September, 2014 Military Aviation News
09/28/2014
The implications are thick with irony – the A-10 aircraft that the Air Force brass have tried for years to kill, to send to the military boneyard, may be just the weapon to help defeat the ISIS terror group without exposing large numbers of U.S. ground troops to combat. On the battlefield, the A-10s, such as those stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, pave the way for ground troops by obliterating enemy military vehicles and inflicting mass casualties.
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09/28/2014
Nellis Air Force Base closed a chapter Friday in the storied history of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, but the legacy of the pilots who flew its F-15 Eagles continues in the Middle East, where their U.S. and coalition sparring partners are bombing Islamic State targets. “You have prepared the world’s greatest Air Force to fly, fight and win,” Col. Gary E. Rose, commander of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group, told the 65th’s pilots and maintenance personnel at the deactivation ceremony.
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09/28/2014
AUSTRALIA could launch air strikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq within days, with the government expected to sign off on Australia’s deployment this week. As Tony Abbott flew into Canberra after attending security talks at the United Nations in Iraq, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said a decision on Australia’s military involvement in Iraq would be made in a matter of days.
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09/28/2014
The Pentagon said on Saturday that it had conducted its first strikes against Islamic State targets in a besieged Kurdish area of Syria along the Turkish border, destroying two armored vehicles in an area that has been the subject of a weeklong onslaught by the Islamic State. The action around Kobani, where at least 150,000 refugees have crossed into Turkey, appeared to signify the opening of a new front for American airstrikes in Syria.
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09/28/2014
Armed British Tornado jets have completed their first mission over Iraq since MPs authorised air strikes on Islamic State targets. The two Tornados have returned to RAF Akrotiri seven hours after taking off on Saturday morning. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the jets carried out reconnaissance operations, gathering intelligence which would be "invaluable" but did not conduct air strikes.
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09/27/2014
Sukhoi Su-27 military airplane has crashed in Almaty Oblast killing both of its pilots in the evening on Tuesday this week, Tengrinews reports. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, communication with the aircraft was lost on 23 September at about 20:42 local time during training flights. The crew, Leutenant Colonel Yerlan Nauanov and Leutenant Colonel Denis Gorbunov, are now known to be dead.
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09/27/2014
Increasing Turkish divergence from U.S., European Union, and Western strategic objectives has given urgency to Western military planning as to how to compensate for the probable lack of access in the near future to Turkish bases, air space, and surface transit options.
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09/27/2014
Months after staving off a trip to the boneyard, the embattled A-10 Thunderbolt II is headed to the Middle East where it could be used to fight Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. An Indiana Air National Guard unit that flies the Cold War-era gunships, known as Warthogs, is planning to deploy about 300 airmen and an unknown number of its aircraft to the U.S. Central Command region early next month, says a Sept. 17 news release from the unit.
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09/27/2014
The Pentagon's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II programme office is close to signing a deal with Israel for more stealthy combat aircraft, the programme manager said on 25 September.
"We are in discussion with another one of our partners, Israel, to increase their buy and those discussions are going very, very well," said US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan.
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09/27/2014
The history of women serving in armed conflicts probably goes back hundreds of years - if not longer. In the United States, during the American Revolution, women served on the battlefield as nurses, water bearers, laundresses and saboteurs. Ever since then, their roles in the military have continued to expand in numbers, skills and responsibilities.
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09/27/2014
Six Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and two mid-air refuelling aircraft of the Britsih Air Force will be here next week on their way to Singapore and Malaysia to take part in an exercise. "Six Royal Air Force Typhoons and two A330 Voyager tanker transport aircraft will be staging through Delhi, between September 30 and October 2, en route to long-planned drills in Singapore and Malaysia called Exercise BERSAMA LIMA 2014," a British High Commission release said.
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09/27/2014
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) now counts 62 countries among its members, according to list published by the State Department on Thursday. Twenty of the partners, which include two non-states in the form of the European Union and Arab League, are providing air support or other military equipment. Others, broken down below, are supplying logistical or humanitarian aid.
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09/27/2014
The United States have carried out another series of airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) positions on the Syrian territory, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Saturday, citing an anonymous US defense official. "I can confirm US air operations are ongoing in Syria," the official was quoted by the agency as saying.
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09/27/2014
The United Kingdom is prepared to make the case to extend airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) beyond Iraq into Syria, if the circumstances call for it, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Friday. Speaking in the Today program on BBC Radio 4, Hammond said that, if the circumstances are right, and if Britain feels that it can contribute to the goal of defeating the IS and its poisonous ideology, it will make the case for extending airstrikes into Syria.
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09/26/2014
Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot in the history of the United Arab Emirates, led the the Gulf state's bombing raids over Syria this week. Photos of al-Mansouri, beaming from her cockpit, that were released by the country's state news agency have taken social media by storm.
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09/26/2014
Russia's Eastern Military District troops are on their way home after taking part in massive Vostok-2014 war games in the country's Far East, the Defense Ministry said early Friday.
"Troops with the Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet, Air Force, Long-Range and Transport Aviation are now on their way to the loading points to then travel by rail, sea and air [to their home bases], while the aircraft are regrouping to head for their air bases, and Pacific Fleet vessels are also regrouping.
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09/26/2014
The cooperation of Russia and NATO in Afghanistan has been halted, including a helicopter project, Russia’s envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti on Thursday. "NATO has walked away from these projects and adheres to this decision," Grushko said, specifying that the helicopter project was also halted.
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09/26/2014
The French Air Force could strike positions of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in Iraq on Thursday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio Thursday morning. "At the very time I'm talking to you, French planes are in the sky over Iraq and, if necessary, will strike [IS positions]. If they do not they will continue to identify the goals that become targets tomorrow," the minister said.
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09/25/2014
India is considering powering its second domestically built aircraft carrier with a nuclear propulsion plant, according to a Tuesday report by news agency Press Trust of India. The design of the carrier is ongoing and nuclear power is still an option for the carrier, said Director General of Naval Design Bureau, Rear Admiral Atul Saxena, in response to questions from reporters.
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09/25/2014
Europe’s Panavia Tornado will remain in use as a relevant frontline asset for more than another 10 years, according to its programme partners, even though one of its main operators does not plan to retain the type beyond the end of the decade. The multinational effort that led to the Tornado’s creation began in 1969, and partner nations Germany, Italy and the UK on 16 September formally marked the 40th anniversary of the variable geometry design’s first flight.
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09/25/2014
British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold a parliamentary debate Friday on whether the U.K. should participate in airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq, Downing Street said, amid gathering domestic support of military intervention to tackle the extremist group in Iraq. Mr. Cameron is in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly where he is talking to partners about what more the U.K. and others could do to contribute to the international fight against Islamic State.
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09/25/2014
The Obama administration trumpets a resolute coalition that includes Arab nations, but the majority of the attacks targeting ISIS militants are coming from American warplanes and destroyers. Just what are the U.S. allies in the region bringing to the fight that President Barack Obama said “isn’t America’s fight alone?”
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09/25/2014
The U.S. and two Arab allies took aim Wednesday at a key source of financing for Islamic State militants, bombing 12 of the oil refineries controlled by the terrorist group in Syria, the military said. Black market oil contributes up to $2 million a day to the militant group, and the attacks targeted the small-scale refineries in remote sections of eastern Syria in an effort to choke off its funding.
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09/25/2014
South Korea formally announced on Wednesday that it would buy 40 F-35A fighter jets from the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin in a deal that includes transfers of technology for the development of the country’s own advanced fighter jet. South Korea picked Lockheed Martin’s F-35A as the sole choice for its air force’s new fighter jet in November and has since been negotiating the terms of the deal.
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09/25/2014
The Dutch government has decided to send six F-16 fighter jets to Iraq to help the US-led international coalition in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher said Wednesday. "The Netherlands will make six F-16s available for the first phase of the campaign, for one year," Asscher said as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
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09/25/2014
The use of fifth generation US stealth F-22 Raptor fighters against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in Syria could be explained by the United States’ fear of Syrian air defense forces, military experts told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
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09/25/2014
Royal Australian Air Force fighter jets and personnel have arrived to the United Arab Emirates to take part in operations against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization, Australian Associated Press reported Wednesday. "There are 400 Royal Australian Air Force officers, eight Super Hornets, a Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft, and a Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft in the contingent.
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09/24/2014
Prime Minister David Cameron supports airstrikes targeting Islamic State in Syria by the U.S. and five Middle Eastern allies and will discuss how the U.K. might contribute to efforts against the militant group in the coming days, the British government said Tuesday. "The PM will be holding talks at the United Nations in New York over the next two days on what more the U.K. and others can do to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat we all face from ISIL [Islamic State]," the st
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09/24/2014
Lawmakers have rejected the Pentagon's request to shift as much as $1.5 billion in war spending to buy eight new Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and 21 additional Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters. The Defense Department asked for the additional jets and helicopters in a Sept. 8 request for permission to shift, or reprogram, about $2 billion in its war operations budget, partly to pay for expanded operations against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria.
