Latest news with #AirForce
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Air Force One Debacle Leaves The U.S. With A Weaker Wartime Command Post
WASHINGTON — If Donald Trump wants someone to blame for his still having to ride around in a 40-year-old Air Force One, he might consider starting with a long look in the mirror. And if Americans want someone to blame for their future presidents being saddled with a plane lacking a key wartime capability, they should consider taking a long look at the current president. The drama surrounding Trump's turn to the Qatari royal family for a 747 luxurious enough to meet his needs as he attacks Boeing for not finishing replacement jets quickly enough hides a pair of simple facts: The entire debacle began with Trump's self-image as a top-notch 'deal maker,' and his meddling will leave future presidents with planes unable to refuel in flight, severely degrading their utility in an actual war. Before he even took office the first time in 2017, Trump was already boasting that he would force Boeing — which had been on pace to deliver two new, purpose-built 747s by the end of that term — to slash its contract price. To meet Trump's demands, the Air Force agreed to abandon a process already years in progress and instead purchase and retrofit two already built planes whose buyer had gone bankrupt. Among the features dropped from the required specifications list was in-flight refueling, thereby reducing the amount of time a commander-in-chief can remain aloft to only about 15 hours, rather than a week or more. If a plane carrying the president cannot refuel in midair, that severely limits how and where a president can travel and be kept out of harm's way in the event of a major attack on the United States. 'That was a decision that was not made by the Air Force but made by the White House,' then-Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford told senators at a hearing in 2017, conceding that, in the event of an attack on the United States, the lack of midair refueling capabilities 'will certainly be a limiting factor and we'll have to plan accordingly.' What's more, it's unclear whether Trump's interference in the program will have saved taxpayers a dime. While the 'fixed price' contract means that Boeing was forced to absorb their cost overruns, the delays Trump caused have required the Air Force to spend millions more on repairs and upkeep of the existing 747s that entered service under George H. W. Bush in 1990. And none of that includes the new burden taxpayers must now bear to transform Qatar's gift to Trump — the most expensive ever given by a foreign nation to an American president and an apparent violation of the Constitution's clear prohibition against them — into an Air Force One before he takes it with him to his presidential library when he leaves office, as he says he intends to do. Modifying the plane could take many months or even years, meaning those hundreds of millions of dollars or more will be spent so Trump can use the plane for as little as several months or potentially not at all, assuming that he, in fact, leaves office in 2029 as the Constitution requires. White House officials did not respond to HuffPost queries on this topic, and the Air Force said the contract to modify the Qatari jet for Trump's interim use was deemed classified, even though it has previously put out routine press releases on the Air Force One program. Trump himself, in a discussion of Qatar's jet with Fox News host Sean Hannity, said he wanted the new plane because the current Air Force One is not big and 'impressive' enough. 'When you land and you see Saudi Arabia and you see UAE and you see Qatar and you see all these, and they have these brand-new Boeing 747s mostly, and you see ours next to it,' Trump said en route to the Arabian Peninsula earlier this month. 'It's much smaller, it's much less impressive.' Military aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia pointed out that all the problems with the program are entirely of Trump's making, and that had the president kept his hands off the process that began during the Obama administration, he would likely already be flying in the replacement planes. 'This was Trump trying to look like a great negotiator,' Aboulafia said. 'Almost certainly he'd be flying in a new jet now.' Like so much involving U.S. policy and controversy in recent years, it began with a Trump tweet. 'Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!' he wrote a month after winning the 2016 election for president, but a good six weeks before taking office. Trump had built his reputation by depicting a smart and savvy businessman as the host of the reality show 'The Apprentice,' and his declaration that the U.S. government was being taken advantage of by Boeing in its still-under-negotiation contract for two replacement Air Force One jets pushed that same theme. 'I don't want a plane to fly around in that costs $4.2 billion,' he told an audience at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania 10 days later. 