Military Aviation News Archive
06/21/2014
Anti-aircraft defense in Kamchatka will be reinforced with new S-400 Triumf systems, the Ministry of Defense said Friday. “They acquired new military hardware there – air defense missile system S-400, which in the near future will be delivered to the anti-aircraft division in northeast Russia,” Pacific Fleet spokesman Roman Martov said.
Read More...
06/21/2014
Paratroopers and coastal troops taking part in a large scale exercise in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad successfully “eliminated” a group of militants, according to the Russian Baltic Fleet’s press office. “In the exercise’s scenario, intelligence was received about an illegal military group’s presence in one of the districts of Kaliningrad Region. A motorized infantry regiment was alerted,” said the statement.
Read More...
06/20/2014
Iraq has asked the United States to carry out air strikes on Sunni jihadists, who attacked the country's main oil refinery and seized more territory in the north. The appeal came as fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were pressing a week-long offensive that has brought them close to the capital, and as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledging to face down "terrorism."
Read More...
06/20/2014
President Barack Obama said he’s sending as many as 300 U.S. military advisers to assist the Iraqi army battle an insurgency and is prepared to take additional “targeted” action if necessary. The advisers will work with the Iraqi army to set up joint operations centers to coordinate intelligence and planning with the Iraqis without engaging in the fighting, he said.
Read More...
06/20/2014
Latin America's armed forces are increasingly working together to ensure peace in the region and promote unity, Ecuadoran Defense Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said Thursday. In an interview with Xinhua, Espinosa noted the region's various military corps are interconnected, and coordinate their work and constantly exchange information.
Read More...
06/20/2014
An Air Force general defended plans to replace the long-range U.S. bomber fleet, amid questions on the project’s necessity, the Washington Times reports. “We need to actually have an unemotional debate about what’s going on and how we need to modernize, and how we need to protect America from its only existential threat,” Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak said in comments reported on Wednesday. Harencak, the Air Force assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, spoke week
Read More...
06/20/2014
This week several countries met in Rome to support the Lebanese armed forces. This came not a moment too soon, at a time when the civil war in Syria as well as domestic security threats in Lebanon have strained the capabilities of the military institution. The institution’s newfound focus on counterterrorism, border control, and internal security has imposed a considerable financial and logistical burden on Lebanon.
Read More...
06/20/2014
A village assembly in Gunma Prefecture on Thursday approved future Japan-U.S. joint exercises in its municipality involving MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corps. The resolution passed by the assembly of Shinto, a village hosting the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force's Somagahara training range, said the municipality will accept joint exercises between Japan and the United States involving the tilt-rotor aircraft within the range.
Read More...
06/20/2014
Iraq is negotiating with Prague about the purchase of Czech Russian-made Mi-24 helicopters, Defense Minister Martin Stropnický (ANO) told journalists today, adding that Iraq is interested in buying seven Mi-24s immediately and a further 40 in the future. Furthermore, the Czech-Iraqi negotiations about the Czech sale of redundant subsonic fighters L-159 are under way, but the current crisis has complicated these talks, Stropnický said.
Read More...
06/20/2014
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems a GBP5 million (USD8.5 million) study contract to evaluate integrating the MBDA Brimstone missile system onto the Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft. The contract, which was announced on 19 June, is geared not just at equipping the Typhoon with the Brimstone air-to-surface missile by 2018, but with exploring a common launcher approach which could also be used for other multiple weapons stores such as SPEAR 3.
Read More...
06/20/2014
Members of Marine Attack Squadron 542 and various other squadrons with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing continue to work closely with field service representatives from Boeing in an attempt to arm the Marines with a larger set of skills and a wider knowledge base. The mission of 2nd MAW is to conduct air operations in offensive air support, anti-air warfare, assault support, aerial reconnaissance, electronic warfare and control of aircraft and missiles.
Read More...
.jpg)
06/20/2014
Saab has carried out the first test flight of its new ESTL self-protection system onboard a Gripen multi-role combat aircraft at an undisclosed location. ESTL is an advanced missile approach warning system (MAW) designed to safeguard any type of fixed-wing aircraft against existing and future radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) threats.
Read More...
