Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Could Saudi Arabia Be the Next ISIS Conquest?

06/24/2014

ISIS is continuing its blitz-like offensive in Iraq, conquering more and more territory. With its sights set on Baghdad and the Shiite shrine cities, the prospect of the capital falling to the terrorist group is causing international panic. And Iraq’s neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, could be the next trophy in ISIS’ expanding cabinet.

France wins Qatar tram deal, discusses Rafale jets

06/24/2014

French conglomerates Alstom and Vinci signed a 2 billion euro ($2.72 billion) deal with Qatar on Monday to build a tram system in the future Lusail City, while the two countries also discussed a possible defence contract. The deal, which will see the light rail system starting to operate in 2018-20, was signed in front of journalists during a visit to Paris by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Iraq's Air Force

06/24/2014

In all the pontificating on what now should be done (and what should have been done previously) in Iraq, one subject oddly never seems to be on the table. I find this a bit strange, because it really should be a subject worthy of debate -- if only to add to the finger-pointing about what could have been done to avoid the current situation. From hawks to isolationists, though, nobody seems to ever bring up the possibility of Iraqis performing their own airstrikes.

Taking a Flight on a Ilyushin IL-76TD – It’s Awesome

06/24/2014

What’s better than flying on an IL-76MD like I did in North Korea? Flying on an IL-76TD somewhere outside of the most restrictive, hostile-to-photographers country on Earth, obviously. So, you probably want to know what an MD does differently than a TD. Letters and a lack of observer’s post/tail gunner in the rear area under the tail. For a civilian IL-76TD, it is faired over.

Estimated cost of fixes to F-35 fleet declines again

06/24/2014

The projected cost to upgrade F-35 jets built by Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth has declined by about $920 million, or 36 percent, in less than two years, according to the Pentagon’s latest analysis. The estimate for improvements and corrections for planes already built or planned in the first 10 contracts to be awarded through 2016 has dropped to about $1.65 billion from $2.57 billion projected in September 2012, the Pentagon said in an annual assessment to Congress.

Australia reveals interest in F-35B

06/24/2014

Australian defence chiefs have told a hearing of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation committee that Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s coalition government is considering whether to acquire a number of short take-off and vertical landing Lockheed Martin F-35Bs.

Lear Jet crashes after colliding mid-air with Typhoon combat plane over Germany

06/24/2014

A Lear Jet with two people on board has crashed after colliding mid-air with a German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon over Olsberg, in Germany. The Learjet was a target plane operated by the “Gesellschaft für Flugzieldarstellung” (GFD), a civilian company cooperating with the German Air Force for air targeting exercises. The Eurofighter involved in the collision was operating with another aircraft of the same type within a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) training.

Boeing Signs Rotorcraft Maintenance Agreements with Royal Netherlands Air Force, Fokker

06/24/2014

Boeing has signed separate agreements with the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) and Fokker Technologies to explore advanced maintenance opportunities for Dutch rotorcraft and expand efforts to make the Netherlands a regional hub for military and civilian aircraft support services. Boeing and the RNLAF signed a strategic partnership agreement that builds on an existing support contract for Dutch AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters to identify new areas of long-term cooperation.

Drones to Assess Combat Readiness of Russia’s Central Military District

06/24/2014

Drones are to be deployed for a snap check of combat readiness in Russia’s Central Military District, a spokesman for the Central Military District, Colonel Yaroslav Roshchupkin told journalists Monday. “Zastava unmanned aerial vehicles, which perform air control of the advance and alignment of Central Military District forces, will allow us to assess the results of the snap check of combat readiness.

Radar Station in Russia’s Kaliningrad Goes on Experimental Combat Duty

06/24/2014

Russia has put the Kaliningrad early warning radar station on experimental combat duty, the press service of the Federal Agency for Special Construction (Spetsstroy) told RIA Novosti Monday. “The Voronezh-DM missile attack early warning radar station located in Kaliningrad Region has gone on experimental combat duty.

Israeli air strikes target Syria after Golan death

06/23/2014

The military said it had attacked nine targets in response to the killing of a 15-year-old boy in a strike in the occupied Golan Heights on the border between the two countries on Sunday. Two others, including the boy's father, an Israeli defence contractor, were injured when a blast hit their vehicle. Israel called the boy's death the most substantial incident in the Golan since start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

India gears for combat exercises with US, to include Japan

06/23/2014

India is gearing up for the next round of military exercises with the US, including the top-notch "Malabar" naval war games in the Pacific and the intensive "Yudh Abhyas" counter-terror drills in Uttarakhand, in the first such maneuvers after the Modi government came to power last month.

