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South Korea Navy Studying Operating F-35 from Dokdo Class Assault Ships

South Korea's Navy has put up a public notice of tender for a research project to explore the possibility of operating F-35B stealth aircraft aboard its amphibious landing ship, officials said Friday.
Last Friday, the Navy initiated the tender through an electronic defense procurement system of the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration, citing moves by neighboring countries to consider running F-38Bs aboard their warships.
The project seeks to study the possible remodeling of the country's 14,000-ton Dokdo-class vessel to host the F-35B fighter, a short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the U.S.-made fifth-generation warplane. The research is set to end by Dec. 15.
Observers speculated that the Navy might seek to run the F-35B on the Marado warship that is currently under construction and slated to be deployed in 2020.
The existing Dokdo ship is seen as capable of operating only transport helicopters because its deck is not made of materials that can withstand high temperatures caused by fighter jet operations.
In 2014, Seoul decided to purchase 40 F-35A fighters for deployment from 2018 through 2021 at a cost of 7.3 trillion won (US$6.4 billion). The F-35A is the fighter's air force variant, while the F-35B and F-35C are for marines and aircraft carrier-based operations, respectively.
There has been speculation that Seoul may consider introducing several F-35Bs as it may have to purchase additional warplanes due to a shortage of warplanes that could occur in the coming years with the decommissioning of F-4s and F-5s.
Japanese media have reported that Tokyo's Maritime Self-Defense Force is considering purchasing F-35Bs for its large escort ships.
yonhapnews

South Korea to Sign Contract on KF-X Next Week

South Korea's state arms procurement agency said Thursday it will sign a formal contract next week,around Dec. 28 on its fighter jet development project, known as KF-X.
The Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration plans to ink the deal with Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd.
South Korea hopes to produce its own fighter jet to replace the aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s by mid-2020.
Last month, KAI secured Indonesia's assurance that it will pay for 20 percent of the total cost expected to reach $15 billion.
Under the contract between the DAPA and KAI, six test planes will be manufactured by 2025.
The KF-X project received a boost from the U.S. pledge to transfer some of its jet technologies. But South Korea faces a daunting task of finding an alternative as the U.S. made it clear that four core technologies will be excluded.
Those are the active electronically scanned radar, infrared search-and-rescue system, electro-optical targeting pod and radio frequency jammer.
defense-studies

USAF QF-4 targeting drone takes last flight

The mission for the QF-4 targeting drone is over, with the last of the converted F-4 Phantom IIs destroyed over the Gulf of Mexico.
Since 1997, the Air Force has flown 315 QF-4 drones as targets for training and weapons testing. On Wednesday, the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron operated the last of the fleet on a training mission out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The jet was destroyed during a live weapons testing flight.
The Air Force's new fleet of QF-16s, converted Fighting Falcons, will now take over the unmanned targeting drone role. The aircraft, converted block 15, 20 and 30 variants of the F-16, first began unmanned test flights in 2013, with the first production model arriving at the Florida base in March 2015. The service expects to field 210 of the converted jets.
QF-4s, and QF-16s, are outfitted with electronic and infrared countermeasures to fully mimic an adversarial aircraft in training, according to the Air Force. The aircraft are outfitted with explosive devices to destroy them over a designated area of the sea, should they become uncontrollable during targeting missions. A pilot operates the aircraft from a ground station, and the drone is followed by a trailing aircraft.
airforcetimes

KAI in Partnership with Airbus will Develop South Korea Future Fighter KF-X

KAI was picked as the preferred bidder for the South Korea's indigenous fighter jet development program Monday.
Codenamed KF-X, the project calls for South Korea to develop fighter jets of the F-16 class to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s. Some 120 jets are to be put into service starting around 2025.
KAI, in partnership with Airbus Defense and Space, vied against Seoul's top air carrier, Korean Air Lines Co., which teamed up with Lockheed Martin of the United States.
Industrial watchers say KAI has a technical edge over Korean Air based upon its experience developing the T-50 Golden Eagle.
yonhapnews

Turkey To Retire Its RF-4E Fleet After Crashes

Turkey is retiring its RF-4E Phantom II reconnaissance planes. The announcement came after two RF-4E’s crashed on February 24th during a night training exercise, killing all four crew members. Turkish Air Force have decided to ground the planes as of March 12th, retiring them several months earlier than scheduled. Nine days later, another Turkish Phantom also crashed, killing its two pilots and raising questions about the safety of Turkey’s aging fleet. Reconnaissance flights will be now carried out by F-16 jets.
warbirdsnews

