Free Republic

Last week, the Pakistan Air Force and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) began joint training exercises dubbed “Shaheen VI” in China. The exercises began on Thursday and will run until September 27. According to Xinhua, China’s state news agency, a spokesperson for the PLAAF noted that China had sent a wide range of aerial assets and troops, including Shenyang J-11 twin-engine multirole fighters, Xian JH-7 fighter-bombers, KJ-200 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, and surface-to-air missile crews and radar operators.Xinhua added that Pakistan had sent an undisclosed number of JF-17 Thunder fighters and its own early warning...

Air forces across Europe struggled to cope as a volcanic ash cloud that has also halted most commercial services swept across the continent from Iceland, officials said Saturday. The fine volcanic dust can clog jet engines, causing them to flame out in some cases, or leaving them irreparably damaged. "We have redeployed units to the south of France due to the closure of air space, to be able to ensure transport missions, patrols and policing of the skies", Major Frederic Solano told AFP. Aircraft assigned to permanent standby had been based at Dijon and Tours in the centre, Orange in...

CAMP TAJI — In a show of partnership between the U.S. and Iraqi Air Force (IqAF), pilots from both countries recently flew personnel transport missions over Baghdad for the first time as a combined flight. Lt. Col. Shamkky Abbas, IqAF 2nd Squadron training officer, led the combined aviation mission over the Iraqi capital, as the aircraft made stops at various Coalition force bases in the greater Baghdad area. “The significance of this mission is the speed in which the [Iraqi] Air Force is progressing,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Michael McNerney, commander, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron (AEAS). “While the...

2/13/2008 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AFPN) -- A retired general had been waiting on a call for some time; 55 years to be exact. Retired Lt. Gen. Charles G. Cleveland answered his home phone in January that turned out to be one of the most important calls of his life. "That's how I found out the Air Force was officially recognizing me as an ace," General Cleveland said. "Right there on the phone." But while the notification of his new-found status was brief and unceremonious, General Cleveland's journey to reach this point was a very long one. It started in South...

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli and American air forces started a joint exercise at Al Naqab Desert, south of Israel, in preparation for what many Israeli press reports said a potential military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Although all Israeli officials refused to comment on the exercise, the Israeli Army radio was the first to leak reports about the one-week drill, saying that several warplanes are taking part in the exercises. According to a high-profile Israeli Security source, "there is a common belief among Israeli army, security and government leaders that sooner or later, the United States will start a military operation...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2005 – Two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate incidents in Iraq Nov. 2, officials reported. A soldier assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), died when his vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device in Ramadi. Elsewhere, a Task Force Baghdad soldier died when a patrol struck an improvised explosive device south of Baghdad. The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other operations in Iraq, an Iraqi security forces patrol came under attack Nov. 1 in Baqubah. Iraqi soldiers from the 4th Division were preparing...

<p>Politics makes strange bedfellows, and it does funny things to birds, too. Some of our doves, accustomed to flying on only one wing — the left — are auditioning as hawks.</p> <p>Over 40 years the Democrats have raised sneering at military service and sacrifice to an art form. The mere sight of a uniform, especially if bedecked with medals and service ribbons, often sends liberals into something close to cardiac arrest. Add a flag or two and a little martial music and some Democrats (a former president and his mouthy wife come to mind) imagine they're back at the Nuremberg rally.</p>