Military Aviation
More than five years and nearly $80 billion after the world’s most expensive fighter jets joined the U.S. military fleet, the high-tech stealth F-22 Raptor has yet to see combat despite the U.S. Air Force’s involvement in three simultaneous major combat operations. When the U.S. led an international effort to secure a no-fly zone over Libya last month, the F-22, the jet the Air Force said “cannot be matched,” was not ...
Category: Military Aviation
The Boeing announced that it delivered F-15K 47 and F-15K 48 Slam Eagles to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at Daegu Air Base on March 15. The two F-15K Slam Eagles departed St. Louis on March 8 and made stops in Palmdale, California, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. “Boeing continues to work closely with its ROKAF customers to ensure we deliver quality aircraft ...
Category: Military Aviation
Following is a synopsis of statements by NATO and countries participating in military operations in Libya, made on Friday: NATO The following countries are participating for now in NATO’s operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR, including approximate number of aircraft and maritime assets at their disposal (in brackets): Belgium (6,0), Bulgaria (0,1), Canada (11,1) ... ...
Category: Military Aviation
The Chilean Navy has taken delivery of the first Airbus Military C295 in its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configuration. The handover took place after the aircraft was certified by INTA, the Spanish authority responsible for certification and military airworthiness. Based on the Maritime Patrol (MPA) configuration of the aircraft, the C295 ASW is the first ASW type designed and certified in Europe, to enter service since the 1960s-vintage Bréguet Atlantic. It ...
Category: Military Aviation
A U.S. Air Force attack jet on a training mission crashed in western Germany on Friday, injuring the pilot as he ejected to safety, authorities said. The A-10 Thunderbolt II went down near the village of Laufeld, between the former West German capital of Bonn and Trier, police spokeswoman Monika Peters said. The pilot has been hospitalized and is in “good condition,” according to a military statement. The jet crashed ...
Category: Military Aviation
Boeing today announced that it has been awarded a $31 million follow-on contract from the U.S. Air Force for two more C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits. The agreement, part of a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract awarded in 2010, also includes support for logistics, engineering and installation, as well as spares support equipment. Air Force personnel at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., will begin installing the new kits ...
Category: Military Aviation
One aircraft conspicuous by its absence over the skies of Libya is the Air Force’s vaunted F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter. The Lockheed Martin-built jet was likely benched due to its inability to communicate with other coalition aircraft and its limited ability to hit ground targets, analysts said. “The designers of the F-22 had a dilemma, which is whether to have the connectivity that would allow versatility or to have ...
Category: Military Aviation
Coalition air raids have hit the town of Sirte, Col Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown and the next target of rebel forces advancing westwards. A Libyan government spokesman said three Libyan civilians had been killed in the city’s port. Heavy explosions were also heard in the capital, Tripoli, late on Sunday. The raids came as Nato took full command of the whole military operation in Libya, intended to enforce a UN resolution ...
Category: Military Aviation
The U.S. Air Force’s goal of acquiring 50 percent of its domestic aviation fuel via alternative fuel blends derived from domestic sources by 2016 got a boost on Friday March 18, when an F-22 Raptor was successfully flown at speeds of up to Mach 1.5 on a 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based JP-8 (Jet Propellant) and biofuel derived from an inedible plant called camelina. The flight capped off a ...
Category: Military Aviation
As British officials this week claimed the defeat of Libyan air defenses, the aircraft prided to have contributed most to that success include the Rafale, Mirage 200, Tornado and F-16. Other aircraft noted to have contributed to successful air runs against the military assets of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi include the F-15, F-18, B-2 and Harrier jump jets. Military action against Gadhafi’s 42-year-old hold on power mounted Saturday when a ...
Category: Military Aviation
The U.S. government calls it the “one of the most lethal” weapons of its kind an advanced, portable missile, designed to knock planes out of the sky. A variant of it just showed up in Moammar Gadhafi’s army and nobody seems to know how exactly it got there. But diplomatic cables, unearthed by WikiLeaks, suggest one potential culprit: the Chavez regime in Venezuela. Aviation Week’s eagle-eyed reporter David Fulghum spotted ...
Category: Military Aviation
RAF spy planes helped save the lives of two US Top Guns after their F-15 fighter jet crash-landed in Libya, it was revealed last night. The airmen had to eject from their Strike Eagle warplane after it suffered catastrophic mechanical failure on a mission to hit Gaddafi’s missile bases. They parachuted to safety as the plane plummeted to the ground but got separated in the drop. Sharp-eyed British crew on ...
Category: Military Aviation
Air Force engineers currently plan to fly the second X-51A Waverider hypersonic flight test demonstrator as early as March 22, program officials said March 15. “We are proud of the first flight results, and at the same time we understand the inherent risk in a high-technology demonstrator like the X-51A,” said Curtis Berger, the director of the hypersonics programs at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, the company that built the X-51A’s ...
Category: Military Aviation
Six Danish F-16 fighter are ready to take off from Italy’s Sigonella air base to join the international air campaign against Muamer Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, ANSA quoted a senior Italian military official as saying Sunday. Rocco Massimo Zafarana said the Danish aircraft arrived Saturday at the base in Sicily, which is being used to support Operation “Odyssey Dawn” launched to protect Libyan civilians under a mandate of the UN ...
Category: Military Aviation
