March, 2022 Military Aviation News
03/31/2022
Demoralised Russian soldiers in Ukraine have accidentally shot down their own aircraft, sabotaged their own kit, and refused to carry out orders, a British spy chief has revealed. Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of GCHQ, said President Vladimir Putin's advisers are afraid to tell him the truth about how badly things are going. In a rare public speech on Thursday in Australia, the senior intelligence officer also said:
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03/31/2022
The Air Force plans to cut its fleet of F-22s by 33 — mothballing planes used by the training unit that’s moving to Langley Air Force Base — but its plans to shift that unit and its hundreds of civilians and contractors to Hampton are still on course. “Although we plan to retire the F-22 Block 20 aircraft, we plan to redistribute the existing operational F-22 aircraft to support the training mission as well as the operational missions,” said Ann Stefanek, the Air Force’s chief media spokeswoman.
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03/31/2022
Two F-35A Lightning II of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force), took part in “Armeebotschaft 2022” at Emmen Air Base, Switzerland last week. The presence of the two Italian aircraft was requested by the Swiss government to present the population and authorities the new fighter which was chosen to replace the current aircraft in the Swiss Air Force.
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03/31/2022
Military aviation training companies Top Aces and Blue Air Training announced the completion of a merger on 30 March. Las Vegas-based Blue Air provides Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training for the US Air Force (USAF) and foreign air forces. JTACs are ground-based USAF personnel who direct fire support from aerial platforms.
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03/31/2022
Ukraine is poised to introduce a new ground-based air defense system to its war against Russia’s invasion forces, with the announcement that the British-supplied Starstreak main-portable air defense system, or MANPADS, is “ready to be used imminently.” Once fielded in combat, the Starstreak will be the latest addition to a growing armory of similar systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which we examined in detail in this past feature.
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03/30/2022
Three days after the attack began, Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a landmark speech pledged a special budget of 100 billion euros for the military, as well as annual spending of more than two percent of output on defence. The armaments industry has since been buzzing about the looming spending spree.
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03/30/2022
The US Air Force’s (USAF) 18th Wing has conducted the hot-pit style refuelling with a KC-135 Stratotanker at Kadence Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The hot pit refuelling exercise maximises agile combat employment (ACE). The event was conducted in the Pacific Air Forces’ (PACAF) area of responsibility for the first time, reported technical sergeant Micaiah Anthony.
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03/30/2022
The US Air Force (USAF)’s 325th Fighter Wing (FW) based in Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida is set to receive F-35A Lightning II aircraft starting from September 2023. The move is part of the National Defense Strategy to enhance air superiority goals. Currently, Tyndall personnel and contractors are working to prepare the airbase to accommodate the F-35 jets.
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03/30/2022
The Sukhoi Su-34 was supposed to change the Russian air force. The twin-engine, twin-seat, supersonic fighter-bomber—a highly-evolved variant of the Su-27 air-superiority fighter—promised to usher in a new era of high-tech, precision bombing.
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03/29/2022
A budgetary analysis by Finland’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has determined that the government’s $10 billion buy of 64 Lockheed F-35 fighter jets can be funded from within the Finnish Defense Force’s (FDF) established annual income and expenditure framework.
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03/29/2022
With thousands of troops deployed to Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Navy is adding to its assets in the region. The Defense Department announced Monday that six EA-18G Growlers, with 240 air crew and maintainers, will head to Spangdahlem, Germany, as part of 14,000 troops the U.S. has committed to reassure NATO. The electronic attack aircraft will not be doing any jamming missions, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
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03/29/2022
Armenia handed over combat aircraft to Russia for use in military operations against Ukraine, Trend reports citing the Turkish media. According to the statement, on March 25, four Su-30 fighters took off from Armenia and flew to Russia to be used against Ukraine. Thus, Armenia became a participant in the military activities in Ukraine. Once again, this country contributed to the escalation of the conflict rather than peace in the region.
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03/29/2022
Thousands of American and Filipino forces began on Monday one of their largest combat exercises in years that will include live-fire maneuvers, aircraft assaults, urban warfare and beach landings in a showcase of U.S. firepower in the northern Philippines near its sea border with Taiwan.
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03/29/2022
Air Force jobs are set to dip in fiscal 2023 as the service looks to retire more of its mainstay combat aircraft, according to the Biden administration’s new budget request released Monday.
The service wants to shrink its workforce by opting not to replace airmen who separate, retire or leave on other terms, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters in a March 25 preview.
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03/28/2022
The Canadian government has selected Lockheed Martin Corp., the American manufacturer of the F-35 fighter jet, as its preferred bidder in a $19-billion search for a new warplane. The announcement will be made today, a source told The Globe and Mail. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. This development means Canada starts negotiating solely with Lockheed Martin on a contract for the combat aircraft.
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03/28/2022
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) informed that on Sunday (March 27), the country has successfully carried out the test firing of the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile air defence system. The test-fire was carried out off the coast of Odisha's Balasore, which is an eastern Indian state.
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03/28/2022
As Russia continues its attack on Ukraine, the role of NATO is at the forefront. Here's a quick overview of the alliance, the role that the United States plays within it, and what it's doing to help Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.
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03/28/2022
Emotional compartmentalization is among the fighter pilot’s most essential skills. Especially in wartime, when there is little time to reflect on one’s mortality, or to honor the dead. Apart from their fears and sorrows, however, there is another emotion, unique to war, which Ukrainian fighter pilots must now also control each time they fly. It is their rage, provoked by the Russian pilots who continue to bomb and murder Ukrainian civilians.
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03/27/2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visibly irritated, demanded that Western nations provide a fraction of the military hardware in their stock piles to his country and asked whether they were afraid of Moscow. Several countries have promised to send anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles as well as small arms but Zelenskiy said Kyiv was not getting what it needed.
