Rnews Crooked Bough News Round-up: Military Watch

Military Watch

— Russia is Expanding the Su-35 Fighter’s Production Scale: Two Reasons Why: at 4/1/25 10:57pm
Following the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-air-force-receives-new-su35-fighters-growing-exports" target="_blank">delivery</a> of the year’s first batch of Su-35 fighters in the final week of March, General Director of the state run United Arms Corporation Vadim Badekha revealed that plans were underway to accelerate production of the aircraft. “Our priority is to ramp up output of Su-34, Su-35, and Su-57 aircraft… Each type will see an increase in manufacturing volume this year. To support this, we will continue expanding our production footprint,” he stated, with officials at the United Arms Corporation observing that the firm was investing in workforce training and infrastructure modernisation to eliminate bottlenecks and sustain higher production rates. The revelation came as a surprise to aviation analysts, as while <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-new-su34-third-consecutive-month" target="_blank">expansion</a> in the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/facilities-expanded-su57-fighter-production" target="_blank">production scales</a> of the Su-34 strike fighter and&nbsp;Su-57 fifth generation fighter had been confirmed, the Su-35 was previously expected to be phased out of production in the early 2030s as the two heavier aircraft were seen as more cost effective. The Su-35’s range and weapons carrying capacity are significantly inferior to those of the Su-34, which can be manufactured at under two thirds of the cost, while its performance in all roles is markedly inferior to that of the Su-57 whether for air defence suppression, air-to-air combat, or other missions.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67eda7aa95d539_77768339.jpeg" title="Russian Air Force Su-35">The decision to expand production of the Su-35 is likely to have been motivated by two primary factors. The first is the expansion of the Russian fighter fleet at a time of high defence spending and high tensions with NATO members, with the Defence Ministry appearing to be satisfied with the Su-35’s performance in the Ukrainian theatre. Su-35s have played a leading role in air-to-air operations in the Russian-Ukrainian War since February 2022. One of the class’&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/four-su-27-flankers-shot-down-over-western-ukraine-in-march-5-battle-which-russian-asset-could-have-done-it" >most notable successes&nbsp;</a>occurred in March 2022, when the aircraft reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su-27-flanker-sees-first-ever-losses-in-air-to-air-combat-four-shot-down-in-massive-battle-over-zhytomir" >shot down four&nbsp;</a>Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 fighters near the city of Zhytomir in a single engagement. Su-35s have taken no losses in air-to-air combat, while <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-su-35s-claims-three-air-to-air-kills-over-donetsk-one-mig-29-and-two-su-25s-reports" >further kills</a>&nbsp;have been achieved against aircraft including Su-27s, MiG-29s,<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/did-russia-s-su-35s-fighter-just-get-another-kill-over-ukraine-su-24-shot-down-near-belarusian-border" >&nbsp;Su-24Ms</a>, Su-25s, Mi-8 helicopters, and a wide range of drone classes. This experience led the Russian Air Force from September 2022 to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-aggressor-unit-su35s-useful" >expand the use</a> of Su-35s for aggressor training. Despite their successes, Su-35s have nevertheless proven far more constrained in their beyond visual range targeting capabilities than Russia’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-mig31bm-deliver-prized" target="_blank">MiG-31BM interceptors</a>, primarily due to their lack of sensors with comparable power to the MiG’s N007M. Development of a new radar for the Su-35 based on the Su-57’s N036 AESA radar has been widely speculated, but has yet to be confirmed. Expanded Su-35 production will allow the Russian Air Force not only to replace ageing Cold War era fighters such as MiG-29s more quickly, but also to form new fighter units, with the appeal of doing so expected to be significantly higher should the fighters integrate newer sensors and armaments.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67eda7f9ac4192_27333267.jpg" >Alongside the expansion of domestic demand for new fighter aircraft, the second factor likely to have influenced the decision to expand production of the Su-35 is that the fighter class has also seen export demand grow significantly over the last two years. Following the emergence of a&nbsp;number of reports from Algerian sources from September 2024 that the Algerian Air Force would procure the Su-35, the first of the aircraft were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/algerian-su35-reports-interpret" target="_blank">confirmed</a> six months later to have begun deliveries. The scale Algerian procurements remains unknown, but is expected to remain at approximately two dozen fighter, as the bulk of future fighter orders from Russia are expected to be for more advanced Su-57 fighters which will <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/algeria-confirmed-first-foreign-client-russia-su57-how-many" target="_blank">begin deliveries</a> before the end of the year. Beyond Algeria, Iran has been reported since mid-2022 to have placed orders for the Su-35, with&nbsp;Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps General Ali Shadmani having&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-confirms-order-finalised-su35-fighters" >confirmed</a>&nbsp;in January 2025 that orders had been placed for the aircraft.&nbsp;Iran’s fleet of close to 200 of obsolete Vietnam War era fighters leaves significant room for the country to procure the Su-35 on a significant scale, with planned procurement of 64 or more of the aircraft having been reported. Iranian orders are likely to have been the primary factor leading to the expansion of Su-35 program, and have the potential to turn the fighter from a relatively modest performer on export markets into a significant success that brings foreign sales to over 100 fighters. The possibility of other clients for the fighter emerging has also been raised, with geopolitical trends affecting&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/a-new-phase-in-indonesia-s-long-effort-to-purchase-russian-su-35-fighters-ambassador-confirms-contract-still-in-effect" target="_blank" >Indonesia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/expert-russia-nkorea-joint-fighter-units" target="_blank" >North Korea</a>&nbsp;fuelling speculation that one of them could procure the aircraft. The relatively small size of the Russian Air Force, and its simultaneous procurement of four separate fighter classes, makes export demand critical to making expanded production of the Su-35 cost effective.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Next Pentagon Chief Confirms Willingness to Provide More Allies with Nuclear Attack Capabilities: at 4/1/25 7:13pm
Speaking on April 1, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee Dan Caine stated that the United States was ready to consider entering into nuclear sharing agreements with more of the country’s NATO allies. "From a military perspective, expanding NATO allies’ participation in the nuclear deterrence mission in some capacity would enhance flexibility, survivability, and military capability. If confirmed, I will work... to evaluate the cost/benefit of such a decision," Caine stated when questioned by lawmakers preceding his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. He added that Washington would not support its allies developing their own nuclear arsenals, stating: “Nuclear proliferation, even among Allies, significantly limits U.S. ability to manage escalation risk. It could trigger further acceleration of adversary efforts to modernise and expand their nuclear arsenals. Additionally, it would irreparably erode the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and could encourage proliferation around the world.” Nuclear sharing agreements have nevertheless been controversial due their de facto creation of new nuclear weapons states, with Western analysts having widely highlighted that they&nbsp;<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmdfence/memo/nato/nato03.htm" >violate</a>&nbsp;Articles I and II of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67ecd661b084f4_93360697.png" title="Italian and U.S. F-35B Fighters on the Carrier Cavour ">Nuclear sharing agreements are currently in place with NATO members Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, allowing their forces to use American nuclear warheads stationed on their territories in the event of a major conflict. These states all train to launch air strikes using B61 nuclear warheads under the assumption that they will gain quick access to them. All nuclear sharing partners are clients for the F-35 fighter, with the exception of Turkey which is currently negotiating to return to the F-35 program. The fighters are considered optimal aircraft for launching tactical nuclear attacks due to their advanced stealth capabilities, with the Royal Netherlands Air Force having in June 2024 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/europe-snuclear-stealth-fighter-f35-dutch" >become the first </a>to have them take over their nuclear strike roles after the U.S. Air Force <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" >did so in March</a> that year.&nbsp;It remains uncertain which NATO members could be candidates for nuclear sharing agreements, with such deals with Poland, Finland and the United Kingdom having all been speculated, while Warsaw has lobbied particularly strongly for such an opportunity.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67ecd791aeddb7_20562227.jpg" title="F-35 Drops B61-12 Nuclear Bomb During Testing"> The possibility of expanded nuclear sharing agreements was raised at a time when European states have increasingly considered developing a larger continental nuclear arsenal independent of the United States, and possibly nuclear sharing agreements centred around France and its smaller arsenal. It also occurs at a time of growing concerns that NATO’s points of contact with Russian forces could be expanded should Ukraine face a total defeat, which is considered increasingly likely as a result of tremendous frontline losses. Nuclear sharing agreements could help to take significant pressure off the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe, allowing them to refocus towards East Asia which has remained a leading priority.&nbsp;&nbsp;The nuclear strike capabilities of F-35s armed with B61 warheads have been a leading concern for Russia in particular, with reports from U.S. media outlets in November having highlighted that a single nuclear armed F-35&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-bomb-one-fighter-310000-russians" >could kill&nbsp;</a>over 310,000 inhabitants in Moscow or 360,000 in St Petersburg with a single attack.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Republic of China Air Force Receives First F-16 Block 70 Fighters: Are They Already Obsolete?: at 3/30/25 7:16pm
