Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Dutch fighter pilot detained on suspicion of spying for Belarus

05/02/2011

Dutch Special Services have detained an F-16 fighter pilot from the country's Air Force on suspicion of spying for Belarus, Radio Netherlands Worldwide website reported on Friday. The 37-year-old Dutch pilot is accused of passing state secrets to a foreign country.

Three Contenders Remain For Japan F-X

04/29/2011

Sometime this year, a Japanese technician will perform the final piece of work on the last F-2 fighter to leave the Nagoya works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. With that, Japan’s 45 years of post-war fighter production will cease and the progressive loss of skills already under way in systems manufacturing will have spread to every stage of building combat aircraft.

One dead in PAF fighter plane crash

04/29/2011

A trainer jet upgraded to a fighter plane by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) crashed yesterday afternoon near a beach resort in Bagac, Bataan, instantly killing the pilot and rendering his co-pilot unconscious. Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, commander of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), said the S-211 trainer jet took off from the Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

Sikorsky looks to add to $3.5bn deal with Turkey

04/29/2011

American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky is looking to add to the $3.5bn deal to lead the production for 109 Black Hawk helicopters for Turkey's armed forces.

Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force Salute 50 Years Of The Hercules In Abilene

04/29/2011

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force celebrated 50 years of C-130 operations at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, today.

Israel Acquires Additional Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules

04/29/2011

Lockheed Martin has received an Undefinitized Contract Action from the U.S. Government for the Foreign Military Sale of an additional C 130J to Israel, with funding for advanced procurement items for a third aircraft.

Russia, Sweden, U.S. fall out of Indian fighter deal

04/28/2011

France's Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon look set to be on the final shortlist for a $10 billion tender for 126 fighter aircraft for the Indian air force, after Sweden's SAAB was dropped, the Times of India said on Thursday. With the Indian military due to disclose final commercial proposals from the manufacturers later today, it appears that the U.S. Lockheed Martin F-16I and Boeing Super Hornet, Sweden's SAAB Gripen and Russia's MiG-35 are also out of the running. The Indian milita

Gripen not on the shortlist for the Indian MMRCA programme

04/28/2011

Today defence and security company Saab AB has received information from the Indian Ministry of Defence that Gripen has not been shortlisted for the Indian Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme.

The era of unmanned aerial vehicles is approaching

04/28/2011

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden, a big fan of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), gave a speech last week at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Washington. He tried to convince the audience that the use of UAVs opens more possibilities, including an assessment of the consequences of an impending strike, compared to manned vehicles.

Libya: 8 of 12 aircraft ready to leave made ??available from Italy

04/28/2011

"For the conduct of air operations for the imposition of the "No Fly Zone", until now Italian Country has provided 12 fighter aircraft per day". It reported the Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa in his statement, that followed the one of Minister Franco Frattini, referring to the Joint Foreign and Defence Committees of the Chamber and Senate. He stated that there are "4 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft type and/or F-16 for tasks of air superiority; 4 aircraft Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat and Recon

UAE pilot ejects on landing during Libya mission

04/28/2011

The pilot of a United Arab Emirates plane taking part in air operations over Libya on Wednesday was forced to eject while landing at an airbase in Italy, the official UAE news agency said. NATO had previously said the pilot of an F-16 fighter enforcing the no-fly zone ejected while nearing the outbound runway of Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily.

NATO says aims to stop violence, not to kill Gaddafi

04/28/2011

The NATO-led military operation in Libya does not aim to eliminate Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the commander of coalition forces said on Tuesday. The Libyan authorities accused NATO on Monday of trying to "assassinate" Muammar Gaddafi after the coalition dropped at least two guided bombs on Gaddafi's compound in the heart of Tripoli.

US fires from Predator drone to protect Libyan civilians

04/28/2011

The US has stepped up its involvement in Libya this week as Washington confirmed that a U.S. Air Force Predator drone took out a rocket launcher used to attack civilians in the battle between Qadhafi forces and civilians in Misrata. NATO confirmed the strike. This is the first use of the unmanned aircraft in Libya since President Obama gave his approval late last week.

