December, 2018 Military Aviation News
12/30/2018
The People’s Liberation Army said that Taiwan would run into a “dead end” if it resisted the mainland’s reunification efforts with force, and that Beijing would continue its “encirclement patrols” in waters and airspace around the island.
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12/30/2018
An U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon jet trainer went skidding off the runway at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia earlier today, but thankfully no one was injured. This is the latest in a series of major accidents for the T-38 community, which has suffered multiple crashes, including one that led to the death of a pilot, this year already.
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12/30/2018
The problem with a 21st Century Blackjack may have less to do with the plane than with the factory. As the U.S. is discovering with its older aircraft, spare parts and – most importantly – manufacturing expertise are permanently lost when a production line is closed down.
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12/30/2018
The initial prototype of Ilyushin’s Il-112V transport has begun taxi trials on the runway at the VASO manufacturing plant in Voronezh, as United Aircraft (UAC) prepares the twin turboprop for its maiden flight.
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12/29/2018
Pakistan has said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a bilateral economic project and has no military dimensions. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said this at the weekly media briefing here on Thursday when asked about a US media report that alleged that China has hatched a secret plan to build fighter jets and other military hardware in Pakistan as part of the USD 60 billion project.
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12/29/2018
China is trying to devise ways to make its nonstealthy aircraft radar resistant. This week, the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post reported that China is working on experimental technologies to make even its older aircraft appear stealthy to most radar systems. Citing scientists working on the project, the SCMP said, “The technology involves the use of a ‘metamaterial’, a fabricated layer comprising microscopic structures similar to integrated circuits.
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12/28/2018
The Israeli air force (IAF) attack on Iranian targets in Syria was performed by standoff weapon systems, learned BulgarianMilitary.com. According the Middle Eastern sources, the Israeli fighter aircraft released their weapons while flying over Lebanon. This to avoid entering the foot print of the Russian S-300 air defense systems deployed recently in Syria
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12/28/2018
The Kazakhstan Air Defense Forces (KADF) has received a four new Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft from Russia, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense. “Within the framework of the agreement on military-technical co-operation with the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan received next shipment newest Su-30SM multirole aircraft,“ – according to a 25 December statement.
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12/28/2018
The United States Air Force and Navy appear to be closing in on a partial solution to a complicated set of problems that have for years caused pilots to experience adverse physiological symptoms midair, endangering them and the aircraft. Officials from both services said that by early 2019 they will replace faulty oxygen-supply systems with new hardware and software in their T-6 Texan trainer aircraft.
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12/27/2018
The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the U.S. and allied air forces for decades. Over the years, the aircraft has evolved from a lightweight visual range dogfighter into a potent multirole warplane that flies the gamut of missions ranging from the suppression of enemy air defenses to air superiority. Though it has been operational since 1980, the “Viper” continues to evolve and will remain in service with the U.S. Air Force and other militaries for decades to come.
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12/27/2018
Sikorsky and Boeing have unveiled the SB-1 Defiant helicopter, providing a pair of images showing the rotorcraft from the front and rear. The type had been expected to fly in 2018, but in mid-December the Sikorsky-Boeing team decided to push this into 2019.
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12/25/2018
Boeing is being awarded with a seven-year maintenance contract external link supporting US Special Operations Command aircraft. The IDIQ, firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable contract is valued at $1.1 billion and allows for life cycle contractor support the MH-6, MH-47, and MH-60 aircraft.
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12/25/2018
The first pre-production L-39NG jet trainer (msn 7001) completed its maiden flight on 22 December from Vodochody airport in the Czech Republic. This new-generation derivative of Aero Vodochody's long-established trainer was flown by company test pilots David Jahoda and Vladimír Továrek.
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12/24/2018
More than a dozen advanced Russian fighter jets have arrived at a base in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow occupied and annexed in 2014. The Reuters news agency cited witnesses who saw the Su-27 and Su-30 fighters arriving at the Belbek air base on December 22.
