暌違十多年，多架美國空軍B52轟炸機，最近已經從美國本土飛抵關島駐防。美國軍方也動用了大筆經費，準備整建關島的軍用設施。美軍拒絕討論中國崛起時，關島將扮演什麼角色。不過，夏威夷軍事專家表示，美國的用意雖然沒有威脅中國的意思，但頗具有嚇阻作用。

巴基斯坦空軍成功試飛JF-17戰機 對其表現滿意
2004-04-12 09:55:26

New Iraqi Air Force in Training
新伊拉克空軍

Sat Apr 17,12:47 PM ET Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!

By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)s once mighty air force is being rebuilt from scratch but without planes for now and with just 100 men who are currently undergoing training in Jordan, the U.S.-led coalition announced Saturday.

By October, the Iraqi air force is expected to have a small fleet of light reconnaissance planes, a pair of Boeing C-130 Hercules transport craft and six Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopters.

That fleet will triple by next April, when the force is expected to swell to 500, but there are no plans to purchase any fighter-jets or bombers, U.S. and British military officials told reporters Saturday.

In May, the U.S.-led coalition disbanded Iraqs once massive armed forces. A new force is being reconstituted, mainly for internal security purposes.

Iraqs previous air force was once considered the best in the Arab world. Founded in 1931, it fought in numerous conflicts in the Middle East, battling the British in 1941 and Israel in 1948 and 1967.

Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) invested a huge portion of the countrys oil wealth to equip the force during the 1980-88 war with Iran. At its zenith in the late 1980s, it listed nearly 750 combat aircraft, including Soviet MiGs and Sukhois and French Mirage fighters.

Iraqs air force fell apart after two wars with the United States and a dozen years of international sanctions, dropping to just 100 air-worthy jets by 2002. Saddams military tried to salvage its last few planes by burying them in the desert.

U.S. forces unearthed the planes, which had their wings snapped off by the weight of the sand. The grit also destroyed the planes avionics and hydraulic systems, the officials said. None of the old Iraqi air force, once worth billions, can be returned to service, the officials said. Many of the craft are being cut up for scrap.

Iraq also to announce the creation of a 400-member Iraqi Coastal Defense Force next week, which will patrol the countrys 50-mile coastline with a fleet of five patrol boats, a U.S. military official said. Saddams regime bought the boats from China, but they were blocked from reaching Iraq. The craft are currently being refurbished in the United Arab Emirates, the official said.

Iraqs air and naval forces will operate under the nominal control of the just-established Iraqi Ministry of Defense, which itself is subordinate to the U.S.-led coalition military here. Even after some sovereignty is handed to an interim Iraqi government — scheduled to take place on June 30 — the U.S. military will retain command over Iraqs defense forces, including the air force and coastal defense forces.

Senior Iraqi air force staff will be sent to the United States for training, according to the U.S.-led coalition authority. A yet-to-be-selected Iraqi major general will command the force, the coalition said.

The air forces chief role will be to patrol Iraqs international borders with Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Most of the force will be stationed at former Iraqi air bases in Baghdad and Taji, just north of the Iraqi capital. Smaller units will be based in the northern city of Kirkuk and Basra in the south.

Indonesian air force to buy eight more Russian jet fighters
印尼將購買更多蘇愷戰機
JAKARTA

The Indonesian air force will buy eight more Sukhoi jet fighters from Russia to add to its existing four, its chief said.
We will buy eight more Sukhois from Russia to make a squadron of jet fighters, Air Marshal Chappy Hakim was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying. An Indonesian air force squadron consists of 12 fighters.
The military bought four Sukhoi jet fighters and two Mi-35 helicopters from Russia last year under a controversial counter-trade scheme worth 191 mln usd.
With eight more Sukhois, we will have a squadron of jet fighters this year and we will likely have three squadrons of Sukhois in the future, Hakim said.
He did not say how much money will be spent on the eight Sukhois or when they will arrive.
The armed forces have been looking for new suppliers to get round Western restrictions on military sales.
The air force currently has mainly US and British aircraft but has been hard hit by a US arms embargo imposed in 1999. Only about 40 pct of its planes are airworthy, according to a report last September.
Washington refuses to lift the embargo until the country comes clean on its militarys backing of militia violence in East Timor in 1999.

編譯霍達文／美聯社洛杉磯十八日電

波音公司一架Ｘ４５Ａ型無人駕駛飛機十八日向愛德華茲空軍基地一輛卡車投下一枚炸彈，以測試這種飛機的作戰能力。

這架飛機由人監看，但卻是自動駕駛。

飛機在沙漠中的基地起飛，不久就打開炸彈艙艙艙門，投下一枚一百一十二點五公斤的精靈炸彈後，然後在基地降落。

這枚炸彈命中地點距離卡車只有一公尺。波音公司說，假如這枚炸彈之內有炸藥，卡車早就被炸毀了。

波音公司發言人荷爾頓：「對於我們來說，這絕對是向前邁出的一大步，顯示無人駕駛飛機的確有能力攜帶炸彈」。

工作人員事前把目標的座標輸入電腦，並後用全球定位系統調整飛彈的方向。

荷爾頓從距離目標一百廿八公里的指揮所下達投彈命令，以每小時七百一十公里速度飛行的飛機隨即在一萬零五百公尺的空中投下精靈炸彈。

美國軍方希望使用這種飛機執行危險任務，如轟炸敵方雷達和地對空飛彈基地，以為後來的飛行員開路。

Ｘ４５Ａ型無人駕駛飛機翼展十點二公尺，空機重三點六噸，是歷來首架專門供攜帶炸彈飛進戰場用的無人駕駛飛機。

美國另一些無人駕駛飛機，如在阿富汗使用的掠食者間諜機，均已經過改良，可以攜帶武器。

波音公司希望生產數百架這種飛機。這種飛機每架造價約為一千萬到一千五百萬美元。