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March 9, 2023 | International, Aerospace

US Air Force wants to retire all A-10s by 2029

“The A-10 is a great airplane … in an uncontested environment,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown said.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/03/09/us-air-force-wants-to-retire-all-a-10s-by-2029/

On the same subject

  • China announces $178.2 billion military budget

    May 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    China announces $178.2 billion military budget

    By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — China has announced a 6.6 percent growth in its defense budget for this year, its lowest rate of increase for almost three decades. The growth in China's defense budget would see spending rise from $167 billion last year to $178.2 billion, an increase of about $11 billion. The country has the second-largest defense budget in the world, behind only the United States. Despite the growth of China's defense budget being at its lowest, in percentage terms, since the early 1990s, the 6.6 percent figure only represents a slightly lower figure than the 7-7.5 percent growth many analysts estimated before the pandemic. In real dollar terms, the $11 billion increase in defense spending is the fifth-highest increase ever for the country. It also shows that China is determined that the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, will remain insulated as much as possible from the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in China's economy shrinking by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same time last year. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said as much during his speech Friday at the opening of the annual gathering of its largely rubber stamp parliament. He pledged that the PLA would not be worse off. “We will deepen reforms in national defense and the military, increase our logistic and equipment support capacity, and promote innovative development of defense-related science and technology,” he told legislators at the opening of the National People's Congress, which kicked off Friday at the Great Hall of the People in China's capital, Beijing. Li also touched on the issue of Taiwan during his speech, reiterating that China would “resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence.” He also called on the Taiwanese people to “join the mainland in opposing Taiwanese independence and to promote reunification." China views Taiwan as a breakaway province, with the self-governing island off its coast having formed its own government in 1949 when Nationalist forces fled there following defeat at the hands of Communists during China's civil war. Perhaps tellingly, Li dropped the use of the word “peaceful” when talking of reunification with Taiwan, a departure from decades of using it as the standard expression Chinese leaders used when addressing parliament and mentioning Taiwan. Although China has never renounced the possible use of force for reunification efforts. Li's call for reunification came as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper reaffirmed that the country would stand by Taiwan. Speaking on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, Esper said the U.S. would “certainly live up to our commitments to Taiwan,” noting that it is also bound by the Taiwan Relations Act enacted by Congress, which pledges to supply Taiwan with weapons it needs for its defense. Accordingly, the U.S. State Department announced Thursday that it has approved the sale of an additional 18 heavyweight submarine torpedoes to Taiwan for $180 million. The Mk 46 Mod 6 Advanced Technology torpedoes will equip Taiwan's submarine fleet, and the approval follows another for 48 similar weapons in 2017. Taiwan has reported that Chinese military activity around the island continues unabated throughout the ongoing pandemic, with Chinese naval vessels and military aircraft regularly operating in international airspace and waters around Taiwan. China calls the movements routine training exercises. However, the island's government sees these moves as part of an intimidation campaign against Taiwan and regularly publicizes PLA ship and aircraft movements in its vicinity. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/05/22/china-announces-1782-billion-military-budget/

  • Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government

    December 17, 2024 | International, Land, C4ISR

    Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government

    The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military's biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.

  • Turkey eyes new markets for exports

    September 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Turkey eyes new markets for exports

    Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA— Turkish government officials and industry executives are hoping to find new sales in what they see as emerging export markets in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. “These are promising markets for Turkish manufacturers,” said one senior procurement official. A Turkish diplomat familiar with the three countries said that “smooth, friendly, problem-free political relations” with all three Asian countries promise export deals for Turkish companies. “As more Turkish-made systems become combat-proven [by local use], interest from those countries will increase,” he said. Hakan Kurt, chairman of Capital Exhibition, calls Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as “hot markets” for Turkish defense and aerospace industries. Capital Exhibition organizes Defence Port Turkey South Asia. “Turkish manufacturers do not have the problem of ‘lack of sellable platforms' like they had a decade ago,” Kurt said. Kurt expects that Turkish defense and aerospace exports to the three Asian countries could reach $5 billion in the next 10 years. Turkey's overall defense exports stood at $2.74 billion in 2019, down from the official target of $3 billion. A defense specialist in Ankara advised caution about Asian markets. “These countries need hardware. They have good political ties with Turkey. But their economies are often cash-strapped. Turkey may also have licensing problems in any potential export deal as it depends on foreign technology for local production,” he said. In 2018, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a $1.5 billion agreement to sell a batch of 30 T129 attack helicopters to Pakistan. But the deal has not moved forward as TAI has failed to secure U.S. export licenses for the contract. The T129 is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter produced under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland. It's powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC, the maker of the engine, is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce. The defense specialist said that most likely Turkish hardware to go into Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan would include naval vessels and patrol boats (except Afghanistan), smart ammunition, drones and armored vehicles. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2020/09/23/turkey-eyes-new-markets-for-exports/

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