Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

European Defense Firms’ Drone Push Remains Elusive

10/09/2013

Circling around this air force base in southern France, an orange helicopter earlier this year completed a test flight—without a pilot. Made by Eurocopter, a unit of Franco-German aerospace giant European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., the military chopper was controlled by technicians in a distant control room.

Boeing Delivers 5th Canadian CH-147F Chinook Helicopter

10/09/2013

Boeing has delivered the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) fifth CH-147F Chinook helicopter one month ahead of schedule and only three months after the arrival of the first in June, expanding Canada’s military cargo capability while continuing the Chinook program’s history of excellence.

Instant Persistence Anywhere Within 48 Hours

10/08/2013

U.S. SOCOM’s (Special Operations Command) Air Force Special Operations Command has come up with a quicker way to get Special Forces troops high quality reconnaissance no matter where these operators are in the world. This is done by partially breaking down two MQ-1 Predator UAVs and flying them where needed in a C-17.

Turkey scrambled F-16s to stop Syrian air operations near border

10/08/2013

Turkey has been preparing for an air war with Syria. The Turkish military said four U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters were sent to the Syrian border on Oct 5. The military said the F-16s were deployed to stop the approach of Syrian Air Force warplanes.

China military preparing capability to control Taiwan by 2020: MND

10/08/2013

China plans to enhance its combat capabilities to a level sufficient to mount a full attack against Taiwan by 2020, showing that its military threat to Taiwan has not diminished, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has concluded in a report.

Mirage 2000: The backbone of IAF to get a USD 2.4 bln makeover

10/08/2013

Mirage 2000s has been the backbone of Indian Air Force since decades. The French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by French-based Company Dassault Aviation was inducted in Indian Air Force in 1980s.

Military targets waste and inefficiency in redeploying funds

10/08/2013

In 2005 the enemy was the Taliban, but now the Canadian Armed Forces have slapped a target on a fresh adversary: waste and inefficiency. The military will squeeze up to $1.2-billion in annual savings from existing spending and redirect it to higher priority areas in an effort to keep soldiers, sailors and air force personnel in a higher state of readiness, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson announced Monday. The goal, in military parlance, is “more teeth and less tail.”

Scorpion—Bold Idea, But Where’s The Market?

10/08/2013

Textron, in partnership with Airland Enterprises, recently unveiled the Scorpion, a largely clean-sheet light combat/ISR jet that is being prepared for a first flight this month. New military aircraft are so scarce that any new prototype is bound to garner attention, including an Aviation Week cover story, and it's good to see innovation make an appearance in the aerospace and defense industry.

Su-35S overtakes F-22 in terms of ‘intellect’

10/08/2013

Practically the entire fifth generation fighter ideology has come to fruition in the shape of the Su-35S. This gives Russia the potential to set about creating a sixth generation combat aircraft ahead of all the other nations.

Stuck at the basics of aircraft design

10/08/2013

The Indian Air Force needs to take a call on how it is to acquire a new set of trainer aircraft, balancing indigenisation concerns with practical considerations. There is a considerable degree of conceptual confusion here. It took over a decade to decide on and acquire the Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT). The British Hawk Mk 132 finally entered service in the IAF in early 2008 for advanced jet training.

Russian Military Inspectors to Fly Over Portugal, Spain

10/08/2013

Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over Portugal and France starting on Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of a Tu-154M Lk-1 aircraft between October 7 and 11 taking off from Lisbon Airport in Portugal and Getafe Air Base in Spain.

UK’s £22bn defence sector must adapt as revenues tighten

10/07/2013

No one really likes to talk about the business of war, but for the United Kingdom the defence industry has an important role in the economy. Last month, a record 1,600 companies from around the world flocked to London’s International Defence and Security Exhibition to display their military wares and to meet potential buyers of these arms.

H-6 bomber: more dangerous than the Liaoning

10/07/2013

Once equipped with cruise missiles with a range of 2,000km, China's H-6 strategic bombers will be more of a threat to US military bases in the Western Pacific than its aircraft carrier, reports Taipei-based magazine Asia-Pacific Defense.

