Military Aviation News Archive

Russian new fighter

02/03/2012

Military Space Review talks about Serial Three Su-35S Flanker-E multipurpose jet fighter, which has been successfully tested for the first time at the end of January. India is a potential export customer of the aircraft.

Boeing-Textron V-22 Is Said to Lose $1.75 Billion in Pentagon Budget Cut

02/02/2012

The Pentagon will eliminate 24 V-22 Osprey aircraft built by Boeing Co. (BA) and Textron Inc. from its five-year budget plan, saving $1.75 billion through 2017, according to two U.S. officials. The planned reduction to 98 planes from 122 will be reflected in a final, multi-year contract that’s under negotiation between the Navy and companies, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hasn’t been announced.

Greece needs to stop its military spending or there will be no country there to defend

02/02/2012

Greece is bankrupt but their military is shopping for arms. In 2010 Greece spent a greater share of its income on arms than any other Nato country except the US. In the meantime, Greece is seeking a deal with private lenders and the EU "by the end of the week" its prime minister said today, as Athens races to avoid a financial meltdown ahead of debt repayments due in March.

Northrop Grumman Braces For Possible Cuts To Global Hawk Program

02/02/2012

The Global Hawk, a reconnaissance aircraft that does not carry missiles, broke records for unmanned aerial vehicles a decade ago. Now military belt tightening may cut the number of planes the Air Force will purchase.

Commentary: Taiwan should get OK to buy F-16s

02/02/2012

Vice President Joe Biden is in Fort Worth today for two private fundraising events for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Given that Tarrant County ranks second only to Orange County, Calif., for its deep-red Republican hue, there probably wasn't a need to book the convention center.

Czech military to keep supersonic fighters after 2015

02/02/2012

Prague - The Czech Republic will keep supersonic aircraft even after 2015 when the lease of the Swedish Jas-39 Gripen fighters expires, the government decided today, Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) confirmed after the cabinet's meeting.

Singapore steps up deterrent capabilities

02/02/2012

This month's Singapore air show falls on the 70th anniversary of the fall of Singapore to Japan in the Second World War. While Asia is an unimaginably different place now, Singapore's leaders have never forgotten the speed with which Singapore fell - or the three years of brutal occupation that followed.

A-10s at Selfridge may be victim of Pentagon cuts

02/02/2012

Government officials at all levels received a shock this week when it was reported that the fighter squadron that flies A-10 aircraft out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township may be eliminated under the new, downsized Pentagon budget. If the reduction receives congressional approval, it would apparently end the Air National Guard’s 107th Fighter Squadron, which consists of 630 military personnel, 250 of whom are full-time airmen. Most are pilots and maintenance mechanics.

Panetta: U.S. combat in Afghanistan to end next year

02/02/2012

U.S. and other international forces in Afghanistan aim to end their combat role next year and switch to training and advising Afghan forces through 2014, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.

Boeing Begins Production of F/A-18E/F Distributed Targeting System

02/02/2012

Boeing today announced that it has started production of the new Distributed Targeting System (DTS) for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. DTS provides enhanced targeting capability for the Super Hornet. It is part of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Network Centric Warfare Upgrades program and the F/A-18E/F Flight Plan, which will ensure that the Super Hornet remains ahead of emerging threats in coming decades.

French jet Rafale bags $20bn IAF fighter order; India 'briefs' losing European countries

02/01/2012

After an exhaustive technical and commercial evaluation spread over five long years, India on Tuesday selected French jet Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon for the gigantic almost $20 billion MMRCA ( medium multi-role combat aircraft) programme to supply 126 fighters to IAF - the largest such "open-tender" military aviation deal in the world.

Defence Watch Hungary Extends its Lease of Gripen Fighter Aircraft Until 2026

02/01/2012

The Swedish Defence and Security Export Agency (FXM) has negotiated an extension of the JAS 39 Gripen agreement with Hungary. The new agreement is extended until 2026. The agreement was signed today in Stockholm by FXM Director-General Ulf Hammarström and Director-General Gyula Keszthelyi of Hungary’s Armament and Quartermaster Office.

