Free Republic

Fighter Order Rekindles Russian Air Force By Douglas Barrie and Alexey Komarov Zhukovsky, Russia Russian air force ambitions stretch far beyond the $2.65-billion Sukhoi fighter order at the MAKS 2009 show. Aspirations include fielding an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) alongside its fifth-generation fighter and developing a next-generation strategic bomber. The fighter deal is a fillip to the air force and Sukhoi. The military will acquire 48 Su-35S fighter aircraft from 2010-15, along with 12 Su-27SMs and four Su-30M2s. Delivery of the last two versions of the Flanker should be completed by 2011. Securing an air force order bolsters Sukhoi’s...

<p>Russian bomber aircraft approached a US Aircraft carrier in the Pacific on Saturday and were intercepted by American fighter jets, a US Defense official said on Monday.</p>

Russian Air Force bomber briefly intrudes into Japanese airspace TOKYO, Feb. 9 KYODO A Russian Air Force bomber briefly intruded into Japanese airspace off the southern part of the Izu Island chain on Saturday morning, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Japan filed a strong protest via the Russian Embassy in Tokyo over the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber's intrusion which lasted about three minutes from 7:30 a.m., the ministry said. Russia, however, denied the aircraft had entered Japanese airspace, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported. Alexander Drobyshevsky, head of the Russian Air Force information service, told Itar-Tass that strategic aircraft missions were...

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin sent 14 bomber aircraft on patrols far beyond its own territory today, marking the permanent return to a Soviet-era practice. Mr Putin said the resumption of flights was a response to security threats posed by other military powers. “We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic aviation on a permanent basis,” Mr Putin said at joint military exercises with China and four Central Asian states in Russia's Ural mountains. “Today, August 17 at 00:00 hours, 14 strategic bombers took to the air from seven airfields across the country, along with support and refuelling aircraft. “In...

Japanese fighter jets have been scrambled 30 times to turn away Chinese planes approaching Japan's airspace in the last six months, more than twice the 13 times in the same period last year, officials have said. The increased defensive posture reflects the growing tensions between Japan and China, which are squabbling over interpretations of their wartime past, undersea gas deposits, and ownership of East China Sea islands.