Free Republic

urkey has scrambled six F-16 fighter jets near its border with Syria after Syrian helicopters came close to the border, the country's army says. Six jets were sent to the area in response to three such incidents on Saturday, the statement said, adding that there was no violation of Turkish airspace. Last month, Syrian forces shot down a Turkish jet in the border area. The incident further strained already tense relations between former allies. Turkey's government has been outspoken in its condemnation of Syria's response to the 16-month anti-government uprising, which has seen more than 30,000 Syrian refugees enter Turkey....

France Eyes Sale of Missiles for U.S.-Made F-16 Fighters -Report France's military procurement agency DGA is considering authorizing the sale by Sagem, a unit of French aerospace supplier Safran SA (SAF.FR), of its AASM air-to-ground missiles to equip the F-16 fighter made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) of the U.S., reports Les Echos, citing unnamed sources. It says the proposal is unlikely to please Dassault Aviation (AM.FR) which makes the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft that competes with the F-16. Sagem sells the AASM to foreign buyers in cooperation with MBDA, a missile maker whose shareholders include European Aeronautic Defence &...

Why is the US considering F-16 sales to Taiwan? Political shifts in China, Taiwan, and the US have revived the prospect of a US F-16 deal with Taiwan. Taipei, Taiwan In September, the United States politely told Taiwan it would not sell its late-model F-16 fighter jets to help Taiwan keep up with the military might of China. Taiwan was disappointed. China's response was low key. his month, however, the White House said the sale deserved “serious consideration.” This announcement comes despite the fact that China sees any sale of the F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan as a red line...

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has voted to go on strike against Lockheed Martin. The decision to decline the latest contract offer from the giant defense contractor came at a meeting of union members at Fort Worth's Cowtown Coliseum Sunday afternoon.

Israel is increasingly concerned with the military build-up in Iraq amid intelligence reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is solidifying its presence in the country, according to a senior IDF officer. Of particular concern is the Pentagon’s approval in late 2011 of the sale of 36 F- 16 multi-role combat aircraft to Iraq. The planes will be built by Lockheed Martin in the US and are Block 52 F-16s, meaning that they are of the same configuration as Israel’s F-16Is, called Sufa (Storm). “We are carefully watching the developments in Iraq,” the IDF officer said. “The possible developments...

In late 1969, a conspiracy was hatched in secret all-night meetings in Washington, D.C. area hotel rooms that would have a profound impact on military aviation and Fort Worth. A handful of people were at the meetings: two rebel Air Force colonels, a Pentagon analyst and a General Dynamics engineer. Their goal was to create a fighter jet -- a relatively simple, inexpensive plane that could be sold by the hundreds. Fortunately, the conspirators succeeded, probably beyond any of their wildest dreams. On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin will celebrate delivery of the 4,500th F-16, the direct result of those late-night meetings....

In late 1969, a conspiracy was hatched in secret all-night meetings in Washington, D.C.-area hotel rooms that would have a profound impact on military aviation and Fort Worth. A handful of people were at the meetings: two rebel Air Force colonels, a Pentagon analyst and a General Dynamics engineer. Their goal was to create a fighter jet -- a relatively simple, inexpensive plane that could be sold by the hundreds. Fortunately, the conspirators succeeded, probably beyond any of their wildest dreams. On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin will celebrate delivery of the 4,500th F-16, the direct result of those late-night meetings. It's...

Lockheed Martin to celebrate delivery of 4,500th F-16 In late 1969, a conspiracy was hatched in secret all-night meetings in Washington, D.C.-area hotel rooms that would have a profound impact on military aviation and Fort Worth. A handful of people were at the meetings: two rebel Air Force colonels, a Pentagon analyst and a General Dynamics engineer. Their goal was to create a fighter jet -- a relatively simple, inexpensive plane that could be sold by the hundreds. Fortunately, the conspirators succeeded, probably beyond any of their wildest dreams. On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin will celebrate delivery of the 4,500th F-16,...

Iraq is acquiring an array of missiles and other sophisticated systems for the 36 Lockheed Martin F-16s it's buying to build an air force but Washington is reluctant to provide Baghdad with the most advanced U.S. weapons. U.S. officials say they are worried that a strong Iraqi air force with offensive weapons systems would alarm Iraq's neighbors. Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait a decade later. Even nine years after Saddam was toppled in the 2003 U.S. invasion, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies in the Persian Gulf remain deeply suspicious of Shiite-majority Iraq and its Shiite...

Airbus completes qualification of Mirage 2000 and F-16 for UAE in flight refuelling Posted 26 March 2012 · Add Comment Airbus Military has successfully completed receiver qualification of the two primary aircraft-types that the UAE Air Force will refuel from the three A330 MRTT multi role tanker transports that it currently has on order. In an extensive series of flight tests in Abu Dhabi, the compatibility of the new generation A330 MRTT with UAE Air Force Mirage 2000 and F-16 Block 60 fighters was fully demonstrated. Operating from Al Dhafra airbase, the aircraft performed air-to-air refuelling at speeds throughout the...

