Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Ukraine crisis: UN meeting told Russia is massing 40,000 troops on the border

04/15/2014

The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency session to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine, just hours before a deadline by Kiev for pro-Russian separatists to disarm by Monday morning or face a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation" by its armed forces.The Council began meeting at 8pm (0000 GMT on Monday) at Russia's request after Moscow called Kiev's plans to mobilise the army to put down a rebellion by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine "criminal."

The Year Of The MQ-47C

04/15/2014

Not surprisingly, 2014 will be another big year for the U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAV (unmanned combat air vehicle). During the last few years this unmanned combat aircraft has successfully carried out numerous tests aboard aircraft carriers. There are two X-47Bs available for this and both are being used. The X-47B made its first catapult launch from an aircraft carrier on May 14th 2013.

US sees 'obvious Russian hand' in Ukraine standoff as militias fortify cities

04/15/2014

Pro-Russian protesters cemented their control of administrative buildings in at least nine cities in the east of Ukraine on Monday, refusing to abide by an order from the central government in Kiev to leave or face being forced out by an “anti-terrorist operation”.

We still can’t afford the F-35

04/15/2014

The troubled F-35 combat aircraft program has turned a corner. At least that’s what program advocates claimed last Tuesday at a hearing before the Airland Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Program head Lt. Col. Christopher Bogdan asserted that “the program is making slow and steady progress on all fronts.”

Tighter Budgets Limit Southeast Asian Plans

04/15/2014

In much of Southeast Asia, budgets are smaller and ambitions more limited compared with neighbors to the north, and many countries are trying to rid themselves of much older equipment. But Singapore and Vietnam are generally better equipped and have more extensive plans.

Denmark Kicks Off Fighter Contest

04/15/2014

Denmark has fired the starting pistol in its contest for a new fighter aircraft, sending out requests for information to four manufacturers. Officials from the New Combat Aircraft Program have sent what they call Requests for Binding Information (RBI) to Boeing for the F/A-18F Super Hornet, to Eurofighter for the Typhoon, to Lockheed Martin for the F-35A and to Saab for the Gripen E, as the country looks to replace its aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons.

Malaysia Potentially Interested In Russian Air Defense Systems

04/15/2014

Malaysia is likely highly interested in acquiring Russia’s latest air defense missile systems, building on existing bilateral military-technical cooperation, Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Monday.

Military: Turkish jet fighters intercept Russian plane over Black Sea

04/14/2014

Turkey has scrambled four F-16 planes to intercept a Russian military plane flying near the Turkish coast over the Black Sea, the military said on Sunday. The Russian IL-20 was flying over international waters on a west-to-east course parallel to the Turkish coast about 15-20 nautical miles off the shores of the Black Sea on Saturday,

Tejas MK2 design phase complete , second Naval Lca Soon : DRDO

04/14/2014

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has said that the country should synergise the competences available to tide over the oft-repeated time and cost overrun concerns. DRDO Director-General (Aero) Dr K Tamilmani told Express in an interview that any Indian initiative would be supported so as to build a robust eco-system.

Growing Muscle: China's Neighbors Gear Up for a Fight

04/14/2014

The Asia-Pacific naval market is heating up, with massive quantities of new ships to boost regional navies in coming years. According to AMI International, a US-based naval analysis firm, Asia-Pacific has already surpassed Europe as the world’s second largest naval market. AMI projects the region will spend $200 billion on new ships and submarines by 2032, making up roughly 25 percent of the global projected new ship market.

Pentagon Debates Policy To Strengthen, Disperse Bases

04/14/2014

The Pentagon is looking at new ways to disperse its forces throughout the Asia-Pacific as military planners explore alternatives to the large US super bases in the region vulnerable to cruise missile strikes. Instead, the Defense Department is reviewing a host of options, including ways to operate combat aircraft in austere locations and strengthening overseas bases.

China Mixing Military Modernization, 'Tailored Coercion'

04/14/2014

China’s military modernization efforts over the past 20 years have been marked by broad efforts, according to an expert, as opposed to focusing on specific services. “So, we see new naval forces, air forces, ground forces and missile forces,” said Dean Cheng, a China military specialist at the Heritage Foundation.

General Atomics ASI Gets $141.4M Air Force Deal

04/12/2014

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. of Poway received a four-year, $141.4 million U.S. Air Force delivery order for work on the Block 50 ground control station for unmanned aircraft. Under the deal, GA-ASI will deliver four ground control stations — two fixed and two mobile — as well as three system integration laboratories. It will also conduct engineering development work on the Block 50 station and provide the Air Force with spares.

