Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday it is “not fair” to either Turkey or the United States that Washington cannot sell Ankara billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets after it bought a Russian air defense system. Turkey started taking delivery of Russia’s S-400 air defense system last week in defiance of U.S. warnings that the Pentagon would kick it out of the F-35 stealth fighter program Washington’s concern is that deploying the S-400 with the F-35 would allow Russia to gain too much inside information of the stealth system. Thomas Karako, an analyst at...

EXCLUSIVE: Iran has established a new military base in Syria and has plans to house thousands of troops at the location, according to multiple Western intelligence sources. The classified Iranian project, called the Imam Ali compound, was approved by top leadership in Tehran and is being completed by the Iranian al-Quds Forces. Using a civilian satellite company, Fox News verified the information and obtained images that show a base being constructed on the Syria-Iraq border.

India's Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Ready to Assist Russia-Made Vikramaditya by 2021 - Navy © AFP 2019 / Manjunath KIRAN 16:44 08.07.2019 New Delhi (Sputnik): India’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Vikrant, is expected to commence basin trials in 2020, Indian Navy’s Vice Admiral A.K. Saxena said on Monday. Currently, the Indian Navy is operating a single aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya - formerly known as the Admiral Gorshkov. Vice Admiral Saxena confirmed that construction of the carrier is underway, at a brisk pace, and delivery to the navy for induction with Eastern Naval Command is expected in 2021. “Construction is...

Egyptian Navy Gowind Corvette El Fateh (971). Source: Ahmed XIV/Wikimedia Commons The United Arab Emirates has reportedly finalized a contract for the procurement of at least two Gowind corvettes. On June 7, French publication La Tribune reported that the UAE had completed a deal for two Gowind corvettes. The agreement, valued at around EUR750 million, was reportedly signed in March of this year, but was not announced. The Gowind corvettes, which are built by France’s Naval Group, are to come equipped with Raytheon’s RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles to protect from aerial threats as well as MM40 Exocet anti-shipping missiles, produced...

As the U.S. Navy gets closer to issuing the final request for proposals for its future frigate competition, or FFG(X), one particularly notable design, BAE System's Type 26, has largely been absent from the discussion. It seems particularly curious given that the British-designed ship is well on its way to becoming one of the most popular warships in its class among some of America's closest allies, with 32 examples in various configurations on order for the U.K. Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy. BAE did propose a variant of the Type 26 to the Navy...

Turkish Aerospace's new attack helicopter exhibits the same configuration as the company's T129 Atak, but is considerably larger and more powerful. (photo: Turkish Aerospace) Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSB) signed a contract with Turkish Aerospace Industries on February 22 as part of the country’s effort to indigenously develop a new 10-tonne heavy attack helicopter, which is likely to compete in the future with the Boeing AH-64 Apache. The contract for the Heavy Class Attack Helicopter project has an undisclosed value, and how much this initial contract covers in terms of program deliverables has also not been released. Details so...

Qatar, which funds Hamas and al-Qaeda, has begun a massive military aircraft project in South Carolina The politicians in South Carolina are lining their pockets, but are we enabling those who will one day be fighting against us? “South Carolina is becoming home to a quiet Qatari military aircraft project,” by Jordan Schachtel, Conservative Review, March 5, 2019: The nation of Qatar, a tiny Gulf state known for its vast energy riches, tiny indigenous population, slave labor economy, and, of course, its troublesome connections to international terrorist organizations, has commenced a massive but under-the-radar spending spree in South Carolina. Through...

Hong Kong (CNN) One of China's most prominent harbors for naval shipbuilding has rapidly expanded in the past decade, new satellite images show, amid a massive military modernization push by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Jiangnan Shipyard, located in Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River, was only opened in 2008 but it has already increased by 64%, according to satellite imagery analyzed by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). (Please see link for full article)

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s hardline halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi may jeopardize a big UK-led Eurofighter order from Riyadh and could hit jobs at a shipyard in struggling northeastern Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been more outspoken than fellow major arms exporters the United States, Britain and France about stopping sales to Saudi Arabia until Khashoggi’s case is cleared up, a stance that a senior conservative ally said could also affect previously approved orders. Berlin is now reviewing all Saudi sales, including contracts approved in September for more patrol...

President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a $717 billion defense spending bill that puts China in the crosshairs of a host of new US Navy missiles and tactics. The US Navy will get new, longer-range missiles to outgun China's missiles, which can get clean shots on US ships well before US missiles have them in range. The increase in spending comes as China has increasingly edged out the US Navy's competitive advantage in open waters. The US suffers a missile gap with both Russia and China, meaning those countries have longer-range missiles designed to sink massively valuable platforms...

