Free Republic

Russia setting, US rising in Indian air force Josy Joseph / DNA Russia’s eclipse and the US’ rise in the Indian military will soon stand out in the air force’s transport division. Sources said the government is moving in to seal yet another government-to-government deal with the US for a military purchase. They are ordering ten C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. The deal is worth over $2 billion (Rs10,000 crore). When inducted, C-17 Globemaster would replace the Russian-made IL-76 as the biggest transport aircraft of India. C-17, a Boeing product, can carry almost 80,000 kg, against IL-76’s 50,000 kg. Sources said...

IAF's $11-bn order may become larger Ajai Shukla / New Delhi October 16, 2009, 0:36 IST India may go beyond the purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft. The winner’s jackpot could soon become even bigger in what is already the world’s most lucrative fighter aircraft tender: India’s proposed purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 51,000 crore ($11 billion). The reason is a breakdown in India’s long negotiations with Dassault Aviation, the French aircraft manufacturer, for upgrading 51 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighters. According to senior IAF sources, Dassault has refused to reduce its...

The Israeli air force scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday after a light aircraft flew into restricted air space over its nuclear reactor in the southern Negev desert, the military said. The warplanes intercepted the aircraft and forced it to land at a nearby airstrip, where the two pilots were handed over to civilian authorities for investigation, an army spokeswoman said. Police had no immediate comment but Israeli media reported that the two men, from central Israel, claimed to have lost their way. Aircraft are forbidden from flying over the reactor near the desert town of Dimona. Israel says the reactor...

In a little noticed interview with the Daily Beast (presumably little noticed because serious people don't read the Daily Beast), Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that Barack Obama do more than just refuse to support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites -- the American president must give the order to shoot down Israeli aircraft as they cross Iraqi airspace: DB: How aggressive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a military strike might be in America’s worst interest? Brzezinski: We are not exactly impotent little babies. They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going...

JERUSALEM – Both the Israeli government and the military here refused to respond to comments by Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, who said the U.S. should confront Israeli jets if that nation chooses to take military action against Iran's nuclear installations. "We will not dignify Brzezinski with a response," a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told WND. Netanyahu's spokesmen and the Israel Defense Forces refused to provide an official reply. Discussing the possibility of an Israeli airstrike against Iran, Brzezinski declared in an interview with the Daily Beast website, "We...

Former National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski who was a foreign policy adviser to President Obama during the campaign, has suggested that the United States should shoot down any IDF Plane on the way to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. Brzezinski was interviewed by the Daily Beast:

As a political junkie, one the most baffling aspects of national elections is the Jewish vote. American Jews vote overwhelmingly for Democrat candidates in national elections. 2008 was no exception, as reported in an editorial at HAARETZ.com immediately following the election: Despite the tense rift between Republican and Democratic Jews over the course of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, exit polls on Tuesday showed that Barack Obama received about 77 percent of the Jewish vote. These numbers were higher even than the 2004 election, when Democratic candidate John Kerry received 74 percent of the Jewish vote. Al Gore received the...

Last year Zbigniew Brzezinski, adviser to former US president Jimmy Carter, described the Bush administration's policy of maintaining the option of military action against Iran as "counterproductive." Now Brzezinski, who advises Obama on foreign policy, is calling for the US to shoot down Israeli jets. Brzezinski is known to be anti-Israel. The Weekly Standard Blog reported: In a little noticed interview with the Daily Beast (presumably little noticed because serious people don't read the Daily Beast), Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that Barack Obama do more than just refuse to support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites -- the American president...

In a little noticed interview with the Daily Beast (presumably little noticed because serious people don't read the Daily Beast), Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that Barack Obama do more than just refuse to support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites -- the American president must give the order to shoot down Israeli aircraft as they cross Iraqi airspace: DB: How aggressive can Obama be in insisting to the Israelis that a military strike might be in America’s worst interest? Brzezinski: We are not exactly impotent little babies. They have to fly over our airspace in Iraq. Are we just going...

