Latest news with #F35s
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Does India need pricey F35s in the drone age?
Does India need pricey F35s in the drone age? Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar Updated: May 17, 2025, 20:19 IST IST While fighters and tanks are not completely obsolete, they are less important today, and will no longer dominate war Defence experts the world over are scrutinizing the details of the Indo-Pak near-war to draw lessons for future wars. Most analyses confirm the main lesson from the Russia-Ukraine war — inexpensive drones and loitering munitions are much cheaper and more effective than fancy aircraft and tanks costing billions. Loitering munitions are drones that can loiter above a target for some time, calculating the best lines of attack and then hitting the target with high precision. Future wars will be driven by drones that cost a tiny fraction of conventional hardware. Many facts were disputed in the immediate aftermath of Operation Sindoor , but analysts from other countries have now given their views after detailed examination of photos before and after. They confirm that India's Operation Sindoor, using drones and cruise missiles, hit targets deep inside Pakistani territory. They escaped Pakistan's defence systems because they flew at treetop-height, evading radar.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark receives four more F-35s; half of fleet now home after delays
PARIS — Denmark received four more F-35 fighter jets on Thursday, with more than half of the country's ordered fleet of stealth aircraft now stationed on Danish soil, after delivery had been delayed as manufacturer Lockheed Martin struggled to implement an upgrade for the plane. The four jets joined the fighter wing at Skrydstrup air base after a delivery flight from the Lockheed Martin factories in Texas via the Azores, bringing the number of repatriated F35s to 15, the Danish Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Friday. The country has ordered 27 of the fighters, of which six are stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for training. The remaining six aircraft that will complete the order are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026, the defense ministry said. 'With the arrival of the four aircraft yesterday, we have taken another step towards building up the combat capability of the F-35 aircraft,' said Maj. Gen. Jan Dam, the commander of the Royal Danish Air Force. Lockheed Martin deliveries of F-35 jets were delayed last year due to issues with the so-called Technology Refresh 3 upgrade, or TR-3. That left Denmark scrambling for options to meet F-35 rollout milestones and expand its locally based fleet beyond four aircraft, eventually prompting a decision in June to fly the country's training aircraft home. After the Minister of Defence had to inform the government last year that the delivery delays could affect the F-35 program milestones, 'the outlook now looks different,' the MoD said. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told business newspaper Borsen in March that he wanted to order more F-35 jets, despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump targeting the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, with the minister saying Denmark is too small to operate several types of fighter jets. The Danish Air Force has started to use the F-35 to take over some air-policing missions from the country's aging F-16 fleet, with the new jets flying their first mission to intercept a Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea in late March. The country plans to phase out the F-16 for air defense by the end of 2025, according to the MoD. Danish F-35s took part in the NATO exercise Ramstein Flag from March 31 to April 11, their first participation in a major exercise, operating from the air base at Skrydstrup. Denmark has pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine as part of a coalition with the Netherlands and Norway.
The Independent
27-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt Reynolds speech with call for F35 export ban
Pro- Palestinian demonstrators calling for an end to F35 exports to Israel disrupted a talk by Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Tuesday. As Mr Reynolds began to speak at a conference on trade hosted by Chatham House, he was interrupted by a man accusing him of being 'complicit in genocide' and demanding an end to the sale of F35 parts to Israel. Although the Government suspended some arms exports licences to Israel due to concerns they could be used to violate international law. But components for the F35 jet were not included in the ban, except when they were sent directly to Israel, due to the UK being part of a supply chain that sells the jets to more than 20 countries. After the protester was removed from the venue, Mr Reynolds said: 'We have suspended arms exports to Israel. 'We have not suspended F35s because they are integral to our national security and the defence of Ukraine, and people will know the supply chain for the F35 means they cannot be isolated to one country. 'That decision was laid out very clearly in Parliament, so I'm quite happy, if he wants to ask a question rather than jump on stage, to have that engagement with him.' He was then interrupted by another protester waving a Palestinian flag, who was also removed from the venue. A group of protesters had also gathered outside Chatham House, waving Palestinian flags and carry a banner saying 'Stop arming Israel'. Campaigners have called for all partners in the F35 programme, including the UK and the US, to stop supplying the jet to Israel, claiming it has been used in breaches of international law.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
RAF in talks to police skies above Ukraine
