Carrier-based aircraft

Russia's Defense Ministry said Nov. 14 that a fighter jet crashed while attempting to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean off Syria, but the pilot survived.

In a statement to Russian news agencies, the Defense Ministry said the MiG-29K fighter crashed due to a "technical fault" a few kilometers (miles) from the carrier.

Ankara's recent decision to order 24 Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft has brought to the fore a discussion that has been taking place for some years within the Greek armed forces about how Greece can maintain its deterrent capabilities vis a vis Turkey without entering into an arms race with its neighbor.

Just a month after signing a government-to-government deal with France's Dassault Aviation for acquiring 36 Rafale fighter jets, India has hinted that it will purchase 200-300 more fighters, if foreign companies agree to manufacture those aircraft under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' programme.

Ankara is to order a further 24 Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said in an interview with broadcaster A Haber on Tuesday.

Turkey is expected to receive the stealth fighters in 2018.

According to sources, Ankara plans to acquire 116 F-35s to replace its fleet of F-16 jets.

Turkey expects to take delivery of its first Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets in 2018 and has decided to order a second batch, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries said on Oct. 28.

The Bulgarian Defence Ministry has set new technical specifications for its fighter jet tender.

Via the amendments, the purchase of used F-16 fighter jets from Portugal will become the preferred option, stated parliamentary deputies.

After long dilly-dallying, India signed a contract with France on Friday for acquiring 36 Rafale fighter jets. Under the agreement, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation SA is likely to deliver those fighter jets between 36 and 66 months from the date (September 23) the contract is signed in New Delhi.

The Pentagon did not expect "a major design problem" coming from the in-testing stealth F-35 aircraft, an American defense official said on April 27, noting that some 90 percent of the program was complete.        

"The F-35 is no longer a program that keeps me up at night," said Frank Kendall III, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. 

Finally, India has struck a deal with France to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets.

Lockheed Martin Corp and the Pentagon missed their end-of-March target for reaching agreement on $15 billion in new F-35 fighter jets, but should complete work on the contracts in April, according to sources familiar with the matter.

"We're closer now than we were at the beginning of the month," said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly.