Latest news with #F-15s
Asahi Shimbun
18-07-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Estimated cost to upgrade ASDF's F-15s rises 150% to 1 trillion yen
The estimated cost of equipping the Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 fighter jets with 'standoff missiles' capable of hitting enemy bases has surged to more than 1 trillion yen ($6.7 billion), sources told The Asahi Shimbun. That is more than 1.5 times the Defense Ministry's initial estimate, and the increase will likely delay deployment of the upgraded aircraft, currently scheduled for fiscal 2027, the ministry sources said. The upgrade plan is a pillar in the Self-Defense Forces' efforts to strengthen its response capabilities to China's maritime expansion. The U.S. military started operating the F-15 in the 1970s. Of the 200 F-15s owned by the ASDF, 68 relatively newer models will be upgraded with the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) with a range of about 900 kilometers. The plan also calls for installing new radar and electronic warfare equipment on the fighter jets. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will upgrade the aircraft with technical cooperation from Boeing Co. of the United States. The F-15s are expected to be operational until around 2050. In fiscal 2021, the Defense Ministry calculated the estimated cost of upgrading and testing the 68 aircraft at 646.5 billion yen. However, rising expenses for development tests, the weakened yen and inflation prompted the ministry to re-estimate the cost. It was 1.16 trillion yen as of March this year. The F-15 upgrade plan began in fiscal 2019, and it was revised in fiscal 2021 due to ballooning costs. But even under the revised plan, costs continued to soar. Since spring, the ministry has informed manufacturers and others involved in the project that 'deployment of the upgraded aircraft, which had been scheduled for fiscal 2027, is expected to be delayed,' according to sources. They said there is a possibility the fighter jets may not be ready by fiscal 2028. On the other hand, the standoff missiles to be mounted on the F-15s have been budgeted since fiscal 2023 and are expected to be deployed in fiscal 2027 or later. 'Even if there are missiles, the fighter aircraft that will carry them may not be ready' by fiscal 2027, a ministry official said. The upgrade is being conducted under the framework of the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales program. This allows the U.S. government to act as the negotiating intermediary based on the intentions of U.S. manufacturers and to deal with the Japanese government. Before the upgrade, 'initial expenses' are required for things such as designing the equipment to Japanese specifications and building facilities for the work. Most of these expenses are paid to the U.S. side. The Defense Ministry had appropriated 183.7 billion yen as initial expenses through the fiscal 2024 budget. Although no funds were earmarked for fiscal 2025, a senior ministry official said Japan and the United States were still working out the total amount of initial expenses and that the appropriation has not been completed. 'Once the amount is finalized, we will promptly allocate the rest of the initial expenses,' the official said. In addition, 91.9 billion yen had been appropriated for the upgrade of 20 ASDF aircraft in the fiscal 2023 budget.
Vancouver Sun
17-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight
VANCOUVER — A man who allegedly seized a light aircraft in Victoria, setting off a security scare at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday, has been charged with hijacking and terrorism offences. A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. Provincial Court involving a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria. The man is Shaheer Cassim, who has previously been involved in climate activism. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference in Victoria at the start of a cross-country bicycle trek to raise awareness of global warming. Norad says it scrambled F-15s in response to the alleged hijacking of a Cessna that belonged to the Victoria Flying Club, but the plane landed and the man was arrested before the fighter jets arrived. A spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defence Command says additional F-18 fighters were also being readied to respond, but the Cessna landed at YVR before those planes were deployed. RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by 'some type of protest.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
17-07-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight
VANCOUVER — A man who allegedly seized a light aircraft in Victoria, setting off a security scare at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday, has been charged with hijacking and terrorism offences. Article content A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. Provincial Court involving a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria. Article content Article content Article content The man is Shaheer Cassim, who has previously been involved in climate activism. Article content Article content Norad says it scrambled F-15s in response to the alleged hijacking of a Cessna that belonged to the Victoria Flying Club, but the plane landed and the man was arrested before the fighter jets arrived. Article content A spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defence Command says additional F-18 fighters were also being readied to respond, but the Cessna landed at YVR before those planes were deployed. Article content RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by 'some type of protest.'