For now the F-15SA Eagles being delivered to Saudi Arabia are the most advanced Eagles, but those destined for Qatar have even more advances, such as a wide-area display in the cockpit. (photo: RSAF) Earlier this month, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, HE Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, visited the Boeing Company factory at St. Louis, Missouri, to formally inaugurate the production of F-15QA Eagle multi-role fighters that have been ordered for the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF). Although no initial delivery schedule has been announced, the 36 are due for delivery by...

Sailors load a Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile on to the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Olympia (SSN-717) on July 3, 2018. US Navy Photo JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM – The Navy may once again arm its attack submarines with the Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile, after a sub-launched Harpoon performed well during a sinking exercise this month in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 exercise. Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Olympia (SSN-717) fired a Harpoon at the ex-USS Racine (LST-1191) during the first of two SINKEX events in RIMPAC this month. That shot marked the first time a Harpoon...

Full title (shorted for posting) A leaked photo shows that China is building a supercarrier that could rival the US' Nimitz-class carriers -- China has grand ambitions for a world-class navy, and is reportedly building two more aircraft carriers with enhanced capabilities that would make them among the world's most powerful navies. But it's unclear what China ultimately intends to do with them. Is it for prestige? To project power? To protect its interests overseas? We asked two naval experts to find out more.

Sales of F-35 joint strike fighters to Turkey could be suspended for months under a final 2019 defense bill unveiled by Congress on Monday. The Pentagon would be required to submit a report to lawmakers within 90 days on the relationship with Ankara, all its foreign weapons sales, and Turkey’s move to purchase an S-400 air defense system from Russia, before any more of the Lockheed Martin jets could be sold. The House is expected to vote on the massive policy bill this week and the Senate could take it up in early August.

Boeing Is Pitching the US a New F-15, Using Its Super Hornet Game Plan The company convinced the Trump administration to buy advanced F/A-18 jets. Can it do the same with the the F-15? FARNBOROUGH, UK — Boeing is quietly pitching the U.S. Air Force a new F-15 fighter jet using the same business strategy that convinced the Trump administration to buy more Super Hornet warplanes for the Navy. Dubbed the F-15X, the new variant of the venerable jet offers more modern flight controls, cockpit displays, and radar, according to military and industry sources with knowledge of the plan. The...

A model of the Tempest jet fighter, unveiled by the defence secretary, Gavin Wiliamson, at the Farnborough airshow. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, has unveiled plans for a new RAF fighter jet, the Tempest, which will eventually replace the Eurofighter Typhoon. Speaking at the Farnborough airshow, Williamson unveiled a model of the sixth-generation fighter jet the Ministry of Defence (MoD) expects to emerge from its new combat air strategy, designed to maintain the UK’s status as a so-called “tier one” military power after Brexit. “This is a strategy to keep control of the air, both at...

HHI may be downsizing its shipyards, but not HII. Virginia-based Huntington Ingalls Industries says that over the next five years, its yard at Newport News will need 7,000 new shipbuilders to work on subs and warships for the U.S. Navy, including 2,000 net new positions. HII's Newport News Naval Shipyard needs to recruit enough people to meet its workforce demands for the Ford-class aircraft carrier and Virginia-class submarine programs. The new hires will also support production of Columbia-class ballistic submarines, increased submarine fleet support work and the refueling, overhaul and defueling of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The overall hiring need is...

ANKARA, May 27. /TASS/. Turkey is looking at buying Russian Su-57 fighter jets in case the United States refuses to sell its F-35 warplanes, Turkey’s YeniSafak reported on Sunday. Nevertheless, according to the newspaper, Ankara is not planning to abandon its right to US fighter jets, with deliveries expected to begin in June. Turkey has launched a discussion about a possible replacement to US planes and Russian-made Su-57 jets are seen as a good alternative as they are nearly half-price as compared with US F-35 planes, YeniSafak said, not specifying however the level of discussion. As of now, Ankara has...

Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has presented video of the country's new Su-57 fighter—you can read our full analysis on this often misunderstood aircraft here—launching a new cruise missile from its internal weapons bay. This is the first video we know of not only of this missile being tested, but also of the Su-57s weapons bays in use. In his statement, Shoigu mentions the Russian Ministry of Defense's large effort to test and evaluate new weapons on the Syrian battlefield, but it's not clear if this launch took place over the war-torn country or not. He says the test occurred...

Photo: TAI Ankara and Islamabad have signed a deal for the sale of 30 Turkish attack helicopters, according to an election manifesto the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced Thursday. In a November 2017 interview with the Anadolu Agency, Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said his country planned to procure 30 attack helicopters and four naval ships from Turkey. Hussain revealed that Pakistan was interested in the T129 ATAK helicopter, developed by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and the Italy-based AgustaWestland, rebranded as Leonardo Helicopters in 2016. The gunship helicopter was added to the inventory...