Military Aviation News Archive
05/02/2013
China’s UAV development appears to have bypassed the cottage industry stage where many Western UAV programs find their roots and has emerged onto the high-tech stage as if it appeared out a fog. The staggering numbers of UAVs on display at the 2012 Zhuhai Airshow were too many to count. Just six years before, at the 2006 Zhuhai Airshow, you could count them with one hand.
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05/02/2013
The US Air Force is looking at equipping its Reaper unmanned aircraft with a British-developed, man-in-the-loop missile better able to reduce collateral damage than the current weapons carried by the machine, according to sources. Britain’s dual-mode Brimstone missile is being evaluated by the Air Force’s secretive Big Safari Group, British defense procurement minister Philip Dunne revealed in a speech at the offices of Washington law firm McKenna, Long and Aldridge on April 23.
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05/02/2013
After slipping by each other the narrow aisle of an E-8C Joint STARS aircraft, more than a dozen Airmen settle into their seats and begin to flip switches and work through checklists. Their olive-green headsets block out the roar of the jet engines and replace it with busy radio chatter as the crew prepares for the mission ahead.
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05/02/2013
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency sent a recommendation to airlines not to use Syrian airspace for flights and it has banned its air carriers from flying over Syria to avoid an unspecified threat from Syrian ground forces.
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05/02/2013
The Obama administration is placing a large bet on the ability of a Syrian former professor of military engineering to build a coherent rebel army that can defeat the regime of Bashar al-Assad, combat Islamic radicals and help build a stable new Syria.
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05/02/2013
Early Tuesday morning, the United States delivered its first direct shipment of food and medical supplies to the rebel Free Syrian Army, with some help from its representatives in Washington. At about 5 a.m. Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location across Syria's northern border, a U.S. C-17 transport aircraft based out of Dover Air Force Base offloaded the first of what will be several shipments.
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05/02/2013
We've been hearing for years now that the U.S. military's crop of slow-moving spy planes fielded for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- ranging from MQ-9 Reaper drones to manned MC-12 Liberties -- will be totally useless in a fight against an adversary armed with sophisticated radars and anti-aircraft missiles (often labeled anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) weapons).
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05/02/2013
France’s announcement that it plans to cut 24,000 military jobs by 2019 is causing concern in the U.S. about commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Europe’s only defense block. “This is very disappointing news,” ,” Nick Burns, former undersecretary of state for political affairs and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said in an email. “NATO is still in Afghanistan and has major responsibilities in the Balkans.”
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05/02/2013
Reports of the use of chemical weapons in Syria have sparked talk of U.S. military intervention, but experts said stopping the bloodshed in the war-torn country could prove a gargantuan task. U.S. President Barack Obama has repeatedly said any use of chemical weapons would constitute a "red line" that could spur U. S. military involvement at some level, but Obama urged caution Tuesday, suggesting in a White House press briefing that more proof was needed.
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05/01/2013
Canada’s search-and-rescue network is in desperate need of rescue itself, with aging planes, a shortage of military personnel and an information system at the “breaking point” all threatening the ability to respond to emergencies, a new report warns. Auditor general Michael Ferguson paints a troubling picture of a network stretched to the limits, hampered by a lack of investment and a lack of coordination.
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05/01/2013
The United States plans to deploy later this year a dozen more Osprey military aircraft to Japan's Okinawa prefecture which hosts two major U.S. airbases. In spite of protests from residents, the U.S. military had already deployed a fleet of 12 Osprey aircraft at its Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost island.
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05/01/2013
Six MV-22B Ospreys and two KC-130J’s flew from Marine Corps Air Station, New River, N.C., to Moron De La Frontera, Spain, April 27, completing the longest and largest transatlantic flight of any Osprey squadron to date. Their mission; crisis response. Major Anthony Krockel, the executive officer assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365, said it took a lot of planning and preparation and approximately 15 hours to cross the Atlantic.
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05/01/2013
Nearly half of the fighter squadrons in U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa halted flying operations three weeks ago. The action was a result of the reduction of flying hours Air Force-wide -- one impact of the current sequestration-related budget challenges affecting the Defense Department. When factoring in ongoing and anticipated deployments, there is limited ability to respond to operational requirements across two combatant commands.