Lockheed Martin Delivers Second Mid-Life Upgrade P-3 Orion To U.S. Customs & Border Protection

04/28/2011

Lockheed Martin has delivered the second P-3 Orion with new Mid-Life Upgrade enhancements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Boeing Vigilare System Completes Operational Testing in Australia

04/28/2011

The Boeing Vigilare network centric command and control system has passed its last formal operational test. Testing took place at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown's Eastern Regional Operations Centre (EROC) from March 28 to April 8.

Eurofighter, Rafale make Indian MMRCA shortlist?

04/28/2011

Has India downselected Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale for the $ 10 billion MMRCA fighter aircraft procurement project. Informed sources told defenseworld.net that two of the vendors, Eurofighter and Dassault have been invited to the Indian MoD for further discussions on their commercial bids on April 28. The commercial bids are to expire tomorrow.

Delays in Russian spares force India to go shopping worldwide

04/27/2011

Signalling its impatience over delays in Russian after-sales- support for military equipment, India has for the first time gone shopping worldwide for spares for its vintage fighter jets, transport aircraft, helicopters, missiles and radars.

T-38s Sent To Spar With F-22s

04/27/2011

The U.S. Air Force has assigned ten T-38C jet trainers to an F-22 unit to serve as training aircraft. Since F-22s don't expect to face anything as capable as an F-22 in the near future, anything that can move fast and maneuver like a jet fighter will do as an "opponent" aircraft. The T-38 is very similar, in shape and performance, to the American F-5 (a contemporary of the MiG-21), and does the adversary work for a fraction of the cost of using another F-22.

‘Norwegian jets bombed Gadhafi’

04/27/2011

American media outlets are reporting that the bombing of Libyan leader Colonel Gadhafi’s headquarters on Monday was carried out by two Norwegian F16 fighter jets.

IAF to procure long-range missiles to enhance striking range

04/27/2011

Aiming at enhancing the striking range of its combat aircraft, the Indian Air Force is planning to procure long-range missiles to hit hostile fighter jets without engaging them in close aerial combat. A request for information (RFI) has been issued by the IAF for long-range stand-off missiles fitted with light warheads which can take out enemy fighters from beyond visual ranges, IAF officials said.

Decks cleared for $5.8-bn C-17 Globemaster deal

04/27/2011

The deal to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft from Boeing of the US is a step closer to being clinched. The finance ministry, after initial objections, has sanctioned the money for the acquisition.

China to put new fighter aircraft to test soon

04/27/2011

The aircraft has passed the factory test and now awaits fighting test. The new aircraft is equipped with advanced anti-ship radar, self-guiding missiles, in contrast to gravity controlled bombs that largely populate China's existing 3200 aircraft fleet. When deployed, J15 will signal the dawn of a new ability by China to assert authority over its coastline, the New York Times (NYT) in a report said today.

Botswana buys Swiss trainers

04/26/2011

The Botswana military is buying PC-7 MK II turboprop trainer aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. of Switzerland. The contract for five the aircraft is worth about $45.1 million. Pilatus Aircraft said the new trainers, which will replace the Pilatus PC-7 fleet used by the Southern African country since 1990, will be delivered in 2013.

U.S. Air Force to Launch Competition for 93 New Helicopters

04/26/2011

The U.S. Air Force today announced it’s launching a competition for 93 new helicopters that would protect U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile sites and evacuate government officials in case if an attack. The Air Force anticipates releasing a draft request for proposals between mid-June and September and final request later this year, officials said in an on-line article posted on a service website.

PRC aircraft carrier could set sail this year: NSB

04/26/2011

The head of the National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said China’s first aircraft carrier would likely start training exercises at sea toward the end of this year. Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng told a meeting of the the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee that while the aircraft carrier — an old carrier purchased from Ukraine in 1998, which has undergone refurbishing work in Dalian since 2002.