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Russia's air force has lost 90 planes since the start of the war in Ukraine and is becoming less formidable by overworking its jets, UK intelligence said. The British Ministry of Defence said in its latest daily intelligence update on Thursday that Russia is quickly depleting its fleet of warplanes through overuse because the conflict is dragging on for much longer than anticipated. "All aircraft have a projected lifespan, in flying hours," the update said, adding that it's highly likely that with the extra use, Russia is "eating into many of its airframes' lifespans" far more quickly than planned for....

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the British Parliament Wednesday afternoon, expressing his view on military alliances in terms of equipment transfers, and thanking the United Kingdom “in advance” for the gift of its warplanes. The speaker of the British House of Commons was presented with a signed combat pilot’s helmet by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday afternoon, saying the gift should act as a symbol to help get Western warplanes donated to the Ukrainian war effort. Indicating, perhaps, that he now considers getting British fighter jets is now a fait accompli Zelensky said in his address to the UK...

China sent 39 aircraft and three warships on military drills toward Taiwan on Thursday in a show of force against the self-governing democratic island nation. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said officials detected the aircraft and vessels around 6 a.m. and were closely monitoring the military drills. Thirty of the Chinese aircraft crossed over the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the ministry added in a Twitter post. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the name for China’s forces, sent various warplanes in a southwest direction toward the southeastern region of the island before doubling back. The PLA has recently conducted...

In the letter sent Monday, Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Robert Portman, R-Ohio, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged the Pentagon to increase the speed at which it was deploying the defensive aid agreed to in May under the $20 billion "Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations" package. "While the medium- and long-range air defense capabilities and HIMARS included in the June 27, 2022, and July 8, 2022 aid packages are a good start, these systems must be delivered at a pace and in quantity sufficient to impact the outcome of the fighting in the Donbas, Kherson and...

Xi’s tone took a more conciliatory approach than that of a speech he made in July, when he vowed to “smash” any attempts at Taiwan independence. China claims the island of some 24 million people as part of its own sovereign territory, and has previously threatened to take control by force if Taiwan formally declares independence. However Taiwan, which has its own elected government and constitution, has maintained that it will defend its democracy and independence. President Xi has previously spoken of the “inevitability” of Taiwan’s return and has said that the issue cannot be passed from generation to generation...

U.S. fighter jets intercepted eight Russian warplanes near Alaska in two separate incidents, according to military officials on Wednesday.“NORAD F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, successfully completed two intercepts of Russian bomber aircraft formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone last night,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) wrote on Wednesday morning. NORAD F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, successfully completed two intercepts of Russian bomber aircraft formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone last night. pic.twitter.com/9iSZK0Vu2F— North American Aerospace Defense...

A U.S. warplane on Sunday shot down a Syrian military aircraft that dropped bombs near U.S.-backed fighters in Syria, the U.S. military said. The U.S. Central Command issued a statement saying the plane was downed "in collective self-defense of Coalition-partnered forces," identified as fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces near Tabqah.

Two Russian warplanes with no visible weaponry flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. official said, describing it as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory. The repeated flights by the Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, which also flew near the ship a day earlier, were so close they created wake in the water, with 11 passes, the official said. A Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter also made seven passes around the USS Donald Cook, taking pictures. The nearest Russian territory was about 70 nautical miles away in its enclave...

TURKISH warplanes have shot down a Russian jet which they claim flew into the country's airspace. The aircraft was shot down after it was warned 10 times in five minutes to leave Turkish airspace, a Turkish military official has said. It was just over the Syrian border in Turkey when it was downed by F16 Fighting Falcon jets belonging to Turkey, the official added. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane was 4km into Syria and had not violated Turkey's airspace as it flew at an altitude of 6,000 metres - and claimed it was shot down from the...

The OV-10 Bronco was a flying and fighting do-all sport utility vehicle. It could loiter for hours, direct fire onto the enemy, pack paratroopers and cargo, or attack with its own weapons. Many think it was retired right when it could have become most useful and that it would have been the perfect light air support aircraft for Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Islamic State has claimed on social media that it is utilizing captured Syrian pilots to learn how to fly stolen jets, according to a CNN Arabic report over the weekend. The Syrian pilots, which are part of the Syrian Armed Forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad, had been captured after the Islamic State seized Tabqa airbase in Raqqa, Syria. The Islamic State took Tabqa airbase after a four-day battle with the Syrian military. Tabqa is home to a plethora of fighter jets, helicopters, artillery, and large caches of ammunition. It still remains unclear how much quantity of the munitions...

