PHOTO: RoKAF Black Eagles performing at the Singapore Airshow

Republic of Korea Air Force photo

Jaw dropping. And that's only one of many superlatives I can use to describe this air-to-air photo of the Republic of Korea Air Force's T-50B Golden Eagle advanced trainers of the Black Eagles Aerobatics Team going through their paces over the Changi Exhibition Centre, where the recently concluded Singapore Airshow was held. During the 6-day airshow, the Black Eagles wowed crowds with their precision flying and manoeuvres. More photos like these can be seen on this album on their Facebook page.

And if you can't get enough, there are also videos about their Singapore sojourn on Youtube here and here.

[UPDATED] Photo of an Indonesian AF C-130 covered in volcanic ash

This post-apocalyptic photo, by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous, shows a Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Udara (Indonesian Air Force) Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules transport (serial A-1316) covered in volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt Kelud, in Java. Taken at Adi Sucipto Airport near Yogyakarta, the airport is one of several airports closed due to the volcanic activity. The TNI-AU's bases of Iswahyudi & Abdul Rahman Saleh were, as of yesterday, also still closed for similar reasons.

UPDATE: C-130H-30 A-1316 is now back flying, and Adi Sucipto Airport has also re-opened.

Thanks for Taz Imansyah (@KaitouTaz) for the heads up

This air-to-air photo of a Singaporean Chinook almost didn't happen!

Click for hi-res image

I was invited to the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Family Day, as part of its 45th Anniversary celebrations held in conjunction with the RSAF's involvement at Singapore Airshow 2014. As part of the event, we were given a ride on a CH-47SD Chinook helicopter on Saturday the 8th of February. Arriving at Changi East Airbase that morning, it was obvious from the number of people going for the ride that there were to be two helicopters provided for the flight, which meant that I would get a rare chance at an air to air photo of the other Chinook.

I had assumed that the only way I would be able to get the shot would be to sit on board the lead ship near the rear, and shoot the No.2 aircraft out of the (open) rear ramp. Now at this moment we had no idea which was the lead Chinook and which was No.2 so I had to take a punt and chose one of the Chinooks to board. As it turned out I had gotten on board No.2 ship, and to top it off I ended up sitting somewhere near the centre of the helicopter. As we departed the base I rued what I thought had been a missed opportunity as both helicopters headed to the waters south of Singapore's Central Business District for a flight at 500ft AGL in loose echelon formation.

It was during this portion of the flight that I spied the lead Chinook, visible off the open port front window of our Chinook. Flying on a roughly northerly heading at that point, it also meant the morning light was falling perfectly on the lead helo. What luck! I hurriedly snapped off a series of photos, thankful that I had mounted a 70-300mm lens on my camera so I would have enough reach to zoom close enough and confident I would get a few useable shots. As you can see, the lead Chinook had its rear ramp closed, so even if I had boarded the lead Chinook, the closed ramp would have meant no photos of the second aircraft would have been possible!

As it was, I did get a number of photos of the lead Chinook which I'm really happy with. And as a bonus, the rear ramp of our Chinook was open as well, which meant that shots like this were also possible:

Click for hi-res image

Special thanks to the kind folks at Singapore's Ministry of Defence Public Affairs Directorate and the Air Force Information Centre, who made the event possible

VIDEOS: Singapore Airshow aerial displays: Black Knights, Black Eagles, Jupiter, V-22 and more

Youtube user Tonkatsu298 brings us some videos of the aerial display at the recent Singapore Airshow. Aerobatics displays from 3 military display teams (Singapore's Black Knights, Indonesia's Jupiter and South Korea's Black Eagles). Plus solo displays from the a Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet from the Royal Australian Air Force, F-16C and C-17 from the USAF, and a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor making its debut at Singapore Airshow.

Here are some of the highlights:

Republic of Singapore AF Black Knights (F-16C Fighting Falcon)
External Link

Republic of Korea Air Force Black Eagles (KAI T-50B Golden Eagle)
External Link

Indonesian Air Force Jupiter (KAI KT-1)
External Link

United States Marine Corps Boeing MV-22B Osprey
External Link

Royal Australian Air Force Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet
External Link

More videos of the aerial displays at Singapore Airshow 2014 on Tonkatsu298's Youtube page

More on F-16 CAPES, Gen. Hostage speaks & Japan's F-35 costs balloon

Photo © Tom Harvey/Lockheed Martin

Defensenews is on a roll the past few days, with several interesting stories being posted. First up, a follow-up to their story on the United States deciding to defund the USAF/RoCAF F-16 CAPES upgrade program, this time focusing on how Taiwan's and Singapore's upgrades are affected. They also interviewed the chief of the USAF's Air Combat Command (ACC), Gen. Michael Hostage who talks about A-10s, F-35s, F-22s and budgets.

