Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Northrop Unveils F-35 Missile Protection System

09/17/2013

Northrop Grumman on Thursday unveiled a new anti-missile laser protection system designed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Washington. The Threat Nullification Defensive Resource — ThNDR for short, to compliment the F-35’s “Lightning” designation — is a progression from Northrop’s directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) family of systems.

Textron Unveils Scorpion Light Attack, Recce Jet

09/17/2013

It takes a gutsy move for a company to pitch a brand new, clean-sheet aircraft to the Pentagon for a set of requirements it has not even said it wants, and to present this idea while defense spending in the U.S. faces massive cuts.

Turkey shoots down Syrian helicopter

09/17/2013

A Turkish fighter jet shot down a Syrian military helicopter on Monday after it entered Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings to leave, an official has said. The helicopter strayed 2km into Turkish airspace, but crashed inside Syria after being hit by missiles fired from the jet, according to Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc.

AF considers scrapping A-10s, KC-10s, F-15Cs, CSAR helos

09/17/2013

Faced with steep budget cuts and the desire to keep existing procurement initiatives on track, the Air Force is considering scrapping its entire fleet of A-10 attack jets and KC-10 tankers, according to multiple military and defense sources. Also on the chopping block are F-15C fighters and a planned $6.8 billion purchase of new combat search-and-rescue helicopters, these sources say.

L-3 wins Iraqi F-16 trainer contract

09/17/2013

L-3 Link Simulation & Training (L-3 Link) announced today that it has been awarded a contract modification to build the Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) two F-16 Block 52 Weapon Tactics Trainers (WTTs), two brief/debrief systems and one mission observation centre.

Shooting down five myths about cruise missiles

09/16/2013

There are not many heroes in the should-we-bomb-Syria debate, but if there is one, it might be the cruise missile. For weeks the news media have discussed the positioning in the Mediterranean of American destroyers and submarines, which carry the Tomahawk cruise missile. And whether arguing pro or con, most of the politicians and military experts have come back to it as the central instrument of U.S. power in this curious crisis.

HELICOPTER PILOT WARY OF NEW DRONES

09/16/2013

Nine hundred hours in the air. That’s the life of a Navy helicopter pilot less than halfway through his career. Lt. Kasey Scheel flies the MH-60S helicopter, a search-and-rescue aircraft that also delivers people and cargo to Navy ships. After a deployment on the aircraft carrier Nimitz and a one-year tour in Qatar, Scheel is back at North Island Naval Air Station as an instructor pilot.

USAF Weighs Scrapping KC-10, A-10 Fleets

09/16/2013

Faced with steep budget cuts and the desire to keep existing procurement initiatives on track, the US Air Force is considering scrapping its entire fleet of KC-10 tankers and A-10 attack jets, according to multiple military and defense sources. Also on the chopping block are F-15C fighter jets and a planned $6.8 billion purchase of new combat search-and-rescue helicopters, these sources say.

Canadian Military Inspectors to Fly over Russia, Belarus

09/16/2013

Canadian military inspectors will fly over the territories of Russia and Belarus starting from Monday as part of the international Open Skies Treaty, a Russian Defense Ministry official said. “In the period between September 16 and 20, a group of Canadian experts will make a surveillance flight above the territories of Russia and Belarus on board of a [Lockheed Martin] C-130J observation aircraft,” Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of the ministry’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, said.

NASA using surplus military drones to investigate hurricanes

09/15/2013

NASA is now utilizing surplus military drones to investigate hurricanes from Maine to the Caribbean. WJZ 13 in Baltimore reports the space agency launched a drone from its Wallops Island facility in Virginia on Wednesday in order to get a close-up look at Hurricane Humberto, still lingering off the Eastern seaboard.

MoD gives nod for procuring military planes, battle tanks

09/15/2013

“The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Union Defence Minister A K Antony, has given approval for the proposals to buy six C-130J special operations planes for `4,000 crore and place an order for 236 T-90 tanks worth `6,000 crore,” a Defence Ministry official said.

Northrop Grumman Unmanned Portfolio Achieves 100,000 Flight Hours Over Last 15 Years

09/15/2013

Northrop Grumman's portfolio of high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have achieved 100,000 flight hours - more than 88 percent of which were logged by the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk. The remaining hours were flown by the NASA Global Hawks, the German EURO HAWK, and the U.S. Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator and, more recently, Triton UAS.

