Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Drones change ‘Top Gun’ culture of Air Force

12/01/2012

Inside a plain beige trailer, a pair of aviators stare intently at a bank of computer screens. Air conditioners hum loudly in the background. The sensor operator zooms in on an object on the ground more than 14,000 feet below. The pilot moves a joystick, turning a drone that’s miles away and flying at a sluggish 120 mph over the Nevada desert as part of an exercise to find a downed pilot.

X-47B UCAS-D - Off the Cat, On the Deck

12/01/2012

In the same week, Northrop Grumman's X-47B combat aircraft system demonstrator has arrived on the aircraft carrier deck - by crane - and made its first catapult launch - on land. Air vehicle AV-2 was lifted off a barge and on to the flightdeck of the USS Truman on Monday (Nov 26) to begin a few weeks of deck handling trials, in port and at sea.

Measured Approach to the Syrian Crisis

12/01/2012

Syrian rebels are making headway against President Bashar al-Assad. In recent weeks, they have seized several military bases and shot down military aircraft, reportedly with shoulder-fired missiles, but there is no end in sight to the war. More than 40,000 Syrians have been killed, 2.5 million are now displaced and more than 600,000 are refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.

F-35 not only jet that meets stealth needs, top general says

12/01/2012

Canada's new chief of defence staff has contradicted Defence Minister Peter MacKay by suggesting that other fighter jets do offer some of the stealth capabilities the military needs. Tom Lawson said during testimony Thursday before the Commons defence committee about the planned $25-billion purchase that most fighter jets offer some degree of stealth capability, including Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s.

U.S. to Pay $3.8 Billion for Next Lot of F-35 Jets

12/01/2012

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin reached an agreement in principle on Friday on the price of a fifth batch of F-35 fighter jets after a year of tense negotiations over how to lower costs. Military officials said they would pay about $3.8 billion for 32 of the next generation of radar-evading planes and additional equipment to manufacture and test them.

US Lawmakers Approve Ban on Russian Arms Exporter

12/01/2012

The US Senate unanimously approved a measure that would effectively end the relationship between the Pentagon and Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state run arms export firm which has provided weapons to the Syrian government.

IAF in mountain strike corps to counter Chinese might

11/30/2012

Keeping China’s growing military prowess in mind, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will now be part of India’s proposed mountain strike corps that will be based in Uttarakhand and the North-East.

Pentagon eyes project to preserve helicopter design capabilities

11/30/2012

The U.S. Defense Department may fund initial work on a new military helicopter in a year or two to preserve the industry's critical design capabilities for that sector, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said on Wednesday.

HAL conducts maiden flight of upgraded Jaguar fighter

11/30/2012

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has conducted the maiden flight of a Sepecat Jaguar fighter that features upgraded avionics. The upgraded type is designated as the "Darin III". It includes a new mission computer, engine and flight instrument system, a solid date digital video recorder, an improved inertial global positioning system, autopilot, radar and radar warning receiver.

Saudi buys C4I system from Raytheon

11/30/2012

Saudi Arabia has signed a 'direct commercial sale' contract with Raytheon for a Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) . The system will be delivered by Raytheon's Network Centric Systems business. The direct sale means the Saudi’s defence ministry will manage the buy and the implementation project themselves. This is in contrast to the Foreign Military Sale process, which routes contract negotiations and management through a selected department of the US military.

Go West, New Plane

11/30/2012

An HC-130J Combat King II takes off for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. from the Lockheed Martin facilities here today. Aircraft number 5708 is the fifth of 15 HC-130Js to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command. The HC-130J replaces the HC-130P/N as the only dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform in the Air Force inventory.

Syrian opposition down jet, gaining ground

11/29/2012

Syrian opposition fighters say they shot down three regime military aircraft in the past 24 hours, including a MiG fighter jet. They've posted two videos online to support their claims. One shows a bloodied pilot.

