Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

EXCLUSIVE: RAF jets prepare to strike IS terrorists in two weeks

09/07/2014

s many as 12 RAF Tornado GR4s jets could join eight members of the US-led “core coalition” for strategic bombing raids over Northern Iraq. Details of the countdown to combat emerged as Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond renewed Britain’s pledge to tackle the “pernicious threat” of IS at source, telling the Sunday Express that, while there would be no British boots on the ground, “we have ruled nothing else out at this stage”.

Ten questions Nato faces in its fight to combat Isis

09/07/2014

David Cameron used the runup to the Nato summit in south Wales to focus attention on the Islamic State (Isis) threat. The prime minister left the clear impression that Britain was moving closer to launching air strikes in northern Iraq in concert with the Americans, who are already conducting limited attacks.

ISR in Syria is a mission for the Air Force

09/07/2014

The disclosure that the U.S. military is flying surveillance sorties over Syria to collect information on the Islamic State and identify potential targets means that one service’s fleet is busy in the region, experts say. The mission calls for a fleet that can best thwart Syria’s advanced air defense systems, the threat of which led military leaders to argue against enforcement of a no-fly zone over the country last year.

Truce in Ukraine Spawns Hope, Doubt in West

09/07/2014

A tentative peace deal for Ukraine reached Friday raised hopes for a resolution of the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, even as the U.S. and Europe beefed up sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to leave the battlefield. After a day of continued fighting, Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country said they had stopped their military operations when the cease-fire went into effect at 6 p.m. local time.

Iran's supreme leader approves working with US military to strike at Isis in challenge to the west

09/06/2014

The mission to crush the Islamic State out of existence leaves the US and the UK facing the unpalatable prospect of having to make common cause with foes in Iran and Syria. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has approved contacts with US military officials to help defeat jihadists, it was claimed last night. Ayatollah Khamenei has authorised his top commander to co-ordinate military operations with the US, Iraqi and Kurdish forces, sources in Tehran told the BBC.

RAF Tornados sent to West Africa

09/06/2014

RAF Panavia Tornado GR.4 combat aircraft have deployed to West Africa to join multinational operations against the radical Islamist group Boko Haram. The aircraft from 2 (Army Co-operation) Squadron left RAF Marham in Norfolk during the last week of August and have since begun operating over Nigeria from the French airbase at N'Djamena in Chad, according to defence sources in London.

US to convert older Mavericks into laser-guided missiles as strikes on IS continue

09/06/2014

The US Navy (USN) is to convert its stockpile of TV-guided AGM-65A/B Maverick air-to-surface missiles to the laser-guided AGM-65E2 configuration under a USD49.5 million contract awarded to Raytheon on 3 September. The conversion of 500 missiles will run through to the end of January 2017. Although not mentioned in the Department of Defense's (DoD's) notification, the contract most likely arises from the current USN air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.

Islamic State: Where key countries stand

09/06/2014

The US has openly expressed alarm over IS, saying the group was "beyond anything" it has previously seen. The US began launching air strikes on IS in northern Iraq on 9 August - at the request of the Iraqi government - but has said it will take a "broad international coalition" to defeat it.

The 5 Most Powerful Chinese Weapons of War in the Sky

09/06/2014

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force is no longer a peasant air force of ancient fighters incapable of projecting power beyond its borders. During the Cold War, there was no need for such an expensive force—or to fight a major war outside of China’s borders. Now, as China’s economy has expanded at a staggering rate, China’s interests have grown beyond its borders, indeed even beyond its traditional area of interest in East Asia to a truly global scope.

What is hypoxia - and why does it affect pilots?

09/06/2014

When a small plane began to drift off course early Friday, the North American Aerospace Defence Command anticipated a scenario it had seen before. “F-15 fighter jets are currently escorting an unresponsive small aircraft over the Atlantic, possible hypoxia,” NORAD tweeted Friday afternoon. “Hypoxia” - the medical term for oxygen deprivation - has been the culprit in several air crashes of the past.

Britain will have a second aircraft carrier

09/06/2014

David Cameron has reversed plans to mothball one of two new £3?billion aircraft carriers. The Prime Minister said that the 65,000-ton HMS Prince of Wales will be brought into service instead of being kept as a reserve vessel. Defence cuts had meant that only one of the ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth, would enter active service.

Prepared to tackle threats from al-Qaeda: IAF chief Arup Raha

09/06/2014

There is a threat from terror groups such as al Qaeda but the country is ready to tackle it, IAF chief Arup Raha said on Friday in the light of reports that the international terrorist outfit has established a new branch to wage jihad in India. "There is a threat from such agencies but the nation is prepared for it," Raha said when asked about the al-Qaeda threat regarding the group starting operations in India.

