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WASHINGTON: In a 5 to 0 sweep, an AI ‘pilot’ developed by Heron Systems beat one of the Air Force’s top F-16 fighter pilots in DARPA’s simulated aerial dogfight contest today. “It’s a giant leap,” said DARPA’s Justin (call sign “Glock”) Mock, who served as a commentator on the trials. AI still has a long way to go before the Air Force pilots would be ready to hand over the stick to an artificial intelligence during combat, DARPA officials said during today’s live broadcast of the AlphaDogfight trials. But the three-day trials show that AI systems can credibly maneuver an...

The purchase marks the first time since 1992 that advanced fighter jets have been sold to the island and is likely to spark reproach from China, which has repeatedly warned against selling advanced weaponry to an island it considers its own territory. The sale, which the Pentagon announced Friday, was first floated a year ago and will be completed by late 2026. Ninety jets will potentially be sold as part of Friday’s announcement. The new F-16s are being built at Lockheed’s facility in Greenville, S.C.

The video highlights just how much fly-by-wire automation is needed to make the Raptor's super maneuverability a reality. Lt. Col. Randy "Laz" Gordon is an accomplished test pilot, engineer, and F-22 Raptor squadron commander who lent his expertise about all things aviation, and especially about the F-22's incredible fly-by-wire flight control system, to students taking MIT's Private Pilot Ground School in 2019. His lecture is astonishingly accessible considering the complexities of the systems and concepts he describes and will give anyone a remarkable appreciation for just how incredible the super-maneuverable Raptor'sflight control system really is. Gordon covers so much ground...

Japan Ministry of Defense ========================================================================================= Japan has announced a timeline for a new, unnamed fighter jet to challenge China’s J-20 fighter. The new, stealthy fighter will enter production in 2031. The aircraft will replace the aging Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, which is based on the American F-16. ========================================================================================== The Japanese government has officially proposed a timeline for a new fighter jet designed to maintain an aerial advantage over potential North Korean and Chinese adversaries. The unnamed fighter, which will be optimized for air-to-air combat, will replace the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, which was originally based on the American F-16...

The Greek air force has intercepted a Turkish military drone that violated Greece’s national airspace in the southeastern Aegean, Kathimerini has learned. The Turkish Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV ANKA) twice entered Greek airspace above the Dodecanese island of Rhodes, at an altitude of 19,000-20,000 feet on Thursday. The drone was intercepted by Greek F-16 fighter jets that took off from Kasteli air base on Crete. On Thursday, Greek and Turkish fighter jets engaged in two dogfights over the Aegean, after the Turkish jets violated Greek airspace 16 times in the northeast, central and southeastern Aegean.

The F-16, hit by the cannon fire, caught fire and exploded having recently been refuelled and made ready for a training sortie due to take place later that day. Another aircraft received minor damage. If anyone ever needed a reminder of the lethal dangers of working with live munitions, then a recent incident at Florennes Air Base in Belgium is the ultimate wake-up call. It is thought a maintenance worker accidentally activated the six-barrel 20mm Vulcan M61A-1 cannon hitting another plane parked on the runway. No-one was in the line of fire, but two technicians were taken to the medical...

The Trump administration formally notified Congress on Tuesday of its plans to authorise an US$8 billion sale of 66 F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan over Beijing’s objections, in a step that makes the deal all but certain... The Chinese foreign ministry hit back on Wednesday, saying Beijing would take countermeasures. “China will take all necessary measures to safeguard our interests, including imposing sanctions on the US companies taking part in this arms sale to Taiwan,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said... The last sale of military aircraft to Taipei was a quarter century ago... The proposed deal involves the F-16C/D variations,...

The State Department submitted the package to Congress for informal review late Thursday, and it is not expected to meet opposition, according to several U.S. officials and other people familiar with the matter. It would be the largest and most significant sale of weaponry to Taiwan in decades. The deal has been in the works for months, and lawmakers from both political parties had questioned whether the White House would scuttle it with hopes of softening the ground for a U.S.-China trade pact or otherwise seek to use the jets as a bargaining chip in the deadlocked negotiations. The [Red]...

When Lee Kuan Yew died Monday at age 91, the founding father of Singapore did not leave just his legacy as the prime minister whose authoritarian policies shaped a backwater British colony into the world’s fourth-wealthiest nation. He also left Singaporeans with one of the most formidable armies in the world. The tiny island state of 5.4 million, with a land area far smaller than New York City’s, has more fighter jets than Spain, Poland or Sweden. Its army has as many tanks as Italy, which is more than 400 times the size. Its navy boasts the only stealthy ships...

