Naval LCA NP1

Indian Navy Naval LCA NP2 prototype

Singapore down-selects helicopter contenders to replace Super Pumas

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US ‘drops planned Pakistan F-16 fighter jet subsidy’

The US will no longer subsidise the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, a senior state department official has told the BBC.

The decision means that Pakistan will have to pay more than $700m (£480m) – two-and-a-half times the original cost – if it wishes to buy the aircraft.

It comes after Congress refused to approve funding for the deal.

Some US lawmakers had accused Pakistan of not doing enough to fight militants. India also objected to the sale.

However, Pakistan has argued that the jets are needed for anti-terror operations, and so the US should help with funding the purchase.

People close to the deal say it is highly unlikely that Pakistan will be willing to pay the full cost of the fighter jets, so it seems to be off for all practical purposes.

A spokesman for the Pakistan embassy in Washington, Nadeem Hotiana, told the BBC that arms sales were a long process and that he would not comment on the deal’s current status.
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The senior US state department official, who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, says the Obama administration is still very much in favour of selling the fighter jets to Pakistan as it believes it is in the national interest of the United States.

However, Pakistan would have to bear the full cost of the F-16 fighter jets if it wished to proceed, he said.

The original arrangement had been that Pakistan would pay close to $270m, with the US foreign military financing budget paying for the rest.

However, top US lawmakers have expressed concerns over the US government’s decision to sell the jets to Pakistan, saying they could be used against India rather than for combating terrorism.
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Tokyo gears up for 50 X-2 flights in coming year

Japan envisages a one-year test campaign for the Mitsubishi X-2 technology demonstrator, with around 50 flights planned.

The aircraft’s 25min maiden flight from Nagoya on Friday 22 April saw it reach an altitude of 12,000ft and a top speed of 200kt (370km/h), says Hirofumi Doi, manager of Japan’s Future Fighter Program at the defence ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA).

“It was a very ordinary maiden flight,” said Doi in an interview with Flightglobal. “The pilot just checked controllability and did some simulated landings while in the air.”

Post-flight feedback from the pilot indicates that the X-2 performed as expected. “He said that it will be a great airplane to fly,” says Doi.

The timing of the second sortie depends on weather conditions. During this flight, the aircraft will retract its landing gear and accelerate to higher speeds.
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reminds me a lot of the MiG-21UB with side intakes in place of the original intake..the design heritage really comes through.

Frankly, do you think that it was a good idea to set a ridiculously high bar? Was the plan to ingeniously design and build the engines, radars logical and achievable? Without the ridiculously high bar (getting f414 and israeli radars from the beginning) the tejas could have been completed like in 2005 and resources could be then directed to a 5th gen fighter, and there would not be a need for the rafale buy in the 1st place.

As for comparison with the jf-17, the tejas might be a better plane by a bit, but as is for now, it is still work in progress while the jf-17 has entered squadron service. By the time the tejas finally enters production, who knows what advancement block III or newer jf-17 will have.

sigh. It has already entered production and the first squadron of Tejas is to be formed by July. the IAF will receive its second series production fighter before that..SP2 having already flown.

And the Advanced Block III or whatever you wanna call the JF-17…what are its specs? Any better than those of the Tejas Mk1A which is already in development and supposed to be delivered once the first 20 Tejas Mk1s are delivered? As of now, the Block 2 JF-17 has no revolutionary jump in capabilities..heck it lacks precision targeting even though its supposed to have been in squadron service for the past few years.