3/6/2015 Afghan Military to Receive A-29 Close Air Support Planes in December  The Afghan military will be without its own fixed-wing close air support for another fighting season this summer against the Taliban, with the first of 20 A-29 Super Tucano turboprops expected to begin arriving in December. "This is a huge asset they're looking forward to getting inside Afghanistan," Army Gen. John Campbell told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, but "they won't have much for the next fighting season." |
3/6/2015 Alaska watches as Russia plans to build its Arctic military presence  During an Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the world is watching — allies and enemies — to see if our country continues to invest in its own defense, especially in the Arctic. Some of the people responsible for that defense are in Alaska. At Anchorage’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, dozens of plaques with red stars on them line a wall of an operations floor. |
3/6/2015 Bulgaria to be offered JF-17 fighter by Pakistan  Bulgaria is to be offered the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft, according to national media reports. The single-seat, single-engined fighter is to be offered by Pakistan as an alternative to the several Western aircraft types that are all vying to be selected by Bulgaria as it looks to replace its ageing MiG-29 'Fulcrum' and Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' platforms, the novinite.com Sofia News Agency reported on 4 March. |
3/6/2015 This single Pentagon program is going to upend the combat jet industry  For all the talk of shrinking global defense budgets and sequestration, the U.S. military’s three prime combat aircraft contractors—Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman—have enjoyed a good run of late, with each company’s stock currently bumping up against its 52-week high. But don’t expect the smooth sailing to last, says one prominent industry analyst. |
3/6/2015 Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion Wing Line Restarted  Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] restarted the wing production line for the P-3 Orion Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program for Canada and Chile on March 4. The P-3 wing line was last in production in August 2014. The gap in production extended the opportunities for global operators to assess their fleet needs. |
3/5/2015 Pentagon Announces U-turn on Use of Depleted Uranium Ammunition in Iraq and Syria  The Pentagon has announced that depleted uranium (DU) munitions have not, and will not, be used by US aircraft in the conflict against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The policy U-turn contrasts with statements made over previous months, where Pentagon officials claimed that DU would be used if needed; the decision reflects a growing stigmatisation of the controversial weapons. |
3/5/2015 USAF moves 18 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft to 'backup status'  The US Air Force (USAF) has placed 18 primary combat-coded A-10 Thunderbolt II close-combat support aircraft into the backup-aircraft inventory (BAI) status. Congress has authorised an increase a total of 36 A-10 aircraft into BAI status. The service, however mothballed a fewer number of aircraft to assess whether the action adequately balances ongoing requirements and the need for upgrade. |
3/5/2015 Red Flag at 40: ISR, coalition integration at its best  This year marks the 40th anniversary of Red Flag - the United States Air Force's premiere air-to-air combat training exercise. For the last four decades it's evolved and today it continues to hone the skills of its participants to meet current and future real world adversarial challenges. |
3/5/2015 Russia Reportedly Ready to Build Aircraft Carrier Larger Than US Ships  Though questions remain about how realistic the plans are, Moscow reportedly said Monday that it hopes to build its second aircraft carrier -- which would measure about 10 percent larger than the ones currently in the United States' Nimitz-class fleet. The National Interest, citing Itar-Tass News Agency, reported that the proposed carrier would be able to hold about 100 aircraft and would use a catapult take-off system. |
3/5/2015 Russian combat jets conduct ‘mock’ attack runs on NATO warships  RUSSIA says it has been conducting mock “attack runs” on NATO warships in the Black Sea as reports emerge of commercial airliners having to “dodge” prowling Russian bombers. As tensions continue to escalate over Russia’s barely concealed involvement in the Ukrainian civil war, it has adopted an increasingly aggressive posture towards its old Cold War enemies. |