Iran on Monday said that the launching of its satellite carrier was a scientific rather than military project, official news agency IRNA reported.
"The enemies of Iran are trying to distort Iran's scientific achievements and portray them as a military issue," Defence Minister Mostafa-Mohammad Najar was quoted by IRNA as saying.
The United States and Israel voiced concern about the launching of the "Safir'e Omid" (Hope Envoy) rocket into orbit over the weekend which, according to Tehran, carried a dummy satellite, as the same technology could also be used for carrying ballistic missiles.
Six Sukhoi fighter aircraft which Indonesia has bought from Russia are expected to arrive in the country before October 5, 2008, Air Force Chief of Staff Air Marshal Subandrio said here Monday.
"We hope we can put the new Sukhois into service before October 5, Indonesian Defense Forces Day, so we can fly them on the day," Sobandrio said.
The new Sukhois were expected to be fully armed, unlike a number of other Sukhois which were delivered to Indonesia without weaponry previously, he said.
Parallel to the easing of long-standing sanctions against Pakistan by the US, Turkey has begun to increase defense industry relations with this country, starting with a plan to upgrade the US-made Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters in the inventory of the Pakistani Air Force.
Pakistani and US sources told Today’s Zaman that around 36 Pakistani Block 15 (oldest version) F-16 A/Bs will be upgraded by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAİ). The Pakistani F-16s will receive a mid-life upgrade that primarily involves replacement of avionics and structural modifications bringing them close to Block 40 standards. The US recently gave permission for these upgrades. Belgium’s SABCA and Netherlands’ Fokker were also bidders in the tender for the upgrade of the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced here on Monday that Iran has test fired a new naval weapon that could destroy any vessel in a range of 300 km (190 miles).
Jafari refused to give further details but noted, “This is a completely domestic missile. It has passed the required experiments and is under mass production now.”
“Today, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has the capability to target the enemies’ targets with a wide range of missiles and in a few minutes in case of any attack,” the top commander said in a press conference.
The Russian Air Force plans to hold live-fire drills next week for its strategic bombers, military officials said Friday.
The plane to be used in the drill is the Tu-22M3 Backfire-C, a supersonic bomber used mainly on the southern border in Central Asia and over the Black Sea. The drills will be held from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, the Novosti news agency reported.
"During the exercises the crews will practice simulated bomber runs at testing grounds in the Novgorod and the Saratov regions," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.
South Korea has decided to build about 270 indigenous light-medium attack helicopters armed with advanced missile and self-defense systems in partnership with foreign defense firms, a military source said Wednesday.
The Army wants to initially deploy the aircraft in the field between 2013 and 2018.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) made the final decision last week after a 19-month feasibility study on the Korea Attack Helicopter (KAH) program estimated to cost between $5 billion and $10 billion, the source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
Russian strategic bombers may soon be deployed at airbases in Cuba, Venezuela and Algeria as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe and NATO's expansion, Russian daily Izvestia said on Thursday.
Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an accompanying tracking radar in the Czech Republic as a threat to its national security. Washington says the defenses are needed to deter a possible strike from Iran, or other "rogue" states.
Moscow has also expressed concern over NATO's expansion to Russia's borders and pledged to take "appropriate measures" to counter the U.S. and NATO moves.
Izvestia cited sources in the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that crews of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers recently visited Cuba and conducted an inspection of a site and facilities for a possible forward landing airfield that could be used as a refueling stopover for Russian strategic bombers.
Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans last August, following an order signed by former president Vladimir Putin.
A Russian Su-27UB Flanker air superiority fighter crashed on Tuesday in the Primorye Territory in Russia's Far East, killing one pilot, an Air Force spokesman said.
The two-seat version of the $35-mln combat aircraft crashed at 07.30 GMT while performing a routine test flight near an airfield 12 kilometers (7 miles) north of Ussuriisk after scheduled maintenance work.
"One of the pilots was killed, and the other survived the crash," Lt. Colonel Vladimir Drik said, adding that no casualties or damage on the ground had been reported.
A special investigation commission has launched a probe into the crash, which may have been caused by a technical failure.
Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani said Monday that Iran's Air Force has achieved self-sufficiency in the repair, maintenance and overhaul of its equipment.
He added that Iranian military experts are capable of overhauling F-5 two-seaters, F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, 707 and 747 aircrafts with only forty days of work.
"We have upgraded our air force fleet, state-of-the-art radar-systems, and rocket launchers over the past few years," Brig. Gen. Miqani said, adding that the country would continue its efforts to reach the peak of its military capability.
The Iranian Air Force chief announced that the country is mass producing different types of drones used in reconnaissance missions, pinpointing enemy bases, and carrying explosives.
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