Military Aviation News Archive
06/25/2013
The Russian Defense Ministry is considering two possible designs for a replacement for the obsolete Antonov An-26 military transport aircraft, a senior ministry official said on Monday.
The ministry is considering development of a light military transport plane based on the Antonov An-140 turboprop airliner made by Aviakor in Samara, or the rival Ilyushin Il-112V transport aircraft to be made by the Voronezh aircraft plant (VASO), Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said.
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06/25/2013
Growing demand supported by strong intent and investment capability is expanding the market for military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Middle East. The region is already considered a lucrative market for defence. UAV development efforts by some Middle East nations coupled with imports from the U.S. will strongly bolster market expansion.
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06/24/2013
THE UK is among the countries that have been briefed on the V-22 as its maker, Bell-Boeing, embarks on an export drive of the innovative aircraft that can transform from a plane into a helicopter. A squadron of the US aircraft is to be based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk as part of the Special Operations Group, the air force arm of US European command. Is is expected to serve as part of Air Force Special Operations Command.
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06/24/2013
U.S. Navy aircraft experts needed rugged Ethernet switches for the Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). They found their solution from GE Intelligent Platforms in Huntsville, Ala. Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., have announced their intention to issue a new contract to GE for 15 RES-210 rugged Ethernet switches for the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.
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06/24/2013
Unless the bloodshed in Syria stops, the region could descend into a chaotic sectarian conflict, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday, as he called for an urgent political resolution to the war that has dragged on for two years and claimed 93,000 lives.
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06/24/2013
In June 1943, Lockheed made a bold pitch to the U.S. Army that it could build a jet fighter, and build it fast. Since then, the Skunk Works has conjured up the U-2, the SR-71, the F-117, and more, and it's still going strong.
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06/24/2013
French companies have made offers on supplying military equipment to Qatar, including equipping its air force with Rafale fighter planes made by Dassault , President Francois Hollande said on Sunday. France is the top military supplier to the Gulf state and Hollande said he had discussed future supplies of military equipment with Qatari officials.
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06/24/2013
About a dozen U.S. fighter jets will be flying and conducting training operations in Jordan, poised to respond if needed to protect allies if the war in neighboring Syria spills over the border, U.S. administration officials said Friday.
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06/23/2013
The top drone pilot at the Springfield Air National Guard Base is confident that the controversial unmanned technology saves the lives of American combat troops, despite fears of domestic spying and questions of legality surrounding the CIA’s use of drones to kill as many as 3,350 people in Pakistan.
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06/23/2013
Bidding on South Korea’s US $7.3 billion program to buy 60 new combat jets will end June 28 after 10 days of maneuvering among three competitors. This is the third and final phase of the Asian country’s decadelong “F-X” plan to acquire 120 advanced aircraft before 2020 to replace older F-4 Phantoms.
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06/23/2013
THE air displays may not come with commentary, nor even a short announcement of what aircraft is taking to the skies. But when the four turboprop-powered giant takes to the skies over Le Bourget, there is no mistaking it. The Airbus Military A400M in flight is a sight to behold. For its size, anyone watching it would be impressed by the grace it displays as its pilots takes it through almost aerobatic motions.
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06/23/2013
Due to security concerns in Jordan, which borders the Syrian civil war, a combat-equipped detachment of about 700 U.S. troops will remain in the country following training exercises that ended this week, President Barack Obama told Congress on Friday.
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06/23/2013
Moscow made a new attempt to dodge a $4-billion lawsuit from Tehran over a failed deal to supply S-300 missile systems by offering another type of air defense system to Iran, Kommersant daily said Saturday. The new offer on the table is Antei-2500, aka S-300VM, or SA-23 Gladiator in NATO nomenclature, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources in the Russian arms trade industry.
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06/22/2013
For people (like me) who worry that the U.S. government is becoming dysfunctional, it’s worth studying the subtle and largely hidden effects of sequestration on the military and other agencies. What’s happening is the slow-motion decay of programs and readiness, which should scare the heck out of most citizens.
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06/22/2013
At the recent Airbus Military Trade Media Briefing 2013, journalists who attended were given the opportunity to fly the aircraft for more than an hour. Francis Tusa, the well-known British journalist and hardly a Euro hugger, underscored what we all felt: The lack of noise within the aircraft was noticeable compared to the C-17, C-130 or other aircraft. The seats are more comfortable as well. I did not hear the engines start up, and so was surprised when the aircraft took off.
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06/22/2013
Ottawa hit the pause but-ton last December on its self-inflicted fiasco agreement to sole-source 65 F-35 combat airplanes from Lockheed Martin Corp., refusing any competitive bidding.
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06/22/2013
China's national aircraft exporter is seeking to expand its market share by selling more advanced planes to foreign clients, according to an executive from the company. "We have started development of the two-seater FC-1 Fierce Dragon and plan to introduce it to the international market in three to four years," Ma Zhiping, general manager of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, said at the 50th International Paris Air Show.
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06/22/2013
On June 18, an Iraqi military source confirmed that the air force command will receive “Alligator” combat helicopters from Russia in the coming period. In a statement to Al-Monitor, the source, a senior Iraqi army officer, said that "the aircraft will be of the Ka-52 and Mi-28NE models from the French Le Bourget Air Show.”
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06/22/2013
The United States, keeping a wary eye on Syria's civil war, has left about 700 combat-equipped troops in Jordan after a training exercise, President Barack Obama said today, after previously deciding to leave Patriot missiles and warplanes there. Obama said the deployment was done at the request of the Jordanian government, which fears a spillover of the war into its territory and where an estimated half-million Syrian refugees have fled to escape the bloodshed.
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06/22/2013
The latest version of Russia's Sukhoi-35 fighter jet wowed crowds with gravity-defying demonstrations at the Paris Air Show as the aircraft made its first appearance outside Russia.
In the cockpit was test pilot Sergei Bogdan, who helped to develop and was the first to fly five years ago. "I have worked on the Su-35 from the beginning," he said in Russian to a small group of reporters. "From the first drawings I was associated with engineers in the 'flying group' as the plane's first test pilot
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06/22/2013
The new Airbus military transport plane, much delayed and much needed by European defence forces, flew in to the Paris Air Show on Friday with the French President on board.
The plane, offering an exceptional range of capabilities, was a highlight of the fifth day of the 50th Paris Air Show when the gates were also thrown open to the public.
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06/22/2013
The eleventh C-5M Super Galaxy departed for Dover Air Force Base, Del. from Lockheed Martin facilities here today. The aircraft was flown to Delaware by Maj. Gen. Craig Neil Gourley, vice commander of the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
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06/21/2013
At least five countries are negotiating with China on buying its domestically developed Wing Loong drone. "Wing Loong is quite competitive in the international market and we have delivered it to up to three clients," Ma Zhiping, general manager of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp, said at the 50th International Paris Air Show.
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06/21/2013
It was for several good and solid reasons that U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration long resisted pressures to intervene more forcefully in Syria’s civil war. To start with, there is the sheer complexity of a conflict at the intersection of religious, ethnic, regional and global politics, as illustrated by the plain fact that the most Westernized of Syrians (including its Christians) support the Assad government that the United States seeks to displace.
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06/21/2013
President Barack Obama has expressed scepticism that setting up a no-fly zone in Syria or other major US military action could save lives or tip the balance against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Speaking to PBS television, Obama said critics urging bold intervention failed to understand there was no simple solution and "if you set up a no-fly zone, that you may not be actually solving the problem".
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