Military Aviation News Archive

India goes full steam to finalize $10.4bn jet deal

05/23/2011

Rejecting the carping by those ejected out of the hotly-contested $10.4 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) race, most notably the US, India is going full throttle to ink the "mother of all defence deals'' by December.

US Drones vs China

05/23/2011

After a decade of steady expansion, the Chinese military has made significant strides toward limiting the United States’ ability to deploy its own armed forces in the western Pacific. A combination of new submarines, long-range anti-ship missiles and heavily-armed jet fighters underpins what the Pentagon calls Beijing's ‘anti-access, area-denial’ strategy, aimed at keeping the warships of the US Seventh Fleet, based in Japan, out of the South China Sea.

Africa: Battleground For NATO's 21st Century Strategic Concept

05/23/2011

The war by major North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states against Libya is in its third month and has been conducted under the official auspices of NATO for the past fifty days. According to the military bloc's daily online tally, Alliance military aircraft have flown over 7,200 missions and more than 2,800 combat flights since NATO inaugurated so-called Operation Unified Protector on March 31.

Leaked cable says Pakistanis sabotaged own air missions

05/23/2011

akistani airmen sabotaged their fighter jets to prevent them from participating in operations against militants along the border with Afghanistan, according to a leaked U.S. Embassy cable.

FIFTH GENERATION AIRCRAFT AND DISRUPTIVE CHANGE

05/23/2011

U.S. air power is at a crucial turning point. In a stringent budgetary environment and with a demand to shape a post-Afghan military, the crucial requirement is to invest in the future not the past. President Obama is calling for a Sputnik moment in the investment in future technologies. There is little reason to exclude the Department of Defense from such an effort.

Japan may drop F-35 from shortlist of next mainstay fighter

05/22/2011

Japan may drop the F-35 stealth fighter from a shortlist for the country's next generation fighter due to a sharp delay in the plane's development plan, Kyodo agency reported on Friday citing diplomatic and defense sources.

NATO pounds pro-Gadhafi forces’ command centers

05/22/2011

NATO warplanes bombed command centers near Tripoli and in Libya’s southwest as part of a continuing effort to cut communications links between Moammar Gadhafi and his units on the battlefields, the military alliance said Saturday.

Airbus Military again assures on South African A400M work – but just

05/21/2011

Airbus Military officials have again sought to assure South Africa about the security of its A400M work packages. Programme head Cedric Gautier says there are “no plans to remove any packages on our own initiative” at present.

Tejas LCA Enters Key Test Phase

05/21/2011

The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has certainly tested the patience of the Indian air force and the Indian defense establishment, but the coming weeks may finally yield important breakthroughs to fielding the indigenously developed aircraft. Next month, Tejas is due to undergo a second phase of night trials and, if the systems perform as advertised, it will be cleared for night attack, a crucial requirement to achieve full operational clearance (FOC) as a day/night, all-weather platform by Decembe

Eurofighter Typhoon frontrunner to bag the $11 billion Indian Air Force Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contract

05/21/2011

Eurofighter Typhoon is the front-runner for the USD 11 billion contract Indian Air Force Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal, a senior official of the BAE Systems has said indicating that if the contract goes through a part of fighter manufacturing would be off loaded to India.

Israel focuses on Korean, Italian jets

05/21/2011

The competition for the Israeli air force's next jet trainer is heating up, with the Defense Ministry narrowing the focus to Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle and Italy's Aermacchi M-346 Master.

Too Cheap To Avoid

05/21/2011

Last month, the U.S. announced that the war effort in Libya had cost about $600 million for the first 17 days. That was about $35 million a day. A month later, the total U.S. cost has gone to about $750 million, or $16 million a day so far. This was what was expected, for daily costs to eventually settle down to $10-20 million a day. The U.S. has withdrawn most of its combat aircraft, but is still providing electronic warfare (and monitoring) aircraft, aerial tankers and two Predator UAVs.

British Defence Secretary: Tackling the public finances is an issue of national security

05/21/2011

British Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox has said yesterday that the long-term vision for Britain's defence depends upon a sound economic base that enables sustainable military power to be built.

