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February 2018 Air Force Military Aviation Defence Industry News
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Today Saab rolled out the first GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the media at its Linköping site, Sweden. GlobalEye is an advanced, swing role airborne surveillance system based on a Global 6000 jet aircraft from Bombardier, which has undergone a thorough modification programme to adapt it for its role. The rollout marks a significant milestone on the programme.
In a move set to revolutionize the light attack and tactical C4ISR aircraft industry, the launch of the BRONCO II aircraft is announced today by newly created Bronco Combat Systems (BCS) USA.
Two Su-57 prototype fifth-generation fighter jets have been dispatched to the Humaymim airbase in Syria for operational evaluation and tests (OE&T), according to Russian and foreign media outlets including the Lenta.Ru network broadcaster, the blog of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and the Vostok-Media news agency.
India's indigenously built light transport aircraft SARAS has been successfully test flown for a second time Wednesday, officials said on February 21, 2018.
UTC Aerospace Systems today announced that it has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with an initial ceiling of $22.9 million from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for the DB-110 Airborne Reconnaissance System. The acquisition supports requests for the DB-110 system from multiple countries via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
Two Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers have patrolled the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea and the western part of the Pacific Ocean, the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported.
The US State Department yesterday approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Netherlands of items and services to support the upgrade/remanufacture of AH-64D Block II Apache Attack Helicopters to the AH-64E configuration for an estimated cost of $1.191 billion, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on February 20, 2018.
More than 20 helicopters, including Mil Mi-28N (NATO code name: Havoc) attack and Mi-35M (Hind) transport/attack helicopters, and a squadron of Kamov Ka-52 (Hokum-B) rotorcraft, have held a tactical exercise in the Krasnodar Territory in south Russia, Russian Southern Military District spokesman Vadim Astafyev said.
Russian Helicopters, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, as well as the Republic of Buryatia and the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, have signed an agreement on arranging local air routes. The document stipulates launching production of TVS-2DTS light airplanes at Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant and creating an airline-operator.
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is beginning final assembly of the first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter, which will bring unprecedented capability enhancements to the U.S. Air Force rescue mission. The timing of final assembly supports the program's accelerated schedule and positions the aircraft's first flight for the end of this year, two months ahead of schedule.
Russian Helicopters, a Holding of Rostec State Corporation, handed over to the Russian Defense Ministry a batch of Mi-8MTV-5-1 rotorcraft produced by Kazan Helicopter Works, the company said on February 19, 2018.
A £260 million (US$ 365 million) agreement with the United States Government to support RAF C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft into the next decade has been signed by the MOD, Defence Minister Guto Bebb announced on February 17, 2018.
US Army aviation testers are now deep into testing the latest Army aviation missile at the Yuma Proving Ground, known as the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, the Army press office said on February 13, 2018.
On February 10, over Syria, an Israeli attack helicopter shot down an Iranian drone whose shape strongly resembled that of Iran’s Saeqeh, or “Thunderbolt,” drone, which is based on a CIA-operated RQ-170 Sentinel captured by Iran in 2011 in Afghanistan.
The European MALE RPAS (Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) has successfully passed its System Requirements Review (SRR) in January 2018, the OCCAR said. The successful SRR also initiates the second phase of the definition study, which will lead to a consolidated preliminary design.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said the first stage of acceptance trials of the fifth-generation Su-57 (T-50, PAK FA) fighter jet was over and the aircraft began test operation in the troops. A contract to buy a development batch of 12 jets will be signed this year.
Demand for and interest in Saab’s world-leading products and solutions are strong, the Swedish company said today, February 16, 2018. In 2017, Saab strengthened its market position, at the same time that operating efficiency was improved.
Fortem Technologies on February 15 announced the release of DroneHunter, the first military-tested unmanned aircraft that provides perimeter intrusion detection and protection by autonomously patrolling an airspace and towing away any rogue drones from the sky.
Russia’s MiG Corporation has completed the factory tests of the advanced Mikoyan MiG-35 (NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-F) multirole fighter jet, the corporation’s press office told TASS on February 15, 2018.
Russia and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Indonesia have sealed a contract for the delivery of Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E+) fighter jets to Jakarta, according to Indonesian news papers.
