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☆ Saudi Arabia wants to buy its way into a major 6th-gen fighter jet project, but not all its potential partners are welcoming
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Saudi Arabia reportedly wants to join the effort, but Japan is said to be wary of letting Riyadh in. A senior British defense told The Financial Times that the UK views "Saudi Arabia as a key partner in the fighter program and we are working to ensure strong progress as soon as possible." AdvertisementAdvertisementJapan also fears Saudi Arabia might want to export the cutting-edge jet to adversaries, such as China and Russia, or use its veto power to prevent Tokyo from exporting it to one of its allies. Indonesia, for example, has joined South Korea's KF-21 Boramae project, which aims to produce a quasi-stealth fighter jet by the late 2020s. AdvertisementAdvertisementOn the other side of Asia, Azerbaijan recently joined Turkey's TF Kaan stealth fighter project.

Persons: Bill Bostock, milch, Shigeto Kondo, Pascal Rossignol, GCAP, Tempest, China's, Paul Iddon Organizations: Service, Global Combat Air Program, The Financial Times, Financial Times, Britain's Telegraph, Japanese Institute of, Eastern, Al, KF, Indo, Getty, South Korea's KF, Turkey's TF, JF, 51st Paris Air Show, REUTERS, Rafale Locations: Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Wall, Silicon, Tokyo, British, London, Saudi, China, Russia, Jakarta, AFP, Indonesia, Asia, Azerbaijan, Ankara, Pakistan, Baku

☆ A potential first-of-its-kind fighter jet purchase could be a sign Saudi Arabia isn't happy with what it's getting from the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering a large number of French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jets. In July, Germany announced it would not allow additional Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to be delivered Saudi Arabia. The Saudi air force's 72 Eurofighters are its second most numerous fighter type behind its US-made F-15s. Bandar Algaloud/ReutersIn the near-term, Saudi Arabia may find Rafales more burdensome than beneficial, given its extensive investment in US and British aircraft. A Saudi Air Force F-15 taxis for takeoff at King Faisal Air Base in February 2021.

Persons: France's, Toni Anne Barson, Sebastien Roblin, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Joe Biden, Roblin, Salman, FAYEZ NURELDINE, Ryan Bohl, RANE, Rafales, Jamal Khashoggi, Bohl, Justin Bronk, Katherine Walters, Paul Iddon Organizations: Dassault Rafale, Saudi, Service, Privacy Policy, France's La Tribune, Eurofighter Typhoon, United Arab, La Tribune, French Dassault Rafale, Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon, Getty, East, NATO, Bandar Algaloud, Reuters, British, Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal United Services Institute, Saudi Air Force, King Faisal Air Base, US Air Force, Staff, Rafale, Washington Locations: Saudi Arabia, British, Riyadh, Wall, Silicon, Privacy Policy Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, French, Provence, Washington, Yemen, Iran, China, France, AFP, London, Russia, North Africa, NATO, United States, Bandar, Croatia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Greece

☆ Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, heads for splashdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File... Read moreMay 30 (Reuters) - An all-private astronaut team of two Americans and two Saudis, including the first Arab woman ever sent into orbit, headed for splashdown off Florida's coast on Tuesday, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Crew Dragon vessel carrying the foursome, undocked from the ISS late on Tuesday morning to begin its 12-hour return flight. The return flight concludes the second space station mission organized, equipped and trained entirely at private expense by Axiom Space, a 7-year-old Houston-based company headed by NASA's former ISS program manager. In August 2022, Sara Sabry became the first Arab woman and the first Egyptian to fly to space on a brief suborbital ride operated by the Blue Origin astro-tourist venture of Jeff Bezos. NASA furnished the launch site at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the Axiom crew during their stay aboard the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

