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| when you just signed the munich agreement but know shits gonna go down anyway |
Theresa May is facing a major backlash after appointing her chief whip Gavin Williamson as the new defence secretary, with some Conservative MPs "livid" at the promotion.Story here.
Williamson was appointed on Thursday morning following Sir Michael Fallon's shock resignation as defence secretary on Wednesday evening after he was implicated in the Westminster sexual harassment scandal.
One senior Conservative backbench MP described the surprise promotion of Williamson as "Unbelievable. Ludicrous. Astonishing."
Former Chief of the General Staff Lord Richard Dannatt said the appointment was "quite surprising" and not the best option "from a defence point of view."
To the dismay of Denmark's Air Force, which had been betting on F-35s replacingthe country's aging fleet, the National Audit Office has decided that the pricey war toy is overrated, arguing that the Defense Ministry has been far too optimistic in its evaluation.Story here.
For Denmark, where the acquisition of the US F-35 fighter jets is set to become the largest-ever state purchase, the new report highlighting the shortcomings of its prized possession, is hardly good news.
The new fighter jets, which are expected to set Danish state coffers back DKK 66 billion ($10 billion), could actually yield much more modest performance than that stated by the Defense Ministry, the National Audit Office (NAO) found in a report.
According to the NAO, the Defense Ministry has overestimated the amount of tasks the 27 new F-35 aircraft can handle. Another blunder regards how many hours the aircraft can spend in the air. While the Defense Ministry proceeded from a solid 250 hours a year, the same fighter jets only are airborne 168 and 210 hours in Norway and Holland respectively, Danish Radio reported.
“It all got started when a deployed fleet pilot, Maj. “Rudy” Neagle, reached out directly to the HX-21 pilots asking if they could help expand the UH-1Y wind envelope,” said Kristen Finnegan, the test team’s lead engineer.Story here.
The flight envelope refers to the conditions in which an aircraft can safely operate. The UH-1Y helicopters had been operating within the restrictive generic wind envelope for six-to-seven years.
As Neagle—the aviation combat element LPD detachment officer in charge (OIC) from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)—began researching the limited flight envelope, he was looking for the lessons learned from other pilots who had faced similar challenges.
“It had not occurred to me to conduct testing on Mesa Verde while deployed,” he said. “I was looking for information to mitigate risk while flying outside the wind envelope.”
The UH-1Y helicopters had been operating within the restrictive generic wind envelope for six-to-seven years.From its inception the UH-1Y was built as a SUBSTANTIAL improvement over the UH-1N. It's faster, lifts more, flies farther and faster...It's just better in all areas. So why did they just roll with the "restrictive generic wind envelope"? I'm not bashing Marine Air or the personnel that work there. I am questioning leadership!
Russia’s first indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, could be turned into a sixth-generation fighter aircraft, the former head of the Russian Aerospace Force, Viktor Bondarev told TASS news agency on November.Story here.
“This is actually a splendid plane and it can embrace both fifth-and sixth-generation features. It has huge modernization potential,” Bondarev, now chairman of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee, said. “Importantly, it is the best among the existing versions by its stealth characteristics. It incorporates all the best that is available in modern aviation science both in Russia and in the world,” he added.
As I reported in July 2016, Russian defense officials have repeatedly claimed that hardware elements designed for a future sixth generation fighter have been tested on the Su-57 prototype, including flight and navigation systems as well as advanced electronic warfare and radar systems.
South Korea on Thursday launched its new Navy landing ship capable of conducting a massive landing operation, according to local media reports.Story here.
The launching ceremony was held at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries, the country's largest shipbuilder, in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan.
The 4,900-ton landing ship was the fourth of its kind, which was built under the LST-II program to replace smaller amphibious landing vessels.
The new vessel is 127 meters long and can sail at a maximum speed of 23 knots, or about 40 km per hour. It is operated by some 120 crew.
It can carry as many as 300 soldiers in full armor, transporting high-speed landing craft, amphibious assault armored vehicle and tank.
