Military Aviation News Archive
04/28/2014
The Philippines used to be a central hub for U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific, and the Southeast Asian country looks set to fulfill that role once more – albeit on a smaller scale – as the two countries reboot their long-standing alliance. U.S. President Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart Benigno Aquino III are expected to sign a new security pact – the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation – in Manila on Monday.
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04/28/2014
A first batch of five F-16 fighters was added to fleet of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Sunday. Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt said that addition of new fighter aircrafts would increase the capacity of air force. The PAF chief was speaking at the PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha where the force received its first batch of five F-16 fighter jets from Jordan.
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04/27/2014
A fatal helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan which killed all five UK personnel on board appears to have been a "tragic accident", the MoD has said. An investigation has begun into how the Lynx helicopter came down in Kandahar province on Saturday morning.
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04/27/2014
As new U.S. sanctions against Russia loom, the Kremlin has shut down—at least for now—intensive high level communications between top U.S. and Russian officials. Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama have had regular phone calls in an often half-hearted attempt to deescalate the ongoing crisis inside Ukraine. But as the U.S. and EU prepare to unveil new sanctions against Russia, Putin has decided the interactions should stop.
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04/27/2014
Five troops have been killed in a British military helicopter crash in Afghanistan, with the cause of the incident under investigation. The identities of those on board are yet to be confirmed, though sources say they are all thought be to British service personnel. The crash in southern Afghanistan is the largest single loss of life for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since a US helicopter crashed in December after being hit in a Taliban insurgent attack.
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04/27/2014
As Western governments vowed to impose more sanctions against Russia and its supporters in eastern Ukraine, a group of foreign military observers remained in captivity Saturday accused of being NATO spies by a pro-Russian insurgency. The German-led, eight-member team was traveling under the auspices of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe when they were detained Friday.
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04/27/2014
President Benigno Aquino III on Friday unveiled a plan to acquire more air assets, including patrol aircraft, to boost the capability of the Air Force. Presiding over the Philippine Air Force change of command in Lipa City, the President said the Armed Forces would purchase eight combat utility helicopters, six close air support aircraft, two-long range patrol aircraft and radar systems.
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04/27/2014
The G7 group of nations agreed on Saturday to impose sanctions on Russia over its meddling in Ukraine, adding to international pressure on Moscow. The move effectively adds the voices of Canada and Japan to Friday's announcement by America, Germany, France, Italy and the UK that further sanctions were imminent.
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04/27/2014
US President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan this week came at an opportune time, given the growing friction between Asia’s two largest military powers over disputed territories. Just last week, Japan began its first military expansion in more than 40 years by breaking ground on a radar station on Yonaguri, a tropical island off Taiwan.
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04/27/2014
With the arrival of the last four F-22s earlier this month, the Air Force’s newest Raptor squadron is operational, and Tyndall Air Force Base is now home to the largest group of the fifth-generation fighter. Four F-22s touched down April 8 at the Florida base, completing the transfer of 24 Raptors originally scheduled for early 2013. The flight finished the transfer of the 24 F-22s, seven T-38 Talons and most of the planned contingent of 620 active-duty and 230 Air Force Reserve airmen at the ba
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04/26/2014
Five Nato troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the Nato-led security mission Isaf has said. Isaf gave no further details, saying in a statement that it was still reviewing the circumstances of the crash. Afghan officials said the helicopter had come down in Kandahar province because of a mechanical failure.
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04/26/2014
Last week, Saudi Arabia bought its first drone fleet, according to a dispatch from Tactical Reports. Saudi Crown Prince Salman met with Chinese General Wang Guanzhong to sign a contract for a shipment of Chinese Wing Loong drones, also known as Pterodactyls.
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04/26/2014
The Ukrainian crisis that has already prompted Sweden to consider raising military spending is boosting interest in military hardware in other European states, Saab AB Chief Executive Hakan Buskhe said. "The number of questions about enhancing defense capabilities from a handful of nations in continental Europe and also in the Nordic area have increased," Mr. Bushke said in an interview. "The discussion about possibilities is more active today than just a couple of months ago."
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04/26/2014
The US says Russian military aircraft have entered Ukrainian airspace several times in the past 24 hours, amid rising tension in the east of the country. A Pentagon spokesman told the BBC late on Friday that the incidents had happened mainly near the border with Russia, but gave no further details.
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04/26/2014
The Russian Defense Ministry is prepared to discuss the crisis in Ukraine with the Pentagon, although it has not received a request for such talks, Gen. Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.
Media reports earlier said that Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel had attempted to contact Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss the situation on Ukraine’s border.
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04/26/2014
The replacement of Russian helicopters with American ones in Afghanistan will be costly and quite troublesome for the Pentagon, Lajos Szaszdi, a defense analyst and expert in international affairs, told RIA Novosti Friday.
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04/26/2014
Alenia Aermacchi, and ATK announced today that the demonstrator of a fully configured MC-27J multi-mission tactical transport aircraft completed its first flight from the company's Turin test flight centre.
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04/25/2014
The U.S. is so far providing more resources to shoring up eastern European allies made nervous by a newly assertive Russia than other NATO members, again testing the alliance that has struggled throughout the war in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, a company from the Vicenza-based 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team arrived at an air base in northwestern Poland, part of a commitment the U.S. announced Tuesday to send about 600 troops to Poland and the Baltics for training exercises.
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04/25/2014
Boeing has been pushing hard to come on strong into the tactical ISR market. Despite the sputtering of the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (Emarss) program for the U.S. Army, it seems the company had secretive customer that helped underpin the business a few years ago. But, what was known as the Yellow Jacket demonstrator for that unnamed customer has been morphed for roughly three years into what we now know as Ramis.
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04/25/2014
The Swedish government defended plans Thursday to equip fighter jets with cruise missiles capable of striking targets in Russia, days after announcing a military spending hike linked to the Ukraine conflict. “In the future the ability to combat longer range targets can be important,” Defence Minister Karin Enstroem told public broadcaster Sveriges Radio, adding that the missiles would have “a high precision which acts as a deterrent.”
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04/25/2014
In the last year the U.S. Army has been experimenting with the use of its AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships from navy ships. This is all about being ready to participate more fully in future military operations in the Pacific. For the last few years the United States has been shifting its military forces and war plans to the Pacific.
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04/25/2014
China’s navy commissioned 17 new warships last year, the most of any nation. In a little more than a decade, it’s expected to have three aircraft carriers, giving it more clout than ever in a region of contested seas and festering territorial disputes. Those numbers testify to huge increases in defense spending that have endowed China with the largest military budget behind the United States and fueled an increasingly large and sophisticated defense industry.
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04/25/2014
Technical complexity is rising, as engineers work toward “more electric aircraft,” including commercial airliners and military combat aircraft, points out Dr. Nick Smith, business development director, Integrated Electrical Systems Division at Mentor Graphics. Dr. Smith delivered the keynote presentation opening the Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) 2014, hosted by Mentor Graphics, at the Future of Flight Museum at Boeing’s Paine Field in Everett, Wa.
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04/25/2014
In the military aircraft market, the sky is not falling; we are just experiencing erosion” and the effects of sequestration, budgets, and politics, says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., “Back in Black: Aviation/Defense Industry Overview and Forecast” at the Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) hosted by Mentor Graphics at the Future of Flight Museum at Boeing’s Paine Field in Everett, Wa.
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04/25/2014
he U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $25 million contract to design, build and test a 60-kilowatt electric laser to be integrated and tested in a truck-mounted weapon system demonstrator. The laser weapon is designed to significantly improve the warfighters’ ability to counter rockets, artillery, mortars and unmanned aerial threats.
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