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03/27/2022
The Ukraine defense ministry reported that another Russian general has been killed in the war.
"Yakov Rezantsev is the second Russian lieutenant general to die in the war against Ukraine," the ministry tweeted Friday. "This is becoming a typical track-record of Russian generals. Lt. Gen Yakov Rezantsev is said to have been killed during a Ukrainian strike on the Chornobaivka airbase near Kherson, Ukraine, BBC reported.
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03/27/2022
The Nigerian Army on Saturday said its troops have discovered wreckage of a missing Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet. The Nigerian Army made this known on its official Twitter page on Saturday. Recall that the Alpha fighter jet, marked NAF 475, went missing after losing radar contact with the air force base in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital on March 31, 2021.
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03/27/2022
The end of an era is upon Nellis Air Force Base (AFB). The installation geared up to bid farewell to the F-15C Eagle as the aircraft prepared to depart for the last time. On Mar. 16, 2022 one of the last few F-15Cs departed to its final active flying unit, Eglin AFB, Florida. Back in December 2020, it was announced that the last cadre of F-15C students and instructors flew their final defensive counter-air mission for the US Air Force Weapons School.
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03/27/2022
American F-35s deployed to NATO member states in Eastern Europe could help deter Russia from expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries. U.S. Air Force F-35As briefly operated from Estonia in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Air Force units in Europe remain in the region to support allies.
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03/26/2022
According to a report on Israel’s Walla! News site, Israel is trying to persuade the US to approve the sale of advanced F-15 Advanced Eagle fighter jets to Egypt. Israel is working to approve the US aircraft deal with Egypt as part of Jerusalem’s efforts to improve relations between Cairo and Washington, the report says.
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03/26/2022
A viral video of an Air Force pilot training exercise captures the heart-stopping maneuvers a real Top Gun has to perform to escape his 'enemy.' The video shows Air Force Pilot William Lewis shooting off swirling flares to distract his pursuer in a 3k training exercise above the Nevada Test and Training Range on the Nellis Air Force Base. The 3k refers to the 3,000 feet separating the jet-to-jet combat.
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03/26/2022
As part of the transition from the AV-8B Harrier to the F-35B Lightning II, VMA-214 was re-designated as Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 214. The F-35B Lightning II is replacing the AV-8B Harrier to introduce unmatched capabilities to the Marine Corps. The F-35B Lightning II represents a leap forward in air dominance by providing the operational agility and tactical supremacy Marines need to provide expeditious and lethal support.
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03/26/2022
The issue of air power over Ukraine remained center stage this week as NATO heads of state gathered in Brussels to discuss their further support of the country aimed at upholding its right to self-defense against Russia’s invasion.
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03/26/2022
On 23 March, a B-2 stealth bomber conducted a mission in the region with five different fighter aircraft from the US Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, the Pacific Air Forces announced in a press release. A USAF B-2 ‘Spirit’ flew from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to RAAF base Amberley, Australia. The combat aircraft was linked to the 509th Bomb Wing and became the first B-2 Spirit to land at RAAF Base Amberley, the release stated.
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03/25/2022
In a conflict that’s so far confounded many expectations, it’s no exaggeration to say that the performance of the Ukrainian Air Force in its response to Russia's invasion has been one of the more surprising aspects. Rather than being wiped out on the ground and in the air in the first few days of the war, as many had predicted, Ukrainian airpower has instead refused to buckle in the face of a much larger and technologically more advanced opponent.
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03/25/2022
Ukraine has updated its extensive wishlist of additional military assistance from the US government in the past several days to include hundreds more anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles than previously requested, according to a document provided to CNN that details the items needed.
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03/25/2022
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the NATO summit, has said that the Alliance could provide Ukraine with 1% of all its tanks and aircraft. The head of state recalled that Ukraine had applied to NATO representatives for combat aircraft and tanks, both on a reimbursable and non-reimbursable basis, to prevent deaths among its own population and unblock the cities surrounded and occupied by Russian troops.
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03/25/2022
With global attention focused on the crisis in eastern Europe, China has surreptitiously stepped up its engagement with Myanmar’s junta and has also got Pakistan involved as its proxy to supply arms and munitions to the southeast Asian nation. A senior delegation from the Myanmar Military Procurement Authority is slated to visit Pakistan soon for pre-shipment procurement of weapons.
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03/25/2022
The Navy is making the first major changes to the carrier air wing in a generation. The service just wrapped up the first carrier deployment of the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters – the first new fighter jet on a carrier in 20 years – and is a few years away from introducing the first unmanned aircraft into the air wing.
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03/24/2022
A trilateral military exercise between the air forces of Singapore, Thailand and the United States that had been put on hold for two years because of COVID-19 is currently under way at Thailand's Korat Air Base. More than 1,100 people and around 70 assets are taking part in Exercise Cope Tiger - now into its 26th edition - from Mar 13 to Mar 25, said Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on Thursday (Mar 23).
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03/24/2022
The Defence Ministry is expected to make some crucial updates on the status of 18 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) procurement in the upcoming Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition & Conference next week that will be held from March 28-31.
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03/24/2022
The Air Force usually takes a long time to procure new equipment, even when the need for something new is clear and urgent. But it seems the service may drop its typical agonizingly deliberative process and move quickly to buy a replacement for—or at least complement to—its fleet of aged E-3 AWACS air battle control jets. That new platform will almost certainly be the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail.
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03/23/2022
An F-22 Raptor from the 325th Fighter Wing "experienced a mishap on landing" at Eglin Air Force Base shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to a brief announcement released from the base's public affairs office shortly before 1 p.m.
