Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Flawed F-35 Fighter Too Big to Kill as Lockheed Hooks 45 States

02/22/2013

The Pentagon envisioned the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as an affordable, state-of-the-art stealth jet serving three military branches and U.S. allies. Instead, the Lockheed Martin Corp. aircraft has been plagued by a costly redesign, bulkhead cracks, too much weight, and delays to essential software that have helped put it seven years behind schedule and 70 percent over its initial cost estimate. At almost $400 billion, it’s the most expensive weapons system in U.S. history.

Libyan Weapons Arming Al Qaeda Militias Across North Africa, Officials Say

02/21/2013

An unchecked flood of weapons out of Libya, including thousands of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, is providing new firepower to al Qaeda-linked jihadist militias across northern Africa, according to Defense Department officials, accelerating conflict and raising new risks for U.S. and western interests.

Indian fighter jet tender might be annulled

02/21/2013

Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) does not rule out the possibility that India might annul the results of a tender to buy 126 combat aircraft. "The tender for the purchase of combat planes that our MiG-35 participated in has still not gone into effect, despite the fact that it was announced the winner. It's possible that the results of the tender might be annulled and a new one will be announced.

Global Insider: Japanese Air Force Struggling to Keep Up With Regional Rivals

02/21/2013

Earlier this month, the Japanese Defense Ministry said two Russian fighter jets had violated its airspace, roughly a month after Japan announced a similar violation by China. In an email interview, Richard Bitzinger, an expert in Asia-Pacific military modernization at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, discussed the state of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces and Japan’s response to regional tensions.

Navy to Cut Air Wings, Deployments, Jets

02/21/2013

A little more than a week before the first wave of federal budget cuts would take effect, the Navy on Tuesday released an updated list of savings, including canceling the Bataan amphibious ready group's deployment, buying four fewer F-35 fighter jets and nearly halving training programs for midshipmen, flight officers and new pilots.

Taiwan To Receive New Aircraft To Repel China

02/21/2013

New military aircraft will soon begin filling Taiwan’s skies as it takes delivery of new fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft along with attack and utility helicopters. All told, $7.6 billion worth of new equipment and aircraft designed to keep China’s hands off the island will begin filling the arsenals of Taiwan’s military this year.

Homeland Security Considers Replacing Military Aircraft with Commercial Planes

02/21/2013

The Department of Homeland Security may soon replace cheaper commercial planes with military aircraft to absorb 8.2% in budget cuts in March, Popular Science reports. The department was exploring buying used aircraft from the military but discovered that it’s more inexpensive to use commercial planes, Popular Science wrote.

Boeing, Istanbul Technical University Launch Collaboration in Aerospace Technology Research

02/21/2013

Boeing and Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey’s leading aerospace engineering and technology institution, today announced a new collaboration in aerospace research to benefit the flying public. Boeing Turkey President Bernard Dunn and ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca held a signing ceremony at the university campus to celebrate an agreement to launch joint research and development programs.

Boeing Receives US Air Force Contract for Integrated C4ISR Targeting Solution

02/21/2013

Boeing will provide the U.S. Air Force with a lightweight, compact laser targeting system designed to improve the effectiveness of battlefield airmen on Close Air Support missions. The $3 million contract award includes design, development, delivery, training and sustainment for the Line of Sight – Short (LOS-S) integrated targeting system, as well as priced options for production systems. With all options exercised, the contract has a potential total value of more than $100 million.

Russian Military to Develop Anti-Meteorite Defenses

02/21/2013

The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces will develop a series of measures aimed at protecting the Russian soil from falling meteorites and other dangerous space objects, commander of the western military district’s aviation Maj. Gen. Igor Makushev said on Wednesday. “The Aerospace Defense Forces have been ordered to handle this issue and come up with a plan to protect Russia from these ‘space travelers,’” Makushev said.

Russian Military Plans to Buy New Aerial Tankers – Source

02/21/2013

The Defense Ministry and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) are close to signing a deal for new Ilyushin Il-78 Midas aerial refuelling tankers for the Russian Air Force, a UAC source told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. “The contract for the delivery of Il-78 planes is at the signing stage,” the source said without specifying the number of aircraft.

Pilots eject safely as Su-30 combat jet crashes on drill in Rajasthan

02/20/2013

A SU-30 MKI combat jet belonging to the IAF crashed in the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan on Tuesday evening during a firepower demonstration drill. The aircraft, flown by Squadron Leaders JPS Chauhan and A.R. Tamta, was carrying out a night-flying mission when it crashed. The pilots managed to eject. There was no loss of life or damage to property on the ground, defence spokesperson S.D. Goswami said.