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09/24/2014
Supporters of the A-10 “Warthog” fighter say the Pentagon should halt plans to scrap the jet, saying it is needed in the campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Pentagon has pushed for years to retire the A-10, which provides close air support for troops on the ground in battle, anticipating the need for more advanced aircraft in future ground wars.
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09/24/2014
At least a dozen Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships are carrying out flights in Azerbaijan in the second joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises conducted so far this year. The F-16 fighter jets, C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft and Super Cobra and Black Hawk helicopters reportedly arrived in Azerbaijan on Thursday to take part in what the Defense Ministry in Baku called “large-scale” exercises of its ground forces that ended on Saturday.
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09/24/2014
The F-22 Raptor, one of the most expensive fighters in the world, undertook and successfully completed a combat mission for the first time ever Monday in Syria. The next generation Raptor, which has a total program price tag north of $79 billion, had sat out two wars and at least one previous smaller conflict since going operational in late 2005 before being called on to hit a single target in Syria Monday: an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) "command and control building."
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09/24/2014
Russia is very secretive with data on their military budget. But during a recent speech the commander of the Russian Air Force let slip some interesting bits. He said that the aircraft the air force was now buying (Su-30s, Su-35s, Su-34s) cost over a “billion rubles” ($28 million) each. That was known to be an understatement and it ignored the fact that the three aircraft, although all derived from the older Su-27, are each quite different.
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09/24/2014
Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace over the Golan Heights, the first such strike in nearly 29 years amid heightened fighting between the regime and rebels for control along the sensitive border. The intercept is the latest sign of instability along the Golan Heights frontier stemming from the Syrian civil war, although former Israeli air force officers said they believed that the Syrian jet crossed into Israeli-controlled airspace by accident.
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09/24/2014
The United States used F-22 fighter jets - fifth-generation aircraft - to make airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, Gen. William Mayville, Joint Staff director of operations, said at a Pentagon briefing. “This strike was the first time the F-22 was used in a combat role. The flight of the F-22s delivered GPS-guided munitions - precision munitions targeting only the right side of the building,” Mayville said.
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09/24/2014
The United States has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria with the aid of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Fox News reported Tuesday, citing an anonymous source. According to Fox News, the airstrikes targeted about 20 IS facilities, including training sites and arms depots. The United States reportedly used B-1 bombers, F-16 and F-18 fighters, MQ-1 Predator drones and Tomahawk missiles fired from the USS Arleigh Burke destroyer.
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09/24/2014
On 23 September the US with Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched 14 strikes against IS in Syria, hitting a number of targets, including Raqqa, a stronghold in eastern Syria captured by the group in 2013. Separately, US forces also carried out eight strikes against a network of al-Qaeda veterans named Khorasan who had established a safe haven west of Aleppo and were plotting imminent attacks against the West.
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09/23/2014
Spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby said fighter and bomber jets and Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack. The strikes were expected as part of President Barack Obama's pledge to "degrade and destroy" IS, which has taken huge swathes of Syria and Iraq. The US has already undertaken 190 air strikes in Iraq since August.
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09/23/2014
The Pentagon is deploying 300 airmen and 12 A-10 combat jets to the Middle East in early October, according to the Indiana Air National Guard. The six-month deployment from the 122nd Fighter Wing is not specifically part of President Obama’s fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but the airmen and jets could provide air support to troops battling ISIS on the ground.
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09/23/2014
For a while, it seemed that the threat from ISIS was limited to sparsely populated desert regions in the Middle East. Through brutal tactics and persecution of minorities, the Sunni extremist group brought slaughter and chaos to large areas of Syria and Iraq. But its merciless efforts to establish its version of an Islamic caliphate unsettled the wider region, prompting U.S. airstrikes aimed at stemming its advance.
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09/23/2014
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi opposes the deployment of foreign ground forces in Iraq as part of efforts to combat jihadists, his office said on Monday. During a meeting with Australian Defense Minister David Johnston in Baghdad, Abadi reaffirmed his "rejection of any ground intervention in Iraq," a statement said.
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09/23/2014
SIX weeks of US air strikes against the Islamic State have had little effect in containing the jihadists’ advances, with a string of towns and bases falling to the black flag. Caught between the rock of jihadists and the hard-place of Turkey, which has long struggled to suppress its ethnic Kurd population, tens of thousands of Kurds are streaming across the border to escape the advancing Islamic State (IS).
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09/23/2014
Rescue swimmer Ryan Benaglio was a spectacular ambassador for the Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter Saturday. He told visitors how much hydraulic fluid flows through its pipes, showed them how the hoist works and even lifted toddlers into the rescue basket for photos. But as excited as the 27-year-old was about his aircraft, he was pretty frank with visitors attending the North Island Naval Air Station open house.
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09/23/2014
Over this past weekend, Hezbollah, the militant Shiite group that is headquartered in Lebanon, reportedly used drones to bomb a building used by the al Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front, along Lebanon's border with Syria. The armed drones, combined with fire from Hezbollah ground troops, killed 23 Nusra Front militants and wounded some 10 others, according to a report by an Iranian news agency.
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09/23/2014
The F-35's long-term costs may “not be affordable” and appear to be substantially higher than those of the existing combat aircraft fleets that the Joint Strike Fighter will replace, the Government Acocuntability Office says in a draft report. “The annual F-35 operating and support costs are estimated to be considerably higher than the combined annual costs of several legacy aircraft,” the draft says.
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09/23/2014
Half of the helicopters in the German Navy are not cleared to fly, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports citing a document produced by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense. The report comes as a response after Navy helicopter flights were suspended when the crew aboard the Luebeck frigate discovered a 20-centimeter crack in the tale of a Sea Lynx Mk88A helicopter, according to the document. Similar defects were later found on other helicopters of that type.
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09/23/2014
Several African countries are interested in the Russian combat training aircraft Yak-130, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport's delegation head Yury Demchenko told journalists following the Africa Aerospace and Defense 2014 exhibition. "Preliminary analysis of the interest in the Russian MIC [military-industrial complex] on the part of the countries of the region showed a very strong tendency of readiness to buy Russian helicopters and aviation equipment.
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09/22/2014
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has dramatically undermined stability in Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East, and poses a threat to international peace and security. ISIL continues to commit gross, systematic abuses of human rights and violations of international law, including indiscriminate killing and deliberate targeting of civilians, mass executions and extrajudicial killings, persecution of individuals and entire communities on the basis of their identity, kidnapping of
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09/22/2014
Some 30 ships alongside air forces of the Pacific Fleet have started warding off the attack of a simulated enemy during military exercises in Russia's Far East, a Russian Defense Ministry representative reported Sunday. "Hunter-killer and minesweeping task teams of the Pacific Fleet have been placed in the designated areas of the northwestern Pacific, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. After that, they started practicing warding off the attack on the fleet," the representative said.
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09/22/2014
Prime Minister David Cameron is set to meet US President Barack Obama this week in New York to discuss how to crack down on the marauding Middle-East extremists. But although UK military action is highly unlikely before a United Nations meeting on Tuesday, it is believed by Wednesday the Iraqi Government may formally request British assistance to stop IS’s advance into their territory.
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09/22/2014
Russia can do without French-built Mistral-class helicopter carriers whose delivery has been suspended over Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov TV program me. “Last year, on November 16 we transferred to our Indian colleagues the Vikramaditya light aircraft carrier, which war formerly our Admiral Gorshkov missile cruiser.
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09/22/2014
While the plan to keep new, unmanned Global Hawks over the aging manned U-2 has support among top Defense Department officials, the top combat general in the Air Force says it is not the best military solution. The Air Force, in its fiscal 2015 budget proposal calls for retiring the entire U-2 fleet and continuing to buy RQ-4 Global Hawks to handle high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The plan reverses previous Air Force attempts to retire the large drones.
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09/22/2014
Officials have released the name of the military jet pilot who was killed in Augusta County. Lt. Col. Morris "Moose" Fontenot Jr. died. Fontenot served with the 104th Fighter Wing as the full-time wing inspector general, responsible for the implementation of the Air Force Inspection System and as an F-15 instructor pilot with more than 2,300 flight hours.
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09/22/2014
As the Obama administration seeks to win support for a coalition campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the White House and the Defense Department public relations shops have gone into overdrive. In recent weeks, the military has released near daily tallies of airstrikes in Iraq, often detailing how many targets were hit and what type of vehicle was destroyed. Those reports have frequently been pushed out again by the Defense Department and the National Security Council.
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09/22/2014
The crews of the Russian air force units have completed redeployment at the airfields of the Eastern Military District as part of the Vostok 2014 drills, a Russian Defense Ministry representative told reporters Sunday. "MiG-31 interceptor aircraft, Su-27 fighters, Su-30SM, Su-35S and Su-34 fighter aircraft, Su-24 attack aircraft, A-50 early warning and control aircraft, An-26, An-30 and An-12 aircraft, Ka-52 and Mi-24 attack helicopters.
