October 2012
An F-35A test aircraft, flown by U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Phillips, completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) from a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft, Oct. 19. The aircraft, known as AF-1, jettisoned the instrumented AIM-120 over the China Lake test range from ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
Oct
22
Irkut launches Su-30SM test
Russia’s Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighter performed its maiden flight on 21 September, with Sukhoi test pilots Sergei Kostin and Pavel Malovechko at the controls. Described as “flawless”, the 2h sortie originated from the aerodrome of the IAZ plant near Irkutsk; the main manufacturing site for the Irkut Corporation. A further evolution of the Su-30MK line and designed for use by domestic units, the SM differs from earlier export models in ...
Category: Russian Aviation
The engines roared overhead as an F-35A fell into formation. Although this is a basic maneuver for the test pilots, the possibilities for combat environments created by these elite aircraft working together are anything but mundane. The F-35, which features three variants to be used by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, is a single-seat aircraft capable of stealthy operations, equipped with an enhanced computer technology system. The Marine Corps B ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
India will begin production of an export variant of Russian plane-maker Sukhoi’s T-50 stealth fighter from 2020, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Wednesday during a visit to Delhi. “The technical characteristics have been confirmed to our (Russia and India) defense ministries. We propose serial production of the plane should start by 2020,” he said, following the meeting of an Indian-Russian intergovernmental commission. T-50 is a prototype of a multirole ...
Category: Russian Aviation
The Russian Defense Ministry is to base MiG-31 long-range interceptors at the Rogachyovo Arctic base on the island of Novaya Zemlya by the end of the year to defend against attack from the north, Izvestia reported on Tuesday quoting military sources. “The MiG-31 squadron will be the main element of Russia’s developing anti-missile defense system – the MiG-31 is capable of intercepting not only strike aircraft, but also cruise missiles with ...
Category: MiG News
