China’s year of the dragon
The latest Chinese Year of the Dragon ran from 23 January 2012 to 9 February 2013. Andreas Rupprecht details how the rising Chinese aviation industry once again showcased a number of significant — and surprising — developments
SHIPBORNE ‘FULCRU M’ COMES OF AGE
Alexander Mladenov details the MiG-29K/KUB shipborne fighter, which has emerged from apparent oblivion and turned into a success story thanks to huge investment by the Indian Navy
MISAWA VIPERS
With an illustrious history behind it, the US Air Force’s 35th Fighter Wing is today the host unit at Misawa Air Base. Jake Melampy meets the pilots who are charged with the defence of US and Japanese interests in the Pacific region
KANSAS CO YOTES IN EUROPE
Cristian Schrik visits Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany, and flies with the resident US Air National Guard KC-135R tanker detachment
SPANISH ARMY AT SEA
The flagship of the Spanish Navy fleet is the new Landing Helicopter Dock Juan Carlos I that has now begun operations with a rotary-wing aviation component provided by the Spanish Army, as Salvador Mafé Huertas reports
ARCTIC CATS ON GUARD
Neil Pearson travels to Bardufoss Air Station to see how the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s 337 Skvadron supports the Coast Guard and what the future holds for its Lynx helicopters
THE SYRIAN AIR BATTLE
Syria recently marked the second anniversary of the outbreak of protests — which eventually escalated into a major armed uprising and civil war against the regime in Damascus. Tom Cooper discusses the participation of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) in this extremely brutal and destructive conflict
GLORY DAYS: THE WHITE ROCKET
Robert F. Dorr talks to the men who flew the T-38 Talon in its glory days, from 1962 to 1992, when every US Air Force pilot strapped into the ‘white rocket’ as part of the undergraduate pilot training programme
TAKE CHARGE AND MOVE OUT
Neil Pearson enters the clandestine world of Strategic Communications Wing ONE at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, to look at the role of the E-6B Mercury
CUTT ING EDGE
Combat Aircraft’s monthly column reporting from the front line of aerospace technology, by David Axe
NEWS
HEADLINE NEWS
X-47B operates from US Navy carrier, first RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint and Germany re-evaluates EuroHawk
US NEWS
A-10s leave Spangdahlem, last RF-4C leaves storage for drone conversion, all the latest F-35 news
UK NEWS
Minister hints at reduced F-35 procurement for the UK as report praises move back to F-35B
EUROPE NEWS
Dutch F-16 test unit marks anniversary, last specially-marked Luftwaffe F-4F revealed and first ‘Richthofen’ Eurofighter emerges
WORLD NEWS
First Indian Navy P-8I delivered, Iraq receives final C-130J and more Ugandan ‘Flankers’?
