Military Aviation News Archive
05/23/2012
The Russian Air Force will take delivery of at least thirty Ansat trainer helicopters by 2020, the service's spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Tuesday. "The Sokol aerodrome at the Syzransky Flight Training School will get six Ansat- U helicopters this year, and over 30 by 2020," Drik said.
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05/23/2012
Boeing delivered a fifth C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence earlier this month. The UAE accepted delivery of four C-17s in 2011 and has one more airlifter on order for delivery later this year.
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05/22/2012
The U.S. military is testing high-tech "battle kites" as a method of lifting communications and surveillance equipment above isolated bases in Afghanistan. The battle kites aren't designed to get involved in dog fights. They are built to fly over forward operating bases that are too small to support the large aerostat blimps familiar to troops at larger facilities such as Kandahar Air Field.
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05/22/2012
A new report from the Senate Armed Service Committee estimates that over a million counterfeit electronic parts from China are currently being used in U.S. military aircraft, according to Defense News. The Senate report, released May 21, says the discovery jeopardizes the safety of American servicemembers as well as U.S. national security.
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05/22/2012
When military aviators of the future look back at the beginnings of the F-35 program, they may see the names of two Florida National Guard pilots listed among the first to fly the Air Force’s fifth-generation fighter jet. Lt. Col. Randal Efferson and Maj. Jay Spohn are the only Guard pilots currently assigned to the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin Air Force Base, and they’ll soon be taking to the skies to master the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
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05/22/2012
Russia's air force will acquire a new ground attack aircraft similar in concept to the Sukhoi Su-25, but has dropped plans to field an armed version of the Yakovlev Yak-130 jet/combat trainer. "This new type of ground attack aircraft has been included in the state arms procurement programme," says Col Gen Alexander Zelin, an aide to Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov and until May the commander of its air force. "It will be put in service by 2020."
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05/22/2012
The U.S. Defense Department’s 2012 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China report details China’s growing military capabilities, and points to areas of cooperation between the United States and China, a senior DOD official said here May 18.
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05/22/2012
Peru is going ahead with a $266 million upgrade of its fast aging combat aircraft while it considers how to keep its air force up to speed with changing technologies and modern warfare requirements. Peru faces no external threat, but President Ollanta Humala is under increasing pressure to be more proactive in the government's crackdown on Shining Path guerrilla groups that caused a Cabinet crisis earlier this month with resignations by Defense Minister and Interior Minister.
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05/22/2012
Ahead of finalising a multi-billion contract with French firm Dassault Aviation for 126 Rafale combat planes, the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, left for France Monday on a four-day official visit to explore ways to expand bilateral military relations.
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05/22/2012
Moscow recapitulated its position on European missile defense Monday, saying it will reserve the right to retaliate unless it receives legal guarantees that a NATO missile defense will not be directed at it. “In response to our strong demand to provide the Russian Federation legal guarantees that the system will not be aimed at Russia we have received no guarantees,” said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council.
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05/22/2012
Boeing delivered the third Peace Eye 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) on May 16. The aircraft was delivered ahead of schedule to ROKAF Base Gimhae, the main operating base for the Peace Eye fleet. Peace Eye No. 3 is the second aircraft in the fleet to be modified into an AEW&C configuration by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) at its facility in Sacheon.
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05/22/2012
The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) today signed a contract with Airbus Military for the acquisition of eight C295 aircraft, five of them configured as tactical transports and three as maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). They will be delivered from next year.
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05/21/2012
For the first time in history, B-1 aircrews from Ellsworth employed laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions against moving targets during a Weapon System Evaluation Program exercise May 14 to 16. Aircrews from the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" and 34th BS "Thunderbirds" employed six GBU-54 laser JDAMs against targets on the Utah Test and Training Range as part of the Air Force's air to ground WSEP known as Combat Hammer.
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05/21/2012
The House late Thursday approved more than a dozen amendments to the 2013 National Defense Authorization act (NDAA) by voice vote, including language from Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) that would authorize the sale of 66 F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan.
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05/21/2012
American servicemen and women are being urged to join the Australian Defence Force (ADF) amid US military budget cuts. The ADF is inviting former foreign military personnel to apply for jobs it claims cannot be filled by Australians. The scheme is attracting huge interest overseas with officers tempted by the higher pay and the offer to pay moving costs.
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05/21/2012
Engineers at the Raytheon Co. Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., are moving ahead with a project to deploy a small missile called Griffin on unmanned aerial vehicles, ground vehicles, surface ships, and utility aircraft with an $85 million U.S. Air Force contract awarded Friday for Raytheon to build 22 all-up Griffin missiles and 43 telemetry rounds for Griffin tests.
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05/21/2012
The Pentagon has determined China soon will commission its first aircraft carrier, placing it in an elite club of seafaring nations and raising concerns about Beijing's growing global ambitions. In its annual congressionally-mandated report on China's military build-up, the Pentagon states the Peoples' Liberation Army Navy will this year place its Russian-built Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier into its fleet.
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05/21/2012
A civilian piloting a military-contracted jet was killed when his aircraft crashed into a Southern California farm field as he completed a training exercise, authorities said. The privately owned Hawker Hunter jet trainer went down Friday near Naval Base Ventura County, fire department spokesman Steve Swindle said. The pilot was the only person aboard. The high-performance military-style aircraft, contracted to play the enemy in training exercises.
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05/21/2012
For the first time in its history, the Philippines is looking to non-USA sources for combat aircraft to strengthen the nation’s warfighting capabilities. The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) is reported to be in the market to purchase as many as two squadrons of combat aircraft and, according to DND representatives, has already entered into negotiations with non-USA manufacturers.
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05/21/2012
A Russian-made Mil Mi-17 helicopter has crashed in Venezuela, killing four out of the five people on board, the Globovision television channel said, quoting the country’s defense authorities. The aircraft crashed during a training flight near the northern city of San Felipe on Friday. According to preliminary data, the helicopter lost its tail rotor before the crash.
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05/19/2012
NEW DELHI: India is ready to seal more arms deals and further boost defence cooperation with the US but remains unwilling to ink the foundational military pacts being pushed by Washington for years. This, in essence, is the message US defence secretary Leon Panetta will get when he comes visiting here next month. Panetta, who will hold talks with PM Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and national security advisor Shivshankar Menon among others.
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05/19/2012
In the year 2015, somewhere over the tribal territories of Pakistan, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone patrols a complex "kill zone"—an area of terrorist activity in which large numbers of civilians are also present. But on this mission, the drone isn't piloted from afar. It's on its own.
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05/19/2012
Washington ignoring a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House approved a $642 billion defense budget Friday that breaks a deficit-cutting deal with President Barack Obama and restricts his authority in an election-year challenge to the Democratic commander in chief.
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05/19/2012
China may have started work on it first domestically built aircraft carrier and is likely to produce a number of carriers over the next decade as part of an aggressive effort to modernize its military, the Pentagon said Friday. In its annual report to Congress appraising China's military strength, the Pentagon also cited concern about China's targeting of U.S. and other foreign computer networks as a means of collecting strategic intelligence.
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05/19/2012
Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered the United Kingdom's eighth C-17 Globemaster III to the Royal Air Force (RAF) today during a ceremony at the company's final assembly facility in Long Beach. "I'm honored and delighted to deliver the Royal Air Force's newest C-17 to join the fleet at Number 99 Squadron, where our seven C-17s are in constant demand flying missions in support of Defence and other government agencies' requirements.
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