Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Ukraine’s prime minister resigns as coalition falls apart

07/25/2014

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation Thursday, creating new uncertainty in his nation at a crucial moment in its military offensive against pro-Russian rebels in the east. The move was sure to distract Ukrainian politicians even as leaders from around the world push for unfettered access to the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down deep inside rebel-held territory.

Swedes Snub Danish Search for F-35 Alternative

07/25/2014

The Swedish defence export agency FXM announced that the Saab Gripen will not be entered for Denmark’s new fighter competition. Denmark has issued an 800-page “Request for Binding Information” (RBI) on alternatives to the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter; it is one of two international F-35 partners that has not yet committed to the program. The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon are the other contenders in Denmark.

Why Rafale is a Big Mistake

07/25/2014

Why would India buy the Rafale combat aircraft rejected by every other interested country—Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Singapore, and even the cash-rich but not particularly discriminating Saudi Arabia and Morocco? The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius’s one-point agenda when he visited New Delhi was to seal the deal for Rafale, a warplane apparently fitting IAF’s idea of a Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in the service’s unique typology.

“Magic Helmet” for F-35 ready for delivery

07/25/2014

This week, Lockheed Martin officially took delivery of a key part of the F-35 fighter’s combat functionality—the pilot’s helmet. The most expensive and complicated piece of headgear ever constructed, the F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) is one of the multipurpose fighter’s most critical systems, and it's essential to delivering a fully combat-ready version of the fighter to the Marine Corps, the Navy, and the Air Force.

First Two Australian F-35s Roll Out Of Factory

07/25/2014

A ceremony was held today at Lockheed Martin, commemorating the official roll out of the first two F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). “Today, we celebrate a milestone in the U.S.-Australia partnership, a partnership built on strength, friendship, and technological innovation,” said Frank Kendall, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics.

Lockheed Martin’s Unmanned K-MAX Cargo Helicopter Team Returns from Deployment with U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan

07/25/2014

After lifting more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo and conducting thousands of delivery missions for the U.S. Marine Corps, the Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace Corporation [NYSE: KAMN] K-MAX cargo unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has returned to the United States following a nearly three-year deployment in Afghanistan.

Rival F-16 Upgrades Proceed; Iraq Delivery May Not

07/24/2014

Lockheed Martin (LM) and BAE Systems reported progress this month on their rival upgrades for F-16 Fighting Falcons. Two aircraft from each company’s launch customer (Taiwan for LM, South Korea for BAE) are now in rework, ironically just a few miles from each other in Fort Worth, Texas. Meanwhile, the ferry of Iraq’s first two new Block 52 aircraft in September is looking unlikely.

Information Warfare: The More Things Change The More They Remain The Same

07/24/2014

It’s become popular to depict American UAVs as some kind of super weapon and a danger to world peace. Anyone who understands how modern warplanes operate knows this is not true, but the mass media and many politicians who find it useful to follow whatever idea the mass media is behind have created a fictional reality in which UAVs do unspeakable things that are unique in human history.

Exercise Winter Solstice to test SAAF readiness

07/24/2014

Starting on Saturday the SA Air Force (SAAF) will stand up and be counted for operational and combat readiness when Exercise Winter Solstice 1V starts. The two week long exercise will see portions of airspace over Eastern and Northern Cape utilised by jets, helicopters and transport aircraft in partially simulated field training exercise.

Air Force refocuses on training as wars wind down

07/24/2014

After more than a dozen years fighting wars against unsophisticated opponents and technology in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Air Force is refocusing its training on tests ripped from the headlines — surface-to-air missiles, chemical weapons and cyber warfare. The training, according to military analysts and the service's top boss, a former fighter pilot himself, is vital to the service as it faces increasingly sophisticated threats from Eastern Europe to the Pacific.

For Civilian Airliners, Shoulder-Fired Missiles Still a Global Threat

07/24/2014

The horrifying deaths of 298 passengers of a jetliner shot down over Ukraine have focused the world's attention on a previously unrecognized threat: the proliferation of surface-to-air missiles in the hands of rogue, non-state actors. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was brought down by a BUK-17, a high-tech Russian-built missile designed to intercept high-speed, high-altitude combat aircraft.

Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Announce Bids on Danish Fighter Competition; Saab Withdraws

07/24/2014

Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin have confirmed they have submitted bids to replace the Royal Danish Air Force’s aging F-16 combat jet fleet but Saab has withdrawn from the competition. The Danes invited two European and two US bidders to respond to a request for binding information by July 21 to supply between 24 and 30 jets. Only three of the contenders replied with bids.

2 Ukrainian Fighter Jets Shot Down as Fighting Intensifies

07/24/2014

Two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets were shot down on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. The planes were downed in an area of heavy fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, near where a Malaysia Airlines jet was blown out of the sky last week, killing 298 people and drawing international dismay.

