Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Iraq signs $1.1 bn deal to buy S. Korean fighter aircraft

12/13/2013

Iraq signed a $1.1 billion deal Thursday to buy 24 multi-role light fighters from South Korea, officials said, in what will be the Asian nation's biggest arms export. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said it would deliver the T-50IQ, a variant of its T-50 supersonic aircraft, to Baghdad between 2015 and 2016, under the terms of the deal signed in Seoul.

Putin Says Bids to Gain Military Dominance Over Russia Futile

12/13/2013

President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday against foreign powers seeking to secure a military advantage over Russia and said any attempts to destroy the existing global strategic balance would be futile. Speaking in his annual State of the Nation address, Putin dismissed arguments that the proposed European missile shield is defensive only and described it as having a strategically offensive potential.

Russia Plans to Increase Arms Exports to $50Bln by 2020

12/13/2013

Russia could quadruple its annual arms sales to $50 billion by 2020 in a race for the top spot on the global arms exporters list, a senior government official said Thursday. “Not counting inflation, I think we could reach $50 billion [in arms exports] annually by 2020,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters in Moscow. “It is four times the current amount.”

China’s Unmanned Carrier-Based J-20 is a Pipedream (For Now)

12/12/2013

Loyal readers of Flashpoints know any type of new Chinese military weapon or gadget is always a hot topic of conversation for this blog. And rightly so—Beijing has presented us defense geeks with new ballistic and cruise missile technology, a new carrier with rumors of a domestically built flattop allegedly under construction, fresh ICBM’s, increasingly advanced submarines and more. The rumor mill is always churning with new developments and technologies to digest and dissect.

Rocky flight: Sikorsky, other helicopter makers worry about future

12/12/2013

The paragraphs were slipped into a massive defense bill by a Mississippi senator. Part assertion, part plea, they are aimed at the Pentagon, and more than anything else, they reflect the worry that Sikorsky Aircraft and other helicopter manufacturers feel about their future. Rather than investing in new technologies and funding a new generation of rotary winged aircraft, the Pentagon is moving to upgrade existing helicopters.

UAE, UK conclude joint military training exercises

12/12/2013

Advanced Typhoon fighter aircraft took part in the advanced tactical leadership course (ATLC), led by the UAE Air Force’s Air Warfare Centre, to ensure the UAE and its allies can operate together effectively to support security in the Arabian Gulf. Flt Lt Jim Fordham, a Typhoon pilot with 3 (Fighter) Squadron, said the exercise helped the RAF to share knowledge with the UAE.

Aero Vodochody develops new L-169 aircraft

12/12/2013

Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody Aerospace is developing the concept of new aircraft L-169, which will have more Czech-made equipment and longer flying range compared with the older L-159 version, news servers iDnes and Aktuálne.cz said today. The design philosophy of the new model is based on the older L-39 Albatros aircraft, which is still used in a number of countries.

Amazing 360 degree look inside Britain's newest Typhoon fighter

12/12/2013

This is the view from the cockpit of Britain’s newest Typhoon jet fighter. Test flights have begun on the latest version of the £80 million Typhoon, which will be able to carry more fuel, heavier weapons and a new generation of radar. The RAF will next year start taking delivery of 40 of the new fighters which are the third version of the Eurofighter jet.

LCA set to join IAF

12/12/2013

Even as the workhorse of the Indian Air Force, MiG-21, bowed out on Wednesday, indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, is just a formality away from passing into the hands of the force. Dubbed the world’s lightest fighter, the tail-less little wonder is due to ceremonially earn its initial operational clearance (IOC) and move closer to joining the IAF at its birthplace, Bangalore, on December 20.

MiG-21 FL fighter jet takes its last flight

12/12/2013

The MiG-21 FL fighter jet, which had heralded the "supersonic era" in IAF and had changed the course of the 1971 Indo-Pak war due to its accuracy, flew into the annals of history on Wednesday. "I have the greatest professional regard for MiG-21. The agility of MiG-21 cannot be matched by any of the present day fighters," Browne said after bidding adieu to one of the first variants of MiG-21 combat aircraft, which dealt severe blows to Pakistan air force in the 1971 Bangladesh war.

Russia Warns of Nuclear Response to US Global Strike Program

12/12/2013

A senior government minister warned Wednesday that Russia could retaliate with a nuclear strike if a new US military strategy threatened its security. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia was “preparing a response” to plans by the United States to develop a new fast-strike weapons platform capable of hitting high-priority targets around the globe.

Russia to Develop Light-Class Fighter Jet

12/12/2013

Russia will soon start developing a prototype of an advanced lightweight fighter jet to supplement fifth-generation T-50 aircraft, a top government official said Wednesday. The new aircraft is expected to be cheaper to produce and easier to maintain, but should also possess combat capabilities and performance characteristics comparable with those of heavy-class aircraft.

