Latest news with #airforce
Al Arabiya
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukraine arrests air force officer for spying on Western-supplied fighter jets
Ukraine's domestic security agency has detained an air force officer on charges of having spied for Russia by leaking the location of prized F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets, officials said on Wednesday. The unidentified officer, a flight instructor holding the rank of major, stands accused of helping Russia carry out air strikes by providing coordinates and suggesting strike tactics, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. 'In particular, the enemy's priority targets were airfields where F-16s, Mirage 2000s and Su-24s were based,' it said. F-16s are US-made and Mirages are French while the Su-24 is an older, Soviet-manufactured jet bomber. 'The agent collected the coordinates of the location of these aircraft, schedules and ...the order of their departure.' The SBU said the suspect had also passed data on Ukrainian air force personnel and combat tactics to Russian military intelligence. Moscow regularly targets airfields and military bases across Ukraine, especially areas it believes are home to Western-provided weapons like the F-16 or Mirage jets. The two aircraft have been critical to bolstering Ukraine's defenses against mounting Russian air strikes and grinding battlefield advances in Moscow's three-and-a-half-year-old, full-scale invasion. This month, the SBU detained two Chinese nationals on suspicion of spying on Ukraine's Neptune anti-ship missile program, a key part of Kyiv's growing domestic arms industry.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine arrests air force officer for spying on Western-supplied fighter jets
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's domestic security agency has detained an air force officer on charges of having spied for Russia by leaking the location of prized F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets, officials said on Wednesday. The unidentified officer, a flight instructor holding the rank of major, stands accused of helping Russia carry out air strikes by providing coordinates and suggesting strike tactics, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. "In particular, the enemy's priority targets were airfields where F-16s, Mirage 2000s and Su-24s were based," it said. F-16s are U.S.-made and Mirages are French while the Su-24 is an older, Soviet-manufactured jet bomber. "The agent collected the coordinates of the location of these aircraft, schedules and ...the order of their departure." The SBU said the suspect had also passed data on Ukrainian air force personnel and combat tactics to Russian military intelligence. Moscow regularly targets airfields and military bases across Ukraine, especially areas it believes are home to Western-provided weapons like the F-16 or Mirage jets. The two aircraft have been critical to bolstering Ukraine's defences against mounting Russian air strikes and grinding battlefield advances in Moscow's three-and-a-half-year-old, full-scale invasion. This month, the SBU detained two Chinese nationals on suspicion of spying on Ukraine's Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv's growing domestic arms industry.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Ukraine arrests air force officer for spying on Western-supplied fighter jets
KYIV, July 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine's domestic security agency has detained an air force officer on charges of having spied for Russia by leaking the location of prized F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets, officials said on Wednesday. The unidentified officer, a flight instructor holding the rank of major, stands accused of helping Russia carry out air strikes by providing coordinates and suggesting strike tactics, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. "In particular, the enemy's priority targets were airfields where F-16s, Mirage 2000s and Su-24s were based," it said. F-16s are U.S.-made and Mirages are French while the Su-24 is an older, Soviet-manufactured jet bomber. "The agent collected the coordinates of the location of these aircraft, schedules and ...the order of their departure." The SBU said the suspect had also passed data on Ukrainian air force personnel and combat tactics to Russian military intelligence. Moscow regularly targets airfields and military bases across Ukraine, especially areas it believes are home to Western-provided weapons like the F-16 or Mirage jets. The two aircraft have been critical to bolstering Ukraine's defences against mounting Russian air strikes and grinding battlefield advances in Moscow's three-and-a-half-year-old, full-scale invasion. This month, the SBU detained two Chinese nationals on suspicion of spying on Ukraine's Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv's growing domestic arms industry.
