Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

U.S. Arms Industry Would Lose Big from Egypt Aid Cut-Off

08/17/2013

The United States, which has refused to cut off its hefty 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid to Egypt, continues to argue that depriving arms to the 438,500-strong security forces will only "destabilise" the crisis-ridden country.There is perhaps a more significant - but undisclosed - reason for sustaining military aid flows to Egypt: protecting U.S. defence contractors.

Some Disturbing Facts About America's Dwindling Bomber Force

08/17/2013

One of the most distinctive features of U.S. military power is the Air Force’s fleet of heavy bombers. These long-range aircraft can visit tailored effects on targets anywhere in the world within a few hours, a capability no other nation has. The need to sustain such a fleet is dictated not only by the role America has assumed as guarantor of global security, but also by the geographical reality that vast oceans separate the U.S. from the rest of the world.

U.S. Officials Fear Losing an Eager Ally in the Egyptian Military

08/17/2013

Most nations, including many close allies of the United States, require up to a week’s notice before American warplanes are allowed to cross their territory. Not Egypt, which offers near-automatic approval for military overflights, to resupply the war effort in Afghanistan or to carry out counterterrorism operations in the Middle East, Southwest Asia or the Horn of Africa.

Obama Gives Support To Osprey: The Military Boondoggle That Just Won’t Die

08/17/2013

Few military projects are more notorious than the V-22 Osprey. The name has become synonymous with flawed government contracting and planning. Originally conceived in 1980 in the wake of the botched Iranian Hostage Crisis rescue mission, the Osprey was supposed to represent a new type of aircraft that could land and takeoff vertically but also carry plane sized equipment and personnel. So ends the theory.

South Korea Caps Price Bidding Stage for Fighter Jets

08/17/2013

South Korea said at least one firm vying for a $7.4 billion fighter jet contract qualified for the next round of negotiations, concluding the price bidding stage for one of the largest contracts currently on offer for the global defense industry.

Moody AFB Receives Second HC-130J

08/17/2013

The second Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] HC-130J Combat King II to be assigned to Air Combat Command’s (ACC) 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., was ferried by a Moody AFB crew from the company’s Aeronautics facility here on Aug. 14, 2013.

CIA Declassifies Mysterious ‘Area 51’ as Spy Plane Testing Site

08/17/2013

For decades the mysterious Area 51 site in the Nevada desert has been the subject of countless conspiracy theories, including the existence of extraterrestrials, alien autopsies and whether the site even existed at all. But newly declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents finally acknowledge that Area 51 did indeed exist and reveal that it was used as a base to test U-2 and other spy planes.

Is Japan on the road to becoming militaristic again?

08/16/2013

Last Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took part in a ceremony marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, an event which, combined with the following atomic bombing of Nagasaki, compelled Japan to surrender nine days later on August 15, ending the Second World War.

Navy Squadron Completes First F-35C Sortie

08/16/2013

Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101, the Navy's first F-35C Lightning II carrier variant aircraft squadron, completed its first flight in its new aircraft at the squadron's home at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. August 14. The 1.3-hour flight was made by VFA-101 aviator Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chris Tabert. The flight followed an Aug. 8 decision by Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific, Navy Vice Adm. David Buss, granting the Fleet Replacement Squadron interim "safe for flight" status.

Lockheed Gets $852M for LRIP-6 - Analyst Blog

08/16/2013

Lockheed Martin Corp. has received a contract worth $852.3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to provide the required equipment for F-35 fighter jets under Low Rate Initial Production Lot 6 (LRIP-6). This contract is slated for completion in Dec 2016.

Beijing, Moscow hail military ties

08/16/2013

China and Russia hailed their high-level military collaboration and said they are planning more such exercises over the next few years, as they wrapped up their joint counterterrorism drill, Peace Mission 2013, on Thursday. Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, said after simulated combat in the drill that both sides have made military exercises, bilateral and multilateral, regular events.

355 Fighter Wing Mission Video 2013

08/16/2013

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, known as “D-M” to our neighbors, is home to the 355th Fighter Wing, the premier air combat base for all Air Force A-10 C fighter aircraft training. Davis-Monthan is also home to other vital Department of Defense units including 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), 55th Electronic Combat Group, 563rd Rescue Group and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, nicknamed “The Boneyard.”

Boeing EMARSS Aircraft Begin US Army Flight Tests

08/16/2013

Two Boeing Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) aircraft have arrived at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland for airborne tests of the target-tracking capabilities they will provide to the U.S. Army. The extensively modified Beechcraft King Air 350 ER aircraft will undergo mission systems calibration and testing to certify them prior to delivery.

