Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Experts Wary Over News Of China's 2nd Carrier

01/26/2014

Experts on China’s Navy are sounding cautionary tones after news surfaced last week that China is reportedly constructing a second aircraft carrier. The Chinese-language report from Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao, known as a veteran pro-Beijing newspaper, stated that Wang Min, a Communist Party secretary of China’s northeastern province of Liaoning, has confirmed the construction of the ship, which unlike its first carrier, is homegrown.

Congress gives fighter jet a reprieve

01/26/2014

Congress has given Boeing's Super Hornet fighter jet a lifeline, at least for now. The omnibus federal spending measure contains a down payment of $75 million for 22 of the fighters that the Navy didn't request. The funding, signed into law on Jan. 17, will prod Navy officials to decide this year whether to spend as much as $2 billion for the unplanned planes as a hedge against delays of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

100% price escalation on Rafale fighter aircraft to Rs 1.75 lakh crore likely to dent IAF's strike capability

01/26/2014

India’s biggest deal of procuring 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for $18 billion (Rs90,000 crore) has hit rough weather. Two years after French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation bagged the deal for its Rafale fighter jets on account of being the lowest bidder, its cost has now shot up by 100 per cent.

Faults on stealth fighter – Pentagon

01/25/2014

A new US Defence Department report warns that ongoing software, maintenance and reliability problems with Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 stealth fighter could delay the Marine Corps’ plans to start using its F-35 jets by mid-2015. The latest report by the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester, Michael Gilmore, provides a detailed critique of the F-35’s technical challenges, and focuses heavily on what it calls the “unacceptable” performance of the plane’s software.

DRDO to test fire Astra BVR missile in coming weeks

01/25/2014

After the successful launch of Agni IV ballistic missile, Indian defence scientists are preparing to test long delayed indigenous beyond visual range air-to-air missile Astra in the coming weeks. Astra, meant for the IAF's combat jets, will be test fired within a month, officials said. The missile has already been fitted on Sukhoi-30 MKIs at selected IAF bases and trial runs were going on. The Astra will soon be fired from DRDO's test facility Chandipur-on-sea.

Congress cuts U.S. military and development aid for Afghanistan

01/25/2014

With no perceptible opposition from the Obama administration, Congress has quietly downscaled Washington’s ambitions for the final year of the Afghan war, substantially curtailing development aid and military assistance plans ahead of the U.S. troop pullout.

US to Deploy Global Hawks to Japan

01/25/2014

Global Hawks, America’s largest unmanned surveillance aircraft, will fly out of Japan for the first time this summer, the Air Force says. Interest in the drones - ranging from NASA to NATO and other U.S. allies -- has been rising due to their versatility and endurance. Two of them, along with 40 personnel, will deploy to Misawa Air Base from May to October, according to 1st Lt. Caitlin Suttie, a public affairs officer with the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa.

F-35 fighter 'hit by software and reliability problems'

01/25/2014

Britain’s new £70 million F-35 fighter is struggling with “unacceptable” software problems and is less reliable than hoped a new report has warned. The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester has warned the new stealth fighter being bought by the British and the US militaries is facing more delays and remains vulnerable to fires.

Raytheon Prevails Again In Jammer Contest

01/25/2014

The Navy’s EA-18G electronic warfare plane will be the principal host for the Next Generation Jammer that Raytheon is developing. This image shows pods housing the existing jamming system on the plane’s underside. Once the new system is installed, the EA-18G — dubbed the “Growler” — will be able to counter all emerging threats across the electromagnetic spectrum in support of the joint force.

Russian rubbish? India reportedly disappointed with stealth fighters from Moscow

01/25/2014

Despite initial high expectations, the Indian Air Force appears to be souring on a joint development deal with Russia for a new fifth-generation fighter jet, according to the Business Standard, a major Indian business publication. The Russian prototype is "unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered,” said Indian Air Force Deputy Air Marshall S Sukumar at a Jan. 15 meeting, according to minutes obtained by the Business Standard.

Russian Carrier Group Conducting Exercises in Mediterranean

01/25/2014

A Russian carrier group that entered the Mediterranean earlier this month has begun a series of naval aviation exercises, a navy spokesman said Friday. “The naval aviators are conducting training in dogfighting, high-speed interception and improving their skills in flying intricate aerobatic maneuvers,” Captain of the 1st Class Vadim Serga said.

Chinese military planes regularly patrol ADIZ: spokesman

01/24/2014

Chinese air force planes have been regularly patrolling the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) since it was established two months ago, an air force spokesman said here Thursday. The routine patrols have beefed up China's effective control over the ADIZ, air force colonel Shen Jinke said.

