Air Force

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Israel is to buy Italy's M-346 Master advanced jet trainer for its air force, with the Italian plane beating South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle after a hotly contested competition for the $1 billion contract.

Italy's Alenia Aermacchi clinched the deal for 30 combat trainers even though Seoul had dangled an offer to buy Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' ground-breaking Iron Dome counter-rocket system and other Israel-made military hardware.

The T-50 was jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries with Lockheed Martin of the United States.

LONDON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Boeing C-17 Globemaster will soon come off the assembly line and Britain is purchasing it to increase the country's C-17 fleet to eight aircraft.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking in Parliament this week, said the aircraft "is becoming an absolutely brilliant workhorse for the (British air force) in terms of bringing men and material into a war zone like Afghanistan but also evacuating civilians in times of need."

NEW DELHI, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- India will buy 500 air-to-air missiles from European guided weapons manufacturer MBDA for its Mirage 2000 aircraft in a contract worth around $1.2 billion.

The deal was cleared by the Indian government's Cabinet Committee on Security at a meeting led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a report in The Hindu newspaper said.

MBDA will supply its MICA -- interception and aerial combat fire-and-forget -- missiles starting this year and ending in 2021.

MARIGNANE, France, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Eurocopter's Brazilian will provide support services for EC725 helicopters flown by the country's military services under an $80.6 million, five-year contract.

The 50 twin-engine helicopters covered by the award are being manufactured at a new Helibras plant in Itajuba, Brazil.

Under the contract, Helibras will be responsible for spare parts and technical support for the aircraft, the first three of which have been delivered. It will also conduct the overhaul and repair of the helicopters.

TOKYO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Japan's Ministry of Defense has chosen Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation fighter F-35 Lightning II as its next-generation fighter aircraft.

The F-35 beat rivals Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and the European-made Eurofighter to replace the air force's aging F-4 fighters.

The purchase, estimated at around $7 billion for 42 planes, will be a welcome boost to the fortunes of Lockheed Martin and a welcome addition to Japan's armory during uncertain regional political times.