Military Aviation News Archive
09/09/2013
Despite flying for 53 years, the Bell UH-1 "Huey" helicopter will still be effective for another 20 years, according to DND undersecretary for finance, munitions, installation and material Fernando Manalo. Manalo also said that the "Huey", which the Philippines has around 21 flyable models at present, is the best aircraft for peacekeeping and disaster relief missions due to its reputation as easy aircraft to fly and maintain.
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09/09/2013
A total of 95 air assets of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) can no longer be used, outnumbering the aircraft still in operation. Air Force Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Raul Dimatatac said out of the 265 air assets they have, 95 are “beyond economic repair” while 71 are operational. The rest are recoverable or serviceable, which means that they have to undergo repairs to be of use.
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09/09/2013
With most — if not all — NATO troops slated to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, air advisers are helping to build a small cadre of Afghan pilots to take on the mission of moving wounded security forces.
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09/09/2013
Despite two years of conflict and significant defections among the rank and file, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) remains a capable military. Before the civil war, the SAA claimed to field 220,000 men under arms and, perhaps, up to 350,000 reservists. Today, active personnel stood at a little over 125,000, of whom no more than 80,000 were considered by the regime to be loyal. Another 250,000 paramilitary personnel, including the dreaded “Shabihah” militias, were also available.
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09/09/2013
MPs could be given another chance to vote on military intervention in Syria, William Hague has said, as it emerged two RAF jets scrambled to intercept "suspicious" Syrian aircraft over Cyprus. The Foreign Secretary said a second vote would only be possible if the Government secured support from Labour.
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09/09/2013
Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over France starting on Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, a Russian Defense Ministry official said. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of an Antonov An-30B aircraft between September 9 and 13, said Ruslan Shishin, acting head of the ministry’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center.
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09/09/2013
Eurofighter Typhoon has now achieved more than 200,000 flying hours since the entry-into-service of its worldwide fleet. Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH confirmed the milestone today adding that, with 719 aircraft on contract, 571 aircraft ordered and 378 aircraft delivered, the programme has “never looked stronger”.
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09/08/2013
The U.S. Air Force continues to come up short in its effort to supply enough pilots for its growing UAV fleet. Currently the air force has about 1,300 operators for its 280 large UAVs (about half of them Predators, nearly 40 percent Reapers, and the rest Global Hawks). UAV operators are now nearly nine percent of all air force pilots, triple the percentage in 2008.
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09/08/2013
Lynne Jungers has been thinking about this moment for the last two years. The longtime Boeing Co. customer relations manager — who has seen former President Bill Clinton, the late Bob Hope and dozens of dignitaries visit the C-17 Globemaster III at its East Long Beach assembly plant — is bracing herself for Thursday, when Boeing will hand over its 223rd and final C-17 to the U.S. Air Force.
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09/08/2013
Moscow and Beijing expect to seal the deal on the sale of Russian Su-35 fighter jets to China in 2014, a senior official at the Russian arms exports monopoly said Saturday. “Talks are ongoing, but the deal is unlikely to be sealed before the year’s end. The signing will most likely take place next year,” said Viktor Komardin, deputy head of the state-run Rosoboronexport.
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09/07/2013
Syria’s air defense forces are nearly sure to be capable of intercepting any enemy aircraft and about half of the Tomahawk missiles that might violate its airspace, a military source said on Thursday.“The Syrian air defense system is very efficient, as it was built in the image and likeness of the air defense system existing in the Soviet Union.
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09/07/2013
The cost of possible military strikes against Syria would not be “extraordinary,” the U.S. Navy chief said Thursday, downplaying the potential price tag of the operation. Admiral Jonathan Greenert’s comments appeared to confirm a rough estimate from Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel on Wednesday, who told lawmakers the punitive strikes would likely cost “tens of millions” of dollars.
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09/07/2013
Unless Congress changes the nation’s financial course, the U.S. Navy will be forced to make some drastic cuts in aircraft and ship numbers to accommodate a loss of about $14 billion due to sequestration and other budgetary issues, says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations.
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09/07/2013
The Bell Boeing V-22 Program, a strategic alliance between Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and Boeing [NYSE: BA], has successfully completed an initial test of the V-22 Osprey performing as an aerial refueling tanker. Adding this capability to the tiltrotor aircraft would further advance its versatility in combat, humanitarian and ship-based operations.
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09/07/2013
The J-15 belongs to the 4th generation of conventional shipboard aircraft, which also includes the U.S. navy's F/A-18C/D "Hornet" and F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet", the French "Rafale M", and the Russian Mig-29K which is also used by the Indian navy.
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09/07/2013
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, battling with an al-Qaida insurgency and political unrest, is scheduled to visit Washington this month to activate a defense cooperation agreement and push for stepped-up arms sales, including Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. Maliki may find President Barack Obama and the Pentagon somewhat preoccupied with the Syrian conflict and the question of whether to strike at the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, which Maliki supports to some degree.
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09/07/2013
Iraq has submitted a shopping list of U.S. military equipment that included its first unmanned aerial vehicles. Officials said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has relayed a
request for advanced UAVs from the United States. The officials said the unspecified UAVs were meant for long-range reconnaissance missions in an effort to
improve border and internal security.
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09/07/2013
The first Tranche Three Typhoon next-generation fighter jet has been weighed-in to confirm that it meets design standards, pushing the programme a step closer to completion. The aircraft, British single seat number 116, had its measurements recorded using a highly-sophisticated set of hydraulic scales at the company’s military aircraft in Warton.
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09/07/2013
The United States on Friday secured support from several major allies in its claim that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad is responsible for an apparent Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus and must be punished.
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09/07/2013
The United States is making plans for a “significantly larger” military strike on Syria than at first envisioned that could include use of long-range bombers making sorties from the United States, US media said. ABC News reported Thursday that President Barack Obama’s national security team was “preparing for a significantly larger military attack than most had anticipated” that could include attacks by B-2 and B-52 bombers flying from bases in the United States.
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09/06/2013
The Obama administration is considering a plan to use U.S. military trainers to help increase the capabilities of the Syrian rebels, in a move that would greatly expand the current CIA training being done quietly in Jordan, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
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09/06/2013
The Harper government may be ready to throw in the towel on the purchase of long-delayed CH-148 Cyclone helicopters and has gone as far as sending a military team to Britain to evaluate other aircraft. Defence sources say the team, which included an officer from the air force directorate of air requirements branch, visited a southern base in the United Kingdom recently to look at Royal Navy HM-1 Merlin helicopters.
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09/06/2013
THE United States is reported to have sought the establishment of a secret airbase in India to accomplish its unexplained agenda in South Asian region. The Americans already have a major military base in Qatar, and presence in many Asian, Middle East countries, Afghanistan and some of the Central Asian Republics in one form or the other in addition to aircraft carriers in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
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09/06/2013
For over a year now China has been testing a second stealth fighter design. This one is called the J-31 “Falcon Eagle” (from an inscription on the tail), and while it looks like the American F-22, it’s also smaller than China’s other stealth fighter (the J-20, which has been around longer). The J-31 was built by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (which makes the J-11, the illegal Chinese copy of the Russian Su-27).
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09/06/2013
A key Senate panel on Wednesday backed President Barack Obama's request to strike Syria, while the Pentagon prepared to employ greater firepower to reach a shifting array of military targets. The revised options under development, which reflect Pentagon concerns that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dispersed his military equipment, include the use of Air Force bombers to supplement the four Navy destroyers armed with missiles that are deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
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