Smaller version of BrahMos missile being developed for IAF

02/20/2013

A smaller variant of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is being developed for arming IAF's fighter aircraft. A new version of the missile is to be fitted on the frontline aircraft of Air Force including Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and the future inductions such as the 126 multirole combat aircraft, BrahMos officials said today.

Procurement norms bent to favour Agusta

02/20/2013

A rare exception was made in the technical trial of AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters. All flight tests were held in the UK, in violation of all norms of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) that makes it mandatory for all trials to be held in India. The DPP, which lays down the process for buying a weapon system for India, stipulates that the vendors bring their systems here for extensive trials in all types of terrain and weather conditions.

Gulf states buying up military hardware

02/20/2013

Fears of Iran and unrest around the Middle East have prompted a shopping spree by Gulf countries for military hardware, ranging from anti-missile systems to unmanned surveillance drones. At the Middle East’s biggest arms fair in the United Arab Emirates this week, leading companies are wooing Arabian Peninsula states for deals on weapons ranging from warplanes to the technology that could underpin a future regional missile defence shield.

Stephen Harper struggles to regain control over military projects

02/20/2013

Canada could soon have a Department of Military Procurement, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper struggles to regain control over much-delayed and increasingly expensive projects — like the effort to replace CF-18 fighter jets with F-35s. Yet the plan for a new department misses the point. In the style of the classic BBC show, politicians have long been “Yes Ministered” by the Department of National Defence.

The Trials and Tribulations of India’s Armed Forces

02/20/2013

While spending billions of dollars on defense equipment, India's military faces a number of challenges in its quest to enter the 21st century. The old saying that a developing country is at a crossroads, whether it’s India or Indonesia, is especially tempting when it comes to India’s armed forces. Decades of underinvestment, corruption, bureaucratic ineptitude and hazy strategic thinking have left the country with a decidedly mixed bag of military capabilities.

Are we losing out on the Indian market?

02/20/2013

Moscow showcased its state-of-the-art export models of aircraft engineering and air defence facilities at the Aero India 2013 show, which was held in Bangalore from 6 to 10 February 2013. There is a popular belief that Russia is losing the Indian market for combat aviation to the West but is this true?

Yemeni fighter plane crashes in Sanaa

02/20/2013

A Yemeni fighter plane has crashed in a residential area of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killing several people, reports Reuters. The Ministry of Defense said in a text message that the plane had been on a training flight when it came down in a western residential district. A military official said the aircraft was a Russian SU-22 fighter/ground attack aircraft.

Lockheed Martin’s SMSS Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle Operates Via Satellite Control

02/20/2013

Lockheed Martin completed a successful demonstration at Camp Grayling, Mich., recently in which its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS™) was being controlled via satellite from more than 200 miles away. The SMSS vehicle conducted several battlefield surveillance operations while being controlled beyond line-of-sight via satellite from the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, Mich.

Belarus Phases Out Russian Warplanes, Radars

02/20/2013

Belarus’ Armed Forces will replace a Russian radar station with an indigenous one and get rid of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, Belarusian Defense Minister Yury Zhadobin said on Tuesday. The Russian P-18 radar station will be replaced with the domestically manufactured Vostok (East) radar, he said.

Europe's armsmakers scramble for Libya

02/19/2013

European defense companies are scrambling to re-equip Libya's post-Moammar Gadhafi military forces in an undeclared arms race. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who like traditional rival France maintained an ambiguous relationship with Moammar Gadhafi's rogue regime during his 42-year rule, recently flew to Tripoli to personally promote U.K. weapons systems. France, whose warplanes like Britain's played a key role in driving Gadhafi from power in Libya's 2011 civil war.

GE to power Light Combat Aircraft

02/19/2013

The deal for importing engines manufactured by the US-based General Electric Aviation for powering India’s indigenously manufactured Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has been finalised. GE won the bid and the contract back in 2010. Defence minister’s scientific adviser and director-general of DRDO Dr V.K. Saraswat said GE will supply the engines initially.

Report: Israel Sends Military Equipment to Turkey

02/19/2013

Israel has finally agreed to send additional electronic systems to Turkey, which will integrate those systems into its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) military aircraft purchased from the United States, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman reports. It adds that the systems are now at a Turkish Aerospace Industries facility in Ankara.

Birds of Prey: The Record of Impunity For Israeli Military Aircraft

02/19/2013

Since March 1978, for 35 years, the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, has been monitoring the conflict between Israel and Lebanon the tension, the daring, the mayhem, the killing. The enthusiastic efforts UNIFIL made in the early years soon waned. Perhaps it was the politics, perhaps it was the frustration of an ineffectual mandate, or perhaps it was losing 279 troops to-date. Whatever the cause, public statements from UNIFIL seem to have settled into a laissez-faire yawn.