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03/22/2022
Two F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role fighter jets from Aviano Air Base, Italy, deployed to Croatia on Mar. 16, 2022 taking part in agile combat employment exercises and bolstering NATO’s southeastern flank, the US Air Force (USAF) announced. According to Air Force Magazine, the Vipers arrived a few days after a military drone crashed in the Croatian capital of Zagreb amid nearby war between Russia and Ukraine.
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03/22/2022
The war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s psychotic obsession with wreaking murderous havoc on a democratic neighbour has had many unintended consequences. For one, it has strengthened the resolve and stiffened the spine of western nations, repurposed NATO back to its original intent, and is protecting Europe from Russian aggression.
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03/22/2022
Something epochal has happened in the Nordic lands. For the first time in the country’s history, the majority of Finns now support joining NATO. Domestic backing has shifted radically in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a recent poll, 65% of Finns supported membership; only 15% are against it. That has risen from just 26% less than two years ago.
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03/22/2022
As Russian forces continue to surround Kyiv and conduct urban operations throughout Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have turned to drones to supplement their combat power. Whether being used in a reconnaissance role or to deliver lethal munitions, drones such as the TB2 Bayraktar are strengthening the Ukrainian military’s ability to fight the numerically superior Russian army in close proximity to the civilian population.
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03/22/2022
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has concluded its participation in Exercise Red Flag – Nellis. The multilateral air combat exercise was held from 7 to 18 March 2022 (US time) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, United States. The RSAF has won the "Outstanding Aircraft Maintenance Unit" award this year.
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03/21/2022
Uganda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India for the maintenance and technical support of the Sukhoi SU-MK30 fighter jets Uganda purchased from Russia more than a decade ago. The maintenance will be done by Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Indian company has a manufacturing license from Russia to build the fighter aircraft.
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03/21/2022
In the newly released video, shared by the official account of the Russian defense Ministry, observers spotted footage showing that Russian troops used Gomel airport as military bases for its armed drones. According to a tweet from MotolkoHelp, the Russian Ministry of Defense provided evidence of the use of Gomel airport for strikes on targets in Ukraine.
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03/21/2022
In April 2018, the Indian Air Force proposed the MMRCA 2.0 tender for the procurement of 114 additional fighter jets for its air fleet, following the acquisition of 36 Rafale jets. Boeing is vying for the multi-billion dollar contract that includes the Swedish Saab Gripen, the Russian MiG-35 and Su-35, the French Dassault Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the US Lockheed Martin F-21.
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03/21/2022
Despite amassing an invasion force of nearly 200,000 troops and thousands of armored vehicles supported by combat aircraft and warships, the Russian military has failed to reach its primary objectives in the three weeks since its offensive into Ukraine began.
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03/21/2022
China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.
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03/20/2022
Four Chinese military aircraft, two fighter jets and two bombers, flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) Saturday, the Ministry of National Defense said. The sortie consisted of two twin-engine Xian H-6 strategic bombers, and Shenyang J-11 and Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, according to a statement released by the ministry.
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03/20/2022
The absence of stealth aircraft appears to be a particularly impactful dynamic in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, given that advanced air defenses have made it possible to close large swaths of the sky to attacking aircraft. An effective fifth-generation stealth fighter would quite likely be able to find and destroy enemy air defense systems, something that fourth-generation aircraft seem to have been unable to do.
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03/20/2022
The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced Russian forces made use of the Kinzhal hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles to destroy a large underground warehouse of missiles and aviation ammunition of Ukrainian troops in the village of Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, in Ukraine’s western part, on Mar. 18, 2022.
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03/20/2022
Dozens of soldiers were killed when Russian troops bombed a Ukrainian military barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv, witnesses told AFP on Saturday while a rescue operation was underway. “No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks” when Russian troops struck early Friday, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim, told AFP without providing his last name.
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03/19/2022
A US military aircraft with four people onboard has crashed in northern Norway, the country’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) told Reuters on Friday. The V-22 Osprey aircraft was taking part in a NATO military exercise called Cold Response when it was reported missing at 6.26pm CET (9.26pm UAE), the JRCC said.
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03/19/2022
Russian missiles on Friday targeted a facility used to repair military aircraft near the airport in Lviv, the Ukrainian authorities said as the war entered the 23rd day. However, no casualties were reported during the strike, news agency AP reported. "Several missiles hit a facility used to repair military aircraft and damaged a bus repair facility, though no casualties were immediately reported. The plant had suspended work ahead of the attack," Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.
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03/19/2022
Even as much of Russia's military is tied up in the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is demonstrating that it can still operate in the Far East with shows of force in Japan's neighborhood. Four Russian tank landing ships were observed passing through the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido on Tuesday and Wednesday, traveling westward into the Sea of Japan, according to Japan's Defense Ministry.
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03/19/2022
The Swedish Air Force provided a vital role to the 414th Combat Training Squadron’s Red Flag-Nellis 22-2 with two air bosses. Their participation promotes interoperability between friendly forces and the exchange of information for both future Red Flag exercises and the Swedish Arctic Challenge Exercise.
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03/19/2022
The Air Force’s next budget proposal, expected to be released by the end of March, will provide more clues on how it hopes to mix manned fighters and bombers with autonomous combat drones. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall views this concept as so vital that elements of it made up two of the seven operational imperatives he outlined in his March 3 keynote address to the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here.
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03/18/2022
The Iraqi Security Media Cell said on Thursday that four rockets fell in open areas in Balad Airbase, leaving no damage or casualties. The media cell stated that the authorities will hunt down the perpetrators of this “cowardly terrorist act”, reassuring Iraqi citizens that “the acts of criminal terrorist gangs will not pass unless the perpetrators are put behind bars and under the judgment of the law.” Balad Airbase houses Iraqi F-16, L-159, and T-6 fighter jets.
