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The Pentagon has launched a new project to replace the aging helicopters used by the US president, three years after a program was canceled due to surging costs. The next generation of Marine One choppers used by the White House incumbent would start flying in 2020, replacing the current fleet of 19 Vh-3D Sea Kings and VH-60N Night Hawks manufactured by Sikorsky.

BEIJING (TheBlaze/AP) — Just as it has had many firsts recently with its space program efforts, China has successfully completed another first for its naval aspirations. The country landed its first fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier, which entered service two months ago, the country’s official news agency confirmed Sunday

China conducts flight landing on aircraft carrier LIAONING AIRCRAFT CARRIER, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- China has successfully conducted flight landing on its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, naval sources said. A new J-15 fighter jet was used as part of the landing exercise. After its delivery to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on Sept. 25, the aircraft carrier has undergone a series of sailing and technological tests, including the flight of the carrier-borne J-15. Capabilities of the carrier platform and the J-15 have been tested, meeting all requirements and achieving good compatibility, the PLA Navy said. Since the carrier...

Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov (“Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov”) is an aircraft cruiser serving as the flagship of the Russian Navy. She was originally commissioned in the Soviet Navy, and was intended to be the lead ship of her class, but the only other ship of her class, Varyag, was never completed. The ship has ill fame and the phrase “If you misbehave, you’ll be sent to the Kuznetsov” is a norm. Read below to find out why. To begin with, the ship has no heating because an auxiliary boiler is missing. So it’s not bad...

All-Chinese jets to serve on nation's first carrier China's first aircraft carrier will be equipped with aircraft developed from fighters made in China, Ministry of Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said Thursday. Chinese J-15 fighters.[File photo] Domestic military officials and analysts are predicting that Chinese J-15 fighters, instead of Russia's Su-33 fighter, will be used as many photographs had been published showing the plane on the Liaoning's deck. The current weak point of the J-15, also known as the Flying Shark, which is said to be a match for US F-18 Hornet fighters, is its Russia-made Al-31 engines which are less...

We recently attended a briefing on the Navy’s new P-8 Poseidon aircraft, the replacement for the P-3C Orion. The short version is that it is not working out as hoped and that US Navy airborne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is in jeopardy. The P-8 is based upon the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, an airplane in wide, successful use worldwide for decades. Like the P-3, the concept is to use a variant of a commercial airframe so as not to have to design a new military aircraft from scratch, such as the P-2 Neptune, developed during World War II and serving through the...

On September 18th Russia told India that delivery of the refurbished Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov (since renamed the INS Vikramaditya) would be delayed ten months. The problem is that seven of eight steam boilers in the carrier power plant failed during recent high-speed trials. The Russians blame India for this, as the Indians refused to allow the Russians to use asbestos to insulate the steam boilers. Instead the Russians had to use firebrick which, as some engineers suspected, was not adequate. Now extensive work has to be done on the engines to rectify the problem. India is not happy with...

PARIS --- The rationale for the F-35B fighter took a serious beating last week, when a dozen Taliban attacking Camp Bastion destroyed six US Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers on the tarmac, and seriously damaged two more. By exposing a glaring hole in its operational doctrine, this attack shows conclusively that, just like the Emperor in Andersen’s fairy tale, the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter has no clothes, The F-35B – the most complex, overweight and expensive variant of the Joint Strike Fighter – is being developed to provide the US Marine Corps with...

Marine Attack Squadron loses eight Harrier jets in worst U.S. air loss in one day since the Vietnam War On Friday Sept. 14, at around 10.15 p.m. local time, a force of Taliban gunmen attacked Camp Bastion, in Helmand Province, the main strategic base in southwestern Afghanistan.About 15 insurgents (19 according to some reports), wearing U.S. Army uniforms, organized into three teams, breached the perimeter fence and launched an assault on the airfield, that includes the U.S. Camp Leatherneck and the UK’s Camp Bastion, where British royal Prince Harry, an AH-64 Apache pilot (initially believed to be the main target...

The US Navy (USN) will dip into its own inventory to supply Australia with the ALQ-99 jammer pods it needs for its future Boeing EA-18G fleet. The southwest Pacific nation is converting 12 of its 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets into the electronic attack Growler configuration. While the low-band transmitter for the ALQ-99 suite is relatively new and in production, the mid-band jammers are not in production. "We will be teaming with Cobham, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, to deliver low band transmitters to the RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force]," says the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). "The remainder of the transmitters and...

Ospreys to stay grounded for now Pentagon chief bans test flights until Japan OKs aircraft's safety WASHINGTON — The United States will suspend all flight operations by MV-22 Ospreys in Japan until Tokyo confirms the tilt-rotor aircraft's safety, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.

