F-15I ready
The Israeli air force's first Boeing F-15I squadron was declared operational in January and has carried out its first combat operations with precision guided weapons against targets in Lebanon. The first attack was on 11 January, when two F-15Is attacked Hezbollah targets in Sujud in southern Lebanon. They used guided weapons, and the pilots reported accurate hits. The Israeli air force has procured 25 F-15Is, replacing McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms which were not upgraded to Phantom 2000 Kurnass configuration.
SS-19 bows out
Ukraine's last SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles were destroyed in February at the Yuzhnoye rocket factory in eastern Ukraine. The weapons' destruction marks the end of four years of eliminating Ukraine's strategic nuclear arsenal, under which the USA gave Kiev $300 million to destroy its stocks and return 1,272 warheads to Russia. Ukraine is also decommissioning 44 Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers.
Source: Flight International
