Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Booming Unmanned Aircraft Industry Straining to Break Free of Regulations

04/17/2013

The advent of unmanned aerial vehicles taking flight within U.S. national airspace could mean an enormous economic windfall for aviation entrepreneurs and the nation’s economy. But a booming domestic UAV industry is desperately trying to break free of strict rules that will keep their designs grounded until 2015 at the earliest. UAV advocates are finding their message difficult to deliver, with widespread assumptions that lethal war machines will buzz their neighborhoods.

China criticizes US force strengthening in Asia

04/17/2013

In its latest account of national defense efforts, China said Tuesday that the United States is destabilizing the Asia-Pacific region by strengthening its military alliances and sending more ships, planes, and troops to the area. The U.S. policy known as the "pivot" to Asia runs counter to regional trends and "frequently makes the situation tenser," the Defense Ministry said in its report on the state of China's defense posture and armed forces.

Boeing pays penalty for Turkish AWACs

04/17/2013

A senior executive at U.S. defense company Raytheon has ruled out the possibility of a U.S. governmental or congressional blockade against the delivery of a critical air defense and anti-missile system, dubbed as T-LORAMIDS, if Turkey chose the Patriot solution in multi-billion dollar international bidding.

MIG Corp eyes broader cooperation with India

04/17/2013

The Russian aircraft manufacturer MIG said it plans to continue its decades-long cooperation with India in developing and building MiG aircraft. “The MIG corporation wants to broaden cooperation with India's public, military and research organisations,” MIG General Director Sergei Korotkov said in remarks read out from a statement at the Indian Embassy in Moscow.

Navy shapes X-47B acquisition strategy

04/17/2013

Upcoming shore-based and carrier tests will help the Navy determine its acquisition strategy for the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS), a large, carrier-based, next-generation drone with a 62-foot wingspan and high-tech sensors engineered to gather and send back images and data, service officials said. “The UCAS will be the first deployed carrier based unmanned air vehicle with persistent ISR and a strike capability,” said Navy spokeswoman Jamie Cosgrove.

Naval institute forges key training pacts

04/17/2013

The Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT), a premier training establishment under the Southern Naval Command, is forging alliance with what it terms as ‘six indigenous elements’ as part of its ‘train the trainers’ programme to keep its instructors abreast of emerging aviation technologies and practices.

Why The Gripen Is Not the Right Aircraft For the RCAF

04/17/2013

The Gripen NG has much less capability than the F-35, because it is not stealth and never will be. Its range is much smaller, especially in AG configuration. The only advantage of the Gripen NG may be a lower procurement cost, but this is also very uncertain, because so far nobody has ordered the Gripen NG. The future of Gripen NG is not established. Just for comparison, the manufacturing of the 100th F-35 has been started.

F-16 Radar Upgrade Competition Heats Up Between Northrop, Raytheon

04/17/2013

Delays in the development and fielding of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have underscored the need for the U.S. military and its allies to keep current jets technologically relevant. It has not been decided whether the U.S. Air Force will outfit about 300 F-16s with Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) or Raytheon’s Advanced Combat Radar (RACR). Both are capability upgrades from existing systems that give pilots much greater image resolution and target recognition.

AF seeks F-16 fleet upgrade, requests 19 more F-35As

04/17/2013

The Air Force plans to upgrade all 1,018 of its F-16s and 175 F-15C/D Eagles to keep them flying until the F-35A joint strike fighter is fully operational and new weapons systems on the F-22 Raptor are installed, according to the 2014 budget request released April 10. In the fiscal 2014 budget request, the Air Force states the service life extension for all F-16s will add eight to 10 years to each airframe.

Air Force to Ground 1 in 3 Aircraft Over Budget Concerns

04/17/2013

Just days before President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request, the Air Force reported that it will have to ground one-third of its aircraft due to budget constraints. Operations and maintenance accounts will be hit particularly hard, causing the Air Force to severely restrict which of its assets will continue to operate. With U.S. military readiness already suffering from years of budget cuts, and many more years of insufficient modernization and recapitalization to come.

Lakenheath/Mildenhall: Fighter aircraft grounded amid budget cuts

04/16/2013

The US Air Force (USAF) stood down two of 48th Fighter Wing’s F-15 Eagle Squadrons, based at RAF Lakenheath, from operations yesterday. A third squadron will be kept “combat mission ready” until September. The moves comes amid steep defence cuts by the US Government, but last night councillors in Suffolk said they were confident there remained a long-term USAF commitment to the county.

Senegal's Air Force orders A-29 Super Tucano turboprops from Embraer Defense & Security

04/16/2013

The Senegalese Air Force signed a contract to acquire three A-29 Super Tucano light attack, advanced training turboprops from Embraer Defense & Security. The order includes logistical support for the operation and the installation of a training system for pilots and mechanics (TOSS) in Senegal, bringing autonomy to that country's Air Force in preparing qualified personnel. The aircraft will be deployed on border surveillance and internal security missions.