Persons: Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, Joe Skipper, Read, NASA's, Rayyanah Barnawi, Sara Sabry, Jeff Bezos, Barnawi, Sultan Alneyadi, Elon Musk, Steve Gorman, Howard Goller Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS, Space, SpaceX, ISS, NASA, U.S, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab, Twitter, Tesla Inc, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Florida, U.S, Florida's, Gulf of Mexico, Panama City , Florida, Houston, Alaska, Saudi, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, California, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Los Angeles

☆ SpaceX Axiom 2 mission returns from space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

This mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 2, or AX-2, launched from Florida on May 21. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Axiom Mission 2's four-person crew splashed down off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 11:04 p.m. A company called Space Adventures brokered several such missions to the space station in the early 2000s, booking rides for wealthy thrill seekers on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. The SpaceX capsule transported the AX-2 crew back to Earth after a weeklong mission at the International Space Station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station.

Persons: Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, Whitson, I’m, ” Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali AlQarni, “, ” Barnawi, Barnawi, AlQarni, “ That’s, I’ve, ”, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Biden, axiomspace, Derek Hassmann, it’s, gunning Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA, International, Houston, Crew, Dura, Line Corp, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Russian Soyuz, Saudi, Space, Soyuz, Government Locations: Panama City , Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Saudi Arabia, American, Russian, United States

☆ SpaceX mission lifts off with former NASA astronaut, three paying customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The AX-2 crew is being led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, now an Axiom employee. After the Crew Dragon capsule docks early Monday, the AX-2 crew will join seven astronauts already aboard the space station. The first was Prince Sultan bin Salman, who spent about a week on a NASA space shuttle mission in 1985. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ How to watch SpaceX Axiom 2 launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.CNN —SpaceX is set to launch four passengers — including three paying customers — toward a weeklong stay aboard the International Space Station. The Axiom Ax-2 Prime crew members, from left to right: John Shoffner, Rayyanah Barnawi, Peggy Whitson, and Ali Alqarni, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Axiom brought that business model to the United States, partnering with SpaceX to establish a framework for getting an array of customers to the space station. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. The AX-2 crew will work alongside the professional astronauts on the space station, though they will operate under different schedules.

☆ SpaceX launching Saudi astronauts on private flight to space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, are prepared to carry four crew members on Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to the International Space Station, at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 21, 2023. SpaceX's next private flight to the International Space Station awaited takeoff Sunday, weather and rocket permitting. The passengers include Saudi Arabia's first astronauts in decades, as well as a Tennessee businessman who started his own sports car racing team. With its Falcon rocket already on the pad, SpaceX targeted a liftoff late Sunday afternoon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Representing the Saudi Arabian government this time are Rayyanah Barnawi, a stem cell researcher set to become the kingdom's first woman in space, and Royal Saudi Air Force fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni.

It stood in stark contrast to the low-key welcome extended in July to U.S. President Joe Biden, with whom ties have been strained by Saudi energy policy and the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi that had overshadowed the awkward visit. In an op-ed published in Saudi media, Xi said he was on a "pioneering trip" to "open a new era of China's relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia". [1/6] Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 8, 2022. Chinese and Saudi firms also signed 34 deals for investment in green energy, information technology, cloud services, transport, construction and other sectors, state news agency SPA reported. While Saudi Arabia was an important U.S. ally, she noted, "in recent years, it has upheld its strategic autonomy, resisted the pressure of the United States".

☆ Despite Biden's assurances, Middle East militaries are buying their own weapons to take on Iran at sea and in the air
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been investing heavily in new military hardware in order to Iran. The Royal Saudi Air Force's core strength are its 232 F-15 Eagles, at least 84 of which are F-15SA variants designed specifically for Saudi Arabia. A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 at King Faisal Air Base in Saudi Arabia in February 2021. US and Bahraini officials in front of unmanned naval vessels at at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama in January. US Navy/MCS1 Mark Thomas MahmodIMX 2022 was also the first time Israel and Saudi Arabia, which don't have diplomatic relations, officially took part in an exercise together.

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