Thursday, December 24, 2015

Fighter Jet Times - December 24, 2015

December 24, 2015


Canada's new Defense Minister is backing away from a Liberal Party campaign pledge that they would cancel Canada's participation in the F-35 program once in office, indicating instead that the F-35 had not been ruled out as a replacement for Canada's CF-18 fleet.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/f-35-not-ruled-out-of-canadian-fighter-competition-420264/
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/defence-minister-backs-off-liberals-campaign-promise-of-refusing-to-buy-expensive-f-35-jets


Lockheed Martin has announced that it has met its goal for delivering 45 F-35 fighters in 2015.
http://www.ibtimes.com/lockheed-martin-bags-117b-deal-meets-goal-delivering-45-f-35-jets-2015-2236085


Dassault Aviation has begun assembly of the first of 24 Rafale fighters destined for Qatar.
http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsdassault-aviation-commences-work-on-qatars-rafale-contract-4757949


In an attempt to steal the still-unsigned contract between the Indian government and Dassault, Saab has made an offer to assemble JAS-39 Gripen fighters in India in return for a contract to purchase the Swedish fighter.
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/yFQItff9s2DvMwbFflOnBN/India-will-need-more-than-just-36-Rafale-jets-says-Saab.html


Speculation on possible new defense deals surrounds the visit of India's Prime Minister to Moscow this week.  Additional Su-30 purchases are reportedly a distinct possibility, and HAL Chairman T Suvarna Raju has reported that interest in the joint Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) - expected to be an evolution of Russia's T-50 stealth fighter now in flight test - is again growing.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-modi-leaves-for-moscow-russia-offers-new-cheaper-deal-on-sukhoi-fighter-jets/
http://news.niticentral.com/2015/12/24/india-russian-fighter-aircraft-project-regains-speed-hal/


An Indonesian T-50 Golden Eagle trainer crashed during an air show appearance this past week.  The aircraft is the trainer version of the South Korean built FA-50 fighter, which is also being promoted by Lockheed Martin as a contender for the US Air Force T-X trainer contract.
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/s-korea-manufacturer-crashed-indonesia-jet-ready-join-probe
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jet-fighter-crashes-indonesian-air-show-dead-35870902


KAI and Lockheed Martin held a roll-out for their proposed version of the T-50 trainer, that is being offered to meet the USAF's T-X trainer competition.  The T-50 and FA-50 were developed with Lockheed Martin assistance for use by the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF).
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/industry/2015/12/18/south-korea-unveils-trainer-jet-usafs-t-x-contest/77611532/
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-kai-lockheed-rollout-t-x-prototype-420149/


A Chinese naval aviation J-10 fighter crashed during a night training flight on December 17th.  The crew are reported to have ejected safely.  This would be the third J-10 aircraft to crash in the past three months.
http://www.janes.com/article/56791/planaf-j-10-lost-in-crash


Reports continue to circulate that Russian warplanes have been using Iranian air bases to launch attacks in Syria.
http://www.worldtribune.com/russia-uses-iran-air-bases-for-syrian-war/

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