The Republic of China (RoC) Air Force based on Taiwan has received its first of 66 F-16 Block 70 fourth generation fighters <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-may-accelerate-f16-taiwan" target="_blank">ordered</a> in 2019, with U.S. Congressman William Timmons having confirmed the delivery on March 28. RoC Vice Defence Minister Po Horng-huei attended an official delivery ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina, which having&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/latest-f16-pentagon-no-want" target="_blank">completed its first F-16s</a> in November 2022 has since continued deliveries for export. According to the Republic of China Ministry of National Defence, all 66 F-16s are expected to be delivered by the end of 2026, with the aircraft intended to replace the troubled French supplied Mirage 2000 fighters which have suffered from<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/french-mirage2000s-crash-prone-loss" target="_blank"> extreme crash rates </a>and obsolescence issues.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/31/article_67ea41cac2afd1_04491620.jpg" title="Ceremony at Greenville For the Delivery of the First F-16 Block 70 to the Republic of China Air Force" > Deliveries of the F-16 Block 70 will provide the RoC Air Force with one of the largest F-16 fleets in the world at over 200 fighters, after 140 F-16A/B aircraft were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/chinese-squadrons-operate-american-f16s" target="_blank">delivered to the service</a> from the mid-1990s. Although the large majority of F-16s in service around the world today are considered obsolete, the F-16 Block 70 is the most capable variant and boasts an enhanced variant of the F110 engine, the F110-GE-129, as well as a high composite airframe that reduces maintenance needs, and an AN/APG-83 AESA that revolutionises the class’ situational awareness. The AN/APG-83 and advanced new avionics have <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/taiwan-commissions-64-local-f16vs" target="_blank">also been integrated</a> onto the RoC Air Force’s older F-16A/B fighters, bringing them up to a standard referred to as the F-16V. At a time when F-16 operators around the world are phasing the ageing fighter class out of service, the Republic of China remains the only major operator that is expanding its fleet, largely due to an inability to procure more advanced F-35 fifth generation fighters.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/31/article_67ea468984c006_97879184.jpg" title="Republic of China Air Force F-16B with AIM-9 Missiles and External Fuel Tanks">Although the F-16 Block 70 represents a major improvement for the Republic of China Air Force, the aircraft is tremendously outmatched by adversary fighters fielded by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force across the Taiwan Strait, such as the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" target="_blank">J-20 fifth generation fighter</a>. The existence of two Chinese air forces reflects the fact that the country remains officially in a state of civil war, with rival governments in Beijing and Taipei each claiming to be the sole legitimate governments of the Chinese nation. The RoC government in Taipei has negligible international recognition and governs less than 0.5 percent of Chinese territory. Although the United States does not formally recognise the Republic of China, and the George W. Bush and Barak Obama administration administrations previously both turned down requests to supply it with F-16s, the Donald Trump administration allowed for the sale in 2019 after rebuffing efforts by Taipei to procure the more capable F-35 fifth generation fighter. The F-35 is considered the only fighter in the world capable of challenging advanced fighters fielded by the PLA Air Force such as the J-20. The Chinese mainland is currently positioned to begin fielding the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-sixth-generation-heavyweight-fighter-fourth-flight" target="_blank">world’s first sixth generation fighters</a> in the early 2030s, after having unveiled two separate designs both under flight testing in December 2024. This will further widen the gap between the two Chinese air forces in favour of the mainland, placing the top fighter units in its fleet technologically two generations ahead of those in the RoC Air Force.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Russian Air Force Receives New Su-35 Fighters: Growing Exports Likely to Reduce Domestic Procurement: at 3/30/25 5:45am
The Russian Air Force has been confirmed to have received its first new batch of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/reaper-serious-damage-su35-syria" target="_blank">Su-35 fighter aircraft </a>since the beginning of the year, with the aircraft having completed full factory testing and been evaluated by military technical personnel in various operational conditions. Speaking regarding the delivery, First Deputy General Director of Rostec Vladimir Artyakov stated: “Our aircraft manufacturers are fulfilling their obligations under the state defence order… Today, new batches of aircraft systems are at various stages of readiness. The Su-35S is equipped with advanced weapons and long-range targeting systems and is designed for air superiority missions as well as engaging ground and maritime targets, day or night, in both simple and adverse weather conditions.” He emphasised that the aircraft’s operational range allows it to engage targets far from home airbases, with the Su-35’s high endurance considered a particular strength. The Su-35 is a heavily enhanced derivative of the Soviet Union’s most capable class of air superiority fighter, the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/final-gift-from-the-soviets-how-china-received-three-of-the-ussr-s-top-fighters-weeks-before-the-superpower-collapsed" target="_blank">Su-27 Flanker</a>, which first entered service in 1984. While the Su-27 had the longest range of any fighter in its era, the Su-35 improves on this considerably with a combat radius of close to 2000 kilometres, which was achieved with the development of a high composite airframe that accommodates considerably more fuel, and through the integration of the more fuel efficient AL-41F-1S engines to replace the Su-27’s AL-31F.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/30/article_67e9bba35b5401_93782462.jpg" title="Su-35 Production at the Komsomolsk on Amur Aircraft Plant">Speaking regarding the new delivery of Su-35s, General Director of the state run United Arms Corporation Vadim Badekha emphasised the intention to accelerate production of aircraft that are in high demand. “Our priority is to ramp up output of Su-34, Su-35, and Su-57 aircraft… Each type will see an increase in manufacturing volume this year. To support this, we will continue expanding our production footprint.” Officials at the United Arms Corporation observed that expanded technical capabilities and workforce development were needed to achieve the intended increases to production, and that the firm was investing in workforce training and infrastructure modernisation to eliminate bottlenecks and sustain higher production rates. Although it was previously confirmed that significant investments were being made to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-new-su34-third-consecutive-month" target="_blank">increase the production scales</a> of the Su-57 fifth generation fighter and the Su-34 strike fighter, the expansion of Su-35 production was not previously expected. The fighter was expected to be phased out of production in the early 2030s as production of the Su-57 expanded, with the program having initially been intended to produce just 200 aircraft.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/30/article_67e9bc41af7625_93446968.jpeg" title="Su-35 Fighters Built For Export Before Delivery to Algeria">Until a production increase is realised, it is likely that the Russian Air Force will receive Su-35s in lower numbers as fighters begin to be produced for export. While previously China, Indonesia and Egypt all signed contracts to procure the fighters, only China received the aircraft as Jakarta and Cairo respectively suspended and withdrew from procurement deals under Western pressure. Expectations for larger Chinese orders were dashed in the mid-2010s, as the country acquired just 24 of the aircraft largely for testing purposes, and developed significantly more advanced fighters domestically including the J-16 and J-20.&nbsp;In the final week of January 2025, however, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps General Ali Shadmani&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-confirms-order-finalised-su35-fighters" >confirmed</a>&nbsp;that his country had placed orders for the Su-35, with the sheer numbers of obsolete Vietnam War era fighters fielded across more than a dozen squadrons in the country’s fleet raising the possibility that the Russian aircraft could be procured in considerable numbers. Subsequently on March 13 the Algerian Air Force was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/algerian-air-force-first-su35-why-place-orders" target="_blank" >confirmed</a> to have become the third service to field Su-35s, with the scale of possible orders remaining uncertain but likely to reach at least two dozen. Iranian and Algerian orders between them are expected to ensure that a significant portion of Su-35 production in the coming years will be diverted to export markets. The possibility of exports to other clients including <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/a-new-phase-in-indonesia-s-long-effort-to-purchase-russian-su-35-fighters-ambassador-confirms-contract-still-in-effect" target="_blank" >Indonesia</a> and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/expert-russia-nkorea-joint-fighter-units" target="_blank" >North Korea</a> has also been raised, although this remains highly uncertain.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Trump Threatens ‘Unseen’ Bombing of Iran as B-2 Stealth Fleet Forward Deployed: at 3/29/25 11:05pm
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could launch a bombing attack “the likes of which they have never seen before” against the Islamic Republic of Iran should Tehran refuse to make concessions on its nuclear program. “If they don’t make a deal… there will be bombing,” he stated, adding that “U.S. and Iranian officials are talking.” The statement was made in an interview on March 29, following the deployment of at least seven B-2 Spirit intercontinental range strategic bombers had been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-air-force-masses-large-b2-fleet-diego-garcia-yemen" >deployed</a> to Diego Garcia - representing over one third of the U.S. Armed Forces’ total stealth bomber fleet. The remote island in the Indian Ocean positions the bombers to generate sorties at higher rates against targets in either Yemen or Iran, with their positioning thought to be intended to send a show of force to Tehran as Washington seeks to maximise pressure on the country.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/30/article_67e9b4815c14c2_71822776.jpg" title="Surface to Air Missile Battery From Iranian Bavar 373 Long Range Air Defence System"> Although the B-2’s stealth capabilities are considered increasingly out of date, with the bomber having entered service in 1997, the limitations faced by Iran’s air defence network, and the aircraft’s unique ability to drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs that are particularly well suited to neutralising fortified bases and nuclear facilities, make the bombers highly valued.&nbsp;The bombers’ long ranges also significantly reduces the risk that bases hosting them could be targeted in Iranian missile and drone strikes, which is a major threat to American tactical aviation assets such as F-35 stealth fighters in the region. Although Iran’s ability to detect and neutralise stealth bomber attacks is expected to be significantly improved with the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/will-iran-save-russias-su35-fighter-program" target="_blank">delivery of Su-35</a> fighter aircraft from Russia, which will provide it with a particularly large array of modern<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su35-triple-radars-detect-stealth" target="_blank"> elevated sensors</a>, these aircraft have yet to be delivered to the country. Iran’s current fleet of over 17 squadrons of fighter aircraft is considered largely obsolete for air-to-air operations, with the majority of aircraft using Vietnam War era sensors poorly suited to targeting stealth aircraft.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Britain and France Played Central Role Facilitating Ukrainian Attack on Russian Energy Infrastructure - Moscow: at 3/29/25 5:23am
