NATO foreign ministers sealed a plan here Friday for U.S. and other powers in Afghanistan to begin handing over security and governing duties to Afghan provincial authorities by November. Nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, the alliance endorsed guidelines for passing control to the Afghans as foreign forces step up efforts to [...]
The U.S. Air Force launched its X-37B space plane April 22 atop an Atlas 5 rocket to test the spacecraft’s utility as a payload carrier. The launch was broadcast live from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on the Internet. The X-37B resembles a miniature space shuttle complete with payload bay doors and landing gear. [...]
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said April 24 that by March 2011 the force will deploy a domestically manufactured drone capable of carrying out air strikes. “The super advanced bomber drone, manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards, will be operational in the second half of this year,” Guards Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said [...]
After completing a review of its precision fires portfolio, the U.S. Army is recommending the Defense Department cancel the Non-Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) program. Army senior leaders decided on the move at an April 22 meeting, according to sources. Because NLOS-LS is an acquisition category 1 program, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter will [...]
Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries is spearheading a long-term strategy to develop the country’s domestic naval industrial capability. Richard Scott examines its plans to nurture both high-level shipbuilding and combat systems expertise A milestone in the development of Turkey’s indigenous capacity for the design, build and integration of naval vessels was marked on 9 April. [...]
While senior Turkish and Greek officials have voiced a wish to reduce their countries’ defense spending, Ankara’s major Navy modernization programs, including a multibillion-dollar deal to buy new submarines, remain in place. The initiative to reduce military spending took off last month when Turkish state minister for EU affairs, Egemen Bağış, suggested the two neighbors [...]
Azerbaijan is one of the countries that will buy Turkey’s T129 military attack helicopters. Pakistan, Jordan and Malaysia have also shown interest in purchasing the helicopters, according to Turkish newspaper Zaman. The T129 is better quality than Russia’s K-50 and will meet NATO standards, Zaman said. It will be cheaper than the US Apache. The [...]
Iran has overhauled and modernized its warplanes, including the “sophisticated” F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, an Iranian military official said on Tuesday. Air Force Deputy Commander General Aziz Nasirzadeh said in an interview with the FNA news agency that indigenous radars and new engines were installed on F-14 Tomcat jets, developed in the 1970s. He said [...]
Turkey is offering to mediate the stalemate between the United Nations and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says his country is ready to play an intermediary role in a uranium exchange program. In a so-called “nuclear swap deal” Iran would export its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment and conversion [...]
Russia has decided at a political level to buy a French Mistral-class warship and expects to sign the deal by the end of 2010, the state arms trade agency chief said April 21. “Russia has made the political decision to purchase the Mistral-class warships. Now active consultations are in progress,” Mikhail Dmitriyev told the RIA-Novosti [...]
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