August 10, 2014 Military Aviation News
08/10/2014
The next time fighter jets take off from Nellis Air Force Base for a Red Flag air combat exercise, there will be fewer would-be “bad guys” to battle. Up-and-coming pilots who will be flying their first 10 simulated combat missions will face an adversary force that has fewer sparring partners, a sign of the times as the military reduces its planes and personnel and U.S. combat operations wind down in Afghanistan.
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08/10/2014
President Obama says it all the time – no combat troops will return to Iraq. But many experts believe it will be extremely hard to achieve Obama’s newly expanded military mission there without more Americans on the ground. “I think the slippery slope analogy is the right one for Iraq right now,” said Barry Posen, director of the Security Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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08/10/2014
The U.S. Air Force has ordered 38 MQ-9 Reaper ER UAVs. This is an upgrade of the original MQ-9 design that allows longer endurance(up to 35 hours) by carrying two fuel tanks (one under each wing) that use a new fuel management system that ensures fuel is taken from the main fuel tank and the two external tanks in such a way that the aircraft does not become unbalanced.
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08/10/2014
US forces Saturday launched more airstrikes in northern Iraq to defend attacks on Yazidi civilians, the Pentagon said, on the second day of its military campaign. President Barack Obama had announced this week he had authorized US air strikes in part to help break the siege of Mount Sinjar, where fighters from the so-called Islamic State forces have cornered and reportedly threatened to kill thousands of civilian refugees from the Yazidi religious minority.
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08/10/2014
Australia's air force could be helping the humanitarian aid effort in Iraq within days, but military action has been all but ruled out. Prime Minister Tony Abbott today revealed US officials had asked for Australia's help. He said two RAAF C130 Hercules aircraft currently stationed in the United Arab Emirates could be dispatched within days.
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