Free Republic

Report: Russia sends Assad 'ship killing missile' Russia delivers Yakhont missiles, warships to Assad; Lavrov: Arms deal won't change regional balance of power Russia sold advanced Yakhont antiship cruise missiles to Syrian President Bashar Assad, outfitted with an advanced guidance system that makes them more effective than the older version of the missile Russia sold to Syria, The New York Times cited two American officials as saying on Thursday. These missiles will allow Syria to thwart any attempt by international forces to reinforce Syrian rebels by imposing a naval embargo or no fly zone, Nick Brown the editor in chief...

Israel Shipyards Introduces the SAAR 72 Mini-Corvette Design Israel Shipyards is expanding the SAAR class of missile boats, extending the range from missile boats into ‘Mini Corvette’ class vessels. The new class is addressing the growing requirements of Israel and other nations in extending maritime control and sovereignty far from their territorial waters. Defense-Update reports from IMDEX 2013. Visit IAI at IMDEX 2013 The Israel Navy is required to expand the security and responsibility over much larger area while doing that with an ageing fleet of Saar 4, 4.5 missile boats and 5 corvettes. If only to maintain the numbers...

A Fighter With Naval DNA By Romulo Sobral Besides Brazil, Saab identified future demand for naval fighters in countries like India, Italy and the UK, which, in the coming years will be commissioning new aircraft carriers in their navies. According to Saab, there is a real and viable market for this type of aircraft. Aiming this market, the company is already developing a naval version of JAS-39 Gripen, which aims to be a variant of its newest product, the Gripen NG (Next Generation). This new version was named Sea Gripen. According to Saab, the requirements established by the Swedish Air...

Backing for 'evolved Collins' by:Brendan Nicholson TAKING the best elements from the Collins-class submarines to design and build a new hi-tech class in Australia is a spectacular opportunity, says the engineer in charge of their maintenance. Mark Stephens, the general manager in charge of Collins-class submarine maintenance with ASC in Adelaide, served for 10 years in the navy in surface warships, then worked his way through university to become an engineer. He has worked on the Collins in various capacities since 1998. Mr Stephens welcomed the government's decision to speed up the selection of a design for the promised 12...

Algerian Military Testing An A330 MRTT at Boufarik (Source: Le Matin DZ; published May 13, 2013) (Published in French; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com) Just weeks after the C17 evaluation that took place in Boufarik and the air force test center at Tamanrasset, an Airbus A330 MRTT tanker landed last week at the main air transport base in Boufarik. According to the “secret difa3” blog, the Algerian Air Force is in the process of finalizing a contract to acquire three A330 aircraft to reinforce its tanker and long-range transport fleet. Besides their ability to refuel in-flight fighter and attack aircraft, the...

5 Questions on Russian S-300 Missile System Sales to Syria MOSCOW, May 14 (Alexey Eremenko, RIA Novosti) – If fresh media reports are true, Russia, Syria’s longtime supplier of military equipment, may soon provide Damascus – or already has – with advanced S-300 air defense systems, tipping the balance in the devastating 26-month conflict in the Middle Eastern country. But the “if” is a big one. The missile batteries would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime a powerful weapon against foreign air strikes – one of the options being bounced around as a form of international intervention – and could...

Navy tones up muscle with MiG-29K fighters Rahul Singh , Hindustan Times Dabolim (Goa), May 11, 2013 Defence minister AK Antony on Saturday commissioned the navy’s first squadron of Russia-built MiG-29K maritime fighters, laying the groundwork for the induction of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (formerly Gorshkov) in December this year. The 16 fighters in the newly-raised Black Panthers squadron will operate from ashore till such time as the 45,000-tonne carrier - currently being refurbished at Sevmash shipyard in Russia - arrives. The navy also plans to deploy these maritime fighters - 29 more have been ordered - on the indigenous...

Boeing aims to keep building F/A-18 jets through 2020 By Andrea Shalal-Esa Published May 10, 2013 Reuters WASHINGTON – Boeing Co could keep building its Super Hornet fighter jet and a modified electronic attack version through 2020, the company said, given prospects for over 200 foreign sales and what it sees as up to 150 more sales to the U.S. Navy. Michael Gibbons, Boeing vice president for F/A-18 and EA-18 programs, spent part of this week pitching additional sales of Boeing's last fighter jet to congressional staffers in a triple-wide trailer packed with simulators, displays and souvenirs. His mission? To...