40 years on, the IDF finally emerges from the bunker

09/15/2013

The 1973 war shaped the way in which Israel's military and intelligence saw strategic developments in the region. Now, with a new generation at the helm and new challenges in the Arab world, the IDF is beginning to adapt to the changes in and around it.

Stay out of sea disputes, China warns US

09/14/2013

Beijing has warned the United States not to support China’s neighbors’ claims to disputed islands in the East and South China Seas, the government said Friday. Sino-Japanese ties have soured dramatically since Tokyo nationalized some of the Senkaku islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyus, in the East China Sea a year ago.

Rolls Royce Joins Hawk Jet Training Team

09/14/2013

BAE Systems, Inc. and Rolls-Royce today announced that Rolls-Royce is joining the Hawk Advanced Jet Training System (AJTS) team as an exclusive partner to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X program. As the engine supplier to BAE Systems on this pursuit, Rolls-Royce will lead the support and integration of the Adour Mk951 engine on the Hawk AJTS aircraft.

India to Buy 6 More C-130J Transports

09/14/2013

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington Sept. 27, the Indian Defence Ministry’s highest body on Friday cleared the acquisition of six C-130J Hercules transport aircraft from the US. The aircraft are being purchased on a government-to-government basis at a cost of more than US $1 billion. The clearance to top the existing six C-130J aircraft with another six was made at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council.

AF expects F-35 upgrade, 2nd training squadron in the fall

09/14/2013

The Air Force’s F-35 program is expected to reach two major milestones this fall: the adoption of an advanced software and weapons system on the single-engine jet, and the beginning of major pilot training at the service’s second base for the fighter.

Navy’s New Drones Taking Center Stage

09/14/2013

Ask a layman to name an unmanned aerial vehicle, and he will probably cite one of the armed drones used by the Air Force, such as the Predator or Reaper. Naval UAVs used for reconnaissance, such as the ScanEagle and Raven, have stayed mostly out of the public eye.

Defense Cuts: Four Navy Programs To Watch Closely

09/14/2013

Over the next several weeks, there will be a raft of news stories disclosing cuts to Pentagon weapons programs. The stories will begin with briefings by the military services to the defense secretary’s management team next week about their planned budget requests for fiscal 2015, and then continue into the fitful beginning of the 2014 fiscal year two weeks later.

Nigerian Air Force takes delivery of 10 locally refurbished aircraft

09/14/2013

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of nine locally refurbished Alpha Jets and one C-130 Hercules transport aircraft which the military says will be deployed to transport troops locally and in regional peacekeeping support operations. The nine Alpha jets were refurbished by the Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services Limited (AETSL), a subsidiary of the Nigerian Air Force Holdings Company.

How Do You Practice For War? By Being Mr Nice Guy in Peacetime

09/14/2013

The next time a major natural disaster strikes in the Asia-Pacific region, the first responders may not be local aid workers or civilian volunteers — they might be American and Japanese combat troops. Think of it as practicing for battle.

China’s Carrier-Based J-15 Likely Enters Mass Production

09/14/2013

A number of recent reports in Chinese state-run media indicate that the country’s carrier-based J-15 multirole fighter jets have entered mass production. The Shenyang J-15 (also called Flying Shark) is China’s carrier-based fighter aircraft. It was reversed engineered from a Russian Sukhoi Su-33 that China acquired from Ukraine, although it reportedly is equipped with some indigenous weapons, avionics and other features that Beijing claims greatly enhances its capabilities.

What Keeps Naval Aviators Up at Night: Fear of Not Flying

09/13/2013

Soon after sweeping budget cuts known as sequestration became law in March, the Navy faced the prospect of grounding seven of its 10 carrier air wings. That did not happen thanks to last-minute reprogramming of funds that kept combat units flying, albeit at a reduced pace. A new round of sequester cuts could come as early as January, and Navy aviation leaders are coming to grips with the new fiscal reality.

U.K. May Extend Life Of Istar Programs

09/13/2013

The Reaper, Shadow and Sentinel are all due to leave U.K. air force service at the end of combat operations in Afghanistan, but senior service officials indicate the three intelligence, surveillance target acquisition and reconnaissance (Istar) platforms will continue to serve the U.K. military in the future.

Analyst warns of Chinese military helicopter plans

09/13/2013

China is developing a new class of helicopters that could pose a direct threat to Taiwan, a leading US military analyst said. In the case of an attack, Taiwan would have much less time to mobilize its counter-invasion forces, said Richard Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC).