Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Israeli defense exports hit record high

07/24/2013

Israel sold some $7.5 billion in defense products in 2012 – a record high – the Defense Ministry revealed on Tuesday, but officials voiced concerns that the coming year could see a slump in sales. Speaking to reporters at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Shmaya Avieli, director of Defense Export and Defense Cooperation (known by its Hebrew acronym, “Sibat”), pointed to an ongoing economic downturn as one factor for decreased projected sales.

U.S. Air Force suffers brain drain as Top Guns drop out to fly drones - leaving pilot numbers down by SEVEN HUNDRED

07/24/2013

The U.S. Air Force is struggling to keep its top gun combat pilots as increasing numbers move to the safety of flying attack drones from military bases. Indeed, despite their adrenaline fueled reputations, fighter pilots believe the stresses of actual combat compared to the financial incentives of flying passenger airlines or drones are too much too ignore.

US deploys aircraft carrier USS Truman to Gulf

07/24/2013

The US Navy has deployed the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group to the Gulf region. “The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is ready to deploy,” Xinhua quoted Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney, commander of the carrier strike group, as saying in a statement. “We’ve worked very hard over the last several months to maintain our combat readiness following the delay of our deployment in February due to sequestration.”

Syrian Rebels Hope for US Arms in August – Reports

07/24/2013

Rebel forces seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad hope to receive arms from the United States as early as next month after two key US congressional committees approved the weapons shipments, according to media reports. “We think August is the date,” The New York Times cited a Syrian opposition leader as saying in an email Monday night.

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces Start Snap Combat Drills

07/24/2013

Over 2,500 servicemen and 350 weapons systems are involved in snap combat readiness drills for Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), a Defense Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. The drills, involving the headquarters and two missile divisions of the Orenburg Missile Army in Russia’s Urals region, began Monday and are set to run through Saturday, Col. Igor Yegorov said.

Kuwait's Apache teams complete Selex training

07/24/2013

Members of the Kuwait Air Force have just completed a six month training course at the Electronic Warfare Operational Support (EWOS) facility of Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company. The course transferred the essential knowledge and skills that will allow the Kuwait Air Force to get the most out of the Selex ES HIDAS Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment currently installed on the country’s Apache helicopters.

Veteran Marine pilots: Don't retire EA-6B Prowler yet

07/23/2013

Retired Marine pilots who served in the electronic warfare community are challenging the service’s plan to deactivate the EA-6B Prowler in 2019. Premature retirement of the Prowlers will create a capability gap in the Marine Corps, they say, due to delays in production of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the failure to establish a program of record for the development of a large electronic warfare-capable unmanned aircraft.

Tech Lets Soldiers See Through Drones

07/23/2013

During the largest military exercise the U.S. undertakes with any single nation, new tech debuted to give soldiers unprecedented access to drone video feeds. The biennial Exercise Talisman Saber 2013 combines more than 28,000 military personnel from the U.S. and Australia; it began July 15 and is due to finish Aug. 5. The exercise aims to improve combat readiness and cooperation between the two militaries.

Top US General: Here Are America's Military Options In Syria

07/23/2013

On Thursday Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told a Senate committee that the Obama administration is considering the use of military force in Syria. On the following day, the four-star general provided United States Senate Committee on Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) with an unclassified letter that details recommendations for U.S. policy options regarding the "potential use of U.S. military force in the Syrian conflict."

German Herons log 15,000 Combat-Operation Hours in Afghanistan

07/23/2013

At the beginning of July, the German Heron 1 UAS logged its 15,000th operational flight hour. The three systems, which are operated by Cassidian subsidiary Airborne Solutions on behalf of the German Air Force – the Luftwaffe, are stationed in Mazar-e-Sharif in north Afghanistan where they are serviced by an experienced team of engineers, pilots and UAS specialists.

Unmanned Aircraft Launched from PAXRVR Completes First Arrested Landing Aboard Aircraft Carrier

07/23/2013

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and the U.S. Navy have completed the first arrested landing of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) carrier demonstration aircraft on the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77).

North Korean–Cuban Arms Shipment Shows Need to Tighten Sanctions

07/23/2013

Even by North Korean standards, the story was odd. To a world used to North Korean exports of weapons, the seizure of a North Korean ship carrying arms from Cuba was unique. Pyongyang’s attempted transshipment of antiquated weapons revealed much about the North Korean regime.

