Israel mulls buying South Korean fighter jets for training

October 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Hours after Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that a military offensive in South Waziristan was 'imminent' following the audacious terror attack on the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pounded several areas of the Taliban stronghold killing at least 31 suspected terrorists. "Jet fighters bombed various Taliban hideouts in Mamoond district of Bajaur," The Nation quoted local government official Manasib Khan, as saying.

October 8th, 2009 ISTANBUL - Turkey may purchase 120 new-generation fighter jets against the previously decided 100 such fighters at a total cost of $13 billion, a media report said Thursday. "We may buy 120 JSF aircraft, instead of 100," Murad Bayar, head of the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, was quoted by Daily News newspaper as saying.

October 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - As the Indian Air Force (IAF), the world's fourth largest, turns 77 on Thursday, it is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons, officers and men in other ranks. The strength of IAF fighter squadrons at 33 is way below the sanctioned strength of 39.5.

October 6th, 2009 Israel scrambles warplanes over nuclear facilityJERUSALEM — Israel's air force scrambled fighter jets Tuesday after a small civilian aircraft flew into restricted airspace near the country's heavily guarded and secretive Dimona nuclear reactor, security officials said Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding the Dimona nuclear reactor.

September 25th, 2009 QUITO - Ecuador is in talks to purchase 12 Cheetah C fighter jets from South Africa for the armed forces, a media report said citing Defence Minister Javier Ponce. Ecuador Air Force has recommended the purchase of South African warplanes due to its low cost, the El Universo daily reported.

September 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Two NATO fighter jets reportedly flew inside Pakistan's airspace for nearly two hours on Saturday. The airspace violation took place in different parts of the Khyber Agency bordering the Afghan border.

September 13th, 2009 JERUSALEM - An Israeli F-16A fighter jet crashed in the West Bank Sunday afternoon, killing a son of late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon who died in the 2003 Columbia spaceship tragedy, the Israeli army said. "The aircraft crashed during a routine flight as part of the advanced pilot training course," said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement, adding that search and rescue teams found debris of the fighter in the hills near the West Bank city of Hebron.

September 7th, 2009 PARIS - Brazil is planning to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, officials said Monday. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is currently in Brazil to negotiate the aircraft deal.

August 23rd, 2009 SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with a visiting North Korean delegation here Sunday amid Pyongyang's latest conciliatory moves that show signs of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, media reports said. A high-level North Korean delegation arrived here Friday to pay their last respect to late former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung who died recently.

August 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets collided Sunday during a training exercise in southeastern Moscow killing one pilot, the defence ministry said. The exercise was conducted ahead of the MAKS-2009 air show due to open Tuesday.

August 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Two Russian Su- 27 fighter jets collided during a training exercise Sunday killing one pilot, a media report said. "According to updated information, one of the three pilots was killed in the air disaster," the Interfax news agency said quoting air force spokesman Vladimir Drik.

August 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Two pilots narrowly escaped with their lives when their Sukhoi-27 fighter jets collided during an air show near Moscow, a Russian military spokesman said Sunday. The pilots managed to eject to safety after the collision, the Interfax news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying, adding that the wreckage landed in an uninhabited area outside the capital city.

July 21st, 2009 Senate roll vote on fighter jet productionThe 58-40 roll call Tuesday by which the Senate voted Tuesday to halt further production of the Air Force's missile-eluding F-22 Raptor fighter jets. A "yes" vote is a vote in favor of an amendment to halt further production of the planes.

May 14th, 2009 Navy: F-35 fighter jets needed by 2015 deadlineWASHINGTON — The chief of naval operations said Thursday on-time delivery of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s next-generation Joint Strike Fighter will be critical in closing the gap of the fighter jets needed to match current and future threats. Navy Adm. Gary Roughead told the House Armed Services Committee that the service's current fleet of legacy F-18s from Boeing Co.

April 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least twenty militants were reportedly killed in an offensive launched by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in the Orakzai region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan military officials have claimed. According to the Dawn, PAF jets and helicopter gunships launched an attack targeting a close aide of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, who had claimed the responsibility for a suicide car-bomb attack on a security convoy in which 25 security personnel were killed near Kohat town of the agency.