www.militaar.net

Dr Ng also provided an update on Singapore’s purchase of four F-35B fighter jets, with an option for eight more, for training and in-depth evaluation.

The minister said MINDEF is in the final stages of the purchase after getting the green light from the US government and Congress, adding that he hopes to take delivery of the jets around 2026.

RSAF Chief: Upgraded F-16s, Maritime Patrol and New UAVs
19 Feb 2020 Chen Chuanren

"...Regarding the F-35B, Singapore is awaiting the letter of offer and acceptance from the U.S. government. The first four jets will stay in CONUS for initial training and testing, and a suitable location for training is under discussion.

With the exception of logistical sustainment, Khong said that most of the technical issues are resolved and that the price of the aircraft has fallen 40 percent since 2010. The ministry estimates that the costs of procuring and operating the F-35B are comparable to those of the F-15SG, which the RSAF has flown for more than 10 years."

Source: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news ... d-new-uavs

nimetu kirjutas:Mõnus kontrast tegelikult. Sisuliselt 60-ndatel arendatud luurelennuk vs tänapäevane varghävitaja.

Ту-142 (по кодификации НАТО: Bear-F) — советский и российский дальний противолодочный самолёт (ДПЛС).

ElrikThunderson kirjutas:Vahelduseks silmailu Norra F-35 hävitajatest Islandi õhuruumi turvamas.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nato/sets ... 424330352/

Ühe päästjana nähakse naiste ja vähemuste osakaalu suurendamist.

Two U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter had a close encounter with a mobile air-defense system during combat operations over the Middle East.

A dozen F-35s from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings in April 2019 traveled from their home station at Hill Air Force Base in Utah to Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates to participate in coalition air operations targeting Islamic State militants in the Middle East.

Gen. David Abba, director of the Air Force’s F-35 integration office, in early March 2020 told attendees of an industry conference that the 12 F-35s during their seven-month deployment flew 1,300 combat missions totalling 7,300 hours and dropped 150 weapons.

“The numbers were pretty remarkable,” Abba said, according to Aviation Week reporter Steve Trimble.

Abba described one sortie where a pair of F-35s detected, apparently via their ASQ-239 electronic-warfare suites, a mobile air-defense system. E.W. gear can pick up on the radar and radio emissions from enemy forces, allowing a crew passively to locate the enemy without activating its own radar.

Abba didn’t identify the type of air-defense vehicle or its operator, but it’s worth noting that Syrian forces have deployed the latest Russian-made Pantsir surface-to-air missile launchers.

Tucked deep within Alaska’s rugged interior, next to a town named “North Pole,” Eielson AFB may seem an unlikely station for 54 Lockheed Martin F-35As. But the commander of the 354th Fighter Wing asserts the location is more central than it looks.

Indeed, the logic of Euclidean geometry places Eielson within a daylong flight, assisted by aerial refueling, of the biggest hot spots for the Indo-Pacific Command and European Command. On a great circle route, the Alaskan base is closer to Taiwan than Oahu by more than 300 nm. To reach Estonia across the Arctic Circle, Eileson’s future F-35As would have roughly the same ferry flight as Air National Guard F-35As flying from Burlington, Vermont, the next-closest U.S. F-35 base.

“A lot of people think Alaska is kind of stuck in the corner of the map. But as an airman lives, we’re actually in the middle of everything,” says Col. Benjamin Bishop, the 354th Wing’s commander.