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed that the United Kingdom played a central role in a recent Ukrainian attack on Russian energy infrastructure, with France having also supported the attack. The Sudzha pipeline infrastructure in Russia’s Kursk Region was “de facto destroyed” in a Ukrainian attack using HIMARS rocket artillery systems, the spokeswoman stated, adding: “[We] have reasons to believe that targeting and navigation were facilitated through French satellites and British specialists input [target] coordinates and launched [the missiles].” “The command came from London,” she added. The allegations follow confirmation from a range of Western sources that Britain and France have remained&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/britain-new-western-coalition-deploy-ground-forces-ukraine">at the forefront&nbsp;</a>of efforts to&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/european-states-ground-ukraine-momentum" target="_blank">escalate</a>&nbsp;the conflict in Ukraine by deploying regular ground forces to the country, which would build on the already vast&nbsp;<a href="http://september-29th-2024%20russian%20forces%20hit%20base%20of%20western%20foreign%20fighters%20in%20odessa/" target="_blank">presences of contractors</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/royal-marines-fighting-russia-months" target="_blank">special forces&nbsp;</a>in the country. The two European states have played a key role since 2022 in lobbying the United States to escalate the conflict, including lobbying the country both to provide HIMARS systems, and to allow Western-produced armaments to be&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/france-uk-lobbying-deep-missile-strikes" target="_blank">used for strikes</a>&nbsp;on targets on internationally recognised Russian territory such as Kursk.&nbsp;Although Ukraine’s stockpiles of U.S.-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles launched from the HIMARS system have reportedly run short, the systems are still able to be used to launch much shorter ranged&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/himars-less-effective-uimproving-russian-cntrmsrs" target="_blank">rocket artillery strikes</a>&nbsp;which still benefit from satellite guidance.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/29/article_67e7a100b3ad96_73172562.jpg" title="Rocket Launch From HIMARS System" >The Ukrainian Armed Forces have attacked Russia’s energy infrastructure in three separate regions, with these strikes considered in Russia to be a violation of a U.S.-mediated moratorium on such actions. Within a 24 hour period from March 27-28 attacks were launched against infrastructure targets in the Belgorod, Kursk and Saratov regions, with the most significant targets including an element of the Russian power grid in Belgorod Region, and the Sudzha gas metering station in Kursk. The Russian Defence Ministry concluded that “all previous public statements of the Kiev regime about its purported intention to suspend attacks against Russian civilian energy infrastructure are just a smokescreen,” asserting that Ukraine and its European supporters sought to&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-intel-western-plans-troop-deployments-ukraine" target="_blank">continue the war effort&nbsp;</a>in the very long term while the United States pressed for a more total truce. Under a 30 day&nbsp;U.S.-brokered&nbsp;partial ceasefire, Russia had ceased attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from&nbsp; March 18, with the latest Ukrainian attacks expected to bring an end to the deal. The attacks have raised considerable speculation as to how the United States will respond.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground, Foreign Relations]
— Five Years Ago Russian Media Proposed an Enhanced MiG-23 to Help Syria Counter Turkey’s F-16 Attacks: at 3/28/25 9:46pm
Five years before the fall of the Syrian government in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Army launched its last major offensive operations in January 2020 aiming to eliminate <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-intel-chief-slams-policy-syria" target="_blank">Al Qaeda linked</a> jihadist militant groups in the country’s Idlib governate that were sponsored and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/trump-comments-turkey-unfriendly-takeover-syria-proxy" target="_blank">actively supported </a>by the Turkish state. Syrian advances ended after Turkey launched a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/turkish-and-syrian-forces-clash-as-damascus-moves-to-recapture-idlib-artillery-and-f-16s-provide-cover-to-jihadist-militants" target="_blank">large scale military intervention</a> to provide air and artillery support to jihadist paramilitaries, which were revealed to have Turkish personnel including officers and special forces <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/22-turkish-soldiers-confirmed-killed-in-syria-as-ankara-intensifies-support-for-jihadist-militants" target="_blank">embedded</a> within their ranks. Following multiple aerial clashes, Russian media on March 6, 2020 <a href="https://topwar.ru/168697-unikalnyj-mig-23-98-sposoben-postavit-na-mesto-vvs-turcii-instrument-o-kotorom-zabyli-v-minoborony-rf.html" >published</a> a pitch for a major upgrade program for the MiG-23ML/MLD fighters that made up the backbone of the Syrian fleet - under the title: “The unique MiG-23-98 is capable of putting the Turkish Air Force in its place.” The upgrade program entailed “the re-equipment of standard MiG-23ML/MF with advanced onboard radars… with an increased energy potential of the transmitting path, as well as software and hardware adaptation of the weapons control systems (of the MiG-23ML family of fighters to the use of modern medium-range air combat guided missiles RVV-AE (R-77), equipped with active radar homing heads of the 9B-1348E type.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/25/article_67e25ffddc5fd7_21387938.jpg" title="Syrian Air Force MiG-23 Fighters">The primary goal of the MiG-23-98 upgrade package was to allow Syrian MiG-23s to restore their former significant advantage over Turkish F-16s. While the MiG-23ML/MLD was significantly more capable than the F-16 when first procured by Syria in 1982, with a more powerful sensor suite and a beyond visual range targeting capability which the U.S.-supplied aircraft lacked, much greater investment in modernisation of the F-16 had by the early 2020s long since reversed this. Integration of new sensors on the MiG-23 was seen to be able to provide an effective 70-75 kilometre radar engagement range against F-16s in a jam-free environment, and 50-55 km in a more complex jamming environment. The R-77 would meanwhile provide a comparable range and ‘fire and forget’ capability to the AIM-120 used by the Turkish Air Force. New data links would also allow MiG-23s to operate effectively as part of a network, including using targeting data from ground based air defence systems, as most fighters in the world were able to by the early 2020s.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/25/article_67e260619a8768_09084248.jpg" title="Turkish Air Force F-16D"> “The MiG-23-98 could give a serious rebuff to the Turkish F-16C Block 50+,” the article noted, lamenting: “Unfortunately, neither the expert circles of the Russian Defense Ministry, nor the high-ranking representatives of JSC RSK MiG and the Fazotron-NIIR corporation have ever proposed an initiative to provide the Syrian Air Force with such a ‘package’ of military-technical support, and our key Middle Eastern ally can use the MiG-23ML fighters, which have a huge modernisation reserve, only as carriers of high-explosive fragmentation ‘blanks’.” Although Syria was far <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/last-mig23-sale-syria-from-belarus" target="_blank">more heavily invested</a> in the MiG-23 than any other country, and fielded more of the aircraft than all other operators combined, the immense strain on the country’s economy from over a decade of Western, Turkish and <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-02-03/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-just-admitted-arming-anti-assad-syrian-rebels-big-mistake/0000017f-dbb0-db5a-a57f-dbfa71380000" target="_blank">Israeli backed</a> insurgency, and from U.S. and Turkish <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/u-s-forces-smuggled-95-tankers-worth-of-oil-from-syria-over-weekend-damascus-demands-compensation" target="_blank">appropriation</a> of its oil and occupation of its oil and agricultural heartlands, quickly drained possible funds for modernisation of the air force. Preceding the outbreak of the insurgency in 2011, Syrian efforts to procure more advanced combat aircraft from Russia, namely MiG-29M fighters and MiG-31BM interceptors, had consistently been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/mig-31-foxhounds-over-damascus-how-syria-s-game-changing-arms-purchase-would-have-shaken-turkey-and-israel" target="_blank">rebuffed</a> as a result of Western and Israeli pressure on Moscow, as were Syrian efforts to acquire more modern air defence systems such as S-300 and S-400 systems. This left the country with only a limited air defence capability in the face of continued Western, Turkish and Israeli airspace violations, which helped pave the way to the country’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/interview-syria-defeat-russia-israel-security" target="_blank">eventual defeat</a> in December 2024.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— China’s Sixth Generation Heavyweight Fighter Completes Fourth Flight: F-47 Remains Behind: at 3/26/25 8:52pm
