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China's aircraft carrier, the rebuilt Kuznetsov class Liaoning, and its battle group are prowling their way towards Southeast Asia ahead of a much anticipated inaugural and very high-profile visit to Hong Kong. The carrier's port call, which will be yet another major symbol of China's rapidly increasingly military and geopolitical might in the region, is part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the country's reclaiming of the territory from the British Crown. The armada passed through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, an operation that causes anxieties to soar in Taipei. Fighters and maritime patrol aircraft scrambled from the island...

The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a sizable downstroke in what could turn into a program to finally build a smaller and less expensive aircraft carrier complement to America's increasingly expensive supercarriers. The provision includes $30M to come up with preliminary designs and cost options for such a ship, which then can be used to quantify the concept and how it would fit into the Navy's overall strategy. The newest supercarrier design, the Ford class, cost upwards of $12B per ship. Meanwhile the Trump Administration has mandated a 12 supercarrier force....

The largest warship ever built in the UK is due to set sail for the first time today. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, will leave her dock in Scotland around lunchtime to start two years of sea trials. She is named after Elizabeth the first and is the second ship to carry the name - the first was a World War One battleship. More than 700 crew are onboard, from seamen to aircraft engineers, dentists to force protection. The oldest crew member is 58 and the youngest 17 although the average age is in the early...

A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down a Syrian government warplane after it attacked Washington-backed fighters near ISIS' de facto capital of Raqqa, the U.S.-led coalition said Sunday. In a statement, the coalition said its aircraft "conducted a show of force" to turn back an attack by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's forces on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the town of Ja'Din, south of Tabqah. The coalition confirmed that a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian Su-22 that had dropped bombs near SDF positions. The coalition said the shootdown took place "in accordance with rules of...

This F/A-18F Super Hornet, belonging to VFA-213 "Blacklions" and operating aboard the USS George H.W. Bush in the eastern Mediterranean, is equipped with one uniquely massive and highly destructive payload. No less than ten 1,000lb GBU-32 JDAMs are slung under its wings. In addition, a pair of 188lb AIM-9X Sidewinders adorn its wingtips. A 400lb ATFLIR targeting pod is attached on its left intake station, and a 480 gallon centerline fuel tank rounds out its external stores list. Add in the four multiple ejector racks and the pylons, not to mention 412 rounds of 20mm ammo, and this "Rhino's" stores...

China will eventually become the world’s No 2 aircraft carrier power, trailing only the United States, but its carrier strike group air crews are still far below international standard, military experts say. “An aircraft carrier needs regular large-scale maintenance. China should have more than four carrier groups if it wants to fulfil escort missions on the high seas and safeguard its overseas national interests,” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said. “A sole aircraft carrier cannot become a fighting force because it needs the presence of other warships to form a strike group, as well as the protection given by other...

Thought some of you guys might know.

The launching ceremony of China's second aircraft carrier was held at the Dalian Shipyard of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) on the morning of April 26, 2017. Gen. Fan Changlong, member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. China Launched its First Home-Made Aircraft Carrier for PLANFive years after commissioning the Liaoning (its first aircraft carrier) China launched this morning its second carrier – the Type 001A. Unlike the Liaoning, Type 001A was fully built in China....

A fighter pilot was forced to eject during an attempted landing on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Celebes Sea, south of the Philippines, the US Navy has said. The pilot was recovered safely. The F/A-18E fighter jet, which was part of Carrier Air Wing 2, was on final landing approach after conducting “routine flight operations,” US 7th Fleet Command said in a statement. The incident is under investigation. “There are no apparent injuries at this time,” the Navy said, noting that the pilot has been evaluated by medical personnel aboard the Carl Vinson. The carrier is the...

While military aircraft boneyards are nothing new, the YouTube display of the hulks of some ex-Navy fighters in an undeveloped area of Temple, Texas, may be causing some concerns at the Pentagon. A video has emerged of the scattered remains of two F-14 Tomcats and an F-4 Phantom. The aircraft have been stripped of just about everything that can be carried away but exactly how they ended up on private property is the subject of much online speculation. According to a Google Earth image, there is a scrap metal dealer nearby but the aircraft parts are not in their yard....

The U.S. Navy will allow nearly 200 T-45C aircraft to resume flights Monday under modified conditions while it determines what is causing a lack of oxygen in some cockpits. Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker said Saturday instructor pilots will conduct warm-up flights and then will report back to the remaining pilots and students in their squadrons about the use of the modified equipment. All instructor pilots will complete warmup flights and student pilots will conduct training flights as the week goes on.

