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M-346 advanced combat trainer’s HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) tested in night configuration

February 17, 2012, 7:00 am
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Alenia Aermacchi has recently announced the succesful completion of a  series of 7 test flights with a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) system (similar to that used by front line combat planes), performed as part of the qualification and certification program for the Italian Air Force’s T-346A (the Italian version of the M-346 trainer aircraft). The [...]
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F-14s, in-flight emergencies and arrested landings. Top Gun? No, an Iranian TV series

February 17, 2012, 2:41 pm
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It is very well known that, more or less one year ago China tried to pass off Top Gun as air force footage but did you know there was also a mini-Top Gun made in Iran? If not, have a look at the following video. An IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) F-14, part [...]
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Good bye Black Sheeps: the retirement of the P.166DL3, the Italian Air Force’s aerophotogrammetry platform

February 18, 2012, 3:48 pm
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Although it passed almost unnoticed, at end of November 2011, the 71° Gruppo of the Italian Air Force based at Pratica di Mare, near Rome, retired one of the less known and most interesting aircraft: the Piaggio P.166DL3 APH. Fitted with  Leica RC-20 and RC-30 cameras (modified in order to mitigate the effects of the [...]
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Alleged killing of two Indian fishermen in anti-piracy operation sparks diplomatic crisis between India and Italy

February 19, 2012, 6:56 am
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Two Italian Navy riflemen belonging to the San Marco Battalion, are currently under custody in India pending the investigation about the alleged killing of two Indian fishermen 30 miles off the southern Indian coast on Feb. 15. The two military were on board the merchant ship Enrica Lexie as Military Security Team on Italian ships [...]
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The Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat’s sea trials on HMS Iron Duke

February 19, 2012, 12:20 pm
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The Royal Navy’s next generation of light utility helicopter, the Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat prototype (serialled ZZ402) has recently been at sea for the first mini-cruise with HMS Iron Duke. Although it looks similar to the final variant of the Lynx Mk8 externally, the AW159 is much different from its predecessor: it is built using [...]
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Rare behind the scenes video of Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer operations

February 19, 2012, 1:06 pm
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The following interesting video shows daily operations at the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer, belonging to the 72nd Bomber Squadron at TAB-7 in Shiraz. Mission briefing, dress rooms, flying clothing as well as a taxi ride by a journalist in the Fencer (this explains why he doesn’t wear a flight suit). [...]
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[Updated] Air Force Special Operations Command using Russian encryption software on made-in-China iPADs

February 20, 2012, 5:00 am
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Even if they might be called to face Chinese and Russia almost everywhere between Middle East and Asia (or even perform missions inside China or Russia in a less likely WWIII scenario), the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) planes will fly those special operations relying on products developed and sold by some of more [...]
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U.S. special operations plane crashes in Djibouti killing four crew members

February 20, 2012, 9:00 am
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On Feb. 18, 2012, a U.S. spy plane crashed six miles from Djibouti International Airport during “a routine flight.” As a consequence, all four U.S. military personnel on board, belonging to the 319th and 34th Special Operations Squadrons, and to the 25th Intelligence Squadron, both based at Hurlburt field, Fla., died. The accidednt occurred around [...]
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Photo: Lockheed Martin F-35′s first mission with external weapons

February 20, 2012, 10:20 am
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On Feb. 16, 2012, an F-35A aircraft from Edwards AFB, California, flew for the first time with external weapons. Although no weapons were delivered during the sortie, the payload of the Joint Strike Fighter’s Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant in this test mission included two AIM-9X air-to-air missiles on the outboard wing stations, two [...]
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Photo: in a world of overall grey planes, a (rare) Tornado IDS-HARM in camouflage color scheme

February 20, 2012, 11:00 am
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Nowadays almost all the NATO combat planes (special colors aside) wears overall grey low visibility color schemes. Therefore, old fashioned camouflage color schemes are extremely rare. One of the last Italian tactical aircraft to wear a “camo” scheme is this Tornado IDS-HARM in a picture taken recently by Giovanni Maduli at Decimomannu airbase. Tagged: 155 [...]
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Here’s the M-346 in Israeli Air Force colors