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12/24/2018
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a plan to procure eight F-16V Block 70 fighter jets aimed at replacing its ageing Soviet-designed MiG-29s. On Friday, Bulgaria’s defense ministry commission recommended that the government starts talks with the United States to buy new F-16V Block 70 fighter aircraft to improve its compliance with NATO standards.
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12/22/2018
Last July, I broke a story about the existence of Boeing's F-15X Advanced Eagle concept, one that the plane-maker had been in discussions with the USAF about for many months. That aircraft would be procured to replace America's existing F-15C/D aircraft, the vast majority of which are operated by the Air National Guard. Since my expose, the USAF has officially remained somewhat flippant about the F-15X and its talks with Boeing.
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12/22/2018
Leonardo has flown the production-standard version of its M-345 jet trainer, as it works towards service entry with the Italian air force in 2020. Performed from the company's site in Venogono Superiore in the north of Italy, the sortie was conducted by test pilots Quirino Bucci and Giacomo Iannelli.
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12/20/2018
Footage recently released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows Russia's flagship fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, being aerially refueled by an Il-78 tanker. Before this, the Su-57 can be seen imitating a refueling formation behind an An-12 transport aircraft.
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12/20/2018
The U.S. Air Force is getting bases ready for its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber. But it’s still unclear how many B-21s the flying branch might buy. The Air Force selected Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma as the primary maintenance facility for the new bomber, the service announced on November 16, 2018.
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12/20/2018
Russian media outlets are reporting that the Kremlin is planning to establish a forward outpost on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila in the Caribbean Sea and base nuclear-capable Tu-160 Blackjack bombers, two of which just wrapped up a recent deployment to the country, at the site. If true, this could help bolster the embattled regime of Venezuela’s dictatorial president Nicolás Maduro and would significantly change the strategic reality in the Western Hemisphere for the United States.
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12/20/2018
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) scrambled fighter jets to intercept and escort an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Air Force (PLAAF) Xian H-6K bombers, Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft, and a Shaanxi Y-9JB (GX-8) electronic warfare and surveillance plane conducting a long-range patrol near Taiwan on December 18, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense.
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12/19/2018
The Argentine Air Force (FAA, in Spanish) strengthened its airspace defense capabilities during Exercise Integrador (Integrator in English ) 2018, as part of preparations for the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires Summit, carried out in the city of Buenos Aires, November 30th-December 1st. The event gathered the world’s main heads of state.
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12/19/2018
Boeing Defense, Space & Security recently won a hotly contested contract to design, develop, fabricate, test, deliver, and support four MQ-25A Stingray unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), integrating them into the aircraft carrier air wing, something the US Navy has been looking at for some time.
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12/19/2018
The Japanese cabinet has approved a plan to add an additional 105 Lockheed Martin F-35s to its planned fleet of 42 examples, potentially making it the world’s second largest F-35 operator. In a press briefing, the chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga confirmed that the country’s Medium Term Defence Program has been approved by the cabinet.
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12/19/2018
Bell’s V-280 demonstration programme plans to continue to expand the tiltrotor’s flight envelope, with additional focus on manoeuvrability, after reaching 250kt this September. So far, the aircraft has been tested on 50° banked turns at 200kt, which is the equivalent of 1.8g, says Vince Tobin, Bell executive vice-president for military business. During upcoming tests the manufacturer expects the aircraft to fly turns that generate more than 3g, he says.
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12/18/2018
The Congressional Budget Office floated a number of cost-cutting ideas for the US federal government including reducing the number of additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II purchases, retiring the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber fleets, and deferring development of the Northrop Grumman B-21 stealth bomber.
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12/18/2018
Boeing and Embraer have agreed the terms of their planned joint venture under which the US manufacturer is set to take control of Embraer’s commercial aircraft activities in 2019. The deal still is subject to approval by Brazil’s government, shareholders and regulatory authorities, the two airframers say.
