Saturday, March 12, 2005
Bulgaria cancels helicopter fleet dealThe Bulgarian Defense Ministry said that the Elbit offer to upgrade the country's Russian-made military helicopter fleet with Israel's Elbit Systems "did not meet the previously announced requirements."
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Rice may announce F-16s supply resumption to PakistanThe United States has expressed its willingness to resume the supply of F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan and announcement in this regard is likely to be made by US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice during her two-day visit to Islamabad starting March-17.
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Minister fails to face staff hit by job cuts at RAF bases The U.K. armed forces minister infuriated representatives of communities affected by the cuts at Kinloss and Lossiemouth by cancelling a visit when he was to discuss their impact.
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Afghan officers honor Robins airmanSenior Afghan National Army officials paid a brief visit to Robins Air Force Base, not to meet the commander. Not to tour the massive maintenance complex. Not even to view the latest technologies. Instead, they came to honor a 24-year-old, senior airman who apparently made a huge impression during his recently completed four-month deployment to their country.
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Aging C-130s likely to force usage, manning alterationsThe U.S. Air Force is looking at long-term changes to manning and managing its C-130 Hercules fleet, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper told Air Force Times.
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MiG tipping, not tension, at US base near IranAt a sprawling air base that lies close to the border with Iran. Life there is so slow that U.S. troops deployed there at times resort to "MiG tipping" -- a game that involves standing on the tail of one of the many wrecked Soviet-era planes and tipping its nose up.
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Corps may buy new unmanned vehicleTo complement its Dragon Eye and Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles, the U.S. Marine Corps is developing a plan to buy a new UAV on an accelerated schedule.
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Air Force to modernize B-2U.S. Air Force will spend more than $5 billion between fiscal 2003 and 2011 to modernize its B-2 fleet.
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Ship builder may lose profit on carrierNorthrop Grumman Corp., may not make a profit on the latest U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier because of cost overruns.
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UAV upgrades eyed after Iraq successImprovements are being planned for Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle by the U.S. Marines.
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Crashed American spy drone sparks chase between U.S. forces and insurgentsWhen an unmanned U.S. spy plane crashed in a farmer's onion field in central Iraq, American troops and insurgents went looking for it.
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Tigers key part of networked armyThe Eurocopter Tiger ARH will be part of Australia's army new hardened, networked force.
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Kitty Hawk to make Korea port callThe aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk will make a port call in South Korea for military exercises planned to start next week.
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Mechanical failure caused fatal June F/A-18 crashMilitary investigators are blaming mechanical failure for a
crash that killed a Canadian fighter pilot at Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station, S.C., last June.
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BAE chief fears 10,000 air jobs will goThe British aircraft and avionics industry will face a dramatic decline and the loss of thousands of jobs once the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft project is finished, according to BAE Systems chief executive Mike Turner.
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Labor seeks inquiry into jet delaysThe Australian Labor Party has called for a parliamentary inquiry into what it has called an emerging gap in Australia's air defences due to delays with the F-35.
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Wedgetail star among displaysThe RAAF's first Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft will be the local star of a packed civil and military aviation program at this year's Australian International Airshow at Victoria's Avalon airport next week.
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MOD, Airtanker Still Have Questions To Answer In FSTA DealEADS-led AirTanker consortium still have hurdles to overcome despite being named as the preferred supplier of tanker/transport aircraft by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.
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Bombers vital at topWith the impending retirement of Gen. Donald Cook, the U.S. Air Force stands to lose its only four-star officer with bomber experience.
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Technicians use aircraft wreckage for testingA T-1A Jayhawk is being used as a test asset in the USAF T-1A aging and reliability program.
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VF-32 Prepares Tomcats for RetirementU.S. Navy Fighter Squadron (VF) 32 is preparing to say goodbye to the F-14 Tomcats as the squadron nears the end of their deployment embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) later this spring. VF-32 will transition to the F/A-18 Super Hornet in October.
