RAF Lakenheath recommended for closure in report commissioned by US government

The future of RAF Lakenheath is up in the air as a report commissioned by the US Government has recommended it for closure.
The report by thinktank RAND Corporation has suggested a range of cost-cutting measures in Europe to the US Department of Defense, including the closure of RAF Lakenheath.
Another option is moving the resident 48th Fighter Wing squadron to another air base and keeping RAF Lakenheath as an intelligence and communications centre.
In its current state RAF Lakenheath costs the USAF around $211 million per year to run.
The report also suggests relocating some forces from nearby RAF Mildenhall but the base would remain open and continue to host the 100th Refuelling Wing.
RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall contribute an estimated £500 million annually to the local economy and residents are concerns about the impact the potential closure.
A spokesperson for RAF Lakenheath said they were unable to comment on the report.
It was revealed last month that thousands of troops could leave both USAF bases this year as part of the US government’s sequestration programme which aims to reduce the number of global staff by 25,000 in the next five years.
Lakenheath is home to 5,000 servicement and women and 2,000 civilians, and Mildenhall to 3,000 military and more than 3,500 civilians.
cambridge-news

France: Cancellation of Carrier Sale to Russia an 'Extreme Measure'

France views its two advanced helicopter carriers sold to Russia as unarmed civilian ships, and it is too early to say whether the deal would be canceled in view of the Ukraine crisis.
A cancellation of a contract for two command-and-projection ships of the Mistral class would be an extreme measure, one which would only appear on a third set of sanctions against Moscow.
The first ship, named Vladivostok, is due for delivery at the end of the year.
A defense executive expressed surprise at the description of the Mistral as a civilian hull. The ships will be fitted with a combat system, based on a Senit command-and-control system and radar, covered by the contract.
The second of the carriers under construction for Russia is named Sevastapol. Russia has options for two more Mistral ships.
French Foreign Minister on Monday raised the possibility of canceling the Mistral deal, and said Paris will call on European partners to follow suit.
defensenews

Italian Lawmakers Back Cuts to JSF Purchase

Italy’s planned purchase of 90 Joint Strike Fighters was thrown further into doubt on March 19 as members of the Italian parliament signed off a report calling for significant cuts to the program and senior government officials ordered a new defense white paper to reassess Italy’s military strategy by year end.
The developments came three days after new Italian prime minister suggested Italy would cut its purchase of JSFs as the Italian government struggles to bring down state spending.
The document criticizes Italy’s allegedly poor workshare on the JSF program, claims that the jobs generated by Italy’s JSF assembly line are insufficient and states that Italy’s lack of access to sensitive program data will lead to dependence on the US.
Italy’s planned 12 billion euro purchase of 90 aircraft should be significantly cut, while ongoing orders should be halted until technical hitches are cleared up.
While Italy has planned spending billions on the Joint Strike Fighter, it has scaled back its purchases of the Eurofighter. The report argues that instead Italy should be aiming to buy the ground attack version of the Eurofighter, which it claims would compete on level terms with the JSF, adding that the European program guarantees an industrial return equal to outlay.
The document calls for more Euro-centric procurement and military policy in general and criticizes the Italian Army’s digitalization program for pushing the Italian military beyond the point where it is able to cooperate with fellow EU and NATO forces.
defensenews

B-1B, F-16s could be next if Congress blocks Air Force plan to retire A-10

The Air Force could be forced to make heavy cuts to its fighters and bombers if Congress rejects plans to retire the A-10 without providing additional funding.
The administration’s plan to cut the entire A-10 fleet.
The Air Force could save the same amount by eliminating the entire B-1B Lancer fleet or about 350 F-16s.
While the B-1 and F-16 cuts are not part of the fiscal 2015 budget plan, each is considered the “cost equivalent” to retiring the A-10 and could be an option if the Air Force can’t execute its budget.
The Air Force flies 66 operational B-1Bs, and Congress has previously blocked the service from eliminating several of the jets from its fleet. Retiring 350 F-16s would remove nearly one-third of the fleet of 1,018 aircraft. The current budget proposal already seeks to end the F-16’s combat aviation programmed extension suite.
airforcetimes

First Typhoon Flight With AESA Radar due later this year

A Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet is due to fly for the first time with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar later this year.
Euroradar is confident that the demonstration will persuade all four partner countries to sign a development contract this summer. The Eurofighter program’s partners are Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The signatures would end a more than three-year wait in which industry has funded development of a radar vital to the twin-engine combat jet’s hopes of winning an export competition.
Led by Italy’s Selex, Euroradar includes Airbus and Spain’s Indra, companies that worked on the mechanically scanned Captor radar used on the aircraft.
A modified Typhoon, IPA5, flown by BAE Systems, began test flights in February with a nonfunctional version of the new radar. But it had the correct cabling to check the weight, volume and connections of the sensor.
defensenews

