Gurkha in Afghanistan | British Army.
Gurkhas in Afghanistan, British Army. First battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles B Coy were deployed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan for Herrick 17 from 14th Oct 2012 to 22 Feb 2013 as a part of...
By: Nepali Entertainment
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Gurkha in Afghanistan | British Army. - Video
For four long years , Afghanistan has been waiting for an air force. Now, they're finally going to get one -- courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.
There's "close-air support" -- and then there's "Warthog-close" -- where the planes fly below the troops. Photo source: Flickr .
Given their druthers, the Afghans would probably like an air force geared toward close-air support of their troops combating Taliban fighters on the ground. For that role, the A-10 Warthog is by all accounts the best plane for the job . But beggars can't be choosers. Instead of the A-10, the U.S. Air Force will outfit Afghanistan with 20 brand-new A-29 Super Tucano fighter planes from Embraer .
As reported on DoDBuzz.com last month, Embraer and partner Sierra Nevada will begin delivering Super Tucanos to Afghanistan sometime in December. Deliveries are expected to be slow at first, then ramp up, with all 20 Super Tucanos due to be delivered by 2018.
An A-29 Super Tucano in action. Photo source: Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corporation .
Wait -- "Tucano"? Like the Froot Loops bird? A lot like Toucan Sam, yes -- except that Embraer's bird has serious claws. An evolution of Embraer's original Tucano design, the Super Tucano is a prop-driven ground-attack fighter powered by a single 1,600 SHP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68/3 turboprop engine, and featuring:
Perhaps best of all, the Super Tucano costs an estimated $500 an hour to operate -- a big selling point for a cash-strapped customer such as Afghanistan, In fact, that's about one-sixth the operating cost of Textron 's ultra-cheap Scorpion light fighter jet .
What it means to investors The U.S. Air Force awarded Embraer the contract to build 20 Super Tucanos for $427 million -- $355 million for the planes themselves, plus $72 million in additional costsincurred as the Air Force dealt with multiple challenges to the contract award. Back out those extra costs, and it looks like the Air Force is paying about $17.8 million per plane -- just under the likely cost to build a new A-10 Warthog today.
What's more, Afghanistan might buy more planes (or the Pentagon might do so for them). When first announced, in fact, the Super Tucano contract was said to be worth potentially $950 million to Embraer . That suggests long-range plans to buy as many as 52 Super Tucanos.
Is this how things will play out? With U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, the Air Force cooling its enthusiasm for the A-10 Warthog, and Lockheed 's F-35 in hot water over its gun's inability to shoot ,it's entirely possible we might buy more A-29 Super Tucanos for Afghanistan. In which case, the value of Embraer's initial sales contract could double or more.
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No A-10 Warthog for Afghanistan -- but Here's the Next Best Thing
Iran nuclear agreement gets mixed reactions from Arizona lawmakers
Arizona lawmakers are providing mixed reactions toward the Iran nuclear agreement. But a research fellow from the Cato Institute says it #39;s unclear if a harder or stricter deal was even possible....
By: Cronkite News
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Iran nuclear agreement gets mixed reactions from Arizona lawmakers - Video
Story highlights Netanyahu says third option is "standing firm" to get a better deal Political sparring continues in U.S. over the deal with Iran
"I think there's a third alternative, and that is standing firm, ratcheting up the pressure until you get a better deal," Netanyahu told CNN's Jim Acosta Sunday on "State of the Union."
His comments come as Democrats and Republicans spar over the framework announced last week to lift Western sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country dropping from 19,000 to 5,060 active centrifuges, limiting its highly enriched uranium, and increasing inspections.
President Barack Obama endorsed the deal, saying it was better than the alternatives. But GOP contenders for the party's 2016 presidential nomination lambasted it, saying it gave Iran too much flexibility.
On Sunday, the sparring continued. One Senate Democrat said Netanyahu needs to "contain himself." And a top Republican said almost any of Obama's successors as president "could do better."
Netanyahu's most recent argument against the Iran nuclear deal was similar to the one he'd made in a March trip to Washington, when he addressed a joint session of Congress -- fueling a Republican push to have the deal sent to Congress before it's implemented.
"It does not roll back Iran's nuclear program. It keeps a vast nuclear infrastructure in place. Not a single centrifuge is destroyed. Not a single nuclear facility is shut down, including the underground facilities that they built illicitly. Thousands of centrifuges will keep spinning, enriching uranium," Netanyahu said Sunday. "That's a very bad deal. "
Netanyahu said Iran is a country of "congenital cheating" and that it can't be trusted to abide by the terms of the deal, which lasts 10 years with some provisions extending well beyond that.
He said his opposition has little to do with his frosty relationship with Obama.
"I think that we can have a legitimate difference of opinion on this, because I think Iran has shown to be completely distrustful," Netanyahu said.
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Netanyahu: More Iran options than 'this bad deal or war ...
Story highlights Iranian sports official: The ban will be lifted for some events in the coming year But he says "families are not interested in attending" some sports matches
But the situation appears set to improve in the coming months after a top Iranian sports official said that the ban will be lifted for some events.
A plan to allow "women and families" to enter sports stadiums will come into effect in the next year, Deputy Sports Minister Abdolhamid Ahmadi said Saturday, according to state-run media.
But it isn't clear exactly which games women will be able to attend.
Iranian supporters display a banner calling for an end to Iran's stadium ban on women during the Asian Cup quarterfinal in Canberra.
According to the state-run Press TV, Ahmadi said the restrictions would be lifted for indoor sports events. The rules won't change for all matches because some sports are mainly related to men and "families are not interested in attending" them, Press TV cited him as saying.
Iranian authorities imposed the ban on women attending men's sports events after the revolution, deeming that mixed crowds watching games together was un-Islamic.
During the ensuing decades, the crowds at soccer games, Iran's most popular sport, have been all male.
Iranian women were briefly permitted to attend volleyball matches under the moderate President Mohammad Khatami, but the ban was reinstated in 2005 after the more hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power.
The Iranian government has come under pressure from international sports officials over the restrictions.
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Iran to ease ban on women at sports events