Military Aviation News Archive
06/01/2011
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has long had big ambitions, and the pending arrival of a new service chief with a broad agenda indicates there will be no easing up in efforts to improve the breadth of the service’s capabilities.
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06/01/2011
Not too long ago - October 2007, to be precise - engine maker Pratt & Whitney seemed painted into a strategically perilous corner. New requirements were emerging for next-generation bombers, sixth-generation fighters, tactical airlifters and surveillance aircraft. These demanded a new kind of jet engine, one that could make the next leap in fuel efficiency by reconfiguring and squeezing the air flow at higher levels than ever before.
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06/01/2011
The House Appropriations Committee has crafted a Pentagon spending measure that would swell military spending at a time when both political parties are clamoring for spending cuts. That panel’s Defense subcommittee on Wednesday is expected to approve a Pentagon appropriations bill that includes $530 billion in base military funding. Another subcommittee already has approved a $14 billion military construction measure.
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06/01/2011
Russia and NATO will sign an agreement on setting up a trust fund for maintenance of Mil helicopters in Europe by yearend, a deputy director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said on Tuesday. Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said the fund would be worth $7 million.
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05/31/2011
In the race for bagging the multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal, German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizere will meet his Indian counterpart A K Antony here tomorrow.The German Defence Minister is part of the delegation led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who will be discussing a range of issues with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
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05/31/2011
The RAF is using its E-3D spy plane to help protect Libya's civilians as the war rages between Mumamaar Gaddafi's forces and rebel fighters. Sean Rayment delivers dispatch from on board this secret military jet.
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05/31/2011
Russia has cancelled both its 'Indra' series of military exercises with India. Last month, a flotilla of five warships from the Indian navy's eastern fleet that went for joint naval exercises to Vladivostok in the Russian far-east, was turned back without any manoeuvres. The warships-which included the missile destroyers INS Delhi, INS Ranvir and INS Ranvijay-were warmly received by the Russian navy, but when asked about the exercises, they were told the Russians had no ships to spare. On a requ
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05/31/2011
The UAE's main English language newspaper The National reported today that the country is seeking maintenance and spare parts valued at more than $100 million to support the UAE fefence force's F16 fleet.
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05/31/2011
Russia's MiG aircraft maker delivered a new batch of five MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighters to the Indian navy in May, the company said. "A flight training simulator and other technical equipment has also been delivered," MiG said in a statement on Monday.
The two countries signed a contract stipulating the supply of 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs to India in January 2004. The contract is part of a $1.5-billion deal to deliver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, curre
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05/29/2011
Air Force maintainers are getting hands-on experience with the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter here.
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05/29/2011
The statement of French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet, made in New Dehli, that France will not sell Pakistan heavy defence equipment, shows two things. First, that France is not a reliable partner in providing military equipment, and second, how much influence India has over French policy that Mr Longuet found he had to make this statement during his visit to New Delhi.
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05/29/2011
With reports and experts clearly outlining the direct threat Taiwan faces as a result of its decaying military aircraft and China's unprecedented military buildup, US Senator Robert Menendez is leading efforts in the Senate to expedite the sale of 66 F-16 C/D aircraft to Taiwan.
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05/29/2011
The Army's Comanche helicopter was envisioned as "the quarterback of the digital battlefield," a technologically superior aircraft that could hide from enemies, operate at night and in bad weather, and travel farther than any other helicopter. In 2000, it ranked as the most important planned buy for the Army. Four years later, the program -- which had consumed close to 20 years of work and nearly $6 billion - was abruptly shuttered.
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05/29/2011
Britain has said it's sending Apache helicopters to Libya, and France is deploying combat aircraft as well. NATO says it's turning the screws on Moammar Gadhafi, but for some, the move shows they're clutching at straws.
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05/28/2011
India is today the world's largest importer of arms. These include fighter jet planes, missiles and radar systems for strategic partnerships and geo-political power. India is also investing in security and surveillance to combat foreign threats and resistance from its own people in places like the Kashmir valley, and the North East and tribal regions of Central India. This provides tremendous opportunity for multi-national corporations to sell and invest in India, a country marching ahead as an
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05/28/2011
A new generation of laser weapons may be on the horizon that is small enough and with sufficient power to fit on jet fighters, unmanned vehicles, armored combat vehicles, and small military boats to carry out tasks like defending against cruise missiles and swarms of small boats, providing air defenses for combat and cargo aircraft, ground attack, and defending against incoming artillery shells, rockets, and mortars.
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05/28/2011
France will stop sales of heavy military equipment to Pakistan hoping to assuage Indian concerns and prolong the recent success it has had in winning contracts from the Indian armed forces. Gerard Longuet , the French defence minister, began his two-day visit to India by assuring the country that France does not want to be seen feeding Pakistan's military ambitions.
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05/28/2011
The U.S. Army Forces Command and Russian state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport have sealed a contract for the supply of 21 Mi-17V5 multipurpose helicopters to Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation said on Friday. The United States and Russia have been in talks for more than a year on the deal to provide the much needed vehicles for the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
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05/28/2011
The Polish defense minister confirmed on Friday that Warsaw and Washington would sign a deal on the permanent deployment of a U.S. air detachment in Poland after U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the European state. Polish media reports have speculated that Obama could announce the transfer of an F-16 squadron from the Aviano base in Italy to the Lask air field in central Poland during his May 27-28 visit to Warsaw.
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05/27/2011
The C/KC-135 Stratotanker is in and out of Southwest Asia, but these days it supports more than just air refueling operations. As the KC-135 performs more aeromedical evacuation missions, officials said they realized the fleet wasn't properly equipped to care for patients due to inadequate lighting.
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05/27/2011
Ministers from the four Eurofighter programme nations - Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK - have given their renewed support to the integration of an active electronically scanned array radar, according to partner company BAE Systems.
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05/27/2011
India and France have decided to further enhance their "strategic partnership" and deepen bilateral defence cooperation. This came after visiting French defence minister Gerard Longuet met his Indian counterpart A K Antony at South Block on Thursday.
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05/27/2011
Director of the Air League Andrew Brookes looks at the effectiveness of the no-fly zone over Libya and asks if it is as much a diplomatic as a military tool.
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05/27/2011
Spanish police say they have intercepted the sale of nine military transport helicopters to Iran. Five Spaniards and three Iranians were arrested after raids on industrial warehouses near Madrid and Barcelona.
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05/27/2011
South Carolina's "Swamp Fox" Air National Guard F-16 fighter jets have joined the nation's air alert system, standing ready to respond to any threats over the southeastern United States.
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