Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

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.

Spanish pilot killed in Eurofighter crash

06/10/2014

The pilot of a Spanish air force Eurofighter was killed when his combat aircraft crashed at Morón air base near Seville on 9 June. Spain’s defence ministry named the deceased pilot as 30 year-old Capt Fernando Lluna Carrascosa, who it said had accumulated more than 600 flight hours’ experience on the Eurofighter. The cause of the accident – which happened as the aircraft was approaching the base to land – has not yet been determined, it says.

The Jaguar Revival

06/10/2014

Since 2001 India has been working on upgrading its Jaguar ground attack aircraft. India originally acquired Jaguars from Britain in the 1980s. The 11 ton Jaguar is a single seat jet armed with two 30mm cannon and up to 4.5 tons of bombs and missiles. While capable of supersonic speed (1,500 kilometers an hour) most of the time it moves at a little over half that speed.

RPA community launches 65th combat air patrol

06/10/2014

The Remotely Piloted Aircraft enterprise reached new heights as the community pulled together to launch the 65th combat air patrol, or CAP, here on May 28. Reaching 65 patrols by fiscal year 2013 was an initiative put in place by then former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Dec. 23, 2009. The constant growth of patrols, from 33 in 2008 to 65 in 2014, is just one example of the untapped capabilities of the RPA platform and provides insight into where the future of the program can go.

Ace Combat Infinity PS3 review

06/10/2014

The free to play market has always been filled with games like Farmville, Candy Crush, and the rest of the annoying games that most people play on Facebook. In the recent years console game makers have realized that some of their titles actually work with this model in mind. That includes the recently released Ace Combat: Infinity for the Playstation 3.

F-35 jets too risky for military, report contends

06/10/2014

A new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives argues that the controversial F-35 fighter jets, which would replace the air force’s aging CF-18 fleet, are too dangerous to be used by the Canadian military. The report, titled “One Dead Pilot,” was released on Monday. It suggests that the single-engine F-35 poses too many risks, and could fail over the ocean or the remote Arctic.

Eurofighter Studying Missiles To Give Typhoon Maritime Attack Capability

06/10/2014

Eurofighter is looking at giving the Typhoon a maritime attack capability and is investigating at least three missiles to meet potential requirements for export, according to the executive leading Airbus Defence and Space combat aircraft sales effort. At least two of Typhoon’s current export targets are requesting a maritime attack capability.

F-35 JSF fighter flies in formation with Royal Air Force’s Typhoon

06/10/2014

A Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF) aircraft has successfully flown in formation with two UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons over the ranges at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California, US. The flight represents the first time that the two multi-role combat aircraft have flown together, and was carried out as part of the F-35's interoperability testing.