Scoot and Shoot “à la Française:” Caesar SP Gun Transforms French Artillery (Source: defense-aerospace.com; published May 7, 2013) By Giovanni de Briganti DRAGUIGNAN, France --- The French army has almost completed the wholesale transformation of its artillery, a process which has seen the merger of its air-defense and field artillery units and the gradual replacement of its towed (TRF1) and self-propelled (AUF1) 155mm howitzers by the Caesar truck-mounted, air-transportable gun of the same caliber but with substantially longer range. In terms of units, the reorganization will be completed this summer with the disbandment of the 8th Artillery Regiment, the fourth...

Here’s how a Typhoon multirole aircraft can hit two targets at the same time with a single targeting pod The recent article about the Typhoon fighter jet performing first laser guided, self designating, simultaneous guided bomb drops sparked some debate. Although other aircraft are known to have similar capabilities, some readers asked how a combat plane could hit two targets at same time with only a single laser designator of the Litening pod. I asked Andrea Kay, Senior Communications Advisor at BAE Systems, one of the companies of the Eurofighter consortium, to shed some light on the matter. Andrea inquired...

Israel's 5th Dolphin submarine unveiled in Germany By YAAKOV LAPPIN 'INS Rahav' set to undertake long-range classified missions, can carry missiles armed with nuclear warheads, foreign sources say. Israel and Germany unveiled the fifth Dolphin-class submarine constructed for the Israel Navy at a ceremony at the German port of Kiel on Monday. The submarine – called the INS Rahav – is the most expensive defense platform ever purchased by Israel. The vessel is set to undertake several long-range classified missions that are critical for Israel’s security. The submarine is viewed by the navy as an important “force multiplier” that will...

Russian T-50 Fighter Jet to Start State Flight Test in 2014 MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will start state flight tests of its fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet in 2014, United Aircraft Corporation's President Mikhail Pogosyan told reporters on Tuesday. “In 2013 we are expected to wrap up its preliminary tests and start operational testing. In 2014, we are planning to start official state tests,” Pogosyan said on Tuesday, adding "the first stage of the state trials should be complete by 2015." The test program involves six prototype airframes, including four flying, one static and one systems test airframe....

China to build second, larger aircraft carrier, says report China will build a second, larger aircraft carrier capable of carrying more fighter jets, the official Xinhua news service reported late Tuesday, quoting a senior officer with the People's Liberation Army (PLA ) Navy. The report comes after Chinese officials denied foreign media reports in September 2012 that China was building a second carrier in Shanghai. "China will have more than one aircraft carrier ... The next aircraft carrier we need will be larger and carry more fighters," Xinhua quoted Song Xue, deputy chief of staff of the PLA Navy, as...

Rare glimpse of life aboard the aircraft carrier Liaoning Naval experts say latest pictures of nation's first aircraft carrier, released by the PLA, show how it has been transformed from its original design Beneath the expansive decks of the aircraft carrier Liaoning, facilities enjoyed by the ship's crew include a canteen, medical centre and on-air studio. Photos: SCMP The People's Liberation Army Daily has revealed what China's first carrier, the Liaoning, looks like on the inside. Western naval and shipbuilding experts say the hull's design is totally different from that of the ship from which it was adapted, the Soviet...

Flying the Flanker A few years ago, Tactical Air Support was, for a brief period, an operator of a pair of privately-owed Soviet-built Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers. The company's senior vice president and chief operating officer Gerry Gallop, who previously served as a US Navy instructor pilot at TOPGUN and who has flown the F-4 Phantom II, F-14A and B, F-15, F-16, the F/A-18 series and the A-4, a recalls some of his initial transition flights in the Flanker. One sortie that stands out in Gallops' mind was a combination functional check flight and navigational training sortie over the Ukraine. "I...

French Offer FREMM Class Frigate For Canadian Surface Combatant By David Pugliese Defence Watch Defence Minister Peter MacKay will tour the visiting French Navy frigate Aquitaine at Canadian Forces Base Halifax on Saturday. The French are European shipbuilder DCNS is offering the FREMM Class frigate to Canada as a choice for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program. The ship is at the port until April 23. French Navy representatives will visit with Canadian Naval officials and provide the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian industry with the opportunity to tour the FREMM. The CSC program is part of Canada’s NSPS. Irving...