Iranian Phantom jet strikes the Islamic State in Iraq

An Iranian McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jet has struck Islamic State targets in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, footage shot by regional media shows.
At least one F-4 is seen conducting a bombing run against ground targets in the footage shot by Al Jazeera , which erroneously identified the aircraft as an Iraqi fighter. Iran and Turkey are the only regional operators of the F-4, and the location of the incident not far from the Iranian border, and Turkey's unwillingness to get involved in the conflict militarily, indicate this to be an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) aircraft.
While the IRIAF is known to have contributed Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' ground attack aircraft to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq (ostensibly donated to the Iraqi Air Force, but believed to be crewed by Iranian pilots), this footage is the first visual evidence of direct IRIAF involvement in the conflict.
The Al Jazeera footage, which was shot on 30 November, shows the IRIAF F-4 supporting Iraqi forces retaking the town of Sa'adiya in what was purported to be the government's largest operation against the Islamic State since June. Its release shows reported growing evidence of Iranian involvement in the war in Iraq.
Video footage and photographs shown on social media sites have increasingly been showing Iranian military hardware in the hands of Shia militias fighting in Iraq.
While the US-led effort to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been widely publicised by the Department of Defense (DoD) and its coalition allies, Iran's involvement has been altogether more opaque.
Iran was the first country to pledge and deliver military support to Iraq when the Islamic State began its offensive earlier in the year. At the time that the first IRIAF Su-25s arrived over Baghdad in late June, there was much speculation that Iran and the United States may come together in some form of joint operation against the Islamic State. However, the recent détente between the two countries is still in its very early stages, and neither side much relished the prospect of military co-operation to such a degree.
As such, there appear to be two parallel military campaigns being waged against the Islamic State, with the United States and its allies conducting their air campaign over Iraq and Syria, and Iran pursuing its own military agenda in Iraq at the same time. So far, this dual approach does appear to be working (at least in terms of de-conflicting the two military campaigns), but should they happen to cross paths over the coming weeks and months it would no doubt muddy still further an already complicated conflict.
janes

Future of F-35 in Japan Unclear as Costs Mount

Two years after Japan agreed to buy F-35 to replace its F-4EJ Phantoms, the government has yet to give more than the vaguest hints about its future fighter replacement plans as the Defense Ministry struggles with a rising tide of costs and difficulties with the troubled stealth fighter program.
Following instructions of Prime Minister to recalibrate Japan’s defense posture to counter rising concerns, the MoD released its five-year Mid-Term Defense Plan and 10-year National Defense Program Outline in December, one year early. Yet the two documents are singularly unrevealing about Japan’s fighter plans.
While the midterm plan is explicit about a number of important new programs, it states only that Japan will buy 28 F-35s through Japanese fiscal 2018. The long-range plan states only that Japan is considering increasing its fighter inventory from 260 to 280.
The plan also called for the purchase of 17 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, three Global Hawk surveillance drones and 52 amphibious vehicles to counter the increasingly expansionist Chinese Navy and deter threats to Japan’s long southeastern island chain.
The plan for 28 F-35s is in line with the MoD’s December 2011 agreement to eventually deploy 42 of the fighters, which should be completed by around 2021, with 38 to be assembled in Japan under a final assembly and checkout deal, according to internal MoD planning documents, said defense analyst Shinichi Kiyotani.
Under a June 2013 foreign military sales agreement with the US, Japan committed to purchase the first four F-35As at US $124 million each. The price was already at a premium to theoriginally agreed, due to the then-continuing development and testing difficulties the F-35 program was facing.
Since then, prices have continued to climb, especially with the yen’s devaluation. The price of the first two fighters to be purchased for fiscal 2013 climbed, and the cost for the next four for fiscal 2014 has risen.
Bearing in mind the rising costs of the F-35 program, the MoD is still figuring out what it can do about the long-term replacement of around 200 F-15J fighters and 90 F-2 fighters.
defensenews

