Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

NATO jets target Libyan military barracks

06/06/2011

British jets hit a military barracks in the Libyan capital early Sunday, intensifying NATO pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi nearly four months into an uprising to end his erratic 42-year rule. The airstrikes on the barracks — repeated targets of NATO strikes — followed the Western alliance's first use of attack helicopters Saturday.

Officials suggest new role for more capable Reserve force

06/05/2011

Capabilities gained from a decade of combat have transformed military reserve components into a full-spectrum operational force that should be integrated into the active fighting force, a defense official said June 3.

Nato Libya mission: Foreign governments to foot refuelling bills for military aircraft

06/05/2011

he military aircraft that have made emergency landings in Malta were refuelled by Enemalta and the countries which own them are responsible to pay for the fuel purchased, a finance ministry spokesman has told The Malta Independent.

Exclusive: Canada’s early days in Afghanistan a challenge

06/05/2011

He has become known to many Canadians as an outspoken defender of veterans’ rights. But in 2002, Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran was doing very different work. He and 1,000 soldiers from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry landed at Kandahar Airfield to team up with 2,000 paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden and his Arab, Afghan and Pakistani allie.

Army Apache helicopters launch first British helicopter strikes in Libya against Gaddafi's forces as Hague flies to Benghazi for talks Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394179/Libya-Gaddafis-troops-attacked-Army-Apache-helicopters-launch-air-strike.html#ixzz1OMhIwoZW

06/05/2011

Air strikes by British combat helicopters have been carried out for the first time in Libya, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. Two targets near the Libyan town of Brega were hit by Army Apaches overnight in the latest Nato assault against forces loyal to Colonel Mummar Gaddafi.

NATO strikes on Libya amount to land operation - Moscow

06/05/2011

NATO's actions in Libya are gradually evolving into a land operation, Russia's foreign minister warned on Saturday. The French armed forces website said on Saturday that British and French light aviation helicopters of the ground forces had delivered pinpoint strikes at Libya on Friday night as part of NATO's military operation.

Thomas Takes Command at Selfridge

06/04/2011

Col. Michael T. Thomas has assumed command Saturday of the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard. Thomas, a KC-135 pilot, took command during a ceremony at Selfridge Air National Guard Base on Saturday. Thomas replaced Brig. Gen. Michael L. Peplinski as the wing commander. Peplinski, who had served as the wing commander since December 2005, retired after more than 32 years of military service.

Boeing to tap on growing demand in Asia, Mideast to boost revenue

06/04/2011

Boeing Corp is counting on growing demand in Asia and the Middle East for military aircraft to help offset possible spending cuts in Europe and the United States, a top company executive said yesterday.

Lockheed Martin: willing to outsource F-35 production to Japan

06/04/2011

Lockheed Martin is willing to outsource some production of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Japanese firms if the country's government decides to buy them as its next mainstay fighter aircraft, an executive at the U.S. company said on Friday.

Tactical Air Defense Services Executes Letter of Intent to Acquire Military Aircraft

06/04/2011

Tactical Air Defense Services, Inc. (OTCQB:TADF), an Aerospace/Defense Services contractor that offers tactical aviation services, aerial refueling, aircraft maintenance, and other Aerospace/Defense services to the United States and Foreign militaries and agencies, is pleased to announce that it is has executed a letter of intent ("the "LOI") with its pending merger partner, Tactical Air Support, Inc. ("Tac-Air") to acquire certain military aircraft and related aircraft assets (together, the "Ai

Tellis: US fighters lost MMRCA contract due to technical faults

06/04/2011

Both US bids for a major Indian Air Force fighter contract lost because of technical faults - not US export control policies or corruption in New Dehli, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace scholar Ashley Tellis said in an interview. The former American diplomat in New Dehli arrived at his conclusions after a three-week trip to India that included meetings with top Indian government, military and industry officials. The IAF selected the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon as final

CRAFTING A NEW AEW PLATFORM

06/04/2011

Here the C-295 is being used as a test bed for the development of a new AEW platform, one that features a rotodome to gain 360 degree coverage. What is most striking about the proposed program is that it would fit into a strategy somewhat similar to SAAB’s whereby the company would offer a variety of combat air capabilities ranging from combat air, to AEW, to UAVs.

Czech military offering underpriced aircraft to Iraq

06/04/2011

The Czech military may sell its L-159 aircraft to Iraq at a fraction of its original price, daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes about the deal discussed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Czech counterpart Petr Necas in late May.

