February 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contracts for February 18, 2021
Today
December 20, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval
China may use Japan’s aircraft carrier plan to push through more military spending
Tokyo's plan to develop an aircraft carrier capable of launching fighter jets is driven by Beijing's military rise, but the move could embolden hawkish generals in China to press ahead with their own expansion programmes, observers said.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito Party this week approved a new defence guideline that will effectively allow the Japanese military to convert naval vessels currently capable of carrying only helicopters into fully operational aircraft carriers able to launch fighter jets like the F-35.
The plan is controversial as under its pacifist constitution, Japan has never before owned such advanced naval hardware.
Full article: https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2178102/china-may-use-japans-aircraft-carrier-plan-push-through-more
On the same subject
-
-
June 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
F-15E becomes first aircraft compatible with new nuclear bomb design
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — America's newest nuclear bomb design has been successfully tested on the F-15E, making the Strike Eagle the first fighter jet to be officially compaiable with the B61-12 design. Two test flights were flown twice in March at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, according to a release by Sandia Labs. The mock weapon was released on one test at about 1,000 feet and at nearly the speed of sound, while a higher-altitude test occurred at around 25,000 feet; both tests hit the target as designed. “It's representative of the environment for the weapon,” Steven Samuels, a manager with Sandia's B61-12 system's team, said in a news release. “The flight test is really everything coming together to say we're good.” The B61-12 program will replace the B61-3, -4, -7 and -10 nuclear gravity bomb variants with a new warhead design. The warhead is being developed and produced by the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-independent agency located within the Department of Energy, while the Pentagon is developing new tailkit assemblies for the design. An NNSA estimate puts the likely cost of the program between $8 billion to $9 billion. The upgraded variant will be certified on America's F-15, F-16 and B-2 aircraft, as well as on aircraft for NATO member nations. The F-35 is expected to go through certification on the weapon at some point in the next decade. The weapon passed its final design review in October 2018. Notably, the NNSA release states that the first production unit is scheduled for completion in fiscal 2022, when previous agency statements had set that target at March 2020. The source of the delay is likely an issue with an off-the-shelf part, which did not meet NNSA's standards for parts on the weapon, that was discovered last summer and will result in time delays and cot hundreds of millions of dollars to replace. “The success of these tests is a major milestone on the path to full rate production and the B61-12's initial operation capability on the F-15E in the coming years,” Brig. Gen. Ty Neuman, NNSA's principal assistant deputy administrator for military application, said in a statement. “Once delivered, this capability will underpin our nation's deterrent and strengthen our NATO partnerships.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/nuclear-arsenal/2020/06/08/f-15e-becomes-first-aircraft-certified-for-new-nuclear-bomb-design/
-
November 8, 2023 | International, Land
Israel may buy back Iron Dome air defense batteries leased from the US
Israel is receiving the equipment to bolster its air defense against Hamas rocket attacks, and could ultimately opt to keep the two systems.