Browsing: All news

U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.

F-22 Raptor pilots are currently testing out a next-generation helmet for fixed-wing U.S. Air Force aircrew members. Dubbed the Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet (NGFWH), the headgear is designed to better support advances in helmet-mounted display systems while providing a more comfortable wearing experience over the HGU-55/P first introduced in the 1980s that is presently worn by pilots. 
The new helmet is being designed by the California-based company LIFT Airborne Technologies, which has officially designated the headgear as AV 2.2 NGFWH.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is requesting $75 million in fiscal 2024 to initiate a brand new pursuit intended to both accelerate the commercialization and operationalization of quantum devices for Pentagon purposes, and mature the U.S. supply chain underpinning the making of emerging quantum technologies. 
Tucked into the Defense Department’s latest batch of budget justification documents, this new-start project is referred to as Quantum Transition Acceleration.

Immobilized since 2017 by a modernization process marred by multiple incidents [fall of a crane on the flight deck, two fires on board, defects, etc.], the only aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, the “Admiral Kuznetsov,” recently abandoned the dry dock it had been in since May 2022 at the Sevmorput [Murmansk region] shipyard.
According to Russian industrial sources, quoted by the TASS agency, this ship should resume its “operational cycle” in 2024… But on condition of finding a qualified crew.

Crimea’s Moscow-appointed leader said Tuesday the region is on its guard against what could be an imminent Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Sergei Aksyonov told reporters that Russian forces in Crimea had built “in-depth and modern defenses” and had “more than enough” troops and equipment to repel a potential Ukrainian assault after 13 months of war following the full-scale invasion from Russia.
“We cannot underestimate the enemy, but we can affirm that we are prepared [for an attack] and that there will be no catastrophe,” he said.

According to reports kept secret and unconfirmed until now, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi would have devised a plan with his top aides to produce and send up to 40,000 rockets to Russia, which, according to analysts, would have exhausted its ammunition supply in its invasion of Ukraine, since it’s beginning 13 months ago, according to these leaked documents from US intelligence services and obtained by the Washington Post.
The top-secret documents are part of a collection of classified information that has been released on various social networks over the past few months.

The United States Air Force (USAF) has finally begun the long-awaited retirement of its Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft.
On April 10, the service stated that it had retired the first A-10C, commonly known as the Warthog, from the 74th Fighter Squadron at Moody AFB, after 43 years of operational service.
The A-10 tail number 80-149 was transferred on April 5 to the USAF aircraft “graveyard” at the Davis-Monthan airbase, where it will be “preserved as much as possible while providing parts for other A-10S”, according to the service.

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to A Company, 224th Aviation Regiment, 2nd Battalion prepares to take off on a transportation mission at Erbil, Iraq, Jan. 14, 2017. (U.S. Army photo).

United States Central Command announced today that it had captured three Islamic State (ISIS) leaders during an operation in Syria on April 8. 
“Hudayfah al Yemeni, an ISIS attack facilitator, and two of his associates,” were captured during a helicopter raid in eastern Syria, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

India and the United States are participating in a joint military exercise amid rising tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
B-1 bombers and F-15E fighters in an aerial exercise
The US Air Force sends two B1 strategic bombers and a fleet of F-15E fighters to India to participate in “Exercise Cope India 2023”. This event marks the first time that B1 heavy bombers have joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a joint exercise.
The exercise began on April 10 and will last until April 21. Includes US C-130 and C-17 transport planes at Kalaikunda.
General Kenneth S.

The Navy has awarded an $8.4 million contract to the Survice Engineering Co. for additional drones that can resupply U.S. military forces, the Department of Defense announced late Tuesday.
The deal with the Maryland-based company includes the production and delivery of 21 TRV-150C Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TRUAS) and 12 months of systems engineering program management services in support of the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office, according to the announcement.
Work is expected to be completed in March 2024.

(Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)

While the transfer of the first donated MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets to Ukraine — from Slovakia and Poland — has been widely reported, including by The War Zone, the origin story of these aircraft is a complicated and fascinating.