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Kirtland AFB prepares to activate V-22 training squadronThe USAF is to activate a new training squadron in May for the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey aircraft, which is undergoing testing. The new unit will be called the 71st Special Operations Squadron.
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Friday, March 11, 2005
F-14B restored to 1972 color scheme with the Pukin Dogs VF-143 logosThis F-14B has been restored to 1972 color scheme with the Pukin Dogs VF-143 logos. It will going to an air museum in Connecticut. Gerry Clarke was there to photograph it.
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Eurofighter successfully concludes cold environmental trials in SwedenIn the afternoon of 9 March, a Eurofighter completed the up to now longest and most exceptional test campaign ever conducted away from its home site. Instrumented Production Aircraft IPA4 was stationed at Vidsel, close to the Arctic Circle in North Sweden, where it was exposed to the extreme cold.
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EADS supplies radar and weapon coordination systems for air defence in the NetherlandsThe Dutch ministry of defence has awarded a contract to EADS to supply technical systems for Future Ground Based Air Defence (FGBAD). FGBAD NL is the reconnaissance and command system of the future for the Dutch army’s anti-aircraft operations.
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Ban on Halon puts IAF fighters at riskDue to the Kyoto and Montreal protocols, Halon gas has been banned and with the absence of any ready alternative. The IAF is concerned about the safety of its fleet, as its installed reserves may not match up to the required purity.
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Car Nicobar air base to be fully operational by AprilThe Tsunami-battered Indian Air Force base in Car Nicobar Island will be made fully operational by the first week of April, Vice Chief of Air Staff S K Malik said.
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Helping AfghanisA group of soldiers at the Kandahar airfield, Afghanistan started a nonprofit organization, Operation Dream Seed, which collects supplies from schools in the United States for needy children in Afghanistan.
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$10.8M CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR NEW ARMY HELICOPTER BASE IN NORTHERN TERRITORYThe Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Teresa Gambaro and Member for Solomon David Tollner, Mar. 10 formally announced the decision to award a major construction contract for the 1st Aviation Regiment’s new base at Robertson Barracks near Darwin. The new facilities will enable the Australian Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment to relocate to Darwin from various establishments on the east coast, re-equipped with the new "Tiger" Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter.
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Helicopter Crash Near Grozny Kills at Least 14 ServicemenA Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Chechnya on Thursday, killing at least 14 federal servicemen and seriously wounding two others.
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Navy To Upgrade Mayport For Nuclear CarrierThe U.S. Navy backed its long-term commitment to Mayport with a decision Wednesday to upgrade the base to homeport a nuclear aircraft carrier.
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Stoppage of Tender Process for Helicopter Upgrade in BulgariaElbit Systems Ltd., reported that it received notification from the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense announcing the stoppage of the tender process for the Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopter program. This follows the Company’s announcement on December 21, 2004 that the team led by the Company and Lockheed Martin was selected as the preferred bidder for the program.
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767 line unlikely to avoid shutdownBoeing will probably halt production of its 767 model while the U.S. Air Force decides whether to use the plane as a refueling tanker, interim Chief Executive Officer James Bell said.
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Boeing Sees Strong Arms OrdersBoeing Co. (BA) expects to win $25 billion in Pentagon orders in 2005, the interim CEO said on Wednesday, seeking to reassure investors that business is strong in the wake of the planemaker's latest boardroom scandal.
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Boeing to Modernize Avionics for Sweden’s C-130sThe Swedish Air Force has become the first international customer for the Boeing C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, signing a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) to modernize its fleet of eight C-130E/H aircraft.
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Thursday, March 10, 2005
Formation flyingTwo P-51 Mustangs, a visiting F-4 Phantom II, and an F-15E Strike Eagle fly in formation at the 2005 Heritage Flight Conference here. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremiah Erickson.
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Top Aces wins big dealA small aerospace consulting company from Pointe Claire, Top Aces Consulting Inc., announced this week it has landed a coveted, multimillion-dollar contract from the Canadian Department of National Defence to provide air-combat support training for the Canadian military.