Large quantities of footage from multiple Chinese sources have confirmed intensified flight testing of one of the country’s two sixth generation fighter aircraft currently under development, namely the larger of the two aircraft dubbed the ‘J-36.’ The aircraft was seen on March 26 performing its fourth known test flight within three months, and its second in just two days, with new footage providing clearer views of the aircraft’s entirely unique three engine tailless design. The sixth generation fighter is expected to be the largest in the world, allowing for carriage of a significantly larger radar and greater weapons payload than existing fighters, as well as a higher endurance. Its combat radius is speculated to exceed 3500 kilometres using internal fuel, compared to 2000 kilometres for the J-20 fifth generation fighter, and approximately 1000 kilometres for the American F-22 and F-35 fighters. The new Chinese aircraft uses a unique a trijet tailless flying wing aircraft with a blended double delta wing configuration.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/28/article_67e647e934d300_91238207.png" title="China`s Sixth Generation Fighter Dumps Fuel During Test Flight">The new fighter’s high rate of testing follows considerable successes by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation in developing its immediate predecessor, the J-20, in under half the time of competing American and Russian fifth generation fighters. The J-20 progressed from its first demonstrator flight in January 2011, to service entry, in just six years - compared to 15 years for the F-22 and F-35. Similarly rapid progress developing the new fighter would allow China to field it half a decade or more before any other country can deploy a similar aircraft. This was <a href="https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-why-why-china-is-poised-to-beat-the-us-to-field-a-sixth-generation-fighter-first/" target="_blank">predicted</a> by&nbsp;leading expert on Chinese next generation fighter programs and author of the book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Chinas-Stealth-Fighter-Hardback/p/50764" target="_blank" >Chinas Stealth Fighter: The J-20 Mighty Dragon and the Growing Challenge to Western Air Dominance</a>,&nbsp;Abraham Abrams, who observed:&nbsp;&nbsp;“An assessment of the performances of the Chinese and American defence sectors in recent decades indicates that it is still highly likely that China will field a sixth generation fighter significantly earlier than the United States can... A comparison of the development timeline of China’s J-20 fifth generation fighter with its American rivals the&nbsp;<a href="https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-why-the-j-20-combat-radius-doubles-that-of-f-22-f-35-why-china-does-not-export-it-why-the-mighty-dragon-does-not-future-an-internal-gun-q-a-with-renowned-j-20-expert-abraham-ab/" >F-22 and F-35 provides</a>&nbsp;notable indicators of this.”&nbsp;On March 21 it was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/boeing-selected-develop-f47-sixth-generation-fighter-turning-point" target="_blank">confirmed</a> that the U.S. Air Force had selected Boeing to develop a competing sixth generation fighter for the service, although the precedents set by the F-22 and F-35 programs for years long delays raise a significant possibility that the program will remain far behind. After revealing demonstrator airframes of two sixth generation fighters in flight in December 2024, China remains the only country in the world to have done so, and is expected to continue to widen its lead over the United States, while Russia, which was once the industry leader, tails increasingly far behind the two leading powers.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— U.S. Air Force Masses Large B-2 Stealth Bomber Fleet on Diego Garcia: Yemen in the Crosshairs: at 3/25/25 11:09pm
The U.S. Air Force has deployed at least seven <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-b2-accident-fleet-19" target="_blank">B-2 strategic bombers</a> to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, with satellite imagery showing that at least three C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refuelling tankers arrived at the territory in 48 hours from March 23-25. The remote British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean positions the aircraft to generate sorties at higher rates against targets in either Yemen or Iran, with U.S.-led strikes against Ansurullah Coalition forces in the former of the two countries continuing to intensify. B-2s were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dangerous-bomb-first-combat-gbu57" target="_blank">previously used</a> to strike Yemeni targets on October 17, when the aircraft were used to launch large scale strikes against five targets using bunker-buster bombs. Then U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin referred to the attack as "a unique demonstration of the United States ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified.” Targets of the B-2 attacks include three barrack areas and associated deep bunkers, each of which originally housed a Soviet Scud missile brigade from the 1980s onwards, and in the 2000s were equipped with North Korean Hwasong-5/6 missiles.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/26/article_67e46d2a31dfe4_83604868.jpeg" title="B-2 Bomber Drops GBU-57 Bomb">B-2 attacks in October were speculated to have used&nbsp;GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, which are too heavy for almost any other combat aircraft to carry.&nbsp;This would have marked the combat debut of the bomb, which has a unique ability to penetrate some of the best hardened and most sensitive military sites across the world without crossing the nuclear threshold. For deeper fortifications, multiple GBU-57s can use their GPS precision guidance o ‘layer in’ multiple warheads on a precise location, with each ‘digging’ deeper than its the one before it to achieve deeper penetration.&nbsp;This is considered particularly critical to achieving U.S. and broader Western Bloc objectives of neutralising the Ansuruallah Coalition’s military strength, as key Yemeni military and industrial targets are fortified deeply underground. Following the Western-backed <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/interview-syria-defeat-russia-israel-security" target="_blank">overthrow</a> of the Syrian government in December 2024, and the<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/syria-intercepts-iranian-drones-armaments-smuggled-hezbollah" target="_blank"> cutting off of supplies </a>to the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah, the Ansurullah Coalition remains the only other significant military forces in the Arab Middle East that is outside Western influence. Syria’s defeat has allowed attentions and resources to be concentrated on engaging Yemeni targets.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Middle East, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— J-16 Fighter Filmed Flying Low Over Chinese Beach: Showing Off the New Backbone of the Fleet: at 3/25/25 5:14am
Footage released on Chinese social media has shown a J-16 fighter flying at very low altitudes along a beach, just meters above the shore over&nbsp;beachgoers. Commentators on social media highlighted that the manoeuvre represented a bold demonstration of precision flying, with the very close proximity of the flight to civilians just meters above their heads indicating a very high level of confidence in the pilots and the aircraft. The J-16 is a heavily enhanced derivative of the Soviet Union’s most capable class of air superiority fighter the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/final-gift-from-the-soviets-how-china-received-three-of-the-ussr-s-top-fighters-weeks-before-the-superpower-collapsed" >Su-27 Flanker</a>, and since its entry into service in 2014 it has increasingly&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/j16-brigade-guards-shenzhen-hk-subs" >formed the backbone</a>&nbsp;of China’s fighter fleet. Over&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-j16-fleet-surpasses-350-thirteenth-batch" >350 of the aircraft&nbsp;</a>are now estimated to be in service. The Flanker is one of the longest ranged and most manoeuvrable fighter designs ever operationalised, as well as one of the largest, allowing the J-16 to carry a higher weapons payload, fly considerably longer missions, and employ a significantly larger radar than any competing fighter in the Western world.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/26/article_67e373df1e8318_88507307.jpeg" title="J-16 Fighters">The J-16 has benefitted considerably from the integration of technologies developed for the&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/new-phase-single-crystal-blade-ws15" >J-20 fifth generation fighter</a>, with the fleet’s utility having grown as the aircraft deployed the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/world-s-top-seven-most-dangerous-standoff-air-to-air-missiles-from-european-meteors-to-russian-r-37s" >longest ranged</a>&nbsp;class of air to air missile, known as the PL-XX. J-16s were&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/longest-ranged-aam-first-service-undo" >first seen carrying</a>&nbsp;the missiles in service in December 2023. Despite its lack of comparable stealth capabilities to fifth generation aircraft, the J-16 has demonstrated an ability to hold its own against high performing fifth generation fighters during simulated combat, albeit at a slight disadvantage. Its main radar’s combination of size and sophistication leading many experts to speculate that it is the most powerful deployed by any fighter in the world. Chinese pilots <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/j-16-vs-j-10c-chinese-pilot-reveals-which-elite-fighter-is-superior" >have also reported</a> that the fighter’s twin seat configuration provides important advantages in air-to-air combat over single engine aircraft such as the J-10C. The J-16 has been procured in larger numbers by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force than any fighter has been procured by any single service worldwide since the end of the Cold War, with the sole exception of the J-20 as the fleet size was in 2024 estimated to have overtaken that of the J-16. Both heavyweight fighter classes are being produced on considerable scales exclusively for China’s air force, and have highly complementary roles. Although the J-20’s production scale estimated at 100-120 fighters is three to four times larger than that of the J-16, the stealth fighter entered large scale production only from 2022, while the J-16 has maintained its current high production scale for close to a decade.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Is France Doubling its Fleet of Nuclear-Armed Fighters?: at 3/23/25 5:22am
