8 Fighter-jet engines ’stolen from Israeli base’
Source: google.com
Israel’s military police on Monday opened an inquiry into the theft of airplane parts, a spokeswoman said without confirming press reports that eight fighter-jet engines had been stolen.
"The military police have opened an inquiry into the matter," she told AFP without giving further detail or confirming reports of the theft from Tel Nof airbase near Tel Aviv.
Air force officials quoted in the Maariv newspaper said the stolen parts were eight engines from F-15 and F-16 fighter jets which were taken from Tel Nof air base.
They said it was not immediately clear when the theft took place, but said the parts were no longer in use and had most likely been stolen for their value as scrap metal, the paper said.
Investigators quoted by the paper said each engine weighed "several tonnes" and could only have been taken away on large trucks, prompting speculation that the thieves had help from inside the base.
Military officials quoted by Israel HaYom newspaper described the theft as "very serious."
Article from: google.com
Tel Aviv authorities have reportedly informed U.S. officials of the incident, which, according to some reports, took place when thugs entered the base. However, it is not yet clear how the relatively huge items had been removed without cranes or similar types of heavy equipment.
Tel Aviv has ordered 20 F-35 fighter jets manufactured by U.S. Lockheed Martin Corporation, which provides the Israeli regime with a variety of fighter aircraft, including F-16, F-22 and F-35.
(Source; Press TV)
Israel Helped China Build
Its New Jet Fighter (2002)
From: Rense.com
A new report says Israel has helped China develop a new fighter jet built with Russian components and is weighing a Chinese request for an Israeli radar system.
A report by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation said China has sought Israeli radar for its new J-10 Chengdu fighter-jet. The J-10 is said to make extensive use of foreign components, largely from Russia, Middle East Newsline reported.
Military discussion between Israel and China have not been in the news since the Jewish state cancelled the Phalcon airborne early-warning radar to Beijing last year. The cancellation came after heavy U.S. pressure.
The report also cited "possible Israeli design assistance" for China’s HQ-9/FT-2000 surface-to-air missile and the SONG conventional submarine.
The report said the Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter was built with Israeli help. Israel, Fisher said, provided assistance in developing the airframe and control system.
The engine for the J-10 "will be a Russian Saturn-Alyuka AL-31FN and its radar likely from Israel or Russia, or influenced by their technology," the report, authored by Richard Fisher, said. "The new SD-10 active guided air-launched anti-aircraft missile uses the radar and data link from Russia’s very capable Vympel R-77, combined with a Chinese missile motor."
Fisher, a senior fellow with the Jamestown Foundation, is the managing editor of China Brief. The publication focuses on China’s emerging strategic power.
Fisher, in a report entitled "Military Sales to China: Going to Pieces," said Beijing seeks to build indigenous weapons with imported foreign-made components. The report said Israel’s Phalcon radar was to have been placed on a Russian Il-76 cargo plane.
"The PLA [Chinese military] was hoping to make the Phalcon, which used modern and effective phased-array technology, a centerpiece of its developing military information architecture, and a critical force-multiplier for the PLAAF [air force]," the report said. "The PLA timetable was set back several years. The embarrassment of powerlessness over the situation would have been avoided had the system been built in China, had China been able to develop it."
The report said China’s military has still not mastered what it termed the current intermediate stage of coproduction. It cited a 1996 contract to coproduce 200 J-11 aircraft, a version of Russia’s Su-27SK fighter-jet. The first two jets were so poorly assembled that Russian technicians had to rebuild them.
But the J-11, produced by China’s Shenyang, has been improved and now has a better finish that Russian-made Su-27s. Shenyang will also modify its J-11s with a new Chinese radar that will make them multi-role fighter and attack capable.
The report said China plans to obtain a range of systems and technology from Britain. They include micro- and nano-satellites and airborne early-warning radar for the Y-8 aircraft.
Article from: rense.com
Barak has ‘Jovial’ Meeting with China Chief of Staff
By Gil Ronen | IsraelNationalNews.com
Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with the Chinese military’s chief of staff, General Chen Bingde Sunday. The meeting lasted over an hour and its atmosphere was described as “especially jovial and friendly.”
Barak and Chen discussed issues of mutual interest for China and Israel and bilateral ties between the Chinese Army and the Israel Defense Force.
The Defense Minister described the security challenges in the Middle East in view of the latest regional developments.
Barak stressed before Chen the overriding need to deny Iran the ability to equip itself with nuclear military ability, which will destabilize the Middle East, besides creating a severe threat toward Israel.
Chen and Barak also discussed means of dealing effectively with terror in its various forms. Chen said that the visit was of tremendous importance for China and for relations between the countries.
Last year, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer and Minister Moshe Ya’alon flew to China to try and convince the Chinese to support sanctions agaiunst Iran. Iran and Russia have been the main obstacles to sanctions in the United Nations and are also opposed to steps against Syria.
Article from: israelnationalnews.com