Royal Malaysian Navy Gowind class Corvettes for LCS program to be fitted with stealth 57mm Guns At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition 2013, Navy Recognition exclusively learned that the 6 future Gowind class Corvettes (Littoral Combat Ship program) will be fitted with 57mm Mark 3 main guns with stealth cupola from BAE Systems Bofors. We also took the opportunity to get the latest updates on the Malaysian LCS program from Anuar Murad, Director of Defence and Security at Boustead Heavy Industry Corporation. It was confirmed during LIMA that the combat management system will be the SETIS by DCNS,...

LAAD Defence and Security 2013: US mulls P-3 MPA sale to Vietnam By Gareth Jennings 4/12/2013 The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is expected to request from the US government the sale of Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), a senior company official told IHS Jane's on 10 April. Speaking at the LAAD Defence and Security 2013 exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Clay Fearnow, director maritime patrol programmes, said the Vietnamese Navy was keen to buy up to six surplus P-3s to help patrol the country's nearly 3,500 km coastline and 1,396,299 km2 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). "The Vietnamese...

Germany 'may buy weaponised drones from Israel' (AFP) – 13 hours ago BERLIN — Germany is in talks with Israel to buy weaponised drones for its military that are seen as more technologically advanced than US ones, the weekly Der Spiegel reported. The news magazine's Monday edition said the German defence ministry had already held two meetings with Israeli military officials, in November 2012 and February 2013, on the proposed purchase. The chief of Germany's air force, Lieutenant General Karl Muellner, was said to have recently gone to Israel to attend a presentation of Israel's Heron TP drone, Der Spiegel...

BAE checks Harpoon fit for anti-ship Typhoon BAE Systems has conducted first windtunnel tests to assess the suitability of integrating Boeing's AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile with the Eurofighter Typhoon. An image released by the UK company showing a model of the Typhoon reveals the combat aircraft carrying three of the air-launched weapons. In this configuration, one would be carried on the aircraft's centre-fuselage stores station - ordinarily reserved for an external fuel tank - and two more beneath its wing. BAE Systems BAE says the test activity is intended to assess the aerodynamic characteristics of carrying the Harpoon. "This testing...

Hsiung Feng I anti-ship missiles have been retired TAIPEI, Taiwan -- All Hsiung Feng I anti-ship missiles (雄風一型�艦飛彈), a derivative of the Israeli Gabriel missile Mk II, were officially decommissioned from Taiwan's military late last year, the Navy said yesterday. The last batch of Hsiung Feng I missiles, the first generation anti-ship missile used by the Navy, were sent to the military's chief research facility, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (中山科學研究院) (CSIST) to be destroyed by the end of 2012, the Navy Command told the Chinese-language United Evening News yesterday. They are replaced by the latest generation Hsiung...

Germans may find it hard to sell their subs Questions have arisen about the efficacy of German submarines just before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chancellor Angela Merkel sit down for talks in Berlin late this week when arms trade will be a certain, but underplayed, segment of the discussions. A submarine tender is too lucrative one to covet and like all big ticket military hardware deals, sees tremendous undercutting of the rival’s position. This time the contest among French, German and Russian submarines promises to be no different. The last tender, close to Rs. 20,000 crore, was bagged by...

MBDA courts Middle Eastern partner for Marte missile The on-going efforts of MBDA to expand the capabilities of its anti-ship missiles could reach an important milestone in the coming months through a potential partnership in the Middle East. During the European consortium's 2012 results conference in Rome on 22 March, Antonio Perfetti, managing director of the MBDA's Italian branch and executive group director sales and business development, revealed that a Middle Eastern country is interested in the joint development of a Marte ER (extended range) version. "The growth potential of [the] Marte anti-ship missile family has attracted the interest of...

LAAD 2013: DCNS reveals Brazilian carrier design DCNS is offering an adapted version of its PA2 design for a future Brazilian aircraft carrier. A model of a 60,000t displacement 285m-long PA2 carrier is being shown by the company at the LAAD exhibition in Rio de Janeiro. Eric Perrot, DCNS surface ships project director, told Shephard that the Brazilian Navy had plans to acquire one or two new aircraft carriers to replace their existing carrier, NAe Sao Paulo, after 2025. The Brazilian Navy released a request for proposals (RfP) in 2012 for specifications for aircraft carriers and Perrot said that DCNS...