Tigre de las FAMET de maniobras con V-22 Osprey de los US Marines

Ejercicio combinado entre FAMET y marines en Ciudad Real. Un Chinook reabastece a un Osprey V22 de #EEUU y a un Tigre pic.twitter.com/AWPPbrdR4r
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) March 19, 2014

United Kingdom offers Typhoons for Baltic Air Policing Mission

The UK has offered to deploy a number of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft to Lithuania to bolster the NATO-led Baltic Air Policing Mission.
RAF Typhoons would be made available to bolster the Polish detachment at Siauliai Air Base from April. It is likely that four aircraft would be deployed to match the four MiG-29 of the Polish Air Force.
The UK has contributed aircraft to the Baltic Air Policing Mission on one other occasion, with Tornado F.3 fighters in 2004, and this is the first time that it has offered to bolster another nation's detachment.
The offer was made as regional tensions continue to rise following the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian region of Crimea
UK's offer is the latest in a series of aircraft movements by both the West and Russia that are designed to send signals of intent rather than to boost actual regional combat capabilities.
The US Air Force has already bolstered its current Baltic Air Policing detachment of four Boeing F-15C Eagles with a further six aircraft, and has sent 12 Lockheed Martin F-16 to Poland. NATO and the UK have also dispatched Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft to patrol Eastern European airspace. For its part, Russia has sent six Su-27 'Flanker' fighters and a Beriev A-50 'Mainstay' airborne early warning aircraft to Belarus, and on 17 March Russia's Air Force Commander announced that 24 Su-27 fighters would be located at Baranovichi Air Base in Belarus by the end of the year.
janes

Israel strikes Syrian army targets

Israel Defence Force struck a number of Syrian military and security targets connected to the blast that injured four Israeli soldiers on Tuesday.
The targets included military headquarters, artillery batteries and a training base belonging to the Syrian military.
The strikes were carried out in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.
Four Israeli soldiers were wounded by a bomb that hit their jeep in the Golan Heights near the Syrian border on Tuesday afternoon.
haaretz
iaf

US Navy to request additional Boeing E/A-18G Growlers

The US Navy has confirmed it wants to buy additional Boeing E/A-18G Growler aircraft. The navy, which did not immediately respond to a request for additional information, currently has five Growlers per squadron.
The US Navy is seeking to include 22 additional Growlers in its “unfunded” requirements request for fiscal year 2015.
Boeing’s Super Hornet and Growler production line in St Louis, Missouri will run out of work in the third quarter of 2016, if the company does not receive additional orders from the US government or foreign militaries.
flightglobal

Croatia nears receipt of delayed MiG-21s from Ukraine

Croatia's defence ministry says the current turmoil in Ukraine has nothing to do with a roughly five-month delay in returning its Mikoyan MiG-21bisD that are being overhauled in Odessa, instead citing “technical problems”.
These include issues with integrating new navigation and communication equipment, along with digital to analogue signal conversion.
The project includes the overhaul of seven aircraft and the provision of five additional single-seat examples.
The air force on 21 February took delivery of its first two Mil Mi-8MTV/-17 transport helicopters to have been overhauled under a co-operation agreement between repair facilities in Ukraine and Croatia.
Meanwhile, the Croatian defence ministry has signed a deal to train 16 student pilots from Oman, using its Pilatus PC-9s.
flightglobal

Italy Eyes Further Cuts to JSF Purchase

New Italian Prime Minister has suggested Italy will cut its purchase of joint strike fighters as the government struggles to bring down state spending.
Italy’s current plan is to buy 90 F-35s from 131 planned, to cope with defense cuts.
Some members of Prime Minister party have been pushing for the program to be cut in half, with only 45 aircraft purchased.
defensenews

24 Russian Su-27SM3 to be deployed in Belarus by end of 2014

By the yearend, the Russian aviation base permanently located at Belarus, will accommodate a fighter air regiment of 24 Su-27SM3. The fighters will be used for air defense and to provide inviolability of the air space of Russia and Belarus.
Russia has four Su-27SM3 jets right now in Belarus.
Press service of the Belarusian defense ministry said Russia’s A-50 AEW would go to Belarus to participate in the second stage of checking the Belarus-Russia united regional air defense system.
itar-tass

