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Lockheed Martin test pilot Billie Flynn puts F-35B test aircraft BF-02 into pre-contact position behind a US Air Force KC-135 tanker on the range near NAS Patuxent River, Md., on 5 September 2014. Photo courtesy F-35 Lightning II Program Office. The Marine Corps’ Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will have the stealth of a fifth-generation fighter and a weapons payload surpassing a fourth-generation fighter by the time a software upgrade is ready for fielding in 2017, the Marines’ top aviator said this week. The aircraft’s ability to alternate between accessing contested areas and deliverying heavy fire...

Russia’s enormous International Aviation and Space Show, otherwise known as MAKS, takes place every other year and is one of the top aerospace spectacles and military gear expos in the world. The show will kick off on August 25th, and will be the first MAKS since Russia invaded Crimea a year and a half ago. As such, we can be assured that there will be some pretty awesome displays meant to showcase Russia’s military exports, intimidate its peer state competitors, and levitate nationalist sentiments. Apparently, this will include the display of the long-defunct MiG 1.44 fighter demonstrator, an enigmatic aircraft...

The Pentagon’s new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is dead meat in a close battle against even a dated two-seat F-16D fighter jet, according to a scathing test pilot report War Is Boring obtained. Don’t sweat it, JSF-maker Lockheed Martin responded. “The F-35’s technology is designed to engage, shoot and kill its enemy from long distances,” Lockheed’s F-35 team wrote in a press release on July 1.

An active defense system developed for Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 jetfighter is also able to neutralize enemy planes’ stealth capability, RIA Novosti reported Friday, citing the press service of the Himalaya system’s designers, the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET]. The Sukhoi PAK FA fighter jet, also known as T-50, is ready to go into production next year, and boasts innovative technology which renders the pilot one part of the plane’s control system. “The PAK FA is already to some degree a flying robot, where the aviator fulfils the function not only of pilot, but is actually one of the constituent parts of...

March 31, 2015 We suspect many local law enforcement agencies in America are going to seriously regret seeking and accepting Federal dollars over the last few years. Accepting those funds, from whatever source and for whatever purpose, may now subject local agencies to Federal "standards" that will severely restrict local autonomy in policy development and implementation. To understand what may lie ahead of law enforcement one only needs to see what has happened in public education with the usurpation of local autonomy by the U. S. Department of Education. Alex Newman, writing at NewAmerican.com reports: The Obama administration and its...

Japan is preparing to test its first ever domestically built stealth fighter jet, Chinese and Taiwanese media are reporting. “The highly anticipated F-3, Japan's first domestically-made stealth jet, is aiming to conduct test flights this summer,” the Taiwan-based Want China Times reported, citing a story in the PLA Daily, the official publication of the Chinese military. Japan has been building a prototype stealth fighter as part of its advanced technology demonstrator-experimental (ATD-X) program. Some of the first images of the prototype were first published on the web last year. The ATD-X program, which is being run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries...

Just a short time ago, Russia planned to have 52 advanced T-50 stealth fighters by the end of the decade. At least, that was the plan. Now the T-50 program appears to be in serious trouble, and Russia may cut back the fighters to a fraction of the planned strength. The first sign something was very wrong appeared last month. On March 24. Yuri Borisov, RussiaÂ’s deputy defense minister for armaments, told theKommersant newspaper that the military is drastically cutting its number of T-50s. Instead of 52 stealth fighters, Russia will build merely 12 of them. ThatÂ’s hardly anything. The...

PAK-FA may suffer significant cuts. Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Yuri Borisov, has recently announced that the PAK-FA programme may be halted or adjusted, due to the dire conditions of Russia’s economy, affected by the Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent (proxy war and) EU sanctions. Initially, the Russian Air Force was expected to procure more than 150 PAK-FA next generation stealth fighter jets, with the first examples to be delivered to the active squadrons in 2016. In December 2014, the RuAF plans was to receive the first 55 fighters by 2020. However, as announced by Russia’s MoD last month, the...

X-47B UCAS Stealth and F/A-18 Super Hornet "Operations" "USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)" HD

The U.S. Navy’s next generation air superiority fighter will not be “super-duper fast” or employ much in the way of stealth, a senior navy official announced on Wednesday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Navy’s top officer, divulged some details about the Navy’s so-called Next Generation Air Dominance F/A-XX fighter jet during a speech at an industry conference. “I don’t see that it’s going to be super-duper fast, because you can’t outrun missiles.” Greenert said, the Washington Examiner reported. “And you can’t become so stealthy that you become invisible — you are going to generate a signature of...

