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New video has surfaced showing operations aboard China’s only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, complete with the head of the Chinese Navy’s making a visit and J-15 fighters landing and launching. More importantly, it shows how much Chinese aircraft carrier operations have evolved. This includes footage of one of the jets with an air-to-air load-out launching from mid-ship launch position. The video was supposedly shot during recent training in the Bohai Sea. According to a report by Channel News Asia, Chinese media has recently ran stories underscoring the fact that the country’s carrier has transitioned from in development to an operational...

The Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) on Monday rolled out the 16th Block 2 JF-17 aircraft and formally handed it over to the Pakistan Air force (PAF). A target of producing sixteen JF-17 Thunder jets was given to the complex, said the spokesperson, adding it has now been decided to expand the production capacity of the PAC Kamra. Meanwhile, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman said Pakistan is in negotiations with the United States to procure the latest F-16 fighter jets, but did not specify an exact number, Express News reported. “We are in talks with US defence...

Did you know that the Millennium Falcon's cockpit was inspired by the WWII B-29 Superfortress bomber? Did you know that the Star Wars saga most famous spacecraft featured a cockpit clearly inspired to a World War II heavy bomber? Well, the iconic greenhouse-style window of the Millennium Falcon was designed with the style of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a strategic bomber flying 30 years before Han Solo and Chewbacca first appeared driving the iconic spacecraft into the hyperspace, in mind.

A new electronic warfare variant of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation J-16 twin-seat strike fighter made its first flight on December 18, IHS Jane’s reported, citing Chinese sources. The aircraft would add significant offensive capability to the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Images of the new aircraft emerged on several Chinese military web pages, including a December 21 video report on the popular Ifeng web page. Noteworthy modifications include two new wingtip pods, similar to the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-218 Tactical Jamming Receiver, IHS Jane’s reported. These new features have drawn comparisons to the E/A-18G Growler attack variant of Boeing's Super Hornet....

Like its Mi-8/17 “Hip” cousin, the Mi-24/35 “Hind” series of Russian helicopters has a slew of unique configurations. Yet one of the most puzzling is the Mi-35MS, a de-armed advanced Hind derivative that has been converted into an aerial taxi for military VIPs. Although the Mi-24—primarily an attack helicopter—was designed with a small cabin able of carrying around eight combat troops, the type does not come to mind as a candidate for a VIP transport conversion. Russia has the Mi-8MTV configuration for that exact role, this is the same Mi-8 configuration that President Putin flies on regularly. Additionally, high-up Russian...

Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp said they will continue their protest against the Air Force's selection of Northrop Grumman Corp to build a new long-range strike bomber, calling that process "irreparably flawed".

A farewell fitting to royalty, that was what happened at Gilze Rijen airbase in the Netherlands on Tuesday 15 December, as the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) said goodbye to its final four Alouette helicopters. Never the most exciting piece of aviation kit, they in fact proved very reliable in over 51 years of RNLAF service. Good enough also for the Dutch royal family. A flight of two Alouettes, known for their pristine blue paint scheme and characteristic engine sound, saluted those present at Gilze Rijen airbase, home to most of the RNLAF helicopter fleet. Four Alouettes remained in service...

On this date in 1903, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made what many consider the world's first successful heavier-than-air flight. The flight catapulted the brothers and their machine, the Wright Flyer, into history books. It also propelled them, over the decade to come, into courtrooms throughout Europe and North America. In the courts, the Wright brothers waged a prolonged, embarrassing and largely unsuccessful battle against other early aviators over who owned the aeronautical principles that made flight possible. Citing a 1906 patent for their flying machine, the Wrights claimed these principles as their own and charged their competitors with intellectual...

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has revealed the prototype that will form the basis of Lockheed Martin’s bid for the US Air Force’s T-X next generation trainer competition. Based on the T-50 family of trainer/light fighter aircraft, the company’s “T-X demonstrator aircraft” will conduct ground and flight tests in 2016, says KAI in an email to Flightglobal. In 2017, KAI plans flight tests in the USA. The aircraft features several new features, including a large area display (LAD), embedded training systems, and an aerial refuelling capability. Korea Aerospace Industries Aesthetically, the most striking change from the original T-50 is the addition...

The invention of guns took warfare to a whole new level. Later, airplanes radically changed it again. Now, experts say another big shift is coming, led by energy weapons, including lasers. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, said it's on track to demonstrate a working laser weapon on a fighter jet by 2020. "It really is a national tipping point," said Kelly Hammett, chief engineer for the AFRL's directed energy directorate. "We see the technology evolving and maturing to the stage where it really can be used." Arming larger planes with laser weapons has been possible for years....