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03/18/2022
Jet fighter designers at the Boeing Co. are enhancing electronic warfare (EW) capability to a major upgrade of Japan's F-15 combat aircraft under terms of a $24.6 million order announced Wednesday. Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are asking the Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis to add EW capability to upgrades involved in the Japan Super Interceptor (JSI) program.
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03/18/2022
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Bundestag in a video call for the first time on Thursday morning before the German parliament opened. The Ukrainian president told German parliamentarians that "help came too late to stop war" with Russia, which invaded the country on February 24.
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03/18/2022
The Taiwanese Air Force announced that it would ground its fleet of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets on March 14. The announcement came after a unit of the said aircraft crashed off the southeastern coast of the island during a routine training session. This is the second time a combat aircraft was lost in a span of three months, showing its accident-prone fleet. Though fortunately, the pilot operating the aircraft was rescued this time around.
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03/18/2022
As the Ukraine-Russia war drags on, military aviation experts are noticing that anti-aircraft missiles like the Stinger and Igla are not the only threats Russian pilots face in the skies over Ukraine. In fact, a dangerous combination of doctrine, training and equipment is partly to blame for the heavy losses the VKS, the acronym for Russia’s air force, have sustained in the three-week-old war.
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03/17/2022
Ukrainian officials accused Russia on Wednesday of bombing a theater where hundreds of displaced families have sought refuge in the besieged port city of Mariupol, part of a string of intense attacks that continued even as diplomats said they were making progress in peace talks.
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03/17/2022
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has plunged the world into its worst military crisis since the end of the Cold War. From the U.S. standpoint, the war carries two opposing dangers: We could underreact, and thus let Russia get away with unprovoked aggression that will destroy the world order. Or we can overreact, allowing the conflict to spiral out of control. Put another way: We can’t afford to start a larger war, but we also can’t afford to let Russia win.
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03/17/2022
It’s not hard to explain the startling losses of aircraft and pilots the Russian air force has suffered as the Ukraine war enters its third week. Russian air-warfare doctrine, plus a shortage of precision-guided munitions, all but forces its fighter and attack pilots to fly low and slow underneath cloud cover within just a few miles of Ukrainian troops.
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03/17/2022
The F-35 is a state-of-the-art stealth bomber, which Germany's air force has long coveted The F-35 Lightning II is considered the most modern fighter jet in the world. The jet, made by US manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is considered more than just a fighter aircraft. It is essentially an armed computer with a jet engine that can network with other aircraft in the air as well as ground forces, processing thousands of pieces of information every second.
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03/16/2022
The top U.S. general for forces in the Middle East said on Tuesday that he believed the United States would provide Egypt with F-15 aircraft. "I think we have good news in that we're going to provide them with F-15s, which was a long, hard slog," General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said during a congressional hearing.
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03/16/2022
The U.S. military conducted an aircraft carrier-led exercise in the Yellow Sea and intensified air defense artillery drills at a base in South Korea in response to increased missile tests from North Korea, U.S. forces said Tuesday.
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03/16/2022
For nearly three weeks, top U.S. Air Force officials have closely watched Russian troops advance — and stall — in Moscow’s attempt to reclaim Ukraine. In recent public appearances, service leaders said their real-time look at Russian capabilities hasn’t given them a reason to rethink existing strategy or spending.
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03/16/2022
From mid-February, eight Eurofighter Typhoons of the Aeronautica Militare and six Eurofighters of the German Air Force’s Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 74, jointly operate from Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, supporting NATO’s eAPA-S (enhanced Air Policing Area-South) mission, to protect the allied airspace in the Black Sea region, where tensions with Russia are at their highest since the Cold War years following the invasion and the war underway in Ukraine.
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03/16/2022
In the skies above Eglin and along the Emerald Coast, 40th Flight Test Squadron aircrew flew a five-ship formation Jan. 31. This formation wasn’t just any grouping of test aircraft, it represented for the first and last time, all five fighters in the 96th Test Wing inventory. Included were the F-15EX Eagle II, the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-15C Eagle, the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
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03/16/2022
Almost three weeks into Russia’s large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, Kyiv is increasingly calling on NATO to protect Ukrainian airspace. The alliance has repeatedly refused the request out of fear that this would mean engaging in a direct confrontation with Russia. Yet, with dozens of Ukrainians being killed by Russian aerial attacks each day, there are still many ways in which NATO can help Ukraine protect itself.
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03/15/2022
A growing chorus of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with fighter jets and weapons to bolster its defense against Russia's continued attacks. The bipartisan, 58-member Problem Solvers Caucus on Sunday became the latest group of lawmakers to push for Ukraine to receive more military assistance from the U.S., including help securing Stinger missiles, air-defense systems and fighter jets.
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03/15/2022
The issue of providing aircraft to Ukraine remains extremely urgent on the agenda, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. "Aircraft are needed. This issue remains extremely urgent on the agenda. There is a conversation between the military about which aircraft are needed, for what purposes, but any talk that Ukraine does not need aircraft does not correspond to reality," Kuleba said at the online briefing on Monday.
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03/15/2022
A Taiwanese Mirage 2000 fighter jet has crashed into the sea off the island's southeast coast after mechanical issues but the pilot was rescued, the air force says, the second combat aircraft loss in the space of three months. The air force said the French-built aircraft took off just after 10am on Monday on a training mission from the Chihhang air base in Taitung and reported it had to return after a mechanical problem.