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12/18/2018
The Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 Thunder has appeared at a celebration to mark the 71st anniversary of Myanmar’s air force. Images and video of the 15 December event on social media show four JF-17s are visible on static display in Myanmar’s distinctive blue camouflage scheme. One image shows a Myanmar officer inspecting a JF-17 cockpit, with a special ‘71’ logo visible on the jet’s fuselage.
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12/16/2018
A pilot has been killed in a Su-27 fighter jet crash in Ukraine on 15 December, said in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to a statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Dec. 15, 2018, at around 3 p.m., the Su-27 fighter jet crashed on landing while making routine training mission.
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12/16/2018
Russia says a pair of its Tu-160 Blackjacks flew a 10-hour patrol over the Caribbean Sea from a base in Venezuela. The Kremlin had recently sent the strategic bombers, along with other aircraft and supporting personnel, to the Latin American country, which is in the grips of a protracted political and economic crisis. The deployment also came in the wake of renewed criticism of Russia's intervention in Ukraine following a skirmish in the Kerch Strait in November 2018.
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12/15/2018
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov expressed hope on December 14 that the offer to supply his country with US-made F-16s would be improved “because I’ve talked with the pilots and a new F-16 is a much better aircraft than all the others available”. Borissov’s statement, against a background that Bulgaria’s decision on its choice of new fighter jets may be largely driven by political considerations, may deal a blow to the other two bids, Sweden’s Gripen and Italy’s Eurofighters.
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12/15/2018
Slovakia has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin for 14 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 combat aircraft (12 single-seat and 2 two-seat models). Slovakia has signed the contract on Wednesday with Lockheed Martin vice president of international business development Ana Wugofski for new. F-16 Block 70/72 combat aircraftto replace its Russian made MiG-29 jets.
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12/15/2018
India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) concluded a deal on October 26 with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary Elta Systems for the purchase of 83 ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and ELL-8222WB electronic warfare (EW) suites to be integrated with the Mark-IA Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), according to local media reports.
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12/15/2018
The USA could have a counter hypersonic weapon developed by the mid-2020s. However, creating a workable defense against hypersonic vehicles and missiles would require developing longer range radars and new space-based sensors to track and target an adversary’s weapons soon after they are launched, said Michael Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, at a National Defense Industrial Association event on 13 December, according to a transcript and press release from the Pe
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12/15/2018
The US Air Force’s average funding level in recent years is too little to replace, on a one-for-one basis, aging aircraft with new aircraft in the coming decades. That’s according to research by the Congressional Budget Office, which notes that costly-to-replace Lockheed Martin F-16C/D and Boeing F-15C/D fighters, F-15E multirole fighters, Lockheed Martin C-130 cargo aircraft, and Rockwell B-1B bombers are nearing the end of their service life.
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12/12/2018
Northrop Grumman was awarded a $49.9 million contract by the US Navy for long-lead parts and associated support for the production of two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The aircraft are expected to be completed by December 2023 and will be funded with fiscal 2019 procurement funds, according to a Department of Defense notice online.
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12/12/2018
The US Air Force has completed its critical design review of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, marking another milestone in development of the next-generation stealth bomber. The technical review, completed on 30 November, ensured the proposed aircraft has a stable and mature design before the USAF moves the program into manufacturing and flight testing.
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12/12/2018
UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons have begun flying quick reaction alert (QRA) sorties armed with MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, the Ministry of Defence confirms. A first QRA mission with the new weapon was conducted from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on 10 December, the MoD says. "The introduction of Meteor brings a new and innovative long-range capability, and further enhances Typhoon's already potent arsenal," it notes.
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12/10/2018
The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter has taken 26 years to get from the beginning of development in 1992 through to its first operational use in combat earlier this year by the Israeli Air Force over Syria. It is the most advanced warplane in the world today, and the RAAF is not only taking delivery of the first two of 72 F-35As, but has the option to order another 28 aircraft next decade.
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12/10/2018
The first of Australia’s F-35A joint strike fighters will touch down at Williamtown RAAF Base on Monday. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, will be among the waiting dignitaries as two of the $125 million planes arrive from Brisbane after leaving Arizona last week.
