Military Aviation News Archive
02/18/2012
BAE Systems has won a contract from Northrop Grumman - Aerospace Systems to provide Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems for use on all 20 B-2 Spirit bombers. This ESM upgrade will be a complete replacement of the current aging AN/APR-50 system. With this award, BAE Systems will now be providing Electronic Warfare systems on all three of the U.S. Air Force's Low Observable platforms; the F-22, F-35 and B-2 aircraft.
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02/18/2012
Michigan's top military man shared his battle plan with the troops Friday morning. Despite past mission changes, Guard members thought their future was secure. Even though they knew they would lose their current mission, the C-21 aircraft on the tarmac at the W.K. Kellogg Airport, they had another one lined up -- the C-27 cargo plane.
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02/18/2012
Israel has decided to purchase 30 Italian-made trainer aircraft in its $1 billion procurement project, snubbing South Korea’s efforts to sell its homegrown planes overseas. Israeli defense officials told the media on Thursday that their government had reached a preliminary deal to buy the M-346 military training planes built by the Italian firm Alenia Aermacchi.
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02/18/2012
India today virtually ruled out a rethink on its decision in the multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal saying it has already started negotiating the contract with French firm Dassault Aviation in this regard. On January 31, India had announced that the French Rafale fighter jet has emerged as the lowest bidder in the deal for procuring 126 combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) edging out its European rival EADS consortium's Eurofighter Typhoon.
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02/18/2012
Air travel in the world’s fourth most populous nation is poised for expansion, and airlines have a healthy appetite for new aircraft. On the military side, Indonesia’s defense forces have a long list of equipment they plan to purchase in the coming years, and—unlike their colleagues in some other Asian countries—they appear to be relatively successful at getting budgets approved.
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02/18/2012
Britain and France upped military cooperation Friday to include a joint combat drone program, aircraft carrier, and combined monitoring of nuclear weapons arsenals — all of which could cut defense costs on both sides of the Channel. British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy set aside their disputes over the eurozone’s debt crisis to agree to a raft of deals at talks in Paris.
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02/18/2012
The Indian Air Force has put into service the first batch of 80 Mi-17V-5 tactical transport helicopters under a $1.3 billion deal, Russian state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Friday. Under the 2008 deal, India has already taken delivery of about 20 Russian helicopters, built by the Kazan Helicopter Plant. The remaining helicopters are to be delivered and adopted for service in 2014. The Mi-17V-5, a utility helicopter, can carry up to 36 passengers or four tons or cargo.
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02/17/2012
Airbus Military has signed today a firm contract with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) to supply nine C295 military transport aircraft for delivery to the Indonesian Ministry of Defense. The contract between PT DI and the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia was signed simultaneously, witnessed by Minister of Defense, Prof. Dr. Purnomo Yusgiantoro, and the Chief of Armed Forces, Admiral Agus Suhartono, at a ceremony at the Singapore Airshow. The Indonesian designation of the aircraft will be CN295.
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02/17/2012
Red Flag Exercises are set to start again at Nellis Air Force Base. The combat training exercises will be from February 27 through March 16. People in southern Nevada will see more military aircraft in the skies because of the exercises. It is organized by Nellis but is hosted in the Nevada Test and Training Range which is north of the city.
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02/17/2012
As the Indonesian air force works on its plan to field around 150-160 combat aircraft in 12 squadrons, it is starting to consider how to replace its fleet of F-5s. Current plans represent merely a “minimum essential force,” with the actual air force needs being much greater to provide the full range of military capability for a country the size of Indonesia, ACM Imam Sufaat, the service’s chief of staff, tells Aviation Week during the Singapore air show.
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02/17/2012
U.S. Air Force and Navy combat aircraft pilots needed helmet-mounted military night vision cueing and display systems for fighter pilots operating high-performance aircraft at night. They found their solution from Vision Systems International LLC in San Jose, Calif.
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02/17/2012
The Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that it has selected Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master as the next advanced combat trainer for the Israel Air Force. The decision is expected to lead to a crisis with South Korea, which had pushed hard to win the $1 billion deal. Seoul has claimed that Israel favored Italy throughout the competition and that the tender was not conducted according to “international standards.”
