Military Aviation News Archive
05/15/2013
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday confirmed a Pentagon plan to reduce the number of civilian furlough days this year from 14 to 11. Sharp budget cuts are forcing the department to require most civilians to take unpaid leave one day a week for 11 weeks, beginning July 8, Hagel said during a town hall meeting at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Va. As he came to his decision, Hagel said, he kept in mind the department’s core missions to ensure military readiness and protect the country.
Read More...
05/15/2013
Beechcraft Defense Co. has received a $210 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to produce 35 T-6 training aircraft. Although the contract was issued by the Air Force, 33 of the planes are for the U.S. Navy and two for the U.S. Army. Production begins this month and final delivery of aircraft is expected in early 2015. Beechcraft said the deal, under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System procurement program, includes an option for two additional aircraft.
Read More...
05/15/2013
The Czech Republic participates in a Polish tender for training planes with the aim to deliver the L-159 aircraft to Poland, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas told CTK in Warsaw Monday.
Necas Monday met his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk and they discussed the extension of both countries' cooperation in the economy, energy industry and defence.
Read More...
05/15/2013
The first pilotless flight over British airspace has been successfully completed. Aerospace company BAE Systems flew a Jetstream 31 - dubbed the "flying test bed" - from Warton near Preston in Lancashire to Inverness in Scotland. Strictly speaking, the flight was not unmanned -- two pilots were in the cockpit as a precaution.
Read More...
05/15/2013
Over the past decade, India has invested heavily in Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Recognizing India’s significant economic and development contributions, the United States has called on New Delhi to play an important role in the new Silk Road initiative aimed at transforming Afghanistan into a regional trade hub.
Read More...
05/15/2013
he X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) completed its first ever carrier-based catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia today. “Today we saw a small, but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned systems into arguably the most complex warfighting environment that exists today: the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Read More...
05/15/2013
The worldwide community of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130J Super Hercules operators recently surpassed a landmark 1 million flight hours milestone, logging this time through numerous combat, special operations and humanitarian missions.
Read More...
05/15/2013
If fresh media reports are true, Russia, Syria’s longtime supplier of military equipment, may soon provide Damascus – or already has – with advanced S-300 air defense systems, tipping the balance in the devastating 26-month conflict in the Middle Eastern country. But the “if” is a big one.
Read More...
05/15/2013
Egypt is likely to become the first export customer for Turkey's Anka UAV - with more orders from the Middle East to follow, manufacturer TAI said. Anka - A medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) design received its certification from the Turkish authorities at the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul. The name means Phoenix in English.
Read More...
05/14/2013
The pilot of a Turkish F-16 fighter jet has been found dead after the aircraft crashed near Turkey's border with Syria, reports say. The plane was flying over the Amanos Mountains in the southern province of Osmaniye on Monday when it lost radio contact, Anatolia news agency said. The pilot reportedly sent a message saying "I'm jumping" before contact was lost. Rescuers found his body near to the wreckage of the aircraft.
Read More...
05/14/2013
On April 29, at Blair House, Arab League ministers led by Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani reiterated their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, including a (by now, familiar) proposed finesse, that the 1967 border might be adjusted with land swaps to accommodate the large settlement blocs. Three days later, on May 1 (and again on May 3), Israeli aircraft attacked an apparent cache of Hezbollah-bound Iranian weapons near Damascus.
Read More...
05/14/2013
The scope of United States (U.S.) military assistance to Nigeria and the U.S. new policy of using regional bloc leadership in solving crisis in Africa may be part of the reasons why the May 2, 2013 policy announced to civil rights activities in Abuja by U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence P. McCulley on withdrawal of military cooperation with Nigeria was shelved.
Read More...
05/14/2013
The Department of Defense awarded Northrop Grumman a $555.6 million contract for modernization of the Global Hawk drone system on Monday. The contract, designated as being for "indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity" (IDIQ), does not necessarily mean that Northrop will collect the full amount of the ceiling value, although it very well might.
Read More...
05/14/2013
The Pentagon’s top weapons buyer is backing calls to restore a valve on Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 jet that improves the fighter’s chances to survive a hit from a high-explosive round. “The addition of an improved” valve “would result in the aircraft being fully compliant” with its operational requirements, Frank Kendall, the under secretary for acquisition, wrote a lawmaker last month in a previously undisclosed letter.
Read More...
05/14/2013
No other country in the world has a site like the Woomera Prohibited Area, a 127,000sq km zone in northern South Australia where our defence force can test bombs and undertake rocket research. It is free from the noise of mobile phones, televisions and radios meaning it is one of the world's best sites to test electronic warfare and cyber-space simulation.
Read More...
05/14/2013
No one disputes the fact that Canada needs to procure new fighters, but that’s where universal agreement ends. Several aircraft types are competing to be Canada’s next fighter jet. In this ongoing series, defence analyst Richard Shimooka examines the pros and cons of each contender. In this installment: the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Saab Gripen.
Read More...
05/14/2013
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company announced that Roderick “Rod” McLean has been selected vice president and general manager of the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group (IFG). Michael Cawood has been selected to serve as vice president and deputy for IFG. Both appointments are effective immediately
Read More...
05/14/2013
Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have successfully tested a prototype air-launched Extended Medium-range Ballistic Missile (eMRBM) target at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
Read More...
05/14/2013
Lockheed Martin announced the redesign of www.F35.com, the official website of the F-35 Lightning II. The new design features enhanced functionality and compatibility with a variety of mobile devices while providing users the most up-to-date information on the F-35 program.
Read More...
05/13/2013
China has formed its first aircraft carrier-borne aviation strike force, significantly enhancing the navy's blue-water capability, amid maritime territorial disputes with neighbours including Japan and Vietnam. "A carrier-borne aviation force has been formally established as part of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy," the state-media reported.
Read More...
05/13/2013
Israel’s military grounded a fleet of high-altitude surveillance drones on Sunday after one was downed over the Mediterranean Sea. The military said it intentionally crashed the unmanned aircraft late Saturday because of a malfunction. The IAF Heron-1 UAV was downed by the air force after its controllers discovered an engine failure. The failure was discovered during a routine flight over the Mediterranean, off the coast of Netanya.
Read More...
05/13/2013
Almost four years after the MV-22 Osprey arrived in Afghanistan, trailing a reputation as dangerous and hard to maintain, the U.S. Marines Corps finally has had an opportunity to test the controversial hybrid aircraft in real war conditions. The reviews are startlingly positive. The unusual aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but turns its rotors to fly like an airplane, are being used for everything from freight to hundreds of assaults.
Read More...
05/13/2013
After deliberating for nearly a decade South Korea has finally agreed to purchase 36 U.S. AH-64E Apache helicopter gunships. A lot of the opposition was because of price. So five years ago the U.S. offered South Korea 36 refurbished AH-64s, rebuilt to like-new condition, for about $23 million each. That was a nearly 60 percent discount off the then current price of new ones. These helicopters would have a useful life of about 10,000 hours in the air.
Read More...
05/13/2013
This week the Navy will launch an entirely autonomous combat drone — without a pilot on a joystick anywhere — off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the George H. W. Bush. The drone will then try to land aboard the same ship, a feat only a relatively few human pilots in the world can accomplish. This exercise is the beginning of a new chapter in military history: autonomous drone warfare.
Read More...
05/13/2013
Even as the western and eastern fronts with Pakistan and China are bolstered with additional Sukhoi-30MKI squadrons, India has also kick-started plans to base its most lethal "air dominance'' fighter in south India to keep a "strategic eye'' over Indian Ocean.
Read More...