Quwa

Algeria receives first two Mi-26T2 Halo helicopters

By Bilal Khan August 28 2015 The Algerian Air Force recently received the first two of 14 Mi-26T2 Halo heavy-lift helicopters from Russia. The Mi-26T2 is the latest variant of the Soviet-era system (which first flew in 1977), and it is equipped with the…

DoD awards contract to Bell for Pakistani AH-1Z

by Bilal Khan 1768Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In April 2015 Pakistan submitted a request for the sale of 15 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters alongside 1,000 AGM-114R Hellfire-II multipurpose air-to-surface missiles for $952mn U.S. The U.S Department of Defense has just awarded Bell to build the first two…

Bangladesh orders 7 Mi-171 helicopters

by Bilal Khan 1747Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Building upon its recent surge in commercial ties with Russia, Bangladesh just signed onto purchasing seven Mi-171 Hip helicopters from Moscow. The order is composed of six Mi-171Sh assault-transport helicopters and one Mi-171E transport helicopter. The Mi-171Sh is an assault variant…

First Hints of AESA Radar on JF-17 Block-III?

by Bilal Khan 1761Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan DefenseNews published an interesting article the other day about a Chinese firm, NAV Technology, putting out a marketing document showing a fighter radar that is identical to the Israeli Elta ELM-2052 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. I am not…

Pakistan Interested in Yak-130?

by Bilal Khan 1772Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In the aftermath of the recently concluded order of 4 Mi-35 attack/transport helicopters, there are a few media reports floating about purporting that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is "eyeing" the Yak-130 advanced jet trainer. The whole topic of 'lead-in-fighter-trainers' (or LIFT)…

With Mi-35 Pakistan Modernizes Fleet

by Bilal Khan 1774Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In April the U.S Defense Security Cooperation Agency sent Congress a request to approve a near $1bn US sale involving AH-1Z 'Viper' attack helicopters and 1000 AGM-114R Hellfire II missiles to the Pakistan Army. Around this time the Pakistan Army…

The JF-17 II: Introducing BVR & Precision Strike

by Bilal Khan 1945Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan In my previous piece I took a high level look at the JF-17 program, and in broad strokes I identified the improvements it brought (and will continue) to bring to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). With this article, I am…

Why the Rafale is a Big Deal for Egypt

by Bilal Khan 1750Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Egypt’s purchase of the Dassault Rafale was unexpected, but the fact that this very impressive deal was not reported widely was surprising. The first batch of three aircraft (out of an order for 24) were formally handed over to the…

No Sanctions for the Iranian Military

by Bilal Khan 1776Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan Last week IHS Jane’s 360 released an interesting analysis of how the recent Iranian nuclear deal would have an impact on steering the ‘Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force’ (IRIAF) towards its modernization aims. The agreement set between Iran and…

India’s MMRCA Woes Continue

by Bilal Khan 1725Views 0Likes

By Bilal Khan It is not an understatement to state that India’s Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program has been a very long and arduous journey for the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Indian Government, and the many suppliers (particularly France’s Dassault) looking…