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09/22/2014
The pilots participating in Russian strategic military exercise code-named Vostok-2014 have reflected a massive airstrike of the simulated enemy, a representative of Russia's Defense Ministry has told reporters. "Today, a simulated enemy aircraft struck a massive airstrike on the ground positions of the [Russia's] Eastern Military District military, who take part in the Vostok-2014 exercises," Defense Ministry representative said.
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09/21/2014
President Francois Hollande said Rafale fighter jets, accompanied by support planes, "entirely destroyed" the depot in the north of the country. Iraq's military spokesman said four morning airstrikes killed dozens of fighters. "Other operations will follow in the coming days with the same goal - to weaken this terrorist organisation and come to the aid of the Iraqi authorities," Mr Hollande said. "There are always risks in taking up a responsibility. I reduced the risks to a minimum."
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09/21/2014
From August 24-29, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held “Peace Mission 2014” at China’s Zhurihe Training Base, in Inner Mongolia in North China. This is China’s base for engaging in large-scale exercises with foreign armies on its soil. Peace Mission 2014 was the largest military exercise conducted by the SCO, with five of the six member countries participating (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan but not Uzbekistan).
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09/21/2014
Taiwan’s Navy plans to build new destroyers, frigates, corvettes and submarines in a 20-year force modernization program that will replace all the US and French-built warships in the fleet. Details of the program will be released in November, but Navy officials provided some information about the scope of the massive build plan during the live-fire field training event during the annual Han Kuang exercises off the east coast of Taiwan on Sept. 17.
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09/21/2014
British fighter jets were forced to intercept two Russian planes which were flying through international airspace today, the RAF has confirmed. The Typhoon jets were launched from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland to identify the aircraft. It was later discovered they were Russian military Bears.
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09/21/2014
A security official who requested anonymity told Dawn.com the two pilots injured during the crash were rushed to Ziarat for medical treatment by locals of the area. Pilots Captain Omar and Captain Hasnain Mehmood were later shifted to Quetta in an army helicopter for further treatment.
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09/21/2014
Two U.S. F-22 fighter jets intercepted six Russian military airplanes that were flying near Alaska, military officials said Friday. Lt. Col. Michael Jazdyk, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said the jets intercepted the planes about 55 nautical miles from the Alaskan coast at about 7 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday.
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09/21/2014
RAF jets could be ordered to launch air strikes against Islamist terrorists in Iraq within days.
The Prime Minister travels to New York to discuss a possible bombing plan with President Obama this week. He will hold talks at the United Nations on Tuesday and Wednesday. British sources have made clear that military action involving the UK is highly unlikely before the UN meeting and will depend on the outcome of the talks.
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09/21/2014
The Army's top officer warned Friday that it will become increasingly difficult to target and launch precision airstrikes against Islamic State militants hiding among the Iraqi population.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters that so far the targets American warplanes and drones have hit in Iraq have largely been out in the open and were "clearly identifiable."
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09/21/2014
“The Argentine armed forces are planning for 2015 the training of personnel and the necessary means to achieve an operational aptitude and attitude from all arms' systems so as to have the dissuasive capacity that enables to discourage threats which affect the vital interests of the nation” reads the introduction of the defense bill, as announced by Economy minister Axel Kicillof and cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich.
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09/20/2014
Sweden says it has summoned the Russian ambassador over an air space violation by two Russian military aircraft. The Swedish Foreign Ministry said the planes crossed into Swedish air space south of the Baltic Sea island of Oland on Wednesday. The ministry called it a “serious violation.”
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09/20/2014
Eight Russian planes, including long-range bombers, were intercepted this week by US and Canadian pilots. Sweden has made its displeasure known to the Russian government after similar incursions. Washington defense officials said on Friday that Russian planes were intercepted by US and Canadian warplanes on two separate occasions when they entered a US "Air Defense Identification Zone" (ADIZ) this week near Alaska.
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09/20/2014
First, my condolences go to the families of the missing pilots of the light attack jet/advanced trainer aircraft that disappeared on September 12, 2014. The word “condolence” should not constitute an automatic or confirmed death of the crew members but after almost six days without a confirmed or assumed location of the aircraft, and in a country with no established search and rescue culture, my initial reaction is that of loss of hope, hence the condolence.
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09/20/2014
The Russian Baltic Fleet is conducting tactical exercises for its coastal forces on one of the ranges of the Kaliningrad Region, with more than 1,000 motorized infantry soldiers and marines from its fleet and more than 250 military and special equipment units participating, the Baltic Fleet's press service said Friday.
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09/20/2014
South Korea will become the world’s third most technologically advanced producer of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) by 2023, Korea Aerospace Research Institute stated, Yonhap reported. “By 2023, South Korea should only trail behind the United States and Israel in terms of technological prowess while ranking as the fourth largest supplier of drones as measured in sales," the director of the institute's future aircraft systems Choi Seong-wook told the agency Thursday.
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09/19/2014
Developed as a multirole naval fighter, the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet has become the backbone of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps and several air arms around the world. Among them there is also the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), formerly known as Canadian Forces Air Command, that began receiving a slightly modified version of the standard legacy Hornet, designated CF-18 (Canadian military designation is CF-188), in 1982.
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09/19/2014
A strategic command and staff exercise code-named Vostok 2014 (East 2014) with about 100,000 troops participating began in the Eastern Military District on Friday, the Defence Ministry said. “About 100,000 servicemen, up to 1,500 tanks, 120 aircraft, 5,000 pieces of weaponry, military and special hardware, and 70 ships will take part in the exercises,” it said.
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09/18/2014
The Obama administration, working through the Russian government, has secured an agreement from the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad to permit U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State targets in parts of Syria, according to a source briefed on the secret arrangements. The reported agreement would clear away one of the chief obstacles to President Barack Obama’s plan to authorize U.S. warplanes to cross into Syria to attack Islamic State forces.
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09/18/2014
The Republican-controlled House voted grudgingly to give the administration authority to train and arm Syrian rebels on Wednesday as President Barack Obama emphasized anew that American forces "do not and will not have a combat mission" in the struggle against Islamic State militants in either Iraq or Syria.
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09/18/2014
A P-3C anti-submarine aircraft that the United States delivered to Taiwan's Air Force last year was used in a Han Kuang drill Wednesday for the first time, in waters off eastern Taiwan, the military said. The P-3C, along with a naval S-70C anti-submarine helicopter, was deployed to locate an enemy submarine and force it to the surface off the country's east coast.
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09/18/2014
As the air war over Iraq intensifies and the Obama administration considers striking Islamic State targets in Syria, the possibility of an American aircraft going down over enemy territory is growing rapidly, and with it the potential to put American troops in direct combat in the event they are deployed to recover lost pilots.
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09/18/2014
Scotland risks having a “very hollow military force” as a result of a limited defence budget should the country become independent on 18 September, according to Edward Hunt, an IHS Senior Defence Consultant. “Maintaining a country’s armed forces is inherently expensive and requires a sustained commitment of public funds not easily amended or reversed,” he said.
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09/18/2014
The chief of French firm Dassault Aviation SA, which has been selected for supplying 126 medium-multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF), will be in New Delhi later this week to meet top defence ministry officials to discuss delays in finalization of the multi-billion dollar contract.
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09/18/2014
Australian troops sent to Iraq in a military advisory role will be armed and entitled to respond if fired upon, Tony Abbott has said, in an acknowledgement of the possibility of combat. But the prime minister reaffirmed that he did not have “any intention” of having troops on the ground in a fighting capacity, after a top US general said American troops might directly join Iraqi forces against Islamic State (Isis).
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09/18/2014
Boeing received a $293 million performance-based contract from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to provide aircraft parts and support that will enable DLA to provide essential logistics support to warfighters more quickly and effectively. “Boeing proposed a holistic partnership and transformational approach that fundamentally changes the way DLA and Boeing do business,” said Julie Praiss, vice president of Tactical Aircraft & Weapons Support.
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09/18/2014
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) is ready to expand its strikes to Syria, but will "under no circumstances" target any positions other than the extremist group's sites, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister told Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. "Attacks will be carried out against Islamic State sites, and this organization threatens everyone. Under no circumstances will they target any other positions, just the places where terrorists are located.
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09/17/2014
France is using the al-Dhafra Base, south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, to launch reconnaissance flights over Iraq in support of the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as other forces are expected to gather in the Gulf as part of the push against the militant group. Agence France Presse said one of its correspondents saw two French Rafale fighter jets equipped with high-precision cameras take off on Monday from the al-Dhafra Base during a visit.
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09/17/2014
Air Mobility Command cargo aircraft last month dropped 285 tons of food and water to aid refugees uprooted by violence in northwestern Iraq. C-17 cargo planes assigned to AMC flew 11 sorties over Mount Sinjar and the nearby town of Amerli to help refugees fleeing religious persecution by the Islamic State. AMC aircraft, plus other aircraft assigned to the coalition of forces fighting the Islamic State, dropped 221,000 ready-to-eat meals and 45,000 gallons of water, according an AMC spokesman.
