Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Navy’s Unmanned Combat Aircraft Flying Under Cloud of Uncertainty

01/18/2012

The Navy expects to invest a growing share of its aviation research dollars in unmanned aircraft as it seeks to extend the reach and endurance of its carrier-based air wings. The science behind unpiloted flying is well understood by now, after years of progressively more frequent deployments of drones by the U.S. military.

New AWACS Plane Enters Russian Air Force Service

01/18/2012

A modernized A-50U airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft entered service with the Russian Air Force on Tuesday, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said.

Russia’s 3rd Su-35S fighter starts test flights

01/18/2012

Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer started test flights of its third series-produced Su-35S Flanker-E multirole fighter on Tuesday, the company said. The aircraft took off from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur airfield in Russia's Far East, spending more than two hours in the air testing propulsion and control systems.

Carrier Ready for India After Eight Year Wait

01/18/2012

A Russian aircraft carrier which is being refurbished for the Indian Navy will begin sea trials in May for the first time in two decades and is to be handed over to India by December 2012, a shipyard official said on Tuesday.

South Korea Creates A Jet Fighter

01/17/2012

South Korea has ordered twenty locally made FA-50 fighter-bombers, for $30 million each. The aircraft will be equipped with South Korean, American and Israeli electronics. The single engine, single seat aircraft is intended to eventually replace South Korea's aging fleet of 150 F-5 fighters.

Embraer Leads Brazilian Aviation Industry to Banner Year in 2011

01/17/2012

Brazilian Aircraft maker Embraer saw a 28% growth in sales of its E-jet line alone, delivering 204 jets and leaving a backlog of 249 firm orders worth more than US$15 Billion.

Mission Impossible: F-35C jet fighter unable to land on carriers

01/17/2012

A design flaw in the US Marine Corps version of the F-35 Lightning II, which prevents it from landing on an aircraft carrier, could see the highly advanced vehicle grounded indefinitely.

Not much there there: A small, defensive military “build-up”

01/17/2012

The administration appears to be doing what it thinks will avert one. Military force is playing a quiet and relatively minor role. There has been more “messaging” about force in the last few weeks than actual force activity.

SIMPSON: Bureaucracy killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan

01/17/2012

The U.S. military has developed the best system in the world for dealing with combat casualties. As medical technology has advanced, new methods of treatment have been developed, and the speed and efficiency of transport from the battlefield to essential medical services has greatly increased chances for combat wounded to survive.

Russian air force to buy 30 Ka-226 helicopters by 2020

01/17/2012

The Russian Air Force is to acquire up to 30 Kamov Ka-226 light helicopters for courier and communications duties by 2020, Defense Ministry spokesman Vladimir Drik said on Monday. “By the end of January the (Torzhok) center will get four light Ka-226 helicopters. By 2020 we plan to buy 30 of them,” he said.

New airframe adds strike capability to Afghan air force

01/16/2012

In the Afghanistan government's continued effort to independently battle counterinsurgency, a new tool will be added to their arsenal designed to allow versatility, reconnaissance and precision weapons placement to the growing Afghan air force. Announced Dec. 30, the U.S. Air Force has approved a contract worth more than $350 million that will provide the Afghan air force with at least 20 A-29 Super Tucano light air support aircraft, ground training devices and all associated maintenance.

Decision on Multi Role Combat Aircraft deal in 10 days

01/16/2012

The winner of the multi billion dollar deal to procure 126 combat planes for the Indian Air Force is expected to be announced in the next ten days. European EADS Eurofighter and Desault Rafale are in the final race for the Air Force global tender for the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The process to determine the L1 (lowest bidder) is under progress and is expected to be decided in another ten days, top IAF sources said here today.

Top ten military strategic issues from Obama's 'pivot' to East Asia

01/16/2012

The Obama Administration recently released a military strategic guidance document, which calls for a strategic “pivot” from the Middle East to East Asia. This bold move replaces President George W. Bush’s “long war” against violent Islamic extremism with a new, ongoing effort to shape China’s military rise.

