Aviation news

As before, we present the opinion of foreign experts on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. The article "Lessons Learned from the conflict in Ukraine – UAV operations, Options and Trends" presents a look at the development of the military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) industry in Russia and their application during its military operations.

On March 17, Boeing announced the signing of a long-term contract for the supply of 184 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to U.S. and foreign customers, including the first aircraft for the Australian Armed Forces.

Turkey continues to develop its own drones, including those with jet engines. The company Turkish Aerospace Industries held a presentation of the new Anka-3 attack UAV, the creation of which was reported in December last year.

The Turkish advanced heavy attack helicopter T929 ATAK-II will receive Ukrainian aircraft engines manufactured by Motor Sich. The first power plants have already been sent to the Turkish company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). This is reported by the Turkish press.

Advance: the incident with the American drone revealed NATO's plans for the Black Sea

The battle for Ukraine is a struggle for the Black Sea. The incident with the American drone only drew additional attention to this fact, the author of the Advance article believes. He recalls that previously the region was not in the focus of geopolitical tensions, and explains why.

At the airport named after President Modibo Keita, in the presence of the Interim President of Mali, Colonel Assimi Goit, a ceremony was held for the transfer of three Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, four L-39 Albatros aircraft and a number of other Turkish and Russian-made systems to the Malian Air Force.

In the past 2022, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KDA) has achieved tremendous success with its cruise missile NSM (Naval Strike Missile), which de facto became a replacement for the Harpoon missile on surface ships around the world.

In the first quarter of the year, Russian Helicopters Holding, one of the world leaders in the creation of rotorcraft, has already managed to please with interesting helicopter−related news. Foreign screenings, test drives, plans for new equipment and large-scale deliveries – read about it in our material.

The Russian military said it took off a Su-35 fighter jet on Monday due to the flight of two US B-52H strategic bombers over the Baltic Sea.

The US Department of Defense Agency for Military Cooperation (Defense Security Cooperation Agency - DSCA) on March 16, 2023 sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned upcoming sale to Australia through the US program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 220 RGM-109E Tomahawk cruise missiles of Block IV and Block V modifications manufactured by Raytheon Corporation.

At a meeting of the Defense Procurement Council (DAC) of the Ministry of Defense of India, it was decided to grant "Approval of the need for procurement" (Acceptance of Necessity – AoN) for projects worth more than 705 billion rubles. rupees ($8.5 billion).

The United States is assessing the losses and benefits from its operations with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Black Sea area after the recent incident with an American drone, CNN reported, citing several official sources.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented the Su-27 fighter pilots who accompanied the American MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea to state awards, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

Lockheed Martin Corporation announced that on March 10, 2023, the first F-16D Block 70 fighter aircraft (US military number 18-0011, tail number "1611") was officially handed over to the Bahrain Air Force at its facility in Greenville, South Carolina. which became the first F-16V (Viper, the designation of the F-16C and D variants is officially preserved) of the Block 70/72 series of new construction.

The Slovak Cabinet of Ministers had previously decided to transfer to Kiev 13 fighters that were decommissioned by the National Air Force at the end of August

Slovakia expects to receive compensation in the amount of $900 million for the supply of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, which includes the cost of military equipment from the United States in the amount of $ 700 million. This was stated by the Acting Minister of Defense of the Republic.

Rostec State Corporation holdings additionally hired more than 30 thousand employees in 2022. Active recruitment went both to enterprises involved in the implementation of the state defense order, and to factories implementing large-scale civil projects, primarily in the field of aircraft construction, IT and the radio-electronic complex.

Major General Lipovoy: the MQ-9 that fell in the Black Sea could conduct reconnaissance of the Turkish Stream

The American MQ-9 Reaper drone that fell in the Black Sea flew over the part of the Black Sea where the Turkish Stream gas pipeline runs, which indirectly indicates possible plans of the States to carry out sabotage on it, according to the chairman of the presidium of the All-Russian organization "Officers of Russia" Hero of Russia Major General Sergei Lipovoy.

The main burden of carrying out a special military operation falls on the ground units. But Russian military aviation is a reliable protection from the air and makes a very big contribution to the victory over the enemy.

The Western allies of the Kiev regime fear that the Ukrainian army, having received fighter jets, may expand the geography of its military targets on the territory of Russia, which will inevitably lead to an escalation of the armed conflict.

According to the representative of the command Yuri Ignat, there are currently five brigades of tactical fighter aircraft in the country

MiG-29 fighters, which Poland and Slovakia intend to transfer to Kiev, are outdated and ineffective in the fight against cruise missiles and drones. This was announced on Friday by a representative of the command of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuri Ignat.