Last but not least, they look at how spiraling costs (a recurring theme) has clouded Japan's planned purchase of the F-35.

JASDF Blue Impulse T-4s collide in mid-air (with photos)

Both photos via Sankei Shimbun

Two Kawasaki T-4 trainers of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Flight Demonstration Team have collided in mid-air during a practice on the morning of 29th January. The incident happened in airspace over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 45km (28 miles) southeast of their base at Matsushima. Both aircraft managed to land without incident, with the 3 crew on board uninjured.

Looks like it was glancing blow for both aircraft, with one sustaining a dented nosecone while the other (66-5745) losing most of its port horizontal stabiliser/elevator. Could have been much, much worse...

Thanks for James Simpson for the heads up

USAF F-16 upgrade not funded; Taiwan's F-16 upgrade hit

USAF F-16CM from the Kunsan, South Korea-based 8th Fighter Wing

Aaron Mehta over at Defense News has reported that the US Air Force's F-16 Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) upgrade program has not been included in the FY 2015 budget request, with some of the money instead being reinvested toward a general F-16 service-life extension program (SLEP) in an effort to preserve funds and keep the force structure intact.

This decision will have ramifications in Asia, where Taiwan has selected to align its own F-16 upgrade with the CAPES program, centred around Northrop-Grumman's Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR). Without the economies of scale of the USAF upgrading and integrating the new equipment on board their F-16s, Taiwan's own upgrade program will see costs rising if its plans are to go ahead.

More at Defense News.

Report: Singapore has signed for 6 Airbus A330 MRTT tanker-transports

One of five KC-30A (Airbus A330 MRTT) tankers operated by the RAAF (© Commonwealth of Australia)

French aviation magazine Air and Cosmos has reported that Singapore has reportedly signed for six Airbus A330 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transports) in 2013. Neither Airbus Defence and Space nor Singapore have commented on the reports. If true, Singapore will become the fifth nation to operate the A330 MRTT, after the UK, Australia, UAE and Saudi Arabia. France has also been reported to be on the verge of buying the type, along with India.

There are rumours that the MoU signed between Airbus and Singapore to be conditional upon Airbus sorting out the issues with the refueling boom and mission planning system, among others. Problems with the boom have dogged the MRTT's development, and is not expected to be solved until late this year at the earliest. This has prevented the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from declaring Full Operational Capability with the type, which operates five aircraft, known as the KC-30A in RAAF service.

It has been reported since 2011 that Singapore has been looking for tankers to replace its elderly fleet of four Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers and ten C-130B/H Hercules (all ten can be readily configured as KC-130 tankers). Singapore is known to have issued a Request For Information (RFI) for six aerial refueling tankers back in 2012, and Boeing had previously acknowledged that its KC-46A tanker was one of the types Singapore had issued the RFI to. However with the KC-46 still in development and the USAF's mammoth 180-aircraft order, it may have difficult for Boeing to meet Singapore's delivery timeline for a new tanker.

Our previous coverage of Singapore's search for a new tanker aircraft can be accessed from the links below.

2 August 2011: Singapore looking to replace KC-135s
21 February 2012: Singapore Air Force issues tanker RFI
20 Sept 2012: Singapore has requested information on Boeing's KC-46

Taiwan unveils fighter upgrade and stand off air-launched missile

Wan Chien stand-off air-to-surface missile fitted to an upgraded F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter (J Michael Cole)

Taiwan's Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) unveiled the first batch of 71 upgraded Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF/F-CK-1) at Tainan air base in southern Taiwan on 16 January 2014. It also took the opportunity to unveil the Wan Chien (Ten Thousand Swords) stand-off air-to-surface missile fitted to an upgraded F-CK-1 fighter

DSCA notification for Singapore's Block 52 upgrade

RSAF F-16D Block 52

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress January 13 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Singapore for an upgrade of F-16 Block 52 aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $2.43 billion. More at the DSCA's website.

The notification is for 60 aircraft, i.e. Singapore's entire F-16 fleet. I should have an in-depth look at this latest development up in the next few days

PHOTO: Republic of Singapore AF Black Knights F-16C six-ship air-to-air

© Republic of Singapore Air Force/Photo by Katsushiko Tokunaga (DACT). Click on thumbnail for hi-res.

A fantastic air-to-air photo of the F-16Cs of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Black Knights Aerobatic Team over the waters off southern Singapore, photographed by the one and only Katsu from an RSAF F-16D photo ship.

The Black Knights have recently been re-formed, and will perform at the upcoming Singapore Airshow, to be held at the Changi Exhibition Centre from 11-16 February 2014. They will be joined by the Republic of Korea Air Force's Black Eagles team flying the T-50 and the TNI-AU (Indonesian Air Force) KT-1 trainers belonging to the Jupiter Aerobatic Team.

