Hints and tips:
...Russian air force bases in the Crimea also remain intact — another reason western provision of F-16 fighter jets remains a high priority for Kyiv....
...There are other big-ticket items, such as further orders for the F-35 stealth fighter jets, which cost about £90mn each and are needed for the UK’s two new aircraft carriers....
...The next step is an American ‘yes’ on actually making use of the F-16s in combat by Ukrainian fighter pilots . . . It’s a step-by-step approach.”...
...Berlin marks the 60th anniversary of US president John F Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech. A decision is expected on how to raise the minimum wage....
...A Ukrainian fighter pilot known by the call sign “Juice” told the Financial Times that Ukraine needed F-16s as well as long-range missiles to help recover territory....
...By 2025, there should be 48 F-35B Lightning II fighter jets, although this programme has been beset by delays. The army will be cut to 72,500, with only 148 tanks....
...German defence minister Boris Pistorius hosts his British counterpart Ben Wallace in Berlin....
...It has also exposed the thinness of Britain’s armed forces, which defence secretary Ben Wallace has described as “hollowed out”....
...The largest contract remains the supply of F-35 jets. The first part of this contract is expected to cost the UK £9bn when it completes in 2026....
...So far, Washington has similarly rebuffed Ukrainian pleas for longer-range precision missiles, such as ATACMs, which have a 300km range, or modern fighter jets, such as the F-16, fearing they could be used...
...As Ukraine’s president began a European trip that will also take in Paris and Brussels, Downing Street said UK defence secretary Ben Wallace had been asked to examine “what jets we might be able to give”...
...“A Nato without Turkey is unthinkable,” Akar, who meets British defence secretary Ben Wallace in the UK on Monday, said in an interview with the Financial Times....
...Inspired by an LA winter spent reading F Scott Fitzgerald and Truman Capote, Titus’s new London exhibition Bourgeoisie in Bloom examines the old-world customs, social frictions and traditional glamour of...
...Poland’s rapid graduation into a linchpin of the western alliance is a big f***ing deal, as Biden might say....
...Defence secretary Ben Wallace described the development of the demonstrator aircraft as an “important milestone” and welcomed the partnerships with Japan and Italy....
...I have a hard drive full of clumsy rip-offs of PG Wodehouse, Ali Smith and, for my sins, David Foster Wallace that I hope never see the light of day....
...If the serve works, if the movement is there . . . watching him will again be, for some, a “religious experience” (copyright David Foster Wallace)....
...Ben Wallace, UK defence secretary, said the US deployments were an expression of its “continued commitment to reassuring allies that as you move from tripwire to more pointed defence, that there will be...
...When Ben Wallace claimed that Britain was taking a leading role in aiding Ukraine’s war effort, it was not just post-Brexit boosterism the UK defence secretary was voicing....
...The choice of the carrier’s first operational deployment was designed to “fly the flag for Global Britain”, said UK defence secretary Ben Wallace ahead of its departure this year....
...Chevron, ExxonMobil and Glencore were among the nearly 17,000 companies graded an “F”....
...Ben Wallace, defence secretary, said he was turning “hollow” forces into credible ones, and marking a move from mass mobilisation to “information-age speed, readiness and relevance”....
...“I don’t use the F word often, but I would say that they are… fabulous. I love their work, but it’s out of my price range.”...
...One company, eXception PCB, produced plastic components used in circuit boards for the F-35 fighter jet....
...Ben Wallace, defence secretary, said the white paper would be an “honest assessment” of what the UK could deliver....
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