Military Aviation News Archive
05/08/2013
Boeing has delivered a training center for the C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, enabling the base to cut costs by training pilots and loadmasters onsite.
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05/08/2013
Tests of Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 fighter jets in the Chkalov state flight test center in Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan Region in south Russia may start in July, Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said. “In two months,” he said Monday when asked when the center would start tests of such jets, adding that the first serial fifth-generation jet may be manufactured in 2014-2015.
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05/07/2013
Syrian rebels shot down a military helicopter in the country's east, killing eight government troops on board a day after opposition forces entered a sprawling military air base in the north, activists said Monday. In the past months, rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have frequently targeted military aircraft and air bases in an attempt to deprive his regime of a key weapon used to target opposition strongholds and reverse rebel gains in the 2-year-old conflict.
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05/07/2013
The 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron executed the first combat Extracted Container Delivery System, or XCDS, airdrop April 29, successfully demonstrating the increased accuracy that this new technology provides. The new airdrop method is designed to pull the bundles out of the aircraft at a faster rate than the current airdrop process, which improves the overall accuracy of the drop itself.
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05/07/2013
India abstained from the Arms Trade Treaty adopted by the United Nations and the government will take all measures to ensure that it does not impact national interest, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. In a written reply to the House, Defence Minister A K Antony also said India's position in this regard has been placed on record at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
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05/07/2013
A Nigerian warplane crashed in Niger on Monday, from where it was conducting military operations in neighbouring Mali, and the two pilots were killed, an army source in Niamey said. The fighter jet was part of Nigeria’s air fleet engaged with an African force battling hardline Islamists in Mali. The Niger military source said it had suffered a “mechanical” problem.
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05/07/2013
India is still to finalize the terms for a potential purchase of 126 fighter jets from Dassault Aviation S.A.,more than a year after the French defense contractor was chosen for the deal estimated to be worth more than $10 billion. Commercial discussions are continuing with Dassault because of which a specific time frame cannot be provided for the delivery of the Rafale combat planes, Defense Minister A.K. Antony told a lawmaker in the lower house of Parliament Monday.
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05/07/2013
India will commission MIG-29K fighter jets for the first time into its Navy later this week in the western state of Goa, a senior defense official has said. A squadron of the combat aircraft, MIG-29K (K stands for " Korabelny" meaning "Carrier Borne" in Russian), will be commissioned into the Indian Navy by Defense Minister A.K. Antony on 11 May at INS Hansa naval base in Goa, the Indian Navy PRO told the media.
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05/07/2013
A no-fly zone over Syria means American boots on the ground. Among President Obama's difficult options as he grapples with growing pressure to intervene with force in the war in Syria is a no-fly zone, an option that would effectively block Syria's ability to use its air power or missiles against rebel forces or to strike outside its borders.
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05/07/2013
President Museveni has continued to pursue the air defence revolution that began in July 2011 with the acquisition of a fleet of Su-30 fighter jets. "Fighter jet planes from Russia were recently delivered at the Entebbe military airbase," an insider source told The Observer at the weekend. The Observer has learnt that another fleet of Su-30 fighter jets were delivered in the country early this month.
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05/07/2013
US officials are “highly skeptical” of claims that Syrian rebels had deployed chemical weapons in their war with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday. “We find it highly likely that any chemical weapon use that has taken place in Syria was done by the Assad regime. And that remains our position,” Carney said.
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05/07/2013
Serbia is planning to buy several MiG-29M/M2 Fulcrum fighter jets from Russia, and Serbian pilots are already being trained in flying the aircraft, the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday. Serbia expects to buy the aircraft on credit, he said, adding that the final cost of the deal will depend on what weapon systems are installed on them as well as on the volume of spare parts to be purchased.
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05/06/2013
The Department of Defense identified the three airmen killed when a KC-135 tanker assigned to McConnell Air Force Base crashed Friday near Chon-Aryk, Kyrgyzstan. The airmen, who were assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington, the news release said.