New Wildcat aircraft drops in on Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dragon for the first time

The Royal Navy’s Wildcat, the maritime attack variant of the Lynx helicopter, is currently undergoing extensive trials with 700W Naval Air Squadron.
From next year, Wildcat will begin to replace the Lynx Mark 8 as the helicopter which supports Royal Navy destroyer and frigate operations.
Wildcat will be a more permanent presence on board Dragon later this month as, for the first time, the helicopter is embarking on the ship for the latest Exercise Joint Warrior; a biannual exercise in which British and foreign armed forces hone their skills off the coast of Scotland.
The Wildcat roll-out programme continues apace, and plans are in motion for the current flight to be the first to complete operational sea training with a Type 23 frigate in the autumn.
gov.uk

Philippine Navy Looks at the Possibility of Acquiring AW-159 "Wildcat"Helicopter

The Philippines Department of National Defense announced on Monday that it has allocated funds for the acquisition of two brand-new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters for the Philippine Navy.
The Philippine Navy earlier announced that it is looking at the possibility of acquiring the AW-159 "Wildcat" as its ASW helicopters.
The ASW choppers will be assigned to the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16).
The AW-159 is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx military helicopter.
The AW-159 will serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare roles.
The AW-159 is fitted with forward firing CRV7 rockets and machine guns, pintle mounted machine gun, Sea Skua missiles and Sting-Ray torpedoes and depth charges.
The acquisition process for these ASW helicopters is expected to go on full gear once the Philippine Navy completes its five AW-109 order deal from AgustaWestland by the third quarter of 2014.
defense-studies

U.S. Delivers Hellfire missiles to Iraq

The United States continues to accelerate delivery of weapons and ammunition to Iraq. These deliveries are made in response to specific Iraqi requests and pursuant to a holistic counter-terrorism policy that incorporates political, economic, and security measures.
Earlier this month, the United States delivered nearly 100 Hellfire missiles together with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition and M4 rifles.
Since mid-January, more than eleven million rounds of ammunition, thousands of machine guns, sniper rifles, M16s and M4 rifles, thousands of flares, grenades and other weapons have been delivered to the ISF. Additional deliveries are scheduled in coming weeks.
iraq.usembassy

Russia redeploys early warning jet to Belarus

Russia on Saturday redeployed a Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft to Belarus as part of a Belarusian-Russian air defense exercise.
voiceofrussia

Swiss voters set to reject Saab fighter jet deal, poll shows

Around 62 percent of swiss voters would reject the proposal to replace Switzerland's fleet of F-5 fighters with the Gripen. The poll, questioned more than 1,000 people.
The Gripens are unpopular in Switzerland,because the deal will require cost cuts in other areas, such as education.
Switzerland's upper and lower houses voted in favor of the purchase of the jets in September, but Swiss interest groups can secure referendums on new laws if they collect a sufficient number of signatures.
The vote on the jet purchase is scheduled for May 18, the same day as a popular vote on whether to adopt the world's highest minimum wage.
reuters

USAF delays LRSO again, this time by three years

The US Air Force has once again delayed development of its long-range standoff (LRSO) weapon, announcing it will push back a contract award by three years until fiscal year 2018.
The service, which had expected to award a contract in fiscal year 2015, attributes the delay to budget constraints.
The latest delay follows a two-year delay, from 2013 to 2015.
The LRSO programme seeks to develop a weapon that can penetrate and survive integrated air defence systems.
LRSO weapons would be carried by the service’s future long-range strike bomber (LRS-B), which the service hopes to field by the mid-2020s.
The USAF is required to have an operational LRSO weapon by around 2030, before the service retires its nuclear and conventionally armed Boeing AGM-86B air-launched cruise missiles.
The USAF has said it plans to extend the service life of those weapons, which are typically launched from Boeing B-52 aircraft, until at least 2030.
flightglobal

USS George H.W. Bush carrier group in Mediterranean 'a few more days'

The Pentagon said on Friday it would keep a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Mediterranean Sea for several days longer than planned as part of the effort to reassure U.S. allies worried about the crisis in Ukraine.
The carrier USS George H.W. Bush and its accompanying warships would remain in the region for a few more days.
The Pentagon has taken a number of steps to reassure allies over the crisis in Ukraine, which says Russian forces have occupied its Crimean peninsula, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based.
Washington has bolstered its training with Poland's air force and will provide more aircraft for the NATO air policing mission in the Baltics.
Six of the 12 F-16s ordered to Poland arrived on Thursday and the remaining six would arrive on Friday. A C-130 and a C-17 transport planes were due to land in Poland on Friday with supplies and 150 personnel for the training mission.
reuters

