Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Boeing Selects Canadian Firms for Chinook In-service Support Program

01/31/2012

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has selected three Canadian firms to receive the first group of work packages for in-service support of 15 Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters, designated CH-147F for the Canadian Forces. Following an open competition, Boeing chose the following suppliers.

Lockheed Martin To Partner With King Abdulaziz City For Science And Technology (KACST) In Saudi Arabia

01/31/2012

Lockheed Martin and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today announced the launching of a partnership to research and promote science, technology and innovation, continuing a 45 year relationship between Lockheed Martin and the Kingdom.

Lockheed Martin Delivers 2400th C-130 Hercules

01/31/2012

Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules program has reached yet another historic milestone with the delivery of its 2400th aircraft. The aircraft is an MC-130J Combat Shadow II assigned to U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and will be operated by the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

Russian Bombers Complete 16-Hour Arctic Patrol

01/31/2012

Two Tu-95MS strategic bombers have successfully completed a routine patrol mission over the Arctic Ocean, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. The mission - the first so far this year - began on the night of January 27-28 and lasted more than 16 hours. The bombers were refueled in mid-air from an Ilyushin Il-78 tanker.

Russia Pulls Out of S.Korea Fighter Tender

01/31/2012

Russia's main military aircraft maker has decided not to take part in South Korea’s largest-ever arms tender, for a new fighter aircraft, The Korea Times said on Monday citing the country’s military procurement authorities. The winner of the FX-III tender will sign a $7.3-billion deal to supply 60 advanced fighter jets with stealth capability for South Korea’s Air Force.

Rising risk of Western war on Iran

01/30/2012

The risk of the world being engulfed in a new and dangerous war is increasing. In recent weeks, Iran has come under greater pressure over its nuclear programme, and the chances of this leading to military conflict have escalated.

French jet firm makes Swiss new offer: report

01/30/2012

French aircraft maker Dassault has made a new offer to Switzerland for its Rafale fighter jets after the government decided in November to buy Sweden's Gripen planes instead, a report said Sunday. Dassault has sent a letter to parliament -- which has yet to approve the November decision - offering 18 Rafale planes for 2.7 billion Swiss francs (2.24 billion euros, 2.96 billion dollars), reported Le Matin Dimanche, which said it had seen the letter.

U.S. Drones Patrolling Its Skies Provoke Outrage in Iraq

01/30/2012

A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.

Lockheed Martin chooses LynxOS from LynuxWorks for United Kingdom AWACS radar aircraft

01/30/2012

Military avionics designers at the Lockheed Martin Corp. Mission Systems and Sensors Division (MS2) segment in Owego, N.Y., needed a real-time operating system (RTOS) and software-engineering tools for the United Kingdom Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar surveillance aircraft. They found their solution from LynuxWorks Inc. in San Jose, Calif.

Air Force drone crashes near Gedera

01/30/2012

An Eitan-type Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Israel's largest drone, crashed near Moshav Yesodot on Sunday. No injuries were reported. An initial investigation suggests that the aircraft exceeded its flight restrictions. The damage is currently estimated at nearly $ 5 million. The investigation showed the incident was apparently the result of both a human error and a technical malfunction. The drone apparently crashed after one of its wings fell off, according to the initial investigation.

Use of US spy plane to continue in S. Korea through 2020

01/30/2012

The U.S. military will operate its U2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in South Korea through 2020 by delaying its retirement by more than five years, scrapping its plan to replace the U2 with the high-altitude Global Hawk. The U2 has been used by U.S. forces in South Korea for the surveillance of North Korea.

Czechs gives deadline for delivery of faulty CASA planes

01/29/2012

The Czech Republic has given a May 31 deadline for the delivery of four Spanish-made military transport planes or it will back out of the purchase of the aircraft that have been plagued by technical problems, Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra said. The Czech army returned the CASA C-295 M planes, built by EADS-Casa, last year after they failed tests.

U.S. may rely on aging U-2 spy planes longer than expected

01/29/2012

Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. The high-flying U-2 spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the iron curtain and, as engineers said, snap "picture postcards for Ike" of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union.

Philippines studying U.S. offer to deploy spy planes

01/29/2012

The Philippines is considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, the Philippine defense minister said on Friday. Ongoing talks in Washington on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

Experimental aircraft marks a paradigm shift in warfare

01/29/2012

The Navy’s new drone being tested near Chesapeake Bay stretches the boundaries of technology: It’s designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, one of aviation’s most difficult maneuvers. What’s even more remarkable is that it will do that not just without a pilot in the cockpit, but without a pilot at all.

Struggling in US, F-35 Fighter Pushes Sales Abroad

01/29/2012

Detractors say the F-35 stealth fighter, the costliest military plane ever, is destined to go down as one of the biggest follies in aviation history. But it may have found a savior: deep-pocketed U.S. allies hungry to add its super high-tech capabilities to their arsenal.

Russia Revives Production of Flarecraft

01/29/2012

Russia’s Federal Border Guard Service is planning to build a center for the production of flarecraft to improve protection of the country’s maritime borders. Russian media cited a government source on Friday saying that the center will be built at the former Avangard shipyard in the northern city of Petrozavodsk.

Maslowski steps down from Hawker Beechcraft defence role

01/29/2012

Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) announced today that Jim Maslowski, president, will retire from his positions with Hawker Beechcraft on Jan. 31.. Upon retirement, Maslowski will continue as a consultant to HBDC and its business development efforts with the title of vice chairman.

More drones but 80,000 fewer troops as US cuts defence spending

01/27/2012

The United States is to increase its fleet of unmanned drones by nearly a third and rely more on small, specially trained ground units as part of a slimmed down military. As part of massive cuts to its budget, the army plans to shed 80,000 soldiers over the next few years, defence secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday.

'Autonomous' combat drones debated

01/27/2012

Researchers say a drone aircraft being tested by the U.S. Navy that could conduct a combat mission without human involvement raises troubling ethical questions. The drone, designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, operates not only with no pilot in the cockpit but with no pilot at all, raising the specter of a pre-programmed semi-independently operating machine capable of wreaking mayhem on its own.

F/A-18E/F contract brings DOD aircraft orders this week to 25 in deals worth $2.2 billion

01/27/2012

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) military aircraft purchases continued to roll along on Wednesday, with a U.S. Navy order of 15 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bombers under terms of a $687.5 million contract modification. Wednesday's order brings this week's DOD combat aircraft orders to 25 in three separate deals collectively worth nearly $2.2 billion.

Boeing, Thales Select EC135 for Helicopter Aircrew Training System

01/27/2012

Boeing subsidiary Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) and Thales Australia today named the Eurocopter EC135 as the preferred platform for their bid on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Project AIR 9000 Phase 7 – Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS).

Russia to Modernize All Military Airfields by 2020

01/27/2012

All of Russia’s military airfields will be upgraded and modernized by 2020, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said on Thursday. That includes airbases, flight test and training centers, army aviation sites, and other facilities, he said.

Hawker Beechcraft Issues Statement on 2012 State of the Union Address

01/26/2012

Hawker Beechcraft today issued the following statement in response to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address. "The actions of the current administration do not align with the comments made by President Obama in his State of the Union address. He made very convincing statements that he wants to protect American manufacturing jobs and called for more highly skilled jobs in the U.S. and for more products to be made in America.

Philippines may allow greater U.S. military presence in reaction to China’s rise

01/26/2012

Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China.