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Kitty Hawk Strike Group Ends Eventful Hong Kong VisitUSS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 ended a four-day port visit to Hong Kong March 1.
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Troops now reaping benefits from ACTD that improves the way military performs maintenanceU.S. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines currently deployed and working in the field are reaping the benefits of a computer-based long distance maintenance and training program designed to bring knowledge to the warfighter working on vital equipment.
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Raytheon Aircraft delivers 300th T-6AThe 300th T-6A trainer aircraft has been delivered by Raytheon Aircraft Co., say company officials, who called the mark "another milestone" in the program.
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IAF sparing no efforts to overcome ageing factor of fightersExpressing dismay over the
recent MiG crash, IAF Air Chief S P Tyagi said the Indian Air Force was sparing no efforts including induction of flight simulators to overcome the ageing factor of its mainstay fighters.
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Probe of January helicopter crash incompleteHostile fire has not yet been ruled out as a possible cause of the fatal January crash of a U.S. Marine CH-53E helicopter in Iraq’s western deserts, a top Marine aviation commander said March 7.
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NATO Troops Set to Fly in AntonovsRussian-built Antonov-124 cargo planes may soon be ferrying NATO troops to conflict zones, as a subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr airline looks set to clinch a deal potentially worth up to 700 million euros.
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U.S. PACIFIC COMMANDER CALLS ANTI-SECESSION LAW 'DISCONCERTING'China's proposed anti-secession legislation is disconcerting, Adm. William Fallon, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command said Tuesday.
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Missile defense bases could be operational quickly, agency chief saysExperimental ballistic missile defense bases in Alaska and California can be switched to an operational mode - ready to defend against an actual attack - within minutes or hours, the chief of the Missile Defense Agency said Wednesday.
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JF-17 jets to be inducted by Pakistan Air Force next yearSix JF-17 Thunder, would be inducted in the Pakistan Air Force fleet in the middle of next year.
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Missile Defense Chief Disappointed by FailuresLt. Gen. Henry Obering, the U.S. general in charge of the Pentagon's missile defense program said on Wednesday he was very disappointed with two recent test failures, but promised another attempt to shoot down a target missile over the Pacific Ocean in coming weeks.
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KAI to export 60 trainer jets to UAEKorea and United Arab Emirates will sign a $2 billion contract for 60 T-50 jets by December at the latest.
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Military aims to replenish air force's trainer fightersTaiwan may buy up to 120 new military trainer aircraft, officials said as military experts evaluated the air force's needs for the next few decades.
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RAF HALE UAV Flight at WoomeraRAF scientist have started testing the solar powered Zephyr 3 HALE UAV at Woomera it has been confirmed by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Boeing 777-200LR, World's Longest-Range Airplane, Makes First FlightThis is not related to Military Aviation exactly but I really look forward to one day fly in this aircraft. I've also edited the photo to include a drop shadow which hopefully in future all photos on this site will be published.
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Now eyes are on short list of Boeing successorsSeattle Post Intelligencer has a list of possible candidates to be Boeing's next CEO.
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Northrop Grumman Reaches Milestone on George H. W. Bush ConstructionNorthrop Grumman Corporation reached a construction milestone by lowering the final keel section of the George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) aircraft carrier into place. The 700-ton lower bow unit was joined to the other keel sections in the dry dock and completes the length of the carrier, which is as long as the Empire State Building is tall.
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Chicago-Born Marine Makes Military HistoryChicago-born Marine Capt. Vernice Armour will be inducted into the Museum Of African-American Military History as the U.S. Marine Corps’ first African-American female combat pilot.
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Wing warping could change shape of future aircraftAn experimental flexible-wing jet, a modified Navy F/A-18A, has embarked on a final phase of flights over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to demonstrate wing warping performance advantages for future aircraft.
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Air & Sea gets a shooting starThis year's McDonald's Air & Sea Show, along Fort Lauderdale beach, Florida, will feature the USAF F/A-22 and Thunderbirds.