BAE and L-3 Join Forces on Bidding Hawk Training Jet For U.S. Air Force Program

01/16/2012

BAE Systems, Inc. and L-3 Communications today announced that L-3 Link Simulation & Training, a division of L-3 Communications, is joining the Hawk Advanced Jet Training System (AJTS) team as an exclusive partner to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X program. As a principal supplier to BAE Systems, Inc., L-3 Link will lead the design and integration of the Hawk AJTS Ground Based Training System (GBTS) for the United States Air Force.

Pentagon downplays reports of Mideast buildup

01/16/2012

The Pentagon said on Friday that Iran's "destabilizing behavior" was a factor in its planning in the Middle East but sought to discourage speculation the U.S. military was quietly building up forces in the region to counter any perceived threat. The number of U.S. forces in Kuwait has grown to about 15,000 in recent weeks, including two combat brigades, as troops have withdrawn from Iraq following the end of the war there.

The Short Life Expectancy of Iranian Nuclear Scientists: Assassinations with a Message

01/16/2012

Was it an accident that on January 11, 2012 in the Seyed Khandan neighborhood of northern Tehran an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed when a bomb was attached to his car by two passing motorcyclists? The fact that this attack was operationally similar to an attack on an Iranian nuclear scientist a year earlier suggests that it was not an accident but an intentional killing with a message.

French, Saudi warplanes collide in Saudi

01/15/2012

A French Mirage and a Saudi F-15 collided in the kingdom's northern region of Tabuk without causing casualties, state news agency SPA quoted a military official as saying on Saturday. "During a joint exercise on air engagement a French Mirage aircraft belonging to the French armed forces collided with a Saudi armed forces' F-15," said the statement.

U.S. Warns Israel Against Iran Strike

01/14/2012

U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.

East/West to help build next-gen helicopter

01/14/2012

Ronkonkoma-based East/West Industries has been tapped by a Connecticut helicopter design firm to join a team tasked with building the U.S. military’s next-generation helicopter. Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., recently selected East/West to join the team, bringing East/West’s patented, lightweight, energy-attenuating troop seats to the new aircraft, currently dubbed the S-97 Raider.

Unmanned aircraft puts future of pilots, training in question at Dyess, elsewhere

01/14/2012

Dyess Air Force Base is a premier B-1 and C-130 base, but the military is intent on expanding its fleet of unmanned aircraft remotely piloted from the ground. The base's role in a military future featuring more UAVs is uncertain, but these "remotely piloted aircraft" — the Air Force's latest moniker for them — only are expected to become more important.

Military helicopter upgrades worth $3.98 billion in 2012

01/14/2012

The military helicopter modernization, upgrade & retrofit market will reach a value of $3.98 billion in 2012, according to a report released by Visiongain, a market research company in London. The strains of recent operations combine with tighter budgets, and a need to maintain a qualitative advantage drive the upgrade and retrofit of existing helicopter platforms, the company said.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to open Marine aviation exhibit

01/14/2012

James Butcher was a 20-year-old lance corporal who had been in Vietnam only a couple of months, but that was long enough to realize that the scene in front of him — a Marine, sitting alone, waiting for his flight at the Phu Bai Air terminal in 1967 — was a powerful image of solitude and quiet that war so rarely affords.

V-22 Osprey Aircraft’s Reliability Improves in Pentagon Testing

01/14/2012

The Marine Corps V-22 Osprey’s safety, combat effectiveness and reliability have improved in the past year, according to the Pentagon’s test office. New aircraft software evaluated in tests from August through early November “performed largely as expected,” the test office found. The improvement gives Osprey pilots greater capability to track, monitor and communicate from their cockpit with U.S. ground forces and to avoid bad weather.

New F-35B Joint Strike Fighters Arrive at Eglin

01/14/2012

A resolution to be even more expeditionary will be met this year, now that Marines here received their first two F-35B Lightning II variants of DoD's fifth generation fighter Jan. 11. At the 33rd Fighter Wing, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 is the home for the new aircraft where its "Warlords," pilots and maintainers, reside with a team of other professionals in preparation to deploy out anywhere in the world for the nation's defense.

Princess Bassmah - Her Royal High-ness

01/14/2012

Jordan's Captain Bassmah Bani Ahmad, the Arab world's first female aerobatic pilot, former instructor with Ayla aviation academy and chief pilot at the Royal Aero Sports Club, yesterday became a real Royal Jordanian pilot without being involved with the airline as she married His Royal Highness Prince Hamzah Al Hussain.