DefenceTalkThe F-35C Lightning II, the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, continues initial sea trials aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) off the coast of Southern California. Through Nov. 6, the fourth day of at-sea testing, two test F-35C aircraft have completed 12 flights. During those 12 flights, the aircraft flew a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35c-initial-at-sea-testing-progressing-aboard-uss-nimitz-60991/

DefenceTalkTwo US Navy F/A-18 Hornets have crashed in the western Pacific Ocean, the US Navy has confirmed. One pilot has been rescued, while the second is still missing. “Two F/A-18 Hornets from Carrier Air Wing 17 embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) crashed at 5:40 p.m. local time, today, while operating […]https://www.defencetalk.com/two-us-navy-jets-crash-in-west-pacific-1-pilot-injured-1-missing-60559/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy offered a glimpse of the future of carrier aviation on Aug. 17 by conducting a series of cooperative flights from the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), using an X-47B Unmanned Air System (UCAS) and an F/A-18 Hornet. The flights – the first time manned and unmanned […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-us-navy-integrate-manned-unmanned-flight-operations-60376/

DefenceTalkAt a northern quayside China’s first aircraft carrier dwarfs nearby vessels, its take-off ramp rising higher than the top deck of the cruise ship at the next berth, symbolizing the country’s naval ambitions. Dalian, where the Liaoning was refitted and undergoes regular maintenance, looks out over the Bohai strait, gateway to the Yellow Sea, and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-aircraft-carrier-puts-naval-ambitions-on-show-60271/

DefenceTalkIndia’s largest warship, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, is “operationally deployed” along with its fleet of MiG 29K combat aircraft, Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan said here today. “The navy has inducted aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is now operationally deployed with MiG 29K aircraft embarked and being flown by Indian naval pilots,” he told […]https://www.defencetalk.com/indian-aircraft-carrier-sails-with-mig-29k-fighters-59543/

DefenceTalkQINGDAO, China: On Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s first official visit to China, the Peoples’ Liberation Army allowed him, in response to a request made in January, to become the first foreign visitor to tour the sleek refitted Russian aircraft carrier — the PLA’s first — called Liaoning. China is Hagel’s third stop after multiday meetings […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-visits-chinese-aircraft-carrier-liaoning-59269/

DefenceTalkAn Indian MiG-29 naval jet landed on a refitted former Soviet aircraft carrier Friday, marking the first such operation since the ship was delivered by Russia to the south Asian nation earlier this year. “An exciting event took place today – the first landing of an [Indian] MiG-29 piloted by an Indian pilot on the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-indian-mig-29-fighter-jet-lands-on-vikramaditya-50685/

DefenceTalkHarry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HST CSG) and French Navy Task Force 473 concluded five weeks of combined carrier strike group operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) Feb 2. The two strike groups began conducting integrated operations Dec. 26 in the Gulf of Oman and have operated together in the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-french-navies-conclude-combined-operations-50245/

DefenceTalkU.S. and French aircraft embarked on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) began conducting combined flight operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, Jan. 14. The flight operations are part of an ongoing period of overall combined operations between the Harry […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-french-naval-aviators-cross-skies-decks-together-50151/

DefenceTalkChina’s first aircraft carrier has returned from a training mission in the South China Sea, state media said, completing a 37-day deployment carried out amid mounting regional tensions. The newly-commissioned Liaoning returned to its home port of Qingdao after carrying out a series of trials with “aircraft, naval vessels and submarines”, China’s official news agency […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-aircraft-carrier-returns-from-south-china-sea-50016/