Aviation news

The U.S. Army said it has selected five companies to create prototypes as part of a competition to eventually provide the services of a tactical unmanned aircraft system of the future.

The Australian division of BAE Systems has unveiled a new Strix vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Avalon Airshow. This is reported by Breaking Defense.

The Slovak authorities finally agreed to the transfer of 10 of the 11 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters available to the Kiev regime. This is reported by the Associated Press, referring to a statement by Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nagy.

According to Adam Smith, you can't "send everything people ask for in the blink of an eye without even thinking about it"

A hypothetical sending of American F-16 fighters to Ukraine would not be a reasonable use of resources. Adam Smith (from Washington State), a senior Democrat of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, said this at a hearing on Tuesday.

On February 16, 2023, the American company Textron Aviation (a division of Textron Corporation) announced the receipt of the contract of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) The US Navy for the supply of the US Navy aviation under the Multi-Engine Training System (METS) program of new twin-engine turboprop training aircraft Beechcraft King Air 260. This aircraft, which will be used in the US Navy aviation for the training of pilots and navigators of multi-engine aircraft, has received the American official military designation T-54A.

F-16 fighters can be transferred to Ukraine no earlier than in 18 months

When supplying weapons to Ukraine, the Pentagon focuses on the needs of Kiev and ensuring the combat readiness of the American army, and not on considerations of escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, said US Deputy Defense Minister for Political Affairs Colin Kahl.

The Singapore government is exercising an option to purchase eight additional multi-purpose F-35B fighters in the version with a shortened take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) in addition to the first four aircraft.

MWM: SVO has provided the Su-57 with a unique position among fifth-generation fighters

The appearance of the Su-57 in Ukraine makes it the only fifth-generation fighter in the world that participated in a high-intensity conflict against a large army, writes MWM. This will increase the interest of other states in its purchase.

Ukraine sends different types of UAVs to civilian objects, stuffing them with British explosives

Several types of drones participated in the air attacks that four regions of Russia were subjected to on February 28. Among them is a commercial UAV turned into a kamikaze drone and stuffed with British explosives RE8, as well as a Soviet Strizh, but modernized by Ukraine, sources told Izvestia.

On February 28, 2023, the US Department of Defense issued Boeing an initial contract worth $ 1.2 billion for the accelerated development and construction of two prototypes of the E-7A long-range radar patrol and control aircraft for the US Air Force by August 2024, modified to meet the specific requirements of the US Air Force. Thus, the US Air Force began the process of acquiring E-7A aircraft to replace AWACS AWACS and Boeing E-3 Center control aircraft in service since the 1970s.

Haqqin: The United States demanded money from Turkey for the F-35 production program they disrupted

The United States unreasonably demanded additional payments from Turkey in connection with the increase in costs for the production of the F-35 fighter, writes Haqqin. Moreover, the Americans are not going to return the money spent on this program to Ankara, nor are they going to restore Turkish participation in it.

The investment company Markab Capital, headquartered in Dubai, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Italian company SuperJet International to establish a plant for the production of civil aircraft in the United Arab Emirates. This is reported by the Gulf News publication.

The Ka-226T light helicopter in the latest modification will become the main rotorcraft for agriculture in Russia. The agreement on the creation of such a version of the aircraft was signed by the Russian Helicopters holding Company of Rostec State Corporation and the Aerohimflot Aviation Alliance. The first deliveries of the new Ka-226T modification to customers are scheduled for 2025.

The Australian division of the British defense company BAE Systems, together with Innovaero (Brunei), presented their latest development at the Avalon Air Show (Australia) — a hybrid military drone with vertical takeoff Strix.

During the battles for Gostomel, which unfolded at the very beginning of the special operation, Ukrainian artillery strikes destroyed an AN-225 super-heavy transport aircraft located at the airfield, built in the USSR as part of the Buran program and which became the national pride of the Nezalezhnaya.

Deputy Pentagon Chief Kahl said that the conflict in Ukraine could last from 6 months to 3 years

The Pentagon reported that the United States decided not to supply Kiev with F-16 fighters, so they did not begin training Ukrainian pilots. The House of Representatives of Congress also believes that the transfer of new and older models of combat aircraft to Ukraine would be an "unreasonable use of resources."

Prigozhin denied the purchase of satellite images from China for the Wagner PMCs

The founder of the Wagner PMCs, businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his private military company has almost two dozen radar and optical satellites at its disposal, so there is no need to buy satellite images. So he commented on the recent statement by US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink that the Chinese company Spacety Co provided satellite images to the Wagner PMCs.

Germany will supply two Rheinmetall Skynex anti-aircraft complexes to the APU

Germany will transfer two Skynex anti-aircraft complexes to Ukraine. It is claimed that these systems can withstand even a swarm of drones. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok - about what Skynex is capable of.

According to Elena Karpovich, a junior researcher at the Moscow Aviation Institute, she said that work on the marsolet began in April 2022

A team of scientists from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI), together with Indian specialists, is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a fixed wing to study the atmosphere and surface of Mars. Tests of the technology demonstrator should be completed by the end of 2024, Elena Karpovich, a junior researcher at the MAI, who deals with the general and aerodynamic design of UAVs within the framework of the project, told TASS.

The largest Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri presented a model of the light submarine S800 at the NAVDEX 2023 exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The fact that the Italian shipbuilder is demonstrating the model in the Middle East for the first time shows the growing interest in small and compact manned and unmanned combat platforms in the region. Such interest has been shown cyclically in the past.