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the planned opening of a fourth airbase hosting with nuclear-capable fighter aircraft, stating that Luxeuil Air Base in eastern France is set to host <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-rafale-worsening-supply-chain-struggle" target="_blank">Rafale fighters</a> capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Citing the ongoing war in Ukraine as a factor which had “changed the situation,” the senator for the region Cedric Perrin confirmed that the first Rafale squadron would touch down at Luxeuil in 2032, and would gain an operational capability the following year, followed by a second operational squadron in 2036. Currently only facilities at Saint-Dizier, Istres, and Avord have&nbsp;secure weapons storage facilities for nuclear-armed missiles to equip fighters. An outstanding question, however, remains whether the the 40 nuclear-tasked Rafales set to be based at Luxeuil would be commissioned&nbsp; in addition to France’s existing 40 nuclear-tasked fighters, or as a direct replacement. The announcement of plans for the new facility raises the possibility that France could effectively double its nuclear-capable air fleet. France lacks cruise or ballistic missiles launched from the ground or from surface ships capable of delivering nuclear warheads, which makes its nuclear delivery capability using fighter aircraft particularly critical. &nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/24/article_67e0c4cee898e8_49330440.png" title="President Emmanuel Macron Meets French Airmen" >France’s increased investment in its offensive nuclear capabilities occurs at a time when European states have faced growing uncertainty over the commitment of the United States to their collective security interests. The French government was reported in February to be considering options for the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-european-nuclear-capabilities-uncertain-france-nuke-capable-rafale" target="_blank">deployment</a> of nuclear armed Rafale fighters to Germany, with subsequent calls having been made by German’s chancellor-elect Friedrich Merz for talks with his British and French colleagues about European “nuclear sharing or at least nuclear security.” France remains the only European state with an independent airborne nuclear strike capability, as the United Kingdom relies solely on its strategic submarine-based nuclear arsenal, while the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Turkey rely on American B61 warheads stored at U.S. military bases on their territories under <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" >nuclear sharing agreements</a>.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/24/article_67e0c4fede0439_46823638.png" title="Rafale Configured For Nuclear Strike with ASMP-A Missile"> France’s aerial nuclear delivery capabilities are limited by the capabilities of the Rafale fighter, which lacks the advanced stealth capabilities of fifth generation aircraft such as the American F-35 or Russian Su-57, uses significantly weaker engines, and carries a much smaller less powerful sensor suite. France remains the only nuclear weapons state <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/france-set-to-be-last-nuclear-weapons-state-without-stealth-fighter" target="_blank">without a clear path</a> to fielding a fifth generation fighter, with its refusal to procure the F-35 set to leave it as the only major air force in Europe without such aircraft, while the joint Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next generation fighter program is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dassault-chief-highlights-european-sixth-gen-fighter-could-come-25-years-behind-u-s-and-china" target="_blank">not expected</a> to produce a fighter until the 2050s. Investment in the development of new generations of nuclear-armed air-to-ground weapons has provided a less costly means of mitigating the vulnerability of the French nuclear force.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Chinese Satellites Practice ‘Dogfights’ in Space - Reports: at 3/22/25 11:05pm
Vice Chief of Space Operations General Michael Guetlein has warned that China has recently demonstrated the capability to manoeuvre satellites for combat operations in space, with an operation observed involving “five different objects in space manoeuvring in and out and around each other in synchronicity, and in control.”“That’s what we call dogfighting in space… They are practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another,” he added. A Space Force spokesperson subsequently elaborated regarding the statement: “China conducted a series of proximity operations in 2024 involving three Shiyan-24C experimental satellites and two Chinese experimental space objects, the Shijian-6 05A/B. These manoeuvres were observed in low earth orbit.” Guetlein stressed that these operations highlighted a need to transform the Space Force into a service that no longer treated space as a benign environment, and validated the service’s existence and funding. The claims regarding the Chinese satellites were questioned by both Chinese and American sources, with a number of analysts raising the possibility that they could be intended as a means to gain more funding for the U.S. Armed Forces’ newest service.&nbsp; &nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Missile and Space]
— U.S. Considering Turkish Return to F-35 Program: at 3/21/25 7:25pm
U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering allowing Turkey to re-enter the F-35 fighter program, with informed sources having revealed to Fox News that such an agreement would involve the Turkish Air Force divesting its S-400 long range air defence system procured from Russia. The sources informed Fox that one arrangement could see the S-400 system disassembled, with another possibility being that it would be relocated to a U.S.-controlled military facility. According to the Turkish government’s readout of the recent call between President Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish leader stated that it was necessarily to “finalise Türkiye’s re-participation in the F-35 program.” These reports follow a statement by Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler on November 26 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/turkey-f35a-washington-ankara-back" target="_blank">revealing</a> Ankara had formally resubmitted a request to purchase 40 F-35A fighters, and that he had informed a Planning and Budget Committee in the Turkish Parliament that Washington could reconsider selling the aircraft under the upcoming Donald Trump administration. He at the time claimed that U.S. officials had expressed openness to the possibility of supplying the aircraft.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/23/article_67df9b8d6bf507_33244422.png" title="U.S. Air Force B-1B Bomber at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey">In September 2024 it was reported that Turkey had&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/turkey-decommission-s400-f35-reports" >made significant progress</a>&nbsp;in talks with the United States on the details of plans to decommission&nbsp;its S-400 system, with the United States having reportedly submitted a detailed proposal during the summer. A face saving resolution is expected to see the S-400s transferred to American control, while the systems nevertheless remain on Turkish soil, with the U.S.-controlled sector of Incirlik Air Base considered a leading possible destination.&nbsp;This has raised a significant possibility of the U.S. and other NATO members&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-compromised-legally-resell-s400" >gaining highly sensitive information</a>&nbsp;on the S-400, which is heavily relied on by Russia and a number of its strategic partners such as Belarus and Algeria for the defence of their airspace. Turkey’s procurement of the F-35 was previously seen to be favourable to U.S. and broader NATO interests to increase pressure on neighbouring Syria, with the overthrow of the Syrian government having been a key objective of alliance members since the the early years of the Obama administration. Turkish and Syrian forces have clashed multiple times since 2011, with both sides having shot down several of one another’s combat aircraft. The <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/trump-comments-turkey-unfriendly-takeover-syria-proxy" target="_blank">overthrow</a> of the Syrian government by <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/uyghur-jihadists-senior-posts-syria-islamist-security-forces" target="_blank">Turkish-backed Islamist insurgents</a> in December 2024, however, allows Ankara to refocus on contributing to broader NATO security interests across a wider range of theatres.&nbsp;Turkey’s current fighter fleet is considered among the most obsolete in NATO, and is comprised entirely of Vietnam War era F-4 fighters and older variants of the F-16 which rely on ageing mechanically scanned array radars.&nbsp;&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Boeing Selected to Develop F-47 Sixth Generation Fighter: A Turning Point For the U.S. Air Force’s Future: at 3/21/25 2:16am
On March 21 Boeing was announced to be the winner of the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative, and to accordingly have received the primary contract to develop the service’s next fighter. As the contract was announced, the aircraft’s designation as the F-47 was formally confirmed, reflecting its position as a successor to the F-22 and F-35 developed by America’s largest defence producing firm Lockheed Martin. After rival aviation giant Northrop Grumman dropped out of the bidding process for NGAD in July 2023, Boeing and Lockheed Martin were the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/lockheed-art-sixthgen-fighter-features" target="_blank">final two contenders</a>, with latter’s failure to gain the primary contracts leaving it without any fighter programs other than the F-35. Lockheed Martin was also&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/lockheed-sixth-generation-fighter-design-rejected-navy" target="_blank">excluded</a> from the U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX sixth generation fighter program earlier in March, after its submission reportedly failed to satisfy the service’s criteria, which left Northrop Grumman and Boeing as the final contenders. These developments raise the possibility that Boeing could win contracts for both sixth generation fighter programs, much as Lockheed Martin won contracts for both the F-22 and the F-35.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/22/article_67de01ecce72d8_67013191.jpeg" title="NGAD Sixth Generation Fighter Concept Art (Lockheed Martin)">A further possibility is that Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will each have a major stealth fighter program underway, with Boeing developing the F-47, Lockheed Martin continuing to develop more capable versions of the F-35, and Northrop Grumman being favoured to develop the F/A-XX. Northrop Grumman is also currently the primary contractor for the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-200-b21s-expansion-fleet" target="_blank">B-21 Raider</a> next generation strategic bomber, leaving the firm at lower risk should it not become the primary contractor for the Navy’s F/A-XX. The need to preserve the fighter aviation industry and prevent monopolies is thought to have been among the factors leading both the Navy and the Air Force not to select Lockheed Martin to develop their sixth generation fighters, with the firm’s effective monopoly on the development of fifth generation fighters having previously drawn considerable criticism. Boeing notably lacks any experience developing fifth generation fighters, with its bid to develop an ‘F-32’ fighter as an alternative to the F-35 having been viewed highly unfavourably allowing Lockheed Martin’s rival proposal to win the tender by a considerable margin in the year 2000. Boeing’s fighter division has sustained itself largely through foreign sales of the F-15, a fighter that is today over half a century old and has been incrementally modernised, as well as through orders from the U.S. Navy and the Kuwait Air Force for F-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and E/A-18G electronic attack jets.