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05/01/2013
"Whether the military effect would produce the kind of outcome that not just members of Congress but all of us would desire — which is an end to the violence, some kind of political reconciliation among the parties and a stable Syria — that's the reason I've been cautious, is the right word, about the application of the military instrument of power, because it's not clear to me that it would produce that outcome," Dempsey said at a lunch with reporters.
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05/01/2013
RUSSIA'S air transport agency on has banned all Russian civilian planes from flying through Syrian air space after the crew of a Russian passenger jet reported coming under threat over the war-torn country. The federal agency Rosaviation said the ban on flights over Syria went into force on Monday and will remain until further notice.
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05/01/2013
The Army unveiled the OH-58F Kiowa Warrior during it's first flight at Redstone Arsenal. Redstone employees and civilian contractors spent the past 4 years re-manufacturing and assembling the first modified versions of the helicopter. "Both of these aircraft were actually assembled up in Meridianville and we've seen an influx of about 30 million dollars into the local economy over the years in support of this program" says Armed Scout Helicopter Project Manager Col. Robert Grigsby.
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05/01/2013
With the combat role of U.S. troops in Afghanistan tapering off, aircraft accidents emerged as the biggest killer of U.S. troops here during the first four months of the year. Since Jan. 1, 13 service members have been killed in five crashes. U.S. troop deaths remain at their lowest levels here in recent years. The number so far this year, 33 through Tuesday, is the lowest at this point since 2008.
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05/01/2013
Boeing today rolled out the F-15SA, ushering in a new era in fighter aircraft capability and affordability for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The F-15SA, the newest variant of the combat-proven F-15, provides improved performance and increased survivability at a lower life-cycle cost. The aircraft has two additional wing stations for increased payload and capability.
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04/30/2013
Sweden's Defense Export Agency FMV has delivered three more Saab JAS 39 Gripens to Thailand, bringing Thailand's Gripen fleet to nine. Three additional Gripen fighters are to be delivered to the Thai air force this year, completing the procurement process. Thailand first ordered six of the multirole fighter in 2008. The deal included a Saab 340 AEW and a Saab 340 for transport and training. Comprehensive logistic support, pilot and technician were also part of the package.
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04/30/2013
Germany appears to have lost its enthusiasm for European made military helicopters and is cutting its order for Tiger gunships from 80 to 57 and NH90 transports from 122 to 82. Germany has lad a lot of problems with both of these helicopters during the last decade. Besides, Germany has better uses for the money, like bailing out the many European nations having financial problems.
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04/30/2013
The Department of Defense announced April 28 the deaths of four airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died April 27, near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in the crash of an MC-12 aircraft. The cause of the crash is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.
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04/30/2013
A civilian cargo plane crashed shortly after take-off at a huge US-run airbase in Afghanistan on Monday, killing all seven crew members on board, officials said. Rescue teams rushed to the scene after the plane smashed into the ground inside the boundaries of Bagram airfield, a key transport hub for US-led military operations in Afghanistan.
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04/30/2013
The United States and some Western allies deploy weaponry and other military equipment in the energy-rich Gulf to provide security to Gulf Arab states at short notice. Here is a list of equipment currently deployed, according to research institutions, mostly at bases shared with host states.
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04/30/2013
Serbia is considering the purchase of Russian-made MIG-29 combat aircraft and radars, Defense Minister Aleksandar Vucic said. “We are considering such a purchase for financial reasons,” even as Serbia has “excellent relations” with NATO, Vucic told reporters during a visit to neighboring Croatia. The Blic newspaper reported last week that the Balkan country may spend $150 million on six new jets to improve its air defense.
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04/30/2013
UNIDENTIFIED assailants reportedly fired two land-to-air missiles at a Russian passenger plane carrying over 150 people when it flew over Syria Monday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an informed source in Moscow. However, with technical support from Russia, Syria has bolstered its air defences, posing a threat to United States (U.S.) aircraft if America decides to intervene in the war, an American official was quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying Monday.
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