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Arms company rejects 'offset investments' claimsMedia reports that the Gripen arms deal is not delivering on its investment promises are factually incorrect, Swedish arms company SAAB said.
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Pilot dies as MiG crashes in BikanerIn yet another mishap involving accident-prone MiG-21 aircraft, an Indian Air Force fighter veered off the runway soon after landing at Naal Airbase in Bikaner and crashed into a building under construction killing the pilot and injuring eight others on the ground.
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The Navy's Changing Tide: Service floats ''sea base'' conceptU.S. Navy leaders contend that the “sea base” – a network of ships providing offshore artillery fire, air support, food, ammunition and even a place to sleep for ground troops – is about to replace the carrier as the centerpiece of the fleet.
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Boeing facing several tests after Stonecipher ousterThe sudden ouster of its chief executive for questionable behavior leaves Boeing Co. facing several short-term challenges in both defense contracting and its commercial airplane business.
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Lockheed Martin's Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod Team Chosen by Aviation Week & Space Technology as 2004 Laurels HonoreeLockheed Martin’s Sniper® XR® Advanced Targeting Pod program was honored for “lasting contributions to the advancement of aerospace” by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, which named Sniper XR a 2004 honoree in its 48th Annual Laurels Selection competition.
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Lockheed workers strike at Georgia fighter-jet plantLockheed Martin Corp. was hit by the third strike in three years at a fighter-jet plant as workers in Marietta walked off the job to protest planned cuts in health care for retirees.
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Fort Rucker AH-64D Apache Damaged during TrainingOfficials at the U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker confirmed Tuesday that an AH-64D Apache helicopter was damaged during routine training.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher Resigns; Board Appoints James Bell Interim President and CEO; Lew Platt to Expand RoleBoeing announced that its Board of Directors asked for and received the resignation of President and CEO Harry Stonecipher on Sunday, March 6. Concurrently, the Board has appointed CFO James A. Bell, 56, as president and CEO on an interim basis, with Board Chairman Lew Platt assuming an expanded role in his capacity as non-executive chairman. Stonecipher will also leave the company?s Board; all changes are effective immediately.
It is unfortunate that Boeing lost its leader at such a crucial time when it needs to make a decision on the KC-767 and the 747 Advanced in the coming months. Besides leaving the job of President and CEO, Stonecipher have to leave the Boeing's Board. While Stonecipher did gave some clues on those projects, we will have to wait and see whether his successor will carry them out.
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Airmen ready to snag an EagleThe Airmen of the USAF 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron power production flight maintain and operate the mobile aircraft arresting system that stops problem aircraft on the runway.
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Europe may sell copters to Iran, ChinaNBC News recently aired a report on an air show in Kish, Iran which showed AgustaWestland showing off its helicopters to Iran.
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IAF spreads wings with Deesa baseAn Indian Air Force fighter base will start construction in April in Deesa area of Banaskantha.
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'No helicopters to back troops in Iraq'Australian troops to be deployed to protect Japanese forces in southern Iraq lacked adequate helicopter air cover and were at risk from Wahhabist extremists crossing the porous border with Saudi Arabia, Opposition defence spokesman Robert McClelland said.
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Lockheed Martin to upgrade 80 Turkish F-16 fightersLockheed Martin will upgrade an initial batch of 80 Turkish F-16 fighter jets. A second batch of 100 aircraft will follow. Turkey and the United States aim to ink the deal by March 31 when a U.S. proposal for the upgrade program expires.
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Korean special forces soldiers get ‘bombs away’ language trainingU.S. Army Special Forces Detachment-Korea and and U.S. 7th Air Force spent two weeks teaching 30 elite South Korean special operations troops how to call in airstrikes in English and call in strikes with aircraft equipped with the joint direct attack mention, or JDAM.