Al Jazeera
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Bangladesh students demand accountability after deadly air force jet crash
Hundreds of protesters have rallied in Bangladesh to demand accountability after an air force fighter jet crashed into a Dhaka school, killing 31 people, including 25 students. The children, many aged under 12, were about to return home from class on Monday when the Bangladesh air force jet crashed into their school and burst into flames. The military said the plane had suffered mechanical failure. Students from the school and others from nearby colleges protested as two government officials visited the crash site on Tuesday, demanding an accurate death toll and shouting, 'Why did our brothers die? We demand answers!' Elsewhere in the capital, hundreds of protesting students, some of them waving sticks, broke through the main gate of the federal government secretariat, demanding the resignation of the education adviser, according to local TV footage. The protesting students called for those killed and injured to be named, compensation for families, the decommissioning of what they said were old and risky jets, and a change in air force training procedures. Police fired tear gas and used sound grenades to disperse the crowd, leaving about 80 students injured, Jamuna TV, a Bangladeshi station, reported. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman said he did not have information on the number of injured, the Reuters news agency reported. The students have several demands, said Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury, from the site of the crash at Milestone School and College. 'They're asking the government to accurately list the name of the people who died and also those who are injured; they want an exact figure – the number of people who are in the hospital. They also want compensation and a public apology,' Chowdhury said. 'They also want the air force to get away from old aircraft and to change their training procedures.' The military said in a statement that 31 people had died and 165 had been admitted to hospitals in the city. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said 68 remained in hospital, and the condition of 10 of them was critical. A statement from the press office of Muhammad Yunus, the country's interim administrator, said that the government, the military, school and hospital authorities were working together to publish a list of named victims. It also said the air force will be told not to operate training aircraft in populated areas. 'The nation is mourning' Rescue workers continued to scour the charred buildings for debris on Tuesday as distressed residents of the area looked on. 'The whole nation is mourning. This is something [that's] never happened in this country,' said Al Jazeera's Chowdhury. Some parents were inconsolable. Abul Hossain broke down as he spoke about his nine-year-old daughter, Nusrat Jahan Anika, killed in the crash. 'I took her to school yesterday morning like every day. I had no idea it would be the last time I would be seeing her,' Hossain told Reuters. She was buried on Monday night. Rubina Akter said her son Raiyan Toufiq had a miraculous escape after his shirt caught fire when he was on a staircase. 'He sprinted to the ground floor and jumped on the grass to douse it,' Akter told Reuters. 'He tore his shirt and vest inside, which saved him from severe burns.' Smriti, an 11th-grade student at the school, told The Associated Press news agency that her eardrums felt they were 'about to burst' when the plane crashed. 'I saw some children lying with their limbs spread out, some of their lifeless bodies scattered around. Can you save them? Tell me, will they ever be able to return to their parents' arms again?' she asked. The jet had taken off from a nearby airbase on a routine training mission, the military said. After experiencing mechanical failure, the pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from populated areas, but it crashed into the school campus. The pilot, flight lieutenant Mohammed Toukir Islam, was among those killed. It was his first solo flight as he was completing his training. The incident comes as neighbour India is still grappling with the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade after an Air India plane crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad last month, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Bangladesh students protest after air force jet crash kills 31
STORY: Students in Bangladesh protested on Tuesday (July 22) after an air force fighter jet crash killed at least 31 people, most of whom were children. People were leaving Dhaka school to go home when the jet plowed into the building on Monday. It burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and debris. Students from the school and nearby colleges demanded answers and compensation from the government. Bangladesh's air force chief Hasan Mahmood Khan said an inquiry has been launched. 'It was a very sad incident. We will try our best to find out the causes.' Rescue workers continued to scour the charred buildings for debris on Tuesday as people, distressed, looked on. Sagor Hossain said he's been searching 'like a maniac' for his niece Raisa Moni who's been missing since the crash. 'She is a third-grader. Since yesterday afternoon, we have visited all the hospitals and the school. But cannot find her whereabouts.' The military said the jet had taken off from a nearby air base on a routine training mission. After experiencing mechanical failure, the pilot, who was among those killed, tried to divert the aircraft away from populated areas, but it crashed into the campus. The government announced a day of mourning, with flags at half-mast and special prayers at all places of worship.
