Military Aviation
The Pentagon has completed the third and final developmental flight test for the B61 Mod 12 aircraft-delivered thermonuclear bomb. Unlike previous American nuclear bombs, the new B61-12 is designed for high accuracy using inertial guidance but low yields—which is hoped will give the weapon better overall performance. “This demonstration of effective end-to-end system performance under representative delivery conditions marks another 2015 achievement in the development of the B61-12 Life Extension ...
Category: Military Aviation
The Air Force said Tuesday that Northrop Grumman will build the next generation stealth bomber. The Associated Press reports that Northrop Grumman beat out a team formed by two other defense contractors, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, to secure the “highly classified, $55 billion project” that will “replace the aging bomber fleet with an information-age aircraft that eventually may be capable of flying without a pilot aboard.” According to the Washington ...
Category: Military Aviation
The United States is preparing to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan in order to bolster bilateral ties between the two countries senior American officials told The New York Times. U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif to the White House Thursday. As of now, it is unclear whether the weapon sale was discussed in any detail. So far, no public announcement has been made. However, the United ...
Category: Military Aviation
Germany’s defence ministry has identified a new technical problem with Eurofighter combat aircraft and frozen deliveries until further notice, a spokesman said Tuesday. The problem was similar to a defect identified last year and also related to the deburring of holes drilled into the fuselage, but at “another location,” he told AFP. The manufacturer has stressed that the flaw does not affect the aircraft’s safety, ease of use or lifespan, ...
Category: Military Aviation
Oct
03
C-130 crash in Afghanistan
Six U.S. airmen and five civilians were killed when a C-130J crashed Friday shortly after takeoff at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, according to a 455th Air Expeditionary Wing news release. Four of the airmen were deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; and the other two came from Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, the Friday news release says. The fallen airmen’s names will be released 24 hours after their next of kin are notified. ...
Category: Military Aviation
“Are short-range American tactical fighters relevant in the Pacific theatre?” US defense expert Dave Majumdar asks, adding that F-22 Raptors and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters could be outperformed by the sheer numbers of Chinese jets. China’s J-11 fighter jets were designed as a copy of the Soviet-made Su-27/Su-33 Flanker, however, its new J-11D is considered the most advanced land-based single-seat Chinese aircraft. Reportedly, the J-11D fighter jet is equipped with ...
Category: Military Aviation
Russian state technology corporation Rostec said that India has expressed interest in carrying out a joint project to extensively modernize its SU-30MKI in collaboration with Russian companies. India has expressed interest in carrying out a joint project to extensively modernize its SU-30MKI aircraft in collaboration with Russian companies, the Russian state technology corporation Rostec said in a statement Friday. “In the long term, as recommended by the Russian Ministry of ...
Category: Military Aviation
On Friday 24th July as part of NATO’s ongoing mission to police Baltic airspace, RAF Typhoons intercepted 10 Russian aircraft during a single Baltic Air Patrol, Quick Reaction Alert mission: The Typhoon aircraft, from 6 (Fighter) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth were launched after multiple groups of aircraft were detected by NATO air defences in international airspace near to the Baltic States. Once airborne, the RAF jets identified the aircraft as 4 ...
Category: Military Aviation
A supersonic F-16 fighter collided Tuesday with a small Cessna trainer over South Carolina killing both people in the Cessna and spreading debris over a wide area, US officials said. The mid-air collision occurred late in the morning about 11 miles (20 kilometers) north of Charleston, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The US Air Force identified the F-16 pilot as Major Aaron Johnson, based at Shaw Air Force Base ...
Category: Military Aviation
A senior US Air Force official called the current situation with Russia “the biggest threat” on her mind, hinting at a possible display of power that could see American military aircraft, including F-22 Raptor fighter jets, deployed to Europe. The Air Force is now considering a plan to further increase the number of its rotational forces in Europe, the US Secretary of the Air Force, Deborah Lee James, told reporters ...
Category: Military Aviation
Airbus on Tuesday warned of a technical bug potentially affecting the engines of its A400M that was discovered during an internal test after one of the military planes crashed in Spain, according to Agence France-Presse. The company said in a statement it had sent out an alert to its clients urging them to carry out “specific checks of the Electronic Control Units (ECU) on each of the aircraft’s engines.” The ...
Category: Military Aviation
The People’s Liberation Army has begun loading operational J-15 carrier-based fighter jets onto the Liaoning, China’s first and only aircraft carrier, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network. Recently leaked photos reveal that four J-15s, developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and the 601 Institute, have been moved onto the Liaoning, which sources indicate will eventually be able to carry up to 24 fighter jets of similar size. Unconfirmed reports state ...
Category: Military Aviation
A Russian jet intercepted a US reconnaissance plane in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, the Pentagon has said, the second such incident in over a year. On Tuesday, a US RC-135U was flying over the Baltic Sea when it was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker. The Pentagon said the incident occurred in international airspace north of Poland. The US crew believed the Russian pilot’s actions were “unsafe and unprofessional ...
Category: Military Aviation
The U.S. Army science and technology community is charting the future of military vertical lift aviation that will enable warfighters to accomplish missions not possible today. The Army, supported by NASA and the Navy, is combining its areas of technical expertise to accomplish the aggressive scientific and engineering goals necessary to develop a new fleet of joint aircraft, said Ned Chase, deputy program director of science and technology, or S&T, ...
Category: Military Aviation