U.S. House approves defense spending bill

06/23/2014

The House approved a $570 billion defense spending proposal on Friday that would save the A-10 aircraft fleet, prohibit another base closure round and reject most of the Pentagon’s planned pay and benefits trims. The vote came after two days of floor amendments and repeated complaints from military leaders that Congress has again failed to help them hold down long-term spending, instead rejecting program cuts to avoid short-term pain.

UK will help US with air strikes on Iraq

06/23/2014

BRITAIN could provide logistical support for US strikes to combat insurgents involved in the deepening crisis in Iraq, Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has said. The Work and Pensions Secretary’s comments yesterday came amid reports of a Cabinet rift over how strong the UK support for any US military action should be. Mr Duncan Smith said “we have got to do what we can” to support the US if president Barack Obama takes action against the extremist militant group Islamic State of Iraq.

In devising a plan in Iraq, U.S. looks to its Yemen model

06/23/2014

As they plan their response to the crisis in Iraq, President Obama and his top aides are hoping to replicate elements of an often-overlooked and relatively successful U.S. military operation in another war-ravaged Middle East nation: Yemen. An impoverished country on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has played host to a powerful and ambitious network of Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda.

Chinese Air Force Seizes The Highways

06/23/2014

China recently held air force training exercises involving the use of designated stretches of highway for emergency airfields for fighters and transports. The first time this was done was in 1989 and so far it is known that ten stretches of highway in Liaoning (adjacent to North Korea), Shandong (facing South Korea across the Yellow Sea) and Fujian (opposite Taiwan) provinces have been designated for such emergency use.

We can export fighter planes, missiles: DRDO chief

06/23/2014

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing on the need for increasing arms exports, DRDO has said India can sell combat aircraft and missiles whose production cost would be “much lower” than some of the weapons sold by countries such as China.

First Russian unmanned combat aircraft to be ready by 2020

06/23/2014

The Russian Air Force is to receive its first unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) into service by 2020. It is expected that state trials or field tests of the new UCAVs may start in 2017. According to Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov, research and development work for this project is now nearly complete. Drone fighters are able to tackle strategic tasks because they are difficult to detect and have better combat sustainability than manned aircraft.

What Happens If US Troops Run Into the Iranian Military in Iraq?

06/21/2014

On the heels of President Obama’s announcement that up to 300 U.S. military advisers will be sent to Iraq to help combat the threat from a Sunni terror group, an awkward question was raised: What happens if the U.S. troops, many of them Special Forces, run into Iranian soldiers who are reportedly already in Iraq in numbers?

A guide to fast-moving events in Iraq

06/21/2014

The crisis in Iraq is increasingly taking on a political tone as calls are growing for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step down. The Shiite leader, who faces criticism that his failure to promote reconciliation among the country's myriad religious sects sparked the widespread Sunni anger that has emboldened the al-Qaida breakaway group that has overtaken large sections of northern territories. Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Ali al-Sistani.

Ukraine crisis forces U.S. to bolster Europe forces

06/21/2014

Only last year, the U.S. European Command was facing some of the deepest cuts of any region in the U.S. military. Now, after Russia's annexation of Crimea, the Pentagon finds itself focusing on the continent in a way not seen in decades. Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama said he would ask Congress for an additional $1 billion to increase Washington's military commitment to the continent.

Industrial goliath set to take flight as hotly awaited F-35 combat jet makes UK debut in three weeks

06/21/2014

For Britain’s aerospace industry and plane-spotters alike the waiting is almost over. In less than three weeks the much-vaunted F-35 combat jet will make its debut in UK skies. The appearance of the Joint Strike Fighter over the Royal International Air Tattoo is set to make the two-day charity air show at RAF Fairford a sell-out event.

Astra Missile Test Fired Successfully From Su-30MKI

06/21/2014

India’s first indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra was test-fired successfully from fighter aircraft Su-30MKI by the Air Force from a naval range off Goa on Friday. Defence sources said the launch conducted at an altitude of 6 km was a control and guidance flight which successfully demonstrated interception of an electronically simulated target at long range.

Another effort to kill the A-10 aircraft at Selfridge fails

06/21/2014

An 11th-hour ambush by a group of House Republicans that would retire the military’s entire A-10 aircraft fleet, including the planes based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, was fought off by U.S. Rep. Candice Miller during an intense Capitol Hill battle over the new defense budget.

JF-17 Developments Indicate Aircraft Is Still On Track

06/21/2014

Contrary to speculation, development of the JF-17 aircraft continues apace with avionics and weapons carriage capability improvements, work ongoing on future variants, and impending establishment of the third squadron. Chief Project Director of the JF-17 program, Air Vice Marshal Javed Ahmed, told Defense News the program was “as per schedule and there are no delays,” saying the current fleet had logged 10,000 hours and flown over 13,500 sorties.