Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy Review

12/13/2011

In 2011, gamers were graced with two Ace Combat titles, one on consoles and the other on the Nintendo 3DS. Both games carry the title “Assault Horizon” but they are both completely different titles when it comes to the gameplay department. In Assault Horizon on the consoles, players can expect very explosive dog and ground-fights while in Legacy, they are toned down due to the limitations of the 3DS hardware.

Indian Light Combat Aircraft Slipping A Year

12/13/2011

Fresh troubles are delaying India’s indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft program, with final operational clearance slipping by over a year to December 2014. Testing challenges and performance-parameter issues have delayed flight testing, operational envelope expansion and certification, leading to the Indian air force (IAF) reluctantly agreeing to a 12-month slip in declaration of the aircraft as fully operational.

U.S. to mothball gear to build top F-22 fighter

12/13/2011

Even as the last F-22 fighter jet rolls out of flag-draped doors at a Lockheed Martin Corp assembly plant on Tuesday, the Air Force has taken steps that leave open an option to restart the premier plane's production relatively cheaply. The Air Force is preserving the hardware used to build the jet, not scrapping it, although it insists this is solely to sustain the fleet over its projected 30-plus years' "lifecycle."

Iraq Wants to Buy 18 More F-16 Fighter Jets

12/13/2011

Iraq wants to buy an additional 18 Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Fighting Falcon jets, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Dec. 12. The $2.3 billion sale includes 24 Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 or General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, and would be managed under the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) apparatus, the release says. The deal would also include a host of ancillary equipment such as targeting pods, weapons and conformal fuel tanks.

Is War in the South China Sea Inevitable?

12/13/2011

Hu said that China's navy should "make extended preparations for warfare," adding that the navy should "accelerate its transformation and modernization in a sturdy way, and make extended preparations for military combat in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security. Our work must closely encircle the main theme of national defense and military building."

Tactical common data link for UAVs

12/13/2011

The U.S. Army's MQ-5B Hunter unmanned aerial ISR vehicles will be reset by Northrop Grumman from C-Band communications to a tactical common data link. The work comes under two contractor logistics support contract modifications worth $91.2 million. Each features a one-year performance period.

Canada to purchase F-35s, but final number not carved in stone

12/13/2011

The ability to defend the skies and operate overseas at the same time would be in peril if the Harper government buys fewer stealth fighters than planned, the head of the Royal Canadian Air Force said Monday. Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps said the air force would have to review how much "concurrent activity" it could handle if the number of radar-evading F-35s drop below the 65 aircraft the government has promised.

No Indian Ocean military base: China

12/13/2011

China on Monday said its naval fleet would only seek supplies or recuperate in the Seychelles during anti-piracy operations, denying reports that Beijing might break with its long-standing policy by setting up a military base overseas with a presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Boeing B-52 CONECT System Completes Flight Test Milestone

12/13/2011

Today Boeing announced completion of all flight testing needed for the B-52 Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) program to receive low rate initial production (LRIP) authorization from the U.S. Air Force. The flight test program was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., by Boeing and the Air Force.

US vacates Shamsi Airbase, Pak Army takes over

12/12/2011

The United States has finally vacated the Shamsi Airbase in the Washuk district of Balochistan after using it for numerous covert and overt operations in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan in the war against terror for over a decade.

CIA spy plane loss exposes covert US-Iran conflict

12/12/2011

The loss to Iran of the CIA's surveillance drone bristling with advanced spy technology is more than a propaganda coup and intelligence windfall for the Tehran government. The plane's capture has peeled back another layer of secrecy from expanding U.S. operations against Iran's nuclear and military programs. Like the Soviet Union's downing of the American U-2 spy plane during the Cold War, Iran's recovery of the drone has cast a spotlight on part of the U.S.-Iran spycraft.

Army Developing Next-Generation Helo

12/12/2011

The Pentagon and the U.S. Army are in the early stages of a far-reaching Science & Technology effort designed to engineer, build and deliver a next-generation helicopter with vastly improved avionics, electronics, range, speed, propulsion, survivability, operating density altitudes and payload capacity, service officials said.

Marines budget cuts to aim at people, not weapons

12/12/2011

There appears to be growing consensus that the Marine Corps can better survive a cut in forces over weapons programs to meet expected 2013 budget cuts. Two local men — Harry Blot, retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and Joint Strike Fighter advisor, and Hugh Overholt, retired Army major general and attorney who has led the area’s lobby for continued military air presence at Cherry Point — agree with the Marine Corps logic outlined in stories published on TheHill.com Thursday and Friday.