AMC and DoD disagree over cutting C-130s to save money

10/07/2013

The Air Force could lose up to 78 C-130s as the Defense Department determines its intra-theater airlift requirement, Air Mobility Command officials said. The results of a Defense Department study are classified, but one proposal calls for cutting the C-130 fleet from 358 to 280 aircraft, officials said.

Officials, Furloughed National Guard Cheer C-130 Arrival at Bradley Air Base

10/07/2013

A wall of Connecticut Air National Guardsmen from the 103rd Airlift Wing stood at attention Saturday afternoon at Bradley Air Base in East Granby waiting to receive their long-awaited next mission. They did it with smiles, and because of the government shutdown, they did it without pay.

Navy Hercs join the club

10/07/2013

Like the secret handshake of an elite club, coordination between air traffic control and airborne aircraft involves precise, sometimes complex series of movements. After scheduled avionics upgrades, Navy C-130Ts will know the handshake and be part of the club.

Jodhpur Air Force station to receive 5 Dhruv helicopters

10/07/2013

Jodhpur Air Force station, a front-line air base, is all set to receive a batch of five Dhruv advanced light helicopters, which will eventually replace the ageing Chetaks, a defence spokesperson said today. The advanced helicopters, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, will replace Chetak helicopters and used primarily for training, rescue and light transport, Defence spokesperson Col S D Goswami said.

At 40 Years of age, Kfir Turns into a “Networked Fighter”

10/07/2013

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is offering a modernized version of its 1970 era delta-winged Kfir Mach 2+ fighter aircraft. Equipped with advanced avionics and mission systems that, the IAI claims its old fighter jet could rank in the same class of contemporary ‘fourth generation’ fighter jets.

IAF hopes to build its own combat aircraft within 20 years

10/07/2013

The Indian Air Force (IAF) dreams of developing its own combat aircraft in 20 years. At least that is what IAF chief NAK Browne hopes, given the fact that the Air Force has acquired significant expertise in overhaul and upgrade of aircraft.

Indonesia eyes more jet fighters

10/06/2013

Indonesia is aiming to create eight new squadrons of fighter aircraft by 2024 as part of military upgrade programs, the head of the air force said. The Indonesian Defense Force also is set to train more pilots to cope with what could be more than 100 new jet fighters if each squadron has around 16 aircraft, the Jakarta Globe newspaper reported.

2 unmanned cargo helos vie for lift platform contract

10/06/2013

Boeing’s H-6U Little Bird, a staple of the special operations community, is in the running for the Marine Corps’ future unmanned lift platform. The traditionally manned Little Bird helicopter, which is used for a variety of missions, including Special Forces raids, will be evaluated here in February, putting it in a head-to-head competition with Lockheed Martin/Kaman’s K-MAX helicopter.

The Royal Reapers Roll On

10/06/2013

Britain became more enthusiastic about using armed UAVs as its troops in Afghanistan got used to having this kind of air support. Thus in 2012, RAF (Royal Air Force) large UAVs flew 892 missions over Afghanistan and 10 percent of the time these missions resulted in a UAV firing a missile at something it had spotted (or was looking for) on the ground.

DARPA program to launch long-range UAVs from small ships expands to five contractors

10/06/2013

A U.S. military research program that seeks to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can launch and recover from relatively small ships for long-term maritime surveillance has grown to five separate contractors.

Russian Military Inspectors to Fly Over Portugal, Spain

10/06/2013

Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over Portugal and France starting on Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of a Tu-154M Lk-1 aircraft between October 7 and 11 taking off from Lisbon Airport in Portugal and Getafe Air Base in Spain.

Shutdown Grounds Portions of Air Force Fleet

10/05/2013

The shutdown has grounded Air Force planes at key locations across the country as furloughs and the absence of a budget begin to take a toll on a service working to sustain its operational tempo in support of combatant commanders worldwide, Air Force officials said.