May 22, 2015 Military Aviation News
05/22/2015
China yesterday said its air force planes flew over the Miyako Strait — a body of water between Japan’s islands of Miyako and Okinawa — to the western Pacific Ocean for training for the first time. China’s Defence Ministry said the training was conducted in line with international law and norms, and did not target any specific country, but the move is likely to raise tensions at a time when ties with Japan remain testy.
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05/22/2015
A few defense analysts including former military officers called for as many as 20,000 U.S. ground troops to be deployed to Iraq to combat Islamic militants gaining ground in the country. Frederick Kagan, one of the architects of the Bush-era troop surge in Iraq and a former professor of military history at West Point, was among those who cited the figure on Thursday during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on U.S. policy in Iraq and Syria.
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05/22/2015
Bulgaria will kickstart an acquisition process for a new multipurpose combat aircraft by the end of next month, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said. The Defence Ministry will submit the respective proposal to the government by 30 June, BGNES news outlet quoted Nenchev as saying on Thursday following a meeting of the parliament's defence committee.
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05/22/2015
The U.S. took punitive measures against an Iraqi airline and a Syrian businessman on Thursday over the sale of aircraft to a blacklisted Iranian airline, in a case that has sparked concerns that U.S. sanctions are beginning to fray as foreigners anticipate a nuclear deal with Tehran next month. Iran’s Mahan Air took delivery of the nine Airbus aircraft earlier this month, U.S. officials said.
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05/22/2015
Sweden's latest Gripen fighter jet has what it takes to shoot down the competition to defend Malaysia's skies. Its manufacturer, Swedish-based defence and security company Saab Group believes the reasons lie in the Gripen NG's cost-efficiency and multi-role operational performances.
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05/22/2015
The Air Force plans to be able to incinerate targets such as incoming missiles with laser weapons mounted on C-17s by 2023 as part of a directed energy developmental effort, service official said. The High Energy Laser, or HEL, is being tested by the Air Force Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Ground tests are slated for later this year as part of a plan to precede air-launched laser weapons firing evaluations, Air Force Chief Scientist, told Military.com in an interview
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05/22/2015
In the years since the 9-11 attacks, unmanned aircraft — “drones” — have become the signature combat system of America’s global war against terrorists. According to the Air Force, its fleet of Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft flew an average of 1000 hours per day last year over places like Iraq and Afghanistan, generating full-motion video and other reconnaissance that has become crucial to coalition military operations.
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05/22/2015
The Chinese navy repeatedly warned a U.S. surveillance plane to leave airspace around disputed islands in the South China Sea, a sign that Beijing may seek to create a military exclusion zone in a move that could heighten regional tensions. The warnings, delivered eight times to a P-8A Poseidon over the Spratly Islands on Wednesday, were reported by a CNN team aboard the plane.
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05/22/2015
The White House also said it is seeking to provide an additional $30 million in Foreign Military Financing to Tunis in 2015, a 50 percent increase compared to 2014. Tunisia’s newly elected president in Beji Caid Essebsi is currently in Washington, DC. On Thursday, he met with US President Barack Obama in the Oval office, becoming the first democratically elected Tunisian president to visit the White House.
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