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Serge Dassault, who died on 28 May at the age of 93, is credited with having spearheaded Dassault's drive into the combat aircraft market, and for closing export sales of types from within the hugely successful Mirage series. Having managed its flight-test department from 1955 – during the development of types including the Mirage III, Mirage IV and maritime-strike Étendard – as head of export, Serge Dassault "led the negotiations that resulted in the sale of Mirage III aircraft to Switzerland and Australia" (pictured below), the company notes. Commonwealth of Australia Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that there are currently 863...

This is a very informative lecture on the F-14.

New Delhi -- The reach of a weapon possessed dictate the size of a nation's "area of influence". Every country also attempts to acquire technologies and weaponry to keep pace with its "area of interest" in pursuance of the larger national aim. And the effort of matching the "area of interest" with the "area of influence" is considered as balanced growth in military modernization. The great visionaries of Indian Defence Forces along with the scientific fraternity, fully supported by the Government, have constantly been making efforts to remain prepared to march ahead with the growing national ambitions. The Indian Air...

A new report by Defense News states that India is extremely unhappy with Russia's supposed 5th generation fighter—better known as the T-50, or by its new production name the Su-57—that will act as the base for the sputtering FGFA cooperative fighter program between the two countries. The news comes after years of squabbling over the program, usually characterized by credible reports of the Indian Air Force's dismay with the qualities of the Russian aircraft. Now it seems as if the Indians want out of the program—which aimed for at least a 108 airframe production run—once and for all. Such a...

When replacing the failed F-35, the U.S. should focus on building large numbers of a reliable, lightweight fighter design. EDITOR’S NOTE: This article concludes Mike Fredenburg’s series on replacing the disastrous F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Part I explains why the program should be considered a failure and argues that the Trump administration should proactively cancel the F-35. Part II lays out the measures the Pentagon should undertake to bridge the gap between the F-35’s cancellation and the production of a new replacement fighter.

Ezed Mihemed Ehmed is a Kurdish youth from Raqqa. He was 15 years-old when his family fled Raqqa after ISIS invasion. At that time he wanted to join the YPG ranks but was refused because of his young age. His family sent him to Turkey because they thought the conditions were better than Syria. After only 5 months Ehmed returned to his country. As soon as he turned 18 he joined the YPG and now all he wants is to return to the city where he was born and raised. “Real heaven for a person is the land where he...

During his speech before a large Boeing crowd in South Carolina today, President Trump said he is considering a large order for more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets! IMO, the F/A-18 is the all-around greatest fighter jet ever produced. It has proven itself as a reliable and effective all-weather fighter and is a great complement to America's arsenal of F-15's, F-16's, F-22's, and F-35's.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) took a vital step on Wednesday towards boosting its dwindling fleet of combat aircraft. As MiG-21s and MiG-27s retire, forcing the IAF to close down squadrons, a new avionics upgrade for the nuclear-capable Jaguar strike fighter will let it fly for another two decades. This is Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL’s) new DARIN-III (Darin Three) “navigation-attack" system that allows the Jaguar to do pinpoint bombing. The DARIN-III allows a pilot to feed in the co-ordinates of targets deep inside enemy territory. Once airborne, the computer’s inertial navigation system directs the pilot to the target, telling him...

It is only a matter of time before Pakistan can launch short-range missiles to counter conventional attacksNew Delhi - A study of Google satellite images and information from other intelligence sources by US nuclear scientists Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris released earlier this week contains startling revelations: contrary to the conditions laid down by the US when it sold Pakistan F-16 fighters, the US jets, along with the Pak air force's French Mirages, are now nuclear-enabled.Speaking exclusively to DNA, Hans Kristensen, co-author of the 'Nuclear Notebook on Pakistani Nuclear Forces' released November 16 acknowledged that despite the study, US strategic...

Donald Trump is our Jack Reacher and that's why we love him!

