August 2011
If you ever dreamt about owning your own fighter jet, here’s your chance. Hungary’s defense ministry is selling off eight of its MIG-29 planes. Hungary’s government has decided that it would part with the 24 planes to raise cash after they were retired from active duty. The deadline for bids for the first stage of the sales involving eight planes and 20 thrusters is Sept. 15. The jets will be ...
Category: MiG News
Two military jets collided above Lithuania during a NATO exercise Tuesday, but one managed to land and the other crashed in an unpopulated area after its two pilots ejected. No serious injuries were reported. The collision of the Lithuanian and French aircraft occurred near the Zokniai air base in northern Lithuania, home to NATO jets patrolling the skies over the Baltic countries. The French Mirage fighter was only “lightly damaged” ...
Category: Military Aviation
India’s Aviotech corporation is poised to become a launch customer for the business aircraft version of the Sukhoi Superjet. Sukhoi detailed plans for a corporate variant of the twinjet to be known as the Sukhoi Business Jet during the Paris air show, and Hyderabad based Aviotech signed a letter of intent for up to 20 of the type, of which 10 would be firm, at the MAKS air show in ...
Category: Russian Aviation
Lockheed Martin recently delivered its third P-3 Orion with a new Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) kit to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This P-3 Orion joins two additional upgraded P-3s that CBP is currently operating to support its critical homeland security missions. Lockheed Martin delivered the first CBP MLU P-3 in July 2010 and the second airplane in April 2011. From October 2010 to April 2011, CBP used P-3 Orions ...
Category: Military Aviation
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt today announced that the FAA has approved production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. At an event at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington, Administrator Babbitt presented Boeing executives with two certificates for the design and production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Rolls-Royce ...
Category: General Aviation
The Vietnam Marine Police has taken delivery of the first of three C212-400 it ordered from Airbus Military. The second aircraft will be delivered later this year, and the third in early 2012. This modernized C212-400 series incorporates the latest systems and technologies, such as a Flight Management System (FMS). As a Coast Guard airplane, it will primarily be used in its Maritime Patrol role and carry out missions such ...
Category: Military Aviation
Russia has never transferred any stealth technology to China to assist it with its J-20 Black Eagle fifth-generation stealth fighter prototype, Russian plane maker MiG said on Friday. “We are not delivering any equipment to China, and never have,” MiG spokeswoman Yelena Fyodorova said. MiG’s statement follows claims in the Russian and foreign press last week that China’s J-20, unveiled over six months ago, is based on technology and components ...
Category: MiG News
It’s the most expensive fighter jet ever built. Yet the F22 Raptor has never seen a day of combat, and its future is clouded by a government safety investigation that grounded the jet. The fleet of 158 F22s has been sidelined since May 3, following more than a dozen incidents in which oxygen was cut off to pilots, making them woozy. The malfunction is suspected of contributing to at least ...
Category: Military Aviation
Boeing on Aug. 20 delivered three F-15K Slam Eagle aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at Daegu Air Base. The aircraft left the Boeing St. Louis facility on August 16 and made stops in Palmdale, Calif., Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, before arriving in Korea. “We are pleased to receive the latest three F-15K Slam Eagles, F-15K 51, 52 and 53, from ...
Category: Military Aviation
A pilot with the British military’s elite Red Arrows aerobatic display team died Saturday when his jet crashed and broke into pieces after taking part in an air show in southern England, the defense ministry said. The nine-plane stunt team had finished a display over the seafront in Bournemouth, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of London, and was returning to the airport when one of the jets crashed. The defense ...
Category: General Aviation
The F-35 Joint Program Office authorized the return to flight operations for Lockheed Martin F-35 developmental test aircraft. This follows the reinstitution of ground operations for these aircraft August 10. An Air Force Safety Investigation Board continues to review the circumstances that led to the failure of an Integrated Power Package (IPP) aboard AF-4, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant assigned to Edwards AFB, Calif., on August 2. The ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Russian military will use new MiG-35D multirole fighters as an equal to the U.S. F-35 fighters, the Air Force chief said on Tuesday. “We have not given up on the MiG-35D light aircraft project, but we will transfer to the T-50 [heavy fighter] in the future,” Gen. Alexander Zelin, the Russian Air Force commander, said during his visit to the six-day air show MAKS-2011 that opened near Moscow on ...
Category: MiG News
State-of-the-art missiles for Russia’s first 5th generation fighter jet are undergoing final tests to ensure that when the T-50 is deployed in 2014 its advanced weaponry will be ready to make it invincible in the skies. The Tactical Missile Munitions Company presented several missiles designed specially for the T-50 (PAK FA), among them a truly unequalled 200-kilometer-range interceptor missile that would enable the Russian fighter jet to take down any ...
Category: Russian Aviation
Aug
18
A tough sell for Australia
The top salesman for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter JSF program, Mr. Burbage, is in Australia to brief Defence stake holders. Mr. Burbage still parrots the notion that the aircraft can be had for $65 million (average) each over the life of the program. Given all the evidence, this is just wishful thinking. This flies right over the heads of the usual suspects; unnoticed. Or is it that ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
