s comments sparked widespread debate and divided the defense industry into two camps: one that believed internal investments would spur future government business, and another that believed it could all be a colossal waste of money and time without detailed guidance of where to invest.

Islamic State Seizes Control Over Iraq’s Largest Dam

08/04/2014

The Islamic State militants have seized control of Iraq’s biggest dam, an oilfield and three more towns in the country’s north on Sunday, Reuters has reported, citing witnesses. Concerns grow that the terrorists could use the dam to flood major Iraqi cities or deprive them of water. The militants on Sunday seized the towns of Wana and Sinjar.

Donetsk Militia Says Ukrainian Su-25 Fighter Plane Shot Down

08/04/2014

Independence supporters in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said Sunday they can confirm having downed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter plane. “It [plane] is lying between the towns of Yenakiyevo and Makiivka [Donetsk Region],” a spokesman for militia told RIA Novosti, adding that a search for the pilot is ongoing. In this area in eastern Ukraine, an intensive fighting between militia and security troops is underway. Ukraine’s military is using aircraft against independence supporters.

Gaza Strip School Housing Refugees Bombed, Leaving 20 Dead

08/03/2014

Gaza Strip refugees who found housing in a school were bombed, leaving 20 dead and more than 100 wounded. The artillery shells struck the school around 5 a.m., and most of the dead were young men gathering for prayer at dawn. A classroom where women and children were sleeping was also struck. A refugee recounts that people were torn to pieces, and witnesses recall Gaza youth picking up body parts in preparation for burial.

Syria villagers drive out Islamic State jihadists

08/03/2014

Four days of fighting left nine IS fighters, three tribesmen and five civilians dead, UK-based Syrian opposition activists say. The jihadists' actions in the Ashara area had bred resentment locally, another activist based in Turkey said. In neighbouring Iraq, IS fighters fought Kurdish forces at Zumar. IS is dedicated to building an Islamist state in Syria and Iraq.

These Reports Signal The Beginning Of The End For ISIS In Iraq

08/03/2014

Residents of Iraq's second-largest city, which has been under the control of ISIS since early June, have reportedly started clashing with militants, Tim Arango reports for The New York Times. They're chafing under the brutal rule of an organization too extreme even for Al Qaeda. But ISIS's assault on the region's cultural heritage has been particular cause for local alienation from the group.

K-MAX cargo drone home from Afghanistan, headed to storage

08/03/2014

The Marines’ unmanned cargo chopper is headed for storage now that its time in combat is over. The K-MAX, a 6,000-pound aircraft built by Lockheed Martin, has returned home, the company announced July 24. Since 2011, the Marines used two of the drone helicopters to move gear and supplies around the combat zone in Afghanistan, carrying more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo and conducting thousands of delivery missions, according to a Lockheed release.

Royal Jordanian ‘suspends Baghdad flights’ over security fears

08/03/2014

Jordan’s national carrier on Saturday suspended flights to the Iraqi capital for security reasons, an airline official said. “Royal Jordanian suspended its flights to Baghdad today because of the security situation,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. The airline was closely monitoring developments in Iraq and may extend the suspension of flights, added the source.