Upto 50 killed in shelling by fighter aircraft, helicopters in NWA

01/24/2014

Upto Fifty people were killed and several others sustained injuries in targeted operations by security forces, conducted by fighter aircraft and gunship helicopters, in North Waziristan and the Khyber tribal agencies on Tuesday. For the first time since 2007 when the government signed the peace accord with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led Taliban militants in North Waziristan, fighter aircraft and helicopter gunships pounded suspected positions of militants in the Mir Ali subdivision.

The Horrifying Toll Of 5 Years Of Drone Strikes: 2,400 Dead

01/24/2014

The U.S. drone program under President Barack Obama reached its fifth anniversary on Thursday having tallied up an estimated death toll of at least 2,400 people. As the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a U.K.-based non-profit, details on its website, five years ago the CIA conducted the first drone strikes of the Obama presidency. Although there were reports of suspected "militants" killed, at least 14 civilians also died that day.

Fund cut by finance ministry hits modernization of armed forces

01/24/2014

The defence ministry is upset with the finance ministry for slashing Rs 7,870 crore from the funds allocated for the modernization of the armed forces, holding that it will delay the finalization of some critical procurement projects.

Boeing surveillance plane found not yet effective for missions

01/24/2014

A new Boeing surveillance aircraft deployed to Japan last month as part of the U.S. shift to Asia isn't yet effective for its primary submarine-hunting and intelligence missions, the Pentagon's weapons tester found. The new P-8A Poseidon exhibited "all of the major deficiencies" identified in earlier exercises when subjected to more stressful realistic combat testing from September 2012 to March 2013, Michael Gilmore, chief of the Pentagon testing office.

Dassault Aviation: THE RAFALE FURTHER IMPROVES ITS VERSATILITY

01/24/2014

The RAFALE has successfully completed its first test flights in a new heavily-armed configuration, comprising six air-to-ground precision AASM Hammer missiles, four medium and long range air-to-air missiles from the MICA family, two very long range METEOR missiles, as well as three 2,000 liter fuel tanks.

LCA Tejas to be star attraction of DRDO's R-Day Parade contingent

01/24/2014

Tejas, the Indian Light Combat Aircraft, is going to be the star attraction amongst the products displayed as part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) contingent at the Republic Day parade. DRDO’s products for the parade include Arjun Mk-II (a new version of Indian battle tank), a tableau displaying ‘Astra’ and ‘Helina’ missiles and another tableau displaying a wide range of unmanned systems.

Argentina after Israeli fighter planes; concern in London and Brasilia, says defense expert

01/24/2014

Argentina is considering the purchase from Israel of 18 multipurpose combat aircraft Kfir Block 60 after negotiations with Spain for 16 Mirage F1 fighter bombers fell through, according to a report from Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

China in negotiation for more Russian weapons as tensions with Japan rise

01/23/2014

In the midst of heightening tensions with Japan over the disputed Diaoyutai islands (called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China), China is still negotiating with Russia to import more advanced weapon systems with which to equip its air force and navy writes Vasiliy Kashin from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in an article for the Moscow-based Military-Industrial Courier.

Israeli Herons Supplied through France end up in Morocco

01/23/2014

International media sources have reported recently that Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has acquired the three ‘Harfang’ unmanned aerial systems retired by the French Air Force after several years of service in Afghanistan. Harfang which deployed with the Armee de L’air in 2008 was delivered by EADS (Now Airbus Defense & Space), under the Eagle I cooperative development with Israel Aerospace Industries.

Russia Offers Joint Productions On All Future Defense Deals With India, As IAF Reportedly Criticizes FGFA Deal

01/23/2014

Joint productions of all future projects is expected to be the new norm in Indo-Russian relations after Moscow last year offered to set up manufacturing facilities in the country for joint production of defence hardware. India and Russia agreed to set up manufacturing facilities in India for joint production of defence hardware during Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Rogozin’s state visit to New Delhi last year.

Hopes of selling Typhoon jet fighters to United Arab Emirates are over, according to BAE Systems boss

01/23/2014

Hopes of selling Typhoon jet fighters to the United Arab Emirates are over, the boss of BAE Systems conceded yesterday, just weeks after the firm warned talks about the £6bn deal had stalled. Chief executive Ian King said the UAE negotiation was ‘done’, adding ‘we have no plans to revive it’.

Budget includes money for Raptor fixes

01/23/2014

The new omnibus federal budget has millions of dollars for the Hampton Roads defense community, including money for Virginia-class submarines and construction projects at Joint Base Langley Eustis. Another line item is of particular interest to the F-22 Raptor community.

Lockheed exaggerates number of jobs on F-35 program, new report says

01/23/2014

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s claims that the development and construction of the nearly $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will sustain 125,000 jobs in 46 states is “greatly exaggerated,” according to a new report by a research center.