Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Boeing to build 10 C-17 military cargo jets for India in $1.8 billion foreign military sale

02/04/2012

Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Defense, Space & Security segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build 10 C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the Indian Air Force in New Delhi, India, under terms of a $1.8 billion contract modification announced Thursday from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft sale is part of the Foreign Military Sales program.

MILITARY: F-35 shows why it's so hard to cut a federal program

02/04/2012

For all its high-tech stealth and record price tag, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter embodies the droll military motto, "Hurry up and wait." Conceived in the heady post-Cold War 1990s, the futuristic fifth-generation jet fighter was to be a technological marvel built in a rush and paid for with "peace dividend" dollars. But now with the economic crash, the fighter is billions over budget and years behind schedule.

No war with China in near future, says IAF officer

02/04/2012

Bangalore, (IANS) Discounting US intelligence reports of a limited armed conflict between India and China, a senior Indian Air Force officer Friday ruled out any war in the near future but said Indian forces were fully prepared to protect the country’s strategic interests. “I don’t see any war in the near future.

Lincoln Strike Group Helps Stranded Iranians

02/04/2012

Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ALCSG) assets responded to a distressed Iranian fishing dhow in the Arabian Gulf, Jan. 31. At 12:37 p.m. local time, an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, assigned to the Golden Falcons of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 and embarked on aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), spotted the disabled Iranian fishing dhow M/V Sohaila with nine crew members aboard.

Sierra Nevada Corporation Corrects the Record on U.S. Air Force Light Air Support Program

02/04/2012

Misinformation and Legal Wrangling Delaying Mission-Critical A-29 Super Tucano for American Warfighters in Afghanistan Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the winner of the U.S. Air Force Light Air Support (LAS) competition, today issued a point-by-point rebuttal of misinformation being spread by the disqualified contender for the contract.

Fighter deals intensify global aerial arms race

02/04/2012

Big decisions on warplane purchases by Japan and India have intensified competition in the multi-billion-dollar global market, with Western defense firms scrambling for orders in Asia and the Middle East as their home-country budgets shrivel.

Factbox: India's growing defense market

02/04/2012

India plans to spend about $100 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade its largely Soviet-era military equipment, as Asia's third largest economy looks to match its military power with its economic clout.

Estonia Joins NATO Ground Surveillance Network

02/04/2012

Estonia will be part of NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) project, the country’s Defense Ministry said. The North Atlantic Council decided on February 2 to collectively cover the costs for operating the AGS network as a NATO-owned and operated capability.

Australia receives Chinook helicopters

02/03/2012

Two Boeing Chinook CH-47D helicopters formerly used by the U.S. Army have been delivered to Australia and will enter operation this year. With the aircraft's acquisition by the Australian military, the total number of the country's Chinook fleet will be seven. One of the helicopters received is replacing and aircraft lost last year during operations by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

Israel's New Allies

02/03/2012

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Greek Cyprus this month in what will be the first ever visit by an Israeli leader to the neighboring Mediterranean island. And, according to UPI, Nicosia is currently studying an Israeli request to station military aircraft in its territory.

U.S. plans $2.8 billion upgrade of F-16 fighter

02/03/2012

The U.S. Air Force said Thursday it plans a $2.8 billion upgrade of about 350 of its aging F-16 multi-role fighter planes to help offset slower purchases of the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

United States DoD contracts for February 1, 2012

02/03/2012

Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp., San Francisco, Calif., is being awarded a $359,700,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-2103) for nuclear propulsion work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.

Brazilian Defense Minister Travels to India to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation in Defense Industry

02/03/2012

Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim, arrives next Saturday (04/02) in New Delhi, the capital of India, for a series of meetings with officials and visits to military installations in the Asian country. The trip aims to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries.

US to end combat role in Afghanistan in 2013: Panetta

02/03/2012

The United States plans to end its combat mission in Afghanistan as early as mid-2013 and shift to a training role, more than a year before most American troops are due to withdraw, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.

Russian new fighter

02/03/2012

Military Space Review talks about Serial Three Su-35S Flanker-E multipurpose jet fighter, which has been successfully tested for the first time at the end of January. India is a potential export customer of the aircraft.

Boeing-Textron V-22 Is Said to Lose $1.75 Billion in Pentagon Budget Cut

02/02/2012

The Pentagon will eliminate 24 V-22 Osprey aircraft built by Boeing Co. (BA) and Textron Inc. from its five-year budget plan, saving $1.75 billion through 2017, according to two U.S. officials. The planned reduction to 98 planes from 122 will be reflected in a final, multi-year contract that’s under negotiation between the Navy and companies, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn’t been announced.

Greece needs to stop its military spending or there will be no country there to defend

02/02/2012

Greece is bankrupt but their military is shopping for arms. In 2010 Greece spent a greater share of its income on arms than any other Nato country except the US. In the meantime, Greece is seeking a deal with private lenders and the EU "by the end of the week" its prime minister said today, as Athens races to avoid a financial meltdown ahead of debt repayments due in March.

Northrop Grumman Braces For Possible Cuts To Global Hawk Program

02/02/2012

The Global Hawk, a reconnaissance aircraft that does not carry missiles, broke records for unmanned aerial vehicles a decade ago. Now military belt tightening may cut the number of planes the Air Force will purchase.

Commentary: Taiwan should get OK to buy F-16s

02/02/2012

Vice President Joe Biden is in Fort Worth today for two private fundraising events for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Given that Tarrant County ranks second only to Orange County, Calif., for its deep-red Republican hue, there probably wasn't a need to book the convention center.

Czech military to keep supersonic fighters after 2015

02/02/2012

Prague - The Czech Republic will keep supersonic aircraft even after 2015 when the lease of the Swedish Jas-39 Gripen fighters expires, the government decided today, Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) confirmed after the cabinet's meeting.

Singapore steps up deterrent capabilities

02/02/2012

This month's Singapore air show falls on the 70th anniversary of the fall of Singapore to Japan in the Second World War. While Asia is an unimaginably different place now, Singapore's leaders have never forgotten the speed with which Singapore fell - or the three years of brutal occupation that followed.

A-10s at Selfridge may be victim of Pentagon cuts

02/02/2012

Government officials at all levels received a shock this week when it was reported that the fighter squadron that flies A-10 aircraft out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township may be eliminated under the new, downsized Pentagon budget. If the reduction receives congressional approval, it would apparently end the Air National Guard’s 107th Fighter Squadron, which consists of 630 military personnel, 250 of whom are full-time airmen. Most are pilots and maintenance mechanics.

Panetta: U.S. combat in Afghanistan to end next year

02/02/2012

U.S. and other international forces in Afghanistan aim to end their combat role next year and switch to training and advising Afghan forces through 2014, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.

Boeing Begins Production of F/A-18E/F Distributed Targeting System

02/02/2012

Boeing today announced that it has started production of the new Distributed Targeting System (DTS) for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. DTS provides enhanced targeting capability for the Super Hornet. It is part of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Network Centric Warfare Upgrades program and the F/A-18E/F Flight Plan, which will ensure that the Super Hornet remains ahead of emerging threats in coming decades.

French jet Rafale bags $20bn IAF fighter order; India 'briefs' losing European countries

02/01/2012

After an exhaustive technical and commercial evaluation spread over five long years, India on Tuesday selected French jet Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon for the gigantic almost $20 billion MMRCA ( medium multi-role combat aircraft) programme to supply 126 fighters to IAF - the largest such "open-tender" military aviation deal in the world.