Military Aviation News Archive
01/28/2013
A unmanned British combat drone could be deployed in the front line of the war on terror in regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, if a forthcoming test flight in Australia is successful. The performance of the eight-ton Taranis "superdrone" will be monitored by Ministry of Defence officials, after the long-awaited flight was delayed by stringent aviation laws in the UK, and repeated technical setbacks.
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01/28/2013
It is named after the Celtic god of thunder, can fly faster than the speed of sound and evades enemy radar with its single-wing stealth design. This is Taranis, Britain’s latest pilotless combat aircraft, which is even capable of selecting its own targets. The revolutionary superdrone is due to make its maiden flight in the next few weeks and could spearhead the fight against terrorism in Africa.
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01/28/2013
Australia will almost certainly be forced to buy 24 new Super Hornet fighter planes for about $2 billion to plug a looming gap in its air defences caused by delays in the purchase of the cutting-edge Joint Strike Fighter. According to a leaked draft of the 2013 defence white paper, Australia will take delivery of just two Lockheed Martin JSFs by 2020, indicating the government will need to buy a batch of rival Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets.
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01/28/2013
The Self-Defense Forces have been keeping around-the-clock surveillance over airspace around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, dispatching radar-equipped aircraft in a bid to prevent intrusions by Chinese airplanes. Air Self-Defense Force aircraft were dispatched to Okinawa Prefecture after a Chinese airplane intruded into Japanese airspace on Dec. 13, when the ASDF failed to promptly scramble fighters as a ground radar in the area was unable to detect the low-flying plane.
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01/28/2013
China successfully tested a locally- built freight plane, two months after the debut of its fighter jet, boosting the nation’s efforts to use homegrown technology to expand defense capacity. The Yun-20, which had its maiden flight yesterday, can take a maximum load of 66 tons and is suited for long-distance transportation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The plane will aid the armed forces and will help deliver disaster relief and humanitarian aid, according to the report.
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01/27/2013
China began test flights Saturday for the prototype of its first indigenously-developed heavy transport aircraft, Y-20, a craft similar in size to the Russian IL-76 and somewhat smaller than the U.S. C-17. The plane took off at around 2:00pm from an airport in Yanliang, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to CCTV News.
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01/27/2013
The U.S. Air Force is trying to turn the targeting pods carried by some of its legacy fighters and the B-1 Lancer bomber, into flying wireless routers that would allow ground troops to communicate each other. Tested by the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on an A-10 Warthog, the flying router is a software upgrade called Net-T (network tactical) for the Litening II and Sniper advanced targeting pods.
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01/27/2013
The U.S. Air Force delivered on its promise to Paris by delivering French troops via airlift to Bamako, Mali, Jan. 21. The first C-17 Globemaster III from Dover Air Force Base, Del., took off from here and landed in Bamako Monday afternoon and delivered more than 80,000 pounds of equipment and dozens of French soldiers.
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01/27/2013
This year’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi, a traditional showcase for India’s defence arsenal, featured an unusually large number of brand new military systems. At the very start four brand new Mi-17V5 helicopters flew past carrying the national flag, and these were followed by several other systems that were making their debut before the public.
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01/27/2013
A questionnaire meant to gauge what options exist to replace the air force's aging CF-18 fighters has landed on the desks of aerospace companies in North America and Europe. The 15-page survey is considered the first step in evaluating whether the Conservative government should bail out of its planned and controversial F-35 stealth fighter deal with U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin.
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01/26/2013
A document obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE indicates the German government is preparing to procure armed drones for foreign combat. Opposition politicians are outraged by the development and note that the use of weapons-equipped unmanned aircraft is legally dubious and possibly unethical.
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01/26/2013
ALH, LCH and Rudra (Mk 4 WSI) will be on flying display. Scale models of Light Utility Helicopter, Hawk, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and Su-30 will also be on display. HAL’s strength in design, development and production will be showcased through its products at the up-com-ing Aero-India 2013. The major attr-actions of the HAL’s pavilion will include in-house designs like Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), ‘Rudra’ the weaponised Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) and Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT).
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01/26/2013
Against the backdrop of a spike in tensions with India, the Pakistani military is conducting a combat exercise involving fighter jets and ground troops with a top General saying the armed forces were "well prepared" to defend the country's sovereignty and integrity. The Pakistan Air Force is conducting the 'Saffron Bandit' exercise with elements from the Army Aviation and Army Air Defence.