'We're going to cut the price way down ― way, way down.' Trump for years has presented himself as an expert on aircraft, possibly because he has owned some and briefly ran a small airline before it went under, yet expresses views that suggest he is not. For example, he once bragged that his personal Boeing 757 was actually larger than Air Force One, even though it was 75 feet shorter in length and a fraction of the weight. In any event, Trump's vows to save money on the new Air Force One contract led Boeing's CEO to travel to Trump's country club home in Palm Beach, Florida, to lay out options for reducing costs for the two planes. Trump, barely a month after taking office, was already boasting he had cut $1 billion from the price. (The White House within weeks reduced the claimed savings to 'millions.') Part of the plan was to acquire the planes on the cheap. The Russian airline Transaero had ordered two 747-8s but had subsequently gone bankrupt. The planes were being stored in the Mojave Desert to avoid corrosion, and Boeing was eager to unload them. While the final sale price was never disclosed, it was believed the government paid considerably less than the $380 million per plane list price. But the primary mission of the jets that serve as Air Force One is actually to serve as command-and-control military platforms, if the need arises, and acquiring fuselages is a mere first step. The existing pair of 747-200s was built in the mid- and late-1980s and put in service in 1990. They have the plumbing for in-flight refueling, shielded electronics against the electromagnetic pulses from nuclear weapons blasts, advanced systems for encrypted communications, several different countermeasures against missiles and the ability to generate enough electricity to power it all. All these and likely more were on the list of features that the Air Force had wanted in the new 747s. It turns out, though, that tearing down an already completed passenger liner and installing the required configuration and equipment was considerably more difficult than building a new one 'in-line' at Boeing's assembly plant in Everett, Washington. Aboulafia compared it to building a house from scratch with all the amenities you want planned in ahead of time, compared to buying an existing house and having to tear out walls and floors, replacing all the wiring, plumbing and duct work and then finishing everything out. 'It's extremely difficult to do as a retrofit,' he said of the major modifications needed. 'It's much easier to do that in-line.' Among the first features to be dropped in the new contract was the in-flight refueling, a major structural modification which would have required new pipes running from where a flying tanker's fueling boom attaches on a jet's nose and then down and aft to the fuel tanks. Other changes were made, too, such as a reduction in power generation capacity to run all the systems and using Boeing's standard environmental control system rather than a specialized one. Trump then insisted on a new red, white and dark blue color scheme to replace the iconic light blue and polished silver that Air Force Ones have had since the 1960s, but an analysis found dark blue paint on the bottom of the plane would cause excessive heating on sensitive components. The new colors were scrapped during the Biden administration, and it is unclear if Trump will once again insist on his preferred paint job. In late 2016, the Air Force was estimating the new 747-8s, built from scratch, would be in service by 2023 or 2024 — more or less matching the timeframe required by the ones delivered in 1990. By late 2024, the Air Force was estimating that the two retrofitted planes acquired in 2017 — their interiors and systems torn down and rebuilt — would be ready by 2028 or 2029, possibly later. Because Trump demanded Boeing sign a fixed-price contract, the company began losing money at the start of the coronavirus pandemic because of supply chain disruptions and a shortage of skilled workers with the requisite security clearance. By 2023, its losses on the $3.9 billion contract it had been coerced into by Trump neared $2 billion. 'A very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn't have taken,' CEO David Calhoun, who replaced the Boeing executive who had struck the deal with Trump, conceded in a 2022 earnings call. 'But we are where we are.' Trump, while lying about how much money he has 'saved' — he told Hannity that Boeing's not-yet-finalized contract in late 2016 was worth $5.7 billion, rather than the $4.2 billion even he was citing at the time — still regularly blames Boeing. 'I'm not happy with Boeing,' Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One on Feb. 19, then hinted at the efforts that were already underway to solicit a plane from Qatar. 'We may do something else. We may go and buy a plane, or get a plane or something.' Trump's degradation of Air Force One as a military asset, ironically, comes as he simultaneously boasts of making 'war-fighting' the top priority at the Defense Department, which he accuses of having gone soft under predecessor Joe Biden. As a young man, Trump had the opportunity to serve in Vietnam but avoided doing so by producing a diagnosis of 'bone spurs' from a doctor friendly with his father. As a candidate for president in 2015, he disparaged Sen. John McCain, who spent nearly six years in a Hanoi prison, as 'not a war hero.' And as president, he called service members who die for their country 'suckers' and 'losers,' according to his own former chief of staff. Despite this, he continues to regale his audiences about his 2018 visit to Iraq aboard Air Force One — with no running lights and window shades drawn ― as a feat of tremendous courage, even though similar trips had been done by presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama while Biden had visited Ukraine and Israel, two active war zones not under the control of the U.S. military, a first for a commander-in-chief. 