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03/15/2022
PHILIPPINE Air Force (PAF) FA-50PH jet fighter pilots will have the opportunity to practice “air combat maneuvering” (ACM) tactics with American F-16 fighter pilots during the “Bilateral Air Contingent Exchange (BACE)-Philippines which will be held March 14 to 25.
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03/15/2022
Footage released by the Russian MOD early on March 14, 2022, proves once again how sturdy the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot can be. The clip shows the aircraft taxiing with significant damage reportedly caused by a MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System) that hit the jet on the rear right hand side of the fuselage.
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03/15/2022
The F-35 jets made by Lockheed Martin would replace Germany's decades-old Tornado fleet, according to media reports confirmed by the source. Tornados are the only Luftwaffe planes capable of carrying US nuclear bombs stationed in Germany that are a key part of NATO deterrence.
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03/14/2022
UKRAINE has offered a million dollars (£767,000) to every Russian fighter pilot who defects from Vladimir Putin's forces and hands over their warplane. Ukraine has offered a million dollars to every Russian pilot who defects from the military and hands over their warplane in working condition. The offer appears to be an attempt to exploit the low morale reported among Russian troops as the war enters its third week. The reward was made by the Ukrainian state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom.
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03/14/2022
Former programme director and chief designer of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Dr Kota Harinarayana, said one of his biggest takeaways from the LCA project was that a huge amount of talent is available in small and medium industries and they need to be supported. He opined that if government agencies and big industries treat small-scale industries as partners, India will be at the forefront of innovation.
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03/14/2022
Two weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has become apparent that Russia’s military is experiencing failures — both technical and strategic — that have surprised analysts who study one of the world’s largest military forces. There are multiple issues one could look at in relation to Russia’s poor military performance in Ukraine to date, such as being unable to effectively counter Ukrainian drones, or failing to deliver on the kind of cyberwarfare expected.
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03/14/2022
TLP 22-1, the first of this year, took place at the Base Aérea de Los Llanos, home of the Ala 14 of the Spanish Air Force and the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) courses, in Albacete, between Feb. 14 and Mar. 4, 2022. The Flying Course saw the attendance of 560 participants, 37 of those were graduates including 30 pilots, 4 Intelligence Officers and 3 Controllers.
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03/13/2022
Over the past day, the Ukrainian military destroyed six pieces of equipment of the Russian occupier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with other components of the defense forces, give a worthy rebuff to the enemy troops, in particular, two helicopters, two fighter jets [one of which is Su-34] and two UAVs were destroyed over the previous day," according to a report published in Sunday morning.
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03/13/2022
India is developing a new air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which would be able to strike at enemy targets at more than 800 kilometers. The missile earlier had the capability of hitting targets at around 300 kilometers after being released from a Su-30MKI combat aircraft.
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03/13/2022
Turkey’s drone magnate Baykar on Saturday announced it has reached a new phase in its unmanned combat aircraft project, unveiling that the first prototype has entered the production line. "A larger and more agile fish has entered the production line three and a half years later," Selçuk Bayraktar, the chief technology officer (CTO) at the drone maker, said on Twitter.
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03/13/2022
As many as 12 missiles struck Iraq’s northern city of Irbil on Sunday near the U.S. Consulate, Iraqi security officials said. A U.S. defense official said missiles had been launched at the city from neighboring Iran. No injuries were reported. Officials in Iraq and the U.S. gave different accounts of the strike and the damage it caused. A second U.S. official said there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building.
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03/13/2022
The BBC has spoken to a serving mercenary and a former fighter with close links to one of Russia's leading mercenary organisations, who have shared details of the recruitment campaign. The serving mercenary said many veterans of the secretive Wagner organisation were contacted on a private Telegram group a few weeks before the start of the war. They were invited to a "picnic in Ukraine", with references to tasting "Salo", a pork fat traditionally eaten in Ukraine.
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03/12/2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24 with strikes from land, sea and air in the largest military assault by one European state on another since World War Two. Despite an initial battle plan that Western countries said was aimed at swiftly toppling Ukraine’s government in Kyiv, Russia has control of only one Ukrainian city so far - the southern Dnipro River port of Kherson.
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03/12/2022
On March 9 and 10, 2022, NATO Air Chiefs and senior representatives of Allied and Partner air forces met at Allied Air Command for the first Air Chiefs' Symposium in 2022 to discuss and share perspectives on Air and Space Power. Against the background of the present war Russia launched in Ukraine, the participants discussed air activities within NATO's strategic context and in support of ongoing Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.
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03/12/2022
In collaboration with the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency, India’s state-owned aerospace and defence corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has begun producing India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). With the start of production activity, the AMCA programme entered a critical phase. The plan calls for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy to be equipped with a 5.5 Generation twin-engine stealth fighter.
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03/12/2022
An Iowa Air National Guard KC-135 with a giant bat tail flash retired after 65 years of service. Tail number 57-2606, nicknamed “Free Bird,” took off this week for a one-way trip to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
Chief Master Sgt. Brian Harder, 185th Air Refueling Wing Maintenance Operations superintendent, said the main contributing factor to retiring the aircraft boiled down to the projected cost of maintenance.
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03/12/2022
Dassault Aviation bounced back strong in 2021. Now the war in Ukraine is expected to weigh on 2022 growth. Dassault Aviation posted 2021 sales of EUR7.2 billion, up almost 32 percent over 2020’s sales of EUR5.5 billion. Net income rose to EUR693 million for 2021, compared with 2020 income of EUR396 million.
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03/11/2022
Delhi said it was "deeply regrettable" and expressed relief no one was killed. Pakistan's military said a "high-speed flying object" had crashed near the eastern city of Mian Channu and its flight path had endangered passenger flights. Both countries have nuclear weapons.