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01/26/2013
Japanese fighter jets scrambled against Chinese aircraft 91 times from October to December, a sharp increase from the previous quarter that reflects increased tension following the nationalization of three Senkaku Islands. The Air Self-Defense Force scrambled 140 times in the three-month period against foreign military and nonmilitary aircraft that could have intruded into national airspace, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
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01/26/2013
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter promises a military future for Cherry Point air station as it replaces older Marine Corps aircraft, but it already has a growing impact for North Carolina’s civilian economy. Tom Burbage, of JSF developer and manufacturer Lockheed-Martin, said in an interview Friday in New Bern that Fleet Readiness Center East has a “field team (that) is doing modifications on one of the operations of the aircraft at Yuma (Ariz.) as we speak.”
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01/26/2013
After two and a half years of political dogfighting on and off Parliament Hill, the federal government rebooted its procurement of new fighter jets on Dec. 12, potentially opening the door to aircraft other than its preferred Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. A week earlier, rumours had exploded that the proposed acquisition of the conventional “A” variant of the F-35 had been scrapped.
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01/26/2013
Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod’s new fixed wing aircraft, the HC-144 Ocean Sentry, is fully operational and replaced the HU-25 Falcon on Jan. 24, 2013. The HU-25 Falcon has been the primary fixed-wing aircraft for more than 30 years providing search and rescue, law enforcement, medical transportation and other services to the Northeast. The HU-25 Falcon will be officially retired from Air Station Cape Cod later this year.
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01/26/2013
MacDill Air Force Base has changed procedures in its air traffic control tower after an Air Force cargo plane carrying the commander of military operations in the Middle East and South Asia landed at the wrong airport last July. Though an Air Force investigation took the flight crew to task, Marine Gen. James Mattis and everyone else on board made it off safely.
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01/26/2013
The Novosibirsk aircraft plant, part of the Sukhoi holding, delivered five multirole Su-34 strike aircraft to the Russian Air Force on Friday, the manufacturer said. The jets will make a nonstop ferry flight from Novosibirsk to an air base in Voronezh, southwest Russia, a distance of over 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles).
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01/25/2013
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has completed painting the first of two Tunisian Air Force C-130J-30 Super Hercules. Tunisia currently operates a fleet of C-130Hs and C-130Bs, first purchased in the mid-1980s. The new C-130Js will support Tunisian operations across the mission spectrum, including relief efforts around the world, firefighting and traditional airlift sorties. The first aircraft is due for delivery later this year.
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01/25/2013
The fighters from Sweden flew into town a few days ago, landing at Nellis Air Force Base after a 15-hour journey across the Atlantic, the American heartland and, finally, darting down from above the Rockies. With the help of state-of-the-art U.S. Air Force KC-10 air tankers, each of the eight Saab JAS-39 Gripen (pronounced "Gree-pen") fighter jets refueled a dozen times to make it to Nellis for this week's Red Flag air combat training exercise.
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01/25/2013
“Once bitten, twice shy” appears to mean nothing to Moscow in doing business with Beijing.
Russia was badly burned by China a decade ago after an agreement to build the Sukhoi Su-27/J-11A in China ended up being reverse-engineered by Shenyang Aircraft Corp. as the J-11B fighter. China’s decision to ignore intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the Su-27 deal ended further production of the fighter in 2004.
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01/25/2013
The fallout from the Conservative government’s F-35 purchase is being blamed for yet another military equipment project going off the rails. Public Works and Government Services Canada rejected all the bids from companies for a project to outfit soldiers with a futuristic system of sensors that would better allow them to communicate and find their way on the battlefield.
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01/25/2013
The Russian Air Force has decided to go back to pattern type camouflage paint jobs on its combat aircraft. The recently resigned defense minister had ordered all combat aircraft to be painted one of several shades of gray. This saved money because the aircraft did not have to be repainted to a different camouflage pattern if it was transferred to another part of the country.
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01/25/2013
China is unlikely to use the KJ-2000 or KJ-200 as airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft on its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, due to weight, size, and other factors. The Liaoning needs a type of medium-sized AEW aircraft that do not occupy much space, military expert Du Wenlong said in an interview with China Central Television on January 19.
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