Free Republic

Nearly three years ago to the day I wrote about the Royal Air Force's retired fleet of Lockheed L1011 derived Tristar tankers being put up for sale. With nine aircraft available, some of them already outfitted for the tanker role, and for a very attractive price, the Tristars seemed like a perfect opportunity for a new private aerial refueling contractor to emerge. Now, this is exactly what has happened, with Tempus Applied Solutions of Texas buying six of the Tristars with the intention of entering the contracted aerial refueling market. Tempus Applied Solutions provides a wide range of aerospace products,...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

UK Royal Air Force (RAF) officials have announced the completion of its deployment of 100 fixed-wing aircraft and 27 support helicopters to aid a possible US-led invasion of Iraq. The strength of the UK build-up was underlined early last week, when RAF Harrier GR7 ground-attack aircraft were in action for the first time over Iraq’s southern ‘no-fly zone’, striking two targets that “threatened US and British aircraft”, according to service sources in the Middle East. UK air assets positioned at a spread of bases in the region include: • Tornado GR4 strike aircraft at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait • Harrier...