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09/17/2014
Planned cuts to the U.S. military presence in Europe may be postponed because of concerns about Russian aggression, according to top defense officials. “Currently there are changes to overseas forces on the books,” but “I have talked to leadership here about a function to re-address those decisions because those … decisions were clearly made before” Russia sent its forces into Ukraine, the commander of U.S. European Command told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
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09/17/2014
Australia is sending up to eight F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters, an Airbus KC-30 multirole tanker transport and an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Middle East this week for possible use against Islamic State forces in Iraq. The Australian contingent will move to the United Arab Emirates where they will prepare for operations, ahead of a government decision regarding Iraq.
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09/17/2014
The warring parties in Syria have launched newly assertive attacks on several fronts in recent days, seeking to gain ground and psychological advantage ahead of an intensified United States campaign against extremist Islamic State militants that could include the first American airstrikes inside Syria.
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09/17/2014
Boeing has completed the final design review for the U.S. Air Force’s Talon HATE program. The system will improve communication and information sharing among various platforms. Talon HATE combines information from fighter networks, national sources and joint command and control assets. Transmitting over data-links, the information can then be used by joint aircraft, ships and ground stations, improving communication and information sharing across the battlespace.
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09/17/2014
The US-led international coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS, ISIL) jihadist group was announced by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in a Tuesday morning hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "More than 40 nations have already expressed their willingness to participate in this effort, and more than 30 nations have indicated their readiness to offer military support," Secretary Hagel said in his opening remarks.
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09/17/2014
Iraq has praised Monday’s US airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants near Baghdad as important, Iraqi military spokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim Atta said Tuesday. “The American Air Force together and in coordination with the General Staff in Baghdad carried out important strikes on targets in Sadr al-Yusufiyah [township 15 miles from Baghdad],” Atta was quoted as saying by the media outlet Alwasatnews.
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09/17/2014
Over 25 fighters and bombers from Russia's Western Military District have started tactical flight training in the Arctic, spokesperson for the district Col. Oleg Kochetkov said Tuesday.
"As part of the drills, flight personnel will practice joint action on air policing, air target interception, ground target engagement and airstrike and anti-aircraft fire evasion. All tasks will be practiced both during the night and day time in various weather conditions," the official said.
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09/17/2014
The debris of another unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, which was supposedly made in and launched from North Korea, have been found near the border on South Korean island Pennendo, Yonhap news agency reported citing sources in South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"All the equipment, including the engine or camera have been lost. Only an empty fuselage with broken wings has survived. it is hard to say at this time when and where these debris fell," the agency's source said.
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09/16/2014
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria is beginning to take shape, with countries around the world pledging aircraft and personnel to the mission. Following President Barak Obama's declaration on 11 September that the United States is to lead a coalition of nations against IS in Iraq and Syria, a number of regional and non-regional countries have indicated their willingness to provide support for the air campaign.
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09/16/2014
Canada is starting to ship bullets to Iraqi security forces to supply them in their battle against the Islamic State militia. Starting Thursday two Canadian military strategic lift aircraft will begin ferrying Eastern European-sourced small-arms ammunition to Iraq from the Czech Republic. The operation will rely on one CC-130J Hercules cargo aircraft and one CC-177 Globemaster III transport plane. About 100 Canadian Armed Forces aircrew, technicians and logistics specialists are supporting the e
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09/16/2014
A drill in which Taiwan's main combat aircraft will practice emergency landings and takeoffs on a freeway will be held Tuesday as planned, as Typhoon Kalmaegi will not have a major impact on Taiwan. The typhoon swept across the northern Philippines overnight and moved out over the South China Sea. It is now heading toward Hainan Island off the coast of southern China.
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09/16/2014
Lockheed Martin, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the University of Notre Dame, has demonstrated the airworthiness of a new beam control turret being developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and AFRL to give 360-degree coverage for high-energy laser weapons operating on military aircraft. A research aircraft equipped with the Aero-adaptive Aero-optic Beam Control (ABC) turret conducted eight flights in Michigan.
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09/16/2014
Lockheed Martin and Advanced Electronics Company (AEC) will establish a Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) Expanded Repair Capability facility in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the first Sniper support facility established outside the United States. Designed to support the Royal Saudi Air Force’s (RSAF) Sniper ATPs, the Expanded Repair Capability facility will provide both affordability benefits and expedited repair times for the RSAF.
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09/16/2014
Boeing and Danish company Sky-Watch today signed an agreement that will enable Boeing to explore assisting the company in its development of a new type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) under a project supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.
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09/16/2014
Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers and Tu-22M3 bombers have moved from the base airfields to the tactical airfields of the Eastern Military District as part of an unannounced combat readiness check, said the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry. "As part of a combat readiness check of the Eastern Military District forces, the crews of the Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 missile carriers will be patrolling various areas and providing aviation support to the Pacific Fleet," the ministry said.
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09/15/2014
The US Air Force has spent the last 20 years reducing its footprint in Europe, but the last six months of Russian military aggression, among other world events, could force the service to rethink that strategy. Airmen rotating through Europe should expect a higher op tempo that includes rapid deployments, joint training and more temporary assignments in Eastern Europe.
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09/15/2014
A Nigerian Air Force jet has been missing for two days after disappearing in the country's far northeast, where troops are fighting Boko Haram insurgents, the military said on Sunday.
The Alpha Jet, with two pilots on board, left its base in Yola, Adamawa state, on what was described as a "routine operational mission" at about 10:45 am (0945 GMT) on Friday and had been expected back by midday the same day.
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09/15/2014
Australia is preparing to contribute up to 10 military aircraft to the increasingly aggressive campaign against the Islamic State (IS) extremists in Syria and Iraq. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement issued that Australia was responding to a formal request from the United States for specific contributions to the international coalition.
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09/14/2014
American forces are converging on Guam, a strategically important U.S. territory 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) south of Tokyo, this month for a week of sophisticated military exercises involving two aircraft carriers. Servicemen and women will practice searching for submarines, stopping suspect vessels at sea and using a new missile defense system recently set up on Guam. They'll work through issues like how Navy F-18 pilots might talk to Air Force F-16 or F-15 pilots.
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09/14/2014
The Defence Research and Development Organisation, which is struggling to meet deadlines for delivering key military projects, is working on an elaborate weapons export plan to make inroads in the lucrative global arms market. Backed by a government that seeks to transform India from the world's biggest weapons importer into an export powerhouse, the DRDO has identified 15 weapon systems that could help the country get its foot in the door in the international arms bazaar.
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09/14/2014
Alex Salmond is demanding a £10 billion carve-up of Britain’s Armed Forces – including aircraft, ships and the transfer of up to 9,200 regular and Special Forces troops – if Scotland votes for independence. The Scottish National Party leader insists his country’s share of the UK’s military assets should be handed over free of charge so his government can form its own navy, air force and army.
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09/14/2014
As of last week, America's newest aircraft carrier was 81 percent complete, its sleek tower rising above Pier 3 at Newport News Shipbuilding. To motorists driving along Huntington Avenue, the Gerald R. Ford might seem no different than the aircraft carriers moored at Naval Station Norfolk a few miles to the south. But make no mistake, this ship, the first of a new class, is different from the bridge to the bathrooms.
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09/14/2014
A great deal is being made of the fact that the Gulf Arab states with the most to fear from ISIL are loath to contribute their militaries to president Barack Obama’s global coalition against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria. Although the Gulf countries are nominally members of the coalition, they have pledged only to provide military “assistance,” rather than aircraft to strike against ISIL targets, much less troops to fight the terrorists.
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09/14/2014
A missing fighter jet pilot was presumed dead on Saturday by U.S. Navy officials, a day after the pilot was involved in a mid-air collision with another jet over the western Pacific Ocean. The Navy in a statement on Saturday said it had called off the search for the pilot, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin. Several Navy helicopters and ships were involved in the effort to find the pilot.
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09/14/2014
Search and rescue teams continue to look for a US Navy pilot missing since Thursday when two F/A-18C Hornet jets crashed into the western Pacific Ocean. Navy officials have yet to say anything about the cause of the accident, although several news sources report that it was a mid-air collision between the two fighter aircraft, which were on a training flight about 300 miles west of Wake Island.
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09/14/2014
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi has ordered the military forces to suspend airstrikes on areas of the country with high civilian populations, which are currently under the control of the radical group Islamic State (IS), the Associated Press reported Saturday. "I issued this order two days ago, because we do not want to see more innocent victims falling in the places and provinces controlled by [the Islamic State]," Abadi was quoted as saying.
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09/13/2014
Two Navy jets operating off the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson crashed in the western Pacific Ocean Friday. F/A-18 Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter squadrons 94 and 113, crashed at 5:40 p.m. local time. One pilot was quickly located and was receiving medical attention. However, search efforts were continuing for the second pilot. The exact location of the crash was not confirmed, although the Carl Vinson was about 250 miles west of Wake Island at the time.
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09/13/2014
President Putin of Russia recently sent some essential supplies to Serbia, as a personal gift, to put some of Serbia’s Mig-21 and MiG-29 aircraft back in service. The essential supplies consisted of special batteries the MiGs required to operate. Why did the Serbs lack batteries? Therein lies an interesting tale.