Fighter jet plagiarism allegations 'offensive'

11/29/2012

China on Thursday dismissed claims that its carrier-based fighter jets plagiarized foreign models and would make Beijing more assertive in tackling maritime disputes with neighbors. It is at least unprofessional, if not an intentional attack, to claim China copied foreign aircraft carrier technology through a simple comparison since the laws for military development are objective, and the principles of building military equipment, the command and safeguard methods are similar.

Russia Denies Losing Indian Arms Tenders

11/29/2012

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport denied on Wednesday media reports that it had lost tenders on the delivery of heavy-lift helicopters and aerial tankers to the Indian air force. “Rosoboronexport denies media speculation about Russia’s loss in both tenders as these reports are false,” the company said in a statement.

CIS Members Hold Joint Air Defense Drills

11/29/2012

Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) started on Wednesday large-scale drills to test the capabilities of their joint air defense network, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “The exercises involve air defense and air force units from Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine,” spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said.

Growth in China’s Drone Program Called ‘Alarming’

11/28/2012

At China’s biennial air show in Zhuhai this month, an imposing fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles was on display — drones bearing a striking resemblance to the American aircraft that have proved so deadly in attacks on insurgents in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

U.S. Buys Yemen a Fleet of Spy Planes for Growing Shadow War

11/28/2012

It’s not enough for Yemen’s skies to fill up with armed U.S. drones. Now the Pentagon wants to buy its Yemeni ally small, piloted spy planes. It’s a sign that the U.S. is upgrading the hardware it gives the Yemeni military, and digging in for a long shadow war.

Military plane and helicopter crash on anniversary of Venezuela's air force

11/28/2012

A Chinese-made training airplane crashed during an air force flying exhibition on Tuesday and the military helicopter sent to rescue the pilots also went down, authorities said. The two pilots in the K-8 aircraft successfully ejected before the crash and none of the crew of the Cougar helicopter were injured, authorities said.

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates New Ground-Based Laser System in Tests Against Rockets and Unmanned Aerial System

11/28/2012

Lockheed Martin today announced that it has successfully demonstrated a portable, ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne targets. Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system to provide a defense against short-range threats, such as rockets and unmanned aerial systems.

What’s it like to pilot a drone? A lot like 'Call of Duty'

11/27/2012

Teenagers raised on "Call of Duty" and "Halo" might relish flying a massive Predator drone -- a surprisingly similar activity. Pilots of unmanned military aircraft use a joystick to swoop down into the battlefield, spot enemy troop movements, and snap photos of terror suspects, explained John Hamby, a former military commander who led surveillance missions during the Iraq War.

Japan military exercise relocated to Guam

11/27/2012

As a result of public outcry, a military exercise that was supposed to be conducted in Japan will now be held on Guam. According to Japanese media, the exercise involves U.S. Osprey transport aircraft. Instead of being held in Okinawa they will be held here, starting this Thursday.

X-47B unmanned test strike aircraft hoisted aboard ship for first time

11/27/2012

One of two Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft was barged down from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and arrived on Nov. 26 at Norfolk naval base, Va., where it was promptly hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75). This marks the first time one of the stealthy aircraft has been on board a ship.

IN FOCUS: Simulation seen as key to cost-effective military training

11/27/2012

As defence outlays start to shrink after a decade of growth, the US Department of Defense is exploring the increased use of flight-simulation technology to cut back on fuel costs and reduce the wear and tear on its aircraft fleet. But to what extent can simulations really replace live flying? And would that really save money?

After three months on ground, combat aircraft Tejas resumes test flight

11/27/2012

The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which has remained grounded for more than three months, finally resumed flight-testing last week. Seven flights of the Tejas have taken place since then without mishap.

Kazakh air force fleet replenished with AN-72 military aircraft

11/27/2012

The Kazakh military aircraft fleet has been replenished, the country's Defence Ministry press service reported. 'The Kazakh Air Force military transport aircraft fleet has been replenished by an Antonov family - AN-72cargo jet. The aircraft has been repaired and reequipped at the 325 Aircraft Repair Plant in the city of Taganrog, Russia and was delivered to one of the Kazakh army air bases on Monday', the statement said.