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Sunday 13 December said good bye to the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk after 48 years of service. A formation flight flew over all IAF bases on Sunday morning. The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master takes over the A-4’s training duties. The Skyhawks flew for the final time from Hatzerim airbase, witnessed by many active and former IAF-personnel. Virtually every pilot in the IAF flew the A-4 at one time or another, as the type was reponsible for pilot training over the last decades. It was applauded for its reliability during the farewell ceremony. The first...

Even as the Pentagon is struggling to figure out a way to afford and field its fifth-generation fighter of choice, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Navy and the U.S. Air Force—along with industry—are looking at what comes next. This sixth-generation fighter initiative is loosely known as the “F-X program” for the USAF and the “FA-XX” for the Navy. The F-X program looks to to finally replace the F-15 Eagle, as well as the F-22 Raptor, and the FA-XX program aims to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. This new aircraft will be as much about reusable weaponry (lasers) as it...

On Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's first official visit to the United States from December 7-10, Washington has signalled its willingness to co-develop with India an aircraft engine for India's indigenous fifth-generation fighter that is called the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). India's Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) believes it essential to work with US company General Electric Aviation (GE) in up-rating its F-414S6 engine into the so-called F-414 Enhanced Engine, which would power the futuristic AMCA. As Business Standard reported earlier (June 1, "Carter to face Indian demand for engine technology"), GE has been eager to partner DRDO in this lucrative...

The most advanced operational fighters of U.S., U.K., and French origin pose for the camera high over the Atlantic. The Raptors, Typhoons and Rafales, along with T-38 and F-15E aggressors and E-3 AWACS support, are taking part of the first international anti-access focused aerial exercise dubbed simply “Trilateral Exercise.” You can read all about this inaugural set of war games at the piece linked here, in the meantime, enjoy these awesome images:

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Still puzzled by the mystery of missing flight MH370, Malaysian airport authorities now have the opposite problem: three Boeing 747 planes left unclaimed at the country's main airport. The operators of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have placed a bizarre advertisement in a Malaysian newspaper seeking the owners of three 747-200F aircraft apparently abandoned there. "If you fail to collect the aircraft within 14 days of the date of this notice, we reserve the right to sell or otherwise dispose of the aircraft" under Malaysian regulations, said the ad which ran in Monday's edition of The...

​While the British Parliament was debating this week whether to join in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, one weapon was mentioned repeatedly: Brimstone. In a 36-page report, Prime Minister David Cameron said, "The Brimstone missile which enables us to strike accurately with low collateral damage, therefore increasing the scope for strikes against specific ISIL targets—even the U.S. do not possess this capability." Indeed, Brimstone proved itself and its capability against tanks in Libya, to the point that the British paper The Telegraph called it the "British missile envied by the U.S." But if the Brimstone really is so great, then...

The pilot killed in the Apple Valley plane crash has been identified as 60-year-old Mike Mangold, a world-famous aerobatics champion for Red Bull who was a resident of Victorville. The crash occurred on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at about 2:20 P.M., according to the Apple Valley Fire Protection District the aircraft is described as an L39 Jet. Witnesses say, that the small plane was attempting to take off from the airport located at 21600 Corwin Road.

The Federal Aviation Administration ruled Friday that Santa Monica Airport must stay open at least until 2023 -- a decision that could frustrate the city's efforts to reduce flight operations and then shut down the historic facility in the near future. Santa Monica elected officials and anti-airport activists insist that the airport can be closed well before 2023 because, they say, all obligations to the federal government already have expired. Some have even claimed it could have been shuttered earlier this year, ending what they contend are the airport's noise, pollution and safety hazards.

Only 29 of Germany's 66 Tornado jets are airworthy, a defence ministry report has revealed. It comes two days before German MPs are expected to vote in favour of military action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has stressed that only six of the operational Tornado jets would be needed for the proposed mission. A vote on the UK's involvement takes place in parliament on Wednesday. Germany decided to join the fight against IS after an appeal by French President Francois Hollande in the wake of the 13 November Paris attacks. But the...

When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, the newly independent states within its former domain inherited enormous stockpiles of weapons the Red Army left behind. One of the most interesting cases involved the air force of the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova. The new republic’s inventory consisted of 34 MiG-29 Fulcrums, eight Mi-8 Hip helicopters and a handful of transport aircraft — a sizeable force for such a small state. To put Moldova’s size into perspective, the country’s population is smaller than the metro area of Portland, Oregon. Moldova couldn’t afford to maintain the fleet and, to make...