Saturday, March 27, 2004
Merlins in the USAA pair of Merlin support helicopters from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire have undertaken a sales tour in the United States in an effort to obtain sales for the aircraft from American sources. The two aircraft of No 28 Squadron are pictured during the trip over New York and Florida. All images by Sgt Jack Pritchard, RAF Corporate Communications. Crown Copyright
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MiG-17 Still Missing After Nightlong Search A privately owned MiG-17 is missing in the United States.
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EADS Wants Irkut Stake, but Skips IPOEuropean aerospace giant EADS said Thursday that it is interested in buying a stake in warplane maker Irkut Corp. as part of its expansion in Russia.
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Ramstein begins upgrading C-130 fleet The Air Force is refurbishing some of its oldest C-130E Hercules aircraft, based at Ramstein, to keep the service’s cargo-lifting workhorse in the air.
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Osan airmen practice ‘hot pit refueling’During combat readiness exercise this week at Osan Air Base, South Korea, the airmen got to practice “hot pit refueling.”
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Local heroIn an e-mail interview from Lakenheath, England, Skip Pribyl explains how he landed an F-15 with just 2 landing gears working and with minimal damage.
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IDF unveils new miniature surveillance planesThe Israel Defense Forces displayed the BIRDY and the Spy There mini-drones produced by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). IAI also displayed two prototype micro-drones, the Mosquito and the Mosquito 1.5. These tiny spy gadgets weigh a mere 250 grams (9 ounces) and 500 grams (18 ounces) each.
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Joint Strike Fighter under attack on Capitol HillLt. Gen. Ronald E. Keys, deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, told lawmakers that the USAF would not be interested in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter if a technical glitch could not be overcome or if program funds were cut off.
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Wright-Pat general lauds F/A-22 RaptorLt. Gen. William R. Looney III, commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center, who once flew F-15s, said the stealthy Raptor has been untouchable in mock dogfights with Eagles, even when outnumbered two-to-one.
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Friday, March 26, 2004
Boeing Unmanned Combat Aircraft Drops First WeaponA Boeing X-45A unmanned combat aircraft dropped a 250-pound inert Small Smart Bomb last Saturday at the Precision Impact Range Area in the Southern California desert.
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On DRDO plate: AWACS revival, Agni-III testfireIndia is planning to revive its own AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) project. India had been forced to shelve its earlier early warning radar project in 1999 after an Avro aircraft modified to carry the system crashed, killing all scientists on board.
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Raptors on target for 2004 arrivalThe first operational F/A-22 fighter jet will arrive at Langley Air Force Base in November
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Navy, Marine leaders urge no delay in Joint Strike Fighter program Warning that every year of delay adds $1 billion to the cost of the program, Navy and Marine Corps leaders Wednesday pleaded with Congress not to impose further delays on the Joint Strike Fighter.
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TPS graduated 41 women with the 'right stuff'Over the years, the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School has graduated 41 women.
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Close-air support variant of Joint Strike Fighter too heavyThe U.S. Air Force will take over the STOVL program of the F-35 in June.
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Team US101 Opens Patuxent River Office to Support Presidential Helicopter ProgramLockheed Martin, prime contractor for Team US101 competing to build the next-generation fleet of helicopters for the president of the United States, has opened a program office adjacent to Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
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Eurofighter Seen Overtaking US Fighter Makers In RevenuesForecast International predicts that the Europe firms are expected to surpass U.S. firms in sales of fighter/attack/jet trainer aircraft.
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EU tackles China arms banFrance is spearheading EU moves to lift the ban of weapons including mirage fighters to China next week at an EU summit.
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Sergeant rides F-16 he fixedMaster Sergeant Gary Newman got a seat in the back of an F-16D that he spend 2 years repairing.
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Thursday, March 25, 2004
Contest IIIThe winner for yesterday is Sallihin from Singapore.
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Split-second shotCapt. Christopher Stricklin ejects from the USAF Thunderbirds No. 6 aircraft less than a second before it impacted the ground at an air show last year. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)
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KAI’s T-50 Begins External Stores Flight TestingFlight testing with external stores began recently for the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer.
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US Navy delays $1.6 bln award for W.House chopperThe U.S. Navy has delayed a decision to select the next presidential helicopter. Navy acquisitions chief John Young said the Navy needed more time to discuss the design, performance and cost of the new helicopters with the two bidding teams. No new target date was set.
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AWACS planes may support security effort at Athens Olympics NATO will likely agree to the Greek government’s request to patrol its airspace during the Olympics.
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GREECE SELECTS BAe SYSTEMS FOR APACHE SUBCONTRACTBAe's Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids System, or HIDAS, will be installed on Greece's AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter.
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U.S. Air Force, Lockheed agree terms for more F/A-22s The U.S. Air Force has also agreed to buy 22 more F/A-22 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin for less than $110 million per plane. The agreement was made verbally and a final contract will be complete next month.
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Defense panel clears F/A-22 for key tests The Pentagon's defense acquisition board cleared the F/A-22 to begin operational testing and evaluation next month.
