Free Republic

They claim the order will harm efforts to provide doctors and hospitals with the equipment and medicines they need to stop the spread of COVID-19 The Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), a trade association for major pharmaceutical manufacturers such as 3M, is drafting a letter to send to President Trump opposing his proposed ‘Buy American’ executive order reshoring medical supply chains. The letter currently has over 40 signatories, including PhRMA, a Big Pharma lobbying organization, dozens of medical nonprofits, and free market-oriented organizations, indicating the president will face immense pressure across the political spectrum for trying to reduce US medical...

While Russia has deployed advanced warplanes to Syria including the Sukhoi Su-30SM, Su-34 and Su-35S, those jets are seldom seen carrying Moscow’s latest air-to-air weapons. More often than not, the Su-30SM Flanker-H and Su-34 Fullback are spotted armed with Soviet-era R-27 semi-active radar and infrared-guided medium range air-to-air missiles. It is only on occasion that Su-35S Flanker-E fighters are spotted with active-radar guided R-77 RVV-SD missiles—which are roughly the equivalent of the American-made Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM. The reason Russian fighters are seldom spotted with advanced air-to-air weaponry are two-fold, explains researcher Mikhail Barabanov, editor-in-chief of the Moscow Defense Brief, which...

An F-35 fighter is shown with ASRAAM missiles. Britain will introduce the missile on F-35Bs in 2022. (Photo: Lockheed Martin) The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) awarded manufacturer MBDA a £184 million ($240 million) contract to supply an updated version of its infrared-guided ASRAAM missile for British F-35B Lightning II fighters. ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) will be the first British-designed missile to enter service on the F-35. ASRAAM is currently in service with Royal Air Force Typhoon and Tornado fighters and is being carried daily on missions over Iraq and Syria as part of the coalition campaign against...

For years now there has been a ton of hype about MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, but now that it has reached operational status, blanket claims are being tossed around in the media as to its capabilities: headlines like “the best in the world“ and “the most deadly” are commonplace. But is it really that simple? Is the Meteor the dream missile every western fighter needs under its wings or in its weapons bays or is it a niche capability? Rising Meteor The truth is that the Meteor isn’t that new at all as it has been in development for...

One of the missiles is 8 years old, the other is pushing 30. But steady technology upgrades have kept these two Navy air-to-air weapons on the cutting edge. The younger one is the AIM-9X Block II. The older is the AIM-120D AMRAAM — advanced medium-range air-to-air missile. The 9X Block II was introduced in 2008, but did not go into full rate production until 2015. It’s the latest member of the Sidewinder missile family that dates back to the mid-1970s. The 9X Block II can do things its predecessors could hardly have imagined. For example, it is equipped with a...

Rumors about China’s latest PL-10 short-range air-to-air missile have been circling for the last two years. Speaking during a Chinese television interview, the missile’s chief designer revealed that the missile is nearly complete, and offered new key details. Designed by the Luoyang Electro-Optical Research Institute (LEOC), images of the fifth-generation PL-10 first surfaced in 2013. Carried onboard the J-20 fighter, the missiles have also been seen on the J-11, a copy of the Russian Su-27. Based purely on those photos, experts were able to confirm that the PL-10 utilizes thrust vectoring. Its large fins also likely give the missile high...

China is likely to purchase 5,000 R-73 and R-77 air-to-air missiles from Russia, writes Toshiyuki Roku, retired commander of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Air Development and Test Command, in an article for the Tokyo-based Japan Military Review. Since China's domestic air-to-air missiles such as the PL-12, the SD-10A and the PL-9C were designed based on technology from Ukraine and are still unable to compete against US counterparts, the People's Liberation Army realizes that it needs the more advanced Russian missiles to go head to head against the US and Japan in any potential future air combat, Roku wrote. He...

Moscow’s new active-array missile could be the most accurate ever By combining two existing technologies, Russian engineers have devised what could be the world’s deadliest air-to-air missile. And the U.S. military doesn’t have anything like it … or adequate defenses. Designers at the Detal bureau, part of the state-owned Tactical Missile Munitions Corporation, added an active electronically-scanned array radar—a so-called “AESA”—to the nose of a long-range R-77 missile to produce the K-77M model. Thanks to its new guidance sensors, the K-77M is way more accurate than other missiles. How accurate? Flying 40 miles or more, the K-77M should be able...

USAF cancels AMRAAM replacement By: Zach Rosenberg Washington DC The US Air Force has cancelled the next generation missile (NGM) meant to replace both the anti-air AIM-120 AMRAAM and the anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM, both mainstays of the USA and its international allies. The NGM programme, also formerly known as the joint dual-role air dominance missile and projected to cost up to $15 billion, was cancelled "for affordability reasons", according to Gen Edward Bolton, USAF chief budget officer. The contest was eagerly anticipated by major aerospace companies, including Aerojet, Alliant Techsystems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. Following the 13...

Russian Air Force Tests New Air-to-Air Missile The Russian Air Force is testing and will soon deploy an advanced tactical air-to-air missile that will greatly enhance its operational effectiveness, the service's commander Col Gen Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday. The missile will be carried by MiG-31BM Foxhound supersonic interceptors/fighters and will subsequently be used by other warplanes, he said. The weapon is “currently in trial at an Air Force test site,” Zelin said. Zelin did not identify the missile but experts believe it could be the K-37M, also known as RVV-BD, or AA-X-13 Arrow as it is known to NATO....

