Dave Majumdar for The National Interest: Early next year in February, the first of Russia’s new production Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack supersonic strategic bombers will take to the air. The new bomber is essentially a prototype of a next generation variant of the venerable Blackjack, the first generation of which was built during the 1980s in […]
Air Force
Sale of Patriot missiles to Poland approved
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of Patriot missiles to Poland, reports Reuters: The proposed sale includes 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 16 M903 launching stations, four AN/MPQ-65 radars, four control stations, spares, software and associated equipment. In addition, Poland is authorized to buy U.S. government and contractor technical, […]
Germany will probably replace Tornado with F-35
It looks like Germany might join the F-35 family around 2025. According to Janes the Joint Strike Fighter is the preferred choice as a replacement for the Tornado. The Tornado will retire around 2030, and the transition to its successor will take about five years. It makes a lot of sense to replace the Tornado […]
Sweden settles on US Patriot missiles
Sweden will buy Patriot missiles to replace the country’s old Hawk air defense system. Political turmoil has preceded the 10 billion kroner deal.
Nordic countries agree to exchange radar data for air surveillance
The Nordic countries have agreed to enhance air surveillance through the exchange of radar data between the members of NORDEFCO. The defense ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Nordic Cooperation for Air Surveillance Information Exchange during their meeting in Helsinki yesterday. Several sources report this, but […]
Belarus acquires more air defense missiles
Belarus has ordered a new battery of surface-to-air Tor-M2 missiles (NATO name SA-15 Gauntlet), bringing the number to a total of five batteries, according to the Russian defense blog bmpd. The first battery was acquired in 2011, and since then the arsenal has grown steadily with the goal to end at ten batteries in 2020. […]
Lithuania acquires Norwegian air defense system
Lithuania has announced the purchase of the Norwegian air defense system NASAMS in a €109 million deal with Kongsberg. The system is expected to be fully operational in 2021, reports armyreconition.com. NASAMS is a ground based solution with air defense radars and surface launched medium range missiles. Such a system will be very useful in […]
F-35 arrives in Norway on Thursday
The first three Joint Strike Fighters will arrive in Norway on Thursday, according to this official statement by the government. Officially the three aircraft will be received at a ceremony on Friday, November 10 at the Ørland Main Air Station. Norway has already received seven F-35s that are being used in USA for training. In […]
Baltic Fleet strengthened with airborne regiments
The Russian Baltic Fleet will be strengthened with two airborne regiments, reports Interfax. It is not quite clear what kind of regiments it is going to be, so the technical effect is somewhat unclear. But the message is that the new regiments will enforce the Baltic Fleet noticeably, and that the troops will be stationed […]
Lithuanian borders violated by Russia and Belarus in September
You would expect border guards to know where the border is. Or at least you would think that border guards had enough respect for the concept of a border to keep a safe margin if they are in doubt. But nevertheless there were two cases in September where border guards entered illegally into Lithuania. The […]