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/22/article_67de0203e6fe66_19236297.webp" title="Chinese Sixth Generation Fighter Prototypes in Flight in December 2024">The announcement that Boeing had been selected to develop the F-47 follows over a year of uncertainty regarding whether the Air Force would receive a manned sixth generation fighter, after serious questions were raised regarding NGAD’s affordability. The program requires over $20 billion to complete its development phase alone, which for a planned fleet of just 200 fighters means adding $100 million to the cost of each aircraft. It is estimated that each fighter will cost well over $1 billion over its lifetime, and have a procurement cost of close to $400 million. The affordability of this remains in question, as the Air Force is forced to split funding between F-35 procurement and modernisation, F-15EX procurement, development of the Sentinel intercontinental range ballistic missile, development and procurement of the B-21 bomber, and development of a tanker aircraft with stealth capabilities, as well as other commitments such as <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/further-delays-b52-modernisation-cost-overruns" target="_blank">modernising the B-52</a> bomber fleet.&nbsp;The feasibility of adding the costs to develop a high performing sixth generation fighter to this is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-chief-cites-china-sixth-gen-stronger-fleet" target="_blank">considered limited</a>, fuelling speculation that the F-47 could emerge as a toned down and much lighter aircraft of similar size to the F-35 if the Air Force’s budget is not increased significantly.China’s&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-unveiled-stealthiest-fighter-sixth-generation" >unveiling</a>&nbsp;of two new sixth generation fighters&nbsp;in December 2024 already at flight prototype stages may have <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-air-force-leadership-confirms-tough-choices-china-develops-first-sixth-gen" target="_blank">accelerated</a> the process to award contracts for NGAD, and is considered likely to potentially spur greater funding for a rival American sixth generation program. China is expected to begin fielding such fighters in the early 2030s, while the U.S. Air Force is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/china-field-sixth-generation-fighter-before-america" target="_blank">only expected to do so</a> in the second half of the decade.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Ukraine Launches Another Successful Strike on Key Hub of Russian Tu-160 Bomber Fleet: at 3/20/25 5:01am
The Ukrainian Armed Forces on March 20 launched a successful strike on Russia’s Engels Air Base close to 500 kilometres behind Russian lines, with footage confirming that drones were used to cause a major explosion at the facility. The facility serves the primary operational facility of Russia’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/putin-delegation-inspect-tu160m" >Tu-160 strategic bomber</a> fleet, and is the only one that hosts them permanently. The primary target of the attack appears to have been a weapons storage facility, possibly hosting ordinance for the Tu-160 fleet. It remains uncertain whether the explosion damaged any of the aircraft. The attack follows a previous <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-major-blow-russia-strategic-bomber-fleet" >long range drone strike</a> on January 8 targeting the Kombinat Kristall fuel depot near Engels Air Base, which sparked a large scale fire that engulfed large parts of the facility’s associated storage tanks. Ukraine has launched attacks on key assets related to Russia’s nuclear deterrent multiple times in the past, with examples having included prior attacks on bomber bases and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-strike-space-communications" >radar facilities</a>, including in mid-May 2024 an&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-ballistic-missiles-russia-radars" >unprecedented strike</a>&nbsp;on a Voronezh-DM early warning radar system at the Armavir Radar Station.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/21/article_67dcc9d49714c9_91848220.jpeg" title="Russian Air Force Tu-160 Bombers">The Ukrainian attack on Engels Air Base occurred days after ground units launched a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-launches-large-scale-ground-assault-belogrod" >large scale ground assault </a>on Russia’s Belogrod region, and nine days after a large scale drone attack involving 343 aircraft was launched against the Russian capital Moscow. The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that escalated Ukrainian attacks are intended to derail ceasefire talks currently underway between Moscow and Washington, which are expected to see the United States support Kiev’s ceding of territory to its neighbour achieve a suspension of hostilities. The launching of attacks using low cost unmanned aviation and missile assets to destroy high value aircraft and aviation facilities is far from unprecedented, with Ukrainian forces having been highly successful on multiple occasions. Taking strategic bombers as an example, a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-drone-strike-damage-tu22m" >drone strike&nbsp;</a> deep into Russian territory on August 21, 2023, damaged a Tu-22M strategic bomber at Soltsy-2 Airbase in Novgorod. On June 13, 2024 over 70 drones were launched for an attack on Morosovsk Airfield in Russia’s Rostov region, approximately 250 kilometres behind the frontlines, fuelling speculation that one or more of the Su-34 strike fighters based there may have been damaged. In May 2024 U.S.-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-atacms-strike-mig31-destroy" >used to destroy</a> to of Russia’s high prized MiG-31BM interceptors at Belbek Air Base on the disputed Crimean Peninsula. The vulnerability of high value aviation assets to low cost strikes has been a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/america-s-new-austere-airfield-fighter-exercises-could-be-bad-news-for-china" target="_blank">major concern</a> for air forces across the world, including the U.S. Air Force in <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-practice-critical-agile-combat-employment-ops-skorea" target="_blank">theatres such as Korea </a>and the Middle East.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— U.S. Air Force F-35 Stealth Fighters Practice Critical Agile Combat Employment Ops. in South Korea: at 3/20/25 12:31am
The U.S. Air Force has employed F-35A fifth generation fighter aircraft in South Korea test their Agile Combat Employment capabilities in the country, after the aircraft arrived at Cheongju Air Base for the 11-day&nbsp; Freedom Shield exercises from their prior deployment at Kadena Air Base in Japan. The joint exercises launched&nbsp;from March 10 to March 21 also included U.S. Navy and Republic of Korea Air Force assets, including the two services’ own F-35s. The 7th Air Force spokesperson stated that the fighters “participated in an Agile Combat Employment, or ACE, movement to an alternate base to rehearse the unit’s ability to quickly manoeuvre forces around the region while maintaining combat flying operations.” Agile Combat Employment prepares F-35s to be able to deploy away from major airbases, which is particularly critical on the Korean Peninsula due to the lack of strategic depth which fighter operations will have, and the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/scholar-a-b-abrams-outlines-how-north-korea-could-handle-an-f-35-attack-from-hypersonic-missiles-to-mobile-sams" target="_blank">tremendous strike capabilities</a> deployed by the Korean People’s Army in the north with which the United States and South Korea remain officially in a state of war. The expected vulnerability of major airbases makes the ability to operate F-35s from alternative facilities vital to their ability to contribute to a major war effort.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/20/article_67dbef4d2f58a3_84221692.jpg" title="Korean People`s Army Barrage of KN-23 and KN-24 Tactical Ballistic Missiles" >North Korea’s ability to threaten airbases hosting American and South Korean fighters has increased exponentially in recent years. The country’s ballistic and cruise missile arsenals are considered among the most capable in the world, and have a number of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-launches-mach12-hypersonic-glide-hwasong16b" target="_blank">rare capabilities</a> including the ability to delivery tactical nuclear, chemical weapons and multi-ton conventional strikes. The country’s artillery and rocket artillery forces are also the largest in the world, with rocket artillery assets including some of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorea-long-range-rocket-artillery" target="_blank">longest ranged systems</a> fielded worldwide outside China, allowing for high volume low cost attacks to complement the more costly use of ballistic missiles. North Korea presents one of the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/stronger-dprk-air-defence-us-f35-rok" target="_blank">most challenging targets</a> for potential F-35 operations, as its air defence network is among the densest in the world, employs radars and missile systems that are fortified underground, and has benefitted fro integration of <a href="https://sinonk.com/2024/05/04/north-koreas-leap-forward-in-air-defence-modernisation/" target="_blank">highly sophisticated</a> new equipment such as Pyongae-6 long range anti-aircraft missile systems. Although the country’s fighter fleet is considered largely obsolete, it has invested in the development of new generations of <a href="https://www.38north.org/2022/10/air-to-air-missiles-could-be-the-north-korean-defense-sectors-next-breakthrough-why-it-matters/" target="_blank">advanced air-to-air missiles</a> domestically, and is expected to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-air-force-modernise-russian-mig29-su27" target="_blank">receive new fighters</a> from Russia in the near future. North Korean officials in September 2023 visited the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant and inspected a Russian Su-57 fifth generation fighter, fuelling speculation that <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/top-five-clients-russia-su57" target="_blank">procurement of the aircraft</a> may be planned. &nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Ukraine Launches Large Scale Ground Assault on Russia’s Belogrod: at 3/19/25 3:43am