February 21, 2012, 2:00 am
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As reported in a previous post, Israel has selected the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 as the advaced trainer for combat pilots designated for front line fighter jets. Since the Italian plane will replace the aging Israeli Air Force A-4s, based on the camouflage color scheme used on the Skyhawk, Al Clark has drawn a digital mock-up [...]
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Exclusive Infographic: all Cyber Attacks on Military Aviation and Aerospace Industry

February 21, 2012, 6:00 am
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2011 has been an annus horribilis for information security, and aviation has not been an exception to this rule: not only in 2011 the corporate networks of several aviation and aerospace industries have been targeted by digital storms (not a surprise in the so-called hackmageddon) but, above all, last year will be probably remembered for [...]
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U.S. drones and spyplanes involved in information gathering missions over Syria. As in Libya one year ago. More or less…

February 21, 2012, 1:13 pm
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More or less one year ago, we were observing an increasing activity of U.S., British, French and Italian military spy planes perfoming information gathering missions along the northern border of the Tripoli FIR (Flight Information Region). Quite silently, those SIGINT (SIGnal INTelligence) platforms flew in the Maltese airspace to eavesdrop into Libyan communications and signals and [...]
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Photo: Venezuelan Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MkII backseater view

February 22, 2012, 8:11 am
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I’ve found this awesome picture almost by accident. It was published on One Big Photo, a website that makes high resolution photographs of various subjects available to everyone. Usually, aircraft pictures you can find on photo/wallpaper sites are only spectacular images already published on several aviation-related websites. The F-15E with lightning strike in the background [...]
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F-18 shows “God’s light” deploying flares at airshow

February 22, 2012, 9:30 am
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The following video shows a Finnish Air Force F-18 and The Midnight Hawks deploying flares into the clouds during the Kauhava Midnight Sun Airshow in Finland. The light of the “F-18 bonfire” seems to radiate from a single point in the sky creating the same optical effect that rays of sunlight create when streaming through [...]
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Canopy fogging caused F-16 runway overrun at Oshkosh

February 22, 2012, 3:07 pm
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An Alabama Air National Guard pilot had a close call when his F-16 developed a problem with the onboard environmental control system which leads to his cockpit canopy fogging up. The pilot was landing after taking part in an airshow at Wittman Airport, Oshkosh, Wis., when the ventilation system failed and condensation formed during the [...]
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It’s better to replenish the stock before going to war with Iran (or Syria). U.S Air Force Orders 5,000 JDAM bomb kits.

February 23, 2012, 7:40 am
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Along with the update of the GBU-57A/B bomb just financed by the Congress, the U.S. Air Force will  get additional JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) kits to replenish its stock. The most recent one, worth 126 million USD for a further 5,000 JDAM kits to be delivered by 2014, is the third such order in [...]
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F-35 progress report. The year so far in review.

February 23, 2012, 10:15 am
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Update Feb. 23 22.47 GMT Lockheed Martin has just released a media update that provides some interesting figures about the F-35 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) flight test plan. The press release traces the history of the JSF program since the beginning of 2012. However, I’ve modified it a little bit to add some interesting [...]
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Never seen before F-35′s centerline gun pod unveiled

February 23, 2012, 2:44 pm
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This image was posted on the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) few hours after I published the F-35 progress report with all the 2012′s updates. On Feb. 22, six days after the first F-35A CTOL (Conventional Take Off and Landing) had flown with external stores, even the STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) variant [...]
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One year after defecting from Gaddafi’s regime, Libyan Air Force Mirage F1s bid farewell to Malta

February 24, 2012, 3:00 am
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Feb. 21, 2011 – Feb. 22, 2012: one year after defecting to Malta, the two Libyan Mirage F1s returned to Libya. Wearing the roundel and flag of Free Libya, the two aircraft, that had performed engine runs  in the last weeks, followed by a high speed taxi on RWY 05/23 at Malta International Airport on [...]
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