June 04, 2014 Military Aviation News

India's Air Force Modernization Worries Rival Pakistan

06/04/2014

India’s ambitious military modernization program to upgrade its Cold War-era vehicles and equipment is viewed as saber rattling by its neighbor and perpetual adversary Pakistan, a scholar of the region said June 3. Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, program coordinator of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, said India is modernizing its air force with newer, more-capable jets but not downsizing its ranks, according to its newly purchased capabilities.

Slavyansk: Self-defense claim to have shot down Su-25 army plane

06/04/2014

Slavyansk self-defense activists claim they have shot down a Sukhoi Su-25 combat airplane. “About half an hour ago we managed to bring down the Ukrainian army’s Su-25. One helicopter, several tanks and one armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian army were destroyed as well,” Slavyansk people’s mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, told Interfax.

Source: Army of Serbia does not have a single fighter jet in working condition

06/04/2014

A source of Beta agency, close to the Air Force command confirmed the report of Serbian daily Politika that the Army of Serbia does not have a single fighter in working condition because batteries for MiG-21 and MiG-29 were not purchased from Russia.

Building Up Indian Defense

06/04/2014

Narendra Modi’s election as India’s new prime minister has buoyed hopes for a brighter future across the country, including its beleaguered defense sector. The good news is Modi has pledged more money for defense and reforms to improve how that money is spent. The bad news is that the task ahead will be a monumental challenge.

Russian Military Jet Intercepted U.S. Plane Near Japan

06/04/2014

A Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane off Russia’s east coast near Japan in April, flying unusually close, as tensions rose over the Ukraine crisis. The U.S. RC-135U Combat Sent electronic intelligence plane made by Boeing Co. was conducting a routine mission over the Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan on April 23 when the Russian fighter flew within about 100 feet (30 meters) of its nose, Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said today.

Last U.S. personnel leaving Transit Center at Manas

06/04/2014

The last U.S. personnel are expected to leave the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, by the end of the week, a spokesman for Air Forces Central Command said Tuesday. The Air Force held symbolic ceremonies Tuesday transferring back the facilities to the Krygyz government, said Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis. The transfer and inactivation become official after the expiration of the current lease next month and departure of military personnel in a few days.

Ukrainian forces seek to take the offensive with assault on rebel bastion of Slovyansk

06/04/2014

After several days of setbacks, Ukrainian security forces sought to take the offensive Tuesday from pro-Russian insurgents in the country’s southeast, launching a major assault on a rebel stronghold. The attack on separatist positions in the city of Slovyansk began at dawn and continued throughout the day, with officials and residents reporting fierce clashes.

Why The Osprey Is The Future Of The US Military

06/04/2014

In late 2001, I lifted off the USS Bataan in a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter toward Afghanistan as part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. I was one of the first pilots to push into Afghanistan after 9/11. The trip to the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar meant an arduous flight through the mountains, pushing the 35-year-old “Battlephrog” close to its operating limits and range. We had to make a fuel stop at a remote base in Pakistan followed by a long flight across open desert.

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