NATO begins massive Defender 2021 military exercises aimed at Russia
The United States, at the head of the NATO military alliance, is continuing its military and diplomatic drive to encircle and subjugate Russia. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in 1991, NATO has absorbed much of Eastern Europe and, with the Euromaidan coup of 2014 in Ukraine, expanded its sphere of influence up to Russia’s border. This is the context in which the huge NATO military exercise beginning this week, Defender 2021 Europe, unfolds.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier with seven helicopters visible onboard at Portsmouth harbour. May 1, 2021 (credit: WSWS media)
Japan Abandons Plans to Upgrade F-15 Fighter Jets as Cost Rises Dramatically, Media Says
Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202012121081438021-japan-abandons-plans-to-upgrade-f-15-fighter-jets-as-cost-rises-dramatically-media-says/
In October, Boeing and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to modernise Japan’s F-15 aircraft so they could carry long-range cruise missiles. The reason why Tokyo decided to upgrade the aircraft was China s intensifying air patrols over the disputed Senkaku Islands, which have been a big issue for the two nations.
The Japanese government has decided to drop plans to upgrade its US-made F-15 fighter jets and exclude the expenses for modernising the aircraft from the fiscal 2021 budget, Kyodo News agency quoted sources as saying on Friday.