Military Aviation News Archive
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04/04/2012
Azerbaijan denies reports that Israel is to set up military bases aimed at Iran on its territory, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Tuesday. In late March, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied a media report saying it granted Israel access to air bases near the Iranian border. "This information is absurd and groundless,” ministry spokesman Teymur Abdullayev said.
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04/04/2012
Russia's military-transport aviation will use civilian An-124 Ruslan Condor heavy-lift transport aircraft owned by large carriers, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Monday. “Orders will be placed for dozens of aircraft - 60-70 Ruslans,” he said. It was not immediately clear whether the military will pay for the use of cargo aircraft or simply commandeer them in the interest of “national defense.”
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04/04/2012
Russia’s Defense Ministry has issued a technical specification for development of a strike unmanned air vehicle (UAV), Izvestia daily said on Monday quoting a high-level source. Tranzas company will build the UAV's on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems. The airframe, which will weigh about five tons, will be produced by the Kazan-based Sokol design bureau.
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04/02/2012
Admiral Sir John Woodward said the Prime Minister would be powerless to respond if an invasion of the South Atlantic islands should happen again.
On the 30th anniversary of Argentina he joined other senior veterans in criticising the reduction in British aircraft carrier capability.
Admiral Woodward also warned Mr Cameron against changing his mind over the type of jet to buy for the carriers under construction. Conventional Joint Strike Fighters had been ordered but the Prime Minister is now e
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04/02/2012
A surveillance aircraft operated by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command flew over southeastern Yemen on the evening of March 9, tracking a mid-level Al Qaeda commander as he drove to his mountain hideout.
American missiles soon rained down. The Al Qaeda commander was killed, along with 22 other suspected militants, most of them believed to be young recruits receiving military training, U.S. officials said.
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04/02/2012
Brazil is in the "final chapters" of making a decision to award a lucrative jet fighter deal, the defence minister Celso Amorim said on Saturday. Amorim indicated that the decision could be expected within a few months.
Swedish manufacturer Saab's Gripen jet fighter is up against the Rafale fighter, made by French firm Dassault Aviation and US aviation giant Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet for a tender from Brazil to supply 36 multi-role combat aircraft.
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04/02/2012
The Harper government will commit to re-evaluating the F-35 fighter jet program Tuesday, in response to a scathing Auditor-General’s report that is expected to charge Department of National Defence officials with misleading Parliament.
The government will respond to the report from new Auditor-General, Michael Ferguson, by launching a multi-pronged action plan that includes a freeze on spending on the F-35 at $9-billion and committing to annual updates to Parliament on the progress of the pro
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04/02/2012
Drones have become the favorite weapon system of the Obama administration, currently in use in several countries around the world by both intelligence services and the military. Be it for spying or killing, drones keep pilots safe thousands of miles away as they spend sometimes days in the air. Now imagine if drones could spend months in the air.
Just as nuclear energy is used to keep submarines and ships at sea for months on end, plans have been drawn up to give drones a similar capability i
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04/02/2012
Raytheon Company's Small Tactical Munition Phase II scored a direct hit on a target during the weapon's first guided flight test.
"STM Phase II is ideally suited to weaponize Shadow-class unmanned aircraft systems and counterinsurgency aircraft because STM is a mature, precise and affordable weapon," said Dr. Thomas R. Bussing, vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. "STM gives warfighters flexibility because it enables them to engage moving and
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04/01/2012
Sailor-suited Russian models touted their nation's submarines. Indian officers posed for pictures atop foreign-made armor-plated vehicles.
And working the room at New Delhi's aging exhibition center were French, British and U.S. arms merchants from global-defense giants, elbowing one another aside in the search for a deal at Defexpo India 2012, the country's biggest-ever weapons trade show.
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03/31/2012
More than 1,200 distinguished visitors filled the Patrol Squadron 30 hangar at Naval Air Station Jacksonville March 28 to celebrate the first fleet delivery of the P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft.
"In the same year that our maritime patrol and reconnaissance force (MPRF) is celebrating 50 years of service for the P-3 Orion, we're also celebrating the fleet introduction of P-8 Poseidon," said Capt. Mark Stevens, VP-30 commanding officer and master of ceremonies.
In his remarks, Vice Chief
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03/31/2012
The military services expect to unveil performance specifications this summer for a new joint vertical-lift aircraft, Maj. Gen. William T. Crosby told congressmen.
