IqAF C-130E(click to view full) In August 1990, Iraq’s Air Force had more than 500 aircraft in their inventory. The IqAF was decimated in 1991, after Saddam invaded Kuwait and ended up facing the US military and its allies. What remained was hobbled by...
* According to the WSJ the FAA plans to introduce rules that will drastically limit practical use of commercial UAVs in the US. For one, drone operators would have to be certified pilots of manned aircraft. * Chuck Hagel may not have been the most decisive or...
Greek F-16D, F-16C(click to view full) In 2005, Greece terminated its $6 billion Eurofighter contract in favor of F-16s. Now that sale has taken the next step, as Greece has submitted its order for the aircraft and ancillary electronics, spares, and weapons, to match...
* US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is resigning: NYT | USA Today | WaPo. * The latest annual report [PDF] to the US Congress by its US-China Economic and Security Review Commission notes that submarine-launched ballistic missiles give China its “first...
Civil IL-76TD-90VD(click to view full) Russia is reported to have just over 115 IL-76 medium-heavy strategic transport planes, but they’re leftovers from the Soviet era. On Oct 1/12 they unveiled the modernized “IL-476” variant, and within days...