span id=”ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblBody” style=”font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;”The General Manager of Iran’s Aviation Industry Organization in the Defense Ministry, Majid Hedayat, said Wednesday that the organization would soon launch a mass production line for the new fighter jets.br / br /”The new generation of Saeqeh fighters are equipped with additional facilities and capabilities,” Fars News Agency quoted Hedayat as saying.br /br /Iran test flied the first generation of the home-manufactured ‘Saeqeh’ fighter jets in September 2007.br /br /Hedayat added that Iranian experts have also produced other military planes, which would later join the Air Force squadron for naval patrolling purposes.br /br /The report of Iran’s military enhancement comes as earlier in July the country’s Air Force chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, announced that the Islamic Republic had produced radar-evading ‘stealth’ fighter jets.br / br /In response to Israeli war rhetoric, Iran has launched a campaign for military self-sufficiency. br /br /In preparation for a possible Israeli attack, the Islamic Republic has revamped its fighter jet fleet to fly distances of 3,000 kilometers without refueling.br /br /The upgrade would allow Iranian aircraft to fly to Israel and back without the need to refuel.br /br /The Iranian Armed Forces have also been holding military exercises on a regular basis after Israel conducted an air maneuver over the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece in early June, which according to Pentagon officials, appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. /span

Following strong protests from Pakistan against ground raids by American commandos, the US is now increasingly relying instead on an intensifying campaign of airstrikes by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against militants in the mountainous region bordering Aghanistan.pAttacks by remotely piloted Predator aircraft have seen a sharp increase over the past three months. There were at least 18 Predator strikes since August, some deep inside Pakistan’s tribal areas, compared with five strikes during the first seven months of 2008, the New York Times reported Monday, quoting US and Pakistani officials./ppAdvocates of the ground raids within the Bush administration, however, feel that relying on airstrikes alone would not be able to weaken Al Qaeda’s grip in the tribal areas./ppThey argue that Special Operations forces alone can successfully capture suspected operatives and interrogate them for information on senior Al Qaeda leaders./ppThe decision to opt for airstrikes using missiles reflects dwindling options for the Bush administration in its waning days, the Times said, noting that President George W. Bush had given his approval in July for ground missions inside Pakistan./ppYet, the only known US ground mission was a raid on Sep 3, in which the two dozen people killed included civilians, provoking a fierce Pakistani response, including a visit to Washington by National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani to register protest./ppQuoting a senior US official, the Times reported that there is no tacit agreement with Pakistan to allow increased Predator strikes in exchange for stopping ground raids, which too remains an option on the table./ppOn Pakistani side, officials have publicly stated that they regard the Predator attacks as a less objectionable violation of Pakistani sovereignty./ppHusain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, told the Council on Foreign Relations this month that the two nations were cooperating in deploying ‘strategic equipment that is used against specific targets’./pp’There’s always a balance between respecting full Pakistani sovereignty, even in places where they’re not capable of exercising that sovereignty, and the need for our force protection,’ an unidentified US administration official was quoted as saying by the Times./ppAttacks by militants, ensconced in Pakistan havens, against US and allied forces in Afghanistan, have increased by about 30 percent from a year ago, according to US military officials./ppIn response, the CIA has expanded its list of targets in Pakistan and has gained approval from the government there to bolster eavesdropping operations in the border region, according to US officials, the Times said./ppMany of the Predator strikes are taking place as deep as 25 miles into Pakistani territory. Targets include not just Al Qaeda leaders but also Pakistani militants, even trucks carrying rockets to resupply fighters in Afghanistan./ppA Predator strike in South Waziristan Oct 16 killed Khalid Habib, a senior Al Qaeda operative. But the strikes sometimes have unintended consequences. On Sep 8, one in Miranshah on a compound owned by a Taliban leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, failed to kill him but did kill women and children, the Times noted./ppTalking about the achievement of the increased airstrikes, a Western counterterrorism official told the Times: ‘It’s fair to say that it has caused key Al Qaeda figures to focus even more on their safety and security. It has caused them to be more suspicious of people they don’t know well, and it also has caused frictions between Al Qaeda and tribal elements.’/ppBut the official acknowledged that the intensified operations have so far failed to shake Al Qaeda’s hold on the tribal areas./p

