Military Aviation News Archive

Lockheed Martin Delivers First F-35 Weapons Load Training System to Eglin Air Force Base

10/18/2011

Lockheed Martin delivered and installed the first weapons load training device at the F-35 integrated pilot-and-maintenance training center (ITC) at Eglin Air Force Base’s 33rd Fighter Wing.

Team of Marines integrates ground, air forces in Afghanistan

10/17/2011

As the Marines and coalition and Afghan forces in the southwestern regional command of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force patrol the Helmand River valley, they do so knowing an overwhelming advantage is behind them. With air assets led by 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), the coalition can strike the enemy at will, move troops around the battlespace safely and quickly, and medically evacuate service members or Afghans in need.

Kenyan Troops Push Into Somalia

10/17/2011

Kenyan military forces moved into southern Somalia on Sunday, an official and residents said, a day after top Kenyan defense officials said the country has the right to defend itself after a rash of militant kidnappings inside Kenya. Late Sunday evening, a military helicopter crashed and caught fire inside Kenya from an apparent mechanical malfunction, a diplomat and a resident said. No civilian casualties were reported, but the status of the pilots on board wasn't immediately known.

America’s Secret Empire of Drone Bases

10/17/2011

They increasingly dot the planet. There’s a facility outside Las Vegas where “pilots” work in climate-controlled trailers, another at a dusty camp in Africa formerly used by the French Foreign Legion, a third at a big air base in Afghanistan where Air Force personnel sit in front of multiple computer screens, and a fourth at an air base in the United Arab Emirates that almost no one talks about.

S African military plane - a challenge to Western dominance?

10/17/2011

A South African firm has produced the continent's first indigenous aircraft, which its makers hope will revolutionize the military aviation industry while bringing in half a billion dollars a year to the local economy. The Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) was created by the Paramount Group, a South African defence company, together with Aerosud, an aeronautical engineering firm.

F-35’s neck on chopping block; outcry fierce

10/17/2011

There is a potential target among weapons systems. It’s the troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the next-generation, supersonic aircraft for the Air Force, Marines and Navy, the biggest weapon procurement program for the Pentagon at a cost of $238 billion. The aircraft hasn’t lived up to its other name — Lightning II — falling behind schedule and rising over budget, with one variant of the plane suffering cracks in the bulkhead after it flew just 1,500 hours out of a planned 16,000.

Next step in infrared countermeasures development will involve protecting UAVs from missile attack

10/17/2011

Missile-defense experts at the Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., are offering their Common Infrared Counter Measures (CIRCM) system for a U.S. Army competition to protect combat helicopters and other aircraft by jamming the infrared guidance systems of heat-seeking missiles and diverting the missiles away from the aircraft.

US to help track down Libyan missiles

10/16/2011

THE United States is planning to send dozens of former military personnel to Libya to help track down and destroy surface-to-air missiles from Muammar Gaddafi's stockpiles, which US officials fear could be used by terrorists to take down passenger jets.

Historic 'Surge' Exercises C-5 Crisis, Contingency Response

10/16/2011

An historic "surge" of the nation's largest military airlifters will more than double their normal day-to-day workload, exercising the ability of United States Transportation Command and its air component, Air Forces Transportation, to rapidly provide strategic airlift in response to large-scale crises and contingencies, according to officials here.

Despite strong start to KC-46, delays possible

10/15/2011

The Air Force’s KC-46 tanker is a model acquisition program in several ways, yet four things may keep the aircraft from entering service on schedule, senior defense officials said.

China Military Planes Lead to Tripling of Japan Jet Scrambles

10/15/2011

While growing tensions on the high seas have been the main focus in recent territorial tensions between China and Japan, a report released by the Defense Ministry shows prickliness is escalating in the skies as well.

Lawmakers nix light-attack aircraft proposal

10/15/2011

Lawmakers continue to reject the Pentagon’s attempts to deploy light-attack aircraft to Afghanistan as part of a combat experiment. The House Appropriations and Armed Services committees and Senate Armed Services Committee rejected a $17 million U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) request for the Combat Dragon II program, according to a Pentagon reprogramming document.

NATO chief says Libya operation showcased Europe’s commitment to alliance

10/15/2011

The seven-month bombing campaign in Libya is a “positive story” that showcased the commitment of the alliance’s European members, who conducted most of the combat missions for the first time in the organization’s history, NATO’s top official said Friday.

