Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Trainers Scramble to Ready Afghan Air Force

06/13/2014

For Air Commodore David Cooper, time is running out. The British Royal Air Force officer has the unenviable task of making the tiny Afghan air force self-sustaining by the end of the year. “Because we’re unsure about what’s going to happen after 2014 and we can make no assumptions, we have to put as much as we can into this year,” said Cooper, director of air operations for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

USAF jets scrambled TWICE as nuclear-capable Russian bombers go on practise run off Alaska... then fly within 50 miles of Californian coast

06/13/2014

Fighter jets had to be scrambled twice after Russian bombers practised off the coast of Alaska and then came within 50 miles of California, it emerged today. The North American Aerospace Defense Command confirmed U.S. air defense systems were triggered twice by nuclear-capable Tu-95 Bear H aircraft last week. A spokesman said incursions began on Monday at around 4.30pm Pacific time when radar detected four bombers approaching the U.S. air defense zone near the far western Aleutian Islands.

Pilatus begins PC-21 aircraft deliveries to Royal Saudi Air Force

06/13/2014

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) will soon take delivery of the PC-21 expanded envelope trainer aircraft under contract from Pilatus Aircraft. Carrying the registration numbers 905, 906 and 907, the first three aircraft departed the company's facility in Stans, Switzerland, on 02 June, reported Flightglobal.

China denounces Japan protest over military jets' close brush

06/13/2014

China said on Thursday that Japan's accusations of Chinese fighter jets flying "abnormally close" to Japanese military aircraft over the East China Sea were aimed at deceiving the international community. Japan protested after Chinese warplanes flew "abnormally close" to Japanese military aircraft over the East China Sea on Wednesday.

Lockheed Martin Applies Wind Measurement Technology For More Precise Cargo Airdrops To U.S. Ground Forces

06/13/2014

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to adapt its WindTracer® wind measurement system to help C-130 and C-17 aircrews make safer, faster and more accurate airdrops of essential supplies to U.S. ground forces at remote locations. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will design and build a prototype Precision Air Drop unit for testing. As part of the demonstration, the prototype unit will be airdropped to the test site and used to measure winds.

B-2 Bombers Deployed to Europe in 'Message to Putin'

06/12/2014

Two U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers are being deployed to Europe for the first time, reports the International Business Times (IBT). The advanced aircraft are scheduled for a “short term deployment” at Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in England — just three hours' flight from Russia. The B-2s are the most sophisticated warplanes ever employed in combat by the U.S. They have been used against targets in Europe – during the Kosovo crisis – but have never been stationed there.

US Pledges to Help Iraq Repel Militants

06/12/2014

With security in Iraq quickly deteriorating, the United States on Wednesday pledged "any appropriate assistance" to help the Iraqi government fend off a rapid military advance by Islamist militants. Militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) hours earlier overran the city of Tikrit and closed in on Iraq's biggest oil refinery in the town of Beiji, a day after seizing Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

Russia Tilts Towards Pakistan

06/12/2014

In a far-reaching decision for Russia, India as well as the broader South Asian strategic landscape, Russia has decided to lift an embargo on supplying weapons and military hardware to Pakistan. Sergey Chemezov, head of Russian state-run technologies corporation Rostec, has suggested that Moscow is negotiating the delivery of several Mi-25 helicopter gunships to Islamabad.

AF test pilot school applications due this month

06/12/2014

The 2014 USAF Test Pilot School selection board will convene here Aug. 5-8 to consider candidates for July 2015 and January 2016 classes, Air Force Personnel Center officials said. Applications must reach Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command Air, Space and Information Operations by June 23, 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The Newest Concern for the F-35 Fighter Jet: Canada's Birds

06/12/2014

The troubled F-35 aircraft has already been questioned for its exorbitant price tag and called a “turkey” by one plane expert. Now it's being criticized for its vulnerability to bird strikes—at least according to one defence professor at the University of British Columbia.

Russian Bombers Fly Within 50 Miles of California Coast

06/12/2014

Four Russian strategic bombers triggered U.S. air defense systems while conducting practice bombing runs near Alaska this week, with two of the Tu-95 Bear H aircraft coming within 50 miles of the California coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) confirmed Wednesday.

Lockheed Martin Modernizes Air Operations Capabilities For U.S. Marine Corps

06/12/2014

The system that allows the U.S. Marines to coordinate flying operations for all air assets has been modernized by Lockheed Martin. The Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS) within the U.S. Marine Corps Tactical Air Command Center was upgraded with the Marine Corps Air Mission Planner application to provide the Marines with a modernized mission planning application to better plan and execute aviation operations.

Equal Troops Deployed in Russian, NATO Military Exercises

06/12/2014

Russia deployed a number of troops in the military exercise in Kaliningrad Region comparable to the number of NATO drill participants in the Baltic region, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported Wednesday. “The forces and equipment that Russia’s Ministry of Defense involved in Kaliningrad Region drills is comparable to the number of soldiers, weapons and equipment deployed by NATO member countries in their border exercises,” the ministry’s press release reads.