'I got out of the plane and actually asked my people, 'You know,' I said, 'Excuse me, I was very brave sitting in that cockpit. Am I allowed to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor?'' Trump said at a February speech in Miami Beach. Since winning back the presidency in November, Trump and his defense secretary, former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth, have regularly bragged that they are bringing back a 'warrior' ethos at the Pentagon to put the top priority on 'war-fighting.' Yet Trump, by interjecting himself into the details of a technical contract, has made the future Air Force One planes from Boeing less capable war-fighting platforms than the current ones, with potentially an even less capable version poised to enter service, depending on how much or little is done to the Qatari plane. Air Force procurement officer Darlene Costello told Congress in testimony earlier this year that even more easing of requirements might be done to let one of the two already ordered planes enter service in 2027, although she provided no details. It is unclear whether Trump much cares about that aspect compared to the impression his plane leaves on his fellow world leaders. 'We're the United States of America, I believe that we should have the most impressive plane,' Trump told Hannity. 'Apparently looking good is more important than protecting the country,' Aboulafia said, adding that he still cannot wrap his head around a president flying around in a plane that had been owned and run by a foreign government. 'It would be a major flying security risk.'
New York Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: President to Hold Oval Office News Conference With Elon Musk
Elon Musk left his government position on Wednesday, after weeks of declining influence and increasing friction with President Trump and shareholders of his own private companies. Just three months ago, Elon Musk stood before a crowd of roaring conservatives and held up a chain saw. He was at the height of his influence, swaggering in a self-designed role with immense power inside and outside the government. 'We're trying to get good things done,' he said, using the chain saw as a metaphor for the deep cuts he was making in government. 'But also, like, you know, have a good time doing it.' Mr. Musk's time in government is over now. His good time ended long before. Mr. Musk is leaving his government position after weeks of declining influence and increasing friction with both President Trump and shareholders of his own private companies. But Mr. Trump on Thursday suggested that he was still aligned with one of his chief political patrons, saying that he would appear with Mr. Musk at the White House on Friday afternoon for a news conference. 'This will be his last day, but not really, because he will always be with us, helping all the way,' Mr. Trump wrote in a post on his social media site. 'Elon is terrific!' Mr. Musk's time in Washington has brought significant benefits to his fastest-growing company, SpaceX, the rocket and satellite communications giant. Musk allies were chosen to run NASA and the Air Force — two of SpaceX's key customers — and one of the company's major regulators, the Federal Communications Commission. But Mr. Musk never came close to delivering on the core promise of his tenure: that he could cut $1 trillion from the federal budget. His Department of Government Efficiency was full of government newcomers who struggled with both the law and the facts. They posted error-filled data and made procedural mistakes undercutting their credibility. They also rushed through cuts without seeming to understand what they were cutting. On the group's website, 47 percent of the contracts they canceled are listed as saving taxpayers nothing. The group eviscerated agencies and laid off thousands of federal employees, disrupting services — and workers' livelihoods — without providing the payoff Mr. Musk promised. When he left, DOGE said it was only 18 percent of the way toward his savings goal. Mr. Musk's team also saddled the government with dozens of ongoing lawsuits, including several in which judges have paused the cuts. So just months after Mr. Musk wielded the chain saw, playing the villain in Washington's nightmare, he left claiming another role: Washington's victim. He departed complaining. 'The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,' he told The Washington Post. 