Boeing unveils updated F/A-XX sixth-gen fighter concept Boeing The Boeing concept also features canards, which is somewhat of a surprise because the motion of those forward mounted control surfaces is generally assumed to compromise a stealth aircraft's frontal radar cross-section. But the lack of vertical tail surfaces suggests the aircraft would be optimized for all-aspect broadband stealth, which would be needed for operations in the most challenging anti-access/area denial environments. Also of note in the manned version of the company's F/A-XX concept is the placement of the cockpit-rearward visibility appears to be restricted without the aid of a sensor apparatus...

Hamburg First German Ship to Deploy in U.S. Carrier Strike Group By Lt. Timothy Gorman ABOARD FGS HAMBURG (F220) AT SEA (NNS) -- The German Sachsen-class frigate Hamburg (F220) is the first German ship to fully integrate and deploy with an American carrier strike group, and April 3 marks her second week of operating in the North Arabian Sea with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE). The Hamburg will stay a part of the strike group until the group's completion of operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility. Both Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, commander CSG 8, and...

Report: SA to give Saudi Arabia killer drones A Paris-based journal has said Denel intends to sell Saudi Arabia drone aircraft capable of firing missiles. This has been a capability the United States has denied the Middle Eastern nation and would thrust South Africa into a politically-fraught market. In 2010, Denel started dropping hints that the new version of its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Seeker, could potentially offer more than just reconnaissance. Now it seems the weapons manufacturer has found its first customer for drone aircraft capable of blowing up a house or vehicle with few unintended casualties. According...

S.Korea to buy bunker busting missiles from Europe (Reuters) - South Korea is to buy Taurus bunker-busting air-to-ground long range missiles for its F-15K strike fighters in a move to boost its strike power amid rising tensions with North Korea, its defence minister told a parliamentary committee on Thursday. The decision to pick a European supplier is due to Washington's unwillingness to supply Seoul's first choice missile, the U.S. made JASSM, a person familiar with the plans later told Reuters and is a rare decision for a military that primarily picks U.S.-made equipment. The decision comes as South Korea is...

US reveals details of F-15SE, F-35A bids for South Korea The US Department of Defense formally notified the US Congress of potential sales of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle and Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to South Korea on 29 March. The two aircraft are on offer to the Asian nation as part of South Korea's F-X III fighter competition. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a third contender for the 60 aircraft tender. For the potential F-35 sale, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) says that South Korea could order 60 conventional A-model aircraft and associated support equipment for $10.8...

Japan unveils new antisubmarine patrol planes English.news.cn 2013-03-26 21:03:13 TOKYO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) received the first two of a fleet of next generation P-1 antisubmarine patrol aircraft on Tuesday, with the planes scheduled to be deployed at Atsugi Air Base in Kanagawa Prefecture later this month, local media reported. The official delivery ceremony held earlier in the day in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, heralds the beginning of the JMSDF's plans to acquire seven of the high-tech planes to be deployed by March 2014 and a total of 70 P-1s in the long-run, officials said....

Vietnam To Receive Advanced Russian Sub in 2013 As tensions remain high in the South China Sea between Vietnam and China, Hanoi is reportedly set to receive its first of six advanced submarines from Russia. Ria Novsti reported that “The first of six Varshavyanka class (Project 636M) diesel-electric submarines will be delivered to Vietnam in 2013 as scheduled.” Commonly referred to as the Kilo-class, the subs reportedly boast “advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.” Hanoi placed an order for six of the Russian-made subs back in 2009. According to the report...

Russian Warship Gets Holy Water Blessing © Photo JSC Shipbuilding plant «Severnaya verf» MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s newest Baltic Fleet warship was sprinkled with holy water during a blessing over the weekend, a Navy spokesman said on Monday. The Project 20380 Boiky corvette, which is currently undergoing sea trials, was blessed by a priest in a ceremony attended by the corvette’s crew, said Baltic Fleet spokesman Capt. 2nd Rank Vladimir Matveyev. The priest blessed the corvette’s hull, weapons systems and superstructures, as well as the ship’s interior. The trials are due to end by mid-April, Matveyev said....

Cancelled: BritainÂ’s High-Mach Heartbreak The TSR-2 bomber was a case of aeronautical genius foiled by political foolishness. For an American teenager, 1963 was a great year to be living in London. Thanks to my dadÂ’s job in international marketing, I was a Beatles fan six months before my pals back home knew there was such a thing as a Beatle. And as a budding airplane buff, I had a front-row seat for the emergence of another symbol of British national pride: the TSR-2 supersonic bomber, a twin-engine, low-level hotshot that I thought was the coolest-looking airplane ever. Shivering in my...