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been confirmed to have launched a large scale ground assault on Russia’s Belogrod region, mirroring the prior launch of a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-20650-personnel-kursk" target="_blank">large scale incursion</a> involving tens of thousands of personnel into the Russian Kursk region in August 2024. The assault was launched at a time when Ukrainian forces in Kursk face encirclement and are reported to be rapidly abandoning their positions and equipment. The success of the incursion remains uncertain, however, with Russian state media reporting that five separate attacks were launched on March 18 alone targeting the border villages of Demidovka and Prilesye, all of which were repelled. Ukrainian sources have claimed that their forces have penetrated several kilometres into Belogrod, with Russian analysts having been quick to attribute possible losses to toe leadership’s letting its guard down as the United States offered terms for a ceasefire in the theatre.&nbsp;The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that the assault was launched ““In order to create a negative background around the negotiations between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States.”&nbsp;Footage from the frontlines confirms that Ukraine has deployed mechanised units including U.S.-supplied <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-unsatisfied-bradley-losses" target="_blank">Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles </a>for the assault, and that Ukrainian units have abandoned at least some of their vehicles during clashes.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/20/article_67db7372ab5d64_90296081.jpg" title="German Supplied Leopard 2A6 Tank Destroyed in Kursk in September 2024">The Ukrainian Armed Forces <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-twin-assaults-kursk-belogrod" target="_blank">previously attempted </a>to launch an assault on Belgorod in early August in parallel to their assault on Kursk. A report by the&nbsp;Washington Post&nbsp;in mid-August highlighted that there continued to be “fierce fighting underway” on the border, citing wounded Ukrainian personnel who had been evacuated. The five day assault involved a “fleet of armoured vehicles [moving] in broad daylight,” one soldier stated, describing the operation as “crazy.”&nbsp;The assault focused on the Kolotilovka–Pokrovka border crossing, but unlike in Kursk it was effectively repelled by Russian forces based in Belgorod. Ukrainian personnel interviewed stated that Russian defenders were well prepared, with the area heavily mined and&nbsp;fortified with ‘dragon’s teeth’ anti-tank obstacles. Ukrainian forces came under intense attack by Russian artillery, drones, and combat jets as soon as they came near the border. “All our group was injured the day we arrived,”one serviceman stated, with the seriousness of the situation being such that the dead had to be abandoned. It remains uncertain whether the second assault launched more than seven months later was more successful, and whether Ukrainian forces may have found a way to penetrate the extensive defences in place in the region.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground]
— Russia Deploys New Enhanced T-72 Tanks to Frontlines with First Arena-M Missile Defence Systems: at 3/18/25 3:59am
Footage from near the frontlines of ongoing Russian-Ukrainian hostilities has confirmed that the Russian Army has deployed a new variant of the T-72B3M main battle tank equipped with the new Arena-M active protection system. This follows reports in August that the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-army-rt90m-active-protection" target="_blank">new T-90M main battle tanks</a> currently in production <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/t90m-arenam-protection-missiles" >were integrating</a> the Arena-M system, and subsequent reports that T-72s modernised with similar levels of armour protection were also to receive the system. Russian tanks previously integrated only the Shtora soft kill protection system, which could not actively engage incoming projectiles but instead alerted the crew and helped tanks to mask themselves. The Arena-M uses a radar system to continuously monitor the surrounding environment for incoming threats, and when detecting an incoming projectile tracks it automatically, calculates its trajectory, and deploys protective munitions to intercept and destroy it before it impacts the tank. The most well known system of its kind is the Israeli Trophy, which was integrated onto the country’s Merkava IV tanks from 2008. Although Russia has been developing a hard kill active protection system since the 1990s, with multiple variants of the Arena system having been developed, a lack of funding resulted in these primarily being marketed for export.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/19/article_67da255eb25092_27501063.png" title="Russian Army T-72B3 Near Frontlines in Kursk">The lack of a hard kill active protection system had previously left Russian tanks behind the cutting edge, with the South Korean K2 using the KAPS active protection system, while the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/details-nkorea-next-generation-tank" >North Korean Chonma 2</a> and Chinese Type 99A integrated similar systems. Nevertheless, Western tanks have also remained behind in fielding such systems, as recently demonstrated by the&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/avoiding-aleppo-no-leopard2-abrams-tanks-ukraine" >vulnerability</a>&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/footage-uparmoured-ukrainian-abrams" >M1A1 Abrams</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-majority-ukraine-leo2" >Leopard 2&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/challenger2-destruction-ka52-kursk" >Challenger 2</a>&nbsp;in combat in Ukraine.&nbsp;Integration of the Arena-M onto the T-72B3 indicates that the tank class has continued to be prioritised to receive costly upgrades, despite being surpassed by the T-80BVM, T-90M and the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/t14-tested-troop-trials-armata" target="_blank">T-14 currently in development</a>. T-72B tanks built in the Soviet Union were modernised to this standard from the early 2010s, and integrated a new 2A46M-5 125mm smoothbore gun, V-92S2 1,000hp engine, Katherine FC thermal imaging system, digital displays, modern communications and the Sonsna-U gunner sight among other additions. Armour protection was improved with Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour, with the enhanced T-72B3M receiving the new improved Relikt explosive reactive armour. By 2020 close to 70 percent of T-72s had been brought up to the T-72B3/B3M standards, each at a very low cost. Further improvements to armour protection were implemented from mid-2022, likely in response to major losses to Ukraine’s primarily U.S.supplied anti-tank missiles. The integration of the Arena-M system represents the latest step in a long process to enhance the survivability of the Soviet-built vehicles, which were among the best protected in the world in the 1980s, but have faced the risk of falling behind advances in anti-tank weapons technologies without continuous upgrades.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground]
— France Set to Be the Last Nuclear Weapons State Without a Stealth Fighter: at 3/16/25 2:52am
Since the mid-2000s the world’s nine nuclear weapons states have each made strides to equip themselves with fifth generation fighters. Following the U.S. Air Force’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/25-f22-maiden-flight-looks-like-failure" target="_blank">commissioning of the world’s first</a> fifth generation fighter the F-22 Raptor in December 2005, the service operationalised the lighter F-35A in 2016, which was the first of its generation <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" target="_blank">capable of launching</a> nuclear attacks. The F-35 was subsequently exported to Israel and the United Kingdom, while orders for the aircraft have been placed by all of Washington’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/europe-snuclear-stealth-fighter-f35-dutch" target="_blank">nuclear sharing partners</a> including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Although these countries do not produce nuclear weapons, nuclear sharing agreements give them access to American B61-12 nuclear bombs <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nato-more-nuclear-weapons-standby" target="_blank">deployed on their territories</a> in the event of war, meaning all of them can utilise the F-35 for nuclear strikes. Opposing these NATO members’ arsenals, the Russian Air Force <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russian-air-force-new-su57-su34" target="_blank">operationalised</a> its first regiment of Su-57 fifth generation fighters in 2024, after investing in the less costly aircraft as an alternative to the more ambitious<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/su57-half-price-ambitious-mig142" target="_blank"> Soviet MiG 1.42 program</a>. The MiG 1.42 was previously expected to enter service around 2001, and to have potentially made the USSR the first country to field fifth generation fighters.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/17/article_67d772c51de574_12471494.jpeg" title="F-35 Drops B61-12 Nuclear Bomb During Testing" >China became the second country to operationalise an indigenous fifth generation fighter in February 2017 when the J-20 was brought into service. A lighter counterpart to the J-20, the FC-31, has since been reported to have been order by Pakistan with service entry expected for before the end of the decade. Facing the Pakistani fleet, the Indian Air Force was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-considering-plans-su57-license-production" target="_blank">confirmed</a> in February 2024 to be considering a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/india-offered-path-quick-license-production-su57-landmark-deal" target="_blank">license production deal</a> for the Su-57, which has the potential to make it the largest operator of fifth generation fighters outside China and the United States. India has long shown a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/license-fifthgen-su57-aeroindia" target="_blank">strong interest </a>in the fighter, with its appeal to export clients reported to have been raised by its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/british-sources-su57-r37m-shoot-down-ukrainians" target="_blank">intensive combat testing</a> in the Ukrainian theatre. Following India, the world’s newest nuclear weapons state North Korea is reportedly set to begin receiving new Russian fighters in the near future.&nbsp;North Korean officials have shown an&nbsp;interest&nbsp;in procuring advanced Russian fighters for some years, and in September 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-of-north-korean-aviation-in-russia-kim-jong-un-tours-plants-producing-su-35-and-su-57-fighters-and-sukhoi-airliners">inspected facilities</a>&nbsp;which produced the Su-57 at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant. Statements from the country’s leadership have also indicated that they view the deployment of American F-35 fifth generation fighters in the region as a major threat, fuelling speculation that procurement of the Su-57 is being seriously considered.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/17/article_67d772e311b6f0_66082435.jpeg" title="North Korean Leadership Inspect Su-57 Cockpit in Russia ">France remains the only nuclear weapons state without a clear path to fielding a fifth generation fighter, with its refusal to procure the F-35 set to leave it as the only major air force in Europe without such aircraft. The joint Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next generation fighter program is <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/dassault-chief-highlights-european-sixth-gen-fighter-could-come-25-years-behind-u-s-and-china" target="_blank">not expected</a> to produce a fighter for over two decades, with the CEO of French aerospace firm Dassault Eric Trappier having elaborated regarding the state of the FCAS program that “[The target of] 2040 is already missed, because we already stall, and the discussions of the next phase will surely also be long... so we rather aim for the 2050s.” This meant the fighter would enter service around 20 years behind American and Chinese sixth generation fighters. The lack of a modern fighter capability has important implications for the viability of France’s nuclear forces. Not only will France lack a capability to delivery tactical nuclear strikes with the same level of effectiveness as other nuclear weapons states, but its strategic nuclear infrastructure including its nuclear submarine fleet will also be more vulnerable due to a lack of competitive fighters able to offer protection. Among the world’s nine nuclear weapons states, the future of the French fighter fleet and its aerial nuclear delivery capability thus appear to be the least certain, with the country unwilling to rely on China, Russia or the United States for political reasons, and unable to produce a similarly advanced aircraft domestically or with its European neighbours.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: North America, Western Europe and Oceania]