'I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.' Mr. Musk has said he is leaving because he has reached the legal limit for how long he can work as an unpaid 'special government employee.' He said in a post on X, his own social media platform, that his budget-cutting group's 'mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.' He did not respond to requests for comment from The New York Times. Image Elon Musk stood before a crowd of roaring conservatives and held up a chain saw during a conference in February. Credit... Eric Lee/The New York Times His departure brought another sign of his waning influence in Washington. Mr. Musk publicly bashed a bill backed by Mr. Trump that recently passed the House. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, thanked Mr. Musk for his service, but said Mr. Trump still supports the bill. 'The president is very proud of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and he wants to see it pass,' she said, referring to the legislation's name. Mr. Musk, a former ally of President Obama's who had been drifting right for years, became Mr. Trump's biggest donor during the 2024 presidential election. During the campaign, he suggested himself as head of a 'Department of Government Efficiency' — taking the name from an internet meme about a Shiba Inu. It was an example of the way Mr. Musk mixed the serious and the ridiculous during his time in power: The most fearsome force in Washington, for several months, was a small group of casually dressed young people named after a dog. Yet Mr. Musk was a highly useful ally for Mr. Trump during the 2024 campaign, and he remained so once he became an official adviser to the president. Mr. Musk's social media presence became a potential weapon against cabinet officials and administration staff members who might have voiced concern about his aggressive measures against the work force. Mr. Musk's power was clear on Feb. 26, when Mr. Trump held his first cabinet meeting. It was Mr. Musk — an unpaid employee with little formal power — who spoke before any of the cabinet secretaries. 'They will follow the orders,' Mr. Trump said. Image In the weeks following President Trump's first cabinet meeting, Mr. Musk became less of a help and more of a magnet for headlines that Mr. Trump's advisers considered damaging. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times But in the weeks that followed, Mr. Musk became less of a help and more of a magnet for headlines that Mr. Trump's advisers considered damaging, particularly in how he described the social safety net, such as claiming he had found 'massive' fraud in Social Security spending. Mr. Musk's budget-cutting group, despite promising transparency, was secretive. It provided one public window into its work: an online 'Wall of Receipts' that listed all the contracts, grants and leases the group had canceled. In early March, it already showed $105 billion in savings, more than one-tenth of the way to Mr. Musk's goal. 'Unless we're stopped, we will get to a trillion dollars of savings,' Mr. Musk said on Fox Business on March 10. But from the start, the site inflated what the group had achieved, and often seemed to show that DOGE did not understand the bureaucracy it was cutting. The group double-counted the same cuts, posted a claim that confused 'billion' with 'million,' and boasted about killing contracts that had been dead for years. Some claims were deleted, but the group never solved its problem with errors. More recently, the group's site has shown that Mr. Musk's frenetic cutting fell far short of its goal. On the day he left Washington, it showed his group had cut $175 billion. That may be swamped at the behest of Mr. Trump himself: House Republicans recently passed a domestic policy bill endorsed by the president that could add trillions in new debt. 'The intent and spirit of DOGE were excellent,' said Dominik Lett, a policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute. 'But it clearly fell far short of its goals.' The cuts did have the effect of causing fear and disruption within agencies and reducing the federal work force. It is not yet clear how many employees have been fired at the direction of DOGE. Around 20,000 probationary employees were dismissed in February. But because of legal challenges, many are still getting paid in a leave status. Tens of thousands more have left the government through voluntary departure options. Image Mr. Musk's budget-cutting group had the effect of causing fear and disruption within agencies and reducing the federal work force. Credit... Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times It is also difficult to measure the impact of another project taken on by Mr. Musk's group: accessing and centralizing huge amounts of data about average Americans, including Social Security numbers, immigration records and documents about bank accounts and employment. This information had been kept in separate databases, to limit what any government employee could learn about one person. But Mr. Musk's group sought to collect the data and merge it, alarming privacy and security experts and profoundly refashioning the way government data is used. Already, this newly assembled data seems to have been used in immigration enforcement. The Social Security Administration agreed to provide the addresses of nearly 100,000 people to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Internal Revenue Service's decision to provide taxpayer data to the Department of Homeland