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Germany: Two German Air Force Tornados deploy for anti-IS campaign

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Japan’s 5th Generation Stealth Fighter to Make Maiden Flight in February 2016

Prior to its first test-flight, the aircraft will undergo extensive taxiing and ground trials at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries testing center located in Aichi Prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu. From there the fighter prototype is expected to fly to Gifu Air Field, an airbase of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, situated in the neighboring prefecture of Gifu sometime in February.

The principal objective of the ATD-X Shinshin program is to develop a research prototype aircraft an–“advanced technology demonstration unit” to test the capacity of Japan’s defense industry to develop, among other things, a powerful fighter engine and various other indigenous stealth fighter aircraft technologies.

Source:
the Diplomat.com

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Antireflective Coating: Sugar-based Carbon Hollow Spheres That Mimic Moth Eyes

The new material cuts down reflections from microwaves rather than from visible light -- invisible energy from a different part of the energy spectrum. Blocking microwave reflection is an important application for precise microwave measurements, and the coating may be used as a radar absorbing material in stealth technology, a technique that makes make an airplane invisible to radar, or police traffic radar that uses microwaves to measure car speed.

Described this week in the journal Applied Physics Letters from AIP Publishing, the new technology is based on a monolayer of hollow carbon spheres packed in two dimensions and has been demonstrated to be able to achieve almost perfect microwave absorption, i.e. near 100 percent absorption of microwaves in the Ka-band (26-37 gigahertz) frequency range, the first antireflective material to achieve this.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160105223546.htm

Would change things somewhat for military aircraft if it proved to be a practical RAM, wouldn't it?

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Hungary will sign agreement covering loss of two JAS 39 Gripens

...the additional cost of replacing the two aircraft for use during the 2017-2026 lease period should not exceed HUF9.5 billion (USD33 million).

If the aircraft were maintained correctly but the aircraft were lost due to malfunction rather than pilot error, why is Hungary paying extra?

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Where was it reported that they were properly maintained but lost because of malfunctions?

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Proposed $800M missile sale to Iraq approved

The State Department has approved a potential foreign military sale of $800 million for missiles and related equipment and services to the Iraqi government to aid in the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The proposed sale includes "five thousand (5,000) AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles; Ten (10) 114K M36E9 Captive Air Training Missiles; associated equipment; and defense services," according to a Jan. 7 announcement from DSCA.

The major defense equipment (MDE) value of the sale is $750 million, for a total estimated value of $800 million. Lockheed Martin would be the principal contractor on the sale.

DSCA maintains that the sale of the equipment "will contribute to the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States by helping to improve a critical capability of the Iraq Security Forces in defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)." The agency notes that U.S. military readiness would not be adversely affected by the sale.

According to the notice, "Iraq will use the Hellfire missiles to improve the Iraq Security Forces' capability to support ongoing combat operations. Iraq will also use this capability in future contingency operations."

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Where was it reported that they were properly maintained but lost because of malfunctions?

Sorry I haven't checked the reports on how the aircraft were lost. Is it reported that the aircraft concerned were either not correctly maintained or lost through pilot error?

Having checked, this what Reuters reports re: the June loss:


A Hungarian JAS-39 Gripen fighter jet crash-landed in eastern Hungary on Wednesday due to a technical fault, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

National news agency MTI reported that the pilot tried to land the fighter jet but it became unmanageable and the pilot ejected. He was injured but is in a stable condition.

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The first one's been reported as pilot error, but I've not seen the results of the enquiry into either one. The initial reports certainly suggested that the second one was a technical fault, but I've not seen anything definite about the cause. I was wondering if you'd seen the enquiry results.