[EDITED] The Chinese military aviation data dump of 2014 continues

And the 2014 data dump on China's military aviation developments continue. Following closely on the recent hi-res pic of a J-16 in flight, we now have:

Shenyang J-15 S/N 556 carrying a Russian UPAZ-1A buddy refuelling store. Click on thumbnail for hi-res photo.

Xi'an H-6G Badger bomber carrying the YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missile.

Chinese Il-76MD in flight with a new high-bypass turbofan engine (WS-20?) mounted on the port inboard station. This will most likely be the engine that will eventually power the Y-20 airlifter, with the engine having started aircraft tests several months back and expected to enter into service in 2015.

Both the H-6G and Il-76 pictured are both test aircraft, belonging to the China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) based at Xi'an-Yanliang.

[EDIT 09JAN2014]: And the reveals are not just restricted to fixed wing aircraft. Yesterday saw photos of a Harbin Z-19 light attack helicopter carrying what appears to be a roof-mouted radar similar to the Longbow millimetre wave radar carried by the AH-64D/E Apache. As Greg Waldron over at Flightglobal notes, we are not sure if the radar is a prototype, mockup or the real deal. But it does say a lot about China's ambitions. More pics here and here.

And not strictly 2014, but while most of the world was celebrating Christmas or nursing Boxing Day hangovers in 2013, China's Harbin Z-20, which has been likened by many to be a clone of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, made its first flight.

All photos from the Chinese internet

PHOTO: China's Shenyang J-16 in high resolution glory

A nice military aviation present for 2014! A high-res photo of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's prototype J-16 multi-role fighter has been making the rounds on the internet. Believed to be based on the Sukhoi Su-30MKK/MK2 which is currently in service with China's Air Force and Navy, the prototype J-18 first flew in 2011 and reports from China indicate that the first pre-production batch is entering service .

Australia's first F-35A, C-27J achieve milestones

Alenia Aermacchi Photo

Big week for the future platforms of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as two key programs achieve milestones.

The first Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the RAAF, coded AU-1, which is currently winding its way through the cavernous JSF production facility at Fort Worth, Texas, is now standing on its on wheels for the first time. The aircraft was lifted by an overhead crane from an EMAS – Electronic Mate and Alignment System – station where its forward and rear fuselage sections were joined to the wing-centre fuselage assembly, to final assembly, where its control surfaces are added and final systems and engine are installed.

Meanwhile Alenia Aermacchi has announced that the first of ten C-27J Spartan battlefield airlifters for the Royal Australian Air force has made its maiden flight. It will be delivered to prime contractor L-3 Communications in 2014 for final fitout before the first two aircraft are brought to Australia in 2015. Here is the RAAF's (informative) media release about the event.

Chinese Shenyang Jian-8 (J-8) crashes in Zhejiang, pilot killed

Shenyang JZ-8F. Note the camera fairing immediately aft of the nose landing gear. (Chinese Internet)

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A fighter plane crashed in Anji County in east China's Zhejiang Province at 7:11 p.m. on Thursday, leaving the pilot dead, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

The fighter aircraft, the Jian-8, was conducting night flight training when the accident occurred, the ministry said in a statement on its website Friday.

There are no casualties on the ground, according to the statement.

My notes: Judging by the location of the crash, the aircraft could be a Shenyang JZ-8F reconnaissance platform from the Nanjing Military Region's 93rd Brigade, based at Suzhou to the northeast of Anji County.

Another possibility is that the crashed aircraft was a J-8H interceptor of the 78th Brigade at Shanghai-Chongming, an island immediately to the north of Shanghai. (Map © Google )

Japan seeks to move E-2Cs and another F-15J squadron to Okinawa

Naha-based 204 Hikotai F-15J Eagle. USAF Photo

Japan's government has indicated that it is planning to deploy a second squadron of Mistubishi F-15J/DJ Eagles to Naha Airbase in Okinawa. In addition, it has also revealed that a squadron of E-2 Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft could also be sent there.

The base is the primary airbase which the Japan Air Self-Defense Force uses to provide overwatch for the hotly disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. As I have mentioned before, the sole JASDF F-15 unit currently based in Naha has been in the thick of the action scrambling against Chinese aircraft entering Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) while patrolling in the East China Sea, or headed out into the Western Pacific. The recent declaration of an ADIZ in the East China Sea by China would also have added impetus to this decision.

Word is that the JASDF F-15 unit that will be relocated to Naha to join the overworked 204 Hikotai will be the 304 Hikotai from Tsuiki in southern Kyushu, with an Mitsubishi F-2 unit from Misawa moving to Tsuiki to form a second F-2 Hikotai in Tsuiki.