— North Korea’s New AEW&C ‘Flying Radar’ Indicates Major Fighter Fleet Modernisation Plans: at 3/15/25 4:23am
New satellite footage has confirmed North Korea’s development of an airborne early warning and control (AEW&amp;C) system based on one of its Il-76 heavy lift aircraft. The program is set to make the country the fourth operator of Il-76-based AEW&amp;C after Russia, India and China, and could serve as an important force multiplier for the Korean People’s Army Air Force. AEW&amp;C systems carry radars several times as large as those used by combat aircraft, and are valued for their ability to share data with fighters and ground-based assets including targeting data to facilitate more effective engagements of enemy aircraft.&nbsp;Investment in fielding a modern AEW&amp;C provides a further indication that North Korea is renewing investments its military aviation capabilities, following <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-of-north-korean-aviation-in-russia-kim-jong-un-tours-plants-producing-su-35-and-su-57-fighters-and-sukhoi-airliners" target="_blank">strong signs of interest</a> in procuring modern Russian fighter aircraft. North Korea’s current fighter fleet is considered largely obsolete, and is comprised primarily of Vietnam War era MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters with a smaller elite of <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/syrian-defector-mig23-to-israel-performance" >MiG-23ML</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/45-years-since-its-first-flight-why-the-soviet-mig-29-is-still-ukraine-s-favourite-fighter" >MiG-29 fighters</a>. The limited air-to-air capabilities of this fleet limits the country’s ability to protect a high value asset like an AEW&amp;C, and also limits the benefits of fielding such a force multiplier asset. Although development of an Il-76-based AEW&amp;C could allow the country to better monitor its ballistic and cruise missile tests, gaining significant utility from such an asset would require the procurement of more capable fighters with modern sensors, missiles and data sharing capabilities.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/16/article_67d6367db84f38_03907811.jpeg" title="North Korean Leadership Inspect Su-57 Cockpit in Russia" >After South Korean government sources <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/why-nkorean-pilots-deploying-russia">reported</a> in September that North Korean combat aviation pilots were dispatched to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, speculation has grown that a fighter deal has been reached which will re-equip many of the Korean People’s Army Air Force’s older units. Although the commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Admiral Samuel Paparo in December <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/nkorean-air-force-modernise-russian-mig29-su27">reported</a> that the North Korea was set to receive Russian&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/mig-29-vs-su-27-how-the-two-top-soviet-fighters-went-head-to-head-an-east-african-air-war">MiG-29 and Su-27</a>&nbsp;fourth generation fighters, Pyongyang has shown signs of an interest in procuring more advanced ‘4+ generation’ and fifth generation fighters. Author of the<a href="https://www.claritypress.com/product/surviving-the-unipolar-era-north-koreas-35-year-standoff-with-the-united-states/">&nbsp;recent book</a>&nbsp;on North Korean security&nbsp;Surviving the Unipolar Era: North Korea’s 35 Year Standoff with the United States&nbsp;A. B. Abrams&nbsp;<a href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/01/legal-barriers-to-the-north-korea-russia-arms-trade-and-the-loophole-that-could-allow-it-to-expand/">highlighted</a>&nbsp;that Moscow had two primary means of providing fighters to North Korea. The first would be “to export fighters from classes the country already fields such as the MiG-29,” which it could be claimed were delivered before the embargo to “retain a degree of plausible deniability.” Regarding the second more controversial option, he elaborated:&nbsp;“should North Korea acquire Russian combat aircraft other than MiG-29s, such as the more advanced Su-35 and Su-57 fighters recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/north-korean-leader-arrives-russia-far-east-heads-aviation-plant-2023-09-14/">inspected</a>&nbsp;by its leader Kim Jong Un on a visit to Russia in September, these could be accompanied by Russian personnel at North Korean bases and presented as operating under a joint Russian-led unit – whatever the reality of the command structures under which they actually function. Such long range fighters, which are very easily capable of flying across Korea from airfields across the Russian border, could even be deployed between bases in the two countries to further this perception – while retaining duties such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/04/world/north-korea-mig-s-intercept-us-jet-on-spying-mission.html">interceptions</a>&nbsp;of American bombers near the peninsula and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.38north.org/2022/04/ready-for-takeoff-pyongyang-prepares-for-a-major-parade/">flyovers</a>&nbsp;during military parades in Pyongyang.”<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/16/article_67d636fadd7691_16495997.jpg" title="Indian Air Force A-50 AEW&amp;C">The importance of AEW&amp;Cs to aerial warfare efforts was recently demonstrated in the Ukrainian theatre, where Russian Su-35 fighters <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-growing-use-a50u-hunt-ukr" target="_blank">relied heavily </a>on support from A-50U systems to engage Ukrainian targets using long range R-37M air-to-air missiles. A-50Us were also relied on to allow ground based air defence systems to achieve <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-combat-tests-s400-400km-pairing-a50" target="_blank">400 kilometre range kills</a> at low altitudes against Ukrainian fighters, with the systems effectively providing the targeting data needed to fire over the earth’s curvature. This has significant implications for North Korea, which could use its new AEW&amp;C system to augment both its advanced <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/north-korea-test-firing-s400-similar-air-defence" target="_blank">ground based air defence systems</a> and its expected new fighters. The much smaller size of North Korea’s territory, at around 0.7 percent the size of Russia’s own, allows even a single AEW&amp;C to provide significant coverage. The signifiant advances demonstrated by East Asian state’s defence sector across multiple areas indicates that the radar and other avionics for the new AEW&amp;C may have been developed largely independently, although support from Russia has been widely speculated due to its well established familiarity with converting Il-76 aircraft into AEW&amp;Cs.
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Asia-Pacific, Aircraft and Anti-Aircraft]
— Belarus Producing Launchers For New Oreshnik Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles: at 3/14/25 2:37am
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has confirmed that his country has initiated manufacturing of several launchers for the Russian Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile system, adding that these were nearing completion. He noted that Belarus would require the missiles produced in Russia to complete the systems, and that the placement of the Oreshnik system in Belarus was progressing in accordance with bilateral agreements. It remains uncertain whether Belarusian firms are producing launchers exclusively for Oreshnik launchers that will be deployed in the country, or whether they are also supplying the Russian Armed Forces, with the latter option appearing more likely. Belarus has a long history of producing advanced missile launch vehicles, with the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) having developed several transporter erector launcher systems including the MAZ-547A launcher used for the Oreshnik’s predecessor the RSD-10 intermediate range ballistic missile. Developing launch vehicles with comparable performances to those produced in Belarus has been a significant challenge for Russia’s defence sector since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, with the Russian Armed Forces having continued to rely heavily on imports of such vehicles from Belarus. The Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant is currently the primary facility producing missile launch vehicles, and produces the MZKT-79221 vehicle to serve as the chassis for the Topol-M intermediate range ballistic missile, and the MZKT-7930 vehicle for the Iskander ballistic missile system and the Pantsir-S1 air defence system.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/03/15/article_67d4cceae302c3_03081191.png" title="MZKT-7930 Vehicle From Iskander-M System">Plans to supply Oreshnik missiles to Belarus were <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-belarus-oreshnik-missiles-nuclear-sharing" >confirmed</a> on December 6, 2024, and will represent the only transfer of intermediate range ballistic missiles between countries since the turn of the century. “We have places where we can deploy these weapons. With one condition: that the targets will be determined by the military-political leadership of Belarus, and that Russian specialists will service the deployment of the weapons,” President Lukashenko stated at the time, with the missiles projected to begin deployments in the second half of 2025. The Oreshnik&nbsp;was first utilised in&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-icbm-targeting-ukraine" >combat</a> on November 21,&nbsp;2024, and is estimated to have a 4000km range while carrying multiple independently re-targetable warheads including both nuclear and conventional warheads.&nbsp;The arsenal deployed in Belarus is expected to be armed with both nuclear and conventional warheads, with the former being available to the Belarusian Armed Forces as part of the nuclear sharing agreement signed with Russia in 2023. Deployment of the Oreshnik follows <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/expanding-nuclear-belarusian-iskander-brigade" target="_blank">large scale transfers</a> of Iskander-M short range ballistic missile systems and S-400 air defence systems to Belarus, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/wagner-s400s-iskanders-belarus-heavily-arming" target="_blank">strengthens</a> the country’s ability to asymmetrically counter the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poland-triple-forces-belarusian-border" target="_blank">rapid expansion</a> of NATO forces near its territory.&nbsp;
[Author: editorial@militarywatchmagazine.com (Military Watch Editorial Staff)] [Category: Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ground]

As of 4/3/25 3:49pm. Last new 3/30/25 4:21pm.

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