Ukraine conflict: Ukraine reports An-225 destroyed as air losses mount for both sides
28 February 2022
by Gareth Jennings
Seen at the ILA Berlin Airshow in 2018, the An-225 was reported destroyed on 27 February. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Ukraine reported the destruction of the Antonov An-225 Mriya airlifter on 27 February, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba saying that the largest aircraft in the world was destroyed in a Russian strike on Hostomel Airport (also known as Antonov International Airport) on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv.
Kuleba referred to the world's only six-engined airlifter in the past tense in a statement posted on his official Twitter account, noting, “This was the world's largest aircraft, An-225 ‘Mriya' (‘Dream' in Ukrainian). Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya'. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free, and democratic European state. We shall prevail!”
The Kyiv Post confirmed the aircraft's destruction at about the same time, noting that it “was burned” following a Russian attack. The aircraft's Antonov Company owner had stated that it could not comment on the condition of the aircraft until it had conducted an inspection, however, with no further news forthcoming and with camera footage showing the burning aircraft inside its purpose-built hangar, it appears that the later pronouncements of its destruction are correct.
The destruction of the An-225 represents the highest profile aircraft loss in the conflict since Russia launched its renewed invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. However, in the four days since fighting began, numerous aircraft losses as well as various other losses have been reported for both sides, although only a comparatively small portion of these can be confirmed by videographic and/or photographic evidence.
For Ukraine, losses confirmed so far by Janes comprise one Su-25 ‘Frogfoot', three Su-27 ‘Flanker', and six MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum' combat aircraft, as well as one An-26 ‘Curl' airlifter, and the An-225. For Russia, confirmed losses comprise two Kamov Ka-52 ‘Hokum-B' and one Mil-24 ‘Hind' attack helicopter. For both Ukraine and Russia, however, the losses are almost certainly much higher than these.
USAF solicits AI-enabled battlefield C2 capabilities
07 May 2024
by Carlo Munoz
An AFRL chart outlining the Battle Management of AI concept under development by the US Air Force. (US Air Force)
The US Air Force's (USAF's) main research and development (R&D) directorate is soliciting industry solutions to accelerate the air service's integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into its command-and-control (C2) and battle management systems.
Officials from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) issued a broad agency announcement (BAA) in March, seeking industry input on “development and application of AI to C2, new concepts and techniques for the battle management, and orchestration of AI at pace and scale”.
AFRL officials at the organisation's Rome Research Site in Rome, New York, are seeking proposals to also explore “how the use of AI by adversaries can be considered in the C2 planning and execution process and distributed and collaborative C2 to enable C2 anywhere and anyplace”, the 24 March BAA noted.
DSA 2024: Malaysian Army plans life extension programme for PT-91M tanks
07 May 2024
by Kapil Kajal
The PT-91M main battle tanks (MBTs) in Malaysian service will be maintained by DEFTECH (recently acquired MMC Defence), which had the contract to provide in-country support for the tanks. (Malaysian Ministry of Defence)
Malaysia's state-owned DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DEFTECH) has outlined the Malaysian Army's plans to upgrade its plaguing fleet of PT-91M ‘Pendekar' main battle tanks (MBTs) at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 9 May.
Wan Mohamed Aizat bin Wan Mohamed, lead engineer for weapon system integration at FNSS, told Janes on 6 May that the Malaysian Army plans to upgrade the PT-91M tanks – delivered to the army by Poland's PHZ Bumar between 2007 and 2011 – as a part of the MBT's life extension programme.
The upgrades will include the integration of a new fire-control system (FCS), which will be supplied by Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), with the tank, Wan Mohamed said.
Other upgrades include the addition of new controllers and displays for the turret, a new autoloader system, a new day-and-night-vision camera in the tank, and a remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS), Wan Mohamed added.
Chinese combat aircraft launches flares ahead of Australian helicopter
06 May 2024
by Akhil Kadidal
The Australian government said that a Chinese combat aircraft launched flares in front of HMAS Hobart 's embarked MH-60R helicopter (nicknamed Voodoo), pictured here, on 4 May 2024 while the helicopter was flying over international waters in the Yellow Sea (West Sea). (Commonwealth of Australia)
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter aircraft conducted an unsafe interception of a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) helicopter in the Yellow Sea (West Sea), the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said.
The incident occurred when HMAS Hobart launched a Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter on 4 May as part of “routine” operations, the DoD said on 6 May. At the time, HMAS Hobart , a 7,000 tonne air warfare destroyer (AWD) was “in international waters in the Yellow Sea [West Sea] undertaking … activities as part of Operation ‘Argos'”, the DoD added.
Operation ‘Argos' is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) commitment to the international effort to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea. Australian units involved in the operation assist with monitoring illegal ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned goods, according to the DoD.
Ukraine reported the destruction of the Antonov An-225 Mriya airlifter on 27 February, with the Mini...
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