The titanium will be used to manufacture airframe structures for all three F-35 JSF variants: The F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, the F-35B Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft and the F-35C Carrier Variant (CV). Under a different existing contract, Alcoa will use the metal to forge all of the largest titanium bulkheads—the “backbone” of the aircraft structure—for the CTOL variant at its Cleveland, Ohio operations. Approximately 75 percent of all F-35s produced are CTOLs.

The F-35 Lightning II is an advanced fighter aircraft combining stealth, speed and agility, designed for many kinds of missions. Lockheed Martin’s full-rate production goal is 13 aircraft a month by the mid-2020s, up from an average of three aircraft delivered per month in 2014.

Kano, Nigeria - More than 100 Boko Haram militants were killed in an attack on a Nigerian army barracks in Goniri area of Yobe state early on Wednesday morning, a military spokesperson said.

Seven soldiers were killed while nine others were wounded in the attack, Colonel Sani Usman said.

"On the last count over 100 terrorists bodies were seen, unfortunately however, seven of our gallant soldiers paid the supreme price while defending our fatherland, while one officer and eight soldiers were wounded in action," he said.

Machine guns, AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were recovered from the militants.

Meanwhile, at least 16 people died after two suicide bombers attacked a housing estate in north-east Nigeria on Wednesday, the head of the region's emergency services said.

I rather doubt that will get anywhere. Egypt and Jordan are the US's strongest allies there after Saudi Arabia. Better PR too as they're more moderate compared to Saudi.

The Navy is preparing to send a ship inside the 12-mile territorial limit China claims for its man-made island chain in the South China Sea, according to military officials.

The action could take place within days but awaits final approval from the Obama administration, the officials told Navy Times.

Plans to send a warship through the contested space in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands have been rumored since May, but three Pentagon officials who spoke to Navy Times on background to discuss future operations say Navy officials believe approval of the mission is imminent.

If approved, it would be the first time since 2012 that the Navy has directly challenged China's claims to the islands' territorial limits.

NEW YORK — Indonesia is considering using drones and submarines to strengthen its grip over the gas-rich waters around the Natuna Islands in response to China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea.

These comments by Indonesia’s security chief Luhut Panjaitan in an opinion piece yesterday (Oct 7) in the Kompas newspaper represent some of the most direct yet by the nation over China’s claims in the water. They highlight unease in the government even as it maintains it is not a party to regional disputes over the waters.

new docu coming up...battle of bakara-teaser

Confirm Malaysia cannot buy now!

Last time Hilang engine, now Hilang air frame

US only allow close allies to buy it... why u think US is selling f16 to indon? cause they are going to sell f35 to singkie...

I was hoping Malaysia won't buy that crap plane!

Just wanted to make fun of their titanium air frame kena curi and resold for profit

Pafka50 all the way babey

even if msia decides to buy they wont be offered to msia..

even if msia wants to buy pakfa it would be a nerfed version and msia dont have the $$$

Good thing we're (hopefully) not interested la!

A nerfed pafka is still a better deal 😂😂

No money nvm, got palm oil!!!!haha

Malaysia are offered to join the JSF programme back in... aku pun dah lupa
but we politely decline and give janji palsu kata nak beli super hornet 

Tailor-made to meet Pakistan's war hostilities with arch rival India, the Type 41 submarine is being fitted with Air-Independent Propulsion system (AIP), and would also be equipped with Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capabilities. This crucial technological element would be especially useful in case of an Indian blockade of Pakistan’s coast and could give New Delhi grounds to pause before deploying its planned new aircraft carrier-the INS Vikrant. Notably, AIP adds stealth by reducing the noise dissipated during a submarine's displacement below the ocean surface.

According to TNI, "while Moscow has not identified its [mobile] reconnaissance platforms, pictures of [a] Russian Il-20M Coot flying over the battlefield have popped up on social media."

"Based on the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop airliner, these four-engined planes are rough equivalents to the US Air Force's family of RC-135 aerial spies," TNI explains.

A Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft.

TNI cites journalist and military aviation blogger David Cenciotti, who reported on the plane and its capabilities last month, citing a source which suggested that at least one Il-20M had "already arrived in Syria to reinforce the Russian contingent."

"The Il-20 is an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) platform," Cenciotti explained. "It is equipped with a wide array of antennas, AR (Infrared) and Optical sensors, a SLAR (Side-Looking Airborne Radar) and satellite communications equipment for real-time data sharing. The aircraft," according to the expert, "is the Russian Air Force's premiere spyplane."

According to Cenciotti, the Coot will be used to "perform intelligence gathering missions, eavesdropping into IS militants communications, detecting their systems' emissions to build an Electronic Order of Battle of ISIS in the region, and pinpointing their positions."

The Russian Navy communications ship Vasily Tatishchev, seen here at the Kaliningrad Region harbor of Baltiysk.

With officials telling Russian media that the ship will be involved in "monitoring the situation on the airwaves both in Syria and all neighboring countries, including their territorial waters," TNI emphasized that the ship's "appearance in the area seems anything but routine…With Moscow highlighting the use of signals intelligence, it's unlikely the 3,400-ton" ship will be "there to simply monitor the situation."

This triggered a quick reaction from the Russian Defense Ministry, with spokesman Igor Konashenkov saying that all the missiles had hit their targets on Wednesday. “Unlike CNN, we don’t distribute information citing anonymous sources, but show the very missile launches and the way they hit their targets almost in real time,” Konashenkov said. The spokesman pointed out that the strike targets are being photographed before and after being hit, while Russian drones are monitoring the situation from Syrian skies 24/7.

The high precision strikes might have been “unpleasant and surprising for our colleagues in the Pentagon,” but the fact is that “the missiles launched from the ships hit their targets,” he said.
“Otherwise one would have to acknowledge that IS facilities – located at a considerable distance from each other – exploded all by themselves,” Konashenkov said.

The Krasukha-4 is a broad-band multifunctional jamming system designed to neutralise Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) spy satellites such as the US Lacrosse/Onyx series, airborne surveillance radars and radar-guided ordinance at ranges between 150km to 300km. The system is reported to be able to cause damage to the enemy’s EW systems and communications. The Krasukha-4 system works by creating powerful jamming at the fundamental radar frequencies and other radio-emitting sources.

Lt General Hodges, the commander of US Army Forces Europe, commented that Russia had demonstrated a high level of offensive EW proficiency against Ukrainian forces in Donbas using a first foreign deployment of the Krasukha-4 system.

So how can the Krasukha-4 be used to cloak Russia’s operations in Syria? In words – partially effectively. Its surveillance systems will not only be able to monitor NATO aircraft movement over Syria but also the types, and from its intelligence it will know the frequencies used and signal characteristics present – Lacrosse satellites and AWACS operate in S-band, Sentinel (and similar) in X-band, and drones in J-band. Lacrosse/Onyx satellite positions are continually tracked by Russia. With this intelligence detail the Krasukha-4 can be programmed to engage in order to deny or disrupt NATO intelligence gathering.

But it is not all one way – US and NATO intelligence gatherers will have “electronic counter counter measures” (ECCM) to combat Russian EW interference – and so the cat and mouse game of the Cold War is repeated. Intelligence gathering and radar-guided munitions will suffer some disruption and mistakes may be made but operations will continue.

ECCM may include being frequency agile and dodging the jamming signal or pointing the receive antenna away slightly from the jamming source. There are also many tricks that can be played with signal processing that will mitigate the effects of jamming. Of course, it would also be possible for NATO to jam the Russian surveillance radar, denying them of identification and positioning of NATO aircraft – but this would really ramp up the war of words with Vladimir Putin. We must also accept that the Krasukha-4 EW system is an essential part of the defence of Russian forces at the Latakia airfield in Syria and this must not be denied them.