9/16/2019 Oil prices soar after attacks on Saudi facilities  The drone attacks on plants in the heartland of Saudi Arabia's oil industry included hitting the world's biggest petroleum-processing facility. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tehran was behind the attacks. Iran accused the US of "deceit." Later Mr Trump said in a tweet the US knew who the culprit was and was "locked and loaded" but waiting to hear from the Saudis about how they wanted to proceed. |
9/15/2019 Taiwan ‘ready to move quickly’ to seal deal on F-16 fighter jets from US  Taiwan has signalled to US officials that it will move swiftly to complete the purchase of 66 new F-16 fighters once congressional foreign relations committees complete their review this month, according to a US State Department official. The department formally notified Congress on August 20 that it approved the sale, which includes munitions, defensive electronics and a fire-control radar that would allow precision-guided missiles and bombs to be launched from greater distances. |
9/15/2019 Can't Get an F-35? Russia Wants to Sell Its Fifth-Generation Su-57 Stealth Fighter  With the first serially produced Su-57 fifth-generation fighter set to enter service in the Russian Air Force later this year, the Russian defense industry is planning to unveil the export version of the Su-57 at the upcoming MAKS 2019 international air show. |
9/15/2019 Could the New B-21 Stealth Bomber Become a 'Battleplane'?  Recent reports about the B-21 Raider suggest that the plane might have a mission that U.S. bombers have not had for a very long time: air-to-air combat. If the Air Force continues to pursue this line of thought, it will revive a concept that dominated airpower theory in the early age of aviation, but that fell by the wayside because of technological and operational concerns in the 1950s and 1960s. |
9/15/2019 Trump’s plan to pay for border wall with Air Force funds risks national security, report says  President Donald Trump’s plan to pay for his proposed border wall by taking funds from more than four dozen Air Force military construction projects poses various national security risks for the U.S. armed forces, according to a report compiled by the U.S. Air Force. |
9/14/2019 First Rafale Handover To India On Oct 8, To Coincide With Air Force Day  The Indian Air Force (IAF) will formally receive the first of its 36 ordered Rafale multi-role fighters in Paris on October 8, the foundation day of the IAF. Previously, the official handover was expected to happen on September 20. It will mark the first new fighter induction into the Air Force since the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas was received in 2016. In September 2016, India signed a Euro 7.87 billion (INR 59,000 crore) deal with the French government for purchase of Rafale aircraft. |
9/14/2019 PICTURE: US Navy takes first E-2D with refueling probe  The US Navy has received its first Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft with an air-to-air refueling probe. The aircraft joined the navy’s VAW-120 “Greyhawks” fleet replacement squadron, according to the US navy. |
9/13/2019 China's J-10 'Vigorous Dragon': Did Israel 'Help' Build This Deadly Fighter?  The J-10 “Vigorous Dragon” is a mainstay of China’s effort to modernize its large fleet of single-engine jet fighters, with 350 already in service. An agile tactical fighter similar to the ubiquitous F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Vigorous Dragon was the first domestic Chinese design roughly on par with Western and Russian fourth-generation fighters. |
9/13/2019 The Air Force's entire A-10 Warthog fleet is getting a raft of lethal new upgrades  Fresh off a fraught decade-long rewinging effort, the Air Force's beloved A-10 Thunderbolt II fleet is poised to keep on BRRRTing in the free world for at least another decade — and the beloved attack aircraft will pick up some tasty new upgrades along the way. |
9/13/2019 USAF bans passengers, cargo from Boeing KC-46A  The US Air Force (USAF) has banned the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refueling tanker from carrying passengers and cargo after it discovered cargo floor restraint devices unlocking during a recent operational test and evaluation flight. |