Two Russian pilots were reportedly killed when their MiG-31 Foxhound crashed in the Perm region of Russia. The crash apparently occurred immediately after takeoff; Russia grounded its MiG-31 fleet while it investigates the cause of the crash.
The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1973 authorizing “all necessary means” except an invasion to enforce a no-fly zone and “protect civilians” in Libya. China, Russia, Germany, Brazil and India abstained from the vote. The UN Security Council:
Authorizes Member States…to take all necessary measures…to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya…while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.
Establish[es] a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians;
Authorizes Member States…to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights…
Fighter pilots and other American military members around the world are undoubtedly preparing for their eventual role in this conflict, which, like virtually every other conflict since Korea, remains politically controversial. (For example, The Washington Times quotes then-candidate and Senator Barack Obama apparently contradicting his current actions as President.)
Ironically, Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi tried to paint this latest conflict as a Christian crusade against Muslims: Read more
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has reportedly said the Russian T-50, sometimes dubbed the “F-22ski”
will be superior to our main competitor, the F-22, in terms of maneuverability, weaponry and range.
One would certainly hope an aircraft first flown in 2010 — with a planned employment date of 2015 — would at least claim to be superior to one developed more than 20 years ago; the YF-22 first flew in 1990. Also, the news report, seeking to highlight something significant, quoted this from the Russian releases: Read more
Several news reports announced that Russia has tested a fighter intended to be in the class of the F-22. A picture in the Associated Press article published by Fox News shows the Russian T-50 with what is a fairly common Sukhoi profile (elongated fuselage and “goose neck” raised cockpit). The aircraft appears to be twin-engine and twin-tail.
Oddly, fielding an aircraft that is supposed to rival the F-22 is a poor goal, since the Raptor is more than 20 years old. Skeptics said the T-50 was a pretty airframe with no notable avionics or even significantly updated engines. Even more ironically, the Russian government is facing the same criticism as the US Defense Department did over the F-22:
“There is no mission and no adversary for such plane,” [Alexander] Konovalov [of the Institute of Strategic Assessment] said.
It would seem the challenges of defense technology and acquisition know no political boundaries.