9/29/2023 Russia has lost 90 aircraft in combat since war started – British intel report  “The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have lost approximately 90 fixed-wing aircraft in combat since February 2022. It has also been flying some of its combat aircraft types far more intensively than in peace time,” the UK Ministry of Defence posted on X, referring to intelligence data. Analysts note that all aircraft have a projected lifespan, in flying hours, so Russia is highly likely eating into many of its airframes’ lifespans far more quickly with extra wartime use. |
9/29/2023 Ukraine asks France for Rafale or Mirage and radars for Su-27s Opex360 reports that French MP Julien Bayou made the comment on the sidelines of the French Parliament. “There is a pressing request that we are asked to pass on: supply of Rafale and/or Mirage 2000D, as well as radars to equip Sukhoi and Ukrainian MiGs,” opex360 wrote, quoting Bayu as saying. |
9/29/2023 Czech gov’t plans to buy 24 F-35 stealth fighters in $6.5bn defence spend  The Czech government has approved a plan to buy 24 US-made F-35 advanced fighter jets in a deal valued at approximately $6.5bn, the largest defence contract ever signed by the Czech Republic that will see the country significantly boost its military capabilities and integration with NATO. |
9/27/2023 Weekly Frontline Update: Ukrainian attacks paralyze Russian army command Last week, the Ukrainian Army advanced further on the southern front and continued to decimate Russian military targets in Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, the Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Sevastopol (Crimea, southern Ukraine) allegedly eliminated 34 Russian officers. |
9/27/2023 Another Ukraine’s MiG-29 Parked Fighter Jet ‘Falls Prey’ To Russian Lancet-3 Kamikaze Drone Around a week after a Russian Lancet-3 loitering munition destroyed a parked Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) fighter, another MiG-29 jet was hit in the same way and, coincidentally, in the same region where the UAF air bases are located. The attacks are another landmark moment for drone warfare in general and Russian and Iranian kamikaze UAVs like the Lancet and the Shahed-136 in particular, that have consistently redefined warfare throughout multiple stages in the war. |
9/27/2023 Romania Begins Largest Ever Arms Deal with Request to Buy F-35 Jets  Romania has begun the process for the most expensive purchase in the history of the armed forces by officially requesting legislative approval in a document sent to the parliament’s leadership to launch the program to buy 32 F-35 fighter jets worth 6.5 billion dollars. The Supreme Council of Defence of the Country, CSAT, decided in April that Romania would purchase the stealth multirole combat aircraft from the US in a government-to-government deal. |
9/27/2023 ‘Cash Cows’ Saudi Arabia & Japan Could Dramatically Boost GCAP Fighter Jet Program; Eclipse Franco-German FCAS  After Japan, resource-rich Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in jointly developing the 6th generation fighter jet, which is expected to take to the skies by 2035 and could eclipse the best contemporary fighter jets. |
9/26/2023 Japan’s growing military power will help the West challenge China’s threat  Last December, the UK, Italy and Japan agreed to combine their respective projects and build next-generation military fighter aircraft in a scheme dubbed the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP). At the DSEI international arms fair in London earlier this month, the three principal contractors, BAE Systems, Leonardo SpA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries concluded a Collaboration Agreement to develop long-term working arrangements and capability requirements for GCAP. |
9/26/2023 Air Capabilities of the Taliban: A Geospatial Analysis  When the Taliban overran the last government held positions, the bulk of the Afghan Air Force departed for Tajikistan. After the fall of Kabul, the United States likewise left an inordinate amount of military hardware. A good amount of that hardware included rotorwing assets. Attention has now turned towards whether or not the Taliban are capable of fielding offensive air assets. |
9/26/2023 Generate Airpower, Check: Kadena ACEs no-notice exercise  The U.S. Air Force’s ability to rapidly generate airpower at a moment’s notice was put to the test at Kadena Air Base, when the 18th Wing conducted a no-notice agile combat employment exercise Sept. 22, 2023. Airmen from the 18th Wing partnered with deployed Airmen from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to launch multiple F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-35A Lightning IIs without prior notice. |