March 2013
China has agreed to buy two dozen fighter jets and four submarines from Russia, state media reported Monday, the country’s first large-scale weapons technology purchases from Moscow in a decade. The agreement to buy the 24 Su-35 fighters and four Lada-class submarines was signed just before President Xi Jinping’s weekend visit to Russia, said the People’s Daily, the Communist Party organ, citing state television. The report, which did not give a value for the purchases, said ...
Category: Russian Aviation
First flight by operational pilot of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The first solo flight of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) by a UK operational pilot has taken place in the United States. On 19 March at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler piloted the fifth-generation multi-role stealth aircraft for the first time. The RAF pilot has been stationed at the Florida base since November last year ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
An Iranian fighter jet tried to intercept a US Predator drone over the Gulf but backed off after encountering two American military aircraft, the Pentagon said Thursday. No shots were fired in the confrontation Wednesday, officials said, but the United States renewed a vow that it would protect its forces in the region. The Pentagon initially said one of the US aircraft discharged a flare as a warning to the Iranian plane but officials later ...
Category: Military Aviation
As China reaches an agreement with Russia to buy Su-35 fighters, the domestic J-20 fighter program might have developed problems that China cannot solve on its own anytime soon. Prompted by the well publicized Su-35 deal, photos of the second J-20 prototype undergoing flight tests became easily available ... ...
Category: Military Aviation
The Defense Department lifted its grounding of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter after analysis concluded that a cracked turbine blade in an engine on a single plane resulted from overuse in test operations, according to an official with the F-35 Joint Program Office. In an email statement, the official, Kyra Hawn, said engineers have so far discovered no other cracks in inspections of the other engines, and no ...
Category: F-35 Lightning II
