Aviation news

The United States wanted to convert the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft into a seaplane that resembles the Russian Be-200 Altair, writes Popular Mechanics.

As reported by the Jutarnji list publication, citing informed anonymous sources, the Croatian government has decided to purchase 12 Rafale F3R multi-purpose fighters from the French Air Force.

The Belarusian airspace is not safe for all participants of air traffic, Lithuania will work with other countries to close it for international flights. This is stated in the message of the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Shimonite, published on Monday, May 24, on the website of the government of the country.

The Houthis released a video of the downed Wing Loong II reconnaissance and strike drone manufactured by the People's Republic of China.

This drone, which was in service with the Saudi Air Force, crashed near the Yemeni province of Saada.

The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has begun its first operational deployment. On 23 May, the Royal Navy press service reported that the carrier group left the naval base in Portsmouth and set off on a 28-week journey.

The Turkish company Aselsan has announced the successful completion of a series of test flights of the micro-UAV "Saka" (Saka), designed for information gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, performed under the "quadrocopter" scheme.

Poland will become the fifth country to arm itself with Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. On May 23, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak confirmed the signing of a contract with Turkey in an interview with Polish Radio.

Along with aerial reconnaissance, Russian fighters and bombers began to launch targeted and targeted strikes on Islamist bases in Syria. As it turned out, this activity had its own explanation, Free News notes.

The American strategic bomber B-52H Stratofortress, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, flew to the Black Sea region on Monday, according to data from Western aviation resources, which tracked it by signals from an onboard transponder.

During the exercises held last month, a unit of the ground forces of the Estonian Defense Army resisted a simulated attack by enemy armored vehicles, the function of which was performed by the body of a decommissioned car. The main forces were on the defensive a kilometer away from the imaginary enemy. Milrem Robotics ' unmanned ground robot THeMIS, equipped with the deFNder machine gun system, was sent to help them.

The American company Aerion announced the closure of the project of the supersonic passenger aircraft AS2 and the termination of work. According to Flightglobal, the reason for the closure of the project was a lack of funding. According to the company, the current economic situation and financial situation of Aerion do not allow to complete the AS2 project and start mass production of aircraft.

The head of the concern, Yan Novikov, said that the Russian Nebo-M radar station is capable of detecting the latest low-visibility combat aircraft, including the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters.

The Ministry of Defense and one of the enterprises of the United Shipbuilding Corporation signed a contract for the repair and modernization of the ground test training complex

A contract was signed for the repair and modernization of the ground test training complex (aviation) NITKA in the Crimea - a complete ground-based analogue of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. This was reported to TASS by two sources in the military-industrial complex.

Within the framework of the international helicopter industry exhibition HeliRussia 2021, Russian Helicopters Holding (part of Rostec State Corporation) and KrasAvia Airlines signed an agreement of intent for the supply of 10 Mi-8AMT, Mi-8MTV-1 and Ka-62 helicopters.

In 2022, tests of the small-sized hypersonic missile "Ostrota" will begin, which should be received by the Russian supersonic Su-34 fighter-bomber and the Tu-22M3 missile-bomber with a variable sweep wing, Izvestia reports, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry.

In a statement to national media, recently appointed Colombian Finance Minister Jose Manuel Restrepo said that the country's government will definitely not allocate funds for the purchase of new fighter jets.

As the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list reported on May 20, 2021, citing "well-informed sources", the Croatian government, on the recommendation of a meeting of the Croatian Defense Council held on the same day, decided to purchase 12 French Dassault Rafale fighters from the French Air Force, modified to the F3R standard, and to enter into pre-contract negotiations with the French side on this issue.

Turkey has mastered the production of heavy drones. Yesterday, May 20, portal savunmasanayist.com he reported that the first serial Akıncı drone produced by Baykar Defense company successfully flew.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, on the night of May 19, 2021, the first of the two Airbus C295MW military transport aircraft ordered for the Czech Air Force (tail number "0481", serial number 172) arrived at the Prague-Kbely airfield. The aircraft, built at the Airbus Defense and Space facility in Seville, Spain, was the first to be built on board the new C295MW modification, equipped with winglets at the wing tips.

As reported by the magazine "Jane's Defense Weekly", speaking on May 19, 2021 at the virtual conference of industry in the interests of Special Operations Forces of the United States (Special Operations Forces Industry Conference - SOFIC-2021), the executive director of aircraft programs of the Command of Special Operations Forces of the United States (USSOCOM), Colonel Ken Kubler, said that the possibility of creating an amphibious version of the Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II (based on the C-130J Super Hercules), adapted for landing on water and taking off from water (MC-130 Amphibious Capability - MAC concept).