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09/13/2014
Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces will hold large-scale military exercises on September 13-20. Azerbaijan will host the large-scale operational and technical exercises involving all types of troops of Azerbaijani armed forces. The drills would be held in accordance with a plan approved earlier by Azerbaijani President, Supreme Commander Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on September 12.
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09/13/2014
The Air Force's newest aerial target took a major step toward preparing warfighters downrange with a realistic fourth-generation replication of what they may face on the battlefield. The first unmanned QF-16 Viper struck down over the Gulf of Mexico Sept. 5, 2014, was part of a joint effort between the Test and Training Division at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron here.
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09/13/2014
On September 11, 2001, Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney had one harrowing mission: bring down United 93. She took off from Andrews Air Force Base, but without weapons. No missiles, machine guns, etc.; she would have to ram into the commercial airliner to save American lives.
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09/13/2014
Islamic State of Iraq and Levant has been operating anti-aircraft batteries stolen from the Iraqi military. Officials said the U.S. military has determined that ISIL deployed an unspecified number of anti-aircraft artillery to counter Western air strikes in northern Iraq. Western diplomatic sources said ISIL struck at least one U.S. aircraft. They said an F-15 fighter-jet was hit by ISIL fire in late August that damaged the hydraulic system and forced the aircraft to land in neighboring Turkey.
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09/13/2014
As the Ukrainian and Middle Eastern crises roil our world, the debate quickly turns on which path will work best to deal with the evolving threats: boots on the ground, or planes in the air operating without boots on the ground. The specter of responses to the 9/11 attack and the various engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq naturally shade everyone’s perspectives.
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09/13/2014
The US Ambassador to Lebanon has confirmed his country's intention to supply the Lebanese military with an armed Cessna aircraft and other support aircraft to face the threat of armed Islamists. After meeting Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam, David Hale said that the delivery, which comes after a similar delivery last year, would be funded by Saudi funds that had been recently pledged to the Lebanese military.
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09/13/2014
On March 17, The United States, dissatisfied with Russia's actions during the crisis in Ukraine, introduced sanctions against high-ranking Russian politicians. The sanctions banned the individuals from entering the United States and froze assets and property.
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09/13/2014
Russia and Nigeria have signed a contract for the supply of Mi-171Sh and Mi-35 helicopters, Rosoboronexport deputy general director Sergei Goreslavsky told reporters Friday. "The Mi-171Sh machine is in steady demand on the foreign market. A contract with Nigeria was recently signed," Goreslavsky said, commenting on the August contract. According to him, the helicopter is in demand in Africa, and Mozambique is very interested in the rotorcraft.
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09/12/2014
One person on-board a military aircraft escaped with his life after the plane he was flying crashed in the northern Ugandan district of Gulu on Thursday. Colonel Joseph Balikuddembe, the Uganda People’s Defense Forces 4th Division Second-in-Command, said the plane crashed shortly after take-off from the 4th Division’s airbase.
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09/12/2014
Arab nations rallied Thursday behind US President Barack Obama's call to expand operations against jihadists in Iraq and Syria, as Damascus warned it would consider any action on its territory as an attack. Ten states, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, "agreed to do their share in the comprehensive fight" against Islamic State, said a statement after a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Arab counterparts.
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09/12/2014
The Abbott government is expecting a "specific" request within days for Australian military involvement in a new war in Iraq after US President Barack Obama announced he would dramatically escalate an aerial bombing campaign and send military advisers. The US-led assault, co-ordinated with international partners including Australia, will aim to seek out and destroy fighters from the Islamic State and will probably take months or even years.
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09/12/2014
U.S. officials are working hard to build a broad, international coalition to combat Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. What’s unclear is whether the international effort will produce a coalition of consequence or one in name only. At the NATO summit last week, the U.S. announced formation of a 10-nation “core coalition” that includes nine NATO members plus Australia. It has since grown.
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09/12/2014
This happens as all nine partner nations in the program assemble in Oslo for their second JSF steering board of 2014. The F-35 Program is expected to deliver around 3,000 aircraft for the nine partner nations as well as several direct export customers over the next 20 to 25 years and is the largest multinational technology development program of its kind since World War II. For the first time media will also be invited to cover the meeting from a dedicated press centre.
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09/12/2014
U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft flew more than 2,700 missions to combat Islamic State in Iraq even before President Barack Obama announced an expanded military campaign against the Sunni extremists. The 2,749 sorties through yesterday include surveillance and refueling aircraft, providing a fuller measure of the scope of operations than the 156 airstrikes that have been announced through today in statements by U.S. Central Command.
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09/12/2014
US combat aircraft will soon start flying out of a base in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq as part of a "more aggressive" air campaign against Islamic State jihadists, the Pentagon said on Thursday (Sep 11). The use of Arbil air base reflects the broadening US offensive against the IS militants, though attack helicopters already have been flying out of bases in Iraq.
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09/12/2014
Troops in Russia's Eastern Military District are moved to the highest state of combat readiness as surprise drills begin in the region, the Russian Ministry of Defense informed on Friday. "As part of a surprise check of the Eastern Military District troops' combat readiness, military formations and units located in the Eastern region of the Russian Federation have completed the implementation of measures to enter the highest degree of combat readiness," the ministry wrote in a statement.
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09/12/2014
Ten Arab states have agreed to join the coalition, headed by the United States, that aims to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group, also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to a Jeddah Communique, published on US State Department official website after a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Arab counterparts.
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09/11/2014
President Barack Obama pledged a “relentless” campaign to destroy Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria, with Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan playing crucial supporting roles. In an address to the nation tonight, Obama said the U.S. would lead a “broad coalition,” using American air power in support of local forces on the ground.
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09/11/2014
The US Air Force's (USAF's) effort to devise a repair for 82 of its grounded Lockheed Martin F-16D Fighting Falcon combat aircraft is expected to begin on 11 September and be ready for verification within weeks, according to a spokeswoman for the service. "The repair process development will start this week" at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Susan Murphy, a spokesperson for Air Force Materiel Command, told IHS Jane's on 9 September.
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09/11/2014
The Islamic State group is often described as the most fearsome jihadi outfit of all: a global menace outweighing al-Qaida, with armies trembling before its advance. But while the group has been successful at seizing parts of Iraq and Syria, it is no unstoppable juggernaut.
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09/11/2014
British combat air post-2020 will depend on the RAF’s Typhoon fast jet fleet – currently planned to total 107 aircraft at the end of this decade – and the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter, operated jointly by the RAF and the Royal Navy. Then-Secretary of State for Defence Phillip Hammond said in July 2012 that the UK would buy up to forty-eight F-35B short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft in the next ten years of the newly agreed equipment plan.
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09/11/2014
Airmen of the AWACS Joint Test Force in Seattle, Washington have recently completed testing for an upgrade to the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System. The AWACS Joint Test Force is comprised of Air Combat Command personnel assigned to Detachment 1, 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, along with Air Force Material Command personnel belonging to the 96th Operations Group Detachment 2.
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09/11/2014
Little more than a decade ago, the skies over Afghanistan looked dramatically different than they do today. Heavy bombing from B-52 Stratofortress', B-1B Lancers and B-2 Spirit bombers could be seen along with F-16 Fighting Falcons, as well as the Navy's F-18 Hornet. Today a small reconnaisance squadron from Kandahar Airfield accounts for more than eight out of 10 of the RPA combat air patrols and reconnaissance missions over Afghan skies.
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09/11/2014
Boeing delivered the fifth P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to India, on schedule, on Sept. 9 as part of a contract for eight aircraft to support the Indian Navy’s maritime patrol requirements.
The aircraft arrived at Naval Air Station Rajali, after a flight from Seattle’s Boeing Field, and joined the four previously delivered P-8Is.
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09/11/2014
United States will lead a "broad coalition" to root out Islamic State (IS) militants, US President Barack Obama said in excerpts of his address, released by the White House. "I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat," Obama said. "Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy," US President has noted.
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09/11/2014
Washington does not have information who is behind the chemical attacks in Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry told journalists. “We do not have detailed information about specifically who issued an order, as we did on August the 21st event. We do not have specific information about what entity delivered it,” Kerry said on Wednesday.
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09/11/2014
France will participate in an air military operation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, if necessary, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday as quoted by Reuters. "In Iraq ... we will take part in military air action if necessary. The situation in Syria is different," Fabius told students in a speech at the Sciences Po academy in Paris.
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09/10/2014
More than four years before the aircraft is scheduled to enter service, the US Navy already is considering modifying the Lockheed Martin F-35C to perform future missions beyond 2030.
Navy officials announced on 9 September that an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the FA-XX aircraft would begin in calendar year 2015 and will consider modifying both the F-35C and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, as well as building a new aircraft to fulfil the requirement.
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09/10/2014
Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Fernando Manalo on Tuesday said that the South Korean F/A-50 underwent the process before being selected as the country’s premier jet fighter. The defense official made this statement in response to queries made by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate during the DND budget hearing at the House of Representatives.
