December 2012
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Irkut aircraft maker have signed a contract on the delivery of an additional 30 Su-30SM multirole fighter jets to the Russian Air Force by 2016. The first contract between the Defense Ministry and Irkut for the delivery of 30 Su-30SMs was signed in March. The Russian Air Force received the first two Su-30SM aircraft on November 22. “In line with the new contract, Irkut will build 30 additional ...
Category: Russian Aviation
Russia’s fourth prototype Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter jet took to the skies for the first time on Wednesday in a 40 minute flight at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur factory in Siberia, Sukhoi said. “The fourth prototype PAK-FA made its first flight today from the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur,” Sukhoi said, referring to the aircraft by its project name, an acronym for future fifth-generation tactical fighter. “The flight tested the aircraft’s overall integrity and its ...
Category: Russian Aviation
DOD and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement in principle to manufacture 32 F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter jets, Pentagon Press Secretary George E. Little said today. The jets are part of Low-Rate Initial Production batch 5 – the fifth production lot of the aircraft. Unit-cost data will be made available once the contracts are finalized and signed, Little said. “Production costs are decreasing and I appreciate everyone’s commitment to this ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
China has successfully landed a warplane on its first aircraft carrier. The new J-15 jet fighter touched down on the Liaoning as part of the ship’s operational tests. The Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-made ship, was delivered to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on September 25 in a move that will bolster China’s ability to project military power. A video of the landing, broadcast by China Central Television, showed a J-15 tail ...
Category: Military Aviation