British fighter jets will police the skies above Ukraine under proposals being discussed by Sir Keir Starmer's coalition of the willing. The Telegraph understands that key military planners discussed sending British Typhoons to Ukraine to provide air cover for troops when they met at Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) on Thursday. It comes as Emmanuel Macron explores alternatives to his plan with Sir Keir Starmer to put European boots on the ground to protect a future peace in Ukraine. The French president is considering the possibility of the mission being led by the United Nations, raising the subject at a European Council summit on Thursday, The Telegraph understands. Sir Keir attended separate talks in Northwood, which were led by Lt General Nick Perry, the chief of joint operations, along with more than 30 nations who met to discuss how the coalition of the willing could help Ukraine. The Prime Minister has already pledged to put British troops on the ground if Donald Trump successfully negotiates a peace deal with Vladimir Putin. A senior RAF source told The Telegraph that air cover the British can supply would have been discussed at the meeting because in the event British soldiers go into Ukraine, 'there will be a requirement for top cover'. 'We would never send British troops out on the ground without giving them air cover,' he said. The RAF would provide either Typhoons or F35s as both provide 'excellent air-to-air policing'. Uncertainty over whether the US will supply any air cover in Ukraine has created the need for Britain to take the Trump has so far indicated that he will not provide any military support and called on Europe to step up shouldering the burden of supporting Ukraine. Sir Keir said on Thursday that military planning for the coalition of the willing has been broken down into sea, air, land and borders, and the regeneration of Ukraine. He said: 'The political momentum that we've built up... is being translated here into military planning and operational planning, and broadly broken out into different areas.' 'So we're looking at the sea in one scenario, the sky, obviously land and borders, and regeneration.' However, during Sir Keir's visit to PJHQ he called for any deal to be 'defended'. He said: 'We hope there will be a deal but what I do know is if there is a deal, the time for planning is now. It's not after a deal is reached.' Sir Keir added: 'It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach. 'We know that because it happened before. I'm absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.' While all nations across Europe have the ability to send fighter jets, it is only the US and France which can send Airborne early warning and control aircraft which provide critical surveillance, including detection of missiles. However, the RAF source said 'the British Army and RAF will be part of the first vanguard into Ukraine'. 'The Brits will likely be one of the first nations to commit because everyone follows the Brits,' he said. 'If the Yanks aren't telling people what to do, it's for Keir Starmer to say.' A number of nations would be involved in sending air cover at any one time, which would be operated on a rotational basis, the source added. A No10 source stressed that nothing had been committed or confirmed in terms of air cover. Britain has already agreed that as part of the Nato Enhanced Forward Presence, six Typhoons will be sent to Poland to conduct air-to-air policing for the first time in the coming weeks. The source added that 'more could be sent' if Typhoons needed to be redirected to Ukraine as they would be in the right part of eastern Europe. A defence source said that discussions on Thursday would have also included what any air cover looked like, which nations could provide the aircraft, to where they would be based and refuelled. At defence talks in Paris last week, attended by John Healey, the Defence Secretary, and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief of the defence staff, senior military sources insisted the coalition of the willing would be more like a 'reassurance force' as opposed to a peacekeeping presence. One senior military source stressed that the key priorities for the coalition were returning Ukraine's airspace and getting the Black Sea back into international waters. 'It's Ukraine having confidence in their own nation to start the economic journey and get displaced people back to their country,' he said. Luke Pollard, the Armed Forces minister, set out some of the ways a peacekeeping mission could operate. He told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'If one nation offers fast jet combat air, like a Typhoon aircraft, for instance, how will the other nations work alongside it? Where will it refuel? 'How will it operate with other nations' capabilities? 'It's that type of planning that we're doing today to make sure that any force in or around Ukraine can be as credible as possible and, importantly, support our Ukrainian friends to defend their country and their front line, because it will be for them that this is primarily designed to support.' It comes after Prince William met Ukrainian refugees in Estonia on Thursday, hailing 'the Ukrainian resilience'. On Friday he will join British troops stationed at the front line of Nato's defence against Russia, joining them in a field exercise at Tapa Camp, the Army base just 80 miles from the Russian border. 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Telegraph
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
RAF in talks to police skies above Ukraine
British fighter jets will police the skies above Ukraine under proposals being discussed by Sir Keir Starmer's coalition of the willing. The Telegraph understands that key military planners discussed sending British Typhoons to Ukraine to provide air cover for troops when they met at Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) on Thursday. It comes as Emmanuel Macron explores alternatives to his plan with Sir Keir Starmer to put European boots on the ground to protect a future peace in Ukraine. The French President is considering the possibility of the mission being led by the United Nations, raising the subject at a European Council summit on Thursday, The Telegraph understands. Sir Keir attended the talks in Northwood, which were led by Lt General Nick Perry, the chief of joint operations, along with more than 30 nations who met to discuss how the coalition of the willing could help Ukraine. The Prime Minister has already pledged to put British troops on the ground if Donald Trump successfully negotiates a peace deal with Vladimir Putin. A senior RAF source told The Telegraph that air cover the British can supply would have been discussed at the meeting because in the event British soldiers go into Ukraine, 'there will be a requirement for top cover'. 'We would never send British troops out on the ground without giving them air cover,' he said. The RAF would provide either Typhoons or F35s as both provide 'excellent air-to-air policing'.