I-Derby-ER missile will replace Russian R-77 in the Indian Air Force fleet. NEW DELHI: In two years from now, the Indian Air Force's frontline Sukhoi-30 fighters may be re-armed with Israeli Derby air-to-air missiles after the jet's Russian-made R-77 missiles were found wanting in air combat operations over the Line of Control on February 27 this year. Sources in the Indian Air Force told NDTV, "We already have the missile as part of the SPYDER (Surface-to-Air Missile) system. Integration (with the IAF's Su-30s) is the next step.'' Retaliating to the IAF strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed training facility in Balakot on...

A fighter jet has crashed into a warehouse at March Air Reserve Base in the Moreno Valley area, authorities said Thursday. Riverside County firefighters requested a full hazardous materials response because the aircraft was loaded with ordnance...

The F-16, which suffered considerable damage in January during an exercise above Vlieland, appears to have been hit by its own ammunition. At least one fired cartridge caused damage to the cladding of the device. Parts of the ammunition also ended up in the engine. No one was injured. The pilot has followed emergency procedures and the jet can safely land at Leeuwarden Air Base. Investigation The incident happened on January 21, when two F-16s fired with their on-board cannon at a target on the Vliehors training ground on Vlieland. The Security Inspectorate inspects how one of the devices was...

I have never seen such a large and diverse mess of misinformation spouted and parroted with wild abandon about a military skirmish than what has come out of the short spate of Pakistani-Indian air battles that occurred in late February. But one aspect of those operations, in particular, has been so ridiculously mischaracterized by the media, so-called analysts, and the public in general, that the majority of narratives surrounding it have to be called out for what they are—total bullshit. During a Pakistani Air Force counterstrike operation on February 27th, one that came in response to India's air raid into...

Belgium said on Thursday it had chosen Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth jets over the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging F-16s in a 4 billion euro ($4.55 billion) deal, saying the decision came down to price. ... Belgium joins a list of other European NATO allies, including Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, to take the American-made plane, which is also set to be the U.S. military’s main fighter aircraft for decades to come. “We have landed! This government is investing heavily in defense. With the purchase of F-35A fighter planes ... we ensure your safety and that of our...

Lockheed Martin has rebranded its latest advanced F-16 offering for India as the F-21 and has shown the jet would have new features, including a revised glass cockpit and other advanced features. But the pitch appears to be much more about opportunities industrial cooperation in India, a major factor in the latest iteration of India's fighter jet tender, than technological enhancements. It might even pave the way for the country to join the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program – a claim the company scrubbed from its official F-21 webpage shortly after it went live. The Maryland-headquartered defense contractor revealed models...

On Wednesday, US aerospace major Lockheed Martin revealed what appears to be a new variant of its venerable F-16 fighter, termed the F-21, for the Indian Air Force. A model of the F-21 was unveiled at the Aero India air show at Bengaluru, which commenced on Wednesday. Lockheed Martin had pitched its F-16 for a contract to supply 114 fighters to the Indian Air Force in 2018. More than 4,500 F-16s have been built since the aircraft first took to the air in 1974. Previous variants of the F-16 had retained the type's name, suffixed with 'block numbers' to denote...

The first female pilot to head the Air Combat Command F-16 Viper demonstration team was relieved of command Monday due to a “loss of confidence” in her ability to lead, the Air Force said. Capt. Zoe Kotnik was removed from her position after two weeks, Col. Derek O’Malley, the 20th Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement. “I removed Capt. Kotnik from her position as the commander of the Viper Demo team [Monday], because I lost confidence in her ability to lead the team.” O’Malley said. “I know that loss of confidence is a common response from the Air Force,...

For much of the last week, the press in Israel and Croatia have given frenzied coverage to US objections to Israeli plans to sell the small Eastern European nation 12 used F-16 fighters. On Thursday, the Croatian government announced the deal was officially shelved as Israel had not received approval from Washington to sell the fighters, which were built in the US. The US decision to 'veto' the Israeli sale of the F-16s draws attention to the complicated nature of export controls in arms sales involving multiple nations. The Croatian F-16 saga also bears some similarities to the now-forgotten story...

Caption -- Donald Trump and PM Modi at the G-20 Summit, PTI The United States is not going to put pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets or any other defence system, a senior US diplomat has said here. United States Consul General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said India has purchased more than USD 15 billion worth of American defence materials and the US is "very proud" of the expanding defence ties between the two countries. Asked if there was a threat of the US imposing trade sanctions on India after its multi-billion deal with Russia for the S-400...

With India signing a pact with Russia to purchase the S-400 missile defence system, Washington has informally conveyed to Delhi that it could avoid sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if India were to give an assurance that it would buy the F-16 fighter aircraft from the United States. Not keen on buying an aircraft already in service with Pakistan, India has refused to give any such assurance till date. The fallout of the Trump administration’s reaction to the S-400 deal featured in the wide-ranging discussion between Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US counterpart James Mattis...