F-16 crash at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina kills pilot
A US Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft crashed during a training mission in South Carolina, killing the pilot, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The plane went down about 11:30 pm Tuesday...
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IAF to urgently procure 21 MiG 29s, 12 Su 30s
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is going ahead with plans to order 33 additional fighter jets from Russia, with the proposal expected to be taken up for clearances by the...
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Su-57 Could Soon Have a Robot in the Cockpit
Russia’s new Su-57 stealth fighter is reportedly undergoing unmanned testing. The Sukhoi Su-57, codenamed “Felon” by NATO, is a large twin-engine stealth fighter in the same rough class as the...
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IAF Mig-29 Crashes in Punjab’s Nawanshahr
Mig-29 fighter aircraft of the IAF crashed in Chuharpur village here on Friday after it developed a technical snag, officials said. The pilot ejected safely and has been rescued, they...
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F-15QA Completes Successful First Flight
Boeing successfully completed the first flight of the F-15QA fighter, the most advanced version of the jet ever manufactured. Developed for the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), the jet demonstrated...
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Uncorrected Design Flaws Plague the F-35 Program
The latest testing report on the F-35 shows there hasn't been appreciable improvement in the program's overall reliability since 2016 As the F-35 program limps toward the end of its...
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Lockheed Martin Delivers 500th F-35 Aircraft
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and the F-35 Joint Program Office delivered the 500th F-35. In February, the F-35 enterprise surpassed 250,000 flight hours. The 500th production aircraft is a U.S....
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France, Germany sign contract to develop fighter jet prototype
France and Germany signed a 150 million euro ($161.84 million) deal on Thursday to develop a prototype of the next generation fighter jet, a project seen as vital for Europe...
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First flight by operational pilot of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The first solo flight of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) by a UK operational pilot has taken place in the United States. On 19 March at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler piloted the fifth-generation multi-role stealth aircraft for the first time. The RAF pilot has been stationed at the Florida base since November last year ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
An Iranian fighter jet tried to intercept a US Predator drone over the Gulf but backed off after encountering two American military aircraft, the Pentagon said Thursday. No shots were fired in the confrontation Wednesday, officials said, but the United States renewed a vow that it would protect its forces in the region. The Pentagon initially said one of the US aircraft discharged a flare as a warning to the Iranian plane but officials later ...
Category: Military Aviation
As China reaches an agreement with Russia to buy Su-35 fighters, the domestic J-20 fighter program might have developed problems that China cannot solve on its own anytime soon. Prompted by the well publicized Su-35 deal, photos of the second J-20 prototype undergoing flight tests became easily available ... ...
Category: Military Aviation
The Defense Department lifted its grounding of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter after analysis concluded that a cracked turbine blade in an engine on a single plane resulted from overuse in test operations, according to an official with the F-35 Joint Program Office. In an email statement, the official, Kyra Hawn, said engineers have so far discovered no other cracks in inspections of the other engines, and no ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
The Defense Department grounded has grounded its fleet of F-35 fighter jets after a crack in the engine was found. The jet is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program with a total estimated cost of $400 billion. The engine problem was discovered during a routine inspection at Edwards Air Force Base, California, leading the 51-jet fleet to be grounded as a “precautionary matter,” the Pentagon said Friday. “It’s too early to know ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
A MiG-27 “Flogger-D” aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Rajasthan’s Barmer district on Tuesday. Pilot Wing Commander Nishikant Singh ejected on time and was rushed to the Jodhpur’s Military Hospital where his condition was said to be stable and out of danger. The aircraft was on a routine sortie when it crashed near a hamlet, Allawani- Ki- Dhani, 30 km from Barmer, in the Western sector, said defence spokesman Colonel ...
Category: MiG News
Iran over the weekend presented what it called a “significant achievement in the field of aerospace technology” – a domestically built fighter jet with stealth capabilities. Some aviation experts, however, believe the tiny, angular fighter jet with stubby wings shown to the world may have been an expensive mock-up and that video footage of the black jet screaming across the sky may actually show a radio-controlled model aircraft instead. Such skepticism may be understandable, ...
Category: Military Aviation
Iran has presented its first domestically designed defense fighter bomber jet with limited stealth capabilities. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that the plane was designed for defense purposes, and will not be used for aggression. Codenamed Qaher-313 ("Conqueror"), the jet is an advanced single-seat single-engine military plane. ...
Category: Military Aviation
For the first time, two Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Carrier Variant test aircraft refueled together with a Lockheed Martin KC-130 Hercules in the sky above Patuxent River, Md. recently. The CV aircraft, known as CF-1 and CF-2, completed the milestone as part of an F-35 flight test program that will accomplish more than 1,000 flights in 2013. Later this year, Eglin AFB, Fla., will receive its first CV aircraft joining the F-35 pilot ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
China buys from Russia the production line of Tu-22MB bombers for US $1.5 billion including transfer of all the technology for the production. China has already imported 6 such bombers as the bombers are much better than China’s own H-6 bombers in bigger load and larger range. The Tu-22MB Tupolev Backfire is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime surprise strike bomber. According to Chinese military expert Ma Dingsheng, the ...
Category: Russian Aviation
Russian aircraft maker MiG delivered in December a batch of four MiG-29K shipborne fighters to the Indian Navy under a contract concluded in 2010, the company said. With the delivery, MiG “has fulfilled all its obligations for 2012 stipulated in the 2010 contract with the Indian Defense Ministry,” the company said in a statement. In March 2010, Russia and India signed a $1.5-billion contract on the supply of 29 additional MiG-29K Fulcrum-D ...
Category: MiG News
The Sukhoi aircraft maker delivered on Friday the first six Su-35S fighter jets to the Russian Air Force, the company said. The acceptance documents were signed by Defense Ministry officials at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft manufacturing plant in Russia’s Far East. “The Sukhoi holding has fulfilled its obligations on the delivery of this ... ...
Category: Russian Aviation
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