Boeing Delivers Indian Air Force's 2nd C-17 Globemaster III

07/23/2013

Boeing delivered the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) second C-17 Globemaster III today, a month after India’s first C-17 arrived in the country and immediately began supporting IAF operations. This second IAF C-17 also will immediately enter service. India will receive 10 aircraft by 2014.

Kalashnikov Gun Maker Lands $400 Mln Missile Contract

07/23/2013

Russia's Izhmash arms factory, manufacturer of the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle, has won a 13 billion ruble (about $400 million) Defense Ministry tender for antitank missiles, the company said Monday, in one of its “largest state orders in recent years.” Izhmash is to deliver Vikhr-1 long-range, supersonic antiarmor missiles by the end of 2015, company CEO Konstantin Busygin said.

Turkish, US Military Inspectors to Fly Over Russia

07/23/2013

Military inspectors from Turkey and the United States will fly over Russia’s territory starting from Monday as part of the international Open Skies Treaty, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. “In the period between July 22 and July 26, experts from Turkey and the United States will make a surveillance flight above the territory of Russia on board Turkey’s CN-235 plane,” the ministry said in a statement.

Drone builder foils Air Force frugality fling

07/22/2013

With billions of dollars in spending reductions looming, Air Force officials looked around last year for a program they could cut that was underperforming, had busted its budget and wasn't vital to immediate combat needs.

Vietnam receives 3rd military aircraft ordered from Spain

07/22/2013

The last of three aircrafts Vietnam ordered from Airbus Military in Spain arrived in Hanoi Tuesday, Vietnam’s Marine Police Department said. The CASA C212 of the -400 series joined the other two aircrafts of the same type in the fleet, which is managed and operated by the 918th brigade of Vietnam’s air force. They will be used for sea surveillance, detecting warships and submarines and defending Vietnamese territory.

Boeing Awaits Approval for Air Force Tanker

07/22/2013

Boeing is awaiting the U.S. Air Force’s confirmation for the company to start building tankers that will work to refuel in-flight combat aircraft, Reuters reported Thursday. Matt Haldane writes the Air Force evaluated the KC-46 tanker’s design in July as part of the final test before proceeding with production for the $52 billion program.

U.S. Navy Orders More Joint Standoff Weapons For Super Hornet

07/22/2013

Raytheon recently received an $80.5 million production contract award from the U.S. Navy to procure Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1's for the Super Hornet. This is the second order for the weapon system.

Editorial: Mapping Europe's Defense Future

07/22/2013

Harmonizing defense procurement across Europe has been a decades-long goal, one rekindled as military spending plunges. For the first time in a decade, top European leaders will meet in December to consider joint projects and how to better integrate Europe’s disparate and sprawling industrial base. European Union Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier wants to develop a new medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft as an alternative to America’s Reaper.

‘Price escalations and export restrictions affect us the most’

07/22/2013

RK Tyagi, alumni of IIT Roorkee, took over as Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in March 2012. He spoke to HT on a range of issues concerning the company's growth, challenges and future targets.

Despite profits, air show pays the price

07/22/2013

The Marine Corps released figures last week showing that the Miramar Air Show makes an annual profit of about $1.5 million, giving fuel to critics who question whether the Pentagon should have grounded military flights for this year’s show.

NATO and partners to conduct air-defence flying training over Iceland

07/22/2013

The Iceland Fighter Meet 2014 (IFM14) will bring together fighter aircraft from NATO member Norway (F-16 Fighting Falcon), and from partner countries Finland (F-18 Hornet) and Sweden (JAS Gripen), to conduct a wide range of air defence-related flying activities. These will include air combat training between dissimilar aircraft types, defensive and offensive counter-air operations and high-value airborne asset attack and protection.

U.S. military drone surveillance is expanding to hot spots beyond declared combat zones

07/22/2013

The steel-gray U.S. Air Force Predator drone plunged from the sky, shattering on mountainous terrain near the Iraq-Turkey border. For Kurdish guerrillas hiding nearby, it was an unexpected gift from the propaganda gods.

Britain is stepping up the Taranis UCAV development

07/21/2013

The concept demonstrator, known as Taranis, is sitting at the remote Woomera test center in South Australia in preparation for a first flight scheduled for September, said the sources, who asked not to be named. The first flight follows a three-year delay and more than 55 million pounds (US $83.1 million) in additional costs caused by technical issues, an increase in the list of requirements and extended risk mitigation work on Taranis.