March 02, 2015 Military Aviation News

Pakistan Re-equips Squadron With AEW&C Planes

03/02/2015

Pakistan's Air Force (PAF) Thursday stood up its unit of Chinese Karakorum Eagle AEW&C aircraft in a ceremony attended by the head of the PAF, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Though the exact location of the ceremony was not given, it is believed to have been held at PAF Base Masroor in Karachi as the prime minister was known to have been in the city that day.

The Mysterious Air Force Of Ukraine's Pro-Russian Separatists

03/02/2015

At number 63 Karl Marx Street, the tinted glass facade of the Ministry of Defense of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) stands insolently among the scenery of shattered windows and crushed roads. On the snow-covered square in front of the church, a dozen of half-asleep men smoke cigarette after cigarette while they wait for the recruitment office to open. The fatigue, anxiety and cold make their legs shiver, but don’t dissuade them from joining the Luhansk people’s militia.

Leadership: Japan Responds To The Chinese Threat

03/02/2015

For the third year in a row Japan has increased its defense budget, this time to $41 billion. Japan is also striving to generate enough popular support for changing the laws that govern the aggressive use of its military. The most recent motivator for this was the recent execution of two Japanese citizens by Islamic terrorists (ISIL in Syria). Longer term the Japanese are becoming more alarmed at increasing Chinese military activity in waters and air space around Japan.

Spy plane trip to West PH Sea sign of US 'commitment' to Asian pivot

03/02/2015

One of the United States' most advanced aircraft was in Clark Air Base in February for a temporary rotational detachment that allowed Filipino pilots to join patrol missions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The spy plane – a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft – that is under the operational control of the US Navy Patrol Squadron 45 based in Yokosuka, Japan shows the country's commitment to a strategic pivot to Asia.

AF leaders: Surveillance demand drives budget decisions, fleet cuts

03/02/2015

The constant, insatiable demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance has driven the Air Force to reduce funds for some missions in order to keep more spy aircraft flying and to increase combat air patrols, Air Force leaders told lawmakers Friday. The fiscal 2016 budget request looks to keep flying the U-2, previously planned for early retirement, at least until 2019 to address the demand for surveillance. The budget also would fund 60 combat air patrols per day, up from 55.

Saudi Eastern Fleet Request Advances

03/02/2015

A second letter of request (LoR) from the Saudi government detailing requirements for the Eastern Fleet replacement program was delivered to the US Navy in February, barely a month after an initial request was sent, according to sources here at the International Defence Exposition show.

The dangerous risks Britain is taking with defence

03/02/2015

When circumstances change, defence policy should too. Yet British governments have a patchy record. For many years, Conservative governments preferred a series of budget cuts to a properly conducted review of defence and security. The last serious effort to calibrate military spending with foreign policy was under Labour in 1998. The coalition government’s review of 2010 was another budget-driven exercise, which lacked intellectual rigour and did deep damage to Britain’s military power.

Russian Inspectors to Fly Over Spain, Portugal Under Open Skies Treaty

03/02/2015

Russian inspectors will conduct observation flights over the territories of Spain and Portugal at the beginning of March, under the Treaty on Open Skies, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov has announced. "Observation flights will be conducted during the period of March 1-8 from the Open Skies airfields in Lisbon (Portugal) and Getafe (Spain) at a maximum range of 1200 and 1800 kilometers [745 and 1118 miles] respectively," Ryzhkov said.

US, Germany to Carry Observation Flight Over Russia

03/02/2015

The United States and Germany will carry joint observation flight over the Russian territory within the framework of the Treaty on Open Skies, Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of Russia’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, told journalists.

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