SOURCE: API

Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) officials revealed that mass production of the WS-15 Emei engine for the Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter programme has begun, indicating that the engine programme has reached a certain level of maturity.

Last year, Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) confirmed the first flight of the J-20 with WS-15 engines, which will significantly improve the J-20’s push-to-weight ratio with a maximum thrust of 18.4t (180kN), compared to about 15t for the older WS-10 engines, making it comparable to the US’ most advanced Pratt and Whitney F119 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-22.

SOURCE: UNI

The Dalai Lama has named an eight-year-old boy born in Mongolia but raised in the United States as the reincarnation of the third most important spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the Times, the spiritual leader was photographed with the boy during the ceremony in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, recognising the boy as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche.

SOURCE: API

China is pitching its JF-17 fighter to more African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after receiving orders for three units from African Country Nigeria. Congo, which currently operates two older Mig-23 fighter jets, intends to purchase additional fighter jets capable of carrying out ground strike missions.

Congo recently ordered nine CH-4 combat drones from the Chinese company CASC, and it also operates seven Belarusian Su-25 aircraft from the 1980s.

SOURCE: REUTERS

North Korea has tested a new nuclear-capable underwater attack drone that can generate a radioactive tsunami, state media reported on Friday, as it blamed joint military drills by South Korea and the US for raising tensions in the region.

During the drill, the new North Korean drone cruised underwater at a depth of 80 to 150 metres (260-500 feet) for over 59 hours and detonated in waters off its east coast on Thursday, North Korean state news agency KCNA said.

SOURCE: API

Two visits from the Pakistani Air Force Ground crew and engineers from the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex have managed to put together 5-6 JF-17 fighter jets back in the air but the major fleet of 9-10 jets remains grounded due to various issues with the aircraft including spare shortages and technical issues with the airframe.

Myanmar grounded 11 jets last year of the JF-17 Block-II fighter jets and grounded three more later in the year. Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) which had designed the JF-17 as FC-1 asked Pakistan to step in and take care of the issues that plagued the Myanmar JF-17 fleet.

SOURCE: KYODO

The United States has confirmed that rounds of Chinese ammunition have been used in battlefields in Ukraine and suspects they were fired by Russian forces, government sources said Friday. Whether the ammunition was supplied by China remains unclear, the U.S. administration sources said, while adding Washington is poised to take action if it is verified Beijing made the shipments.

Amid a myriad of disagreements between the United States and China, officials have recently said Washington possesses intelligence indicating that Beijing is considering sending arms and ammunition to Russia.

SOURCE: TURKISH MEDIA

ANKA-3 Combat Unmanned Aircraft System developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSA?) was displayed for the first time. Sharing the images of HÜRJET and MMU, in addition to ANKA-3, on his official Twitter account, Prof. Dr. Temel Kotil used the following statements:

“We have kept our promise to our nation in the Turkish Century. MMU and HÜRJET taxied, ATAK 2 will start the engine soon, and ANKA 3 will make its first flight. We present our products, which we have created with thousands of colleagues and business partners, to the martyrs of Çanakkale.”

SOURCE: TASS

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu handed down an order to decorate the pilots of the Su-27 fighter jets who intercepted a US MQ-9 spy drone over the Black Sea area restricted for flights during the special military operation, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday.

“Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu has issued an order to bestow state awards on the pilots of the Su-27 planes who did not allow the US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle to violate the airspace restricted for use during the special military operation,” the ministry said in a statement.

SOURCE: PTI

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday assured Parliament that the government would not make any compromise on the country’s nuclear and missile programme despite tough economic conditions and hurdles to secure a loan from the IMF.

Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits. The country is awaiting a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Let me assure you that nobody is going to compromise anything on the nuclear or the missile program of Pakistan — no way,” Dar said while responding to a query by Senator Raza Rabbani.

SOURCE: CNN

Driving deep into the forest, the hush between the towering pine trees and the clear blue skies was splintered every few seconds by the sound of distant explosions from the frontline battles for eastern Ukraine. Guiding us through the woodland on foot, Ukrainian soldiers eventually brought us to a clearing where they showed us the wreckage of a weaponized drone which they said they shot down with their AK-47 automatic weapons over the weekend.

The drone was a Mugin-5, a commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by a Chinese manufacturer based in the port city of Xiamen, on China’s eastern coast.

SOURCE: GLOBAL TIMES

The Argentine Embassy in China said on Tuesday that the South American country is considering procuring the JF-17 aircraft, with Chinese analysts saying on Wednesday that the fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan is the best choice for Argentina in terms of performance and availability.

Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja recently held a work meeting with Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana and his team in Buenos Aires to promote cooperation with China in the field of national defense, the embassy said in a social media post on Weibo on Tuesday.

SOURCE: AP

The Pentagon has released footage of what it says is a Russian aircraft conducting an unsafe intercept of a US Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

The 42-second video, released Thursday, shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said. The US military said it ditched the MQ-9 Reaper in the sea on Tuesday after the Russian fighter jet poured fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle, in an apparent attempt to blind its optical instruments and drive it out of the area, and then struck its propeller.

SOURCE: REUTERS

 Britain and Japan are set to dominate a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter, with Rome set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost, two sources said.

Italy’s defence ministry said the sources’ assessments were “speculative”, while Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) said it “does not recognise these comments”. Known as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the project is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars before the new jet fighter enters service around the middle of the next decade.

SOURCE: CBS NEWS

A Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with an American military drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. said. The collision made the drone “unflyable” and officials crashed it into the sea, the Pentagon said. The White House called the Russian plane’s intercept of the unmanned aircraft “reckless.”

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” U.S. Air Force General James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said in a statement.

SOURCE: ANI

United States President Joe Biden along with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced that Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the US to modernise its fleet.

The agreement is aimed at countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Addressing a joint statement after holding in person bilateral talks on a US naval base in San Diego, California, the three leaders underscored their shared commitment to the 18-month-old trilateral security partnership given the acronym AUKUS — for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.