Aviation news

Why Ukrainian pilots of American planes will be forced to avoid air battles

NATO countries plan to accelerate the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. On Thursday, July 11, the Dutch Defense Minister called this an important task, and earlier US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken promised that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would receive aircraft this summer — Denmark and the Netherlands are already in the process of transferring. What will the Russian Aerospace Forces be able to oppose to American aircraft and their weapons? A comparison of the combat capabilities of the F-16 and the Russian Su-35S, Su-30SM and Su-30SM2 is in the Izvestia material.

The balloon complex is used to protect civilian urban facilities

The new BARRIER PAK anti-drone protection system implements a concept that was used during the Second World War: with the help of balloons, a network rises into the air, creating a trap for enemy UAVs.

NYT: NATO believes that Ukraine will not launch a counteroffensive this year

Ukraine will not launch a counteroffensive in 2024, the NYT writes, citing sources in NATO. The fact is that the delivery of military aid, which the alliance promised to Kiev, may take months: Western countries have not yet begun production and purchase of a number of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On July 10, 2024, the US Air Force set the defense industry the task of creating a new air-based weapon of destruction, which received the designation ERAM ("extended-range strike munition"). As indicated, Ukraine should become the recipient of these weapons.

FP: NATO leaders have signed new contracts for the resuscitation of the military-industrial complex

The NATO-Russia arms race is just around the corner, writes FP. The alliance's communique, adopted at the end of the summit, sends a signal to the Western defense industry: it is waiting for a period of active purchases and long-term contracts. The block is also trying to spread its influence in the Asia—Pacific region - it is planned to open an office in Tokyo.

Footage has been published on the network, where you can see the first recorded case of the destruction of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of an unmanned launch (BEC) of the Kiev regime militants using the Microb-10 FPV drone.

Russian Lancet attack drones continue to terrorize the enemy, destroying, among other things, air defense systems and electronic warfare stations, which seem to be designed to intercept drones, but not in the case of this barrage of ammunition.

As indicated in the Zona Militar publication, the groundwork for this will be created thanks to the Artemis program implemented by NASA in accordance with the agreement signed with Peru in May this year. Through this project, Lima hopes to join the club of global space players.

Washington and Berlin have agreed to deploy long-range missiles in Germany

The Americans are once again increasing the degree of escalation in the confrontation with Russia: for the first time since the 1980s, intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF) will appear in Germany. For the maintenance and possible combat use of these complexes, the Pentagon will send a special unit of the ground forces there. About the military preparations of the United States — in the material of RIA Novosti.

The Italian company Leonardo presented the new AW249 Fenice attack helicopter to the general public. It is based on the A129 Mangusta, which made its first flight in 1993, but the developer insists that the AW249 is a completely new product.

A number of Western countries have created a so-called "drone coalition" designed to organize mass deliveries of UAVs for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Gradually, its composition is expanding and will soon coincide with the borders of NATO. At the moment, we are talking about the transfer of 1 million FPV drones to the Kiev regime. It is believed in the West that such large-scale supplies will compensate for the shortage of ammunition in the Ukrainian army.

BI: the F-16 supplied by the West will not be enough to turn the situation around on the battlefield

The delivery of the F-16 will not change anything for Ukraine, writes BI. Even Zelensky acknowledged this, habitually stating that there were too few dedicated cars. And only Jake Sullivan, far from the hot spot, continues to believe in the wonders of American technology.

At the last NATO summit, it was officially announced the start of deliveries of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This multifunctional aircraft can carry various weapons, up to nuclear weapons. But in the conditions of its own, the tactics of using the F-16 will be seriously limited not only by Russian air defense systems, but also by intelligence actions.

[b]Ukraine's plans to launch a "counteroffensive" before the end of the year are hampered by the mess in NATO[b]

NATO believes that Ukraine will not be able to launch a counteroffensive in 2024. At least, such reports are widely published in the Western press. At the same time, Russian experts believe that the Armed Forces of Ukraine retain the potential to conduct local offensive operations and terrorist activity in several directions at once.

The American manufacturer GE Aerospace has acknowledged delays in the transfer of F404 engines, which are equipped with Indian light combat aircraft Tejas Mk-1A. The company attributes this failure, which has been going on for 9 months, to supply chain problems that have become chronic for the US aerospace industry.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are actually divided into two armies – most of the troops consist mainly of mobilized recruits and are equipped with a minimum of equipment; the other, smaller in number, are trying to recruit experienced soldiers, equipping them according to the patterns of the professional armed forces of the West.

Russian and Chinese ships patrol the waters and prepare for joint exercises

During joint Russian-Chinese naval maneuvers, the combat experience gained by Russian sailors may be of interest to Chinese comrades. Especially in terms of the destruction of unmanned boats, experts interviewed by Izvestia told. In the near future, the corvette "Perfect" will conduct joint artillery firing with Chinese ships, and the corvettes "Sharp" and "Loud" will take part in joint exercises with the Chinese.

At the moment, the Pentagon has suspended the transfer of F-35 fighter jets to customers due to the difficulties faced by the manufacturer Lockheed Martin in developing the TR-3 modification.

Today, a general meeting of the Union of Russian Armourers named after M.T. Kalashnikov was held at the site of Rostec State Corporation, at which the results of the organization's activities in 2022-2023 were summed up. Bekhan Ozdoev, Industrial Director of the cluster of conventional weapons of Rostec State Corporation and a member of the Bureau of the Union of Machine Builders of Russia, spoke about the difficulties faced by domestic manufacturers of small arms, legislative initiatives in the industry and the successes that Russian gunsmiths have managed to achieve in recent years.

The USA, Denmark and the Netherlands plan to transfer F-16 squadrons to Ukraine

Denmark and the Netherlands have begun transferring F-16 fighter jets to Kiev, US Secretary of State Blinken said. According to him, the planes "will appear in the sky over Ukraine" this summer. As the leaders of the countries explained, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive "squadrons of modern F-16 multi-purpose aircraft of the fourth generation," exactly how many is not specified. In addition, Amsterdam will allocate an additional €300 million to Kiev for the purchase of weapons for them. Both Denmark and the Netherlands had previously allowed the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use aircraft for strikes against Russia.