France approves new Tiger variant

04/16/2013

A new variant of Eurocopter's Tiger medium-weight support and protection gunship has been approved for use by the French army. The approval, in the form of military qualification by DGA, France's Directorate General of Armaments, opens the door for its production for France and awarding of a joint bilateral qualification for use by Spain from the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation, a European intergovernmental body that facilitates collaborative armament programs.

Air Superiority: Advantage over enemy skies for 60 years

04/16/2013

A few months after the D-Day invasion in June 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower surveyed the Normandy beaches with his son. "You'd never get away with this if you didn't have air supremacy," then 2nd Lt. John Eisenhower told his father. "Without air supremacy," the elder Eisenhower replied, "I wouldn't be here."

X-47B Unmanned Aerial Refueling Demo Victim Of Cuts

04/16/2013

Plans to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling of the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat aircraft are a casualty of cuts in the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2014 budget. Previous plans called for the X-47B naval unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) to conduct autonomous Navy-style probe-and-drogue and Air Force-style boom-and-receptacle refueling tests in 2014.

MidEast military spend rises amid global slowdown

04/16/2013

The Middle East region accelerated spending by 8.3 percent over the course of 2012 despite an overall slowdown in global military expenditure last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Oman increased its expenditure by 51 percent in 2012, the largest hike posted by any country. Kuwait’s defence budget increased by 10 percent.

IAF practices for twin-front contingency against China, Pak in biggest wargame

04/16/2013

China can "throw'' at least 21 fighter squadrons against India, from its eight airbases in Tibet and other airfields to their north. Even more Chinese fighters can join forces if they are able to overfly Myanmar. Similarly, Pakistan can deploy 21 to 25 fighter squadrons against India.

Minister wants two bigger transport planes for military

04/16/2013

Czech Defence Minister Vlastimil Picek will submit to the government a concept of the transport and helicopter air force counting with the purchase of two bigger planes in the latter half of 2013, he said on Prima television Sunday. He said the criticised CASA C-295 transport aircraft only meet a part of the demands soldiers place on the transport air force.

Lockheed Martin’s Nemesis Missile Scores 3-For-3 in Flight Tests

04/16/2013

Lockheed Martin successfully demonstrated the launch, guided flight, target acquisition and precision strike capability of its Nemesis missile in three flight tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Nemesis is a man-portable, surface-launched missile that enables warfighters to engage targets with precision lethality from as close as 100 meters to well beyond line of sight.

Boeing Successfully Completes 1st Flight of Newest UK Chinook Helicopter

04/16/2013

Boeing recently completed the first flight of the newest CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. The March 15 flight, at the Boeing helicopter facility near Philadelphia, happened ahead of schedule and confirmed initial airworthiness for the Mk6 Chinook. "This is a truly impressive achievement for both Boeing and the project team," said Capt. David Childs, Chinook Team Leader, UK Defence Equipment & Support.

Pilots conduct first external lift from USNS Sacagawea

04/15/2013

U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey pilots conducted the first external lift of a Humvee from the USNS Sacagawea April 11 during exercise Freedom Banner 2013 at Subic Bay, Philippines. U.S. Marines, sailors and civilians aboard the Sacagawea watched as the Osprey lifted the Humvee for the first time off the ship in order to demonstrate its capabilities and plan future lift operations from ship to shore.

Military loss challenges air show

04/15/2013

This year's Lauderdale Air Show is facing headwinds — and possibly diminished crowds — by lack of the popular military acts that in the past set spectators roaring nearly as loud as the jets screaming above them. In its heyday, the air show featured an arsenal of high-powered military aircraft slicing the sky over Fort Lauderdale Beach. There was the Marine Harrier, the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, the Air Force B-2 stealth bomber, and Army and Navy pararchute teams.

India to modernise its Russian MiG-29 fleet

04/15/2013

The Indian Air Force will continue operating the MiG-29 fighters it acquired at the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s until at least the end of the next decade. India has embarked on modernising its Soviet fighters under the MiG-29UPG programme. The main objective of the modernisation is to bring the fighters up to the capability level of the MiG-29K and the MiG-29KUB, which are currently being supplied to the Indian Navy.

Finmeccanica Pulls Trigger On 2,500 Selex ES Cuts

04/15/2013

After streamlining operations at its Alenia Aeronautica unit, Italy’s Finmeccanica is continuing its restructuring mission by preparing to cut more than 2,500 jobs at its Selex ES electronics unit, which employs 17,000.

DoD furloughs: A bad idea at a bad time

04/15/2013

The devastating impact on both America’s military preparedness and its national economy from the proposed furloughs of civilian Defense Department employees could not occur at a more dangerous moment. The move not only places a disproportionate burden on Defense personnel, it also jeopardizes the safety and the economy of the entire nation.