Taiwan Faces Tough Choices After US Cancels F-16 Upgrade

The US Air Force’s decision not to fund the Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) program that would have upgraded 300 US F-16 fighter jets and 146 Taiwan F-16s comes as a blow to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

The decision not to include CAPES in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2015 budget request was a “tough tradeoff,” according to Maj. Gen. James Martin, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget. He described the decision as part of a pattern of prioritizing “buying new capability over upgrading legacy equipment.

“We do have money in the budget to handle some key modification programs for our legacy equipment so we can keep it ready,” Martin said. “But the F-16 CAPES program is one program that we decided not to fund.”

J-20 Program Update

Prototype No. 2011 of the J-20 project had its maiden flight last weekend. As previously discussed, No. 2011 has significant changes to the previous J-20 prototypes that we've seen in flight testing (No. 2001 and No. 2002). 

There were probably 2 more prototypes similar to 2001/2002 for the purpose of static and RCS testing. It seems like 2001/2002 are more like the demonstrator prototypes whereas 2011 is the first pre-production prototype. 

Russia Reinforces Armenian Base With Overhauled MiG-29 Fighter Jets

Russia has strengthened its airbase in Armenia with a batch of overhauled MiG-29 fighter jets, a military official said Tuesday.

Russia’s 3624th Air Base at the Erebuni airport in Yerevan previously hosted at least 16 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets operating under the framework of air defense agreements concluded between the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Chinese Z-10 Attack Helicopter Crashes in Weinan

Chinese Z-10 Attack Helicopter Crashed today at approximately 14:00 hrs today near Weinan in  in Shaanxi province. Z-10 Attack Helicopter can carry anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and unguided rockets.

Chinese Military Review

Test flight frequency of Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft sets new record

The Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft is now still at the test flight stage, and its test flight frequency and time already set new records in the test flight history of China, according to Tang Changhong, chief designer of the Y-20 heavy-duty transport aircraft, on March 3, 2014 in Beijing.

Although the commissioning time for Y-20 cannot be disclosed, Tang Changhong said it is hoped that it can be commissioned as early as possible. However, it is important to ensure that there is no risk of failure at all in the aircraft test, and the aircraft can only be put into use under the very precise conditions. The test to date is going on very smoothly. He disclosed that the training of the test flight pilots for large transport aircraft is now underway.

Taiwan Think Tank Issues Blue Paper on China's Ambitions

Taiwan: Mirage 2000

In a marked departure from past efforts, the opposition party’s think tank, New Frontier Foundation, released a remarkable report on China’s military ambitions against Taiwan.

Foundation President Su Tseng-Chang, who also serves as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), released the “Defense Policy Blue Paper” on March 4.

“China’s Military Threats Against Taiwan in 2025” is the fifth in a series of “blue papers” produced by the DPP think tank on defense issues, but it is the first to produce substantive research on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) modernization efforts and Chinese military programs aimed at waging a successful war to take the island. Past reports have been amateurish and disappointing.

SA attack helicopters in renewed action in the DRC

The United Nations (UN) called in two South African Air Force (SAAF) attack helicopters to strike rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday March 1.

This follows the intensification of the joint MONUSCO (UN Mission in the DRC) and FARDC (Armed Forces of the DRC) operations against the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) rebel forces in the DRC. 

At 14h55 local time, two SAAF Rooivalk helicopters attached to MONUSCO fired on the ADF base at Saha Sitisa in the Mbau area, northeast of Beni (North Kivu). The helicopters used both their 20mm internal cannon and 70mm FFAR unguided rockets.

India’s Ageing War Machine Could Grind to A Halt, Govt. Warned

Suggestive photo: I think the Mig not want to see the situation.

Frustrated by long delays in replacing their growing stockpile of obsolescent equipment, India’s three armed service chiefs have been warning the government that procurement delays are compromising the country’s war preparedness, military sources have told The Hindu. The government, the sources said, was told the Air Force’s combat jet fleet would soon begin shrinking dangerously, even as the Army was short of tanks and artillery.

The warnings come as Admiral D.K. Joshi, who resigned as Navy chief in the wake of an explosion on the INS Sindhuratna on Wenesday — one of several submarines refitted to serve beyond its design life, because of procurement and modernization delays in the navy.

Facing severe budgetary constraints, New Delhi has moved to curtail military spending, freezing modernization expenditure for 2014-2015 — making it unlikely that major acquisitions will take place soon.

Third Chengdu J-20 prototype flies

The third prototype of the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter made its maiden flight successfully on Saturday 1st March. According to the witness report on Chinese social media, the J-20 prototype “2011″ took the sky at about 12:00 local time, escorted by a Chengdu J-10S two-seater fighter. The entire flight lasted about 30 minutes before the aircraft landed safely.

The “2011″ prototype was first spotted at the test airfield of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAIC) preparing for its maiden flight in early 2014. A low-speed taxi test took place on 16 January, followed by a high-speed taxi test on 18 January.

Prototypes of J-15 Flying Shark Naval Fighter Aircraft Still Going Strong

HQ images of the two prototypes of J-15 Flying Shark Naval Fighter aircraft of  People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF). Continuation of the test flight program by 555 and 556 prototypes of J-15 Flying Shark will allow J-15 to carry newer type of Chinese weapons.

Chinese Military Review