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09/10/2014
Canadian soldiers will participate in a military exercise in Poland as part of international efforts to "promote peace and stability" in central and eastern Europe. The Canadian Army has sent 15 personnel to Lublin, Poland, where operation Maple Arch 14 takes place until Sept. 18.
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09/10/2014
The 22nd International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2014) was a good opportunity to take a closer look at the ambitious technical modernization program of the Polish Armed Forces. Poland is among the very few European countries that has been increasing its military spending, as part of a shift away from Soviet-era gear and toward modern Western systems.
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09/10/2014
he British government said on Tuesday that it will give heavy machine guns and nearly half a million rounds of ammunition to Kurdish regional forces battling Islamic State insurgents in Northern Iraq, the first time it has directly supplied weapons to the Peshmerga in this conflict.
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09/10/2014
On September 3, 2014 during a press conference about Mongolia trade agreements a reporter interrupted Vladimir Putin to ask a question about the military situation in Ukraine.
How Putin answered that question was both concise and thorough. Putin also took that opportunity to lay out the case of a peace plan, which the western media completely ignored.
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09/10/2014
The U.S. military says it launched five more airstrikes in support of Iraqi government troops and Sunni tribesmen protecting the Haditha Dam against fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that controls parts of northern and western Iraq. Central Command says that a combination of U.S. attack, fighter and drone aircraft destroyed or damaged eight armed vehicles, two of which were transporting anti-aircraft artillery near the dam. It says six other vehicles also were struck.
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09/10/2014
Boeing delivered on schedule on Sept. 4 the third Peace Eagle Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Turkish Armed Forces, further increasing the country’s self-defense capabilities. The AEW&C aircraft was delivered at Konya Air Base, the fleet’s main operating base. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the fourth aircraft for the program in 2015.
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09/10/2014
The flyover of two Russian aircraft over the Black Sea was planned and in accordance with international law and they did not approach a Canadian Navy vessel in the area, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen.-Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday. “On September 7, 2014, the crew of two aircraft, an Su-24 and an An-26, from the Russian Air Force successfully completed planned flights over neutral waters of the Black Sea in the area of the state borders of the Russian Federation.
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09/10/2014
Airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) militants’ positions in Iraq are extremely effective, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said. "The airstrikes that we conducted in support of Mosul Dam operations led to Iraqi forces retaking Mosul Dam. The airstrikes that we took in and around Amirli broke the back of the ISIL forces that were attempting to take Amirli. And now, over the weekend, these airstrikes conducted in support of Haditha Dam.
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09/09/2014
White House spokesman Josh Earnest suggested Monday that President Barack Obama will launch a long-term drone war against the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), whether or not Congress approves. He repeatedly declined to say if Obama would seek permission from Congress to launch airstrikes in Syria, but insisted the president would like to get congressional “buy in.”
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09/09/2014
The Royal Air Force (RAF) has deployed three Tornado GR.4 combat aircraft to Chad to help search for missing Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in April.
The aircraft, from II Army Cooperation Squadron, departed Norfolk in late August, according to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly. The Tornados are operating from N’Djamena International Airport in Chad, where they are hosted by the French military detachment there, reports Air Forces Daily.
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09/09/2014
The Coalition might have marked their first anniversary in government with a dip in the polls, but they’re on the right track when it comes to military support in the Middle East. The latest Newspoll reveals the majority of Australians support the federal government’s decision to provide humanitarian aid and weapons - including 50 tonnes of small arms and ammunition - to forces opposing Islamic State (otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL) militants.
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09/09/2014
In an aggressive move to reclaim its maritime expeditionary heritage after 13 years of grinding land-based combat and counterinsurgency/nation-building, the Marine Corps has published a new capstone conceptual document that charts a new course into the future. Expeditionary Force 21 draws heavily on the Corps’ historic roles as a forward-deployed or fast-responding force willing and able to perform a wide range of duties.
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09/09/2014
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is meeting Monday with Turkey’s top politicians and its senior military leader to discuss forming a regional coalition to battle the Islamic State group. During his first official visit to Turkey, Mr. Hagel is expected to urge officials, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayip Erdogan, to have their country play a key role in the regional component of an international plan to combat the militant group, U.S. officials said.
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09/09/2014
Modern simulators used for practice make it possible to considerably speed up pilot training and to create training situations for experienced pilots in which aircraft operate at the peak of their technical capability. The quiet merchant town of Torzhok in the Tver Region is known not only for its ancient history but also for being home to one of Russia's best military helicopter training schools, the Center for Pilots' Military Retraining.
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09/09/2014
Russia’s Air Force does not depend on foreign components, United Aircraft Corporation CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said on Monday. “Clearly, our military aviation must not depend on foreign supplies, and we are pursuing this policy now,” he said. In civil aviation, the share of domestically-made components is 50% “This figure is higher when aircraft are upgraded. This [growth] happens faster now,” Pogosyan said.
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09/09/2014
In the summer of 1990, when Saddam Hussain's army marched into Kuwait, the U.S. marshaled an international coalition consisting of nations as eclectic as Argentina, Syria, Senegal and South Korea. But as the Islamic State jihadist group, also known as IS or ISIS, with a self-styled caliphate overruns large tracts of northern Iraq and Syria and shocks the world with a brutal campaign, building a similar coalition is proving to be exceedingly difficult.
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09/09/2014
India may acquire 126 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft from Germany, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported Monday. Indian and German officials are once again negotiating a multibillion-dollar deal for the delivery of 126 German-made fighter jets to India, the agency reported, citing German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
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09/09/2014
Russian reconnaissance and strike drone "Chirok" will begin tests in 2015, the CEO of the Moscow Research Radio Engineering Institute Yuri Nevzorov told RIA Novosti on Sunday.
"After the new year , we will launch the test. We have three models of the aircraft in total,” said Nevzorov during the 10th Anniversary of the International Gidroaviasalon exhibition in Gelendzhik, Russia.
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09/08/2014
A total of P24.7 billion is needed next year to fund 12 projects to enhance the military’s capabilities. The STAR obtained data showing that among the projects that the Department of National Defense (DND) wants to include in the 2015 budget are lead-in fighter trainer jets ammunition, long-range patrol aircraft, multi-purpose attack craft, rocket launchers and base upgrades.
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09/08/2014
About 1,500 Marines and sailors have been busily testing the capabilities of the Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship during a two-month transit in a region that rarely sees a warship of this size. Marines and sailors have been engaging important U.S. allies in this part of the world since leaving the Mississippi shipyard in July.
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09/08/2014
The head of the Arab League urged its members Sunday to confront Islamic State extremists "militarily and politically," issuing an apparent call to arms as President Barack Obama prepares to go to lawmakers and the American public with his own plan to stop the militants.
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09/08/2014
The United States on Sunday expanded its air war against Islamic extremists in Iraq, sending fighter jets to attack targets near the Haditha Dam in coordination with ground forces from the Shiite Muslim-dominated Iraqi military and local Sunni Muslim tribes. The operation was led by Anbar’s governor, Ahmad Khalaf, who received a serious head wound from shrapnel from a mortar round apparently fired by Islamic State fighters.
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09/08/2014
New details have emerged on the aircraft lineup for the new carrier Liaoning, which analysts say is a “plausible” mix of foreign-designed fighter jets and various helicopters, yet limited due to its lack of other necessary aircraft. According to the Aug. 28 edition of the Chinese-language Shanghai Morning Post, the carrier will house 36 aircraft.
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09/07/2014
American warplanes continued their airstrikes on the Islamic State militant group in northern Iraq on Friday and Saturday, destroying some of its military vehicles, the U.S. Central Command said. A mix of attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft were used to conduct two air raids in support of operations near Irbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, the Central Command said in a statement.
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09/07/2014
s many as 12 RAF Tornado GR4s jets could join eight members of the US-led “core coalition” for strategic bombing raids over Northern Iraq. Details of the countdown to combat emerged as Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond renewed Britain’s pledge to tackle the “pernicious threat” of IS at source, telling the Sunday Express that, while there would be no British boots on the ground, “we have ruled nothing else out at this stage”.
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09/07/2014
David Cameron used the runup to the Nato summit in south Wales to focus attention on the Islamic State (Isis) threat. The prime minister left the clear impression that Britain was moving closer to launching air strikes in northern Iraq in concert with the Americans, who are already conducting limited attacks.
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09/07/2014
The disclosure that the U.S. military is flying surveillance sorties over Syria to collect information on the Islamic State and identify potential targets means that one service’s fleet is busy in the region, experts say. The mission calls for a fleet that can best thwart Syria’s advanced air defense systems, the threat of which led military leaders to argue against enforcement of a no-fly zone over the country last year.
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09/07/2014
A tentative peace deal for Ukraine reached Friday raised hopes for a resolution of the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, even as the U.S. and Europe beefed up sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to leave the battlefield. After a day of continued fighting, Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country said they had stopped their military operations when the cease-fire went into effect at 6 p.m. local time.