Alaska's congressional delegation opposes closing of U.S. bases

02/01/2012

Members of the Alaska delegation and others in Congress are vowing to resist a recommendation from the Pentagon to close military bases around the country. Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich said it doesn't make sense to start a round of domestic base closures at this point. He said he has been calling for the Department of Defense to close bases overseas, some of which "are designed from a World War II model."

Puncturing the Hot Air Balloons on U.S. Defense Spending

02/01/2012

In November, when lawmakers were discussing the U.S. defense budget, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a dire warning: In a letter to Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, he wrote that a threatened deep reduction – about $1 trillion over the next decade – would create “an unacceptable risk in future combat operations.” It would, he said, leave America with the smallest Army since the eve of World War II, the smallest number of ships since World War I, and the smallest Air Force in its hi

General Dynamics Awarded $24 Million F-35 Lightning II Gun System Contract

02/01/2012

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was awarded a $23.6 million contract by Lockheed Martin Corp. for production of more than two dozen GAU-22/A gun systems for the F-35 Lightning II.

MoD bosses praise BAE Samlesbury staff after fighter’s success in Libya

02/01/2012

Defence chiefs praised thousands of employees at BAE Systems for the success of the Typhoon Eurofighter during its first operation. Peter Luff, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, thanked BAE Systems’ military aircraft and marine engineers for their ‘tremendous support’ during Operation Ellamy in Libya.

EU: Members must share military resources to cope with change in US strategy

02/01/2012

European Union nations must increasingly pool their military resources, especially as individual members keep trimming their budgets and the U.S reshapes its military strategy to focus on regions beyond Europe, the bloc’s top defense officials said Tuesday.

Dassault Chosen to Bid on $10 Billion Indian Military Contract

02/01/2012

India had selected Dassault Aviation of France as its preferred bidder in a $10 billion contest to supply its air force with a new fleet of advanced combat aircraft, the French government said Tuesday. Dassault edged out a European consortium for the coveted contract with one of the world’s biggest arms importers.

Russia to Field Air-Launched Missiles for T-50 by 2014

02/01/2012

Russia will complete development of advanced tactical air-launched missile systems for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter within the next two years, the head of the Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), Boris Obnosov, told RIA Novosti. “The development of Kh-35UE (AS-20 Kayak), Kh-38ME, Kh-58UShKE (AS-11 Kilter), and RVV-MD (AA-11 Archer) class missiles will be completed in 2012-2013,” Obnosov said, adding the missiles were currently being tested.

Russia to Modernize 30 Tu-22M3 Bombers by 2020

02/01/2012

About 30 Tu-22M3 strategic bombers from Russia's Long Range Aviation fleet will be modernized by 2020, Russian Air Force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Tuesday. "We plan to upgrade about 30 strategic bombers to the M3M standard,” Drik said. Tu-22M3 (NATO reporting name Backfire-C) is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic bomber that Russia uses mainly to patrol the skies over its southern borders, Central Asia and the Black Sea region.

5 A-10 squadrons to be cut

01/31/2012

The A-10 Thunderbolt II provides the type of close-air support that ground-pounders love and the Taliban dread. Although the A-10s are workhorses in the war on terrorism, the Air Force in its new budget request is planning to get rid of five squadrons. As part of the Defense Department’s efforts to trim close to $500 billion in spending over the next decade, defense officials said Friday that the service intends to cut five A-10 tactical squadrons and two other squadrons as well.

Swiss govt says has not had cheaper Dassault offer

01/31/2012

Switzerland's defence ministry has not received a second offer from aircraft maker Dassault that is cheaper than the type of fighter jet it is planning to buy, a spokeswoman said on Monday. "No official offer has been received here until now," a spokeswoman for the defense ministry said.

Loose Libyan missiles threaten air traffic

01/31/2012

With instability in the Sahel-Saharan region, fears are growing about the fallout from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM) potential acquisition of portable surface-to-missiles from Libya.

Ejection Parachute Issue Grounds F-35As

01/31/2012

Fifteen new Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, some of which are participating in the flight testing so critical to moving the troubled Joint Strike Fighter program forward, have been grounded owing to improper loading of parachutes in their ejection seats.

Opinions Differ About Wisdom of Proposed Military Cuts

01/31/2012

As the Obama administration prepares to present a budget to Congress that includes $487 billion in military cuts over the next 10 years, some experts are warning that the downsized defense that is planned could severely jeopardize the nation’s security posture.