Boeing Awarded Additional C-130 Modernization and Training Contracts by US Air Force

06/04/2011

Boeing today announced that it has received a $61 million U.S. Air Force contract for two more C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits and two Aircrew Training System devices as part of a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract that was awarded in 2010.

Military planes in 'near-miss' over Linton-on-Ouse

06/03/2011

A Tucano and two Royal Navy hawk aircraft were coming into land at RAF Linton-on-Ouse when they were involved in a near-miss last October. Investigators concluded that the aircraft would have collided had the pilots not taken avoiding action.

EUROPEAN AIRPOWER AT A TURNING POINT

06/03/2011

When the UK government issued its amazingly “un-strategic” strategic defense review, the main casualties were air and naval power. In probably the most rapid invalidation of a government strategy on record, the Libyan events underscored that everything the Cameron government wished to get rid of, it needed to use in the Libyan campaign, which it sponsored.Literally, key assets headed for the bone yard were pressed into duty to fly the British flag and support European aspirations to “protect” c

US, Romania in 'complicated' F-16 talks

06/03/2011

The United States and Romania are in "very complicated" negotiations about the purchase of second-hand F-16 combat aircraft due to financing issues, the US ambassador to Romania said Thursday. Romania announced in March 2010 it would purchase 24 F-16 aircraft currently used by the US military for 1.3 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros), in order to replace its ageing, Soviet-made MiG Lancer jets.

Boeing Delivers 2 F-15K Slam Eagles to the Republic of Korea

06/03/2011

The Boeing Company delivered two F-15K Slam Eagle aircraft -- designated F-15K49 and F-15K50 -- to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at Daegu Air Base on May 30. The aircraft departed the Boeing St. Louis facility on May 25 and made stops in Palmdale, Calif., Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, before arriving in Korea.

Russia, U.S. to set up Mi-17 repairs center in Afghanistan

06/03/2011

Russia and the United States will set up a maintenance center for Mil Mi-17 helicopters bought by Washington for the Afghan armed forces, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said on Thursday. The United States signed a contract on the purchase of 21 Mi-17V5 military transport helicopters from Russia for $367.5 million on May 26.

BAE team in Qatar celebrate the Typhoon ton

06/03/2011

Vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Qatar, Michael Bentinck and his team took time out today to celebrate the completion of the 100th Typhoon aircraft which was built at the UK's final assembly facility at Warton in Lancashire.

Ospreys will replace Sea Knights at Futenma, Marine Corps says

06/02/2011

The Marine Corps confirmed Thursday that it plans to replace helicopters based at Futenma air station on Okinawa with the new Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, a move that could complicate already tense U.S.-Japan relations involving the island. The Ospreys could begin arriving at Futenma in 2013 as part of a worldwide effort to upgrade the Marine Corps’ aging fleet of Vietnam War-era Sea Knight helicopters, according to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Bases Japan public affairs o

Storm Shadow, Saudi & the MTCR

06/02/2011

When France sold the Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missile to the UAE (under the name Black Shaheen) in the 1990s, the United States strongly objected that the sale violated the voluntary guidelines under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). France sold the missile anyway, but the US successfully pushed to tighten up MTCR guidelines in 2002 to prevent further transfers like this.

Czech army grounds L-39 jets after accident probe

06/02/2011

The Czech army has ordered the grounding of its nine jet trainer and combat aircraft, the L-39 Albatros, following an accident investigation into a engine failure that forced the pilot to eject in December 2010. Five of the planes will be immediately removed from service and a further four only used for training young pilots — after thorough overhauls of the engines.

One killed as Australian Chinook crashes in Afghanistan

06/02/2011

An Australian Army Boeing CH-47D Chinook transport helicopter has crashed in Afghanistan, killing one passenger and injuring the five other occupants. The incident occurred during a resupply mission 90km (48nm) east of the central Afghan town of Tarin Kot, said Australia's Department of Defence. Ground fire has been ruled out as the cause of the crash, it added.

Defunding defense

06/02/2011

Can America’s defense budget be cut? Yes. Unfortunately, President Obama is going about it exactly backward. He has asked the Pentagon to identify $400 billion in savings. But coming up with an arbitrary figure and telling our military to find some way to hit it isn’t the smart — or safe — way to make the necessary cuts.