Francisco Duarte

Russia’s Lavrov Denounces Chemical Attack In Syria As ‘Staged’ While Fear Of Escalation Looms

According to the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, the chemical attack purportedly carried out by the Syrian military in the Eastern Ghouta area was, in fact, staged by foreign agents, BBC News reported. He went on to declare that there was “irrefutable proof” of this fabrication. These declarations came after the U.S., the U.K., and […]

6y ago

The Famous Thunderbirds Demonstration Team Loses Pilot As F-16 Crashes In Nevada

On April 4, near the Nevada Test and Training Range and approximately at 10:30 a.m., an F-16 fighter belonging to the famous U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team crashed during a routine training. Sadly, the pilot was killed, the Drive reports. The Air Force is currently withholding the identity of the pilot. There is also […]

6y ago

poland

As NATO-Russia Relations Stagger, Poland’s Military Modernization Programs Pitch Up

The last few weeks have been marked by a mounting political crisis between NATO members and Russia as the former expelled Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter in the U.K. In response, Moscow ejected diplomats from those countries, including 60 Americans, the New York Times reported. As […]

6y ago

India’s Plan For Military Base In Assumption Island Collapses As Seychellois Opposition Blocks The Deal

Back in January, the governments of India and the Seychelles signed a 20-year deal for the construction of military installations on Assumption Island, including an airstrip and a small port. However, this week the opposition coalition blocked any attempts to approve the deal, going as far as declaring it “dead,” Al-Jazeera reported. Many sectors of […]

6y ago

China-India Deadlock: Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet Joins Tender For A New Jet For The Indian Air Force

Boeing’s own F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is now contending with the Lockheed-Martin F-16 and the Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripen for the $15 billion tender to provide 100 new jet fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF), The Times of India reported. This competition mostly involved the two single-engine fighters, but the Indian government has suddenly asked […]

6y ago

Japan Drops Plans To Develop Domestic Stealth Fighter

With the cutting edge of jet fighter development moving into what is known as the fifth generation, several countries developed programs to attempt to produce an aircraft befitting the new paradigm. Thus far only the U.S., China, and Russia managed to do so. Japan developed its own technology demonstrator aircraft, the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin, which […]

6y ago

China-India Deadlock: New Delhi Scraps Light Fighter Competition And Revives Medium Fighter Tender

For the last two years, the government of India has been studying a proposal for the acquisition of 114 single-engine fighter jets. These aircraft were meant to replace the large numbers of Soviet-era jets still forming the backbone of the Indian Air Force (IAF). However, such plans were dashed this week as the proposal was […]

6y ago

U.S. Troops In Syria Retaliate After Being Attacked By Pro-Government Forces

Last Wednesday, American troops embedded with the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) were targeted by troops aligned with the al-Assad regime. The latter were making a push across the Euphrates River, southeast of the city of Deir Ezzour, in what was described as an “unprovoked attack” by the U.S., The Washington Post reports. According to reports […]

6y ago

Myanmar Signs Deal For Six Russian-Made Sukhoi Su-30 Combat Jets

According to the Russian media, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar will acquire six Sukhoi Su-30 fighters. The deal was signed during the visit of the Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoygu, to the country, Flight Global reports. However, there are still no details about what exact variant will Myanmar acquire, nor the total value […]

6y ago

Turkey’s Military Campaign Against The U.S.-Backed Kurds In Syria Begins

During the last few days, Turkish President Recep Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to initiate an offensive against the U.S.-supported Kurdish militias in the Afrin region of Northern Syria. This Friday, Ankara’s troops launched an artillery barrage across the border into the Kurd positions, which was confirmed to be the start of a campaign into Afrin, […]

6y ago

China-India Deadlock: Tibetan Prime-Minister-In-Exile Warns India After Yet Another Border Incident

The new year began with yet another dispute along the Sino-Indian border. This happened just a few months after Beijing and New Delhi had resolved a previous situation which had escalated into a 73-day long standoff in the Doklam region. In the wake of the most recent event, Tibetan Prime-Minister-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, came forward with […]

6y ago

Russian Airbase In Syria Attacked, Two Servicemen Killed

The Russian media have reported that during last Sunday, December 31, the Russian airbase in Khmeimim, Syria, came under mortar fire from what was described as a “mobile sabotage group.” According to ABC News, these sources did not specify the affiliation of the attackers, which at this point can belong to any of the many […]

6y ago

Poland’s Fighter Jet Tender Moves Forward With Five Manufacturers Applying

Last month, the Polish government launched the “Harpia” program, which aims to modernize the nation’s fighter force through the acquisition of a new multi-role jet fighter, the Aviationist reports. These airplanes should mainly replace the Cold War-era aircraft still serving in the Polish Air Force. Currently, the Ministry of Defense is still carrying out what […]

7y ago

Brazil’s C-130 Rival, The KC-390, Reaches IOC, But Competition Remains Fierce

Last Wednesday, the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer declared its KC-390 medium transport aircraft to have achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC), Flight Global reports. The two prototype aircraft have performed more than 1,500 hours of test flights since the type first took to the skies on February 3, 2015. They were also subjected to more than 40,000 […]

7y ago

Colombia May Buy Used Eurofighter Typhoons From Spain

Last Tuesday, the Spanish-language news website, Defensa, reported that the Colombian Air Force is currently evaluating the procurement of second-hand Eurofighter Typhoons from Spain. If this acquisition goes through, it will make Bogotá the first client for the type in the Americas. It would also represent a significant qualitative leap for the Colombian Air Force, […]

7y ago

Qatar Orders Additional 12 Rafale Fighter Jets Days After The Collapse Of Kuwait Summit

Back in March 2015, the small nation of Qatar announced the intention of buying up to 36 Dassault Rafale fighter jets. The deal was signed some weeks later, encompassing 24 units with a provision for another twelve. This last Thursday, December 7, the French manufacturer announced that Doha would indeed expand its order to include […]

7y ago

Vladimir Putin

Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack: Russia Unveils New Giant Bomber

This last Thursday, November 16, the prototype of the upgraded version of the Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-160 heavy bomber, dubbed the Tu-160M2, was rolled out of the Kazan factory, where such machines were originally built during the 1980s, the Aviationist reports. The Russian Aerospace Force has described the aircraft as a new machine, albeit retaining the […]

7y ago

UK’s Theresa May In Dire Straits Due To Delayed Brexit Negotiations And Cabinet Scandals

This Monday, the President of the Confederacy of British Industry, Paul Drechsler, declared that the United Kingdom needed to “get a move on” regarding the Brexit negotiations. He further compared the situation to a soap opera that just keeps dragging on, Bloomberg reports. Back on September 22, Prime-Minister Theresa May spoke about setting a two-year […]

7y ago

China’s 19th National Congress Ends And The Era of Xi Jinping Truly Begins

Last Tuesday, October 24, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which started on October 18, came to a close. This congress was historical in that it reinforced President Xi Jinping’s power and influence inside the People’s Republic of China, the Guardian reports. The National Congresses occur every five years, and usually […]

7y ago

American Team MegaBots Wins First Ever Giant Robot Duel Against Japan

On Tuesday, October 17, the first real-life giant robot duel was streamed on the Twitch channel of the American company Megabots Inc., New Atlas reports. The duel pitted the machines created by MegaBots against the Suidobashi Heavy Industries’ Kuratas robot from Japan. The streaming started at 3 a.m. GMT with a pre-duel show that lasted […]

7y ago