Greek fighter jets harass Turkish recon aircraft

A Turkish aircraft conducting a reconnaissance flight over Aegean international airspace was harassed by Greek F-16s five times, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) announced on Tuesday.
A CN-235 aircraft was harassed by Greek fighter jets for two minutes and 37 seconds while the radar lock of the Greek air defense system was kept on.
In a previous incident, four F4-E/2020 Phantoms were put under radar lock by Greece's Patriot missile defense system twice, for 15 seconds each time, at 3:20 p.m. Turkish time on Dec. 23. The jet fighters were on a training flight in international waters off Greece's Ikaria Island in the Aegean, the military said.
Media reports quoted military sources as saying this was the first time that Turkish military aircraft were threatened by Greece's long-range missile defense system. The military has also reportedly notified the Foreign Ministry about the incident.
Turkish and Greek warplanes have engaged in dogfights over the Aegean many times in the past but Greece has never activated its missile defense system against Turkish aircraft.
Turkey and Greece are at odds over boundaries of their airspace due to a long-running territorial dispute over the Aegean.
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USAF receives last QF-4 full-scale aerial target

The USAF has taken delivery of the last of the 314 QF-4 full-scale aerial target (FSAT) drones at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida, US.
Bearing a serial number 68-0599, the QF-4 is a modified variant of the decommissioned F-4 Phantom fighter jet, and has spent more than 20 years in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, US, prior to conversion by BAE Systems.
The drone is scheduled to serve as a target for a modern piloted jet during training exercises.
Flown either by a remote control or with a safety pilot for performance monitoring, the QF-4 is a supersonic, reusable drone designed to serve as a realistic full-scale moving target for newly developed air-to-air weapons testing and aircraft training at Tyndall AFB, and Holloman AFB in New Mexico, US.
Modified at BAE's Flight Systems facilities at Mojave Airport in California, US, the drone replicates enemy aircraft manoeuvres in test and training exercises, and is integrated with electronic and infrared countermeasures for evaluation of the aircraft and weapons flown and fired against it.
Having replaced the QF-106 as USAF's target drone of choice in 1998, the QF-4 is expected to be superseded by the QF-16 in 2014, a converted F-16 Fighting Falcon, due to limited availability of F-4 fighters and the continuing advancement of combat aircraft, such as the F-22 Raptors.
Around 60 QF-4s are currently operational at Tyndall AFB and Holloman AFB.
airforce-technology

Greek jets ‘harassed’ Turkish military trainer aircraft over the Aegean Sea: General Staff

Greek F-16 jets harassed Turkish military trainer aircrafts by putting them under radar-lock while they were flying over the Aegean Sea, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on their website Nov. 6.
“The Turkish Air Force’s F-4E/2020 planes performed training flights in Aegean international airspace between the Icraia and Samos islands. The Greek F-16 planes that took off from the airbase on Skyros island harassed [the Turkish planes] by maintaining the radar locks for four minutes [for each plane],” the statement said.
Radar lock means that the Greek military planes’ missiles were fixed on the Turkish aircraft during their flight over the Aegean.
hurriyetdailynews

U.S. F-22 stealth fighter pilot taunted Iranian F-4 Phantom combat planes over the Persian Gulf

Earlier this year, Pentagon Press Secretary, said that an IRIAF F-4 Phantom attempted to intercept a U.S. MQ-1 drone flying in international airspace off Iran.
IRIAF F-4 Phantom jets came to about 16 miles from the UAV but broke off pursuit after they were broadcast a warning message by two American planes escorting the Predator.
The episode happened in March 2013, few months after a two Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes attempted to shoot down an American MQ-1 flying a routine surveillance flight in international airspace some 16 miles off Iran, the interception of the unmanned aircraft failed. After this attempted interception the Pentagon decided to escort the drones involved in ISR (intelligence surveillance reconnaissance) missions with fighter jets, either F-18 Hornets with the CVW 9 embarked on the USS John C. Stennis whose Carrier Strike Group is currently in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility or F-22 Raptors like those deployed to Al Dhafra in the UAE.
New details about the episode were recently disclosed by Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh who on Sept. 17 not only confirmed that the fighter jets providing HVAAE (High Value Air Asset Escort) were F-22 stealth fighters but also said that:
“He [the Raptor pilot] flew under their aircraft [the F-4s] to check out their weapons load without them knowing that he was there, and then pulled up on their left wing and then called them and said ‘you really ought to go home’”
theaviationist

IRIAF unveils F-4 with Nasr missile

Iran has unveiled the Qader and Nasr missile on Sept. 22. The Nasr is shown being carried by a F-4E.