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03/11/2022
In one of the latest video recordings from Ukraine, a Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Su-57 jet fighter may have been filmed for the first time on a European combat mission on 9 March during the ongoing invasion. An eyewitness was able to film the silhouette of the aircraft as it flew overhead, as well as the moment the bridge in Zhytomyr was being hit. Presumably this was the Berdychiv bridge over the Teterev river.
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03/11/2022
Russian strikes hit near airports in western Ukraine on Friday as the military offensive widened, and invading troops kept up pressure on the capital Kyiv and the besieged port city of Mariupol. The airstrikes on the Lutsk military airfield left two Ukrainian servicemen dead and six people wounded, according to the head of the surrounding Volyn region, Yuriy Pohulyayko.
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03/11/2022
The Chinese military is searching for a patrol plane that crashed into the South China Sea earlier this month, Taiwan's intelligence agency said on Thursday, becoming the first government in the region to officially confirm several days of speculation.
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03/11/2022
The planned $2.2 billion FMS deal for Lockheed Martin to sell a dozen C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft and associated equipment to Egypt passed an important milestone on Thursday, after the US Senate voted 81-18 in favour of the proposal.
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03/11/2022
A well-armed Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter brings to mind an oft-quoted line from the fictional Bruce Banner before transforming into the Hulk: "You won't like me when I'm angry." That sentiment could certainly be directed at anyone foolish enough to confront an F-35 operating in "beast mode," where it could carry a full 22,000 lbs of ordnance, including air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.
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03/11/2022
Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with other federal ministers, service chief and the Chinese ambassador, attended the induction ceremony of the single-engine fighter jet at the special invitation of Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. The premier congratulated the nation on the induction of the new multi-role fighter aircraft and also thanked China for delivering the fighter jets to Pakistan in a short period of eight months.
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03/11/2022
Foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia arrived in Turkey on March 10 for a face-to-face meeting, the first time since the two countries went to war two weeks back. The meeting comes after several rounds of discussions between the two sides in Belarus. The fifth-generation Su-57 ‘Felon’ is a heavyweight fighter. There is speculation that Russia’s Southern Military District deployed the jet to Ukraine.
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03/10/2022
War between Turkey’s two Black Sea partners has given an unexpected jolt to the country’s quest for new fighter jets and its domestic program to make new-generation aircraft. “The war has practically killed all potential Turkish-Russian deals in strategic weapons systems,” said a senior Turkish diplomat, who deals with NATO and security affairs and was not authorized to speak to the press. “This will be a de facto part of our proactive neutrality.”
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03/10/2022
The US does not support the transfer of combat aircraft to Ukraine, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told the Polish Minister of Defense that the US does not support the transfer of MiG-29s to the Ukrainian air force “at this time,” either by Poland transferring them to Ukraine with the US backfilling Poland’s fleet or by Poland transferring the MiG-29s to the US to then give those to Poland.
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03/10/2022
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is in the midst of acquiring 114 multi-role fighter jets, a project that is projected to cost Rs 1.3 trillion and take at least a decade to complete. While a Request for Information (RFI) has already been made, the Ministry of Defense has yet to approve an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) (MoD). Technical bids, commercial bids, and assessment trials will take at least ten years after the RFP is issued, by which time the IAF will have retired its vintage MiG-21 Bisons.
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03/10/2022
The U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) will remain in the eastern Mediterranean to help maintain the security of Eastern Europe. The carrier, flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG), conducted fixed-wing flight operations in the north Aegean Sea late last week.
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03/10/2022
The Russian army is routinely committing war crimes in Ukraine and Poland will provide evidence, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, said on Wednesday. Speaking after talks in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer Morawiecki said: "Russia attacked Ukrainian cities and villages with full force which, today, is seen as a perpetration of war crimes."
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03/09/2022
President Putin has directly addressed the mothers of soldiers serving in Ukraine, telling them: "I know how worried you are" and trying to reassure them. But some mothers, grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends have been telling the BBC they are desperately anxious about loved ones in the military - young men who appear to have had little idea what they were being sent to do.
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03/09/2022
One, from last week, shows a Russian helicopter flying low, just above the tree line - in the hope of avoiding what's about to happen next. Tracking its path is the smoking trail of a surface-to-air missile. In a matter of seconds the missile has found its target. On impact the Russian helicopter crashes to the ground, before bursting into a fireball.
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03/09/2022
After a period where the deal seemed off, Poland said on Tuesday evening that it is willing to hand over its fleet of 28 MiG 29s to the US – which is in turn expected to pass them on to the Ukrainian air force. Poland is also expecting the US to supply it with more advanced F-16s to fill the gap.
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03/09/2022
The United States rejected a surprise offer by NATO ally Poland on Tuesday to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. base in Germany as a way to replenish Ukraine's air force in its defense against invading Russian forces. The United States has sought to speed weapons deliveries to Ukraine. But the prospect of flying combat aircraft from NATO territory into the war zone "raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance," the Pentagon said.
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03/08/2022
On paper, Russia’s quest to occupy Ukraine looks like a foregone conclusion. With about four and a half times as many soldiers, five times as many tanks and armored vehicles, and 10 times as many military aircraft, common sense tells us that Ukraine does not stand a chance. In fact, history tells us otherwise.
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03/08/2022
On top of that, visually confirmed losses of the Russian newest Su-34 (NATO reporting name: Fullback) fighter-bomber now exceed 4 aircraft during its invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Sunday reported that Russian Su-34s struck at Ukrainian military infrastructure and civilian residents in Kharkiv, Chernihiv during an invasion.