06/19/2014
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders believe he does not need authorization from Congress for some steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq, the Senate's top Republican and Capitol Hill aides said after the president briefed senior lawmakers Wednesday.
Read More...
06/19/2014
The flightline is filled with aircrew and C-130 Hercules engines are starting up for another Afghan air force casualty evacuation mission. Within two years, the Afghan air force has made significant improvements to their casualty evacuation capabilities, or CASEVAC, as they continue to take the lead and ownership of day-to-day operations. The aircrew is now working hand-in-hand with medical personnel to accomplish the mission.
Read More...
06/19/2014
New Zealand on Tuesday released its Defence Capability Plan (DCP), which calls for increasing the defense force’s “proficiency at joint operations and growing its combat, combat support and combat service support capabilities,” said Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman. The DCP is the second such document since the 2010 Defence White Paper, and is not merely a list of projects, Coleman said.
Read More...
06/19/2014
The U.S. Air Force is planning to request proposals from industry to finally provide needed communications connectivity between fifth- and fourth-generation fighters. The service has long projected a need for so-called "5th to 4th" capability. This need is made even more urgent as the timeline for fielding the stealthy, fifth-generation F-35 has stretched out due to technical challenges in development and funding limitations at Air Force headquarters.
Read More...
06/19/2014
RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft yesterday intercepted and shadowed a group of Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea after they came close to Latvian airspace. The sizeable force included four Russian Air Force SU-27 ‘Flanker’ fighter aircraft, a Tupolev Tu22 ‘Backfire’ bomber, an early warning aircraft and a transport plane.
Read More...
06/19/2014
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the country’s sole military aircraft manufacturer, is set to unveil a Rs. 6,000-crore modernisation programme with a focus on manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and combat purposes, the company said on Tuesday. The modernisation plan spreads out through 2020; HAL will use Rs. 1,200 crore during the current year (2014-15) alone, its Chairman, R.K. Tyagi, told The Hindu.
Read More...
06/19/2014
A full-size model of the F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter stands brazenly amongst the historic combat aircraft on the main display floor of the Royal Air Force museum at Colindale, North London. It is an incongruous sight. What is the JSF, still in development and with no operational record, doing on parade amongst the great aircraft that fought in two world wars and many subsequent conflicts?
Read More...
06/19/2014
An article by Ajai Shukla seems to be promoting co-development of Tejas Mark II with Saab, noting that the manufacturer is skilled at making advanced combat aircraft which are simple to maintain and low in cost, but in my opinion this is a bad idea and India should not do anything of the sort. Shukla seems to recommend scrapping the Rafale purchase.
Read More...
06/19/2014
Russia plans to supply Pakistan with Mi-35 combat helicopters to fight drug trafficking, head of the Russian delegation at the international defense and security exhibition Eurosatory 2014 Igor Sevastyanov said Wednesday. “We are currently holding consultations. We are talking about Mi-35 helicopters, we plan to supply them at the request of the Pakistani anti-drug trafficking agency,” Sevastyanov said.
Read More...
06/19/2014
Orders from abroad for S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft weapons systems are being processed, Igor Sevastyanov, the head of the Russian delegation to the Eurosatory 2014 international military exhibition, told journalists Wednesday. “There are not so many states ready to buy this system. We have a number of requests, and the federal agency is considering them very carefully,” said Sevastyanov, without specifying any further details.
Read More...
06/18/2014
As Islamic militants continue their murderous advance across Iraq, they have a new target in their sights: the city of Baquba, less than 40 miles north of Baghdad. Gunbattles erupted in the city, only a 45-minute drive from the capital, on Tuesday as fighters and Iraqi government forces clashed.
Civilians are fleeing violence there and elsewhere in Iraq even as the United States bolsters its manpower in the region while it mulls what action to take.
Read More...
06/18/2014
“There is huge potential to export missiles made in India. Several countries have evinced interest, but we need a policy clearance from the Central Government,” Avinash Chander, Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation, has said.
Read More...
.jpg)
06/18/2014
The Indian Navy is carrying out feasibility studies and tests to scout for alternative air defence systems for its largest warship, the INS Vikramaditya, that is currently vulnerable to air attacks due to an inordinate delay in the Indo-Israel protection system that was to be installed two years ago.
Read More...