Baltimore, Nov 11, 2008 (CNA).- The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has not yet been able to determine if grants made to ACORN were used for fraudulent voter registration, but has cut off all funding to the community organizing group, Bishop Robert Morin announced on Tuesday. Shortly after addressing the full assembly of U.S. Catholic bishops, Bishop Morin spoke to reporters about what the bishops had learned concerning the use of grants from the CCHD to the group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which is currently under investigation in 13 states for voter fraud. CCHD originally...

September 13, 2009 (by Asif Shamim) - An F-16A from the IDFAF crashed in the Southern hills near Hebron on Sunday. The pilot who was killed was the son of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in 2003. The pilot Lt. Assaf Ramon, 20, was on his 47th training flight since completing his pilot training in June 2009. The aircraft crashed during a routine flight as part of the advanced pilot training course. IAF commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan and the head of the IDF Manpower Division Avi Zamir personally delivered the sad...

An F-16 from the IDFAF crashed in the Southern hills near Hebron. The pilot who was killed was the son of the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in 2003. he pilot Lt. Assaf Ramon, 20, was on his 47th training flight since completing his pilot training in June 2009. He was flying an unarmed training mission when the accident happened. IAF commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan and the head of the IDF Manpower Division Avi Zamir personally delivered the sad news to his mother, Rona Ramon's at there home. The news of the...

Tragedy struck the family of late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon again Sunday, when his son Asaf Ramon was killed in a crash while flying an Israel Air Force aircraft. Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut was one of seven crew members killed when the U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1, 2003. Asaf Ramon's aircraft crashed near the settlement of Bnei Haver, in the rugged terrain of the Hebron Hills. The Israel Defense Forces carried out an aerial and terrestrial search of the area for some 90 minutes before locating the crash site. Advertisement IAF Blackhawk ("Yanshuf") helicopters...

Our sky's the limit Sep. 10, 2009 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST The sirens blare throughout the base. Within seconds, four airmen - two pilots and two navigators - jump out of an office, scoop up their helmets hanging on a hook nearby and skip down a few stairs and into a waiting car which drives them down a short road to a nearby hangar. A minute later, they are aboard their two-seater F-16s, have switched on the ignitions and begin making their way to the base's main runway. A minute later they are already in the air. This...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel - and the United States for that matter - launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish...

What do you do when a wing is torn off your F15? If you are Captain Zivi Nedivi, of the Israeli airforce, you break off from your training exercise and return to base. You've only got one wing, but you make up for that by flying twice as fast. The F15 Eagle collided with an A4 Skyhawk.

While some might call him a good luck charm, Col. (res.) Avshalom says he's just your average Israel Air Force navigator. But last week, he led an IAF team to victory in the Air Mobility RODEO 2009 competition in the United States, taking home the Col. Joe M. Jackson Trophy for best C-130 air crew. RODEO, a biannual event that brings transport and mobility air crews from around the world together for several days of competitions, tests the teams' expertise in landing, locating drop zones and parachuting equipment. Last week, an Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew to McChord Air...

The Israel Air Force has purchased a new and advanced JDAM smart bomb with a laser-targeting system that will improve the IAF's ability to accurately hit fast-moving targets. According to an Israeli Defense Ministry official, the order was placed earlier this summer for over 100 LJDAM (Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition) kits

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Flying at home station is necessary for training, but flying with other units, especially an allied unit like the Israeli Air Force, results in valuable experience and preparation for the fight. A squadron of F-16Is from Ramon Air Base, Israel, is one of the nine units participating in Red Flag 09-4 through July 24 in Las Vegas. Red Flag exercises present a unique experience for U.S. and allied units to fly together against red air, or 'enemy' aircraft provided by the Aggressor Squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, in a realistic combat environment. The...

JERUSALEM, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Air Force (IAF) plans to partake in several aerial drills abroad later this year in a bid to train its pilots for long-range flights, reported local daily The Jerusalem Post on Monday. The air force will send F-16C fighter jets to the U.S. state of Nevada later this month for the Red Flag exercise at the Nellis Air Force Base, and meanwhile dispatch several C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to participate in the Rodeo 2009 competition at the McChord Air Force Base in the state of Washington, said the report. In addition, the IAF...