South Korea deploys British radar to combat drones from the North

04/12/2014

An advanced British radar system is being deployed by the South Korean military amid fears that North Korea could use unmanned aerial vehicles to launch an attack with biological or chemical weapons. South Korea has purchased 24 long-range radars made by Essex-based Blighter Surveillance Systems and has been testing the equipment for frontline defence and to protect key locations in Seoul.

More Military Displays Set For RAF Cosford Air Show

04/12/2014

Following on from last year’s popular Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) demonstration, which saw Prince Harry in his first air show appearance, the RAF Chinook and Army Apache will again be at Cosford as part of the planned six-hour flying display. As well as performing their individual displays, they will showcase the combat capabilities of the two helicopters in an exciting joint demonstration with the RAF Regiment.

Out of fuel, out of time and one chance to land

04/12/2014

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was finally in sight. The pilot of the F/A-18 Super Hornet hurriedly flipped switches and pushed levers. The aviator in the backseat leaned forward, straining to see the flight deck floating in the distance. The jet’s right engine had locked up, its landing gear jammed, the main fuel tank almost empty. At nearly 350 mph, the Super Hornet hurtled over the warm waters of the North Arabian Sea last April.

Russia Begins Transfer of First Warship Back to Ukraine – Source

04/12/2014

Russia has begun the process of transferring the first Ukrainian naval vessel in Crimea back to Ukraine, a source in the Black Sea Fleet Headquarters told RIA Novosti on Friday. “Two Black Sea tugs have begun taking the missile boat from Karantinnaya Bay in Sevastopol,” the source said, referring to Ukraine’s Priluki missile boat.

Morocco takes on the Cubic for F-16 Top Gun training

04/12/2014

Cubic Defense Systems has been awarded a contract valued at more than $5 million from the U.S. Air Force to supply its P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) to the Moroccan Air Force. Morocco will join the United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, along with a number of other air forces, in using the P5CTS to support high-fidelity, TOPGUN-style live and post-mission training.

Malaysia Airlines plane search: New possible signal detected

04/11/2014

Fresh hope fueled the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane Thursday after a plane detected a possible underwater signal. The crew of an Australian P-3 Orion dropped dozens of buoys equipped with underwater sensors into the ocean, and they heard something. The signal - the fifth picked up by search teams so far -- may be from one of the so-called black boxes aboard Flight 370, the Australian agency coordinating the search announced.

Installation of backup oxygen system in F-22 combat fleet continues

04/11/2014

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's F-22 Division is on-track to complete installation of the Automatic Back-up Oxygen System, or ABOS, in the Air Force's F-22 Raptor combat fleet by December 2014. In January 2012, following a series of incidents in which a number of F-22 pilots experienced physiological symptoms in flight, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board made a list of recommendations to improve the aircrew life support system.

F-35 on time to replace previous tactical aircraft

04/11/2014

The F-35 Lightning II will enhance combat capabilities, project U.S. power and deter potential adversaries, Air Force officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on tactical air and land forces in a hearing on tactical aircraft programs there, April 8. “The F-35 will form the backbone of U.S. air combat superiority for generations to come,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office executive officer.

New video highlights ‘The Boom' at Selfridge

04/11/2014

The KC-135 Stratotanker is the star of a new video recently released by the 127th Wing Public Affairs office. The 5-minute mini-documentary showcases the refueling capability of the KC-135, which is operated by the 171st Air Refueling Squadron, 127th Air Refueling Group, 127tth Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

RAF commander says UAE combat exercise is one of the best

04/11/2014

he commander of the UK Royal Air Force’s operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan has praised the UAE for staging one of the world’s best air-combat exercises. Air Commodore Al Gillespie spoke on Thursday, the final day of the advanced tactical leadership course (ATLC), an international major exercise hosted by the UAE Air Force.

NATO to focus on reassuring allies worried about Ukraine

04/11/2014

NATO’s next move in response to the crisis in Ukraine is likely to be more of the same: more NATO fighters patrolling over the Baltics, more rotations of warships into the Black Sea and more surveillance of Russian movements around Ukraine. Since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula last month, NATO has sought to reassure jittery members concerned about Moscow’s suspected expansionist aims by boosting its presence in those countries that border Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, officials said.

Can Russia's military fly without Ukraine's parts?

04/11/2014

Russia's sleek new military machine, currently poised on Ukraine's eastern borders, has a problem: It runs on components produced in Ukraine, which are still being delivered by Ukrainian companies. And now, Ukraine's beleaguered interim government is warning that it might call a halt to all arms supplies to Russia: "Manufacturing products for Russia that will later be aimed against us would be complete insanity," Vitaliy Yarema, Kiev's first deputy prime minister, said.