China Expands Its Military Reach

10/15/2011

How far is China’s military reach? The answer depends on what it wants to do. A Chinese warship deployed to the Mediterranean this year, so, by that yardstick, global reach is at hand. But the isolated ship only supported civilian evacuations from Libya, and had no real military potential.

Cutting deeper would devastate the military, Pentagon leaders say

10/15/2011

Defense leaders said Thursday that the Pentagon must be spared from deeper budget cuts than those already planned, and the nation's top military officer suggested that three separate versions of the F-35 might be unaffordable. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee that he is "concerned about the three variants and whether we can go forward in this fiscal environment with all three."

Egypt’s air force chief says planes patrolling Sinai without Israel’s consent

10/14/2011

Egyptian warplanes are patrolling the Sinai without Israeli consent, despite a 1979 peace treaty limiting Egypt’s military presence in the peninsula, Egypt’s air force chief said on Thursday. Parts of the Sinai have been off-limits to Egyptian troops under the terms of the 1979 treaty by which Israel agreed to end its occupation but in recent months the army has deployed reinforcements with Israeli consent to tackle suspected Islamist militants.

France Warns Airbus, Contractors On A400M Contract

10/14/2011

The French government has told Airbus and other contractors working on the A400M multi-role military transport aircraft program that it won't take delivery of the aircraft it has ordered starting in 2013 unless Airbus improves the terms of a maintenance contract for the planes. The move is seen as an attempt by the French government, struggling to cut public spending and shrink the country's yawning budget gap, to get more attractive pricing from Airbus on the maintenance deal.

Frying tonight

10/14/2011

BULLETS and bombs are so 20th-century. The wars of the 21st will be dominated by ray guns. That, at least, is the vision of a band of military technologists who are building weapons that work by zapping the enemy’s electronics, rather than blowing him to bits. The result could be conflict that is less bloody, yet more effective, than what is now seen as conventional battle.

What We Really Mean When We Talk About a Syrian No-Fly Zone

10/14/2011

In mid-August, talk show host Stephen Colbert asked U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice why the United States had not intervened to save the lives of Syrians as it had in Libya. Ambassador Rice replied that Syrian opposition members had told U.S. diplomats, "What they want from the United States is more leadership, political pressure, and sanctions, but very clearly no military intervention."

Military opposes MC-12 transfer

10/14/2011

The Air Force and Army secretaries have sent the House Armed Services Committee a letter requesting the MC-12 "Liberty" spy plane program be kept with the Air Force, and thus at Beale Air Force Base. But a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, said the letter might not mean the MC-12's move between service branches is dead.

Marines: Actually, Our Tiltrotor Is ‘Effective And Reliable’ (Never Mind Those Accidents)

10/14/2011

The Marine Corps has responded to our story on the military’s apparent manipulation of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor’s safety record. “No one is more focused on the safety of the Marine V-22, or any other aircraft the Marines fly, than the Marine Corps,” a statement issued Thursday by the Corps assures, “because we know that those aircraft are flown by our Marines and carry our Marines and other coalition personnel into combat.”

The Swarming Of The Combat Aviation Brigades

10/14/2011

Over the last two years, the United States has sent over the largest helicopter force ever seen in Afghanistan. Most of the aircraft in Afghanistan are helicopters, and most of these belong to the U.S. Army. By itself, U.S. Army aviation would be one of the largest air forces in the world.The U.S. Army has 20 CABs (Combat Aviation Brigades). Twelve are active duty units, and eight are from the reserves.

Fresh statistics show massive US air superiority over EU

10/13/2011

New statistics released by European air controllers show the vast superiority of the US air force over EU countries and the density of US military traffic in European skies.

ESC team looks to improve AWACS capabilities

10/13/2011

A team at the Electronic Systems Center, working in conjunction with the Boeing Co. and personnel from several Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Army bases, is working to get important warfighter-requested capabilities onto the AWACS platform.

Small Weapons for Light Fighters

10/13/2011

Under the U.S. Air National Guard evaluation of a future Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) to be operated by the U.S. and Afghan air forces, the Air Force is seeking a low cost, light fighter capable of flying at altitudes up to 30,000 ft. above sea level, with a range up to 900 nautical miles, and mission endurance of six hours.