pROME – Italy has given up the chance of taking part in a pending initial evaluation stage within the Joint Strike Fighter program, the apparent consequence of budget cuts./ppWhile it remains a program partner, intending to buy up to 131 aircraft, and has invested in the development phase, Italy will no longer exercise an option to buy two low-rate production fighters which it would have used in the early testing and evaluation phase of the aircraft./pp”Italy was studying the possibility of joining the F-35 Initial Operational Test and Evaluation phase but has elected not to participate at this time,” a Lockheed Martin official told Reuters./ppLockheed Martin officials have previously said Italy was mulling the purchase of one fighter from the third stage of the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) stage, and one from the fourth./ppAn Italian defense official confirmed that as a result of withdrawing from the initial test and evaluation phase of the aircraft, Italy would not be buying the two low-rate production aircraft./ppNow, Britain and the Netherlands are the only other partners on the U.S. led program scheduled to take part in the initial operational test and evaluation program./ppItaly’s decision to give up its role in the phase comes as the Italian government cuts military spending in 2009 by 6.9 percent, leaving a draft budget of 15.4 billion euros ($20.9 billion). Spending on investment, which includes procurement, is down 20.6 percent from 3.64 billion to 2.89 billion euros./p

Two French fighter jets collided off the coast of Brittany on Wednesday and one of the two pilots was found while the other was being searched for, the Defence Ministry said.br /br /The two Super-Etendard jets, made by Dassault Aviation, crashed during a training exercise at around 5:10 p.m. (1510 GMT) 27 km (17 miles) north of the town of Morlaix, on the French region’s northern coast, the French Navy said in a statement.br /p A spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry said the planes collided during the exercise./pspan id=”midArticle_2″/span One pilot was able to eject and was recovered “apparently in good health” by a search team, but the second was missing late on Wednesday, the Navy’s statement said.

span class=”t13″The United States government said Tuesday it had approved the sale to Israel of 25 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and an option for 50 more in coming years, for a deal valued at up to $15.2 billion.br /br /The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the deal is vital to U.S. national security interests to assist Israel as it develops and to maintain “a strong and ready self-defense capability.”br /br //spanspan class=”t13″Israel needs the aircraft built by the Lockheed Martin Corp to enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground defense, the agency said.br /br /The DSCA notified Congress about the proposed sale before lawmakers head back to their districts for the November election. Lawmakers now have 30 days to block the sales, but such action is rare, since the agreements are usually carefully vetted beforehand.br /br /The Israeli embassy in Washington made a concerted effort to have the deal approved by the current Congress, and a critical development in the legislation was achieved this weekend.br /br /The next stage would be Israeli and American defense officials signing the agreement, enabling the provision of the aircraft by 2014.br /br /The Pentagon agency said Israel wants to buy an initial 25 F-35s in the Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) configuration, with an option to buy an additional 50 F-35 CTOL or Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft.br /br /All aircraft would be equipped with either the F-135 engine built by Pratt and Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, or the F-136 engine being developed by General Electric Co. and Britain’s Rolls-Royce.br /br /Lockheed Martin said it welcomes the decision. “As the first potential foreign military sale of the F-35, this would be an important first step in expanding interest in the Joint Strike Fighter beyond the U.S. government and eight international F-35 partner nations,” said Lockheed spokesman Tom Jurkowsky.br /br /Earlier in September the Pentagon approved up to $330 million in three separate arms deals for Israel.br /br /Top Israeli and U.S. officials met in Washington last month for the most senior bilateral high-tech talks between the two allies. Discussions focused in part on ensuring that sensitive technologies were not passed to third parties.br /br /An Israeli embassy spokesman called the latest deal further proof of the countries’ special relationship, as Israel is the first country outside NATO to receive the aircraft, each of which cost about $50 million.br /br /The Israel Air Force is expected to send pilots to the U.S. to train on the planes once the sale is complete. Israel’s military industry will also be involved in the aircraft’s operation, providing various electronic support systems.br /br /Acquisition of the plane represents a significant boost to Israel’s security capabilities, as it can be used both for bombing missions and in aerial combat, possessing advanced stealth capabilities.br /br /Senior security officials and the Israel Defense Forces General Staff expressed broad support for the sale, but some senior IDF officers expressed dissatisfaction with its timing. They said the sale should have been postponed by a year and the funds used to buy tank defense systems and armored personnel carriers, two elements they said are currently lacking among ground forces.br /br /The F-35 can flying large distances without refueling and can cover the distance between Israel and Iran. It is designed to carry a variety of advanced weapons and radar devices.br /br /The F-35 is considered the “last manned aircraft,” as aviation experts believe aerial combat will be conducted largely by unmanned aircraft in the coming years. Its maiden flight was in December 2006.br /br /Israel had expressed interest in acquiring the F-22, considered the only “fifth-generation” combat aircraft in the world, but was prevented from doing so by a U.S. Congress bill prohibiting its sale to any other countries in order to preserve the combat superiority of the U.S. Air Force.br /br /While the F-22 uses a twin engine, the F-35 runs on a high-powered single engine designed by Pratt amp; Whitney.br /br /Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin is expected to complete its sale of 102 F-16 aircraft to Israel by the end of the year. /span