2013-12-13 In a phone interview with Lt. Col. Berke, the Commanding Officer, VMFAT-501, the continued progress of the F-35B towards its initial operating capability or IOC in 2015 was underscored. Recently, the 33rd Fighter Wing, highlighted a four hour sortie generation training exercise. According to the 33rd FW the F-35 enterprise…
2013-12-13 by Robbin Laird In spite of economic difficulties in the U.S. and Europe, the decade ahead will be a significant one in the purchase and deployment of new fighter aircraft. No countries are more important in this evolution outside of Europe and the Asian Rim than India and Brazil.…
2013-12-13 by Kenneth Maxwell President Francois Hollande has just completed a two day State Visit to Brazil. He was returning from South Africa where he had attended the ceremonies in Pretoria for Nelson Mandela. He stopped over in the Central African Republic on the way to Brazil where he has committed French troops.…
2013-12-13 South Africa has one of the most capable naval forces on the continent, but it is geared towards battles and not patrol capability, argues Magnus Lewis-Olsson, chief executive of Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) South Africa. This year, with the SA National Defence Force’s (SANDF) mission in the Democratic Republic of…
12/12/2013: A Marine F-35B Lightning II breaks left out of a formation flight with United Kingdom F-35B aircraft over Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Dec. 4. The joint-program reached a new single-day record for F-35 sorties Dec. 4 with 45 training missions between all three models of the aircraft. The…
12/12/2013:The Marines and the USAF worked together with support from the USN to establish an infrastructure to enable relief operations. It was an insert, support and withdraw effort in which the 36th Contingency Response Group (CRG) and the USMC played a key role in rapid insertion, and responsible withdrawal. As…
12/12/2013: V-22 from Hurlburt field landing. The Osprey is a plane shared by the USMC and the USAF for their various mission requirements. Credit:Hurlburt Field:10/8/13
2013-12-12 One hundred and thirty-five Chinese peacekeepers arrived in Mali’s capital Bamako last week in China’s first deployment of forces for a peacekeeping mission. The personnel complement that arrived last Tuesday includes 35 engineers, 65 medical staff and 35 soldiers. They are the first of 395 personnel that China is sending…
