F-16 or an A-10 crashes in South Korea - clear as mud.

FOX NEWS GUNSAN, South Korea - A US military F-16 jet crashed in southern South Korea on Wednesday during a training mission but its pilot ejected to safety, US authorities said.

The plane crashed into a rice paddy around noon local time near a US air base in the western port city of Gunsan, the US military said in a statement.
"The [lone] pilot safely ejected before the plane crashed. Emergency response teams are on scene at this time," it said.

There were no casualties or serious damage on the ground, a US Air Force spokesman said, adding details would be released later.

A local fire station officer in Seocheon county near Gunsan said previously the pilot was injured and taken away by ambulance. The officer had identified the aircraft involved as an A-10 tank buster.

The crash came as South Korean and US troops stage an annual joint military exercise, called Foal Eagle, from March 1 to April 30. It was unclear if the F-16 was involved in the drill.


Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/pilot-forced-to-eject-as-us-military-jet-crashes-in-south-korea-ncxdc-032112#ixzz1pnEOlCHc

bin Laden plotted to kill Obama

BBC: Osama bin Laden was plotting to kill US President Barack Obama, US media reports say.

The plans are said to be in papers found in the compound in Abbottabad where the al-Qaeda leader was killed by US special forces last year.

Bin Laden asked deputies to plan an attack against an aircraft carrying Mr Obama and General David Petraeus.

He said the killing would throw the US into crisis, as Vice President Biden was "totally unprepared" to take over.

The documents were seen by the Washington Post. There is growing anticipation in the US over government plans to publish all the papers seized at the compound when it was raided in May 2011.

Laptops, notepads and computer hard drives were also taken.

Bin Laden asked one of his deputies, Ilyas Kashmiri, to start preparing the attack.

"Please ask brother Ilyas to send me the steps he has taken into that work," he wrote in a 48-page note.

The US media says intelligence officials believe it is unlikely that al-Qaeda had the capacity to launch such an attack in the US, and have not seen evidence of any preparations.

Kashmiri was killed in a US air attack a month after the death of Bin Laden.

In his 48-page note Bin Laden called on al-Qaeda operatives to move away from the Pakistani tribal areas because of the constant attacks by US remotely-controlled planes.

He also debated changing al-Qaeda's name, because US officials "have largely stopped using the phrase 'the war on terror' in the context of not wanting to provoke Muslims", he said.

Phoenix flash - not identified.

PHOENIX - A large, fleeting flash of light that appeared in the darkened skies over the northwestern edge of metropolitan Phoenix remains a mystery.

The ball of light that looked like an explosion was captured by a traffic camera on Interstate 17 around 4:45 a.m. Thursday and happened to be broadcast by KSAZ-TV when the station showed footage of the roadway during a report on the morning's commute.

The two electric utilities that serve metro Phoenix say they didn't have any reports of electric transformer explosions that might explain the flash.

Damon Gross, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service, says a blown fuse on a transformer can produce a flash, but he said the utility had no such report Thursday morning.
"It's a mystery to us as well. I can't even offer a guess," said Doug Nintzel, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Charlotte Dewey, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Phoenix, says there was no weather activity that might explain the flash.
Messages left for officials at nearby Luke Air Force Base weren't immediately returned Friday afternoon.

KSAZ is asking viewers to come forward if they have any information about the mysterious flash.
In 1997, dozens of people saw lights in a V-formation over Phoenix, a mystery that was captured on videotape and spurred calls for a government investigation.

Iron Dome protecing Israel

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- There's a new distinction in the strife between Israel and Gaza-based armed groups -- Israel's portable anti-rocket system called the Iron Dome.
With the ability to effectively take down mid-range rockets targeted at Israeli cities, and with a success rate of over 90%, the system is helping Israel offset the most widespread threat to its citizens in recent years, according to Israeli officials.

Thirty-seven rockets fired out of Gaza towards Israeli cities have been intercepted since Friday, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
"I must point out that the Iron Dome system has proven itself very well and we will, of course, see to its expansion in the months and years ahead. We will do everything in our power to expand the deployment of this system," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday at his cabinet meeting.

Casualties mount in attacks between Gaza, Israel
First deployed in April 2011, the Iron Dome system targets incoming rockets it identifies as possible threats to city centers and fires an interceptor missile to destroy them in mid-air. Each battery is equipped with an interception management center to calculate the expected location of impact, and to prioritize targets according to pre-defined targets. The battery also has firing-control radar used to identify targets, and a portable missile launcher.

The makers of the system praise its mobility, with just a few hours required to relocate and set up, thereby enabling the Israeli military to adjust itself on multiple fronts. Israeli officials say although the system currently is deployed near three major cities in the south of Israel, it is capable of handling missile threats in other fronts if needed.

But such protection comes at a price.
Developed by Israel's defense technology company Rafael, the system carries an the estimated cost for each battery of tens of millions of dollars. Each "Tamir" interception missile used by the system comes at a price of no less than $62,000.

While the initial development of the system was a sole Israeli enterprise, the system is now heavily sponsored by the United States. In May of 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a plan to allocate $205 million for Israel's Iron Dome system.

Israel currently has three Iron Dome batteries and is scheduled to receive a fourth in the coming months. According to Israeli media, Israel plans to deploy a total of nine batteries by 2013.

A defense ministry official told CNN that Israel would need up to 13 batteries to completely cover all its borders.
But how important is the Iron Dome for Israel? According to former Israeli ambassador to the United States Dore Gold, the Iron Dome system could potentially be a real game-changer.

"The most important question is how would the Iron Dome affect the decisions of Hamas leaders and their Iranian supporters? While Hamas rockets are aimed primarily to target civilians and terrorize the Israeli home front, a secondary and just important aim is to hit strategic sites in the future. Eliminating the ability to hit strategic targets may lead Hamas to rethink the efficiency of acquiring the rockets it has used in the past," Gold said.

Visiting an Iron Dome battery Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave an insight into the broader advantages of defensive skills.
"This system is part of a wider multi-layer interception system, which not only protects our citizens but also allows freedom of activity for the IDF and political leadership. This is crucial as we face threats from all around us," Barak said.

Contract pilot/retired Top-gun/blogger flying Israeli F-21 Kfir - dies in crash.

LAS VEGAS — Authorities say a contract pilot killed in the crash of an Israeli-made military jet in Nevada was a retired Navy captain, former Top Gun fighter school instructor and military blogger originally from Alexandria, Va.

The Navy Times reported that Carroll LeFon was killed in the 9:15 a.m. Tuesday crash of the Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. F-21 Kfir (kuh-FEER) aircraft at Fallon Naval Air Station east of Reno.

The 51-year-old LeFon's death was marked Thursday by memorial entries on a Web page where he blogged under the name Neptunus Lex.

An official with ATAC in Newport News, Va., declined comment pending the release of a company statement.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

A base spokesman in Fallon had reported snow and fog at the time.