RAF Typhoons have been scrambled to intercept a force of seven Russian warplanes near the Baltic states. A Russian bomber, four fighters, a command and control plane and a transport plane were taking part in exercises in international air space over the Baltic Sea. The two Typhoons, sent from Siauliai air base in Lithuania, escorted them away on Tuesday. Britain sent four Typhoon fighters to Lithuania, a Nato ally, in April as tensions rose over Russia’s annexation of the Crimea from the Ukraine. Nato carries out Baltic air policing because Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania do not have their own fighters.

RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday People reports. The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar Al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe British air defenses, the report said. The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them. RAF pilots flying the advanced combat jet were scrambled before the Sukhois could enter our 14-mile air exclusion zone. The Typhoons – which can scream from runway standstill to seven miles high in...

Iran announced Monday it had deployed warplanes and missiles in an ‘exercise' to protect its nuclear sites from attack. Tehran also warned it could cut oil exports to more European Union nations unless sanctions were lifted. On Sunday, Iran cut oil sales to Britain and France. French foreign minister Alain Juppe responded by mocking Iran, saying Tehran's threats "made one smile." He added that Iran was "very creative" in its attempts to "provoke" its fellow nations. The European Union had already voted to halt imports of Iranian crude oil as of 1 July 2001. The EU has also imposed heavy...

Ankara's Star Gazete says country's new F-16 radar system modified to recategorize Israeli targets as hostile. Order said to come directly from PM Erdogan's office; naval, submarine radar systems to be changed next Turkey has developed a new radar system for its US-made F-16 fighter jets that will allow them to fire at Israeli targets, Ankara's Star Gazete reported on Tuesday. The orders to modify the system reportedly came directly from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office. The new radar system – Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) – is a defensive command and control system developed by Turkey's Military...

Kim Jong-il 'Hoped for Arms Supply from China' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was accompanied by several officials in charge of arms manufacture and acquisition during his latest visit to China, giving rise to speculation that he was hoping for weapons supplies from his country's staunchest ally. He was accompanied by Ju Kyu-chang, the first vice-director of the Ministry of Defense Industry, and Pak To-chun, a former senior secretary of Jagang Province, where the North's munitions facilities are clustered, and now Workers Party secretary for munitions. Both had been with him on previous China trips. A source familiar with North...

In the past two years, the U.S. Air Force retired 252 elderly A-10s, F-15s and F-16s to the "bone yard" (a desert storage areas where many American warplanes are stored when retired, just in case they are needed later.) Sometimes the air force is just saving money, by mothballing and decommissioning a number of active duty airplanes to free up money for upgrades and maintenance on the rest of the fleet. Thus not all the aircraft in the bone yard are old and worn out. In fact, nearly all aircraft sent to the bone yard can fly again, otherwise they...

The United States has announced its largest arms sale ever, hundreds of advanced warplanes and helicopters for Mideast ally Saudi Arabia in a deal worth up to $US60 billion ($A62.14 billion) dollars. The plan allows for the sale to Riyadh of 84 F-15 fighter jets, 70 Apache attack helicopters, 72 tactical Black Hawk helicopters and several Little Birds, lightweight helicopters often used in special operations, assistant secretary for political-military affairs Andrew Shapiro said. The sale, which also includes the upgrade of 70 used F-15s, is "not to exceed 60 billion" dollars, Shapiro told reporters. The delivery of the weapons would...

American warplanes are being equipped with electronic tags, so that aerial tankers can automatically note who got what when they are refueled in flight. These records used to be updated manually, which led to errors, and a distraction for the boom operator who was handling the refueling operation. The electronic tag is called RFID (radio-frequency identification), and it's been in development for years, to replace bar codes (which was the previous revolution in keeping track of stuff). RFID uses small labels containing a cheap (less than a buck now, headed towards pennies each) electronic device that contains information about what...

The Gulf state of Kuwait is to test Rafale jets in June before making a final decision on buying the French-made warplanes, the defence minister was quoted as telling MPs on Sunday. "The defence minister told MPs that the deal is so far in the early stage of offers and making the technical assessment by the ministry," government spokesman Mohammad al-Baseeri told reporters outside parliament. "These will continue until June when the plane will be tested in Kuwait," Baseeri, also communications minister, said after Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah had talks with parliament's interior and defence committee. "The defence...