Security to help it deport immigrants prompted some longtime I.R.S. officials to resign. Some of the efforts to access and share data have been temporarily held up in court. But DOGE has won key cases that have allowed it to make real progress on a top priority of the Trump administration. Even while he led the government's budget-cutting effort, Mr. Musk also sought to shape public opinion from the outside — using his social media platform X to pressure Republicans and rally public opinion. It worked, at least at first. In December, before Mr. Trump even took office, Mr. Musk convinced House Republicans to block a spending bill. Even after Mr. Musk took on his official role, he regularly weighed in on other matters before the administration, voicing his personal frustrations with tariff policy and Mr. Trump's tax bill in a way that Mr. Trump would not tolerate from others on his staff. In April, Mr. Musk got a harsh lesson in the limits of his power. He and an allied group spent over $25 million to help the conservative candidate in a race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court — turning the race into a referendum on himself at the peak of DOGE's influence. Mr. Musk's candidate lost badly. Mr. Musk appeared chastened by the experience, signaling to others close to him that he realized his public role in the race had become a political liability. At the same time, Mr. Musk's companies began to feel the impacts of his new, polarizing political identity. Tesla sales have slumped in the United States and overseas, as backlash to Mr. Musk's politics combined with greater competition from other electric vehicle makers. In the United Kingdom, one anti-Musk poster showed a picture of the world's richest man emerging from a Tesla's roof with his hand pointing upward in a straight-armed salute. 'Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds,' the ad read, referring to the year that Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. Mr. Musk has said that his gesture, made at an event for Mr. Trump in January, was not intended to echo a Nazi salute. Image People gathered outside a Tesla dealership earlier this month in Austin to protest Mr. Musk. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times Even as Mr. Musk departs, his companies still have their friends — and their business — in Washington. Sean P. Duffy, the transportation secretary, agreed at his confirmation hearing to re-examine $633,000 in safety fines against SpaceX delivered by the Biden administration. The Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, has continued to approve launch licenses for SpaceX, even after two recent incidents in which its newest rocket called Starship exploded over the Caribbean, forcing airplanes to divert to avoid falling debris. Asked if Mr. Musk's presence in the Trump administration has affected how the F.A.A. treats SpaceX, the agency on Thursday had a one-word response: 'No.' SpaceX, already one of the biggest NASA and Pentagon contractors, could win billions of dollars in new contracts if Mr. Trump's budget proposal is approved by Congress, particularly plans to build a new missile defense system he has called a 'Golden Dome,' and to accelerate an effort by NASA to bring astronauts to Mars. The Justice Department in February also disclosed that it was moving to dismiss a case against SpaceX, first filed in 2023, that accused the rocket company of discriminating against people based on their citizenship status. Three days before Brett Shumate, a senior Justice Department official, submitted the document to dismiss the case against SpaceX, he filed a separate legal memo on behalf of the government defending Mr. Musk's work at DOGE. 'He is an employee of the White House office,' Mr. Shumate wrote in his Feb. 17 memo to a federal court in Washington, referring to Mr. Musk. 'And he only has the ability to advise the president, or communicate the president's directives, like other senior White House officials.' Image Mr. Musk's SpaceX, already one of the biggest NASA and Pentagon contractors, could win billions of dollars in new contracts if President Trump's budget proposal is approved by Congress. Credit... Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The New York Times Another thorn in SpaceX's side was also curtailed while Mr. Musk worked in government. The Fish and Wildlife Service had two local staff members who routinely monitored SpaceX activities in South Texas. They had raised questions since testing operations started there in 2019 about harm that SpaceX had caused to an adjacent state park land and a National Wildlife Refuge, including fires from launch mishaps and damage to nests of threatened bird species. One of those wildlife biologists retired, and a second was transferred late last year to a new post. 'There is not any real oversight going on now there on a regular basis,' said Jim Chapman, a board member at SaveRGV, an environmental group in South Texas. An email sent to the spokeswoman still listed on the agency website as the regional contact bounced back, saying she no longer worked for Fish and Wildlife. Reporting was contributed by Maggie Haberman , Zach Montague , Theodore Schleifer , Michael D. Shear and Eileen Sullivan .
