Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

MiG-29K Carrier Trials Complete

09/28/2013

Flight trials of the MiG-29K on the INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov) in the Barents Sea have been completed. Deliveries of the naval version of the fighter to India continue, with the carrier to follow on November 15, and the Russian Navy will soon receive its first MiG-29K. The Russian defense ministry confirmed this month that its only remaining carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, will be modernized to accept MiG-29Ks as well as the Sukhoi Su-25UTG light attack and Su-33 combat aircraft.

F-16 Fighter Jets Can Now Be Converted To Unmanned Drones

09/28/2013

The F-16 was one of the iconic fighter jets of the twentieth century, but, like all military hardware, it was eventually replaced by something else and retired to a stately desert to quietly rust away. At least until Boeing decided they could totally turn them into awesome robots.

Military's procurement paralysis may see big changes

09/28/2013

CBC News has learned the Conservative government intends to reform Canada's troubled system of military procurement and could announce its plans as early as next month's speech from the throne. Those plans could see the formation of a new agency under a single minister to manage all military procurement, or a secretariat of bureaucrats from each of the departments currently involved in sourcing Canada's military equipment.

South Korea Returns to Fighter Jet Conundrum

09/28/2013

After South Korea decided this week that Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle was not good enough for its next generation of fighter jets, the country returned to the quandary it has been grappling with for the past two years. On one hand, the F-15SE may not be sophisticated enough, but it is cheap enough to meet the South Korean military’s budget cap of 8.3 trillion won, or $7.7 billion.

337th TES B-1s fly maritime ops

09/28/2013

Since its introduction to the Air Force in 1986, the B-1B Lancer has been the backbone of the bomber fleet because of its speed, payload and continuously upgraded capabilities. On Sept. 4, a single B-1 from the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron took off from Dyess Air Force Base, with the Gulf of Mexico as its destination.

Replacing J-STARS planes gets high priority

09/27/2013

Recent comments by the Air Force chief of staff were cause for excitement for those who work in the J-STARS mission at Robins Air Force Base. The Air Force has previously listed its top three acquisition priorities as the KC-46A refueling tanker, a long-range strike bomber and the F-35 fighter. However, while speaking at an Air Force Association conference, Gen. Mark Welsh added a fourth priority, which is new planes for J-STARS, or Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System.

AFSOC Receives Additional MC-130J Commando II

09/27/2013

A U.S. Air Force crew ferried an MC-130J Commando II Special Operations Forces tanker from the Lockheed Martin facilities here yesterday. The Super Hercules aircraft is assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command and will be based at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. The Commando II supports such missions as in-flight refueling, infiltration/exfiltration, and aerial delivery and resupply of special operations forces.

Indonesia receives last delivery of Sukhoi Flanker fighter jets, completing full squadron

09/27/2013

Indonesia has received the last delivery of Sukhoi fighter jets it ordered from a Russian producer, thus turning its Sukhoi Flanker air superiority fighter jet fleet into one full squadron. The delivery of the last two Su-30 Mk2 planes took place on Wednesday in Indonesian air forces base of Hasanuddin, located in the capital city of South Sulawesi province, Makassar where the air forces' 11th squadron wing 5 is based.

Senator blocks USAF secretary nominee over possible A-10 cuts

09/27/2013

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., has placed a hold on the White House’s nominee for Air Force secretary, blocking the confirmation process of Deborah Lee James until questions are answered regarding potential cuts to the A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft, according to an Ayotte aide.

Will Asian Drones Make Conflict More or Less Likely?

09/27/2013

Those intellectual swashbucklers from the Center for a New American Security are at it again, this time with an essay over at Foreign Policy detailing the dangers likely to accompany drone operations in Asia. Precipitating their commentary was China's first deployment of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the Senkaku Islands. The overflight took place earlier this month, timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Tokyo's nationalization of the archipelago. (So much for Chinese subtlet

British Defense BAE Systems (BA) Uniquely Protected Against US Defense Spending Cuts Because Of Non-US Clients: UBS Note

09/26/2013

British defense company BAE Systems PLC, one of the world’s largest, may be unique within the global defense industry as a company well prepared for reduced U.S. military spending, wrote UBS AG analysts on Wednesday. “BAE Systems is unique in our defense coverage in that it has a large enough growth market in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia) to offset the decline in the U.S. defense,” wrote defense analyst Charles Armitage in a research note.

6 aircraft, 37 helicopters and more on PM's $ 5 billion shopping list in US

09/26/2013

India is set to buy American defence equipment worth five billion US dollars and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who left for the United States today, is carrying a long shopping list. Among the hardware that India is looking to purchase are six additional C-130 J Hercules Medium Lift Aircraft, 22 Apache Attack Helicopters, 15 Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters and about 140 M-777 ultra-light towed Howitzers.

