Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

'Autonomous' combat drones debated

01/27/2012

Researchers say a drone aircraft being tested by the U.S. Navy that could conduct a combat mission without human involvement raises troubling ethical questions. The drone, designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, operates not only with no pilot in the cockpit but with no pilot at all, raising the specter of a pre-programmed semi-independently operating machine capable of wreaking mayhem on its own.

F/A-18E/F contract brings DOD aircraft orders this week to 25 in deals worth $2.2 billion

01/27/2012

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) military aircraft purchases continued to roll along on Wednesday, with a U.S. Navy order of 15 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bombers under terms of a $687.5 million contract modification. Wednesday's order brings this week's DOD combat aircraft orders to 25 in three separate deals collectively worth nearly $2.2 billion.

Boeing, Thales Select EC135 for Helicopter Aircrew Training System

01/27/2012

Boeing subsidiary Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) and Thales Australia today named the Eurocopter EC135 as the preferred platform for their bid on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Project AIR 9000 Phase 7 – Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS).

Russia to Modernize All Military Airfields by 2020

01/27/2012

All of Russia’s military airfields will be upgraded and modernized by 2020, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said on Thursday. That includes airbases, flight test and training centers, army aviation sites, and other facilities, he said.

Hawker Beechcraft Issues Statement on 2012 State of the Union Address

01/26/2012

Hawker Beechcraft today issued the following statement in response to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address. "The actions of the current administration do not align with the comments made by President Obama in his State of the Union address. He made very convincing statements that he wants to protect American manufacturing jobs and called for more highly skilled jobs in the U.S. and for more products to be made in America.

Philippines may allow greater U.S. military presence in reaction to China’s rise

01/26/2012

Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China.

Analyst: Drone no longer in Air Force plans to replace U-2 spy plane

01/26/2012

The Air Force wants to save money by scrapping plans to replace the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane with the high-tech Global Hawk reconnaissance drone, a defense analyst said Tuesday. Loren Thompson wrote in his blog that the Air Force plans to sacrifice the most common variant of the Global Hawk — the Block 30 — as a “bill payer” in its 2013 budget request, retiring those already in use and halting further production by defense giant Northrup Grumman.

Talk is Cheap in Washington When It Comes to Politicians and the U.S. Military

01/26/2012

Last night, President Obama opened his State of the Union address by referencing the sacrifices and courage of America’s military personnel as they return home from combat. The President’s rhetoric was moving, but unfortunately, words are simply words and have not been fully backed up with action that supports America’s heroes.

New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who's accountable?

01/26/2012

The Navy is testing an autonomous plane that will land on an aircraft carrier. The prospect of heavily armed aircraft screaming through the skies without direct human control is unnerving to many.

Military Prepares Realignment: More Drones, Special Forces

01/26/2012

The Pentagon plans to expand its global network of drones and special-operations bases in a fundamental realignment meant to project U.S. power even as it cuts back to eliminate at least eight brigades while reducing the size of the active duty Army from 570,000 to 490,000, cuts that are likely to hit armored and heavy infantry units the hardest. But drone and special-operations deployments would continue to grow as they have in recent years.

Ukraine Boosts Military Budget by 30%

01/26/2012

Ukraine’s 2012 military spending will increase by around 30 percent, to about $2 billion or 1.1 percent of GDP, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s financial department said on Wednesday. The ministry expects to spend about $120 million for purchases and modernization of military equipment, as well as scientific and military design projects, including the production of L-39 Albatros jet trainers and MiG-29 fighter jets. Ukraine’s existing fleet of MiG-29, L-39 and Su-25 close air support aircrafts

U.S. Navy Testing Technologies to Refuel Unmanned Aircraft During Flight

01/25/2012

The Navy is testing a system that promises to significantly increase the endurance and range of carrier-based unmanned aircraft. As part of the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program, the Navy and industry partner Northrop Grumman have been developing Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) technologies to refuel unmanned aircraft in flight.

IAF women pilots break altitude barrier

01/25/2012

Continuing with their sparkling achievements, IAF women pilots have now begun to go where no women has gone before. They are flying military cargo aircraft sorties to forbidding high-altitude forward areas like Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Leh. "Since December, some women IAF pilots are flying sorties of AN-32 medium-lift aircraft to DBO, the highest advanced landing ground (makeshift airstrip) in the world at 16,500-feet, and IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft to Leh," said a senior officer.

