UK May Borrow F-18s For Carriers; F-35Bs May Be Scrapped   DOD Buzz --By Colin Clark Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 10:22 am   Britain’s Conservative government, faced with enormous deficits, may launch its Queen Elizabeth class carriers without airplanes to put on them as it considers early retirement for its Harrier jump jets.   The two 65,000 ton carriers are built into the UK’s defense budget, but new airplanes are not. Scrapping the Harriers early, combined with delays to the Joint

Eurofighter offers Typhoon for Polish air force   Flight Global -- By Bartosz Glowacki   The Eurofighter consortium has made its debut appearance at Poland’s International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, with the Typhoon being promoted as a potential replacement for the nation’s RSK MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-22M4 strike aircraft.   With sources suggesting that Poland’s defence ministry plans to upgrade some of its current assets, Eurofighter representatives say: “The price of

Australia, China inspect fighter jets The Sydney Morning Herald -- September 13, 2010 - 6:29PM   Australia and China have played show-and-tell with their jet fighter aircraft ... in a gesture of transparency.   Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said it underlined the Australian Defence Force's good relationship with China's defence force, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) - one not shared by the Americans.   He said it was a reciprocal arrangement.   When PLA chief o

On the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks in the United States, a former associate of Osama bin Laden has written a lengthy open letter to the Al Qaeda leader, highly critical of the organization’s actions, and laying out all the negative repercussions of them, on the entire world, both Muslim and non-Muslim.   Noman Benotman, a former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group commander, who fought in the Afghan war against the Soviets alongside Osama bin Laden, writes to the Al Qaeda number

Errant drone near DC almost met by fighter jets   By LOLITA C. BALDOR (AP) – 13 hours ago   WASHINGTON — The U.S. military almost launched fighter jets and discussed a possible shoot-down when an errant Navy drone briefly veered into restricted airspace near the nation's capital last month, a senior military official said Thursday.   The incident underscores safety concerns with unmanned aircraft as defense officials campaign to use them more often during natural disasters and for homeland

WASHINGTON — In the most dangerous valley of the most rugged corner of eastern Afghanistan, a small rifle team of airborne soldiers fell into a vicious insurgent ambush, a coordinated attack from three sides.   A young Army specialist, Salvatore A. Giunta, took a bullet to the chest but was saved by the heavy plates of his body armor. Shaking off the punch from the insurgent round, he jumped up and pulled two wounded soldiers to safety before grabbing hand grenades and running up the t