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Lawmakers take hard look at Air Force fighter programsU.S. Lawmakers may have to decide whether the federal budget can sustain two of the Air Force's key aircraft acquisition programs as they debate the Bush administration's fiscal 2006 budget proposal, according to a defense analyst.
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Saving Super Sara, the 'U.S.S. Saratoga'A group of people who call themselves the U.S.S. Saratoga Museum Foundation hopes to convert the carrier into a museum.
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Hercules crash Board of Inquiry releases Interim ReportOn 7 March 2005, the U.K. Secretary of State for Defence announced to Parliament the interim findings of the RAF Board of Inquiry investigating the loss of a Hercules C130 in Iraq. The findings ruled out sabotage.
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Report: Saab, BAE Accused of ExaggerationsSwedish aircraft manufacturer Saab and British-based BAE Systems exaggerated planned offset investments in order to sell their Gripen aircraft to South Africa, Swedish Radio said Monday.
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General Moseley testifies on C-130 fleet, readinessU.S. Representatives questioned U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley on the condition of the C-130 Hercules fleet during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on readiness March 3.
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Level D Qualification for HELISIM's EC155 Full Flight SimulatorEUROCOPTER is pleased to announce that HELISIM was awarded the level D qualification for its EC155 simulator on February 8, 2005. Level D, which is the highest existing standard for Flight Simulators, authorizes – regardless of the type of training - the issue of a Type Rating (Qualification on Aircraft), based upon the Zero Flight Concept.
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Monday, March 07, 2005
MINDEF to decide on Fighter Replacement Programme over next few monthsSingapore's Defence Ministry will decide on the contract for its Fighter Replacement Programme in the next few months. Replying to MPs in Parliament on Friday, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean disagreed with media reports that there had been a delay in the decision.
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181st Fighter Wing Recognition CeremonyThe Indiana Air National Guard's 181st Fighter Wing held a special ceremony that honors local soldiers who are still overseas, fighting in support of Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism.
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U.S, Canada discuss missile defenseCanadian Prime Minister Paul Martin called U.S. President George Bush on Saturday to discuss Canada's decision to opt out of a U.S.-led anti-ballistic missile shield program.
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Air Chief happy with budget allocationIndian Air Force Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi said he was satisfied with the increase in the budgetary allocation for the Indian Air Force (IAF) for 2005-06.
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Jet fighters sent to patrol AmbalatIndonesia has sent F-16 fighter jets to a disputed border region with Malaysia.
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Sunday, March 06, 2005
Future of NORAD has some people worriedCanada's decision not to join the U.S. missile defense shield will affect its position in NORAD.
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Search-and-rescue Teams Recovered Bodies Of Two PilotsTurkish Air Forces Command said on Friday that search-and-rescue teams recovered bodies of pilots of an F-16D which went missing over northern city of Karabuk Mar. 03.
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Fighter aircraft; India watching Sino-Pak development keenlyIndia is keeping a close watch on the Sino-Pak joint development of JF-17 fighter aircraft said Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi. Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force.
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Long-lost Korean War pilot to get military burialOn May 3, U.S. Air Force Capt. Troy Gordon Cope will be remembered in a funeral and burial with full military honors -- 52 years after he disappeared during a Korean War dogfight with a half-dozen MiG-15 fighter jets.
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Pakistan air force chief to visit Sri LankaPakistani Air Force Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat will be in Sri Lanka on Tuesday on a courtesy visit.
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Guard base losing C-130sTwo of the U.S. Air National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing's C-130 cargo planes were scheduled to be moved Friday to Peoria, Ill., as part of the local base's conversion to using larger C-5 jets.
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Soldiers drop in on familyThe "Nightstalkers," members of the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment honor the third anniversary of Staff Sgt. Philip Svitak, who was killed in action in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan three years ago, by making 2 flypast with three CH-47 Chinook helicopters over his parent's farm.
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B-52 bombers from Louisiana coming to Minot Air Force BaseThe Minot Air Force Base will be getting some B-52 bombers from Louisiana — as visitors.
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