Military Aviation News Archive
04/24/2013
My colleague Timothy Whiteman at Liberty Unyielding highlighted recently the number of Air Force squadrons that will have to cease training later this year because the Air Force doesn’t have funds for the flying hours.This is real, and it is astounding. It will mean that, at a certain point in the near future, as early as this fall, if no additional funds become available, the cost of mounting an operation big enough to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons-related installations is likely too high.
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04/24/2013
F-22 pilots from the 302nd, 525th and 90th fighter squadrons tested their aim during a banner shoot, April 22 to 25. Banner shoots are a way for pilots to be comfortable in air-to-air combat. Pilots demonstrate the effectiveness of doing exercises like these by practicing their aim in the air. "A banner shoot is a system that we use to increase pilot proficiency," said Air Force Master Sgt. Richie Bill, weapons section chief from the 90th Fighter Squadron.
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04/24/2013
The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty adopted April 3 has sent shockwaves through India’s Defence Ministry as several ongoing projects could be affected. While no MoD official would comment on whether the treaty could impact weapon imports, an MoD source said planners are extremely concerned over the fate of some ongoing contracts and future purchases.
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04/24/2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to prepare for the possible use of chemical weapons by Syria in the ongoing civil war there. "We should also carefully and collectively consider how NATO is prepared to respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat," Kerry told a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
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04/24/2013
Russia plans to base fighter jets at a military airbase in Belarus, with a first wing due to arrive there later this year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday. “In 2013 we will establish a military commandant’s office and provide a wing of combat fighters on alert duty,” he said, adding more jets could be based there later. “We hope that an Air Force regiment will be here by 2015 to protect our borders,” he said.
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04/23/2013
The U.S. plans to provide Israel with advanced weapons, including the first export of the tilt- rotor V-22 Osprey, as part of an “iron-clad pledge” to ensure its edge against enemies such as Syria and Iran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said. “We’re committed to providing Israel with whatever support is necessary for Israel to maintain military superiority over any state or coalition of states and non-state actors,” Hagel said after meeting today with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in Te
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04/23/2013
There’s no doubt that China’s Dong Feng 21D (DF-21D) anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is, in theory, a formidable anti-access weapon. Since its alleged deployment circa 2010, many defense analysts have argued that the so-called “carrier killer” would be a game changer in any armed conflict in Northeast Asia and prevent the participation of U.S. carrier groups in regional contingencies, such as war in the Taiwan Strait.
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04/23/2013
Throughout the protracted Sino-Indian border dispute, Tibet and its status has always been a predominant influence, whether implicitly or explicitly on the negotiating table. This has both historical and contemporary ramifications. India, much to China's chagrin, utilized the Tibet issue as a key point of departure in order to strike a grand bargain with Beijing after China occupied Tibet in 1949.
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04/23/2013
Raytheon is producing more miniature air launched decoy-jammers for the U.S. Air Force under exercise of a contract option. A total of 202 MALD jammers, with containers, will be produced and delivered. The value of the firm fixed-price Air Force contract is $81.7 million. A 10-year warranty is included in the deal.
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04/23/2013
Known simply by the Marines who have attended it over the years as WTI, which stands for Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, it is also the only training of its kind, providing pilots, weapon system operators, ground combat and combat support service personnel a world-class opportunity to hone their battlefield knowledge and expertise.
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04/23/2013
This year’s defense budget is coming into focus, and the picture isn’t pretty. Congress and the president will probably agree to increase defense spending by a small amount, but they will probably also take money away from future defense budgets. This will allow them to say that they have increased defense spending while in reality the wholesale unraveling of American power will continue.
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04/23/2013
Apathy kills. The Obama administration’s pivot to Asia—a politico-military endeavor that combines strategic mass, strategic maneuver, and geography in intensely competitive surroundings—may well bolster Taiwan’s security vis-à-vis the mainland.Yet the pivot’s capacity to dissuade or defeat China hinges on whether U.S. Navy relief forces can reach the island’s vicinity, do battle, and prevail at a cost acceptable to the American state and society.
