Weapons & Technologies

Leopard 1 tank

Training for the Mission – Ukrainians Learn to Operate the Leopard 1 A5

Every tank feels different. Controls on a T-72 ask for muscle memory, while the Leopard’s clutch and gearbox demand a softer touch. “The Leo turns quicker and keeps speed on hills,” one Ukrainian trainee explains through a volunteer interpreter. “That helps when you must leave cover fast.” His words match the design. The Leopard 1 weighs about forty tonnes – light for a main battle tank – and its MTU diesel pushes it beyond 60 km/h on a firm road.

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F-35

Will the U.S. Retrofit Older F-35s to Fight or Buy New?

The Pentagon owns many early-lot F-35s that cannot meet full combat standards. Commanders now stand at a fork in the road: pour money into deep retrofits or buy fresh jets straight off Lockheed Martin’s moving line in Fort Worth. Vice Adm. Mat Winter, then head of the Joint Program Office, told reporters on Sept 18 that annual production would climb from forty-six aircraft in 2016 to about one hundred thirty in 2018 and rise again afterward.

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ISRO's Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator

Successful Flight Testing of ISRO’s Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator

The Indian Space Research Organisation marked a decisive step toward air-breathing launch systems with the first flight of its Scramjet Engine Technology Demonstrator from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 06:00 IST on 28 August 2016. A twelve-hour countdown ended with a clean lift-off of the Advanced Technology Vehicle-D02, a two-stage RH-560 solid booster adapted to carry twin hydrogen-fuelled scramjet modules on the back of its second stage.

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US Approves Sale of 22 Guardian Drones to India

Ahead of Modi Visit, US Approves Sale of 22 Guardian Drones to India

The United States has cleared the sale of twenty-two MQ-9B Guardian unmanned aircraft to India, opening a path for New Delhi to field its first long-endurance maritime surveillance fleet just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Donald Trump. U.S. officials notified both the Indian government and manufacturer General Atomics of the State Department decision on 21 June, valuing the package at two to three billion dollars.

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