Military Aviation News Archive
03/29/2013
President Obama has instructed the Defense Establishment to pivot its forces and reorient its efforts toward Asia. Instead, the U.S. armed forces step by step get drawn into the quagmire of messy conflicts in Africa. Recently, the United States has become embroiled in conflicts in Somalia, Libya, Mali and central Africa. The presence is about 5,000 U.S. troops strong. The forces are scattered across the continent in the places like Djibouti, the Central African Republic and now – Niger.
Read More...
03/29/2013
Washington and Moscow have followed Beijing’s lead this week, calling elements of their armed forces into action for military exercises across the Pacific and European theaters.
After Chinese naval vessels and aircraft participated in maneuvers across the South China Sea earlier this week, the United States announced today that it had flown two of its stealth B-2 bombers over North Korean airspace in a display of force and technological superiority.
Read More...
03/29/2013
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Friday ordered preparations for strategic rocket strikes on the US mainland and military bases in the Pacific and South Korea. The order, issued at an overnight emergency meeting with top army commanders, was a direct response to the use of nuclear-capable US B-2 stealth bombers in ongoing US joint military drills with South Korea, Kim said.
Read More...
03/29/2013
In an unprecedented move, about 193 United Nations (UN) member-states reportedly closed in on the first-ever global treaty to regulate the $80 billion a year conventional arms trade.
As diplomats were cautiously optimistic that the landmark accord would be agreed at the final negotiating session starting at 1900 GMT, doubts remained over whether India, Iran or Syria could block the required consensus.
Read More...
03/29/2013
Malaysia has shortlisted five manufacturers as it seeks to buy 18 combat aircraft by 2015 to replace its ageing fleet of Russian-made MIG-29s, the defense minister said on Thursday. The choice was between the Britain-backed Eurofighter Typhoon, Sweden's SAAB JAS-39 Gripen, France's Dassault Aviation Rafale, Boeing's F/A 18E/F Super Hornet and Russia's Sukhoi Su-30, Zahid Hamidi told Reuters.
Read More...
03/29/2013
The US military said Thursday it had sent two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on an “extended deterrence” practice run over South Korea, dropping dummy bombs as part of a bilateral training exercise. “This mission… demonstrates the United States’ ability to conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will,” said a statement from the United States Forces Korea, a division of the US Strategic Command under the Department of Defense.
Read More...
03/29/2013
Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi and the Malaysian Defense Ministry have signed a $100-million contract for the technical maintenance of Malaysia’s fleet of Su-30MKM fighters, said a spokesman for the organizing committee of the LIMA-2013 aerospace exhibition. The contract covers technical maintenance as well as supplies of spare parts for 18 Russian Su-30MKM fighters that were delivered to Malaysia between 2007 and 2009 under a $900-million contract signed in 2003.
Read More...
03/28/2013
Bangladesh is planning to buy 24 Yak-130 Mitten jet trainers on $1 billion credit from Russia, Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. “Bangladesh has a whole list of arms it wants, but so far that is a state secret. I will reveal one little secret: The purchase of Yak-130 warplanes is a very significant subject of negotiations between Russia and Bangladesh.
Read More...
03/28/2013
Mongolia is in discussions to buy American-made military transport airplanes, and is getting U.S. help in learning how to operate the aircraft. That ambitious purchase appears to signal that Mongolia has mining money to spend, and it's using some of it to upgrade its armed forces. Mongolia is looking at buying three C-130J transport airplanes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Read More...
03/28/2013
The Air Force is canceling its flight training exercise scheduled for April in Alaska. An announcement from Pacific Air Forces says Red Flag - Alaska is being set aside because of budgetary concerns. The training exercise traditionally takes place at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, and use the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex for training.
Read More...
03/28/2013
Japan's highest-ranking uniformed officer said on Wednesday that Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighters were the best choice for the nation's future operational needs as Tokyo wrestles with tensions with China and increasingly belligerent North Korea. The vote of confidence in the state-of-the-art U.S. warplane comes amid reports that some nations that have placed orders for the F-35s are reconsidering their plans.
Read More...