T-50 Fighter Jet Fire Near Moscow Not to Affect Test Run

06/12/2014

An accident with an advanced Russian T-50 fifth-generation fighter jet, which briefly caught on fire while landing near Moscow, will not affect the schedule of planes’ test runs, Sukhoi company said Tuesday. One of the T-50's engines failed during landing near Moscow on Tuesday, and there was a minor fire on aircraft’s hull. No casualties were reported and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Twenty SU-27 Fighter Jets to Be Based at Crimea’s Belbek Airbase

06/12/2014

Twenty SU-27 fighter jets are to be relocated to Belbek airbase in Crimea by the end of 2014, a source at the Russian Ministry of Defense told RIA Novosti Tuesday. “By the end of the year about twenty SU-27 fighter jets will be based at Belbek airbase serving the Russian air defense unit,” said the source.

Emirati woman who reached for the skies ...

06/11/2014

Mariam Al Mansouri was a teenager when she set her sights on becoming a pilot for the Armed Forces. But there was one little hurdle she had to wait several years to overcome – no women were allowed to join up. She bided her time by spending several years working for General Command before becoming the first woman to join the airforce when the academy finally opened its doors to female recruits.

French Mirage Fighter Jet Crashes in Niger

06/11/2014

A French Mirage 2000D fighter jet used to patrol the skies over Mali crashed in neighboring Niger due to a technical glitch, the army said Tuesday. The two crew members ejected and survived uninjured. The Mirage was flying back on Monday evening from a mission in Mali, where the French army has been fighting jihadist groups, and crashed half-way between Gao in Mali’s restive north and the Niger capital Niamey, where France has a military base.

ANALYSIS: Northrop, Lockheed vie to connect F-22 to airborne network

06/11/2014

Lockheed Martin has packed the F-22 with sophisticated tactical intelligence systems, but – in a throwback to a pre-networked era – no means of transmitting data to other aircraft. The need to preserve the F-22’s stealth signature has trumped all previous attempts to solve the problem. A decade ago, the US Air Force rejected proposals to integrate the non-stealthy Rockwell Collins tactical targeting network technology (TTNT) on the Raptor.

Hammer time: B-2, B-52 aircrews evaluate combat capability during ACC evaluation

06/11/2014

Several Air Force Global Strike Command B-52H Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirits recently participated in an Air Combat Command evaluation involving the use of live cruise missiles and precision guided munitions. "The Air-to-Ground Weapon System Evaluation Program, also known as 'Combat Hammer,' allows ACC to confirm the accuracy and capability of our conventional weapons from end to end while integrating with other assets in a realistic combat environment," said Lt. Col. Richard Armstrong.

Why China military base in West PH Sea is a 'game-changer'

06/11/2014

Former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez believes the completion of a Chinese military installation near Mabini Reef inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) could be a game-changer not just for the Philippines but the whole Asia-Pacific region. Speaking to ANC’s Headstart, Golez said China, as the world’s second largest economy, can afford to construct an artificial island near Fiery Cross Reef complete with a 5-square-kilometer military base.

Five U.S. Troops Killed by Friendly Fire in Afghanistan

06/11/2014

Five U.S. troops were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, local and American officials said, in one of the deadliest of such episodes for U.S. forces in nearly 13 years of combat here. An aide to the governor of southern Zabul province said Tuesday that five coalition troops, their Afghan interpreter and one Afghan National Army soldier were killed mistakenly by a coalition aircraft in the Gaza area of Arghandab District of Zabul province on Monday.

FAA OKs commercial drone flights over land

06/11/2014

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial drone flights over land, the latest effort by the agency to show it is loosening restrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft. Drone maker AeroVironment of Monrovia, California, and BP energy corporation have been given permission to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the agency said. The first flight took place on Sunday.

The $1 trillion F-35 tries to be all things, but succeeds at few, say critics. But is Australia’s new weapon now too big to fail?

06/11/2014

AUSTRALIA has committed its biggest defence outlay ever on an unfinished combat jet critics insist can’t fight, can’t run and can’t hide. Is the F-35 a flop? Angst has been boiling about the F-35 Lightning II (otherwise known as the Joint Strike Fighter) since its inception. Now, five years overdue and six years away from its revised delivery date, that angst has exploded into furore.

Airmen participate in joint exercises in Poland, Baltic nations

06/11/2014

Airmen are participating in four joint combat training exercises underway in Poland and the Baltic states — one week after President Obama called for Congress to approve a $1 billion plan to boost a U.S. troops’ rotational presence and further reassure Eastern European partners of “America’s unshakeable commitment” to its NATO allies.

Russian Advanced Prototype Fighter Jet Erupts into Flames on Landing

06/11/2014

An advanced prototype of Russia's fifth-generation Sukhoi T-50 fighter aircraft caught on fire attempting to land at an airfield outside Moscow on Tuesday, in a blow to one of Russia's prestige defense projects, Sukhoi's parent company, United Aircraft Corporation, said in a press release. No one was injured in the accident, which saw smoke and flame billow out of the front of the engine and caused visible damage to the exterior of the aircraft.