F-15SE close to matching future South Korea Fighter F-X III price ceiling

With the “final” bidding for Korea’s next-generation fighter program underway, the procurement price of 8.3 trillion won ($7.5 billion) is taking center stage, which puts Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle (SE) in the contender position.
However, military watchers say that a price-focused selection of 60 F-15 SEs may doom the Korean Air force's goal of boosting its strength due to lesser capabilities than those being hyped.
The F-15 is up against Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company’s (EADS) Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon in the Air Force program to buy 60 combat planes to replace its obsolete fleet of F-4s and F-5s.
koreatimes

German air force 'Pharewell' to last F-4Fs

Germany retired its last operational McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom IIs on 29 June, with the veteran type's duties having been assumed by Eurofighter units.
After almost 40 years of service, the final interceptors were retired during a decommissioning event to be staged at the Luftwaffe's Wittmund air base.
The final German examples weree operated by the air force's JG 71 "Richthofen" squadron, which was also the first to begin flying the type, in March 1974. Delivered in 1973, its first F-4F, 37+01, received a special livery for the occasion.
A total of 263 Phantoms were acquired by Germany, including 88 in the RF-4E reconnaissance configuration, from 1971.
According Flightglobal's database shows Germany's retirement of the Phantom will reduce the global frontline fleet of the type to 431 aircraft, operated by the air forces of Egypt, Greece, Iran, Japan, South Korea and Turkey. The US Air Force also has more than 150 examples, which have been adapted for use as QF-4 aerial targets.
flightglobal

The last F-4 departs Davis-Monthan

The final F-4 regenerated from storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group performed its last flight over Tucson, Ariz., April 17, before heading to Mojave, Calif.
Aircraft 68-0599, an RF-4C Phantom, arrived at AMARG for storage on January 18, 1989 and had not flown since.
eglin

EADS offers to manufacture 48 Eurofighters in S. Korea

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), which is competing with U.S. companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin for South Korea's fighter jet program, has offered to manufacture 48 out of 60 planes in local factories if it wins the multi-billion dollar deal, sources and company officials said Friday.
The multinational defense firm EADS's Eurofighter Tranche 3 has been bidding with Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet and Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle for the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.3 billion) contract to replace the South Korean Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s from 2016.

yonhapnews

Iranian F-4 tried to intercept MQ-1 escorted by 2 American fighters

An Iranian military jet tried to intercept an unarmed American MQ-1 remotely piloted aircraft over international waters March 12 but it was discouraged from accomplishing that mission, Pentagon officials said today.
The MQ-1 aircraft was conducting a routine classified surveillance flight over international waters in the Arabian Gulf.
Iran sent an F-4 Phantom 2 jet to intercept the unmanned aircraft. “The closest point of approach between these aircraft was approximately 16 miles,” Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a written statement.
Two U.S. military aircraft were escorting the Predator, and the Iranian plane broke off pursuit after a verbal warning.
“All U.S. aircraft remained over international waters at all times,” Little said.
In November, Iranian aircraft fired on an American remotely piloted aircraft operating over the Arabian Sea. The Iranian aircraft fired two missiles at the drone and missed. After that incident, the U.S. government informed the Iranian government that its behavior was unacceptable. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the time that the U.S. military will continue to fly these missions and will protect its aircraft.
defense.gov

Nueva misión para el Phamtom en la USAF/F-4 gets new US Air Force role

La USAF va a utilizar el QF-4 Phantom para remolque de blancos, con el fin de que las tripulaciones de caza practiquen el tiro con cañón. Debido a los recortes en materia de defensa, el contrato mediante el cual se utilizaban aviones Learjet, ha sido cancelado. Los QF-4 están basados en Tyndall, Florida.
key.Aero
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The US Air Force is to use the QF-4 Phantom for banner tow missions to ensure combat fighter aircrews could continue training and developing their aerial gunnery skills. Due to costs, the Navy contract for use of Lear jets was being cut, and this is the way to accomplish with this training. Based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, the QF-4s are used by the 82nd ATRS as aerial target drones, usually flown unmanned and often destroyed in live fire exercises.
All sorties are conducted over water, far from shore.
key.Aero

La Luftwaffe alemana se hará cargo de la defensa aérea de los Países Bálticos

La Luftwaffe desplegará seis F-4F Phamton para la misión "Air Policing Baltikum“, dentro del compromiso que tiene la OTAN para la defensa del espacio aéreo de Estonia, Letonia y Lituania. Alemania asume este papel por cuarta vez. Los aviones proceden del Ala de Combate 71 "Richthofen", con base en Wittmund.
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