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02/17/2012
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force on Feb. 15 celebrated the rollout of the first re-winged A-10 Thunderbolt II in a ceremony at Hill Air Force Base. Boeing is under contract with the Air Force to deliver 233 wing sets through 2018.
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02/17/2012
The 250th C-130J Super Hercules built at the Lockheed Martin facility here was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, today. This is the 15th C-130J delivered to the 317th Airlift Group at Dyess since 2010 and the second of 11 aircraft to be delivered to the base in 2012. Dyess will have the distinction of being home to the largest C-130J fleet in the world when it receives its 28th Super Hercules aircraft in 2013.
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02/17/2012
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution strongly urging Russia to immediately stop selling arms and military equipment to Damascus. The resolution called on Russia to join the international consensus and enable the UN Security Council to help resolve the country’s months-long conflict. The Parliament stressed that as a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia needs to take its responsibility for international peace and security seriously.
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02/17/2012
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the future fighter must possess all technical characteristics of a fifth-generation fighter, including elements of stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed, highly-integrated avionics, electronics and fire-control systems.
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02/17/2012
Russian aircraft manufacturers must develop at least two competitive prototypes of a fifth-generation fighter jet, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday. “Two variants of the future fighter jet must be developed to encourage competition,” Rogozin said at a meeting with Russian lawmakers.
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02/16/2012
Lockheed Martin unveiled a new version of the F-16 today at the Singapore Airshow. The F-16V will feature enhancements including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an upgraded mission computer and architecture, and improvements to the cockpit – all capabilities identified by the U.S. Air Force and several international customers for future improvements.
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02/16/2012
Russian Helicopters is here at the Singapore Airshow (Booth No. U87) promoting its Mi-34C1 light helicopter, along with other models in its stable. Flight testing is under way and production is scheduled to start this year. The company expects to see strong interest in the type for missions such as pilot training, police and power line surveillance work.
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02/16/2012
Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino on Wednesday dismissed as "speculation" reports the government is planning to purchase armed drones as the F-35 program continues to encounter delays and cost overruns. But with U.S. and industry officials admitting this week the stealth fighters will cost more than expected and the Conservative government indicating its plan to buy the jets is coming off the rails, a debate is bubbling over whether Canada should hold out for drones.
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02/16/2012
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced that it is exploring ways to mitigate delays in meeting the April 2013 delivery schedule for the first aircraft called for under United States Air Force Light Air Support (LAS) contract. SNC was awarded that contract in late December, but due to a lawsuit filed by the disqualified competitor for the contract, has been prevented from initiating work.
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02/16/2012
French ministers and arms industry executives are still struggling to contain their delight over Dassault’s surprise victory in the $15bn-$20bn Indian fighter jet contest. A final contract for 126 new combat aircraft is not yet signed, explaining the reluctance to crow too loudly. But the choice of Dassault’s Rafale, over the rival Eurofighter, as the preferred bid by India’s air force has done wonders for France’s flagging industrial morale.
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02/16/2012
Four of eight Sokol combat utility helicopters from Swidnik of Poland have arrived, an official said Wednesday. “The brand-new choppers arrived last night in Clark Air Base in Pampanga,” said Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans Maj. Gen. Roy Deveraturda. “A group of technicians and pilots from the Air Force are conducting inspection and assessment and, if satisfied, they will immediately assemble them.”
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02/16/2012
The U.S. Army precisely engaged targets using the Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) Griffin B missile as part of a test to protect forward operating bases (FOBs) and small combat outposts.
"Griffin enables ground forces to protect their locations by precisely engaging targets in a 360-degree radius," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line. "Griffin gives warfighters a combat-proven capability that is ready today, fully developed and in production."
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02/16/2012
All three services of the Malaysian armed forces have received significant cuts to their procurement budget requests for 2012. The political context for this is the build up to a general election, which must be held by 2013. With defense spending being a contentious issue in Malaysia and the need to reduce state spending, the current government has opted for sizable cutbacks.
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