December 30, 2020 Military Aviation News

NATO Scrambled Around 350 Times for Russian Jets in 2020

12/30/2020

NATO says that Russian military activity in the alliance's airspace increased slightly this year as its jets across Europe scrambled more than 400 times to escort or shadow unknown aircraft. In a statement released Monday, NATO said almost 90%, or about 350 of these missions, were connected to flights by Russian military aircraft.

Chinese Navy Expanding Bases Near South China Sea

12/30/2020

The Chinese Navy, formally known as the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy), conducted a live-fire exercise several days ago over the South China Sea utilizing a newly expanded naval base. Harbin Z-9 helicopters took off from a base at Sanya on the southern tip of Hainan and fired anti-ship missiles at simulated targets. The Z-9, a license-built variant of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, is a standard shipboard helicopter the PLAN flies.

From virtual to reality: F-35A, B-2 conduct joint training mission

12/30/2020

Ten F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the 63rd Fighter Squadron “Panthers” participated in a joint capstone training mission with two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, Nov. 18, 2020. The Panther Capstone, an offensive counter air attack mission, enabled F-35 and B-2 pilots to operate their aircraft in a joint combat environment against multiple advanced adversary air and surface-to-air missile threats.

Lockheed Martin delivers its 123rd F-35 Lightning II aircraft to Italian Air Force

12/30/2020

Lockheed Martin has recently delivered its 123rd F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft of this year to the Italian Air Force, despite Covid-19 challenges. The Italian Air Force received the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) or F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. The single-seat, single-engine fifth-generation F-35A was manufactured at Lockheed Martin’s Final Assembly and Checkout (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy.

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