Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

It’s Air Force Un! North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un gets his own private jet – and officials say leader ‘likes steering aircraft’ despite not being a qualified pilot

05/13/2014

For a man who is said to despise the US President, North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un appears to be showing a touch of hypocrisy as he steps onto a red carpet from his own version of 'Air Force One'. A photo, published in the official North Korean daily newspaper Rodong Sinmun, shows for the first time the luxury Russian IL-62 jetliner that carries Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju on official engagements around the secretive country.

Turkey air force gets military transport aircraft

05/13/2014

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said "Turkey is against war, but we have to show that we are ready for it" during the handover of a military transportation aircraft to the Turkish air force. Gul'scomments came on Monday as the Airbus A400M transportation plane "Atlas" was formally handed over in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Israeli held for selling Iran spare parts for fighter jets

05/13/2014

An Israeli man was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport Monday and is expected to be extradited to the US where he has been charged with selling arms — including spare parts for fighter jets — to Iran. Eli Cohen, 64, was arrested by Israeli forces at the request of the US while attempting to flee the country.

Boeing, Embraer to Open Joint Research Center for Sustainable Aviation Biofuel

05/13/2014

Boeing and Embraer S.A. today announced that they will open a joint research center to advance a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil. Under a memorandum of understanding, the two companies will perform joint biofuel research, as well as fund and coordinate research with Brazilian universities and other institutions.

China sends fighter jets to protect oil rig: Vietnamese official

05/12/2014

Vietnam yesterday accused China of despatching fighter jets to protect an oil rig in contested South China Sea waters. Over the weekend, two groups of Chinese military aircraft flew over Vietnamese ships tasked with preventing the rig from drilling, Vice-Commander and Chief of Staff of Vietnam’s Coast Guard Ngo Ngoc Thu told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, AFP reported.

IAF plan for upgraded Jaguars fails to take off as it gets caught up in design and development delays

05/12/2014

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) plan to add much-needed new teeth with advanced missiles, engines and avionics to its ageing fleet of Jaguar fighters has failed to take off as the programme has got stuck with certain design and development issues. The IAF initiated the process of upgrading the Jaguars in 2009 to bring a fleet of 61 aircraft to DARIN (Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation III) standards.

Should Australia buy armed drones?

05/12/2014

Fairfax defence correspondent David Wroe had what his editors labelled an exclusive in the weekend Sydney Morning Herald: Royal Australian Air Force chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown told Wroe the RAAF is interested in buying armed drones. No disrespect to Wroe, whose background piece on drones in the same day's paper was excellent, but the real exclusive would have been if Brown had said the RAAF was not interested in armed drones.

Two Chinese frigates shadow Blue Ridge near Panatag

05/12/2014

As the territorial row between China and Vietnam continues in the Paracels, two Chinese missile-firing frigates shadowed the USS Blue Ridge, the command and control ship of the United States 7th Fleet, near Panatag Shoal in Zambales on Friday. The two Chinese warships – a guided-missile frigate and a guided-missile destroyer with bow numbers 572 and 170 – kept their distance from the Blue Ridge but their presence heightened the maritime tension in the region.

Southeast Asia Ministers Urge Self-Restraint on Sea Spat

05/12/2014

Southeast Asian nations called for self-restraint on territorial disputes in the South China Sea as tensions escalate over China’s pursuit of its claims to large swaths of the resource-rich region. Leaders called on all parties to “refrain from taking actions that would further escalate tension,” in a statement issued at the end of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting yesterday in Naypyidaw in Myanmar.

SAS flight in Russian spy plane near miss

05/11/2014

According to a Sveriges Television report on Thursday, the incident occurred on March 3rd just 50 kilometres south of the Swedish city of Malmö - home to over 300,000 people. The plane was reportedly a Russian Ilyushin 20m military aircraft used for signals surveillance. The two aircraft are reported to have passed by each other a mere 90 metres apart.

Making The MiG-31 All Better

05/11/2014

Despite problems with recently refurbished MiG-31 fighters Russia is moving forward with yet another round of fixes and improvements. In particular the D30F6 engines will be tweaked and upgraded to make them more powerful, efficient and reliable. This comes in the aftermath of two crashes (in early and late 2013) that involved these engines. In December 2013 Russia grounded all 122 of its MiG-31 fighters after one of them crashed because both of its engines failed.

Sea tensions rising

05/11/2014

SOUTHEAST Asian foreign ministers on the eve of a regional summit viewed with “serious concern” the rising tensions in the South China Sea as the United States Seventh Fleet reported sighting two Chinese frigates at the Panatag Shoal where Beijing fired water cannons at Filipino fishermen last January.

If not the A-10 and U-2, what else can the Air Force cut?

