Author name: T4 Solutions

US in ‘Focused’ Talks to Offer Multirole F-16s to Philippines

U.S. and Philippine officials will hold “focused discussions” about selling the Philippine Air Force multirole fighter aircraft—one of several weapons systems the two countries discussed during a recent dialogue.  The talks are part of the U.S.-Philippines Ministerial Dialogue on April 11, where Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken …

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PUTIN’S PILOT CRISIS: RUSSIA IS RUNNING OUT OF WELL-TRAINED AVIATORS

On March 14, two Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jets were attempting to harass an unmanned American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, when one of them — seemingly accidentally — crashed right into the drone’s rear propeller. In the days that followed, memes and internet jokes about just how poorly trained Russian fighter pilots are flooded social …

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Two Ukrainian pilots are in the U.S. for training assessment on attack aircraft, including F-16s

Two Ukrainian pilots are in the U.S. undergoing an assessment to determine how long it could take to train them to fly attack aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets, according to two congressional officials and a senior U.S. official. The Ukrainians’ skills are being evaluated on simulators at a U.S. military base in Tucson, Arizona, the officials said, and they …

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Chinese-Air-Air-Missiles-2

A Guide To China’s Increasingly Impressive Air-To-Air Missile Inventory

China has made very impressive progress in its air-to-air missile development, but these weapons remain relatively obscure in the West. The rapid pace of development across China’s military aircraft scene has been well documented, with Western observers keenly awaiting new designs and variants of existing ones, while manufacturing plants keep up a seemingly relentless pace of deliveries. What’s been less well covered, …

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US, NATO allies take flight at Polygone

Unleashing Tech so Airmen Can ‘Train as They Fight’

Air Force leaders want Airmen to train as they fight, but the barriers to executing true distributed mission operations are everywhere: simulators and networks need to communicate, combat systems need to talk to simulators, international partners need access to one or another component of the live, virtual, and constructive training continuum. The Air Force is looking for …

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U.S. Air Force

Avoiding empty cockpits: Addressing the Air Force’s pilot shortage problem

Each year the Pentagon spends billions of dollars upgrading older aircraft, buying new ones and developing super-secret next-generation capabilities. But in the op-ed below, FDD’s Bradley Bowman and Maj. Brian Leitzke argue that more needs to be done to ensure the Air Force has a steady supply of the most critical piece of the puzzle: pilots. …

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sweden's air force

NATO is eager for Sweden’s air force to join the alliance, but Swedish fighter pilots aren’t happy with their bosses

Even as Sweden prepares to join NATO, Sweden’s air force has a problem. Its most experienced fighter pilots are quitting. “In the fall, around half of the Swedish Armed Forces’ fighter pilots may take leave or resign altogether,” the Swedish broadcaster SVT reported in July. One problem is a change to the retirement system, according to the …

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Haptic-System-VR-Pilot-Training

Air Force to Expand Synthetic Environment for Mission Rehearsal, Testing, and Training

Aircraft simulators must evolve to meet the adversary threat, leaders from the 53rd Wing told Air Force Magazine. Once mainly used for initial qualification training, the Air Force is moving toward a paradigm of simulator training known as the “common synthetic environment” that will create non-proprietary, interchangeable training devices and environments for aircrews to train, …

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NATO's Collective Defence

Chair of the Military Committee commends Bulgaria for reinforcing NATO’s Collective Defence

The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and the Bulgarian Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov focussed their discussions on the current security situation and the recent decision to establish the new multinational battlegroup in Bulgaria. “The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has required that we assess and define options to further strengthen our defensive posture. We need to ensure …

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