Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Airport battles in Syria

12/07/2012

Opposition fighters in Syria have long complained that they are short of weapons and ammunition, especially anti-aircraft systems, and they have pleaded with the international community to supply them with weapons to fight regime aircraft that are bombing cities and residential areas.

China air force in large-scale drill amid tensions

12/07/2012

China's air force has staged one of its largest-ever drills amid heightened tensions with Japan and Beijing's southern neighbors over territorial claims, state media reported Friday. The air combat exercises involving more than 100 pilots were held over 11 days last month in the vast northwestern region of Xinjiang, according to the website of the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily and other official news outlets.

Eurofighter Typhoon releases first Meteor missile

12/07/2012

A Eurofighter combat aircraft has released an MBDA Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile for the first time, with the milestone having been achieved over a UK test range on 4 December. Performed by a BAE Systems test pilot using the UK's Typhoon Instrumented Production Aircraft 1, the event included ejecting a telemetry-equipped Meteor test round from a rear-fuselage missile station over the Qinetiq firing range in Aberporth, west Wales.

The “Long Pole in the Tent”: China’s Military Jet Engines

12/07/2012

The PLA Navy surprised many foreign observers yet again when an indigenously-produced J-15 fighter became the first known fixed wing aircraft to take off from and land on the aircraft carrier Liaoning since its refitting and commissioning. Yet a critical question remains unanswered: how rapidly and to what extent will the J-15 and other Chinese military aircraft be powered by indigenous engines?

F-35 purchase deal appears dead

12/07/2012

It seems the government's plagued plan to buy F-35 fighter jets for the military is dead in the water now that the cost is expected to reach close to $50 billion. Global News has learned that an independent audit, commissioned by the Conservatives, came up with cost estimates so high the government decided to begin considering other options for replacing its aging fleet of CF-18s. Read it on Global News: It seems the government' s plagued plan to buy F-35 fighter jets for the military is dead

Denmark Selects U.S. Navy’s MH-60R SEAHAWK® Helicopter

12/07/2012

The U.S. Navy announced today that the Danish government signed an official letter of offer and acceptance formalizing its intent to buy nine MH-60R SEAHAWK® helicopters and comprehensive logistics support for its Maritime Helicopter Replacement Program. Valued at US $686 million (Kr 4 billion), the aircraft will be procured via the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program.

RAF Agrees Transit Deal with Uzbekistan

12/07/2012

The Uzbek Senate has approved a deal allowing Britain's Royal Air Force to to use the country's airpsace to move its equipment out of Afghanistan north through Central Asia and Russia. The agreement stops short of allowing RAF aircraft to land on Uzbek territory. If they need to make an emergency landing, the British authorities must notify the Uzbek side about the need to land on the republic’s territory.

USAF: Current unmanned aircraft irrelevant in the Pacific

12/06/2012

The US Air Force's current fleet of unmanned aircraft will be irrelevant in the Pacific theater, a top service official says. Over the past 10 years, the US Air Force has built up a still growing fleet of slow moving but persistent General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft. While those aircraft provided US ground forces with unprecedented situational awareness, they are too vulnerable to be used in a high threat environment.

Iraq Blocks Syria’s Request to Fetch Combat Helicopters from Russia

12/06/2012

Iraq has shut its airspace to four Syrian flights scheduled to pick up attack helicopters that had been repaired in Russia, the spokesman to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Tuesday. Syria has failed several times since June to retrieve the refurbished helicopters from Russia, and the regime of Bashar al-Assad appears to be growing more desperate as fighting intensifies.

Drone race heats up between U.S. and China

12/06/2012

When an aircraft shaped like a flying bat was lowered gently by crane onto the deck of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the other day, it marked the latest phase in a high-stakes gamble to help sustain America's military presence in the Asia-Pacific region in the face of increasing challenges from China.

Chinese daily says its jet superior to Russian fighter

12/06/2012

China's new fighter aircraft J-15 is not a copy of the Russian Su-33 and is in fact superior to it, a state-run Chinese daily said Thursday. On Nov 25, China's carrier-borne J-15 fighter jet successfully underwent a series of tests on the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier. People's Daily said the J-15 is equipped with two high-power engines and a brand-new system of high lift device, takeoff and landing device and arrester hook.

Pentagon plans for multinational operation in Mali

12/06/2012

US military planners have begun to help organize a multinational proxy force to intervene next year in Mali, the famine-stricken, coup-wracked African country that has become a magnet for Islamist extremists, US officials said Wednesday.

Syria loads chemical weapons into bombs; military awaits Assad's order

12/06/2012

The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday. The military has loaded the precursor chemicals for sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into aerial bombs that could be dropped onto the Syrian people from dozens of fighter-bombers, the officials said.