Embraer Officially Opens A-29 Assembly Facility in Florida Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other political leaders joined Embraer president and CEO Frederico Curado on March 26 to cut the ribbon on a 40,000-sq-ft hangar at Jacksonville International Airport that Embraer will use to assemble the A-29 Super Tucano for the U.S. Air Force Light Air Support (LAS) program. The Air Force awarded Embraer and its teammate Sierra Nevada, the U.S. proponent for the LAS bid, a $427 million contract on February 27 to supply 20 Super Tucanos for light air support, reconnaissance support and training of the Afghan military. The...

Russian Shipbuilders Oppose Domestic Mistral Construction LANGKAWI (Malaysia), March 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia should not build a second pair of French-designed Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, as Russian shipbuilders are capable of designing and building their own vessels of this type, a senior defense industry official said on Friday. “The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) will welcome the decision to limit the construction of Mistral-class ships to two [in France], because it is not a political issue anymore but rather an issue of the future development of domestic [shipbuilding] enterprises,” USC vice president Igor Zakharov said at the LIMA-2013 arms show...

Turkey to replace F-16s with local jets Turkey eyes replacing F-16s with locally produced fighter jets by 2023, Turkey’s defense undersecretary said yesterday. “We’re working on the conceptual design of a new fighter jet that will replace our F-16 fighters,” Defense Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar said yesterday on the sidelines of the two-day International Air&Space Power (ICAP) Conference being held in Istanbul. Recently, Turkish arms manufacturer TAI has signed a technical assistance deal with Swedish Saab on technical assistance to build a fighter jet, as Daily News reported. Turkish officials have been in talks with Saab (and with Korean Aerospace...

Japan's military chief says F-35 is "best fighter" (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighters are the best choice for Japan's future operational needs, the nation's highest-ranking uniformed officer said on Wednesday, in a vote of confidence for the state-of-the-art U.S. warplane. His comments follow reports that some nations that have placed orders for the F-35s may reconsider their plans. Shigeru Iwasaki, chief of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces' Joint Staff, also said advancement of North Korea's arms technology in a series of nuclear and missile tests posed a serious threat to Japan, but its missile defense system should provide the country...

Leaked Navy memo says $440 million LCS lack firepower, need review The Littoral Combat Ship, a vessel intended to replace aging vessels in the U.S. Navy and be small and speedy for use in shallow waters, lacks the firepower it needs, a top U.S. Navy commander said in a classified memo, according to Bloomberg. Vice Admiral Tom Copeman, the commander of naval surface forces, said the Navy should consider a ship with more offensive capability after the first 24 vessels are built, according to a Navy official who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential document, Bloomberg reported. Admiral...

Venezuela Receives 13 Russian Armored Vehicles MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) – Armed forces in Venezuela have received a new batch of Russian amphibious combat vehicles, the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Global Arms Trade said on Thursday. Thirteen BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles were delivered by sea to the port of Puerto Cabello, the center said. This marks the first report of an arms delivery by sea to Venezuela since the death of President Hugo Chavez in March. Venezuela ordered a total of 123 BMP-3 vehicles in 2009, with the first delivery made in 2011, the center said. It is...

Ten years ago today: the U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat’s attack on Saddam’s yacht Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) was a huge success for the U.S. Navy’s F-14 squadrons: over Iraq, Tomcat pilots and radar intercept officers (RIO) flew different kinds of missions such as air defense, precision bombing, FAC (A) – forward air control airborne, strike coordination and reconnaissance (SCAR) and photo-reconnaissance. Among the squadrons that took part to OIF there was the VF-2 “Bounty Hunters” that were embarked on the USS Constellation (CV-64). Some of their Tomcats were equipped with the Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) for recce missions,...

China eyes $3.5 billion Russian arms deal despite ire over Sukhoi copy (Reuters) - China is seeking renewed deliveries of advanced weapons from Russia with a $3.5 billion deal for fighters and submarines in the pipeline despite lingering resentment in Moscow over Chinese copying of its military technology. China's state media reported this week that Moscow had agreed to supply 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and four Amur-class conventional submarines to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which would make it the first major arms deal between the two nations in almost 10 years. Russia has not yet confirmed the deal and...

Bangladesh Plans to Buy 24 Russian Jet Trainers LANGKAWI (Malaysia), March 27 (RIA Novosti) - Bangladesh is planning to buy 24 Yak-130 Mitten jet trainers on $1 billion credit from Russia, Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. “Bangladesh has a whole list of arms it wants, but so far that is a state secret. I will reveal one little secret: The purchase of Yak-130 warplanes is a very significant subject of negotiations between Russia and Bangladesh,” Rosoboronexport Deputy Chief Viktor Komardin said at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (LIMA-2013) that opened in Malaysia on Tuesday. He...

