Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Japan fighter jets scrambled again to respond to Chinese planes

10/27/2013

Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter planes were scrambled Saturday for a second straight day to respond to four Chinese military aircraft flying over international waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island, the Defense Ministry said. The four Chinese planes - two Y8 early-warning aircraft and two H6 bombers - did not violate Japan's airspace as they flew from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean and back again, it said.

S. Korea Envisions Light Aircraft Carrier

10/27/2013

The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source. The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study, the source said.

Just Flight - Eurofighter Now Available

10/27/2013

The Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft first entered service in 2004 and over 350 aircraft have since been delivered. The Eurofighter is the result of Europe's largest military collaborative program and seven nations are now Eurofighter customers. At the start of 2013 the Eurofighter fleet has accumulated more than 160,000 flying hours around the world.

Air Force revives famed 61st Fighter Squadron

10/27/2013

The famed 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base has been reactivated. The U.S. Air Force brought the squadron back to life Friday, designating it as the first of six planned units that will train pilots on F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.

Boeing to bid on new bomber

10/27/2013

Boeing said Friday it has renewed its previously suspended partnership with Lockheed Martin to prepare a bid to build the next-generation long-range bomber for the Air Force. The $55 billion bomber program aims to develop a long-range strike aircraft to replace the B-2 Stealth bomber.

Military air staff warn over safet

10/27/2013

Military air traffic controllers fear the long hours they spend in front of consoles and having to carry out other jobs while they are supposed to be resting is increasing fatigue to a level that compromises safety. After a report critical of the relatively high number of planes flying too close to each other in military-controlled air space, two former RAAF air traffic controllers have spoken out about the heavy workload and high staff turnover that have led to a lack of experienced personnel.

IAF aircraft touches down at Jessore in Bangladesh after 42 years

10/26/2013

Air Commodore Anwar, air officer commanding (AOC) of the Bangladesh Air Force base at Jessore scanned the skies as he heard the sound of rotors. Shortly, the Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) came into sight and the pilot sought permission to land. Barely had the chopper touched down when the AOC went ahead to greet the crew. After all, this was a new beginning. An IAF aircraft had been allowed permission to enter Bangladesh airspace and land after nearly 42 years.

U.S. Marine Corps chastised for poor V-22 maintenance records

10/26/2013

Errors in the maintenance paperwork used to track readiness of the U.S. Marine Corps V-22 aircraft were so numerous between 2008 and 2011 they could have led officers to deploy squadrons that were unprepared for their missions, investigators reported on Friday.

Iraq Says It Needs Drones And F-16 Jets To Fight Al-Qaeda

10/26/2013

The Baghdad government wants the immediate delivery of U.S. drones and F-16 fighter jets in order to combat al Qaeda insurgents, who are making swift advances in the west of the Iraq, a senior Iraqi security official said. Washington agreed in August to supply a $2.6 billion integrated air defense system and F-16 fighter jets, with delivery due in autumn 2014.

Parliamentary Documents Reveal Beginning Of Taranis Test Flights

10/26/2013

The U.K.’s unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator Taranis has made its first test flights, according to documentation given to a government inquiry committee regarding the use of remotely piloted vehicles. In the public evidence, being heard by the Commons Select Committee and supplied by the U.K. Defense Ministry, ground tests of the UCAV commenced in 2010 and “flight trials took place in 2013.” No further detail is given about when or where the test flights may have taken place.

Narco-Planes Shot Down by Venezuela in Amplified Fight against Trafficking

10/26/2013

The Venezuelan government has issued new warnings to drug smugglers after the country's armed forces shot down two aircraft allegedly carrying narcotics from Central America over the weekend. “I will radicalize actions against drug smugglers,” President Nicolas Maduro stated this week, while congratulating the armed forces for destroying two light planes that reportedly entered Venezuelan airspace without authorization on Saturday and Monday.

Departed Fighter Pilot Leaves Lasting Impact on Air Force

10/26/2013

The nation lost a great hero with the passing of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today. Risner, a highly decorated fighter pilot who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War during his 30-year military career, died Oct. 22 at age 88 at his home in Bridgewater, Va., following a stroke.