Since the end of WWII, America's naval might has been undisputed and our aircraft carriers have been its crown jewels. However, the days of dominance could end with China's new DF-21D ballistic missile—the only device on Earth capable of sinking an aircraft carrier—four and a half acres of sovereign US territory—with one shot. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0d-eFiGN4&feature=player_embeddedThe DF-21D (Dong-Feng 21 variant D) is the world's first and only anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). It's a two stage, land-launched missile with a maximum estimated range of 2,700 to 3,000 km. Its single fuel-air explosive warhead packs 200 to 500 kilotons. It was developed by...

From Russia With Love? China vs. India Carrier Showdown There’s a pronounced aerial component to Asia’s march to the seas. The Indian Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the soon-to-be-commissioned INS Vikramaditya, recently took to the Barents Sea for its second shakedown cruise. After putting the ship through its paces, the Russian shipyard Sevmash will reportedly deliver it to the Indian Navy at year’s end—culminating a prolonged, painful, sometimes comical overhaul process that converted the Soviet “aircraft-carrying cruiser” Admiral Gorshkov into a more conventional flattop featuring a ski jump for vaulting short-takeoff warplanes into the skies. Meanwhile, China’s first carrier, the Soviet-built...

MiG-29s Begin Sea Trials Aboard India’s New Aircraft Carrier by Vladimir Karnozov July 9, 2012, 1:30 AM Open-sea testing of the new Indian Navy aircraft carrier Vikramaditya and her primary weapons, in the form of MiG-29K/KUB deck fighters, means that the MiGs won’t be making appearance here at the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow. The ship has been bought from Russia to replace the former British-built HMS Hermes, which India acquired in 1986 and renamed Viraat. “Resources of our flight-test department are heavily engaged in the carrier trials, and this is why we are not able to demonstrate our aircraft at...

NANTICOKE, Md. (AP/WBOC)- The U.S. Coast Guard says an unmanned Naval aircraft has crashed on Maryland's Eastern Shore and there are no injuries. A spokeswoman for the Patuxent River Naval Air Station's Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons program says a 44-foot unmanned aircraft on a routine maintenance flight crashed near Bloodsworth Island around noon Monday.

Washington (CNN) -- A U.S. Navy drone crashed Monday in a marsh near Salisbury, Maryland. The RQ-4A Global Hawk drone crashed during a routine training flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, according to Jamie Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for the Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons Program at the base.

Boeing Super Hornet faces emerging anti-access challenges  The US Navy is upgrading its fleet of Boeing F/A-18E/F fighters with new capabilities, but analysts question the Super Hornet's utility against emerging anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threats. "Upgrading the F/A-18 family is a good idea, and it could extend their service lives," says analyst Mark Gunzinger of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA). "That being said, F/A-18-based platforms are short-range, lack unrefueled persistence, and are best suited for operations in relatively uncontested airspace." ©Peter Collins/Flightglobal But in the future, uncontested airspace is unlikely to remain the norm as potential adversaries...

The F-35 Lightning II is making good progress through flight testing this year, a top Lockheed Martin official says. Most of the biggest challenges faced by the programme should be well on their way to being fixed by the later part of the year. One major issue that has recently popped up on the US Navy's F-35C variant is that the aircraft's tail-hook has had to be redesigned. That is because the existing design has failed to catch an arresting cable during trials. Lockheed is working on a new improved hook design that should fix the problem. "We have modified...

Spanish aircraft carrier’s end could be near SPAIN’S Navy is considering mothballing the Principe de Asturias aircraft carrier as well as six Santa Maria-class frigates. The ships would remain on “restricted duties” awaiting a return to operational duties, Navy sources said. This could be the first step towards decommissioning the ships, experts believe. The medium term economic situation was unlikely to improve and ships deteriorate quickly when not in constant use, they pointed out. The vessels’ age also meant that they would require such substantial refits before returning to active service that this might not be cost-effective. By 2018 the...

The End Of An Era: The Transition From The Prowler To The Growler By David Parker Brown, on April 25th, 2012 at 4:45 am An EA-18G Growler sits at NAS Whidbey. Photo by Alex Jossi. I grew up knowing the Navy’s EA-6B Prowler very well — my father flew them for about 20 years. The aircraft was made tough, but all planes need to be replaced sooner or later. Recently, the Navy has started the transition from the EA-6B Prowler to the FA-18 based EA-18G Growler. Reader Alex Jossi had the opportunity to do some photography of the new Growler...