Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

B-1 Pilots Turn Their Bombsights to the Pacific

04/10/2012

One of the hottest topics in the defense and diplomatic worlds is the Obama administration's "rebalancing" of U.S. interests toward Asia. The new focus is a slate of military and geopolitical strategies meant as a hedge against China, and to a lesser extent its client, North Korea. But what does it mean for the armed forces when the White House focuses its gaze on a new part of the world, and a new foe?

Top Iran army official: No country would dare strike us

04/10/2012

No country would dare attack Iran, a top officer in the country's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Monday, adding that Iranian forces planned to engage in more military drills in order to preserve their combat vigilance.

Parliamentary panel summons military chiefs

04/10/2012

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has summoned the chiefs of the three armed services to testify before it, an unprecedented move made after top military officials told the members that India may not be able to meet a two-front war.

Boeing to Upgrade B-1 Navigation System for US Air Force

04/10/2012

Boeing has received a $55.3 million production contract from the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the B-1 Lancer navigation system. The upgrade will replace the original navigation hardware with a new ring laser gyro system. "We are no longer using a spinning mass gyro," said Rick Greenwell, B-1 program director for Boeing.

Georgia to Test First Domestically Designed UAV

04/10/2012

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Monday he will attend Tuesday’s test of Georgia’s first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). “Tomorrow I will test our first drone, which has been designed to the highest technological specifications,” Saakashvili said. “More Georgian technology will follow.”

MiG Test Pilot Ostapenko Dies Age 83

04/10/2012

One of the Soviet Union's greatest test pilots, Pyotr Ostapenko, who helped develop MiG fighter planes for over thirty years, died aged 83 on Sunday, MiG said. "One of our country's oldest test pilots passed away on April 8," MiG said. "All his life Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko was inseparably connected with national and world aviation. His contribution as a test pilot to the development of world aviation was priceless."

Pilot dies as plane crashes in Tangail

04/09/2012

A Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) pilot died on Sunday an hour after a training aircraft crashed into a paddy field at Madhupur in Tangail district. 'Sharif' passed away while undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital at Ghatail cantonment in the district, said additional police superintendent of the district MA Masud.

Chinese Navy Employs UAV Assets

04/09/2012

China’s navy has begun using unmanned aerial vehicles as part of its blue-water operations. At least one type has been photographed by foreign reconnaissance aircraft, and other variants have been reported. Not only has China been displaying an assortment of models at air shows, it also is incorporating advanced U.S. unmanned vehicle technology into current and future systems.

Defense contractors brace for military spending cuts

04/09/2012

Robert Arrighi was already concerned about defense-budget cuts last summer when the Obama administration issued a stop-work order for the alternate engine for the F-35 joint strike fighter plane. Mr. Arrighi's Long Island City, Queens, company, Kerns Manufacturing, was planning to work on the joint General Electric and Rolls-Royce project. He had hopes of hiring 50 people and bringing in an additional $12 million a year in revenue.

China’s New Defence Budget: What Does It Tell Us? – Analysis

04/09/2012

In early March, China released its defence budget for 2012, which broke the symbolic US$100 billion barrier for the first time. In fact, Chinese military expenditures will total US$106.4 billion (S$134 billion), an increase of 11.2 percent over 2011 – and this does not include possible hidden spending, which could add billions of dollars per year to the Chinese defence budget.

Military’s increased use of medications under fire

04/09/2012

U.S. Air Force pilot Patrick Burke’s day started in the cockpit of a B-1B bomber near the Persian Gulf and proceeded across nine time zones as he ferried the aircraft home to South Dakota. Every four hours during the 19-hour flight, Burke swallowed a tablet of Dexedrine, the prescribed amphetamine known as “go pills.” After landing, he went out for dinner and drinks with a fellow crewman. They were driving back to Ellsworth Air Force Base when Burke began striking his friend in the head.

The few who reached for the sky

04/09/2012

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Flying Corps. It was the product of a handful of brave and far-sighted individuals, reports James Holland.

Goodspeed Analysis: Middle East could collapse into full conflict if international talks fail next week

04/08/2012

An Israeli pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program will probably begin with a rain of Jericho missiles obliterating the heavy water plant in Arak and destroying four small nuclear research reactors at the Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan.

