Lim Chee Meng traveled for more than 24 hours and endured a month of "intense academics" for the chance to climb a particular ladder on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
So when the Singapore Air Force lieutenant colonel finally got that chance Thursday morning, he settled into the cockpit and took it all in. Moments later, he and the other pilots currently in training with the 4th Fighter Wing's 333rd Fighter Squadron were somewhere in the skies over Wayne County.
And for the colonel, his first flight in the F-15E Strike Eagle was "exhilarating."
"A lot of us, we have heard about the Eagles and how they fly," he said. "It was great."
Further delays are likely in the development of the Korea Aerospace Industries F/A-50 fighter, with the company unable to get its preferred radar and the South Korean government balking at the projected cost of the programme.
The design and production details of the aircraft - a combat version of KAI's T-50 advanced jet trainer - are almost complete and the company has lined up most of its suppliers. However, sources in South Korea say there are two impediments that
Pakistan will take delivery of 20 refurbished Cessna T-37 jet trainers by the end of 2008, after the USA approved a further measure to help its ally modernise its air force.
Washington will not charge for the ex-US Air Force aircraft, and Islamabad will pay only for their shipping costs. Pakistan has bought more than 60 T-37s over the past few decades, but several have crashed and many are in need of repair. The USAF retired its last T-37s earlier this year, replacing them with Beechcraft T-6 Texan II turboprops.
While some of the surplus aircraft will enter Pakistani air force service, industry sources say several could be used as the source of much-needed spare parts. In
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.
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