Boeing Delivers Indian Air Force’s 4th C-17 Globemaster III

10/26/2013

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fourth Boeing C-17 Globemaster III departs for India from Long Beach on Oct. 19, keeping the company on track to deliver a total of five advanced airlifters to the IAF this year. Boeing will deliver five more C-17s to India in 2014 to complete the contract.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin Team for US Air Force Bomber Program

10/26/2013

The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation are teaming to compete for the United States Air Force's Long-Range Strike Bomber program, with Boeing acting as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin as the primary teammate.

India’s Share in Joint Fighter Project With Russia Likely to Grow

10/26/2013

India’s share in research-and-development work for the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia is currently limited by India's domestic industrial capabilities but will gradually increase with the project’s implementation, a Russian military expert said Friday.

Bodies, Black Box Found After Swiss Fighter Jet Crash

10/25/2013

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of the two people on board a Swiss army fighter jet that crashed into a mountainside, as well as the aircraft’s black box, the defense ministry said Thursday. “Both people onboard the F/A-18 fighter jet that crashed yesterday have been found dead,” the ministry said in a statement.

Every Yemen Drone Strike Creates 40 To 60 New Enemies, Former U.S. Official Says

10/25/2013

A former State Department official in Yemen says every U.S. drone killing there of an al Qaeda operative creates 40 to 60 new enemies of America. In an article for the Cairo Review posted Wednesday, Nabeel Khoury, the deputy chief of mission in Yemen from 2004 to 2007, writes, "Drone strikes take out a few bad guys to be sure, but they also kill a large number of innocent civilians.

Blue Angels, Thunderbirds return

10/25/2013

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be back on the airshow circuit in 2014: A yearlong grounding of both teams was lifted by a memo from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released on Oct. 18. Pilots are now working to scrape off some rust, with the Air Force team having been forced to find creative ways to use their time in Las Vegas.

Struggles of sequestration: Fighter wing gets creative during 3-month down time

10/25/2013

For more than three months, the 421st Fighter Squadron was reduced to “basic mission capable” flying hours, and the 4th FS stood down completely, causing a ripple effect for commanders, maintainers and pilots alike.

S. Korea mulls hike in fighter jet budget

10/25/2013

The government is considering increasing the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) budget to finance a fighter jet project aimed at buying 60 stealth jets, an official source said Thursday. The state arms procurement agency last month rejected Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, the only bid that met Seoul's budget, with concerns over its weak stealth capability, and formed a task force team to restart a new project to get advanced, radar-evading aircraft.

Upgraded Mirage 2000 undertakes maiden flight in France

10/25/2013

Under IAF's over Rs 10,000 crore modernisation programme, the first Mirage 2000, upgraded by its manufacturer, has successfully completed it maiden flight at an air base in France. India had signed an upgrade programme worth over Rs 10,000 crore with the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft.

Ruth: Botching F-35 dwarfs ACA website

10/25/2013

The F-35, which was touted to become the most sophisticated combat aircraft in history, went into development in 2001. Fast forward 12 years to January, when J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, appeared before the U.S. Senate's Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. It wasn't pretty.

AFSOC Receives Additional MC-130J Commando II

10/25/2013

A U.S. Air Force crew ferried an MC-130J Commando II Special Operations Forces tanker from the Lockheed Martin facility here today. The Lockheed Martin-built aircraft is assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. The Commando II supports such missions as in-flight refueling, infiltration/exfiltration, and aerial delivery and resupply of special operations forces.

61st Airlift Squadron Receives First C-130J Super Hercules

10/25/2013

The 61st Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., received its first Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130J Super Hercules today. A crew from the squadron ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., facility here.

Israeli warplanes attacked Syrian weapons convoy to Hezbollah, Kuwaiti newspaper says

10/24/2013

Israeli warplanes targeted a convoy of trucks loaded with advanced missiles bound for Hezbollah along the Syria-Lebanon border on Monday, Kuwaiti daily Al-Jareeda reported, citing an official in Jerusalem. On Friday, the same paper reported that Israel had information regarding the location of long-range missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon and was considering a military action to destroy the weapons.