Military Aviation News Archive
03/28/2014
US arms supply and fresh military aid to Pakistan has quietly gained momentum in the last one year, Congressional sources have said. The Pentagon, according to publicly available documents, reports total Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreements with Pakistan worth about $5.2 billion for the period between FY2002 and FY2012.
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03/28/2014
The U.S. Navy's plan to cancel an order for 29 MH-60 Sikorsky helicopters under a current five-year agreement would trigger termination fees of at least $250 million and raise the cost of Army helicopters covered by the same contract, a top U.S. senator said Thursday. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, criticized the Navy's plan to "break" the multi-year purchase agreement during a hearing on the Navy and Marine Corps budget requests.
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03/28/2014
A major delay in the shipment of new F-35 fighter jets is expected to diminish U.S. “warfighting capabilities” across the globe and force the Pentagon to significantly boost funding for the plane at a time when military leaders say they cannot afford to, according to a new government report.
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03/28/2014
On Mar. 27, 1999, the fourth night of Operation Allied Force over Serbia, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter jet was shot down while returning to Aviano airbase, in northern Italy after bombing a target near Belgrade.
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03/28/2014
Slight rain trickled on March 9 as more than 120 airmen from Idaho paced one-by-one onto the Gowen Field flight line to board two eagerly-waiting KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, and a C-17 Globemaster III bound for the Green Flag East combat air exercise. Many of the Idaho Air National Guardsmen have not yet had the opportunity to fly in the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refueling and transport aircraft.
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03/28/2014
The Republic of Korea ushered in a new era in air mobility today with the delivery of the country’s first two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] facility here. With today’s delivery, South Korea became the 14th country to fly the proven C-130J.
South Korea’s new Super Hercules will be operated by Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) aircrews, which currently operate a fleet of C-130H legacy aircraft.
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03/28/2014
Qatar´s choice of the A330 MRTT makes it the seventh nation to select the type following Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom which have ordered a total of 34 aircraft, and India which is in the final stages of contractual negotiations for six aircraft. A total of 17 aircraft are currently in service.
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03/27/2014
Raytheon has secured its first export customer for the Paveway IV 500lb dual-mode (INS/GPS and laser-guided) precision guided munition (PGM), company officials confirmed on 25 March. While the company was unable to confirm the identity of the customer, it is understood to be the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). The Saudi export order is estimated to be worth in the region of GBP150 million (USD248 million) and to be for around 2,400 Paveway IVs.
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03/27/2014
Admirals are notoriously conservative regarding their capital ships. By the early twentieth century, the cost of a battleship and the time required for construction demanded extraordinary care with respect to the survival of the vessels. Capital ships do not simply represent or implement national power; because of their great cost and the long periods of construction, they effectively constitute national power.
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03/27/2014
In 1992, Boeing’s Phantom Works program began development on the Bird of Prey, a project managed by the U.S. Air Force, funded by Boeing, and borrowing the name from the Klingon starship in 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. It pioneered dozens of new technologies that we use in airplanes today, but the Bird of Prey was never meant for production.
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03/27/2014
The software needed for the U.S. Navy's version of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet could be delayed by four to six months, the U.S. general who runs the $392 billion program for the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
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03/27/2014
The Philippines will spend more than $100 million to buy eight Canadian-built helicopters as the country bolsters its military with new equipment, including fighter jets, to counter Chinese interests in the region. The first of the Bell 412 helicopters are to be delivered next year, said Philippines Defence Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
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03/27/2014
South Korea is considering leasing second-hand F-16 fighter jets from the United States to fill a potential vacuum in its air power from delays in aircraft acquisition and development, a senior Air Force official here said Wednesday. Seoul recently confirmed a plan to buy 40 F-35s by Lockheed Martin from 2018-21, scaling down from the initial program for 60 advanced combat aircraft, while pushing to develop midlevel fighter jets with a goal of deploying them between 2023 and 2025.
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03/27/2014
The Lockheed TriStar, closely linked to the recent history of the Falkland Islands has flown its last operational mission with the Royal Air Force. On 24 March, two TriStars of 216 Squadron based at Royal Air Force Brize Norton flew an air-to-air refueling mission over the North Sea before one of them conducted fly-pasts at airfields associated with its history.
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03/27/2014
Russia plans to offer Brazil joint development of the fifth-generation combat aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50, according to Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. The proposal is reportedly in support of an unsolicited offer by Sukhoi whose Su-35 fighter was taken off Brazil’s shortlist for its F-X2 tender for the purchase of 36 fighter jets worth $4 billion.
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03/27/2014
Russian flags have been raised at all military units in Crimea, less than a week after the Russian leader signed a decree finalizing the reunification of the former Ukrainian region, Russia's military chief said Wednesday. As Crimea's reunification process began last week, all 193 military units in the predominantly Russian-ethnic region have replaced Ukrainian flags with Russian ones and applied to join the Russian armed forces.
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03/26/2014
Lockheed Martin labeled the F-35 a “fifth-generation” fighter in 2005, a term it borrowed from Russia in 2004 to describe the F-22. Some of their rivals tumbled into this rhetorical trap and tried to argue that “fourth-generation” was just as capable. Whether it is true or not, making such a case is an uphill struggle. But if “fifth-generation” means more than “the ultimate driving machine,” a sixth generation will emerge.
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03/26/2014
South Africa's cash-strapped armed forces are in a "critical state of decline" that will take at least a decade to fix even with urgent action, according to a military strategy review seen by Reuters. It said "neglect" of defence capability could impact everything from border security to trade and constrain Pretoria's continental peace-keeping and diplomatic ambitions.
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03/26/2014
While its defense expenditures do not match that of the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, South American military spending has steadily risen since 2005. In fact, defense expenditures there almost doubled between 2006 and 2010, from US $17.6 billion to $33.2 billion, according to reports from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a regional political association integrated by 12 nations.
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03/26/2014
The United Nations urged Turkey and Syria to avoid taking steps that could increase tensions along the Turkish-Syrian border, saying abrupt acts may aggravate the situation after Turkey downed a Syrian warplane that violated Turkish airspace on Sunday.
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03/26/2014
As South America continues increasing its defense expenditures, air fleet modernization is driving numerous requirements and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Brazil, accounting for half of South America’s defense expenditure, is conducting the region’s most ambitious modernization of air military assets, and local industry is involved in both the production of foreign equipment under license as well as indigenous development.
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03/26/2014
The United States government is looking to provide Yemen with an aerial precision strike capability to combat Islamist militants in the country, a leaked Central Command (CENTCOM) memo reveals. The memo, written on 3 February and published by US publication BuzzFeed on 24 March, sets out the baseline requirements for a manned fixed-wing combat aircraft to be acquired under the Yemen Fiscal Year 2014 Precision Strike Program.
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03/26/2014
Lockheed Martin delivered its 17th C-5M Super Galaxy to the U.S. Air Force from its facilities here today. It is the first C-5M delivery for 2014. U.S. Air Force aircrews will deliver the aircraft tail number 87-0020 to Dover Air Force Base, Del. after a stop at Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y., where it will undergo internal paint restoration.
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03/26/2014
Ukraine's military personnel may leave the Crimean Peninsula unhindered, but the Russian military has yet to decide if they will be permitted to take their weapons with them, the Kremlin said Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry said over the weekend that less than 15 percent of the 18,000 Ukrainian troops stationed in Crimea decided to leave the peninsula after it rejoined Russia last week.
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03/26/2014
The capabilities of Airbus Helicopters' rotorcraft to meet land- and sea-based mission requirements of Middle East military forces will be underscored in the company's presence at the Doha International Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) which opens today (25-27 March).
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