Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

China’s Air Force Modernization: ‘Unprecedented in History’

06/06/2014

The People Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) ongoing modernization is taking place at a rate unprecedented in history, the U.S. Department of Defense said on Thursday. “The PLAAF is pursuing modernization on a scale unprecedented in its history and is rapidly closing the gap with Western air forces across a broad spectrum of capabilities including aircraft, command and control (C2), jammers, electronic warfare (EW), and data links.”

F-35 Lightning II aircraft demonstrates air-to-air combat capability

06/06/2014

In the Point Mugu Sea Test Range airspace off the Central California coast, an F-35B demonstrated the jet's air-to-air combat capability when it sequentially engaged two aerial targets with two AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles during a Weapon Delivery Accuracy mission.

MiG 29K naval combat aircraft suffers damage on INS Vikramaditya

06/06/2014

A MiG 29K naval combat aircraft has suffered damage while landing on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya during operations in Arabian Sea off the coast of Goa, a Navy official said today. The Russian-origin aircraft had taken off from the Naval airbase INS Hansa in Goa yesterday and was landing on the aircraft when it carried out a 'hard-landing' causing damage to the nose-wheel undercarriage, the official said.

Ukraine returns combat aircraft to service

06/06/2014

Ukraine has returned 68 military aircraft to frontline service since the beginning of 2014, in response to the ongoing crisis in east Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated on 2 June.

Iraq Accepts First Lockheed Martin F-16 Aircraft

06/06/2014

Lockheed Martin delivered the first of 36 F-16 Block 52 aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force during a ceremony today at its Fort Worth facility. Lockheed Martin is producing the F-16s under a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. The F-16s are being built in a configuration tailored to meet the specific requirements of the Iraqi Air Force, and the contract includes mission equipment and a support package provided by Lockheed Martin and other U.S. and international contractors.

Another C-130J Super Hercules Heads to Little Rock AFB

06/06/2014

The 61st Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, received another Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules airlifter today. A Little Rock AFB crew ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., facility here.

Everything You Need To Know About NATO

06/05/2014

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a Cold War cornerstone of transatlantic security, has significantly recast its role in the past twenty years. Founded in 1949 as a bulwark against Soviet aggression, NATO has evolved to confront global threats ranging from piracy off the Horn of Africa to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Military Jet Crashes Into Residential Area in Imperial County

06/05/2014

Authorities were investigating the crash of a military plane into a neighborhood in Imperial County near the Arizona border on Wednesday afternoon. The crash occurred around 4:20 p.m. at Cross Road and Fonzie Avenue in Imperial (map), California Highway Patrol officials told KSWB. Facebook photos taken by a resident showed at least one home on fire.

Dell data center solution assists U.S. Navy to power X-47BUnmanned Combat Air System

06/05/2014

Dell has supplied its data center solutions to the U.S. Navy’s partner Northrop Grumman to power the X-47BUnmanned Combat Air System. The X-47BUnmanned Combat Air System has recently received the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy for achievement in aeronautics.

Air attack in Ukraine stuns Luhansk

06/05/2014

Bloodstained pavement, a woman's compact, a pair of shattered spectacles, a single shoe covered in dust were among the debris left by a devastating series of explosions that hit the headquarters of the pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on Monday.

Scramble? Quiet! We are sleeping

06/05/2014

Recent incursions of civil and military aircraft into neighboring airspace has highlighted the state of alert maintained by different nations, and raised once again the validity of the huge investments countries are spending in acquiring military capabilities, if they do not provide the means to maintain these capabilities at reasonable state of readiness.

None of Ukrainian army's aircraft shot down near Sloviansk

06/05/2014

Ukrainian security forces have said that none of their aircraft was shot down over the town of Sloviansk of Donetsk region on June 3 morning. "Claims that a helicopter, an airplane or anything else was shot down have not been confirmed," Vladyslav Selezniov, "anti-terrorist operation" spokesman, told Interfax on June morning.

Swedish air force gives Bardsea firm Oxley a lift

06/05/2014

The Swedish equivalent of the Royal Air Force has sent a Furness firm soaring with a new lights order for its supersonic fighter jets. Oxley Developments Ltd, with offices in Bard-sea, near Ulverston, and Barrow, will supply its combat aircraft with gunfire-proof landing and taxi lights. The deal also involves partners Saab, the Swedish defence giant which makes the ‘Gripen’ aircraft.