Russian Naval Aviation Forces to Receive 10 MiG-29K Fighter Jets by End of 2014

09/06/2014

The Russian Navy is to receive 10 new deck-based MiG-29K (Fulcrum-D) jet fighters by the end of 2014, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said Friday. “The Naval Aviation Forces will receive 10 MiG-29K aircraft by the end of 2014,” Chikov said in the Black Sea Port city of Gelendzhik.

Russia’s strategic nuclear forces to conduct major military exercises with more than 4,000 soldiers

09/05/2014

The forces responsible for Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal will conduct major exercises this month involving more than 4,000 soldiers, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of rising tension with NATO over the Ukraine crisis.

Engine cracks pose fresh delay risk for F-35B

09/05/2014

The US Marine Corps faces a new delay for Lockheed Martin F-35B entry into service if operating limitations caused by a recent engine problem cannot be limited by the end of September. “I need the rest of the test airplanes back to full envelope by the end of this month, otherwise we will start seeing delays in future milestones that we haven’t pushed up against yet,” says Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, chief of the Pentagon’s F-35 joint program office (JPO).

Stavridis: Russian Mistrals Could Work Well As NATO Rapid Reaction Force Asset

09/05/2014

The suspended delivery of two French-built amphibious warships to the Russian Navy could give NATO an opportunity to buy a ready-made platform for its planned rapid reaction force, retired Adm. James G. Stavridis — former NATO Supreme Allied Commander — told USNI News on Thursday.

A Shanghaied Exercise

09/05/2014

Dubbed “Peace Mission 2014,” the “antiterrorism” military exercise hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place last month in northern China amid growing tensions within the regional alliance. Five nations — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — sent a total of 7,000 soldiers to the six-day maneuvers that ended Aug. 29, including 5,000 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops and 1,000 Russian soldiers.

NATO summit: What's on the agenda

09/05/2014

NATO leaders began their summit by discussing what feels like yesterday's war. With eastern Ukraine burning and Islamic extremists rampaging across Syria and northern Iraq, western military allies turned their attention Thursday to the final withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan, slated for the end of the year.

Obama and Cameron pledge to combat ISIS

09/05/2014

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed their commitment to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Thursday, as a major NATO conference got underway near the Welsh city of Newport. In a joint op-ed published in London newspaper The Times, the two leaders said the NATO alliance remained relevant in the face of crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.

NATO exercises begin in Czech Republic

09/05/2014

Ample Strike 2014, a large aviation exercise of forward air controllers, pilots and other soldiers from 12 NATO member countries, started today, spokeswoman Magdalena Dvoráková, from the Czech General Staff, told the Czech News Agency. Four Slovak L-39 Albatros planes, two Slovak Mi-17 helicopters and one Lithuanian L-39 aircraft landed at the airfields in Prague-Kbely and Cáslav, central Bohemia.

Boeing Laser Demonstrator Destroys Targets through Wind and Fog

09/05/2014

Boeing and the U.S. Army have proven the capabilities of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) in maritime conditions, successfully targeting a variety of aerial targets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. “Under windy, rainy and foggy weather conditions in Florida, these engagements were the most challenging to date with a 10-kilowatt laser on HEL MD,” said Dave DeYoung, Boeing Directed Energy Systems director.

Poroshenko Vows to Do Everything Possible for Ceasefire in Ukraine

09/05/2014

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he would do everything possible to establish a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. “We will do everything possible in order to establish a ceasefire. Soldiers lose their lives, innocent civilians die. I, as President, will do everything possible,” Poroshenko said during press conference at the NATO summit in Wales.

Plenty of planning goes into Selfridge's Open House and Air Show

09/04/2014

Any military operation takes time to plan but an open house and air show can take years. Just ask Maj. Todd Wasilewski. He’s the air operations director for the Open House and Air Show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Sept. 6 and 7. Wasilewski works in the standardization and evaluation office, where his primary duty is that of a KC-135 Stratotanker instructor pilot. He’s been at Selfridge for 13 years, five of them flying the C-130.

What does Army need to confront jihadist threat?

09/04/2014

“Russia proposed to give MiG-29s to Lebanon two to three years ago,” Jaber said. “I said we don’t need it, because it will be over Syria or Israel or the sea within seconds and will either be shot down or be useless. So I proposed that they change it to helicopters.”

Hundreds more U.S. troops headed to Iraq

09/04/2014

About 350 new U.S. troops will begin arriving in Iraq on Wednesday, bringing the total American military footprint there above 1,000 personnel for the first time in nearly three years. President Obama approved the additional troops — mostly soldiers and Marines — late Tuesday night. They will arrive via U.S. military aircraft and be assigned primarily to diplomatic security duties around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, military officials said.