U.S. drone war: Reaper missions to quadruple by 2016

04/08/2012

As the war in Afghanistan supposedly winds down the drone war and missions by special forces will ramp up. Wars with large contingents of troops on the ground are not only expensive but often politically damaging. Better to keep the empire expanding and supposedly safe using high tech weapons and elite forces often acting in secret.

Fiery Navy jet crash presented pilots with tough choices

04/08/2012

Zooming along at 170 mph in a fighter jet carrying thousands of pounds of volatile fuel, two Navy pilots faced nothing but bad choices when their aircraft malfunctioned over Virginia Beach, Va., the state's most populated city. "Catastrophic engine system failure right after takeoff, which is always the most critical phase of flying, leaves very, very few options," said aviation safety expert and decorated pilot J.F. Joseph.

US sale of combat planes to turbulent Iraq concerns IDF

04/08/2012

36 F-16 fighter planes approved by Pentaqon for Baghdad last year are comparable to those in IAF inventories; Iraq is considered a possible strategic threat to Israel for the first time since 2003 US invasion. Israel is increasingly concerned with the military build-up in Iraq amid intelligence reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is solidifying its presence in the country, according to a senior IDF officer.

Russian Inspectors Begin Surveillance Flight Over U.S.

04/08/2012

A group of Russian military observers begin on Sunday a nine-day inspection mission in the skies of the United States under the Open Skies Treaty. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia’s Tupolev Tu-154 LK-1 will take off on Sunday from the Travis Air Force Base, located in California, while the maximum range of the flight will total 4,250 kilometers (2,640 miles).

Eurofighter Signs Support Deal with European Partners

04/07/2012

Eurofighter signed a new, five-year support contract with NETMA, the NATO management agency that represents the four European partner nations in the combat aircraft program. As before, the Eurofighter industrial partners will deliver support to the individual air forces. Alenia values its part of the deal, to support the Italian air force, at more than $660 million. BAE Systems says its contract to support the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is worth $708.5 million.

Boeing confident bid about to fly with Brazilian Air Force

04/07/2012

A potential $4.3 billion deal between the Boeing's defense unit and the Brazilian government that has bounced on and off the table for years is back in play. And a Boeing Co. official said this week that the company expects to learn by June if it finished atop the process that has pitted aerospace makers from three nations in a bid to supply state-of-the-art fighter jets to the Brazilian Air Force.

DHS eyes military blimp to stop illegal border traffic

04/07/2012

The Homeland Security Department is vetting surveillance blimps as possible additions to its Southwest border fleet of unmanned aircraft, DHS officials said. To more quickly capture illegal entrants, drug smugglers and gunrunners, DHS Customs and Border Protection increasingly is embracing robotic technologies once relegated to battlefields.

F-35 jet still popular with aerospace industry

04/07/2012

The F-35 jet has been the whipping boy for auditors and politicians all week, but it remains the darling of Canada’s aerospace industry. Industry veterans are shrugging off the vitriol of “scandal” and “fiasco” by remaining focused on the $12 billion they say the troubled program can bring to Canada. “It’s a state of the art platform,” says Maryse Harvey, an official at Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC).

Precision Air Drops Keep Remote Bases Fighting

04/07/2012

A cold, isolated outpost high in the mountains of Afghanistan was running low on fuel, which provides all the power and heating for forces there. Within six hours, the fuel tank would be empty, with no way to keep warm as temperatures drop below freezing.

Defence auditors raise concerns about frigate, patrol plane upgrades

04/07/2012

Defence Department officials have been kept in the dark on a $369-million program to upgrade maritime patrol planes while a $2.8-billion dollar modernization effort for the navy’s frigates could be running into trouble. Two newly released reports from Defence Department auditors have raised concerns about military equipment programs being handled by the same organizations that had overseen the troubled plan to purchase of the F-35 stealth fighter.

U.S. Navy Jet Crashes in Virginia Beach; Six Injured

04/07/2012

A U.S. Navy F/A-18D Superhornet has crashed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, destroying a number of homes, although so far no fatalities have been reported. Both pilots ejected after dumping at least some of the malfunctioning jet’s fuel. Six people, including both pilots, were injured, three seriously, when the plane crashed into an apartment building not far from its airbase, local officials said.

Boeing's Military Programs Looking Up?

04/06/2012

Boeing's military aircraft program continues to offer opportunities for the company. The Chicago-based defense contractor currently produces the C-17 strategic transport for use by the U.S. Air Force and the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter and attack aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps and is well over a year into the development of the new KC-46A aerial tanker.