New Zealand boosts defence spend to US$6.6 billion and vows increased closeness with Australia
This budget will be spent over the next four years and nearly doubles the country’s defence spending as part of GDP to 2%.
JF-17 Block III fighter takes to the air
The JF-17 Block III fighter achieved its maiden flight from the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group’s (CAIG's) facility in Chengdu-Huangtianba in Sichuan on 15 December 2019. The fighter, which carries the nomenclature FC-1 in China, bore the serial number '3000'.
Various improvements based on new-generation technologies used on Chinese fighters like the J-10 and J-20 have been implemented to improve the lightweight multirole JF-17.
Although the airframe is largely unchanged on the Block III, visible changes include a longer nose to house an AESA radar. Two Chinese AESA radar systems were known to be competing – either the KLJ-7A from the
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