05/11/2014

The Air Force’s plan to retire the A-10 and U-2 fleets has hit major congressional opposition that could ripple across the service and put other aircraft fleets at risk of being eliminated or downsized. The House Armed Services Committe on May 7 passed amendments to the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which, if approved by the full Congress, would leave the service scrambling for other ways to save money, both in fiscal 2015 and in 2016 when sequestration returns.

Jordan Is First Importer Of BAE Rocket System

05/11/2014

The Kingdom of Jordan will become the first international customer of BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets. Jordan signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the system here at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX). In its third year of full-rate production, the APKWS rocket is the only guided 2.75-inch rocket fully qualified by the US Department of Defense that uses semi-active laser guidance technology.

Brazil’s Maritime Patrol Aircraft

05/11/2014

The discovery of major deepwater oil finds off of Brazil’s coast changed its military priorities. The military’s mission has always been influenced by the land’s vastness, but until recently, that meant keeping a careful watch over the Amazon basin. The Marinha do Brazil had its own role policing the wide swathes of ocean around its long coast, but the air force’s construction was oriented toward supporting the army.

Combat vets champion Warthog warplane Pentagon wants to scrap

05/11/2014

Russell Carpenter owes his life to the ugliest warplane in the Pentagon fleet. When about 3,000 U.S. soldiers traveling on a dirt road in Iraq came under fire from behind a ridge in the opening weeks of the 2003 American invasion, the retired Air Force chief master sergeant says he called for air support from the only plane that could fly low and slow enough to tell friend from foe: the A-10.

Military aircraft crashes south of Phoenix

05/10/2014

Authorities say a military jet has crashed on tribal land south of Phoenix, but the pilot was able to eject safely. Television footage shows the charred wreckage of the plane in several pieces in a remote desert area on the Gila River Indian Community.

Azerbaijani air forces stage air defense drills

05/10/2014

Azerbaijani Air Forces have conducted exercises aimed at evaluating the military personnel's ability to perform combat assignments correctly. Air defense drills were held at an 'S- 300 Favorite' anti-aircraft missile systems military unit of Azerbaijani air forces, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said on May 8.

A Flight Aboard "Fat Albert"

05/10/2014

There's nothing quite like flying aboard the U.S. Navy's C-130 Hercules. I know because I was lucky enough to have this incredible opportunity when the Blue Angels and the C-130, affectionately dubbed "Fat Albert," took to the skies for the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show on May 3 & 4. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget. Before I even boarded "Fat Albert," I was amazed by the sheer size of the aircraft.

Apache-UAV teaming combines 'best capabilities of man, machine'

05/10/2014

Apache helicopters, teamed with Gray Eagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles, are a winning combo, according to Col. Thomas von Eschenbach. Apache AH-64E models, teamed with unmanned aerial vehicles, known as UAVs, are now increasingly performing the armed aerial scout missions, once performed by Kiowa helicopters, and, Eschenbach said, they're doing a fantastic job.

Australia looks to drones for its future defence

05/10/2014

About nine o’clock on the morning of November 19, a Hellfire missile shot from a US Predator drone destroyed a Toyota Hilux on a back road of eastern Yemen. The ute was carrying local al-Qaeda leader Abu Habib al-Yemeni. Two Australian men whom security sources say were al-Qaeda foot soldiers happened to be with him.

Nigeria President Pleads for Help From 'Everybody on Earth'

05/10/2014

Nigeria's president said Friday that his government was "pleading with everybody on earth"—from regional and global governments to unspecified "civil society" groups—to help find more than 200 abducted girls and hunt down their kidnappers from the Boko Haram extremist group.

Ukraine: Putin hails Crimea's return as 'historic justice'

05/10/2014

Presiding over a triumphant spectacle of warships and fighter jets, President Vladimir Putin hailed the return of Crimea to Russia as the restoration of "historic justice" before a jubilant, welcoming crowd Friday on the holiday that Russians hold dearest to their hearts. Yet Putin's first trip to the Black Sea peninsula since its annexation in March was strongly criticized by both NATO and Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, which said it trampled on Ukraine's sovereignty and international law.

INS Vikramaditya is operationally deployed with MiG- 29K aircraft: Navy Chief

05/09/2014

India's largest warship - aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, is "operationally deployed" along with its fleet of MiG 29K combat aircraft, Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan said here today. "The navy has inducted aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is now operationally deployed with MiG 29K aircraft embarked and being flown by Indian naval pilots," he told reporters here.

Boeing touts operational QF-16 UAV

05/09/2014

Boeing is working to convert F-16 fighter aircraft into fully-fledged unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for potential use by US armed forces, IHS Jane's was told on 7 May. The company has already converted the first six of 126 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons into optionally piloted QF-16 target drones for the US Air Force (USAF), but is looking to add improved datalinks to enable the QF-16 to fly as high and as far as conventional UAVs.