Japan protest over ‘dangerous’ China helicopter fly-by

Japan has lodged a formal protest after a Chinese helicopter flew close to its destroyer in the East China Sea.

The Japanese ship was on patrol near a disputed gas field that both countries want to exploit.

It is the latest in a series of tense confrontations between Japan and its increasingly powerful neighbour.

Relations between the two nations have been strained since a row last year over the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near islands both claim.

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Eurofighter Typhoon squares up to F-35 challenge

Typhoon fighter jet test pilot Craig Penrice no longer flies.

Seven years ago he ejected from a jet with engine failure and ended up with a broken back and a new career.

These days Mr Penrice is a member of Eurofighter’s business development team, pitching the Typhoon to air crews, air forces and defence ministries around the world.

“I want the boys who do the jobs I used to do to have the best equipment available,” he says.

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USAF looks at scaling back flight training to cut costs

US Air Force (USAF) officials have proposed cutting the service’s flight training budget in an effort to scale back costs, according to the recently released Department of Defense (DoD) Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget request.

Under the proposals, fighter and bomber flight training will bear the brunt of the cuts, with pilots flying 16,144 fewer hours (a reduction of around five per cent) than in 2011, saving the service some USD272 million.

Contenders for Indian fighter deal to show in force at Aero India 2011

All six participants of a tender to supply 126 light fighter jets to the Indian air force will showcase full flight displays at Aero India 2011 air show, the organizers said.

Six major aircraft makers — Lockheed and Boeing from the United States, Russia’s MiG, France’s Dassault, Sweden’s Saab and the EADS consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies — are in contention to win the $11 billion tender.

Each company is expected to bring along at least two competing aircraft as well as competent teams and flight simulators for display.

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Turkish Air Force marks a century of service

The 100th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force will be marked with a series of activities throughout the year, including international conferences, exhibitions, training, exercises and artistic and cultural projects.

“Our aim in our 100th year is not simply to celebrate our age, but to generate trust and interest in the Turkish Air Force from citizens, especially the country’s youth,” the Turkish Air Force Command stated in a press release.

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Pentagon Spokesman Discusses China, North Korea

The jury is still out on China’s apparent fifth-generation J-20 stealth aircraft, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said today.

“The J-20 stories, frankly, that I’ve seen over the past couple weeks … have been a little over the top,” Morrell said during a Pentagon news conference. He noted that reports of “successful testing” ignore the unknowns of the Chinese aircraft.

“What we know is that a plane that looks different than any other they produced, that they claim to be their J-20, had a short test flight when we were in Beijing,” the press secretary said. “But we don’t know, frankly, much about the capabilities of that plane.”

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