Venezuela's Chavez Thanks Russia for Tanks

CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez thanked Russia on Aug. 17 for its sale of 25 tanks and other arms to the South American country, saying they were needed for "defending our sovereignty."

"These arms from Russia, now in Venezuela, will be for defending our sovereignty. Thanks to Russia. A round of applause for Russia," he added, to applause, speaking at a military ceremony to receive the arms.

"I want to thank (Russian) President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister (Vladimir) Putin for these weapons manufactured in the Russian Federation, in sister Russia," Chavez said in a message broadcast by state TV.

The Venezuelan military received 25 tanks and hundreds of other weapons, according to generals present at the ceremony.

Between 2005 and 2007 Venezuela reached deals to buy $4 billion worth of arms from Russia, including Sukhoi fighter jets, combat helicopters and guns.

The Chavez government also secured a $2.2 billion loan in 2010 to purchase Russian T-72 tanks and an undisclosed number of S-300 antiaircraft missiles.

Chavez, a leftist firebrand who often rails against the "imperialist" United States, said Venezuela needed to guard its vast oil and mineral wealth. "We do not seek war with anyone, but we have to defend our country."

Indian Team Visits Moscow for Su T-50 Flight Demo

NEW DELHI - A delegation of Indian military officers and technicians was in Moscow to witness the first public flight Aug. 16 of the Sukhoi T-50, the base platform of the Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) that India and Russia have contracted to develop jointly.

A new Russian twin-engine jet fighter T-50 lands at Zhukovsky airfield as it takes part in MAKS-2011, the International Aviation and Space Show, in Zhukovsky, Russia, on Aug. 14. (Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP)

The aircraft, which made its maiden flight at a Far East airbase in Russia in January 2010, was rolled out for its first public viewing at the MAKS international air show outside Moscow, where two of the sleek silver prototypes are due to perform air stunts Aug. 16 under the watchful eye of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and Russia's Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi Design Bureau are working together to develop and produce the plane.
The two countries have proposed building about 500 FGFAs to meet the needs of both the Indian and Russian air forces. India's FGFA order is expected to cost the country more than $25 billion over the next two decades.
The exact details of the pact between India and Russia on technical collaboration are still not known, Indian Air Force sources said.
But a Defence Ministry official here said that HAL and Rosoboronexport on Dec. 21 signed a preliminary contract for design and development of the aircraft by HAL and the Sukhoi Design Bureau at a cost of $295 million. The preliminary development phase will last 18 months. Full-scale design and development work will be taken up under a separate contract, which will be negotiated and signed toward the end of the preliminary phase, the ministry official said.
The induction of the FGFA into the Indian fleet is to begin in 2018 as the first prototype has already undergone several tests, the official added.
The FGFA will be a stealthy, lethal swing-role fighter with advanced avionics, 360-degree situational awareness, smart weapons, data links and high-end mission computers, the Indian Air Force has said.

Is China Developing a VSTOL Fighter?

TAIPEI - China may have test-flown the J-18 Red Eagle vertical short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) fighter earlier this month, if chatter on Chinese-language military blogs is accurate.
China's defense industry is largely opaque and it is difficult to substantiate Internet chatter. However, Chinese-language military blogs reported the first test flight of the stealthy J-20 Black Eagle fighter in January, much to the surprise of the Western media.

Now there are reports emerging of a test flight of the J-18. Tests were supposedly conducted earlier this month and the fighter is similar to the Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-based fighter.
"In 2005, a Chinese aviation industry source told me the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation was considering a F-35B-like program," said Richard Fisher, vice president of the Washington-based International Assessment and Strategy Center. "Given the PLA's naval power projection ambitions, it is probable there is VSTOL or STOVL [short takeoff and vertical landing] fighter program."
There are "many alleged programs in the Chinese blogosphere," Fisher said.
These include a J-16 built by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), which is a stealthier dedicated attack version of the J-11B (Su-27) multirole fighter with active electronically scanned array radar and an internal weapons bay, which will "reportedly emerge this summer," he said.
China is expected to begin sea trials for its first aircraft carrier this summer. Analysts believe the J-15 Flying Shark, a copy of the Sukhoi Su-33, will be China's first carrier-based fighter. SAC procured an earlier prototype of the Su-33 from the Ukraine in 2001 and the J-15 reportedly conducted its first test flight in mid-2009.
There have also been questionable Chinese-language military blogs providing sketchy reporting on J-17 and J-19 fighter programs. Reportedly, the J-17 is long-range fighter-bomber based on the Russian Sukhoi Su-34 and the J-19 is a heavy multirole fighter based on the J-11B.