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates JAGM Dual-Mode Guidance Section in Second Flight Test

07/24/2014

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently demonstrated its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) dual-mode guidance section during a second internally funded flight test at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the test, the rail-mounted JAGM flew 6.2 kilometers and initially acquired the target using its precision strike, semi-active laser. The dual-mode guidance section then engaged its millimeter wave radar, and the moving target was destroyed.

Military Specialists From Almost 100 Countries to Attend Russia’s Aviadarts

07/24/2014

More than 90 countries are sending their military attaches to Russia’s international air force crew competition Aviadarts, Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief said Wednesday. “The costs [of organizing the competition] are comparable to those of the military training,” Bondarev said, without providing the exact figure.

Joint RMAF-USAF exercise brings Raptors

07/23/2014

The US Air Force’s most advanced fighter aircraft, the F-22 Raptor, saw “action” for the first time in South-East Asia in this year’s biennial Cope Taufan joint exercise with the Royal Malaysian Air Force. More than 40 aircraft were involved in Cope Taufan 2014, which took place from June 9 to 20 (see graphic). It was the biggest such exercise to date and also saw the deployment of a home-grown, purpose-built Command and Control System which proved well up to the complex task.

Everything you need to know about the F-35, Britain's £70m new stealth fighter

07/23/2014

The fully-networked nightmare child of Skynet and a guided missile. More prosaically, it’s the fruit of the USA’s 20-year Joint Strike Fighter programme, designed to replace a multiple older planes in one swoop. This single-seat, single-engine, fixed-wing craft, made by Lockheed Martin, will go into service not only with all three of the US Armed Forces’ major plane-flying forces but also with nine of its allied nations.

India Still Negotiating Dassault Jet Purchase, Defense Minister Says

07/23/2014

ndia is still negotiating a long-delayed purchase of fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation. India initially agreed to the purchase of 126 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault in 2012 but the purchase has been stuck in negotiations which still continue, Defense Minister Arun Jaitley said in a response to a question in the upper house of Parliament Tuesday.

Osprey to make rare EAA Oshkosh appearance

07/23/2014

What's been described as "one of the world's most unique military aircraft," the MV-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor, will return after a four-year hiatus at this year's AirVenture. Although the aircraft appeared at AirVenture 2010, this year will be the first time it will perform its full Level III flight demonstration at the event — one of only nine such air show appearances this year across the country.

“Calamitous” state of Argentine Armed Forces equipment

07/23/2014

For the Air Force conditions are equally discouraging, according to the report. There are only 28 combat aircraft in flying conditions, and the 'newest' are five Mirage, not all of them operational and which will have to be decommissioned quite soon. “If during a parade you see a wing of ten military aircraft, it does not mean the ten are in combat condition” points out Horacio Jaunarena, a former Defense minister.

More than security: Airmen are last line of defense for aircraft, crew

07/23/2014

Landing an aircraft in a low-security environment or transporting potentially hostile personnel are just occupational hazards for combat aircrews. To combat a large variety of threats, the Air Force has fly-away security teams, or FASTs. FAST members are security forces Airmen trained to protect mobility aircraft and travel on planes such as C-17 Globemaster III's and C-130H Hercules here at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Boeing Delivers Upgraded French AWACS Aircraft

07/23/2014

Boeing on July 17 delivered on schedule the first of four upgraded French Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The upgraded aircraft will increase the fleet’s surveillance, communications and battle management capabilities. The Mid-Life Upgrade – the largest set of modifications to AWACS aircraft for France – will provide the crew with more actionable information and better situational awareness and increase mission effectiveness and efficiencies.

Russia Urges End to Military Action in MH17 Crash Area

07/23/2014

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it believed that an end to military hostilities around the crash site of the Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine would prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. “We remain convinced that a stop to military actions in the area around the crashed plane, as well as in eastern Ukraine as a whole, would guarantee that such tragedy would never happen again, thus saving many innocent lives,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Jeppesen Flitedeck Pro EFB features on Ipad enhance situational awareness

07/23/2014

Jeppesen now offers operators an enhanced version of its industry-leading FliteDeck Pro electronic flight bag (EFB) solution for iPad. New iOS 7-compliant features and functionality of FliteDeck Pro will help airlines and other large operators work more efficiently, with improved access to critical flight information and shared data between devices.

Iraq: It Is Happening Again

07/22/2014

ISIL (al Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant) is attracting a specific type or recruit (Islamic fanatics, especially the young, especially teenagers, who are not good for much beyond being suicide bombers) and that is becoming a problem. Many of these recruits are foreigners and foreigners are particularly unpopular in Iraq, especially if they are armed and looking to kill Iraqis.