Obama Cancels Military Exercise with Egypt

08/16/2013

August 15 (By Maria Young for RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama on Thursday scrapped a military exercise the United States was due to hold next month with Egypt and “strongly condemned” the violent crackdown by security forces on protesters in the Middle Eastern country, in which hundreds were killed and thousands injured. “The cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop,” Obama told reporters in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, where the first family is vacationing.

Boeing to Review Production Rate of C-17 Military Jet

08/15/2013

A senior Boeing Co. executive said Wednesday that a decision would be made this year on whether to continue its current production rate of C-17 military transport aircraft, as the aerospace giant continues a quest to find overseas buyers for the jets. Boeing has signaled that it could decide this year whether to end production of the aircraft, the last large aircraft still being built in Southern California, once the center of the U.S. aerospace industry.

Leaked Pics Reveal North Korea's New-Old Military Cargo Plane

08/15/2013

Nukes aren't the only military implement North Korea's been tinkering with over the last few years. During a recent air force parade, the Hermit Kingdom reminded the world of its deadly, deadly fleet of 30-year-old attack choppers. Today, new images have surfaced of a mysterious, camouflaged cargo jet.

Tablets For Israeli Cockpits

08/15/2013

The Israeli Air Force is joining the U.S. and many other nations in replacing paper manuals, maps and other documents used in its aircraft (mainly in the cockpit) with tablet computers. The air force has not announced which brand of tablet computer will be used, and many air force crew are already using various tablets and smart phones to more conveniently consult scanned paper documents.

New govt faces tough choices on defence

08/15/2013

Australian Strategic Policy institute (ASPI) executive director Peter Jennings says reconciling defence's ambitious equipment proposals with the budget reality will be a big task. "The only way to avoid being locked into unsustainable long-term spending commitments is for the new government to make the unpalatable choice between increasing defence spending and cutting future capability plans," he says in a new study.

The Indian navigational satellite system

08/15/2013

When India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C22) rose from its launch pad at 11.41 p.m. on July 1, 2013 from the spaceport at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh and put into orbit a navigation satellite called the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS-1A) 20 minutes later, it signalled that India can build its own navigation satellites for civilian and defense requirements and put them into tricky orbits.

Are India's aging submarines going the MiG way?

08/15/2013

Is India's aging fleet of conventional submarines threatening to go the MiG-21 way? The Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), already 30 years in the making, was slated to replace the obsolete MiG-21 in the 1990s but is still at least two years away from becoming fully-operational.

Four U.S. companies get funds for more work on unmanned plane

08/15/2013

Four U.S. weapons makers each received $15 million in funding on Wednesday for continued work on a new unmanned combat plane for use on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, the Pentagon announced. Lockheed Martin Corp , Boeing Co , Northrop Grumman Corp and privately-held General Atomics each received a contract valued at $15 million to fund a preliminary review assessment of their designs for a new type of drone to be used for surveillance and possible strikes.

Lockheed Martin First Flight for First ROKAF C-130J

08/15/2013

The Republic of Korea Air Force’s (ROKAF) first C-130J Super Hercules took to the skies today for its first flight at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] production facility here. This C-130J (Lockheed Martin aircraft number 5730) is scheduled for a 2014 delivery to the ROKAF, a legacy C-130 operator.

First Airbus Military A400M for Turkish Air Force makes maiden flight

08/15/2013

The first production Airbus Military A400M new generation airlifter for the Turkish Air Force (TAF) has made its maiden flight, marking a key milestone towards its delivery. The aircraft, known as MSN9, took off from Seville, Spain, at 13:56 local time (GMT+2) on August 9 and landed back in Seville 5 hours and 30 minutes later.

Israelis, Egyptians Cooperate on Terror

08/14/2013

Israel and Egypt are quietly cooperating to quell Islamist militants along their border, Western officials say, a sensitive relationship illuminated by a deadly Israeli drone strike late last week inside Egyptian territory. Israel's intervention in the Sinai Peninsula—which Egyptian officials denied, and which Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied—would be the clearest manifestation of the high-level interaction between Israeli and Egyptian military and intelligence chiefs.

Pentagon watchdog to release classified audit on V-22 Osprey

08/14/2013

The Pentagon’s internal watchdog is poised to publish a classified report scrutinizing how much time the military’s V-22 Osprey spends in maintenance and unprepared for flight. The Defense Department inspector general’s audit will determine whether the Osprey’s performance “meets mission capability rate requirements, as well as how the frequency of repairs and the replacement of supply parts” affects its mission readiness, officials with the IG’s office wrote in their August newsletter.