According to a report from UPI news service, Tehran may be close to signing a deal with Beijing to buy 24 new Chinese J-10 fighters. The report downplays long-standing rumors that Iran would buy Russian fighters; the Islamic Republic did purchase Russian engines for some of its fighters, but reportedly not its new indigenous fighter. Beijing already has fielded the J-10, which US officials say looks like a Eurofighter, in squadron strength.
National Guard adjutants general from nearly two dozen states have signed a letter to Congress seeking multiyear funding for the Air Force to purchase between 72 and 100 new fighter jets per year to modernize the total force.The letter, sent to Congress last week, stresses the need for the Air…