The Hellenic Air Force has officially taken delivery of its 24th Rafale fighter jet, marking the completion of a significant acquisition program with France. The final single-seat aircraft, bearing the serial number 457, touched down at the 114th Combat Wing in Tanagra, after a non-stop flight from Mérignac, near Bordeaux. The aircraft was promptly handed over to the 332nd Squadron, which operates the advanced French-made fighters.
Elbit Systems has secured a significant $60 million contract with a NATO European country to supply its advanced ReDrone counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS). This deal highlights the growing concern amongst NATO members regarding the increasing threat of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and their potential misuse by terrorists and smugglers. Elbit Systems, a leading global defence technology company, is set to deliver the ReDrone system over a three-year period.
The scene was something out of a disaster movie: doors knocked off their hinges, furniture overturned, and bookshelves toppled, leaving a mess of debris and a lingering question: Is this the future? This was January 2024 on Roi-Namur, the second-largest island in the Kwajalein Atoll, a remote chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 kilometers north of the equator. According to a report by Aerospace America, this island, home to around 120 US military personnel and contractors, is crucial for operating rocket launch pads, radars, and telescopes, and it forms a key part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defence Test Site. But this vital location is now facing a very real threat from the rising seas of climate change.
The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, or RTS, tracks an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launch Oct. 29 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, during Air Force Global Strike Command’s Glory Trip-236 operational test. Sensors at RTS at Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, located 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii, are controlled at the RTS Operations Center-Huntsville, or ROC-H, located 6,500 miles from Kwajalein in Huntsville, Alabama. (U.S. Army photo) Continue reading “Key U.S. missile test site in Pacific battling rising seas”
The U.S. State Department has approved a significant Foreign Military Sale to Japan, involving the acquisition of 1,200 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs). The deal, estimated at a staggering $3.64 billion, includes both the AIM-120D-3 and AIM-120C-8 variants. This potential sale was officially communicated to Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Jan. 2.
F-35A Lightning II test aircraft assigned to the 31st Test Evaluation Squadron from Edwards Air Force Base, California, released AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X missiles at QF-16 targets during a live-fire test over an Air Force range in the Gulf of Mexico on June 12, 2018. The Joint Operational Test Team conducted the missions as part of Block 3F Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. Continue reading “Japan set to bolster air defence with massive AMRAAM purchase”
A new airfield is rapidly taking shape on the Yemeni island of Abd al-Kuri, a strategically positioned landmass near vital shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, according to analysis of satellite imagery by both the Associated Press (AP) and The Maritime Executive. This development comes amid escalating conflict in the region, with Houthi rebels continuing their attacks on ships in the crucial Mideast waterways. The construction, which has not been publicly claimed by any nation, raises significant questions about its purpose and potential impact on regional power dynamics.
Source: Sentinel-2 Continue reading “Mysterious airfield emerges on Yemeni Island amid regional tensions”