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04/23/2013
Officials said there were seven Turks and two Russians on board. The insurgent militia, which frequently makes exaggerated statements, claimed 11 US military personnel were on the aircraft which came down on Sunday in bad weather in Logar province, just south of Kabul. The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said no foreign military were involved and the helicopter was a civilian one. It said it had no information on the fate of the aircraft or its occupants.
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04/23/2013
The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief NAK Browne on Monday indicated that the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal, pertaining to acquisition of 126 aircraft at a cost of around Rs 45,000 crore, was crucial in the wake of the fact that the Mig-21 aircraft were being phased out. The phasing out of all the four variants of these aircraft will be over by 2019-20.
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04/23/2013
Even though the Air Force has grounded a third of its fighter squadrons due to sequestration, Pacific-based pilots and planes could be ready for combat at a moment’s notice, officials said Monday. Earlier this month, the Air Force announced that it would reduce flying hours of all aircraft by 18 percent and stand down a third of its fighter squadrons in an effort to save money in the wake of the ongoing Defense Department budget cuts.
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04/22/2013
A unit of Italy-based Finmeccanica has announced the signing of a EUR170m ($221m) contract for the supply of components, systems and services for Oman's Eurofighter aircraft.
Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, said it has signed the contract with Eurofighter relating to the 12 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft ordered by Oman in December.
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04/22/2013
The package, which includes F-35 stealth fighter bombers, V-22 Ospreys and KC-135 air refueling tankers, will enable Israel to strike longer range targets. A new defense deal between the US and Israel, after a year of secret negotiations, will give the Israel Air Force (IAF) a technological overhaul. The IAF will receive F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter bombers, the latest C-130J Hercules transports and cargo planes, both made by Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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04/22/2013
The Asia-Pacific will comprise 26 percent — nearly $200 billion — of global naval and maritime security builds in the next 20 years as complex relationships and rivalries drive procurements designed for particular regional challenges.
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04/22/2013
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Israel on Sunday to put the finishing touches on a complicated $10 billion arms deal with three Middle Eastern countries, saying the pact sends “a very clear signal” to Iran. Under preliminary terms of the agreement, the United States would sell tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey aircraft — which can take off like a helicopter but cruise at airplane speed — to Israel. It would be the first time the Pentagon has approved a foreign sale of the Osprey.
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04/22/2013
Troubles in India’s ambitious Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project has inflicted gaping wounds where it would hurt the Indian Air Force (IAF) the most—the future plans for an Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has “put on hold” the AMCA project that is being spearheaded by Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
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04/22/2013
The Armed Forces denied on Sunday morning that a military aircraft was brought down by smugglers in southwest Egypt. Armed Forces spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Ali said that a military helicopter was flying on a regular patrol of southern border areas Saturday evening when a sudden malfunction led to an “emergency landing.”
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04/22/2013
Israel's air force is on track to developing drones that within four to five decades would carry out nearly every battlefield operation executed today by piloted aircraft, a high-ranking Israeli officer says. The officer, who works in the field of unmanned aerial vehicle intelligence, said Israel is speeding up research and development of such unmanned technologies for air, ground and naval forces.
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04/21/2013
An Iranian US-made fighter jet F-5 has crashed in western Iran, killing two pilots, Mehr news agency reported on Sunday. The fighter jet crashed into Mount Filman near the town of Abdanan, some 450 km (280 miles) southwest of the capital Tehran. The bodies of both pilots were found at the crash site, Mehr said, citing regional governor Morad Nasseri.
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04/21/2013
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, ratified agreements with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on Friday extending the presence of Russian military bases in those countries.
Both bases are seen by Moscow as a bulwark against the threat of Islamist militancy and drug-trafficking in Central Asia.
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04/21/2013
Since the Australian Government’s last White Paper on defense in 2009, there have been rapid changes within the Asia-Pacific region. As a consequence, the forthcoming Australian defense white paper will be perhaps the most important that has ever been prepared. With a rising assertive China, the US adopting an "Asia Pivot" doctrine, and a host of rising Asian powers, the Australian Government cannot defer the strategic complexities of the region to the ’never never’ of 2030 like the 2009 paper.
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