Relocating northern Kyushu's sole interceptor unit and replacing it with a unit operating the F-2 (primarily a maritime strike platform) at a base facing a sector of the East China Sea where Chinese aircraft have been known to penetrate Japan's ADIZ from strikes me as odd. If anything, I had expected that 305 Hikotai at Hyakuri would have been the most likely candidate for the move, given it's located at Japan's quiet eastern seaboard away from the usual hotspots of Japan's ADIZ.

Taiwan seeks F-35 despite F-16C/D rejection

RoCAF (Taiwan) F-16B of the 455th TFW. Photo © unknown

DefenseNews has an Intercepts Blog up asking why Taiwan is publicly seeking the F-35 when it is already unable to get the United States to sell F-16C/Ds to the island nation. I'd say Taiwan is practicing Rule No. 1 of bargaining; ask for the sky, and wait for the counteroffer which is closer to what you actually wanted in the first place.

Just one more thing to add: Taiwan needs to sort out its defence policy, and the politics behind it though. That could very well prove tougher than persuading the United States to sell defence articles.

Photos of 2nd Singapore Air Force F-16D with anniversary tail art

Remember this story from mid-November about the Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16D based in Luke Air Force Base, Arizona being painted with colourful tail art commemorating 20 years of RSAF training at Luke? Well it turns out there is a second F-16D (S/N 96-5035) that got a special paintjob marking the occasion, and it's just as striking too!

Luke AFB has also released this image showing the tails of both commemorative aircraft side-by-side. Both aircraft were painted with unique tail flash designs by the 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron.

USAF Photo via Luke AFB's Facebook page. Click on the thumbnail to view the high-res version.

The 425th Fighter Squadron, also known as the Black Widows, was reactivated at Luke AFB in late 1992 and started training Republic of Singapore Air Force pilots on the F-16 soon after, initially using leased USAF F-16A/Bs before switching over to leased F-16C/Ds and finally transitioning over to the RSAF's own Block 52 F-16C/Ds when deliveries of the latter began in 1998.

The squadron is a mixed USAF-RSAF training squadron, and is one of several RSAF training detachments in the United States. The RSAF maintains several training detachments based overseas due to a lack of training areas at home, as well as monsoonal weather patterns over Singapore which frequently restricts training. Singapore operates 60 F-16C/Ds spread among 3 Singapore-based squadrons and the 425th FS at Luke AFB.

And this is an image of both aircraft sitting tail-to-tail, on the 425th Fighter Squadron's Facebook page.

via the 425 Fighter Squadron's Facebook page. Click on the thumbnail to view the high-res version.

PHOTO: Chinese Nanchang Q-5 ground attack aircraft

Via Chinese Internet. Click on thumbnail for high resolution image

It's not the most capable combat aircraft out there, but I really like the lines of the Nanchang Q-5 ground attack jet. Based on the MiG-19/J-6, the Q-5 mated the MiG-19/J-6 rear fuselage and wings (incorporating improvements) with a basic radar in the nose and a more conventional intake design. This aircraft, a precision strike-enabled Q-5L variant serving with the Chinese Air Force's 5th Ground Attack Division, 13th Air Regiment at Weifang-Weixian in Shandong Province, represents the zenith of the design. In this high-quality photo from the Chinese Internet, Q-5L 10368 is pictured landing while carrying a K/PZS-01 targeting pod on one of its fuselage pylons.

F-35B to visit Luke Air Force Base at Singapore's request

F-35B Lightning II STOVL Joint Strike Fighter (Lockheed-Martin Photo)

This just in from Luke AFB's Facebook page:

F-35B aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma are expected to be flying at Luke AFB from approximately 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The aircraft will be at Luke at the request of senior defense officials from Singapore, who are visiting the base as part of Forging Sabre, a Singapore armed forces exercise taking place at Luke and at the Barry M. Goldwater training range. Singapore is considering purchasing F-35s in the future.

The F-35B is the “short takeoff and vertical landing” variant of the aircraft developed for the U.S. Marine Corps. It is configured differently than the F-35A “conventional takeoff and landing” variant used by the U.S. Air Force. The first of Luke’s F-35A aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2014.

Luke will not be hosting media for the event, but media and the general public are welcome to observe the aircraft flying in the pattern from public areas outside the base.

For questions, contact the 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office at 623-856-6011 or after duty hours at 623-856-5600.

===END===

I have written extensively on Singapore's interest in the F-35, specifically the F-35B (see here, here and here). This latest event seems to indicate that Singapore's interest is firming up, or maybe Singapore might even confirm the reported decision to buy the F-35B at this upcoming event at Luke. Although the lack of a media event probably makes the latter unlikely.

Thanks to Sze Yong for spotting this.

UPDATE: Here are press reports from The Gazette and Military Times on the visit.