5/12/2021 F-35 jets protect the Baltic air space for the first time  The four Italian Air Force F-35A jets replace the German Air Force’s four Eurofighter aircraft, deployed to Ämari Air Base since August 2020. F-35s have landed in Estonia before – in 2017, two US Air Force F-35As, deployed to the UK, flew from RAF Lakenheath to Ämari for a short visit. But this is the first time the stealth aircraft have been deployed as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission. |
5/11/2021 French Military Leader Asserts Islamic State is 'Regenerating' Underground  French military leader said that the Islamic State (IS) is "regenerating" underground with stealth and developing its military as France is sending warships and aircraft to Syria and Iraq in order to examine the threat the group poses, the Associated Press reported. Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, the head of a task force that features the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, said reconnaissance flights are being carried out to help French forces on the ground observe the Islamic Stat |
5/11/2021 British military aircraft must hit net-zero carbon target by 2040, says Air Force chief  The United Kingdom has set a requirement that its Royal Air Force have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But according to Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, the service needs to work under the assumption that it has to hit that target a decade earlier — and accept that other budget priorities will be cut to make it happen. |
5/11/2021 What the United States Wants From Japan in Taiwan  When Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga became the first foreign leader to visit U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House last month, their joint statement garnered a lot of attention. For the first time since 1969, the leaders referenced their shared interest in the “importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and “the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.” |
5/11/2021 China ramps up UAVs with Chengdu industrial park  For years, drone warfare has been an essentially American pursuit. The new age of armed robots has been symbolized by Predators and Reapers spewing deadly Hellfire missiles. But guess who’s the biggest exporter of combat drones? China. “In 2014–18 China became the largest exporter in the niche market of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), with states in the Middle East among the main recipients,” according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. |
5/11/2021 Air Force awards A-10 pilot for skillfully belly landing her plane without landing gear after 'catastrophic' failure  The US Air Force awarded a fighter pilot for skillfully landing a damaged aircraft without a cockpit canopy or working landing gear after what the service described as a "catastrophic" failure. Capt. Taylor Bye, a 75th Fighter Squadron pilot, pulled off an emergency belly landing in her A-10C Thunderbolt II fighter jet in April last year after a gun malfunction over Grand Bay Range at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia sent panels and her cockpit canopy flying and prevented her landing gear from de |
5/11/2021 USAF to test two F-15EX jets in Northern Edge 21 exercise  The exercise, which started on 3 May, is being conducted on and above the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the Gulf of Alaska, and temporary maritime activities area. Hosted by the US Pacific Air Forces, the joint training exercise will see participation from over 15,000 service members. It will run until 14 May. According to the USAF, F-15EX’s participation in the exercise will allow the service to implement changes in advance before fielding. |
5/11/2021 What’s impeding Indonesia’s military ambitions?  The recent loss of a 40-year-old Indonesian submarine has highlighted the need for the Southeast Asian nation to replace many of its military platforms, but plans to do so have been stymied by budget shortfalls and a lack of adherence to its long-term vision. |
5/10/2021 Britain’s Royal Air Force chief talks F-35 tally and divesting equipment  On March 16, the United Kingdom rolled out its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, a document that will serve as the guidepost for its military going forward. Included in that document were both cuts to existing systems and investments in new technologies. |
5/10/2021 Chinese drones a killer eye in the sky in Myanmar  When Myanmar’s military junta seeks to gain a tactical advantage against pro-democracy demonstrators or ethnic resistance groups, it sometimes deploys Chinese-made drones to survey the situation and provide crackdown targets. |