pLockheed Martin Corp. showed off the vertical takeoff version of its next military aircraft on Tuesday to an important customer — the U.S. Marine Corps./p pAs designed, the joint strike fighter would give the Marines something they’ve never had: a stealthy supersonic fighter capable of helicopter-like takeoffs and landings./p pMarine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway said the plane would allow his pilots to control the skies, drop bombs and take out enemy missiles in battlegrounds like those in Iraq./p pDozens of Marine officers and foreign military officials attended a pomp-filled ceremony inside Lockheed’s giant aircraft-assembly plant to mark the rollout of the F-35B. A Marine band played martial music, and assembly workers paused to watch from scaffolding./p pA simpler model that can’t take off vertically is being tested for the Air Force./p pThe development of the joint strike fighter has been bumpy at times. Lockheed began a costly redesign three years ago after officials found that the plane was going to be too heavy. More recently, one of the test planes was grounded for several months./p p”Every new aircraft has its warts, and there will be delays,” Conway said, but he expressed confidence that Lockheed will deliver the first F-35s to the Corps on time in 2012./p pThe Air Force is scheduled to get its first copies the next year, followed by the Navy’s aircraft carrier version in 2015./p

Japan plans to postpone buying next-generation fighter aircraft to replace part of its ageing air force fleet because the United States is unwilling to export its state-of-the-art F-22 stealth fighter, a newspaper said on Monday.br /br /The Lockheed Martin Corp fighter, also known as the Raptor, boasts stealth capabilities far superior to any of its rivals, but the U.S. Congress has opposed its export, even to allies such as Japan, for security reasons.br /br /Japan’s Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba told Reuters in October the ministry was considering other options, in particular the Eurofighter, built by a consortium including BAE Systemsbr /br /Instead, the English-language Daily Yomiuri reported, it will focus on updating existing F-15 fighters and postpone the purchase of new planes until after 2010.br /br /Ministry officials were not available for comment.br /br /U.S. reluctance to sell the F-22 to Japan is likely related to a scandal over leaked data relating to a missile defence system used by both countries, in which a naval officer was arrested last week, domestic media said.br /br /Japan’s defence procurement system is also under a cloud after last month’s arrest of the ministry’s former top bureaucrat, who has admitted accepting hundreds of golf trips and other gifts from a defence contractor.

div class=”story-para”An angry mob of Bolivian civilians threw rocks at a Venezuelan military plane refueling at an airport in northeastern Bolivia, forcing the unwelcome aircraft to fly out of town, according to a Dec. 6 report./div div class=”story-para” The leader of a local civic group opposed to President Evo Morales, who is a top ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said no Venezuelan military planes would be allowed to land in Riberalta, especially if they are carrying weapons./div div class=”story-para” “We have to defend our people,” Riberalta Civic Committee President Marcos Jauregui was quoted as saying by the Catholic news agency Erbol./div div class=”story-para” “Why wasn’t there a press conference to disclose what they are bringing to the country? We must be vigilant because we will not allow Venezuelan planes to come,” he said./div div class=”story-para” A Bolivian aviation source, who requested anonymity, confirmed that the plane was a Hercules airplane belonging to the Venezuelan air force./div div class=”story-para” The source said the plane landed in Riberalta after it was not allowed to refuel at its original destination, the Brazilian city of Rio Branco, for unknown reasons./div div class=”story-para” Up to 200 people with signs saying “Enough interference!” threw stones at the plane, which left to an unknown destination amid rumors it was carrying weapons./div

Venezuela plans on buying 12 Russian-built military planes, including Ilyushin-76 transport planes and Ilyushin-78 refueling aircraft, an air force official said Wednesday.pUnder President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela has already purchased some $3 billion worth of arms from Russia, including 53 military helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and 24 SU-30 Sukhoi fighter jets./ppAir Force Col. Oswaldo Hernandez Sanchez did not provide any details regarding the planes to be purchased from Russia, saying only that he expected them to arrive in Venezuela late next year./ppChavez — a former army lieutenant colonel — says Venezuela needs new transport planes to replace Hercules C-130 planes because of maintenance problems caused a U.S. ban on arms sales to the South American country./ppThe U.S. State Department imposed the ban, which affects the sale by other countries of any military hardware containing U.S. technology, citing a lack of support by Chavez’s government for counterterrorism efforts and its increasingly close relations with Iran and communist-led Cuba./p

div class=”story-para”Japan set up its second ballistic missile interceptors at an air base east of Tokyo on Nov. 29, the Defense Ministry said, as part of its efforts to strengthen defenses against neighbor North Korea./div div class=”story-para”Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) launchers, capable of shooting down incoming missiles in the final stage of flight, were deployed at the Narashino base in Chiba, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from central Tokyo./div div class=”story-para”Japan first deployed interceptors at a base north of Tokyo in March, after North Korea fired a ballistic missile in 1998 that flew over Japan. Last year, Pyongyang fired more missiles and tested a nuclear device./div div class=”story-para”Japan is scheduled to deploy interceptors at two more locations near Tokyo by the end of March next year./div div class=”story-para”With a relatively short range of 20 kilometers (12 miles), the interceptors are likely to be deployed to protect political and financial hubs./div div class=”story-para”A newspaper reported Nov. 25 that Japan would conduct drills next month to move the missile interceptor equipment into central Tokyo in times of emergency, although a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said nothing had been decided./div div class=”story-para”Japan plans to test its first ship-based anti-ballistic missile interceptors off Hawaii in a joint exercise with the U.S. in the week of Dec. 17./div