Canada Standard
4 hours ago
- Business
- Canada Standard
The Future of Global Priorities: Technology Over Humanity
by Irshad Ahmad Mughal When I was a young trainee as a community development worker, I was told:"Never lose sight of the forest by counting individual trees."This lesson taught me to adopt a holistic perspectivea mindset that now helps me analyze the evolving world order. In the post-Trump era, we witness a new global structure taking shape, defined by emerging alliances, shifting power dynamics, and transformed economic strategies. While Latin America remains relatively stable (with exceptions like Mexico and Panama), turbulence grips the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia. Three major powers are maneuvering to assert dominance in this geopolitical arena, much like players in a high-stakes contest. President Trump shook the world with his tariff policies, attempting to strongarm even traditional allies like Canada and Europe through threats and restrictions. Though he faced resistanceforcing tactical retreats and strategic pivotshe secured significant economic gains from wealthy Gulf states. However, he failed to deliver on his campaign promise of halting the Russia-Ukraine war. His sole diplomatic "win" was brokering a fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, a face-saving gesture amid broader setbacks. The Indo-Pakistan conflict unveiled a new era of aerial warfare, reshaping perceptions of military superiority. Pakistans Air Force claimed to have downed Indias "undefeated" Rafale jets using Chinese-made J-10 fighters, sparking debates about Eastern vs. Western technological hegemony. This incident bolstered Chinese and Pakistani confidence while denting Indias global standing. Today, clashes between global powers are intensifying. A new world order is emerging, and with it, a new kind of warfare. Ground forces are becoming obsolete; future conflicts will be decided in the skiesa paradigm shift with far-reaching implications. The emerging world order suggests an unpredictable future where traditional humanitarian concernsliberty, democracy, and equalityare sidelined on the global stage. Instead, international forums now prioritize tariffs, trade wars, drone warfare, artificial intelligence, data dominance, and technological supremacy. Current conflicts and ceasefires foreshadow a grim reality: the battles of tomorrow will not be fought by soldiers on the ground but waged through aerial combat, cyber warfare, and autonomous systems. Human lives may no longer be the primary casualty, but humanity itself risks becoming collateral damage in this new era. As technology races to the forefront of geopolitical strategy, foundational human values are being deprioritized. The question we must confront is this: In a world where algorithms dictate power and machines decide outcomes, what happens to the human condition? About the Author: Irshad Ahmad Mughal is the chairman of the Iraj Education & Development Foundation, based in 82B, New Chaburji Park, Lahore. Pressenza IPA
Mint
6 hours ago
- Science
- Mint
17 women cadets pass out from NDA alongside 322 male counterparts, receive JNU degrees
The first batch of 17 women cadets graduated alongside 322 male counterparts from the Pune-based National Defence Academy (NDA) on Friday, 29 May. According to the details, the cadets of the first co-ed batch went past 'Antim Pag' at the Khetrpal Parade Ground of the tri-service training academy in Khadakwasla, marking their passing out ceremony. Hindustan Times reported that academy cadet captain, Udayveer Negi, commanded the parade of the 148th course, with former army chief and current governor of Mizoram, General VK Singh, as the reviewing officer of the Passing Out Parade. 'This marks a historic milestone in our collective journey towards greater inclusivity and empowerment,' Hindustan Times quoted Gen Singh as saying. He referred to the young women as 'Nari Shakti' and said that they embody 'not just women's development but women-led development'. This year, 339 cadets, including 17 women, were awarded their degrees and course completion certificates from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Among the passing out cadets were 84 in the Science stream, 85 in Computer Science, and 59 in the Arts stream. All were awarded JNU degrees. Meanwhile, 111 Navy and Air Force cadets from the BTech stream received three-year course completion certificates. However, all the Naval and Air Force cadets from the BTech stream will be conferred their degrees after they complete a year's training at their