France is sending its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle Libya to expand the air campaign against the forces of Muammar Qaddafi. The ship, carrying 20 military aircraft, most of them Rafale and Super Etendard jets older, two helicopters and surveillance aircraft E-2 Hawkeye, leave the port of Toulon, southern France, at 9am (GMT).
According to French military, the Charles de Gaulle is 24 hours of the Libyan coast, but may take 36 to 48 hours to reach the site after loading the fighter jets and landing exercises.
The aircraft carriers would be escorted by three frigates - the antissubmarino Duplex, The antiaircraft Forbin and AconiteWith Stealth technology - and the tanker La Meuse. The French naval group will be protected by a nuclear submarine, the military added.
The French warplanes continued making reconnaissance flights in Libya on Sunday morning as part of the expanded role of the West in the Arab world since the invasion of Iraq led by the USA in 2003.
Yesterday, the Jets led the action western France, with four air strikes on Libya, destroying several armored forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. The attacks came before the U.S. warships and a submarine firing the UK at least 100 Tomahawk missiles against the batteries of radar and antiaircraft missiles from Qaddafi.
The intervention was authorized by Resolution 1973 the Security Council of the United Nations, which allowed the use of force to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan forces Qaddafi.
In brief audio message broadcast on state television last night, Gaddafi described the action as "an unwarranted and barbaric aggression of the Crusaders." He vowed to retaliate with attacks on civilian and military targets in the Mediterranean. The information is of Dow Jones.
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- U.S. naval forces participated in a Tomahawks missile strike March 19 on Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn designed to set the conditions for a coalition no-fly zone.
Arleigh Burke-class, guided-missile destroyers USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Barry (DDG 52) and submarines USS Providence (SSN 719), USS Scranton (SSN 756) and USS Florida (SSGN 728) participated in the strike.
More than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles were used in the strike by U.S. and British ships and submarines against Libyan air defense, surface-to-air missile sites and communication nodes.
The U.S. Joint Task Force (JTF) is commanded by Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, III, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, and is operating from the USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20), currently deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to the task force command ship, and the five ships and subs that took part in the strikes, the JTF includes USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), and USS Ponce (LPD 15).
Pakistan's Defence Ministry has asked the federal cabinet to approve the purchase of conventional Chinese submarines to counter "emerging threats" that the country faces, according to a media report on Wednesday.
The acquisition of the Chinese vessels will pave the way for joint development of conventional submarines, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted unnamed officials as saying.
The Defence Ministry informed members of the cabinet that the Pakistan Navy is facing a "critical force imbalance" in terms of the number of submarines and ships in its fleet.
The "capability gap is widening exponentially with the passage of time", the report said.
In view of "urgent naval requirements", the issue of acquiring Chinese submarines was part of the talking points for President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to China in 2009.
The matter was also discussed during the Chinese premier's visit to Pakistan in 2010, the report said.
The cabinet has been told that Naval Headquarters had pursued the purchase of submarines with Chinese authorities.
A "mutually agreed draft protocol" is to be signed between the Pakistan Navy and the relevant Chinese department as a first step towards the joint development of conventional submarines.
The first F-35C test aircraft (CF-1) flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time over a test range near the Navy and Marine Corps F-35 integrated test facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River March 4.
During a test flight to expand the flutter envelope, CF-1 reached Mach 1.02 at 30,000 feet with U.S. Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Matt Taylor at the controls.
“It’s great to be part of bringing stealth capability to the big-deck carriers,” said Taylor. “We accomplished a large number of test points, and CF-1 handled great going past Mach 1. It was a privilege for me to take the F-35C over that milestone for the first time.”
CF-1 gathered enough supersonic flutter data for the team to continue supersonic envelope expansion in the near future.
Flutter is an evaluation of structural loads on the aircraft experienced at various speeds and while performing prescribed maneuvers. The test and evaluation team at NAS Patuxent River will expand the flutter envelope to demonstrate the required durability and reliability of the aircraft in advance of delivery of the aircraft to the fleet.
The F-35C is distinct from the F-35A and F-35B variants with its larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear for greater control in the demanding carrier take-off and landing environment. Carrier suitability testing for the F-35C variant is scheduled to begin later this year with land-based catapult and jet blast deflector testing.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program is in the system development and demonstration phase, focusing on delivering three different, new aircraft variants to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The integrated test force at NAS Patuxent River is focused on testing and evaluation of the F-35B and F-35C.
The Russian built Indian Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya has begun mooring trials on March 1 in Russia. The order to start testing was signed by Sevmash Director General Nikolai Sevmash Kalistratov. Sevmash, the agency which is involved in transformation of the carrier says that this is a serious step in the modernization of the ship, particularly marked in the master schedule building.
Outfitting work entered its final stage. The ship has been gradually populated with the equipment, machinery, pipes, cables, and now all this must be checked in different modes. Tests will be conducted on special programs and techniques.
As per sevmash, the most difficult and important test will be the main power plant. The second major task will be to check electronic armament complexes, including complexes of Indian origin and aviation facilities ships. Mooring tests will be important for testing training systems and equipment. The factory sea trials has been planned to begin in late 2011.
Mooring trials of the first Indian frigate started at Yantar shipyard (Kaliningrad). All shipborne systems will be tested during a 2-month stay at the shipyard quay.
The ship announced her birth with a loud siren. First tentatively nodding and then self-confidently bowing barrels of AK-630 rapid-fire gun, the ship complimented her creators. Although mooring trials is not a sortie yet, but almost all workers of assembling shop came to watch the ship's first moves.
Four years of construction have been left behind. There was an array of problems – lack of financing, misunderstanding with equipment suppliers, deficiency of qualified workers. All that things had negative impact on the shipbuilding schedule. But at last the ship is almost completed.
Today the work is humming in all compartments, in pilot room, in commanding officer's battle station.
Representatives of all supplying companies arrived to Yantar from all across Russia to assemble and adjust the equipment. Most of systems have been already put into operation, although pre-start adjustments have not been completed so far.
The ship must be ready for fueling by the end of March; after that, trial runs of diesel generators and main propulsion units will be held. Sea trials are going to start in May; the frigate is planned to be delivered in September.
The First F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft (BF-1) completed its 100th flight with BAE test pilot Peter Wilson at the controls. BF-1 flew in short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) mode to continue expansion of the STOVL flight envelope to demonstrate design durability and in preparation for shipboard testing scheduled for later this year. The F-35B is the first JSF variant with two aircraft completing 100 flights and will be the first stealth fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps and is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River.