This may be the best and most honest political promotion statement you will ever read. It decidedly does not brush objections aside. You hate Hillary? READ it. You hate Trump? READ it. You think there's no choice? READ it. And, read it with your grown-up hat on. We've all been dealt huge responsibility with this election. The first step toward accepting responsibility is accepting it, and the first step toward accepting it is recognizing it. READ THIS. Read every single word. It'll take you about three minutes. Be sure to read to the end (take a few minutes and read...

NEW DELHI—India is being offered blueprints to advanced combat aircraft by the world’s aerospace companies, a move unthinkable even a decade ago, as New Delhi gets ready to place another multibillion-dollar air force order. India’s aging military jet fleet desperately needs an upgrade, which analysts say may spur it to place an order worth more than $10 billion in the next year. Hoping for an edge, and encouraged by a recent law that allows 100% foreign ownership of local defense firms, jet-fighter makers such as Lockheed Martin Corp. , Boeing Co. and Saab AB are rushing in with offers to...

With the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force acquired un equaled power to project air dominance. Lockheed Martin’s single-seat, twin-engined, all-weather fighter blended stealth, supercruise, great agility, and all-sensing avionics. Those features, plus high reliability and low maintenance, marked a huge leap in capability over USAF’s own F-15 Eagle, long the class of air combat. Indeed, the F-22 could not be matched by any known or projected fighter.

An F-35 fighter pilot says he would be confident flying the Joint Strike Fighter against any enemy in the world, including Russian and Chinese 5th Generation stealth fighters. An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be able to use its sensors, weapons and computer technology to destroy Russian and Chinese 5th-Generation Stealth fighters in a high-end combat fight, service officials said. “There is nothing that I have seen from maneuvering an F-35 in a tactical environment that leads me to assume that there is any other airplane I would rather be in. I feel completely comfortable and confident in taking that...

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force has just 32 squadrons of fighters - the lowest in a decade - to guard the Indian skies, top IAF commanders have confirmed to NDTV. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has flagged the worry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and made a detailed presentation recently on the operational difficulties that the IAF faces because of the depletion in fighters. After the air force de-commissioned three of the aging Russian-made MiG 21 squadrons, bringing down the total number from 34 to 31 fighter squadrons, an additional squadron of the Russian-made Su-30 MKI has been raised. The...

Japan's Advanced Technology Demonstrator-Experimental, also known as the ATD-X or X-2, will fly from Nagoya Airport to Gifu Air Base at the end of February, according to the Japanese defense ministry. This will be the first flight of the high-tech testbed and a major step toward Tokyo's plans for a domestic stealth fighter. The Ministry of Defense had planned for the prototype to fly back in 2014, but early last year ministry officials reported that issues with engine restarts had forced a delay to the end of 2015. Reports at the end of last year then suggested a January flight,...

Donald Trump is drawing support from a group not usually associated with Republican presidential candidates, radio show host and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Tuesday. "Let me tell you a phenomenon that I discovered on my radio show," Cain said during an appearance on Fox and Friends. "I get callers who call up and say, 'I am black, I'm female and I'm going from Democrat to Trump.'" "They didn't say they were going from Democrat to Republican, they're going from Democrat to Trump. I think that's part of the phenomenon," he added. "I boil (the Trump phenomenon) down...

Very cool afternoon. Low, fast and loud!

One thing that frustrated even the most ardent supporters of George W. Bush's administration was his refusal to hit back hard at over the top, abominable personal attacks against him and his family, including his daughters, by those in the media and in the culture at large. Bush revered the office of the president and, unlike his successor, held it to a higher standard than did gutter snipes such as Sean Penn or the New York Times. This is why Newt Gingrich drew cheers and praise during the 2012 election cycle when he hit back at the media for its...

Ted Cruz just released a powerful new video called “2015: A Year Fighting for Freedom, Texas, and America” that details how he’s fought this year against the Republican Establishment, Planned Parenthood, the Iran deal, and more.