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03/08/2022
NATO has nearly doubled the number of military jets on alert across Europe amid concerns that Russia’s reckless flying in international airspace could escalate alongside its war in Ukraine. The alliance’s move to constantly guard its eastern edge highlights how rapidly the security situation has evolved in and out of Ukraine over the past 10 days, as well as the stakes of NATO’s biggest test since its founding in 1949.
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03/07/2022
The F-35B Lightnings of the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron from RAF Marham, have started flying armed patrols as part of the pre-planned Enhanced Vigilance Activity, which is a NATO led Operation initiated due to the unfolding events in Ukraine. The British 5th generation aircraft joined the RAF Typhoon FGR4 jets, flying from both RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and the rest of the NATO assets that have been dispatched to the region following the Russian invasion of Ukr
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03/07/2022
On March 6, the Ukrainian army shot down a Russian fourth-generation Sukhoi-30SM multirole fighter jet. The Russian Su-30SM shot down by Ukraine's Army can be seen in flames in exclusive footage obtained by Republic Media Network. It's worth noting that the Su-30SM is a multi-role fighter aircraft built for the Russian Air Force by JSC Sukhoi Design Bureau. It's a more sophisticated version of the Su-30MK combat aircraft.
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03/07/2022
Though Russia has now committed about 95% of the combat power it amassed along Ukraine’s borders, the Pentagon has seen “limited changes on the ground” while the airspace remains contested, a senior U.S. defense official said Sunday evening. After 11 days of war, “Russian forces continued efforts to advance and isolate Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv across the north and east are being met with strong Ukrainian resistance,” the official said, in an email to reporters.
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03/07/2022
Russia on Sunday warned Ukraine's neighbours including NATO member Romania against hosting Kyiv's military aircraft, saying they could end up being involved in an armed conflict. "We know for sure that Ukrainian combat aircraft have flown to Romania and other neighbouring countries," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video briefing.
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03/07/2022
The top body of Turkey’s defense industry has started cooperating with United Kingdom-based Rolls-Royce on the engine to power the country’s National Combat Aircraft (MMU), the head of the authority said Saturday. In a televised program on broadcaster CNN Türk, Ismail Demir, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), commented on the developments regarding the MMU, a long-awaited domestic defense industry project.
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03/06/2022
The Italian Air Force detachment, originally made of four Eurofighters, recently increased to eight, has carried out 20 alert scrambles and 400 flight hours supporting enhanced Air Policing Area South (eAPA-S) in Romania, since December 2021.
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03/06/2022
Shocking battlefield footage from today shows Ukrainians cheer and applaud as they appear to shoot down two Russian aircraft in the Chernihiv and Mykolaiv oblasts as forces were also earlier said to down a Russian helicopter near Kyiv. This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky in an address this morning urged Ukrainians to continue fighting Putin's forces.
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03/06/2022
The American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has been in the northern Aegean Sea this week in part to ensure it can conduct flight operations from there if tensions escalate in the region due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a US official familiar with the carrier’s current task.
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03/06/2022
The U.S. remains in discussions with Poland to potentially backfill their fleet of fighter planes if Warsaw decides to transfer its used MiG-29s to Ukraine, four U.S. officials tell POLITICO. The ongoing talks, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads with Congress for help, underscore the frantic push to find weapons to equip Ukrainian forces as they continue to fight off the massive Russian invasion.
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03/05/2022
The following is a report from Reuben F. Johnson, who has written for Breaking Defense in recent years from Ukraine. This piece was written over several days, as Johnson relocated from shelter to shelter to avoid Russian strikes in the Kyiv area, with limited access to internet and power. Given that, statistics and facts on the ground may have shifted by publication; as Johnson himself put it in an email, “everything is fluid right now.”
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03/05/2022
The Indian Air Force’s (IAFs) optimism over being able to source spares to ensure operability for its fleet of Russian combat and other military aircraft, despite punitive US-led sanctions imposed on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, is belied by the recurring component shortages the force has always faced, even when no embargoes existed.
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03/05/2022
There have been three major surprises for military analysts since the Russian military invaded Ukraine. The first has been the extent of the difficulties faced by the Russian army in terms of logistics, coordination of forces, morale and mobility. The second has been the failure of the Russian air force to achieve air superiority over Ukrainian air defences, and to operate against Ukrainian ground forces at scale. The third has been the extraordinary unity and effectiveness of the Ukrainian resi
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03/05/2022
Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo is preparing special pilots to fly the 4.5 generation Dassault Rafale fighter jets that Indonesia had bought from France. "We have prepared several pilots, but we have not determined the number. However, we have readied the criteria and those who are eligible to fly the Rafale," Prasetyo remarked after the 2022 Indonesian Air Force Leadership Meeting at the Air Force Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, Friday.
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03/05/2022
RAF F-35 Lightning aircraft have joined NATO's Enhanced Vigilance Patrols for the first time – an operation started in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The activity ensures policing of the skies over NATO member states. Lightning jets from RAF Marham have taken part alongside Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby and RAF Akrotiri.
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03/05/2022
Ukraine still has a "significant majority" of its military aircraft available nine days after Russian forces started their invasion of the country, a U.S. defense official said on Friday. Vastly outmatched by Russia's military, in terms of raw numbers and firepower, the fact that Ukraine's own air force is still flying and its air defenses are still deemed to be viable has surprised military experts.
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03/04/2022
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin overestimated the power of his military forces when deciding to invade Ukraine, as reports of low morale among troops, equipment woes and a lack of airpower emerge from the battlefield.
But Kendall told reporters that none of Russia's failures in Ukraine has made it less of a threat in his eyes.
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03/04/2022
No radiation was released from a Russian attack at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and firefighters have extinguished a blaze at the facility, U.N. and Ukrainian officials said Friday, as Russian forces pressed their campaign to cripple the country despite global condemnation.
