December 15, 2012 Military Aviation News
12/15/2012
South Korea's defence minister has claimed that Pyongyang is getting ready to test a third nuclear device. This week, the North launched another long-range rocket, and satellite images reveal that North Korea has been testing long-range rocket engines. However, even if Pyongyang does carry out tests in 2013, how much of a threat will North Korea pose to its neighbours? Will the latest rocket launch make a qualititative change to the capability of the North Korean People's Army (NKPA)?
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12/15/2012
Short-range missiles fired by Hamas at Israel’s major cities last month and the potential long-range threat of the rocket North Korea launched this week are suddenly sharpening interest in capitals around the world over a new generation of missile defense systems that can defend against hostile neighbors.
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12/15/2012
The Defense Department said on Friday it has finalized a contract for the purchase of a fifth batch of radar-evading F-35 fighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin Corp., a deal worth $3.8 billion for 32 of the advanced planes. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the costliest weapons program in U.S. history.
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12/15/2012
More than 10 months after India chose the French Rafale to meet its $15 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) requirement, contract negotiations are mired in issues related to offsets, the transfer of technology and the role of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). The Press Trust of India quoted industry sources as saying that Dassault has requested from the Indian Ministry of Defence the freedom to decide the proportion of work to be done by HAL, versus private Indian companies.
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12/15/2012
Northrop Grumman has delivered two X-47B Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems (UCAS) to the US Navy, which has begun three weeks of tests aboard the USS Truman – the first aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. The X-47B is based on the Pegasus X-47A (originally designed in 2001) but features improved landing gear and folding wings for work aboard carriers.
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12/15/2012
Xi Jinping, the new Communist Party chief and civilian commander of the Chinese military, is moving quickly to make strengthening the country’s armed forces a centerpiece of what he calls the “Chinese dream” of national rejuvenation.
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12/15/2012
The Czech military will on Monday resume flying the L-159 subsonic aircraft after one of the planes crashed in November, killing the pilot, a military spokeswoman said Friday. Jana Ruzickova said the investigation of the fatal crash ruled out any technical defect. But the cause of the accident has not been announced yet. The pilot crashed into the ground when routinely training night piloting in Radovesnice, central Bohemia.
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12/15/2012
Sales of U.S. military aircraft will fall by 2.4 percent this year to $58.2 billion, the lowest level since 2006, according to a preliminary estimate of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Sales are expected to decline by another 10 percent next year as budget cuts force the Pentagon to reduce procurement spending, the association said in its year-end review and forecast, released earlier this month.
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