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12/08/2018
Increased anti-GPS electronic warfare from adversaries and delays to the launch of the GPS III network are forcing the US Air Force Special Operation Command to look for GPS hardening technology for its MC-130J and EC-130J aircraft to be used as a stopgap.
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12/08/2018
Boeing received a $159 million contract from the US Air Force to build a second KC-46A tanker for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The aerial refueling tanker will be manufactured in Seattle and is expected to be completed by 30 June 2021. In December 2017, the USAF awarded Boeing a $279 million contract to produce Japan's first KC-46 tanker aircraft.
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12/08/2018
After more than a decade of study, experimentation, modelling and simulation, the UK has successfully completed a first phase of testing using a shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) manoeuvre for the Lockheed Martin F-35B on board the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.
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12/06/2018
When there aren’t enough F-35s to go around, who should get them: The air force or the navy?
That question is reportedly roiling the British military as the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy dogfight over which F-35 stealth fighters the cash-strapped UK should buy. The Royal Navy is furious at alleged RAF plans to grab many of the 138 F-35s that Britain is purchasing, according to Britain’s Sky News .
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12/06/2018
Germany and France will welcome Spain as a full partner in their program to develop a next-generation air combat system, and expect to sign an agreement finalizing the move at the Paris Air Show in June, German government sources said on Wednesday. Paris and Berlin initially planned to offer Spain only observer status on the program, but changed their plans after extensive discussions with Spanish officials, according to a separate source familiar with the matter.
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12/06/2018
An air and sea search has been launched off the coast of Japan for seven US Marine aircrew after a F/A-18D Hornet fighter and a KC-130 Hercules tanker collided during a refuelling manoeuvre. Both aircraft crashed into the sea about 300km out from their base at Iwakuni. The incident happened about 2am local time (4am AEDT).
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12/06/2018
In addition to providing the Texan II trainers, Affinity has sourced 23 G120TPs from Grob Aircraft and five Embraer Phenom 100s – all "configured to meet the needs of the UK Ministry of Defence". The new types are respectively employed in the basic, elementary and multi-engine crew training categories.
Deliveries commenced with a first batch of G120TPs being accepted at RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire in November 2016. Affinity notes that the final aircraft's transfer was made ahead of its
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12/06/2018
A key milestone in the UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme was met on 3 December, with the early arrival of the last of 38 fixed-wing aircraft acquired via Elbit Systems UK/KBR joint venture Affinity Flying Training Services. The last of 10 Beechcraft T-6Cs acquired as replacements for the Royal Air Force's Short Tucano T1 turboprops – registered ZM332 – arrived at the service's Valley base in Anglesey, north Wales, following a delivery flight from Wichita, Kansas.
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12/05/2018
China's J-10C fighter aircraft, currently taking part in the Pak-China joint air force exercise, is equipped with an Active Electronically Steered Array system (AESA) as well as an optoelectronic detection system.
An improved version of China's J-10, the aircraft was activated for the combat missions in April this year, Wang Zhiming, a Chinese military expert told the news website China.org.cn on Tuesday.
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12/05/2018
Sikorsky's parent company Lockheed Martin intends to register an office in Chile to help push aircraft sales in Latin America. The company said it is in the process of registering an office with the Chilean government, adding that it intends to also use the site as a base for naval business in the region.
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12/05/2018
The US Air Force has started to field its Joint Service Aircrew Mask (JSAM) for helicopter aircraft in November as part of a larger effort to shield its personnel against contamination from weapons of mass destruction. The JSAM mask provides better protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination for aircrew on the HH-60G Pave Hawk and UH-1N Huey aircraft, said the USAF. It replaces the Aircrew Eye and Respiratory Protection system.
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12/05/2018
Airbus and Lockheed Martin have signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly "explore opportunities" in the US aerial refuelling market, eight years after the European airframer lost out to rival Boeing in a bid to supply new tankers to the US Air Force.