The Pentagon’s newest stealth jet, the nearly $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter, won’t be able to fire its gun during operational missions until 2019, three to four years after it becomes operational. Even though the Joint Strike Fighter, or F-35, is supposed to join frontline U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadrons next year and Air Force units in 2016, the jet’s software does not yet have the ability to shoot the onboard 25mm cannon. But even when the jet will be able to shoot its gun, the F-35 barely carries enough ammunition to make the weapon useful.

I am deeply disappointed that Greenpeace engaged in an action at the sacred Nazca Lines in Peru. We have been hearing from many of you and I share your frustration and anger about this situation. The decision to engage in this activity shows a complete disregard for the culture of Peru and the importance of protecting sacred sites everywhere. There is no apology sufficient enough to make up for this serious lack of judgment. I know my international colleagues who engaged in this activity did not do so with malice, but that doesn’t mitigate the result. It is a shame...

BEIJING — China's new stealth fighter could certainly "take down" its opponent in the sky, the president of China's top aircraft maker said on Tuesday, referring to its U.S.-made counterpart. Lin Zuoming, president of Aviation Industry Corp of China (Avic), which developed the J-31 stealth fighter, made the remarks in an interview on state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). "When it takes to the sky, it can definitely take it down," he said, in a reference to the U.S.-made F-35. "That's a certainty." Lin also emphasized the company's desire to compete with the United States in new markets, particularly countries...

High flying and fast, the F-22 Raptor stealth jet is by far the most lethal fighter America has ever built. But the Raptor—and indeed all U.S. fighters—have a potential Achilles’ heel, according to a half-dozen current and former Air Force officials. The F-22’s long range air-to-air missiles might not be able to hit an enemy aircraft, thanks to new enemy radar jamming techniques. The issue has come to the fore as tensions continue to rise with Russia and a potential conflict between the great powers is once again a possibility—even if a remote one. “We—the U.S. [Department of Defense]—haven’t been...

A gang of advanced missiles and a bleeding edge radar unveiled at a Chinese air show could mean big trouble for the Pentagon’s best fighters. Once, no magic act was complete without the magician’s revealingly dressed assistant. Her job was not merely to be sawn in half but to dominate the mostly male audience’s attention at moments when a focus on the whereabouts of the rabbit might blow the gaff. That was a useful lesson to bear in mind at last month’s Zhuhai air show—China’s only domestic air and defense trade show, held once every other year. If anything at...

NEW DELHI: Ahead of President Vladimir Putin's visit here early next month, India has told Russia to come back with a plan to substantially reduce the delivery timeframe for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) if it wants to seal the futuristic project by next year. The plan till now was that India would begin inducting the stealth fighters only 94 months — at the earliest — after the two countries inked the final design and R&D contract, which itself has already been delayed by over two years by now. "Russia has now been told that India cannot wait for...

Have you ever thought of converting your car into a stealthy car camper so you can easily sleep in it while traveling without being noticed? This way you don’t have to spend so much extra money and time getting in and out of hotels while you try to get somewhere. So I wanted to show you what I’ve been working on for the last few days. Of course it’s considerably smaller than your average tiny house so I’m not sure if you’re still with me but even if you’re not… Isn’t it fascinating what can be done to make an...

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has expressed interest in procuring fourth generation stealth fighter aircraft FC-31 from China. Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain told Dawn on Friday the matter was being discussed with Chinese authorities. It is for the first time that a senior government functionary has confirmed talks with China over purchase of the longer-range stealth aircraft — an issue that has been a subject of speculation in defence circles since the 10th edition of the Zhuhai Air Show (China) held earlier this month, when the aircraft was unveiled. The Jane’s Defence Weekly had quoted an unnamed...

We don’t know much about the FC-31, China’s other stealth fighter prototype. But a non-flying model of the FC-31 that appeared at the Zhuhai air show in southern China in early November offers some compelling new clues. That’s because the model is different than the flying FC-31 prototype—which also attended the Zhuhai show and put on a spirited aerobatic display on Nov. 12. Comparing the model and the plane could reveal Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s ambitions for its new stealth jet. The model boasts better stealth features, new engines and a wider range of sensors. If Shenyang adds all these enhancements...

Who’s going to buy the J-31? The recent appearance of the aircraft at the Zhuhai airshow, as well as the comments of a smattering of Chinese officials, led to a spate of articles suggesting that China was interested in the J-31 primarily as an export model. Conceivably, the J-31 could occupy a low-end stealth fighter niche that currently has no other entrants. Some have billed the J-31 as China’s answer to the F-35, as if that represented some sort of compliment. It’s hardly a stretch to suggest Pakistan would be a major customer, and perhaps Egypt as well. Beyond that?...