China successfully develops new-generation air-to-air missile 16:54, May 19, 2011 China has achieved what some foreign experts once thought was impossible — it has independently developed a next-generation air-to-air missile without assistance from foreign specialists or borrowed technology. Designed by Fan Huitao, the deputy director of the Air-to-Air Missile Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the missile, known as the "Key Model," successfully passed the designed type approval test and achieved an excellent result, with all seven missiles hitting their targets. Its successful development indicates that China already fully possesses the ability to independently develop internationally-advanced air-to-air...

Raytheon reveals first glimpse of next-generation missile By Stephen Trimble Raytheon has offered the first peek into the company's approach to designing a next generation missile to replace both the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AGM-88 HARM. For the first time, the company has displayed a full-scale mock-up of one of several candidates being considered for the emerging US Air Force requirement for a dual role air dominance missile (DRADM). The design shown at the Air Warfare Sympsoium on 16-17 February features an AMRAAM-like missile body integrated with what appears to be a variable flow ducted rocket (VFDR), or ramjet. In 2004,...

China discloses new SD-10 combat capabilities By Robert Hewson China's SD-10 beyond visual range air-to-air missile (AAM) may be a considerably more capable weapon than has hitherto been believed. Officials from the SD-10's manufacturer, the Luoyang Electro-Optical Technology Development Centre (LOEC), say the SD-10 was designed from the beginning to function with a dual-mode seeker operating in distinct active and passive radar homing modes. If so, the SD-10 (and current production SD-10A) are the first AAMs to enter service with this acknowledged capability. In lengthy discussions with LOEC at the Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai between 16-21 November, the operating...

Pakistan inks deal for Chinese missiles Source: Global Times Rao Qamar Suleman By Xu Tianran in Zhuhai and Chris Dalby in Beijing The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) confirmed to the Global Times its purchase of Chinese avionics and missiles to equip its 250 JF- 17 Thunder jet fighter fleet. Rao Qamar Suleman, air chief marshal of the PAF, revealed in an exclusive interview Wednesday that pre-purchase evaluations on several other Chinese air defense systems were also underway. Suleman said the advanced active radar and homing middle-range missile developed by China, the SD-10 missile, will become the standard Beyond Visual Range...

An alleged plot to send anti-aircraft missiles and guns to Syria or Iran was thwarted after a key figure was arrested in Philadelphia, the FBI said in documents released Monday. -snip- He was after missiles that could "take down an F-16," the affidavit says. Little did Tarraf know, he was requesting the weapons from an undercover agent, according to documents. The affidavit alleges that Tarraf paid a $20,000 cash deposit to the agent in July for machine guns and shoulder-fired Stinger missiles, MyFoxPhilly.com reported. The documents say Tarraf's dealings with the undercover officer date back to June 2007. -snip-

The FBI says a Centerville man is charged with buying and shipping about 7,000 stolen cell phones in connection with an international ring trafficking weapons and stolen goods. According to the FBI, Hussein Ali Asfour of Centerville is charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property and faces up to five years in prison. A criminal complaint in the case listed his address as 100 Cross Link Trail. USA Today reports that Asfour was charged along with four other men, including three accused of trying to buy Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns destined for Syria or Iran. USA Today describes...

Lt. Col. Terry Cook, 1st Cavalry Division, pins Commissioner Hameed Hermis, an Iraqi Police officer, with an Army Achievement Medal during a ceremony at the Provincial Joint Control Center in Kirkuk city, May 19. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — A small mosque here was recently the scene of a life and death struggle between four Iraqi Police (IP) and a teenage suicide bomber. The four IP succeeded in stopping and detaining the would-be bomber, potentially saving the lives of hundreds inside the mosque. The four were honored for their actions with U.S. Army Achievement Medals...

China hints at new air-launched missiles By Robert Hewson 25 January 2008 A series of images released via the Internet has revealed a number of new Chinese air-to-air missile (AAM) programmes; Jane's has identified three new strands in Chinese AAM development including enhanced versions of existing weapons and hitherto unknown designs. While very little information accompanies the images, they appear to confirm several anticipated trends in Chinese AAM technology, including advanced, agile dogfight weapons and extended-range ramjet propulsion systems. In one image a pair of small AAMs are seen carried on shoulder launchers above an SD-10 (PL-12) active radar-guided missile:...

Beginning this Memorial Day weekend, members of the auto industry are rolling out a comprehensive campaign to convince Americans to oppose proposed increases in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, and to pressure their elected officials to vote down such proposals. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) has launched a website (www.drivecongress.com) that encourages citizens to compose messages of protest against “unrealistic fuel economy increases” to be hand-delivered to elected officials. AAM represents BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen. The website allows users to insert statements provided by the AAM, such as “I value fuel...

Raytheon and MBDA Battle for Air-to-Air Missile Market Share (Source: Forecast International; issued Feb. 5, 2007) NEWTOWN, Connecticut --- "Raytheon may have a lead in this market, but MBDA is not just going to roll over and die," said Larry Dickerson, Missile Analyst for Forecast International. "These companies are nearing a statistical dead heat, with billions of dollars' worth of future contracts up for grabs," Dickerson said. The market for air-to-air missiles will be worth $16.1 billion over the next 10 years. "Raytheon leads this market, thanks to the sales performance of the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM, and the...