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12/05/2018
Leonardo's aircraft division has performed the first flight of its C-27J transport in a new baseline configuration. The sortie took place on 3 December from the manufacturer's plant in Turin, northern Italy. Featuring a number of avionics and cockpit upgrades, the new configuration is designed to make the aircraft compliant with next-generation air traffic management requirements and reduce military obsolescence issues.
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12/04/2018
Poland is to accelerate the replacement of its air force's RAC MiG-29 fighters and Sukhoi Su-22 ground-attack aircraft on the instructions of the country's defence minister. Mariusz Blaszczak, minister of national defence, has repeatedly stated his aim of removing Soviet-era aircraft from Warsaw's inventory.
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12/04/2018
The Italian Air Force declared its F-35A Lightning II fleet initial operational capable on 30 November, making the force the first in Europe to achieve the mark. Italy intends to procure a total of 90 F-35 aircraft. The country’s air force, Aeronautica Militare, plans to buy 60 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft and 15 F-35B short-take-off-and-vertical-landing aircraft (STOVLs), while the navy, Marina Militare, is planning to acquire 15 F-35B STOVLs.
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12/04/2018
The Boeing KC-46A aerial tanker programme completed its Phase II receiver aircraft tests after finishing three weeks of flights with F-15E aircraft out of Edwards Air Force Base, California. Receiver certification for the KC-46A started in April 2018 with the Lockheed Martin F-16, says Boeing. A joint US Air Force Boeing team has completed receiver tests with Boeing KC-135, Boeing C-17, Fairchild Republic A-10, KC-46, Boeing B-52 and Boeing F/A-18 aircraft since then.
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12/03/2018
Think tanks normally do not put the fear of God in you, but a new report from the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) does the job. The report, “AirShow China 2018: ‘China Dream,’ Air Power and Deterrence,” demonstrates that China’s defense modernization and industrial efforts are “underscoring the role the sector has in President Xi Jinping’s broader nationalist vision of turning China into a great power.”
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12/03/2018
Ukraine’s state-owned defense industrial group, UkrOboronProm, has officially handed over a combat aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 1 December. UkrOboronProm said in a statement that the Armed Forces of Ukraine received multirole upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets, heavy multirole high-maneuvering all-weather Su-27 fighter aircraft, combat and transport helicopters, L-39 training aircraft, and Spectator unmanned aerial systems.
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12/02/2018
Japan’s planned upgrade of its Boeing F-15 Eagle fighter jets will involve support from the United States and Boeing, the Japanese Defense Ministry has confirmed. Shigeyuki Uno, the principal deputy director of the defense planning and programming division of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, told Defense News during an interview at the ministry’s headquarters that the U.S. government and Boeing will provide support for the upgrade through the Foreign Military Sales process.
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12/02/2018
More than 80,000 Russian soldiers are present at Ukraine's borders and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, as well as the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, according to the Ukrainian president. As he rallies for international support against Moscow, Poroshenko said Russia had about 1,400 artillery and rocket systems, 900 tanks, 2,300 armoured combat vehicles, more than 500 military planes and 300 helicopters in and around Ukraine.
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12/01/2018
Satellite imagery recorded 24 units of fighter aircraft, including 16 units of Sukhoi Su-27 of different modifications, 8 Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter aircrafts. Russia deployed fighter aircraft and other military equipment at the Belbek airfield, which is located in the occupied by Russia Crimea. The press office of the Ministry for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons reported this.
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12/01/2018
Given the current status of our combat aircraft, the recent directive by Secretary of Defense James Mattis that all the Air Force, Navy and Marines achieve a mission capability rate of above 80 percent by Oct. 15, 2019, for their four key tactical aircraft — including the F-16, F-18, F-22, and F-35 fighters — would appear to be both an impossible goal and, more importantly, an empty gesture that will not change much.
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12/01/2018
China’s rising military prowess is a cause for concern among those of its neighbours unfortunate enough to be locked in territorial disputes with Beijing, but also increasingly for the US armed forces and any number of Western companies trying to export their equipment around the globe.
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