India's Air Force Modernization Worries Rival Pakistan

06/04/2014

India’s ambitious military modernization program to upgrade its Cold War-era vehicles and equipment is viewed as saber rattling by its neighbor and perpetual adversary Pakistan, a scholar of the region said June 3. Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, program coordinator of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, said India is modernizing its air force with newer, more-capable jets but not downsizing its ranks, according to its newly purchased capabilities.

Slavyansk: Self-defense claim to have shot down Su-25 army plane

06/04/2014

Slavyansk self-defense activists claim they have shot down a Sukhoi Su-25 combat airplane. “About half an hour ago we managed to bring down the Ukrainian army’s Su-25. One helicopter, several tanks and one armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian army were destroyed as well,” Slavyansk people’s mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, told Interfax.

Source: Army of Serbia does not have a single fighter jet in working condition

06/04/2014

A source of Beta agency, close to the Air Force command confirmed the report of Serbian daily Politika that the Army of Serbia does not have a single fighter in working condition because batteries for MiG-21 and MiG-29 were not purchased from Russia.

Building Up Indian Defense

06/04/2014

Narendra Modi’s election as India’s new prime minister has buoyed hopes for a brighter future across the country, including its beleaguered defense sector. The good news is Modi has pledged more money for defense and reforms to improve how that money is spent. The bad news is that the task ahead will be a monumental challenge.

Russian Military Jet Intercepted U.S. Plane Near Japan

06/04/2014

A Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane off Russia’s east coast near Japan in April, flying unusually close, as tensions rose over the Ukraine crisis. The U.S. RC-135U Combat Sent electronic intelligence plane made by Boeing Co. was conducting a routine mission over the Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan on April 23 when the Russian fighter flew within about 100 feet (30 meters) of its nose, Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said today.

Last U.S. personnel leaving Transit Center at Manas

06/04/2014

The last U.S. personnel are expected to leave the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, by the end of the week, a spokesman for Air Forces Central Command said Tuesday. The Air Force held symbolic ceremonies Tuesday transferring back the facilities to the Krygyz government, said Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis. The transfer and inactivation become official after the expiration of the current lease next month and departure of military personnel in a few days.

Ukrainian forces seek to take the offensive with assault on rebel bastion of Slovyansk

06/04/2014

After several days of setbacks, Ukrainian security forces sought to take the offensive Tuesday from pro-Russian insurgents in the country’s southeast, launching a major assault on a rebel stronghold. The attack on separatist positions in the city of Slovyansk began at dawn and continued throughout the day, with officials and residents reporting fierce clashes.

Why The Osprey Is The Future Of The US Military

06/04/2014

In late 2001, I lifted off the USS Bataan in a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter toward Afghanistan as part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. I was one of the first pilots to push into Afghanistan after 9/11. The trip to the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar meant an arduous flight through the mountains, pushing the 35-year-old “Battlephrog” close to its operating limits and range. We had to make a fuel stop at a remote base in Pakistan followed by a long flight across open desert.

ANALYSIS: Czech champion Aero Vodochody's structural change

06/03/2014

Aero Vodochody Aerospace has been through two revolutions of its own since the political changes that swept eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The mid-1990s saw a Boeing strategic investment in the Czech aerospace champion – one of the first by a Western manufacturer in the former Communist bloc. There was also a joint venture with Taiwan’s AIDC to develop a passenger turboprop. They promised a new era for the then state-run company, but both were ill-fated.

Ukrainian military "disperse" gunmen who attacked Luhansk border squadron

06/03/2014

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service said earlier that border guards had repelled several attacks on the control post of the Luhansk border squadron in the early hours of Monday morning; some of the border guards were injured. A fighter aircraft was sent to the border guards' rescue, but initially failed to conduct precision firing in the town.

Navy to test X-47B alongside F/A-18s on the Roosevelt in August

06/03/2014

Navy’s X-47B autonomous drone will head back to an aircraft carrier in August, this time for testing alongside F/A-18s in a working flight deck environment. The experimental aircraft will perform takeoffs and landings aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, according to the Navy Times. There are plans to practice nighttime taxiing aboard the carrier, and some night flights may be performed.

Aircraft orders and deliveries up

06/03/2014

Commercial aircraft deliveries rose by 6% and orders by 10% in April 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to aerospace trade organisation ADS Group. It reported that production rates also grew, with year-to-date deliveries increasing 7%.