Description
Added on the 23/02/2024 17:18:31 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Footage released by the US Air Force, shot on 14 March 2023, shows two Russian Su-27 aircraft flying close to a US MQ-9 unmanned aircraft over the Black Sea. The US Air Force has said the Russian jets conducted "an unsafe and unprofessional intercept", dumping fuel on the aircraft and striking its propeller, forcing Washington to bring down the MQ-9 Reaper drone in international waters. Moscow denied its aircraft had damaged the unmanned drone and said on Wednesday that it would try to retrieve the wreckage and also warned that it would react "proportionately" to any future US "provocations" as tensions. IMAGES
"When it comes to fighter combat aircraft, of course, they are part of the conversation" says British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he says nothing is off the table when it comes to UK military aid for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been stepping up his demands for Western help ahead of talks with EU leaders. SOUNDBITE
On the last day of a NATO summit in Madrid, United States President Joe Biden says that the US "should sell" modern F-16 fighter jets to Turkey when asked by a journalist as to whether he offered them to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a quid pro quo. "It's not in our interest not to do that", he adds. SOUNDBITE
French Defence minister Florence Parly attends a ceremony in India marking the induction of Rafale fighter jets into the Indian Air Force. India has bought 36 Rafale fighters from France in a deal estimated to be worth $9.4 billion. All are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021. IMAGES
The air show, organised by both the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Rostec State Corporation, involved Russian helicopters such as the Mi-26, Mi-35, Ka-52 models, as well as aircraft such as the Aermacchi MB-339s, T-50 and Sukhoi Su-34. The event, taking place from July 18-23, is set to feature some 84 aircraft from eight airborne crews performing over the course of the event, in which more than 770 companies representing 30 countries will participate.