03/28/2013
At Eglin Airbase near Port Walton Beach, Florida, Maj. Karen Roganov, an officer in charge of public information, guided reporters to the base Friday, saying, “Many foreign reporters have visited here, but this is the first time for us to receive Korean journalists.” Covering 1.88 million sq. kilometers, the base has more than 50 fighter jet hangars, runways and more than 30 barracks. The facility is used as a center for flight training and pilot education for the F-35 Lightening II.
Read More...
03/28/2013
Russia's relations with South Africa were not always as good as they are today. During Soviet times, the Soviet leadership disapproved strongly of the South African white regime's harsh apartheid politics. The Soviet Union supported the African National Congress in its struggle against apartheid. In 1956, the ties were severed completely by the USSR.
Read More...
03/28/2013
More than 40,000 US and South Korean troops are currently conducting military manoeuvres on the Korean Peninsula, as part of the annual Foal Eagle exercise. US bombers, fighter aircraft and submarines have made their way to the region in an effort to "enhance the security and readiness" of South Korea. Those exercises are seen as a visible way for Washington to reassure Seoul of the reliability of its alliance and extended deterrence commitment.
Read More...
03/28/2013
Embraer of Brazil has officially opened an assembly facility in Florida for A-29 aircraft it is producing for the U.S. Air Force LAS program. The ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, attended by Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, occurred despite a continuing protest and legal action by Beechcraft Corp. over the award for an initial 20 combat aircraft that will be supplied to Afghanistan.
Read More...
03/28/2013
The Navy is moving ahead with its effort to field a stealthy, carrier-based attack drone. Yesterday, the sea service announced that it plans to give Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Atomics contracts to flesh out their competing designs for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.
Read More...
03/28/2013
The effort over many years to forge an international treaty regulating the booming $70 billion annual trade in conventional weapons headed toward fruition on Wednesday with a final draft sent to the governments of all United Nations member states for approval. Supporters, including a majority of member states, hope that the Arms Trade Treaty will be approved by consensus at a final negotiation session here on Thursday.
Read More...
03/27/2013
Boeing is displaying a mock-up of a proposed conformal fuel tank fit (CFT) for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet combat aircraft at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition in Malaysia. A US Navy F-model aircraft is on static display at the show with two above-wing CFT shapes installed. Boeing ground crew added the "strap-on" mock-ups following the aircraft's arrival from the USA.
Read More...
03/27/2013
Broad government budget cuts have claimed this year's Aviation Nation show at Nellis Air Force Base. The military aircraft exhibition that opened the airfield to the public was slated to happen Nov. 9-10.
Read More...
03/27/2013
The Pentagon’s far-out research scientists aren’t just trying to build a drone that can operate off the deck of a small warship. They’re starting to describe their new-mark flying robot as a device that bridges the communication systems between ships and aircraft. And if they can pull it off, Darpa will be giving the U.S. military a capability it badly needs for one of its major initiatives.
Read More...
03/27/2013
After trying to buy the Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jet since the 1990s, China is finally getting 24 of them along with four submarines from Moscow, Forbes reports.
The Russians finally warmed up to the deal (which was trimmed from an order for 48), marking the first big military equipment purchase between the two nations in over a decade.
Read More...
03/27/2013
China's military is expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle forces with a new Predator-like armed drone and a new unmanned combat aircraft amid growing tensions with neighbors in Asia, according to United States intelligence officials.
Read More...
03/27/2013
Leave aside economic growth parameters and astounding leaps in infrastructure that only increase the disparity between India and China with every passing day, the story is repeated about the increasing gap between the military capabilities of the two countries. China's expenditure on defence is three times ours - if we accept disclosed figures - and could actually be more.
Read More...
03/27/2013
Peru is in talks with Spain and warplane suppliers as part of a low-budget plan to replace aging air force aircraft with second-hand Eurofighters and comparable fighters. Cost is a major issue for Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, who is looking at competitively priced fighter jets that will fit the national budget. Peru's cut-price fighter jet competition contrasts with Brazil's multibillion-dollar FX-2 replacement jet fighter program.
Read More...
03/27/2013
Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen expressed the desire to replace a number of ageing air force fighter aircraft during the latest parliamentary budget debate. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) seems to be in the leading position to be Singapore’s next-generation fighter.
Read More...