Seoul faces tough choice in fighter procurement Lockheed Martin hints at less than $125m price tag for Korea, confident of F-35’s delivery time FORT WORTH, Texas ― A decade ago, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 was the world’s most sought-after warplane in the making for its all-aspect stealth and next-generation capabilities. But that confidence has been eroded by the discovery of defects, surging costs and delays in its development. Skepticism has grown in the U.S. over the $60 billion acquisition program, with some deriding it as a money-guzzling project kept alive partly due to the more than 130,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs that...

India to get US-2 seaplanes, but for civilian use Kyodo Mar 27, 2013 Japan is arranging to approve the export of amphibious search and rescue aircraft for civilian use to India, a move aimed at skirting the nation’s arms-export ban, government sources said. The move represents Japan’s efforts to promote exchanges with India — one of the region’s emerging powers — while putting pressure on China, another Asian power, as Beijing seeks to boost its military clout in regional waters. It would be the first export of the US-2, which is manufactured by ShinMaywa Industries Ltd. and used by the...

ChinaÂ’s new stealth fighterÂ’s missile launch rails prove Beijing can improve U.S. technology In order to preserve their stealthiness and keep the RCS (Radar Cross Section) as low as possible, radar-evading planes rely on weapons bay: bombs and missiles to be fired are kept inside the bays until itÂ’s time to use them. For instance, the F-35 can carry one AIM-120D (AIM-120C8), on a trapeze : when needed, the BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missile is lowered into the airstream on the open bomb bay door, and ejected. F-22 Raptors use canted trapeze to put the AIM-9 Sidewinder seeked into the...

China to buy Russian fighters, subs: state media China has agreed to buy two dozen fighter jets and four submarines from Russia, state media reported Monday, the country's first large-scale weapons technology purchases from Moscow in a decade. The agreement to buy the 24 Su-35 fighters and four Lada-class submarines was signed just before President Xi Jinping's weekend visit to Russia, said the People's Daily, the Communist Party organ, citing state television. The report, which did not give a value for the purchases, said it was the first time in 10 years China had bought "large military technological equipment" from...

France May Cap Purchases of Rafale Combat Jets -Report 03/22/2013| 01:34pm US/Eastern The French government is considering limiting its purchases of Rafale multi-role combat aircraft, made by Dassault Aviation SA (>> DASSAULT AVIATION), to 225 from the 286 planned over the life of the program, according to a report Friday on financial information website latribune.fr. Such a move would be part of a general effort by the government to scale back public spending in the coming years, the website reported, without citing sources. The report said the government hasn't yet decided on the exact number of aircraft it will purchase....

Mi-24, Legendary Russian Attack Helicopter, Turns 40 This Year (Source: Russian Helicopters JSC; issued March 20, 2013) MOSCOW --- This year marks the 40th anniversary of production of the Mi-24, the first purpose-built Russian combat helicopter, at Rostov Helicopter Plant, today called Rosvertol, a Russian Helicopters company. The design of the Mi-24, a strike and transport helicopter was, was so successful that versions are still in use today: some 1,500 Mi-24s serve with the armed forces of 60 countries worldwide. In 1978, helicopter test pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union Gurgen Karapetyan set a world helicopter flight speed record...

Asia's F-35 buyers forced to wait as China seeks edge (Reuters) - The Pentagon's F-35 warplane is giving U.S. allies in Asia a headache as they look to replace ageing jets with a cutting edge aircraft now likely to be at least seven years late in offering a strategic deterrent to China. The $400 billion weapons project has suffered technical faults, delays, cost overruns and now U.S. budget cuts that could force Washington to scale back its own purchases. At the same time, China's soaring defense spending is rapidly eroding the advantage in technology, particularly in air power, that Washington...

US Navy may add conformal fuel tanks to F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet The US Navy is considering adding conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) onto its fleet of Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters, sources say. The twin dorsally mounted tanks are expected to be tested this summer. The USN does not deny that it is interested in the conformal tanks, but says that it cannot comment on the project at this time. "As of right now this information is proprietarily owned between Boeing and Northrop [Grumman] and PMA-265 cannot talk to it," the Naval Air Systems Command says. PMA-265 is the...