S Korea to procure precision missiles for F-15K aircraft

05/20/2011

South Korea's arms procurement agency said Wednesday that it will open a bid next month to purchase radar-evading cruise missiles for its F-15K fighter aircraft, Yonhap news agency reported. According to the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), S Korea had originally planned to buy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) from Lockheed Martin, but the plan got delayed due technical reasons.

F-35C JSF carrier variant exceeding test goals

05/20/2011

Navy officials at the Naval Air Systems Command announced that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) carrier variant test aircraft has met its goals to date for 2011. The aircraft - CF-1 - completed 36 test flights up to May 11, almost half the program's goal for the year of 85.

India withdraws tender for newer Jaguar combat jet engine

05/20/2011

The defence ministry has withdrawn its tender for re-engining the Indian Air Force's Jaguar combat jets after one of the two contenders opted out, a leading defence journal says.

Arming point key to Afghan airpower dominance

05/20/2011

Officials at the Kandahar Air Wing reached a milestone May 15 when they opened an Afghan Mi-17 weapons arming point here. The officials said it's a key step towards delivering airpower dominance to both the 205th and 215th Afghan National Army Corps.

Turkey to get first GrandNew helicopter for VIP transport

05/20/2011

Turkey is to receive its first GrandNew light-twin helicopter from Agusta Westland by the end of June, the FInnmeccanica company said today.

New helicopters to be presented at HeliRussia 2011 expo in Moscow

05/20/2011

Industrial prototypes of Russian and foreign helicopters will be presented to the public at the HeliRussia 2011 international exposition in Moscow on May 19-21, the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said. A total of 125 Russian companies and 40 organizations from 15 other countries are to take part in the exhibition. Military products will be presented by 11 Russian companies and one Ukrainian.

Lucky escape for crew as tanker jet crashes

05/19/2011

Three crew members aboard a Boeing 707 tanker loaded with jet fuel escaped with only minor injuries when the aircraft skidded off the runway and exploded into flames at a Southern California Navy base, officials said. The plane crashed as it was taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu at about 5:25 p.m. Wednesday. It slid to a halt within a few hundred feet of the Pacific and burst into flames, with thick black smoke pouring out the shattered wreck.

AT-6 Seen As Versatile Combat Aircraft

05/19/2011

The turboprop-powered T-6 Texan II began life as a trainer and then morphed into the AT-6 light attack aircraft for the Greek air force. Now, as the AT-6B/C, it is promising to become an inexpensive path to network-centric operations, precision strike and advanced surveillance for other air forces.

Pakistan, China likely to ink agreement on JF-17 Thunder

05/19/2011

Pakistan and China are expected to sign an agreement today (Thursday) for the provision of 50 JF-17 thunder aircraft to Pakistan on emergency basis, it has been learnt by Daily Times. According to official sources, these aircraft will be equipped with sophisticated avionics. Not only will the aircraft be handed over within weeks, China will also foot the bill initially. Although Pakistan and China have been jointly developed this multirole combat aircraft in the past, in the aftermath of the US

Defending the impossible

05/19/2011

Adored by the Pakistani masses, the armed forces faced widespread public outcry and humiliation over (1) Osama bin Laden’s presence for nearly six years near a supposedly secure area in Pakistan, and (2) their failure to interdict the heliborne US raiding party. The military hierarchy did the correct thing by presenting themselves in a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate for hostile questioning by the “elected” representatives riding the crest of aroused public opinion.

Proposed Re-Realignment for Northeast Asia Ignores Strategic Realities

05/19/2011

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D–MI), ranking member John McCain (R–AZ), and Senator Jim Webb (D–VA) have called on the United States to overhaul two complex military realignment agreements with South Korea and Japan. Their proposals would undermine years of carefully crafted diplomacy that achieved U.S. strategic objectives and resolved contentious issues with allies.

Senate hearing on F-35 but fireworks unlikely

05/19/2011

Pentagon and Lockheed Martin officials will before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday to give an update on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Whether there any real news comes out of the proceedings remains to be seen.