NEWS 2022, March 3rd

Norway receives its first P-8A 'Viking'

On February 24, Norway's first P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) landed at Norway's Evenes airport.
Norway’s new maritime surveillance aircraft, the P-8 Poseidon, will begin patrolling sea areas in 2023. 

The primary mission of P-8 Poseidon is to maintain maritime surveillance and to assist in the development of situational awareness in Norwegian local areas. 
navalnews

TURKEY LHD 'ANADOLU' ENTERS SEA TRIALS PHASE

On February 27, Turkey's Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), the future TCG Anadolu, based in Spanish LHD Juan Carlos I, which is set to become the flagship of the Turkish Navy (Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri) started sea trials.

The initial plan was to commission LHD Anadolu for the Turkish Navy in 2021, but due to delays for a variety of reasons, the deadline has had to be rescheduled. As a result, LHD Anadolu was expected to enter service in 2022, but SSB’s video and statement on the Turkish Defense Industry’s 2022 Projection do not include the LHD’s commissioning.

navalnews

FOUR RUSSIAN JETS VIOLATED SWEEDEN AIRSPACE

Sweeden said four Russian jet fighters violated its airspace the day after the country’s prime minister said her government will seek to boost the country’s military capabilities in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Swedish military officials said the four fighters, two Russian SU-24s and two SU-27s, entered into Swedish airspace on Wednesday just east of the island of Gotland over the Baltic Sea.

A Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighter tracked the incursion and took photographs of the Russian jets, which quickly left the area.

menafn.com

TURKEY SENDS ADDITIONAL TB2 BAYRAKTAR UCAVs to UKRAINE

Turkey has airlifted additional Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Ukraine. The Ukrainian defence minister said on 2 March that new combat ready TB2s had arrived in the country as part of a package of international military assistance. 

The minister's statement followed rumours of a delivery of new TB2s from Turkey after a Turkish Air Force Airbus A400M transport aircraft was tracked flying from Ankara to Poland on 1 March. Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was known to have received six TB2s from Turkey. The minister did not say how many additional TB2s had been delivered. The TB2 is the only UCAV in Ukrainian service and was first used by the country in October 2021. 

Footage released by the Ukrainian government since the launch of offensive Russian operations on 24 February has shown the TB2s to have been heavily engaged in the fighting, destroying several ground vehicles. The TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was developed to provide the Turkish Army with a tactical intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance capability. 

janes

RUSSIAN HELICOPTER ENTERS JAPAN AEROSPACE

Japan scrambled a fighter jet on Wednesday in response to what appeared to be a Russian helicopter entering its airspace, amid heightened tensions over the crisis in Ukraine. 

The helicopter crossed into Japanese airspace over waters off of the northern island of Hokkaido, the defense ministry said in a brief statement. 

Japan issued warnings and sent an Air Self-Defense Force fighter to respond to the incursion, the ministry said. Tokyo issued a protest with the Russian government through a diplomatic channel. newsbreak