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Hornet pilot rescued uninjured after crash off S.C. coastA Navy F/A-18 Hornet on a routine training mission crashed off the coast of South Carolina. The pilot was rescued uninjured.
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Columbus Air Force Base has a new wing commander.Col. Stephen W. Wilson, a former B-1 bomber pilot who directed bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq replaced Col. Steve Schmidt as commander of Columbus Air Force Base.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Contest IIIClick on the link to enter the contest, good luck! And the winner for yesterday is Jesse Sloman from New York. Today is last day of contest, keep trying. There are very few correct entries everyday, chances of winning is very high.
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Karbala retreat raises questions about choppersIn this final installment, the failed raid at Karbala led the Army to change the way Apaches will be used in future conflicts.
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Building of carrier to be TLC specialA two-hour documentary by The Learning Channel, called "Mega-Carrier," will be aired in two segments after the air craft carrier George H.W. Bush. is completed in 5 years time.
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A-10 pilot takes aim on terrorism1st Lt. Michael Stock, the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron’s newest, youngest pilot, got his first taste of combat experience recently.
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Second test could boost or bomb NASA Langley's supersonic jetNASA researchers hope that the second flight of the X-43A would be successful.
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GREECE LAUNCHES F-16 EW PROJECTGreece will spend an estimated $242 million to install electronic warfare systems on the new F-16 fleet of the Hellenic Air Force.
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Civilian pilot makes emergency landing at Cannon A civilian pilot suvived because Cannon Air Force Base took emergency steps to guide his damaged plane to Cannon’s runways during severe weather on March 12.
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Georgia Woman Soars to 'the Edge of Space & Back' Aboard MiG-25Winner of the Travelers Advantage Sweepstakes climbs 80,000 feet above Russian Air Field
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Typhoon Begins Service at Italian Air Force BaseThe Italian Air Force have taken delivery of Typhoon IT002 in a ceremony at the Italian Air Force Base in Grosseto. IT002, a twin-seat aircraft, was handed over to 4th Squadron and is one of 29 aircraft to be delivered to Italy in Tranche 1 of the programme.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Contest IIClick on the link to enter the contest, good luck! And the winner for yesterday is Jeremy Seah from Singapore. Those who answered correctly yesterday, I'll still keep your entries for today and tomorrow's contests. Keep sending to increase your chances though.
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Shot downWe continue part two of the yesterday's story by San Antonio Express on the Apache shot down in Iraq one year ago.
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First C-130J arrives for active dutyThe first U.S. Airforce C-130J Hercules assigned to an active-duty unit has arrived at Little Rock Air Force Base.
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Confusion Surrounds F/A-22 Upgrade ProgramThe development of ground attack upgrades to the F/A-22 and the FB-22 bomber version has caused confusion in the U.S. Capital.
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Pratt & Whitney To Have Seven F135s in Test by MidsummerAccording to AWST, Pratt & Whitney is on schedule in its F135 testing for the JSF.
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Blue Angels buzz air showThousands turn up to watch the Blue Angels at the Lemoore Naval Air Station.
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QATAR EXAMINES F-16, EUROPEAN FIGHTERSQatar is taking a close look at the F-16, Rafale, Gripen and Eurofighter for a replacement of their Mirage 2000.
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Monday, March 22, 2004
Contest IClick on the link to enter the contest, good luck!
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Flight into ambushThe first of three articles that described in detail the apache mission in Iraq last year which ended with the shooting down of an apache.
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Ding-dong over controversial defence deal While Australian defence observers are critical of the Government's decision to scrap the F-111 early and join the development of the F-35 aircraft. Air Commodore John Harvey doesn't think so.
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Pentagon considers more nukesThe Pentagon is weighing the prospect of keeping multiple nuclear warheads on its land-based ballistic missiles, a reversal of a decade-long move toward aiming fewer nuclear weapons at Russia.
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Pak hopes to get F-16 aircraft from USAs Secretary of State Colin Powell designated Pakistan a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA). Pakistan is hopeful it may qualify to get F-16 aircraft and even “depleted uranium ammunition” from the US.
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MiG 'Near' to $1.5Bln Algeria DealThe MiG Corp. is expected to sign a contract for 50 MiG-29 fighter jets with Algeria.
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Irkut Discloses Ownership in Advance of IPOIrkut, which manufactures the Su-30 fighter jets for Asian countries, will offer 23.3 percent of its shares later this week on the Russian Trading System and on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, or MICEX.
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Sunday, March 21, 2004
Contest ReminderThe contest starts tomorrow at 0200
UTC and closes at 0100
UTC the next day. Each day, one March issue of
Air Forces Monthly will be given away.
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AWACS voice recognition may enhance accuracyThe Airborne Warning and Control System program office is developing Voice-recognition software allows an air battle manager to control his or her radar screen by speaking to it.
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Bombardier nets $270M defence contractBombardier will build training centres at Bagotville and Cold Lake, Alta., and equip them with combat and flight simulators for training CF-18 pilots.
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Canada's troubled spy plane fleet loses 4th drone in AfghanistanA Canadian UAV made a hard emergency landing in a farmer's field Saturday and a German one crashed near Afghanistan's presidential palace hours later.
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