Air Force Leaders Say Strategy Calls for F-22, F-35 Capabilities

01/25/2012

Fifth-generation fighter aircraft are key to America maintaining domain dominance in the years ahead, Air Force officials said here today. Lt. Gen. Christopher D. Miller, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, and Maj. Gen. Noel T. “Tom” Jones, the service’s director for operation capability requirements, said the technology – exemplified in the F-22 and F-35 – assumes greater importance in combating growing anti-access, area-denial capabilities.

Air Force buys five more Boeing C-17 large military cargo jets in $693.4 million deal

01/25/2012

Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. Commercial Airplanes segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build five C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the U.S. Air Force under terms of a $693.4 million contract modification announced Monday from the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

U.S. military in Persian Gulf still necessary, welcome force

01/25/2012

The U.S. is maintaining a sizable ground, air and sea force in the Persian Gulf, underscoring the need to protect oil-producing states after deposing Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and exiting a democratic Iraq in December.

In the Shadow of Asia

01/25/2012

North Korea’s air force or navy fare little better. Most aircraft currently operated have obsolete avionics and limited weapon system capabilities Pilots are allowed fewer than twenty flight hours per year due to high fuel costs.

South Korea sweetens pot in Israeli jet deal

01/25/2012

South Korea has sweetened the pot in a bid to secure a hotly contested $1 billion contract for its T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainer for Israel's air force by offering to buy Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Iron Dome counter-rocket system.

U.S.-Japan Exercises Underscore New Strategy Guidance Focus

01/25/2012

Two bilateral command post exercises with Japan kicked off yesterday and today, reflecting the growing strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific region as outlined in the new defense strategy guidance President Barack Obama announced earlier this month. Japanese and U.S. military forces launched Keen Edge 12 yesterday at Yokota, Japan. The biennial exercise continues through Jan. 27.

Russian Air Force Tests New Air-to-Air Missile

01/25/2012

The Russian Air Force is testing and will soon deploy an advanced tactical air-to-air missile that will greatly enhance its operational effectiveness, the service's commander Col Gen Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday. The missile will be carried by MiG-31BM Foxhound supersonic interceptors/fighters and will subsequently be used by other warplanes, he said.

Saudi Typhoon storms ahead

01/24/2012

Saudi Arabia has faced challenges introducing the Eurofighter Typhoon into service, not least in establishing local production – which has yet to start. But, as Jon Lake reports, despite this the Royal Saudi Air Force is pushing hard to adopt new capabilities and is believed to have been driving the pace of the development of new air-to-ground capabilities for the tranche 2 aeroplane.

Army rejects US report on Nato attack

01/24/2012

Pakistan Army on Monday rejected the investigation report by US Central Command (Centcom) on the Salala incident, involving aerial strikes by US aircraft and helicopters resulting in the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers and injuries to 13 others. In a statement issued here, ISPR said, "Pakistan does not agree with several portions and findings of the Investigation Report as these are factually not correct.

BAE Systems names new India chief executive

01/24/2012

Europe's second-largest defence contractor BAE Sytems has named Dean McCumiskey as its new chief executive and managing director of its India operations with effect from March 2012, the British company announced on Monday. McCurmiskey, who is currently the Group chief information officer, will replace Andrew Gallagher, who will be returning to the UK as the company's Director of Audit, according to a company-released press statement.

Czech Aero profits from stalled L-159 fighter plane sale to Iraq

01/24/2012

The Czech Ministry of Defense is hoping talks on Jan. 23 – 24 with Iraqi government and military representatives will produce a breakthrough for a Czech offer of twenty L-159 fighter planes produced by Aero Vodochody. The manufacturer, which is heading talks on the Czech side, is less concerned about the deal going through: last year it received Kc 25.2 million for simply storing the planes, the daily Lidové noviny (LN) reported on Monday.

Boeing Receives Additional US Air Force JDAM Contract

01/24/2012

The Boeing Company received a $126 million contract from the U.S. Air Force on Nov. 30 for approximately 5,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits. Deliveries will begin in June 2013 and continue through May 2014. This is Boeing's third major U.S. Air Force contract within a year for conventional JDAM kits. Boeing received an $88 million contract for nearly 3,500 kits in January 2011 and a $92 million contract for an additional 4,000 kits in March.