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03/04/2022
The Russian army has been shelling residential areas of Kharkiv with Grad and Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, as CEPA previously reported. Air attacks have also been stepped up, with as Many as 30 combat aircraft violating Ukraine’s airspace, mainly from Belarus, with attacks including a number against the civilian population, according to the Ukrainian General Staff on March 2. Since the start of the Russian invasion, more than 180 missiles have been fired at the territory of Ukraine.
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03/04/2022
Videos surfaced online show as many as seven SU-34 fighter-bombers flying over the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Furthermore, images of FAB-500 unguided bombs, presumably dropped by Su-34s on a civilian location in Kharkiv, were also shared on the internet. Experts interpreted this as a sign of things to come, implying that the Russian military has begun employing tactical aviation for bombing missions. Previously, only Su-25 assault aircraft were believed to be deployed for support missions.
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03/04/2022
In the pre-war discussions between the US and Russia, Joe Biden warned Russia about the consequences of aggression, but explicitly excluded the possibility of the use of armed force by the United States. Now as Ukrainian civilians come under severe attack and refugees are pouring into other central European countries, the clamour for a military response from Nato is getting louder.
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03/04/2022
The Air Force’s “4+1” fighter plan is still intact despite Secretary Frank Kendall’s new “imperative” to develop a fighter-like unmanned airplane, and the Air Force is well into developing a concept of operations for a new unmanned long-range bomber that might be attritable, if the price is right.
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03/04/2022
If the past 80 years of warfare have taught us anything, it’s that air supremacy, the term for making an enemy air force incapable of resistance, is essential for winning a conventional war. That’s why experts are scratching their heads trying to figure out why the Russian combat air force, despite being 15 times the size of its Ukrainian foe, has not achieved anything close to air supremacy.
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03/03/2022
U.S. and NATO intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets on NATO’s eastern flank are providing tactical information to the Ukrainian Air Force as new air defense assistance arrives inside Ukraine, though the U.S. is being careful to avoid steps that might be seen as escalatory, a defense official told Air Force Magazine.
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03/03/2022
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched three C-17 transport aircraft to Romania, Hungary and Poland on Wednesday morning, Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, Vice-Chief of the Air Force, said. A fourth C-17 was sent later in the day. The C-17 was sent as it can fly non-stop to these countries.
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03/03/2022
Despite reports to the contrary, the European Union (EU), will not be sending fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force to aid in their fight for their survival against the Russians. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on Tuesday that European Union members will not lend fighter jets to the war in Ukraine after reports were surfacing that they were intending to do just that.
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03/03/2022
“On the night of March 1, a fierce air battle broke out in Kyiv region between a pair of MiG-29 fighters of the Air Force Tactical Aviation Brigade and a pair of Russian Su-35S aircraft. As a result of the air battle, the two Russian planes were destroyed. Along with air-to-air missiles, S-300 surface-to-air missiles of the local anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Air Command ‘Center’ were fired on the occupiers,” the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook.
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03/03/2022
In the past 24 hours, up to 30 Russian combat aircraft violated the airspace of Ukraine, mainly from the Republic of Belarus, shelling the civilian population. The press service of the Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
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03/02/2022
As Russian armored vehicles attempt to close in on Kyiv, Ukrainian defense forces are closing off key “intersections” and “choke points,” disabling or destroying Russian supply lines, and using Javelin anti-tank missiles to decimate Russian forces and halt their advance.
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03/02/2022
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence had predicted a likely blistering assault by Moscow that would quickly mobilize the vast Russian air power that its military assembled in order to dominate Ukraine's skies. But the first six days have confounded those expectations and instead seen Moscow act far more delicately with its air power, so much so that U.S. officials can't exactly explain what's driving Russia's apparent risk-adverse behavior.
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03/02/2022
NATO airspace will not be used to transfer fighter planes to the Ukrainian military, alliance leaders said Tuesday after a meeting in Poland, where top U.S. commanders were on hand for high-level security talks. Ukraine has requested additional military hardware from the West to help stave off Russia’s full-scale invasion, which was on its sixth day when the NATO talks occurred.
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03/01/2022
The U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House last week. During the Cold War, the CIA covertly supplied Stingers to Afghan guerrillas fighting Russian forces. Now Ukrainian forces locked in an intensifying fight to repel Russia will get more of the shoulder-fired weapon, which has a 4-kilometer range.
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03/01/2022
As the war between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate after Moscow sent its troops into its neighbouring country, several countries across the globe are sending military aid to Kyiv.
According to Ukraine’s health ministry, the conflict has killed more than 350 civilians since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
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03/01/2022
Although NATO has assured on more than one occasion that it will not intervene militarily against Russia over Ukraine, the fact is that member countries are carrying out a historic deployment of air assets to reinforce the security of the eastern border and to keep under close surveillance all movements of Russian forces in the operational theater.
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03/01/2022
The Socialist Equality Party (Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, SGP) and the World Socialist Web Site condemn the war offensive announced yesterday by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democrats, SPD) in the German parliament (Bundestag) and supported by all the Bundestag parties.
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03/01/2022
A video purportedly showing a dogfight between two fighter jets over the skies of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has caused quite a stir on social media. According to some unconfirmed reports, a Ukrainian MiG-29 was seen engaging a Russian Su-35 in the vicinity of the capital.
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03/01/2022
Perhaps the most eye-popping of today’s pledges to ship weapons to the Ukrainian military was the European Union’s announcement that it would soon send fighter jets. Would Ukrainian pilots really be able to jump in a donated jet and fly into combat? Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle says sure, if it’s a type they already know how to fly.
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