Military Aviation News Archive
10/26/2012
Ukraine and Russia have started state resource tests of the D-27 turbofan engine for the An-70 military transport aircraft, a source in the defense sector has told Interfax-Ukraine. The source said that the tests of D-27 engine are carried out with the participation of representatives of the defense bodies of the two countries, the state research and test center of Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russia's Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motor Development.
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10/26/2012
Boeing Super Hornet partner GE Aviation recently signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Brazilian companies to become potential suppliers for the program's global supply chain, strengthening the in-country component of Boeing's F/A-18 offering for the Brazilian F-X2 fighter jet competition. It was stated in the press release issued here today.
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10/26/2012
In 2009 Sikorsky Aircraft built the world’s fastest helicopter, the X2, which clocked in at nearly 287 miles per hour and earned a PM Breakthrough Award to boot. Since then, the company has been incorporating the technology into designs for a new helo—the Raider S-97—which it plans to offer it to the U.S. Army in 2015.
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10/26/2012
A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike force's visit to Manila is the latest show of American military might partly aimed at countering China's grip in Asia. But it also provides hundreds of Filipino American sailors a chance to briefly soak in the warm embrace of a second home.
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10/26/2012
Colombia is in the process of building its own unmanned aircraft and advanced military radar to combat insurgents and drug trafficking organizations, reported local media Thursday. Colombia is set to increase its investment in drone technology over the coming years, Vice Minister for Defense Yaneth Giha revealed Thursday.
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10/26/2012
Russia’s aircraft making corporation MiG is a loss-making enterprise, parliamentary defense committee head Vladimir Komoyedov said on Thursday. “MiG Corporation has been a loss-making enterprise in recent years. The less than optimal distribution of manufacturing infrastructure causes some concern,” he said.
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10/25/2012
The US Army has finished building the first Bell OH-58F Kiowa Warrior helicopter at its prototype integration facility. The aircraft will now start to be instrumented for its first test flight, which is expected in April. "It truly is a great day for army aviation," says Lt Col Mat Hannah, the service's product manager for the OH-58F.
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10/25/2012
Northrop Grumman produced and delivered the system four months ahead of schedule as part of an ongoing BACN development, operations and maintenance contract to support U.S. Central Command missions.
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10/25/2012
Mauritanian Air Force has received its first Brazilian-made Super Tucano jet fighter under a military deal passed last march with the aircraft manufacturer Embraer, without saying how many planes will be delivered to the African nation. However, some foreign diplomatic and intelligence sources say that Mauritania will be supplied at least three EMB-314 Super Tucano light military planes.
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10/25/2012
Sales at Lockheed Martin, the military aircraft maker, will decline next year even if swingeing government spending cuts are avoided, the company said as it announced a 3.9 per cent rise in third-quarter net earnings. Lockheed said sequestration, which could total about 10 per cent of planned military spending, would have a “material effect” on the company’s earnings next year.
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10/25/2012
China is determined to develop its own high tech military gear. While China is eager to develop advanced military technology locally, it recognizes that this takes time and more effort than nations new to this expect. Thus China is trying to avoid the mistakes Russia made in this area, and having competing designs and developing necessary supporting industries is part of that. All this takes a lot of time and involves lots of little (and some major) failures.
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10/25/2012
“The General Staff has information that the militants, who are fighting against Syrian government troops, are armed with the portable air defence systems of various countries, including the Stinger of U.S. production,” he underlined.
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10/25/2012
Internal documents obtained by CBC News call into question the Harper government's claim that Canadian military equipment is clear of counterfeit Chinese parts discovered in American aircraft, missiles and other weapons. Canada buys a majority of its military equipment from the U.S., but the documents indicate the federal government has no way of knowing if unreliable bogus parts have been bought by the Canadian Forces.
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10/25/2012
The last of four unmanned experimental U.S. military aircraft designed to fly at six times the speed of sound is expected to be tested next year, the program manager said on Wednesday, months after its predecessor broke up during a trial. The third test flight of the craft, known as the Waverider or X-51A, broke apart over the Pacific Ocean seconds into a test flight in August. U.S. Air Force officials said at the time they did not know if or when their fourth aircraft would fly.
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10/24/2012
On the night of August 7, 2008, what military experts and historians say is the world’s first two-sided drone war began. Georgia, convinced Russia was about to annex its separatist region of South Ossetia, made the first move by bombarding and then invading the separatist capital, Tskhinvali. What followed was a destructive five-day war that was to a great extent provoked and fought by drones, waking Russia up to the strategic importance of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology.
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10/24/2012
Britain is doubling the number of armed RAF drones flying missions in Afghanistan. And for the first time, the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be controlled by airmen at computer screens in the UK. Two ‘pilots’ will operate the robots via satellite from a hi-tech hub at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
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10/24/2012
A statement from National Defence says the head of the air force misspoke when saying the Harper government had yet to direct the air force to look at aircraft other than the contentious F-35 stealth fighter. The newly appointed commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force said in an interview last week with The Canadian Press that he's assigned a staff officer to work with a public works agency overseeing the CF-18 replacement program.
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10/24/2012
The Eurofighter combat aircraft has entered service with the Italian air force's 18 Sqn at Trapani-Birgi air base in Sicily, with the unit having been reformed following the phasing-out of its last Lockheed Martin F-16s in May. Part of the air force's 37th Wing, 18 Sqn will be responsible for defending Italy's national airspace, alongside the service's 4th Wing at Grosseto and 36th Wing at Gioia del Colle.
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10/24/2012
Commercial space ventures are getting most of the buzz, but the U.S. government is still operating strategic spacecraft. The Air Force’s secret X-37B unmanned space plane is scheduled for liftoff next month on a classified mission to Earth’s orbit after its launch this week was scrubbed due to a mechanical failure.
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10/24/2012
Lockheed Martin Corp has won a contract worth $889.5 million to build 13 more C-130J transport planes for the U.S. military, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. The U.S. Defense Department said the agreement modified an existing contract and includes seven MC-130J planes for Air Force Special Operations Command, four HC-130J planes for Air Combat Command, one KC-130J for the Marine Corps and one C-130J for Air Mobility Command.
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10/24/2012
The Israeli and United States armed forces started their largest-ever joint air defense and anti-missile exercise on Sunday, involving thousands of service personnel and the two nation's principal air defense missile systems, the Israeli Army told RIA Novosti.
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10/24/2012
Ever increasing threats and the need for force protection by systems that provide constant situational awareness of one’s surroundings prompted Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] to add a persistent surveillance option to its Dragon series of ISR systems.
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10/24/2012
After multiple ground demonstrations in operational environments, a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] penetrating radar capability that can peer through trees to detect slowly moving troops and ground vehicles is ready for the next step in testing.
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10/24/2012
Lockheed Martin successfully tested its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) dual-mode seeker in high-speed captive flight tests, demonstrating its ability to track ground targets while flying at tactical speeds. The company-funded tests were conducted on a Sabreliner jet at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. The data collected from the tests validated the maximum ranges of the seeker’s millimeter wave and semi-active laser sensor modes against representative targets.
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10/23/2012
More than six months after the auditor general delivered his scathing critique of the F-35 program, the Harper government has yet to direct the air force to look at aircraft other than the contentious stealth fighter. And the Public Works secretariat overseeing the troubled replacement for the existing CF-18 jet fighter fleet is still attempting to define what the government means when it promised to look at "other options."
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