U.S. aerospace industry sees 10th straight growth year

12/06/2012

U.S. aerospace and arms companies are poised for 2.8 percent overall sales growth next year to about $224 billion, which would mark their 10th straight year of growth, barring steep Pentagon budget cuts, the industry's chief trade group said on Wednesday.

Iraq shuts airspace to Syria fighter jets

12/06/2012

Iraq has shut its airspace to four Syrian flights scheduled to pick up attack helicopters that had been repaired in Russia, the spokesman to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Tuesday. Syria has failed several times since June to retrieve the refurbished helicopters from Russia, and the regime of Bashar al-Assad appears to be growing more desperate as fighting intensifies.

South African military aircraft crashes in mountains; soldiers looks for survivors

12/06/2012

A South African military aircraft on an unknown mission to an area near former President Nelson Mandela’s village crashed in a mountain range, officials said Thursday. It was unclear whether there were any survivors. The Douglas C-47TP Dakota, a twin-propeller aircraft, had taken off from Pretoria’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on Wednesday morning, said Brig. Gen. Xolani Mabanga, a military spokesman.

India Confirms Chinook as Helicopter Tender Winner

12/06/2012

India has preferred Boeing Chinook over Russian Mi-26 helicopters in a tender on the delivery of 15 heavy-lift helicopters to the Indian Air Force, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. Both the Russian upgraded Mi-26T2 Halo and the Boeing Chinook CH-47F had qualified in the technical trials and their financial bids, covering the initial acquisition cost as well as the lifecycle costs.

Australia accepts last KC-30A tanker/transport

12/05/2012

Australia has formally accepted the last of its five A330-200-based multi-role tanker transports (MRTTs) from Airbus Military and expects to achieve an initial service milestone with the type later this month. Noting that earlier examples of the locally-designated KC-30A are already involved in "routine refuelling missions" with Boeing F/A-18A/B combat aircraft, the Royal Australian Air Force's commander air lift group, Air Cdre Gary Martin, says.

Iran says it has U.S. drone; Navy says no aircraft missing

12/05/2012

Iran claimed Tuesday it had taken another prize in a growing showdown with Washington over drone surveillance, displaying a purported U.S. unmanned aircraft it said was captured intact. The U.S. Navy, however, said none of its drones in the region was missing. The conflicting accounts could put pressure on both sides for more details on U.S. reconnaissance and Iranian counter-measures.

Mutiny over Tiger choppers

12/05/2012

Dozens of Army pilots have conducted a mini-mutiny by going on "strike" and refusing to fly new Darwin-based Tiger attack helicopters after aircrew were hit by cockpit fumes for the third time this year. The latest emergency occurred at the Cultana military training area in South Australia on November 4 after earlier incidents in March and July.

CAE wins military contracts valued at more than $70 million

12/05/2012

Today at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), CAE announced it has won a series of military contracts valued at more than C$70 million. They include a contract from the United States Navy to develop two MH-60R tactical operational flight trainers (TOFTs) for the Royal Australian Navy under a foreign military sale program, a contract from the Australian Defence Force to provide King Air 350 simulator services, and a contract from the RNZAF.

Lockheed relocating 560 jobs from Georgia to Fort Worth

12/05/2012

Hundreds of Lockheed Martin employees in Georgia who worked on the F-22 fighter jet program are having their jobs relocated to Fort Worth. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, maker of the F-22, the F-16 and the F-35 jets, expects to move about 560 salaried jobs from its Marietta, Ga., facility to the division's headquarters in Texas.

Boeing to Maintain US Navy Maritime Patrol Aircraft Trainers

12/05/2012

Boeing will maintain U.S. Navy aircrew training devices for six aircraft types under a new $56 million contract, setting the stage for the company's expansion into trainer maintenance for militaries worldwide. The five-year contract, which began Dec. 1, involves P-3C, EP-3, P-8A, EA-6B, EA-18G and SH-60B training devices. They are located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Fla.; Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; NAS Whidbey Island, Wash., and Kadena Air Base, Japan.

US Ban on Russian Arms Exporter Would Harm Ties: Lavrov

12/05/2012

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the proposed US ban on deals with Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport would be detrimental to the development of bilateral cooperation. The US Senate unanimously approved last Thursday the Cornyn amendment to the defense budget, which bars the use of American taxpayer funds to purchase goods from Rosoboronexport, including helicopters to be flown in Afghanistan.

Russia Closes Algerian MiG-29 Fraud Case

12/05/2012

Russian investigators have closed a criminal case against two former top managers of the MiG corporation accused of providing low-quality equipment for MiG-29 fighters that were rejected by Algeria in 2007, Russia's business daily Kommersant said on Tuesday. Fraud charges were brought against the first deputy director general of the MiG Aircraft Corporation Sergei Tsivilev and his deputy, Oleg Fadeyev, but after a six-year investigation, the statute of limitations period has expired.