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09/06/2014
The mission to crush the Islamic State out of existence leaves the US and the UK facing the unpalatable prospect of having to make common cause with foes in Iran and Syria. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has approved contacts with US military officials to help defeat jihadists, it was claimed last night. Ayatollah Khamenei has authorised his top commander to co-ordinate military operations with the US, Iraqi and Kurdish forces, sources in Tehran told the BBC.
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09/06/2014
RAF Panavia Tornado GR.4 combat aircraft have deployed to West Africa to join multinational operations against the radical Islamist group Boko Haram. The aircraft from 2 (Army Co-operation) Squadron left RAF Marham in Norfolk during the last week of August and have since begun operating over Nigeria from the French airbase at N'Djamena in Chad, according to defence sources in London.
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09/06/2014
The US Navy (USN) is to convert its stockpile of TV-guided AGM-65A/B Maverick air-to-surface missiles to the laser-guided AGM-65E2 configuration under a USD49.5 million contract awarded to Raytheon on 3 September. The conversion of 500 missiles will run through to the end of January 2017. Although not mentioned in the Department of Defense's (DoD's) notification, the contract most likely arises from the current USN air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
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09/06/2014
The US has openly expressed alarm over IS, saying the group was "beyond anything" it has previously seen. The US began launching air strikes on IS in northern Iraq on 9 August - at the request of the Iraqi government - but has said it will take a "broad international coalition" to defeat it.
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09/06/2014
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force is no longer a peasant air force of ancient fighters incapable of projecting power beyond its borders. During the Cold War, there was no need for such an expensive force—or to fight a major war outside of China’s borders. Now, as China’s economy has expanded at a staggering rate, China’s interests have grown beyond its borders, indeed even beyond its traditional area of interest in East Asia to a truly global scope.
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09/06/2014
When a small plane began to drift off course early Friday, the North American Aerospace Defence Command anticipated a scenario it had seen before. “F-15 fighter jets are currently escorting an unresponsive small aircraft over the Atlantic, possible hypoxia,” NORAD tweeted Friday afternoon. “Hypoxia” - the medical term for oxygen deprivation - has been the culprit in several air crashes of the past.
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09/06/2014
David Cameron has reversed plans to mothball one of two new £3?billion aircraft carriers.
The Prime Minister said that the 65,000-ton HMS Prince of Wales will be brought into service instead of being kept as a reserve vessel. Defence cuts had meant that only one of the ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth, would enter active service.
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09/06/2014
There is a threat from terror groups such as al Qaeda but the country is ready to tackle it, IAF chief Arup Raha said on Friday in the light of reports that the international terrorist outfit has established a new branch to wage jihad in India. "There is a threat from such agencies but the nation is prepared for it," Raha said when asked about the al-Qaeda threat regarding the group starting operations in India.
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09/06/2014
The Russian Navy is to receive 10 new deck-based MiG-29K (Fulcrum-D) jet fighters by the end of 2014, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said Friday. “The Naval Aviation Forces will receive 10 MiG-29K aircraft by the end of 2014,” Chikov said in the Black Sea Port city of Gelendzhik.
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09/05/2014
The forces responsible for Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal will conduct major exercises this month involving more than 4,000 soldiers, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of rising tension with NATO over the Ukraine crisis.
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09/05/2014
The US Marine Corps faces a new delay for Lockheed Martin F-35B entry into service if operating limitations caused by a recent engine problem cannot be limited by the end of September. “I need the rest of the test airplanes back to full envelope by the end of this month, otherwise we will start seeing delays in future milestones that we haven’t pushed up against yet,” says Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan, chief of the Pentagon’s F-35 joint program office (JPO).
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09/05/2014
The suspended delivery of two French-built amphibious warships to the Russian Navy could give NATO an opportunity to buy a ready-made platform for its planned rapid reaction force, retired Adm. James G. Stavridis — former NATO Supreme Allied Commander — told USNI News on Thursday.
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09/05/2014
Dubbed “Peace Mission 2014,” the “antiterrorism” military exercise hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) took place last month in northern China amid growing tensions within the regional alliance. Five nations — China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — sent a total of 7,000 soldiers to the six-day maneuvers that ended Aug. 29, including 5,000 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops and 1,000 Russian soldiers.
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09/05/2014
NATO leaders began their summit by discussing what feels like yesterday's war. With eastern Ukraine burning and Islamic extremists rampaging across Syria and northern Iraq, western military allies turned their attention Thursday to the final withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan, slated for the end of the year.
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09/05/2014
US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed their commitment to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Thursday, as a major NATO conference got underway near the Welsh city of Newport. In a joint op-ed published in London newspaper The Times, the two leaders said the NATO alliance remained relevant in the face of crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.
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09/05/2014
Ample Strike 2014, a large aviation exercise of forward air controllers, pilots and other soldiers from 12 NATO member countries, started today, spokeswoman Magdalena Dvoráková, from the Czech General Staff, told the Czech News Agency. Four Slovak L-39 Albatros planes, two Slovak Mi-17 helicopters and one Lithuanian L-39 aircraft landed at the airfields in Prague-Kbely and Cáslav, central Bohemia.
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09/05/2014
Boeing and the U.S. Army have proven the capabilities of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) in maritime conditions, successfully targeting a variety of aerial targets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. “Under windy, rainy and foggy weather conditions in Florida, these engagements were the most challenging to date with a 10-kilowatt laser on HEL MD,” said Dave DeYoung, Boeing Directed Energy Systems director.
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09/05/2014
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he would do everything possible to establish a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. “We will do everything possible in order to establish a ceasefire. Soldiers lose their lives, innocent civilians die. I, as President, will do everything possible,” Poroshenko said during press conference at the NATO summit in Wales.
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09/04/2014
Any military operation takes time to plan but an open house and air show can take years. Just ask Maj. Todd Wasilewski. He’s the air operations director for the Open House and Air Show at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Sept. 6 and 7. Wasilewski works in the standardization and evaluation office, where his primary duty is that of a KC-135 Stratotanker instructor pilot. He’s been at Selfridge for 13 years, five of them flying the C-130.
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09/04/2014
“Russia proposed to give MiG-29s to Lebanon two to three years ago,” Jaber said. “I said we don’t need it, because it will be over Syria or Israel or the sea within seconds and will either be shot down or be useless. So I proposed that they change it to helicopters.”
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09/04/2014
About 350 new U.S. troops will begin arriving in Iraq on Wednesday, bringing the total American military footprint there above 1,000 personnel for the first time in nearly three years. President Obama approved the additional troops — mostly soldiers and Marines — late Tuesday night. They will arrive via U.S. military aircraft and be assigned primarily to diplomatic security duties around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, military officials said.
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09/04/2014
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) new Advanced Jet Trainer, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 aircraft, was inaugurated into 150 Squadron at Cazaux Air Base in France on Wednesday afternoon. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ng emphasised the significant role of the M-346 aircraft in training the RSAF's next generation of fighter aircrew efficiently and effectively.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/rsaf-inaugurates-
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09/04/2014
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 James E. Groves III’s helicopter had completed a dive during a test-fire exercise north of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan when trouble erupted. The main rotor of his Kiowa Warrior OH-58D wasn’t spinning quickly enough to keep him airborne, and a warning alarm went off as he attempted to climb from a height of about 200 feet.
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09/04/2014
Any air arm able to field 30 operational MiG-21s, 11 Douglas A-4K Skyhawks and which ordered up to 28 light combat jets would be placed well up the rankings in Flight International’s annual World Air Forces directory. It may come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that the aircraft listed above belong to a commercial company. Welcome to Draken International, the world’s largest private air force.
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09/04/2014
At this summer's Farnborough Air Show in England, the talk was dominated by the mishaps of one plane: the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. Due to be adopted by major air forces in the decades to come, it was supposed to be the star of the show. But in the end, the $100m-a-unit jet failed to turn up to its coming-out party after an engine fire in one of the production models grounded the fleet.
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09/04/2014
Deputy Air Chief Air Marshal S B P Sinha on Wednesday became the first officer of his rank to fly indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas and praised its performance, saying it handled "well" on the ground as well as in the air. Mr Sinha flew the aircraft (trainer version) in Bengaluru where he was on a two-day visit to Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) during which he took a review of various aspects of the Tejas programme.
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09/04/2014
United States Navy destroyer USS Ross has entered Black Sea, according to the statement in US Navy 6th Fleet official command account on Twitter. “USS Ross enters Black Sea, promoting peace and stability while working with NATO allies and partners,” the statement says.
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09/04/2014
India’s Air Force commanders have expressed interest in the Russian surface-to-air missile systems in the course of the joint Russian-Indian Air Force exercise “Aviandra-2014”, Maj. Gen. Sergey Babakov told journalists Wednesday. “They have expressed great interest in our systems, they probably need to modernize their weapons arsenal,” Maj. Gen. Babakov, head of the Russian Air Force's anti-aircraft missile troops, said.
