
The Swiss government said on Wednesday it will purchase 22 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to replace its ageing F5 fighter fleet in an estimated 3.1 billion Swiss franc (2.5 billion euro) deal. “The Federal Council has decided to acquire 22 Saab Gripen fighter planes to replace the obsolete F5 Tiger,” a statement said. The planes were selected over the French Dassault Rafale and the EADS Eurofighter, also being considered for the ...
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Category: Military Aviation

The third Advanced Tactical Frontline Fighter (PAK FA) performed its first flight today in Komsomolsk-on-Amur KnAAPO. The jet was piloted by honored test-pilot Sergey Bogdan. The jet spent about an hour in the air and landed at KnAAPO runway after successful and complete fulfillment of the flight assignment. Aircraft stability and power plant performance were checked during flight, the pilot noting reliability of all systems and equipment. PAK FA performed ...
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Category: Russian Aviation

Russia’s Irkut corporation said on Tuesday it had secured orders for at least 300 Su-30MK fighters and that it had already delivered over half of them. Orders have been placed by India, Algeria and Malaysia, Irkut’s marketing director Andrei Alyoshin said at the Dubai Airshow 2011. Over 200 of the aircraft have already been delivered to customers, Irkut said. The Su-30MK Flanker is a multirole twin-engine, two-seater for all-weather, air-to-air ...
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Category: Russian Aviation

India is close to purchase two additional Russian-Israeli airborne warning and control system aircraft, the Times of India newspaper reported. India ordered three A-50EI variants, developed on the basis of the Russian Il-76MD military transport plane and fitted with the Israeli-made Phalcon radar system, in 2004. They are already in service with the Indian air force (IAF). The Times of India cited on Tuesday defense ministry sources as saying that ...
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Category: Russian Aviation

A modernized Beriev A-50U airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft entered service with the Russian Air Force on Monday, an Air Force spokesman said. The aircraft has an advanced onboard computer, satellite communication and radar systems, Col. Vladimir Drik said. It now has the capability to detect various types of flying targets, including helicopters, cruise missiles and supersonic aircraft, he said. The Beriev A-50, based on the Ilyushin Il-76 ...
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Category: Russian Aviation

When the most senior U.S. military officer admits that the largest defence procurement program in history has affordability issues, then you can bet that the situation is dire. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has even put forth the likelihood that at least one variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be cancelled, and total numbers reduced. Even if the F-35 eventually meets reasonable cost ...
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Category: F-35 Lightning II

Canada’s new multibillion-dollar stealth fighters are expected to arrive without the built-in capacity to communicate from the country’s most northerly regions a gap the air force is trying to close. A series of briefings given to the country’s top air force commander last year expressed concern that the F-35’s radio and satellite communications gear may not be as capable as that of the current CF-18s, which recently went through an ...
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Category: F-35 Lightning II