Aviation news

The Bulgarian Defense Ministry confirmed the fact of negotiations on the transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, subject to receiving more modern combat aircraft from Western partners, the EFE news agency reported on Monday.

As reported by the RBC news agency in the material of Artem Korenyako, Aeroflot for the first time sent an aircraft to Iran for repair. In case of a successful result, the company can send other airliners there," the Russian airline Aeroflot sent an aircraft from its fleet to Iran for maintenance for the first time in history. This was told by two sources of RBC, close to the carrier, and confirmed by its representative. Last week, on April 5, 2023, an Airbus A330-300 wide-body airliner with registration number RA-73700 flew to Tehran, where the aircraft will be serviced by technical specialists of the largest Iranian carrier Mahan Air.

According to the relevant media, the beginning of a large-scale re-equipment of the French Air Force is possible. At the end of March 2023, the General Directorate of Armaments of France (DGA) announced the approval of a new standard fighter "Rafale" (Rafale F4.1). However, the new aircraft of this series will be delivered by the manufacturer Dassault only in 2024. However, as the DGA additionally reported, in the coming years, all Rafale aircraft in service with the Air Force and Navy are planned to be upgraded from the current version of the F3R to F4.1.

Acting Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen believes that the allies will find a solution to this issue before the start of the summer holidays

Denmark will agree to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine only jointly with other countries, but not unilaterally. The corresponding statement was made by the Acting Minister of Defense of the country Troels Lund Poulsen on the air of the TV channel TV 2 .

FP: the armed conflict in Ukraine has shown the vulnerability of the NATO strategy

The struggle for control of the Black Sea has become an important component of the confrontation between Russia and NATO on a vast territory from Ukraine to the Middle East, writes Foreign Policy. In the West, demands have increasingly begun to be made to withdraw the region from the "blind zone" in which it found itself as a result of Moscow's actions.

Last week it became known that the defendants in the criminal case on the fact of the terrorist attack at the Machulishchi airfield may face an exceptional measure of punishment. This was reported in the KGB of Belarus. "In accordance with part 9 of Article 16 of the Criminal Code, all members of an organized group, regardless of their role in the crime committed, are recognized as perpetrators.

MWM: Russia will focus on air defense and ballistic missiles on the border with Finland

The significant growth of the Western presence in Finland after the country's accession to NATO remains questionable, writes MWM. But the very fact of Helsinki's membership in the alliance and the purchase of the F-35 increases the pressure on Russian defense. It is assumed that Moscow's response will be asymmetric.

WP: Ukraine's medium-range air defense resources will be completely depleted by May 23

"Merged" Pentagon documents indicate a shortage of Western weapons in Ukraine, especially ammunition and air defense equipment, WP writes. The leak angered Kiev, as the Ukrainian authorities tried to hide the vulnerabilities of the APU.

NYT: The Russian Air Force will take advantage of the depletion of Ukrainian air defense and reverse the course of the conflict

According to secret Pentagon documents leaked online, the Ukrainian air defense system is almost completely drained of blood. This will give Moscow an advantage and allow it to fully use the power of the VKS, the author of the article in the NYT fears. And this will be followed by a turning point in the conflict.

WP: Russian Su-27 almost shot down a British reconnaissance aircraft near Crimea in 2022

According to the Pentagon, in the fall of 2022, the Russian Su-27 almost shot down a British reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea, writes WP. What are British warplanes doing so far from home? Readers of the publication are asking this question.

The United States and its Asian allies have called for the deportation to their homeland of all illegal immigrants from North Korea, in fact – in general, all citizens of the DPRK, except diplomats. Such a sharp tightening of policy is very similar to a test. The question is how soon the turn will reach the Russians, especially since the North Koreans, as their authorities emphasize, are "in the same trench" with us.

Colonel Khodarenok called the Pentagon's "secret documents" leaked to the network a hack

The ammunition of the anti-aircraft missile systems for the Ukrainian medium-range air defense systems will end by May 23, follows from the secret documents of the Pentagon that got into the network. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok analyzed the contents of these documents.

1.5 thousand officers, midshipmen and sailors will prepare the cruiser for returning to the Navy's combat strength

For the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, they began to prepare a new combat crew. It will include more than 1.5 thousand officers, midshipmen and sailors. After the formation is completed, the crew will undergo training, and then take over the aircraft carrier from the industry and conduct all tests on it.

After 20 years of development and testing, LiquidPiston received a contract from the US Army to create a prototype of the army version of its XTS-210 rotary engine. This development is unique in that in the era of mass electrification of technology can make a significant competition to electric motors.

Below are the main programs for the supply of weapons and military equipment by Poland to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in chronological order from the moment Russia launched a special military operation to the present.

The Swedish defense procurement agency Försvarets materielverk (FMV) on April 4, 2023, at a ceremony at the Swedish Malmen Air Base in Linkoping, handed over to the Swedish Air Force the first three Grob G120TP turboprop training aircraft manufactured by the German aircraft manufacturer Grob Aircraft SE, out of ten ordered. The aircraft, which received the official military designation Sk 40 in the Swedish Air Force, have the tail numbers "40198", "40199" and "40200".

In the global aircraft industry, machines with composite materials actively used in their construction are becoming more and more widespread. At the same time, Europe does not know how to provide them with missile defense.

In December 2022, the Japanese government changed the country's defense policy, indicating that the state after the Second World War was faced with "the most difficult and dangerous security situation." In this regard, it was envisaged to build up military capabilities aimed at combating China as "the greatest strategic challenge" and the DPRK as "a more serious and imminent threat than it was before."

The promising MQ-25A Stingray UAV tanker, which is being developed by Boeing for the US Navy, will not be ready by the deadline specified in the contract. The first deployment of the aforementioned drones on board the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is now expected in 2026, USNI News reports, citing one of the program's leaders, Rear Admiral Tedford.

Numerous aircraft of obsolete J-6 and J-7 models, which are Chinese versions of the Soviet MiG-19 (2nd generation) and MiG-21 (3rd generation) fighters, remain in storage by the PLA.