respective pre-commissioning training academies, the Indian Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy (AFA), respectively. Streamwise, Cadet Lucky Kumar placed first in science, while battalion Cadet Captain Prince Kumar Singh Kushwah placed first in Computer Science. Division Cadet Captain Shreeti Daksh placed first in the Arts stream, and Academy Cadet Captain Udayveer Singh Negi placed first in the BTech stream. At the National Defence Academy, cadets are trained for India's tri-service—Army, Navy, and Air Force—for three years. All the cadets are trained together. The course curriculum includes academic subjects, physical fitness, and leadership development, which are designed to prepare cadets for the demands of military life. Soon after the cadets complete the NDA course, they are sent to their respective service academies—IMA for the Army, INA for the Navy, and AFA for the Air Force—to further train and be pre-commissioned. A candidate applying for NDA should be unmarried males and females who have completed their Class 12 or equivalent are eligible to apply for the NDA exam. Apart from this, specific age and physical standards are also there that candidates have to meet.
India.com
6 hours ago
- Business
- India.com
China's indigenous fighter jet is giving tough competition to US's F-35, its name is.., top features include..
After the collapse of the USSR(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), the global power balance has been gradually shifting. Russia is not as influential as it once was and cannot compete with the United States in every area. At the same time, China is growing significantly and is seen as a rising global power. Along with its economic growth, China has also made steady progress in modern military technology. In both these areas, China is now becoming a strong competitor to the United States. The role of air forces plays a significant role in today's warfare. Undoubtedly, the U.S. holds the pole position in this regard. Meanwhile, China is making every possible effort to match the global superpower. Recently, the United States announced the development of a sixth-generation fighter jet. Notably, both the U.S. and China possess fifth-generation fighter jets. While the U.S. Air Force is equipped with the F-22 Raptor, China's Air Force also has the Chengdu J-20 fighter jet. Both of these are fifth-generation aircraft. Surprisingly, the Chengdu J-20 has a unique feature that is also found in the Rafale fighter jet. Referred to as 'Mighty Dragon,' China's Chengdu J-20 fighter jet is the first fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft. It was developed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). According to the news 18 Hindi report, the key roles of the J-20 are to establish air superiority and enhance long-range strike capabilities. Furthermore, the aircraft strengthens China's strategic presence in sensitive regions like the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Going by the media reports, a new tailless stealth jet has recently appeared on social media platforms, seen flying alongside the J-20S. This has led to speculation that China may be working on a sixth-generation fighter jet, although there is no official confirmation yet. Speaking of its Stealth Capabilities, the J-20 is designed to evade radar detection, featuring a low radar cross-section and technologies that reduce its infrared signature. Going by the News18 Hindi report, the J-20 is powered by two Shenyang WS-10C turbofan engines, which enable it to reach a maximum speed of Mach 2 and offer an approximate range of 5,500 kilometers. Speaking of its features, the J-20 features a modern digital glass cockpit, equipped with multi-spectral sensors, a helmet-mounted display, and an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS). These systems provide the pilot with 360-degree situational awareness, enhancing combat effectiveness. The J-20 is armed with a range of advanced weapons, including PL-10, PL-12, PL-15, and PL-21 air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, and anti-radiation missiles, making it capable of engaging various threats in the air, reported News18Hindi. The J-20 is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system, a key feature of fifth-generation fighter jets. Notably, the Rafale fighter jet is also believed to use a similar radar system. The United States had strongly criticized the J-20 Mighty Dragon, claiming that China copied American technology to create a duplicate of the F-22 Raptor. This aircraft is known as the J-20 Mighty Dragon.