F-35 Continues to Stumble By: Dan Grazier | March 30, 2017 Quick LinksElectronics Used to Justify Cost Not Delivering CapabilitiesIneffective as a FighterIneffective as an Interdiction BomberIneffective as a Close Air Support PlatformNavy’s F-35 Unsuitable for Carrier OperationsPrice Tag Is the Only Thing Stealthy about the F-35Combat Effectiveness at RiskCan the F-35 Be Where It’s Needed, When It’s Needed?F-35 Reliability ProblemsOfficials Hiding Truth about F-35’s Problems and Delays from TaxpayersMoving ForwardConclusion The F-35 still has a long way to go before it will be ready for combat. That was the parting message of Dr. Michael Gilmore, the now-retired Director of Operational...

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 fate of Brazil’s only aircraft carrier, the French-built Foch, which has carried the name NAe São Paulo since first flying the Brazilian flag in 2000, has been in limbo for over a decade. Now it has finally been announced that the Brazilian Navy has decided to decommission the vessel instead of refitting it for extended service as they had promised on and off over the last decade. The 55-year-old ship is in need of massive repairs—especially to its boilers and catapults—to accommodate Brazil's handful of recently upgraded A-4 (local designation: AF-1) Skyhawks operationally again. You can read all about...

Years of budget cuts have taken a toll on the Navy's fleet of strike fighters. Nearly two-thirds of the Navy's strike fighters are sitting unused because there is not enough money to repair them, according to DefenseNews.com. The Navy has had to deal with declining budgets in recent years even though the demand for military aircrafts carriers remains the same. Congress was unable to produce a budget before the October 1 start of the 2017 fiscal year. Political leaders say Congress' inability to pass the military budget on time is hurting the fleet. In addition to the grounded planes, there...

It gives pilots one hell of a ride down the catapult track. More than a decade after the Lockheed Martin F-35 began flight testing, the Navy’s catapult launch and barrier recovery (CATOBAR) variant, the F-35C, remains mired with teething issues. Now, one problem appears to be more debilitating than previously realized, and it’s rearing its head at a critical phase of flight for any Navy fighter—the catapult launch. The issue occurs when a lightly loaded F-35C’s landing gear nose strut is compressed while the jet throttles up, right before launch. As the catapult fires and the hold back bar is...

NEW DELHI—When top American naval engineers recently inspected India’s first locally made aircraft carrier they expected to find a near battle-ready ship set to help counter China’s growing sway in the Indian Ocean. Instead, they discovered the carrier wouldn’t be operational for up to a decade and other shortcomings: no small missile system to defend itself, a limited ability to launch sorties and no defined strategy for how to use the ship in combat. The findings alarmed U.S. officials ​hoping to enlist India as a bulwark against China, people close to the meeting said. “China’s navy will be the biggest...

A combination of faults on Russia’s carrier and an unexpected total engine shutdown led to a Russian pilot ditching his fighter in the Mediterranean Sea last week, read a translation of a Monday Russian press report. The Mikoyan MiG-29K that crashed on Nov. 13 was part of a trio of fighters sortied from Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov for operations over Syria, USNI News reported last week. Following the mission – armed reconnaissance runs over targets near Aleppo, USNI News understands — the fighters headed back to the carrier to land, read a translation of a report from Gazeta.ru. “Upon completion...

ARLINGTON, Va. — Russia’s navy has become the newest to launch combat strikes from an aircraft carrier, according to press reports, joining the tiny club of navies that have launched carrier aircraft into combat. The Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which is deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, launched strikes in Syria against rebel targets on Nov. 15, according to the Associated Press and Sputnik International. The carrier’s air wing includes MiG-29 and Su-33 jet fighters. The ship lost one MiG-29 on Nov. 13 in a mishap; the pilot ejected safely and was rescued. Russia joins the United States and France as...

Boeing scored a $12 million dollar contract to transition the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron to newer jets. The Blue Angels, who have been flying the F/A-18 Hornet since 1986, are moving up to the bigger F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The Blue Angels currently fly a mixed bag of older Hornet fighters. They've got three of the oldest F/A-18A model, 10 of the newer -C models, and three two-seater models. The -A and -C models are all 20 to 30 years old. The Angels typically fly Hornets that are very much still functional, but too old to keep operating...