Hamilton Spectator
17-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Former commercial pilot charged with hijacking and terrorism over Vancouver flight
VANCOUVER - A man who allegedly seized a light aircraft in Victoria, setting off a security scare at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday, has been charged with hijacking and terrorism offences. A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada provided a court file number that matches a case in B.C. Provincial Court involving a former commercial airline pilot based in Victoria. The man is Shaheer Cassim, who has previously been involved in climate activism. In 2012, Cassim held a news conference in Victoria at the start of a cross-country bicycle trek to raise awareness of global warming. Norad says it scrambled F-15s in response to the alleged hijacking of a Cessna that belonged to the Victoria Flying Club, but the plane landed and the man was arrested before the fighter jets arrived. RCMP have not disclosed a potential motive in the case, but a recorded conversation involving a Vancouver air traffic controller suggests the alleged hijacking may have been motivated by 'some type of protest.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Mamdani just latest mayor wannabe who thinks they can police the world
Should a mayor have a foreign policy? It's a curious thing to have. After all, a mayor might have some control over the police force. Advertisement But they don't have F-15s or B-2 bombers at their command. So why do certain candidates talk as though they do? This week the Democratic front-runner for mayor of this city, Zohran Mamdani, was in the news again for his foreign-policy positions. Advertisement These include his claim that if he is elected in November he will look to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he even sets foot in this city. Mamdani has also suggested that he would also look to arrest the prime minister of India — Narendra Modi — if he comes to New York. Of course if a mayor of New York did have any such powers, then it would be another reason to move the headquarters of the United Nations out of this city. Apart from causing an annual traffic jam the length and breadth of Manhattan, the UN General Assembly always sees an interesting group of people arrive in town. UN is here, remember? Advertisement For instance last year the 'president' of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, was in this city. From the stage on First Avenue, he managed to say with a straight face that 'Iran has never initiated a war' and 'has never occupied the territory of an nation.' The people of Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Gaza, among others, might have watched for Pezeshkian's nose to grow as he made these claims. And the citizens of Israel — who were attacked by Iran's forces on Oct. 7, 2023, might also marvel at the claim that Iran has never started a war. But the unelected and dictatorial 'president' of Iran was allowed to make these remarks anyway. Advertisement Another frequent visitor to this city is the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As well as the aggression that Erdogan consistently wages against the stateless Kurdish people, it might be noted that President Erdogan is also an occupying colonialist. Specifically Erdogan and his government continue to illegally occupy the northern half of Cyprus. Which is an European Union member state. For some reason, I do not hear student-style politicians calling for the immediate arrest of Erdogan. Any more than I hear the same people calling for the arrest of members of the loathsome regime that oppresses the Iranian people. I wonder why people like Mamdani do not urge the arrest of the Turkish or Iranian leadership? Mamdani pretends that he would have no choice but to arrest the elected leader of the world's only Jewish state. Advertisement In a recent interview Mamdani said: 'As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. This is a city that — our values are in line with international law. It's time that our actions are also.' Show your math I mentioned here last week how fantastically economically illiterate Mamdani is. He recently proved that he can't even read a budget sheet and doesn't seem to know the difference between public and private money. Well here he is also demonstrating how legally illiterate he is as well. Perhaps he should have spent the years in which he was trying to be a rapper mugging up on the law instead. Advertisement Indeed the degree that Mamdani did get from Bowdoin College — in African Studies — seems to have done nothing for his education other than make him think that it allows him to identify as an African American. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters But I digress. If Mamdani had spent even a few minutes mugging up on international law, he might have realized that this country wisely never signed up to the Rome Statute and is not a signatory of the International Criminal Court. Advertisement Americans from both sides of the aisle used to recognize that the ICC would become simply another corrupt and politicized international body. So it has proven, with Amal Clooney and a corrupt British Muslim judge using their energies in the past year not to prosecute the leaders of Iran and their terrorist proxies, but the elected prime minister and defense minister of Israel. That's because the ICC is a joke, run by bigoted activist prosecutors who imagine that they are something they are not. The whole court's legitimacy is falling apart. And the decision of Democrats and Republicans in the past that no American soldier or statesman should ever be subjected to trial by a foreign court has been utterly vindicated. Advertisement As a result, this country is under absolutely no obligation to act on the whims or campaigns of the ICC. And whether or not Mamdani ever becomes mayor, the state of New York is not going to suddenly become a signatory of the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. It's all misdirection So what is Mamdani actually doing with such actions? Two things. Firstly he is signaling his own deeply prejudiced worldview. By taking potshots at a Hindu prime minister and a Jewish prime minister, and singling them out for special treatment he is showing who he really is. Presumably he is hoping that his supporters either agree with him or do not notice this. Secondly he is doing what failing mayors always do. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also likes to make pronouncements on the world stage. Most famously he has repeatedly scolded the American public for daring to vote in Donald Trump as president. Well guess what? It doesn't matter. The mayor of London doesn't have a vote in the US elections, and all Khan is doing — like Mamdani — is grandstanding on the world stage because he has failed completely with what he is meant to do. Knife crimes, phone theft, bicycle theft and robberies are an epidemic in London. But Khan doesn't care to deal with those things. It is the same with Mamdani. How will he make New Yorkers safer? How will he clean up the subway or the streets? We have yet to hear. Because Mamdani doesn't know. Watch for this rule of thumb. Mayors grandstand on abroad when their home is falling apart.