B61-12 Nuclear Bomb Integration On NATO Aircraft To Start In 2015

The US Air Force budget request for Fiscal Year 2015 shows that integration of the B61-12 on NATO F-16 and Tornado aircraft will start in 2015 for completion in 2017 and 2018.
The integration marks the beginning of a significant enhancement of the military capability of NATO’s nuclear posture in Europe and comes only three years after NATO in 2012 said its current nuclear posture meets its security requirements.
The integration will take place on Belgian, Dutch, and Turkish F-16A/B and on German and Italian PA-200 Tornado fighter-bombers. It is unknown if US and NATO F-16s happen simultaneously or US aircraft are first, but the process will last four years between 2015 and 2018. Integration of German and Italian Tornados will take a little over two years.
The B61-12 will also be integrated on USAF F-15E, F-16C/D, and B-2A aircraft, and later on the F-35A Lightning II. The US Air Force plans to equip all F-35s in Europe with nuclear capability by 2024.
In addition to the US Air Force, the nuclear-capable F-35A will be supplied to the Dutch, Italian, Turkish, and possibly Belgian air forces.
From the mid-2020s, the B61-12 will also be integrated on the next-generation heavy bomber (LRS-B) planned by the US Air Force.
Integration of US nuclear weapons onto aircraft of non-nuclear weapon states that have signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and promised “not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly,” is, to say the least, problematic.
The arrangement of equipping non-nuclear NATO allies with the capability and role to deliver US nuclear weapons was in place before the NPT entered into effect and was accepted by the NPT regime during the Cold War. But for NATO to continue this arrangement contradicts the non-proliferation standards that the member countries are trying to promote in the post-Cold War world.
How scattering enhanced nuclear bombs across Europe in five non-nuclear countries will enable “bold reductions” in US and Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe and help create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons is another question.
fas.org

U.S. committed to Taiwan's F-16 retrofit program

A senior U.S. official said on Friday that Washington is committed to upgrading Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets despite U.S. Air Force's decision not to continue the program beyond 2014.
Potential cuts in U.S. Air Force (USAF) funding for the CAPES program will not negatively impact the Taiwan F-16 retrofit program.
CAPES refers to the combat avionics programmed extension suite program. It is a USAF program to replace the avionics and radars for 300 US Lockheed Martin F-16s.
In September 2011, the Obama administration decided to sell the same upgrades to Taiwan's fleet of around 150 F-16 A/Bs.
Due to budget constraints, however, the USAF has decided not to fund the CAPES program after fiscal year 2014, which will end on Sept. 30 this year. The decision has raised some doubt on the retrofit program for Taiwan's F-16s, which were purchased in the 1990s.
Funding for the upgrades for Taiwan's fighter jets can be covered in Taiwan's current letter of offer and acceptance.
focustaiwan

Russian jets hold training exercises over Mediterranean

Russia's navy fighter jets had started training exercises over the Mediterranean Sea, an announcement that is likely to raise tensions in the standoff with Ukraine over the future of Crimea.
Interfax news agency told sorties had begun from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, which docked last month in Cyprus, and training included tactics for engaging aerial targets and other battle techniques.
The aircraft involved in the training included Sukhoi SU-33 air defence fighters and Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters.
The U.S. Navy has sent a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Truxtun, to the Black Sea on what it said was a routine deployment scheduled before the crisis in Ukraine.
reuters

First F-16s arrive in Poland to bolster training mission

Six F-16 fighters from the 555th Fighter Squadron from Aviano Base, Italy, have arrived in Poland to augment the U.S. military’s presence there amid regional tensions following Russia’s Feb. 28 incursion into Ukraine.
The fighters landed on Thursday afternoon and another six F-16s are expected to arrive at Lask Air Base, Poland, by the end of the week.
On March 6, the U.S. sent a KC-135 and six F-15 fighters to Lithuania to help safeguard Baltic airspace, reinforcing the four F-15s that have been there since Jan. 1.
And NATO is sending Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft to conduct reconnaissance flights over Poland and Romania to “monitor the crisis in Ukraine”.
In April three C-130s and about 100 airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, are expected to arrive at Poland’s Powidz Air Base on a regularly scheduled training rotation.
The U.S. and its allies have denounced Russia’s moves to annex the Crimea region of Ukraine.
airforcetimes