TAI delivers first F-35 centre fuselage to Northrop Grumman

12/12/2013

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has delivered its first F-35 Lightning II centre fuselage to Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin at a ceremony held at TAI's facilities in Ankara, Turkey today. This is the first F-35 centre fuselage manufactured by TAI as an international manufacturing partner to Northrop Grumman. The centre fuselage will be installed into a U. S. Air Force aircraft at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Fort Worth, Texas.

Warplanes: Japanese Defend Their Air Space

12/11/2013

Japanese complaints about growing incidents of Russian warplanes flying close to Japanese air space have left Russian officials perplexed. The Russian aircraft are flying more training missions in the Pacific and there is a lot of Japanese airspace off the east coast of Eurasia, so Russian warplanes out there cannot avoid passing close to Japanese air defense radars. In the last six months Japanese fighters have been sent aloft an average of once a day to check out approaching Russian warplanes.

Chinese man gets US prison term in military jet material plot

12/11/2013

A Chinese man accused of trying to export high-grade carbon fiber to his home country from the United States for use in military aircraft was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly five years in prison, federal prosecutors in New York said. Ming Suan Zhang, 42, pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for trying to export aerospace-grade carbon fiber, a controlled commodity, without a license.

Opinion: A-10 The Victim Of Difficult Choices

12/11/2013

Once again, the U.S. Chair Force wants to sacrifice the blood of the heroic infantry in favor of Mitchellesque strategic-bombing dreams and white-scarf fighter missions. It should be disbanded and its functions assigned to fighting services made up of Real Men.

Pentagon chief affirms Qatar and US defence ties

12/11/2013

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel reaffirmed US military ties with Qatar on Tuesday, during a regional tour aimed at shoring up Gulf alliances amid disagreements over policy on Iran and Syria. Hagel met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his minister of state for defence, Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, in Doha where they renewed a defence agreement.

Tinian’s North Field Supports MH-60S FARP Training, Osprey Landing During FFII

12/11/2013

Navy MH-60S Seahawk Helicopters and MV-22B Ospreys landed Dec. 9 at the recently cleared Baker and Charlie runways on Tinian’s North Field during Exercise Forager Fury II. The MH-60S executed forward arming and refueling point training while the Ospreys transported troops to the location during the exercise which allows Marine Aircraft Group 12 to improve aviation combat readiness and will simulate operations in a deployed, expeditionary environment.

Fleet of Planes from $486 Million Program for Afghan Security Forces Scheduled to Be Destroyed

12/11/2013

While the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan winds down the price tag for waste in the funding for the Afghan Security Forces continues to rise. The most recent evidence of mismanagement emerged during Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko’s recent visit when he found 16 C27A aircrafts waiting to be destroyed at the Kabul International Airport.

Reliance Industries, Dassault planning facility to produce warplane wings

12/11/2013

France's Dassault Aviation and Reliance IndustriesBSE 0.57 % are planning to set up a facility to produce wings of Rafale combat aircraft selected by IAF for meeting its requirement of 126 fighter planes. The two firms are planning to set up a Rs 1,000-crore facility for producing the wings of the Rafale combat aircraft and it is most likely to come up in Bangalore, industry sources told PTI here.

French, US, UK deploying military aircraft to CAR

12/11/2013

France is deploying a sizeable number of aircraft, including transport and combat helicopters, to the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of its intervention force there, which aims to improve the fragile humanitarian situation in the country. Other nations, including the United States and United Kingdom, are also contributing aircraft to support CAR operations.

Light Combat Aircraft Tejas completes 2,400 sorties

12/11/2013

The indigenously-developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has undertaken 2,400 sorties to meet the requirements of the IAF, which is set to induct the aircraft on December 20. "The LCA has clocked over 2400 flights till now with highest ever number of sorties achieved in the current year. The programme has achieved highest ever average number of flights per aircraft per month during this year," HAL officials said here.

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy Strengthen International Alliance with Helicopter Acceptance

12/11/2013

The Royal Australian Navy accepted the first two MH-60R helicopters from the U.S. Navy in a ceremony today at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] facility in Owego, N.Y. “The advanced anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities of the MH-60 Romeo are a game-changer in shifting the advantage from the submarine to the helicopter, which is essential in today’s maritime security environment."

Boeing must decide on F/A-18 production in March 2014: executive

12/10/2013

Boeing Co. must decide in March 2014 whether to invest tens of millions of dollars to continue production of the F/A-18 fighter jet, a senior Boeing executive said on Monday, underscoring his confidence that sufficient orders would emerge to keep the plane in production until beyond 2020.

Hill's new fighter wing

12/10/2013

An announcement by the U.S. Air Force last week may have gone largely unnoticed by most residents of Southern Utah. That announcement was that Hill Air Force Base near Ogden would be the home of the first operational wing of F-35A aircraft. The move means 72 of the fighter jets and their pilots will be stationed at Hill.