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05/06/2013
Israeli jets bombed a military research facility north of Damascus early Sunday, a senior official told NBC News - the second Israeli attack on targets in Syria in recent days. Heavy explosions shook the city, and video shot by activists showed a fireball rising into the sky after Sunday's strikes. Reuters reported that a Western intelligence source said the operation hit Iranian-supplied missiles that were en route to the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
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05/06/2013
South Korea and the United States will hold an annual joint naval exercise in waters around the Korean peninsula from the end of this week. Military sources say Aegis destroyers from both countries, P-3C patrol aircraft as well as submarines will take part in the drill.
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05/06/2013
With a direct eye on Taiwan, the Chinese military may be moving into the large-scale deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. The Associated Press reported over the last few days that Chinese aerospace firms had developed dozens of drones, that its technology was maturing rapidly and that they were “on the cusp” of widespread use for surveillance and combat strikes.
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05/06/2013
Indian Navy is celebrating the diamond jubilee of its aviation wing May 11 with the commissioning of its first shipboard Mig-29K combat jet squadron in Goa. The aircraft will be deployed on the carrier INS Vikramaditya, currrently undergoing sea trials in Russia and which is expected to be inducted later this year.
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05/06/2013
An army marches on its stomach, according to an old military adage. Today's military is tethered to a gas pump. The amount of fuel used per individual soldier has skyrocketed in recent years because of an increased use of aircraft and armored vehicles. In Afghanistan, that dependency has meant long and costly supply lines that are vulnerable to attack and limit the reach of American forces.
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05/06/2013
Four flights in one year. That's the flight track record of the naval variant of Light Combat Aircraft -LCA Navy (NP-1) since it made its maiden flight on April 27 last year in Bangalore. Four flights in one year. That’s the flight track record of the naval variant of Light Combat Aircraft -LCA Navy (NP-1) since it made its maiden flight on April 27 last year in Bangalore.
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05/06/2013
MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Syria condemned on Sunday Israel over airstrikes against targets around Damascus, saying the attacks aim "to give direct military support to terrorist groups" fighting the government, the Associated Press reported. The Syrian Foreign Ministry also said Sunday in a letter sent to the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council that the "Israeli aggression" had killed and wounded several people and "caused widespread destruction."
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05/06/2013
Israel decided to close airspace to civilian aircraft over its northern part of the country in the wake of reports on alleged Israeli airstrikes on Syria, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.
The daily cited Israel’s leading airline Arkia as saying in a statement that after instructions from the Israeli Defense Ministry the airline was “forced to announce the cancellation of interior flights from Haifa to Eilat.”
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05/05/2013
Israeli strikes on Syrian army targets show co-ordination with "terrorists" including al-Qaeda linked militants, the Syrian foreign ministry has said. The strikes had led to a number of casualties and widespread damage, it reported in a letter sent to the UN. State media said a research centre and other sites had been hit overnight. Israeli sources said weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon were the target.
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05/05/2013
The Marine Corps has a long and storied history with the bird they affectionately call the "Phrog." More than four decades have passed since the CH-46A Sea Knight entered the Corps' arsenal, and now, 49 years later, the birds will be resting their wings as their last flights come to an end as the Corps transitions to the MV-22 Osprey.
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05/05/2013
AUSTRALIA'S armed forces will face firmly north and increase their collaboration with the US military,potentially allowing B-52 long-range bombers and drone aircraft to fly from Australian bases,under plans announced by the government yesterday.The formal response to last year's Australian Defence Force Posture Review report also committed to upgrading airfields on the remote Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean to support the anticipated arrival of a squadron of RAAF armed surveillance aircraft.
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05/05/2013
Last week Con Coughlin became the first British journalist to see a British pilot conduct a perfect test landing of Britain's new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Here he describes an aircraft that is set to become one of Britain’s leading strike fighters for the next generation.
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