Gaza Strikes Stress Israel's Iron Dome

Two Gaza-launched rockets evaded Israel’s Iron Dome defenses in a stormy evening that rained at least 60 rockets on Israel, five of which hit populated areas.
Iron Dome batteries deployed in areas surrounding Gaza scored three intercepts March 12 in salvo attacks unseen since its Nov. 2012 Pillar of Defense standoff strike campaign,
By midnight March 12, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced retaliatory airstrikes on 29 sites north and south of the strip. Defense sources here suggested more action to come.
defensenews

NUSHIP Canberra arrives in Sydney

NUSHIP Canberra, the first of two LHDs being built for the Australian Defence Force entered Sydney after her first contractor trials and testing at sea.
The ship is scheduled to undertake a commercial docking in the Dry Dock in Sydney, to receive a hull clean and final paint before proceeding to sea and returning to Williamstown to commence the final phase of Contractor sea trials involving communications and combat systems.
The first set of Contractor sea trials have been focussed on tuning the propulsion system and testing and trialling the hull, mechanical and electrical systems of the vessel.
navy.gov.au

Ejercicio SIRIO 2014 fase TORMENTA

Con el regreso de los aviones de combate a sus respectivas unidades, concluye la última fase del Ejercicio ‘Sirio 2014’ organizado por el Mando Aéreo de Combate del Ejército del Aire. Las 34 aeronaves de combate que durante esta semana han permanecido en la Base Aérea de Zaragoza para el desarrollo de la fase ‘Tormenta’, regresarán a las bases de Badajoz, Albacete, Sevilla, Torrejón y Canarias, o a Rota, en el caso de los Harrier de la Armada.
El Ejercicio Sirio-Tormenta, el más importante que realiza cada el Ejército del Aire.
En la fase ‘Tormenta’ del ejercicio se han ejecutado misiones ofensivas planeadas y dirigidas bajo la dirección del Mando Aéreo de Combate.
ejercitodelaire

Finaliza el Ejercicio Sirio del Ejército del Aire

Hoy ha finalizado el ejercicio SIRIO, el más importante del @EjercitoAire en 2014 http://t.co/KgIJGLHFRm pic.twitter.com/z2kpatpDYy

— Ejército del Aire (@EjercitoAire) March 14, 2014

Ejercicios de tiro del Ejército del Aire en Bardenas Reales

Jornada de ejercicios de tiro con @EjercitoAire en Bárdenas #Navarra Aquí tienes toda la #INFO http://t.co/ow5RCfzldF pic.twitter.com/buZWtTawJm
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) March 13, 2014

Russia Sends 4 Strategic Bombers on 24-Hour Arctic Patrol

Russia has dispatched four Tu-95MS on a 24-hour patrol over the Arctic Ocean. The four aircraft left their home base at the Ukrainka airbase in Russia’s Far East late on Thursday to carry out a 12-hour non-stop combat patrol mission over the Arctic.
The Russian authorities have recently been calling for tighter security along the country’s Arctic frontiers and along its maritime transportation routes in the polar region.
Arctic territories are believed to hold vast untapped reserves of oil and gas. They have increasingly been at the center of disputes between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark as rising temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice and make energy reserves more accessible.
Russia has made claims to several Arctic shelf areas and plans to defend its bid at the United Nations.
Russia also announced in February that it will form a new strategic military command by the end of 2014 to protect its interests in the Arctic.
ria.ru

España volvera al turno de la OTAN para vigilar los cielos de los países bálticos

España se ha incorporado al turno establecido entre los socios de la OTAN para vigilar el espacio aéreo de los tres países bálticos, del que estaba ausente desde 2006. Desde que en 2004 se incorporaron a la Alianza Atlántica, los demás aliados se relevan para proteger el espacio aéreo de las tres repúblicas bálticas, que carecen de aviación propia. Si no cambian los planes, será en el primer cuatrimestre de 2016 —diez años después de la última vez— cuando cuatro aviones de combate españoles se desplieguen en Lituania para vigilar la frontera entre la OTAN y Rusia.
Estados Unidos cubre el turno desde 1 de enero con cuatro cazas F-15. A raíz de la actual crisis de Crimea, el Pentágono ha enviado a Lituania seis cazas F-15. Además, se ha anunciado el envío de 12 aviones F-16 estadounidenses a Polonia,para realizar “ejercicios de entrenamiento”.
Entre agosto y noviembre de 2006, cuatro Mirage F-1 españoles se desplegaron en Lituania. Cuando se anunció el envío, el entonces ministro José Bono dijo que no se repetiría esta operación, alegando que los países bálticos debían contribuir a su propia defensa.
elpais