South Korea ahead of North in air power but seeks stealth as deterrent

09/26/2013

South Korea's decision to reject a bid by Boeing to supply 60 warplanes and to re-issue a tender was made in the interests of better technology but may not be justified given North Korea's weak air capabilities, experts said on Wednesday.

Pratt & Whitney Advancing 6th Generation Military Engine Technology

09/26/2013

Pratt & Whitney and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have begun testing of Pratt & Whitney's unique, adaptive supersonic fighter engine fan rig based on a full-scale F135 development fan to advance the next generation of military fighter engine technology.

South Korea dumps Boeing fighter jet tender, Lockheed soars back

09/26/2013

South Korea's government bowed to public pressure on Tuesday and voted down a bid by Boeing to supply 60 warplanes, saying it would restart the multi-billion tender process to get a more advanced, radar-evading fighter. Lockheed Martin's F-35A, previously considered too expensive, has shot to the front of the line in the race for the contract after the defence ministry singled out a fifth-generation fighter as the preferred option.

Southern Africa Regional Security Complex: The Emergence of Bipolarity?

09/25/2013

As shown in the first section of this paper, Buzan and Waever emphasise that South Africa holds the regional unipolarity in Southern Africa RSC by its economic dominance over neighbours and the predisposition of regional states to accept its leadership. This section attempts to validate this proposition in the 2000s and to include, based on methodological guidelines of neorealist theory of International Relations, indicators related to material capabilities to evaluate the polarity of the region

FM: US military drone reports 'groundless'

09/25/2013

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei Tuesday slammed reports that China is attempting to steal unmanned military drone technology from the United States as "groundless". China and the U.S. has formed the cyber security working group and the two sides conducted smooth communications on the cyber security issue, said the spokesman, adding that such reports are groundless and is not good for China-U.S. cooperation on cyber security.

EADS Seeks Edge in South Korean Fighter Jet Contest Against U.S.

09/25/2013

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. plans to improve its bid to sell 60 Eurofighter Typhoons to South Korea, and top Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. when a competition for the combat jets is reopened.

Air Force Shortens Cargo Routes from Afghanistan

09/25/2013

The U.S. Air Force has saved hundreds of millions of dollars by changing the way it flies equipment out of Afghanistan, using shorter trips to the Persian Gulf rather than direct routes to the United States, a general said. A fleet of a dozen C-17 cargo planes and additional commercial aircraft lift the gear from Kandahar and other bases in Afghanistan to ports in the Gulf, where it's loaded onto ships bound for the U.S., according to Gen. Paul Selva, commander of Air Mobility Command.

U.S. moves drone fleet from Camp Lemonnier to ease Djibouti’s safety concerns

09/25/2013

The U.S. military has been forced to relocate a large fleet of drones from a key counterterrorism base on the Horn of Africa after a string of crashes fanned local fears that the unmanned aircraft were at risk of colliding with passenger planes, according to documents and interviews.

Names released in Navy helicopter crash

09/25/2013

The Pentagon has released the names of the Navy pilots killed in a helicopter crash in the Red Sea Sunday. They are Lt. Cmdr. Landon L. Jones, 35, of Lompoc and Chief Warrant Officer Jonathon S. Gibson, 32, of Aurora, Ore. Both were stationed at North Island Naval Air Station. Both men are married and each has two small children.

Empty F-16 jet tested by Boeing and US Air Force

09/25/2013

It said that one of the Lockheed Martin F-16 made a first flight with an empty cockpit last week. Two US Air Force pilots controlled the plane from the ground as it flew from a Florida base to the Gulf of Mexico. Boeing suggested that the innovation could ultimately be used to help train pilots, providing an adversary they could practise firing on.

South Korea Postpones Choice of Fighter Jet to Update Aging Fleet

09/25/2013

Lockheed Martin Corp. and its partners in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will have another year to cut the advanced jet's cost and rebid on a multibillion-dollar contract with South Korea after that country's rejection of a rival plane built by Boeing Co.

Russia’s Assault Drone Makers Urged to Work Faster – Official

09/25/2013

Russia’s Defense Minister has urged defense firms to speed up work to develop combat drones, a senior industry official said Tuesday. Oleg Bochkarev, deputy head of the government Military-Industrial Commission, told RIA Novosti that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had issued instructions to this effect in July.

Welsh: Up to 25,000 airmen, 550 planes would go if sequester continues

09/24/2013

The Air Force is bracing to cut up to 25,000 total force airmen — nearly 5 percent of the force — over the next five years if the current spending cuts known as the sequester continue, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told lawmakers Sept. 18. And up to 550 aircraft — about 9 percent of the Air Force’s fleet — could also be cut, Welsh said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.