US Air Force trims aerial demonstration teams

12/12/2011

Tight budgets will ground some Air Force aircraft that traditionally appear in smaller air shows, but the organizer of Thunder Over the Valley in Santa Maria retains high hopes of landing an F-22 demonstration team and other military aircraft in 2012. The Air Force’s Air Combat Command has announced a reduction of single-ship demonstration teams in 2012.

Analysis: As U.S. leaves, Iraqi forces still under construction

12/12/2011

Nearly nine years after the United States threw out Saddam Hussein and dissolved his feared security machine, Iraq's rebuilt military is a long way from matching up with regional powers like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel. With little air defense, marginal control of its borders and a tenuous grip on Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias, Iraq may depend on American military help for years to come, even as most U.S. troops leave Iraqi soil by mid-December.

Military looks for more 'fear factor' in training simulators

12/12/2011

The group of Marines sprang into action and raced into combat position, with weapons aimed, as they assaulted a possible terrorist stronghold. Moments later, they were sipping sodas and chatting with friends about weekend plans. For them it was just another exercise in a war-game training simulation — a computer-generated virtual world that can take them to remote war zones, help them learn combat tactics and terrain, and have them home in time for dinner.

Lockheed Martin gets $4 billion order to build 30 F-35 advanced combat jets for Air Force, Navy, and Marines

12/12/2011

Military aircraft designers at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, will build 30 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) advanced combat aircraft and advanced avionics for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps under terms of a $4 billion contract modification announced late Friday from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.

'Typhoon package is the best deal'

12/11/2011

Eurofighter's director for its Typhoon Malaysia programme was responding to negative news reports that the multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) was too costly. "Our approach is to provide a figure... this can go down later (depending on what the requirements are)," he said at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition.

Edmonton company helps buy F-104 Starfighter jet for museum

12/11/2011

The Alberta Aviation Museum will be getting its own F-104 Starfighter aircraft after a local waterbombing and forest firefighting aircraft company stepped in with a donation to commemorate its founder. Air Spray Ltd., whose founder Don Hamilton died in July at age 86, will be giving up to $40,000 to the museum to help it purchase one of the fastest planes ever operated in Canada.

A Pentagon the Country Can Afford

12/11/2011

If you listen to defense industry lobbyists, hawks in Congress and the Pentagon, the sky is falling and with it, American security. It isn’t. The failure of the “supercommittee” to reach a deficit agreement is supposed to trigger $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts in federal spending over the next decade, nearly $500 billion of that from the basic Pentagon budget. Many Republicans, and some Democrats, are already talking about getting the Pentagon off the hook.

Army Developing Next-Generation Helicopter

12/11/2011

The Pentagon and the U.S. Army are in the early stages of a far-reaching Science & Technology effort designed to engineer, build and deliver a next-generation helicopter with vastly improved avionics, electronics, range, speed, propulsion, survivability, operating density altitudes and payload capacity, service officials said.

C-130J creates record by undertaking longest flight in IAF

12/10/2011

The C-130J Super Hercules aircraft of the Indian Air Force has set the record for the longest ever flight undertaken by a military aircraft in the country without refuelling. "Two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft successfully flew non-stop for 9 hours and 45 minutes from Rome in Italy to Muscat in Oman in June this year setting a record for longest flight without refuelling by any IAF aircraft," IAF officials said here.

Lockheed in $4 billion U.S. F-35 fighter deal

12/10/2011

Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) is being awarded a $4 billion fixed-price U.S. Navy contract for 30 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, the fifth batch of low-rate initial production, the Defense Department said on Friday. The deal would provide 21 conventional models for the Air Force, six carrier variants for the Navy and three short-takeoff and vertical landing versions for the Marine Corps, a notice in the Pentagon's daily contract digest said.

Apache Block III Pilots Gain Control Of UAS

12/10/2011

The U.S. Army last month rolled out the latest upgrade to Boeing’s iconic Apache attack helicopter—the AH-64D Longbow Block III. The version includes at least 25 technology upgrades and, importantly, interoperability with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that permits a pilot in flight to control a drone, tap into its streaming video and use its sensors for target engagement.

Malaysian Fighter Requirement Draws Hardware to LIMA Show

12/10/2011

Malaysia’s requirement for a new multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) was a key feature of this week’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition. Although no formal request for proposals (RFP) has been issued, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen were all on flying or static display in pairs.