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09/03/2014
Boeing has supported more than 1,000 missions for the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) program’s fleet of three C-17 airlifters, achieving a mission capable rate of nearly 94 percent during the five years it has provided maintenance, engineering and spares through a comprehensive performance-based logistics program.
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09/03/2014
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko says he has agreed with Russian President Putin by phone on a "ceasefire process" for the east. His office initially reported that a "permanent ceasefire" had been agreed but later revised its statement. The Kremlin stressed Mr Putin had not agreed to a ceasefire as Russia was not party to the conflict.
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09/03/2014
The US Air Force is moving ahead with plans to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet engine based on technological improvements achieved through an ongoing effort to produce a power plant for a future long-range bomber. In a request for information released 19 August, the air force said it plans to release a final request for proposals for the adaptive engine transfer programme (AETP) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, “notionally December 2014.”
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09/03/2014
Danny DeKeyser prepared for the ride of a lifetime by packing a couple of plastic bags in his pants pocket. He took them out when he felt a little air sick while flying over Southeast Michigan at speeds he'd never experienced before, but he didn't need them. DeKeyser, the second-year defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings, handled it well, his 40-minute flight Tuesday on a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet.
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09/03/2014
Islamic militants seized a dozen commercial aircraft in an attack on a Libyan airport last week. Now, intelligence agencies are warning the jets could be used in 9/11 style attacks.
“There are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing,” one official told The Washington Free Beacon this morning. “We found out on September 11 what can happen with hijacked planes.”
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09/03/2014
The U.S. Army awarded Boeing a $234 million foreign military sales contract to supply 24 AH-6i light attack/reconnaissance helicopters to Saudi Arabia, affirming a long pending order. The Department of Defense announced the contract award on August 29; the estimated contract completion date is Dec. 31, 2016.
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09/03/2014
The video, titled “A second message to America”, includes warnings to Washington and its allies to halt military operations against Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq. An RAAF transport plane yesterday delivered its first cargo of weapons to Kurdish fighters battling the jihadist group and the Abbott government has left open the possibility of sending combat aircraft to mount attacks in Iraq.
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09/03/2014
The savagery of the jihadist campaign in Iraq would normally be enough to drive the world’s nations to military intervention, to stop the slaughter of thousands of men, women and children that is being promoted with pride by the terrorists calling themselves the Islamic State.
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09/03/2014
The military will hold its annual Han Kuang series of exercises later this month, including a drill to practice emergency takeoffs and landings of fighter jets on a freeway, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday. The drill is set for Sept. 16 on the Minxiong section of the No. 1 National Freeway, which passes through the southern county of Chiayi, military officials said at a news conference. It is one of four sections of that freeway designated as emergency runways in the event of war.
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09/03/2014
Should Canadians feel obliged to spend an extra $20 billion on defence because Russian President Vladimir Putin is bullying Ukraine? Of course not. Canada must do its share to deter aggression against our European allies, as we have in the past. But we can help them manage the threat without busting the bank.
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09/03/2014
Despite the ongoing hostilities in southeastern Ukraine, the United States plans to go ahead with the Rapid Trident military exercise, scheduled to take place in western Ukraine later this month and expected to involve up to 1,000 servicemen from NATO countries and other US allies, Reuters reported Tuesday. "At the moment, we are still planning for [the exercise] to go ahead," the agency quoted US Navy Captain Gregory Hicks, a spokesman for the US Army's European Command, as saying.
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09/03/2014
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has delivered the last four F-16 aircraft to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) under Pakistan F-16 Modernization Program, at a ceremony held at TAI's facilities in Ankara, Turkey, on September 02, 2014.
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09/02/2014
Ukraine's defence minister has accused Russia of launching a "great war" that could claim tens of thousands of lives. Russia dismissed the comments, saying they only pulled the Ukrainian people further into a bloody civil conflict. The comments came after Ukrainian troops were forced to flee Luhansk airport in the east of the country amid an offensive by pro-Russian rebels.
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09/02/2014
Iraqi forces aided by US air strikes have broken through to the jihadist-besieged Shiite town of Amerli, where thousands have been trapped for over two months with dwindling food and water supplies. It is the biggest offensive success for the Iraqi government since militants led by the Sunni jihadist group Islamic State (IS) overran large areas of five provinces in June, sweeping security forces aside.
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09/02/2014
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described Russia’s incursion into Ukraine as an act of war, a significant escalation in rhetoric the day after an announcement of fresh Australian sanctions designed to hamper further action by President Vladimir Putin. “It is an invasion, let’s call it for what it is. It is an invasion of Ukraine and it’s absolutely, utterly reprehensible.
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09/02/2014
In his first state visit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met with a kindred spirit, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe. The two leaders, wary of China's glowing clout in Asia, have agreed to strengthen defense ties.
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09/02/2014
Russia has delivered a batch of Mi-28 Night Hunter attack helicopters to Baghdad, Iraq's Defense Ministry said on its website. "These helicopters will be put into operation to contribute to the military's struggle against the Islamic State terrorist group," the ministry said Saturday. Russia has been ramping up its support for the Iraqi government as it struggles to contain the spread of the radical Islamic State from war-torn Syria to Iraq.
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09/02/2014
The Israeli air force (IAF) shot down a Syrian air force unmanned air vehicle (UAV) when it entered Israeli airspace on 31 August, according to local sources. The IAF shot down the Iranian-made Yasir UAV with a Raytheon Patriot surface-to-air missile after it crossed the border into Israeli territory. Israeli sources allege the aircraft was being used to gather data on rebel forces in Syria.
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09/02/2014
The F-15C "Eagle" represents a pinnacle of human technology in man's ability to break the hold of gravity and take to the air in flight. Its twin jet engines push the aircraft's 14 tons of titanium and aluminum to elevations of 65,000 feet at over two-and-a-half times the speed of sound. It can fly in any weather condition, night or day, and is one of the most successful combat aircraft ever designed.
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09/02/2014
Tony Abbott says an Australian C-130 Hercules aircraft was not shot at by extremists while delivering humanitarian aid to northern Iraq. The prime minister downplayed News Corp Australia reports the RAAF transport plane was attacked by Islamic State extremists as it dropped aid to the besieged town of Amerli.
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09/02/2014
The tanker test campaign was developed in five flights in which the A400M performed 33 dry contacts and dispensed 18.6 tonnes of fuel to an F/A-18 Hornet in 35 wet contacts. With a basic fuel capacity of 50.8 tonnes which can be increased by the use of extra cargo hold tanks, the A400M is the most capable tactical tanker in the market.
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09/01/2014
RAF transport planes have taken part in an air drop to bring urgently needed humanitarian aid to the besieged Iraqi town of Amirli, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. The Hercules aircraft formed part of an international effort to resupply the town which has been under siege by Islamic State (IS) militants for nearly two months.
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09/01/2014
Barack Obama was on Sunday urged to take a tougher approach towards Russia and Syria, as Republicans and Democrats returned from their summer vacations in confrontational mood.
After a week in which the president was criticised for failing to develop military plans for tackling Islamic State militants inside Syria and taking a relatively cautious approach to Russian incursions in Ukraine, senior figures in Congress took turns to demand greater US intervention.
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09/01/2014
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has told local media that unauthorised aircraft spotted in Maldivian airspace belong to the United States Air Force. CAA Director Abdulla Rasheed told local paper Haveeru the aircraft had originated from Foalhavahi – also known as the Chagos Islands – home to a US military base. “No one can enter the area, without our knowing. If anyone were to enter, they would have to gain our permission first,” Rasheed told Haveeru.
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09/01/2014
Accusing Russia of waging a campaign of “military aggression and terror” against his country, President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine told European leaders here Saturday that their own countries’ security depended on stopping Russian troops from stoking a conflict in eastern Ukraine that he said could escalate into a wider war.
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09/01/2014
When a Chinese J-11 fighter intercepted and flew within 20 feet of a US Navy P-8 Poseidon on Aug. 19 off the Hainan Island coast, it set off debate in the US about whether the forward-deployed US military can continue to conduct the types of operations that strategic necessity requires.
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09/01/2014
Two RAAF E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft have returned to Australia after participating in Exercise Red Flag Alaska last month. The two 2SQN aircraft, supported by 59 personnel from the RAAF’s 49 Wing, took part in a number of ‘large force employment’ air combat exercises involving up to 60 aircraft during Red Flag Alaska 14-3, which ran from August 7 to 22.
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09/01/2014
The Greens this morning have tried to suspend Parliament to debate the threat of “mission creep” for Australia’s forces deployed to the region. Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday announced the RAAF’s involvement in the supply of military equipment to anti-Islamic State fighters, with the first mission to take place “in coming days”. But Mr Abbott played down talk that Australian troops could be sent into the country, saying there was no role “envisaged” for boots on the ground.
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09/01/2014
Israeli military have shot down a drone that flew into Israeli-controlled airspace near the Quneitra border crossing between the Golan Heights and Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday. “The IDF intercepted a UAV that breached Israeli airspace from Syria near Quneitra. The UAV was targeted by a ‘Patriot’ missile,” the IDF statement said.
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