For the third time in the last six months the Israeli Air Force has hosted foreign fighter pilots for tactical training. Israeli fighter pilots are considered the best trained in the world, and Israel maintains a special training program, complete with pilots trained and equipped to operate as likely foes would, to train their own pilots. The latest nation to send fighters and pilots for training is Poland, flying F-16s in for that purpose. Previously, Italy had sent Typhoons and Tornados and Greece F-16s. The Israeli training center is based on the one pioneered by the U.S. Air Force Red...

Polish fighter jets arrived in Israel this week for joint training with the Israel Air Force in the Negev. The Polish dispatched a number of F-16 fighter jets which have been holding maneuvers alongside IAF F-16 and F-15s. The maneuvers are based in the Uvda Air Force Base near Eilat. "We learn from one another and it helps us learn from the Poles, how they fly and their doctrines," a senior IAF officer said Wednesday. Gen. Broni Lech Majewski, commander of the Polish Air Force, arrived in Israel on Monday to oversee the drill. This is the first time that...

Show of force: Hundreds of fighter jets paraded in South Korea as US displays its military might Kim Jong-un, take note. After the North Korean leader made his first visit to the tense demilitarised border and Pyongyang agreed to freeze its nuclear weapons programme, United States and Republic of Korea aircraft joined forces in this huge display of F-16 Fighting Falcons. As these pictures from Kunsan Air Base show, hundreds of the jet fighters stretched as far as the eye could see. Formidable: Row after row of F-16 Fighting Falcons fills the airstrip in a show of force at Kunsan...

Brigadier Ali Khan, currently facing court martial for alleged links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir, had conspired with an air force pilot to bomb the General Headquarters with an F-16 jet during a conference of the corps commanders, reported BBC on Thursday. Brig Ali Khan was arrested last year on suspicion of having contacts with the Hizbut Tahrir. He has been accused of trying to stage a rebellion against the government and planning an attack on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. His family has denied the charges. Major Suhail Akbar, a prosecution witness, said in his statement that Khan and...

The Pakistan Air Force received the last of 18 new F-16C/D Block 52 fighters from Lockheed Martin in early February. Accompanying the aircraft on its delivery flight were two PAF F-16A Block 15s that have undergone the mid-life update process in the U.S. A few days later, the PAF also accepted the first of its F-16s to undergo an avionics and structure upgrade in Turkey. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been selected to do the work on 41 PAF F-16s, in a program named Peace Drive II. Modification of the first aircraft began in October 2010 and the last should...

In case you haven’t seen this, the Air Force is flying F-16s on biofuel derived from the camelina plant. Yup, years after the air service certified most of its aviation fleet to fly on coal-derived synthetic fuel (stuff that was pioneered by the Nazis and apartheid-era South African governments because no one liked them and the world cut off their oil supplies) it is now certifying its jets to fly on something a little more environmentally friendly. (The Navy has been working to get its ships and planes certified to run on biofuels for a while now, too.) Its plan...

For months now, Pentagon and service officials have said it will need all the help it can get from its international partners, as the department begins its swing from Southwest Asia to the Western Pacific. But that help won't include outfitting the South Korean air force with a key, U.S.-built radar system. Pacific Command chief Adm. Robert Willard stopped short of agreeing to equip South Korea's fleet of F-16 fighters with the next-generation Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. Air Force models have already gotten AESA upgrades, which allows U.S. warplanes to track multiple targets during flight. The F-35 Joint Strike...

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new version of the F-16 at the Singapore Airshow. The F-16V will feature enhancements including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an upgraded mission computer and architecture, and improvements to the cockpit - all capabilities identified by the U.S. Air Force and several international customers for future improvements. With nearly 4,500 F-16s delivered, this is a natural step in the evolution of the world's most successful 4th generation fighter. The Fighting Falcon program has continually evolved as it began with the F-16 A/B as the lightweight fighter then transitioned to F-16 C/D and Block...

Turkey-Greece engage in mock dogfights over Cyprus as Israeli PM arrives GREEK AND Turkish jets tangled in mock dogfights in Cypriot airspace yesterday just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving on the island, reports said. According to Sigma, around 11am three Greek Mirage-2000 fighters began shadowing two Turkish F-16 jets after the latter flew between Rhodes and Crete on their way from the eastern Mediterranean where Turkish ships were conducting wargames with live ammunition. The Turkish military exercise, the Foreign Minister said earlier, took place within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, in waters south of the island and close...

A single-engine aircraft carrying drugs broke the temporary flight restriction around LAX as President Barack Obama was returning to the airport aboard Marine One, sources told NBC News. NORAD fighter jets scrambled out of March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County and immediately surrounded the Cessna 182, escorting it to the Long Beach Airport. "After intercepting the aircraft, the F-16s followed it until it landed without incident at approximately (11:30 p.m. PST), where the plane was met by local law enforcement," according to a statement from NORAD. Sources told NBC News that about 10 kilograms of marijuana were discovered aboard...