Crosby, director of the Army’s Program Executive Office Aviation, testified Tuesday afternoon to the House Armed Services Committee, subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces at a hearing on rotorcraft modernization programs. His counterparts from the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force also testified.
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03/31/2012
Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos has developed an anti-aircraft carrier variant of the 290-km supersonic cruise missile.
"We have achieved the capability to attack aircraft carriers using the supersonic vertical diving variant of the missile and after demonstrating the capability recently with high precision, we will now offer this to the Indian Navy," BrahMos chief A Sivathanu Pillai said here today.
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03/29/2012
Sudan sent military aircraft over a key South Sudanese city Tuesday as part of a two-day bombing campaign that has targeted South Sudanese military positions along the two nations' disputed border. No explosives fell from the aircraft, a pair of Russian-made Antonov cargo planes that Sudan has long used to drop bombs on opposing forces, as they "hovered" above Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity state.
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03/29/2012
Having missed many deadlines for its maiden flight, the naval prototype of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-NP1) is finally expected to fly this week. The LCA-NP1, the country’s first indigenous effort to build a carrier borne naval fighter aircraft, was scheduled to be flight-tested last year. However, technical problems led to postponements a couple of times. “We are looking at scheduling the flight anytime now. Final trials are currently on,” said DRDO sources.
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03/29/2012
The Gillard Government has confirmed it is considering allowing US military surveillance drones to be based on Australian soil. Defence Minister Stephen Smith says a base on the strategically important Cocos Islands is a long-term prospect. But it's a prospect that's winning support from key Australian military experts.
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03/29/2012
Azerbaijan purchased a variety of weaponry, including aerial drones and an advanced anti-missile capable radar, from Israel under a $1.6 bln contract signed in 2011, the APA news agency said on Tuesday, citing data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). According to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, Baku bought an unknown number of Gabriel anti-ship missiles, five Heron and five Searcher UAV’s, a Barak-8 air defense system with 75 missiles.
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03/29/2012
Boeing today announced that the UK Ministry of Defence has signed an agreement for the acquisition of one C-17 Globemaster III, bringing the Royal Air Force (RAF) fleet of the world’s most advanced airlifters to a total of eight. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the eighth C-17 later this year.
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03/29/2012
Boeing delivered the last of the Chilean Air Force’s three KC-135E Stratotankers on March 9 after all the aircraft completed Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) in San Antonio. The final aircraft arrived at Boeing’s San Antonio facility in June for the maintenance work, which included a variety of depot-level inspections, repairs, maintenance, modification and repainting.
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03/28/2012
Senior leaders from Air Force Reserve Command assembled here March 26-27 during the 2012 Senior Leader Conference to discuss the future of the command.
The theme of this year's conference was "Full Operational Capability: Full Spectrum Combat Capability with Unparalleled Efficiency" and how the Air Force Reserve fits into the big picture of the total force.
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03/28/2012
Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer said on Wednesday it booked $180 million in orders for its Super Tucano light attack fighters for border monitoring and counter-insurgency missions in Burkina Faso, Angola and Mauritania.
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03/28/2012
Before the launch of a top-secret spy satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, a fleet of small drones will be doing some spying of their own.
In yet another use of robotic aircraft, RQ-11 Raven drones equipped with high-powered video cameras will fly around the craggy launch site northwest of Santa Barbara, scouring the ground below to ensure that the area is clear for blastoff.
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03/28/2012
The US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) scoping out the possibility of buying a full-motion simulator for its fleet of Polish-built PZL M-28 Skytruck light transport aircraft.
A Request for Information (RfI) issued by the USAF is designed to help the service in "assessing the viability of procuring an M-28A Weapons System Trainer," the document reads. The USAF asks potential contractor to respond by 30 April.
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03/27/2012
Embraer said it expects a cancelled US Air Force contract for light attack aircraft to be re-tendered “within weeks” in a deal seen as crucial to the defence ambitions of the Brazilian aircraft producer. Embraer’s bid to sell 20 of its Super Tucano to the US for use in Afghanistan comes as the world’s third largest commercial jet maker is looking to grow its defence sales by nearly 10 per cent this year.
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03/27/2012
AUSTRALIA'S Cocos Islands territory could be used as a staging point for spy flights by United States military drones over the South China Sea, according to an US newspaper report.
Citing US and Australian sources, The Washington Post said the Pentagon was eyeing the Indian Ocean territory's coral atolls as an ideal site to launch Global Hawk surveillance drones, as well as manned surveillance flights.
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