The Robot and the Cat
Mike Wilson looks at the
sea trials of Northrop Grumman’s X-47 unmanned demonstrator, deemed to
be the future of US naval aviation.
A Brit Flying the Rhino
Lewis Gaylard talks to a Royal Navy pilot flying the US Navy’s Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, affectionately
known as the ‘Rhino’.
HELISAF – Spanish SAR in Afghanistan
Spain
withdrew the last of its helicopters from Afghanistan in November –
Erwan de Cherisey flew with its MEDEVAC team last summer and describes
what its activities were in theatre.
No More Mirages over Brazil
The
Dassault Mirage 2000 was retired from the Brazilian Air Force at the
end of December. Santiago Rivas recounts its South American career.
Toucan’s Nest – Brazil's Air Force Academy
Dirk Jan de Ridder describes how pilots of South America’s largest air arm are trained.
The Last Bastion
Tim
Ripley looks at the lessons from the disaster at Camp Bastion in
September 2012 that left a US Marine Corps Harrier squadron devastated
and officers removed from post.
Mainstay – Russia’s Eyes and Ears in the Sky
The Beriev A-50 is perhaps the most important system in the Russian military’s airborne inventory. Alexander Mladenov reports.
INTERVIEW: Thunder over the Desert
In
an AFM exclusive, at the Dubai Airshow Georg Mader spoke to Air
Commodore Mahmood Khalid of the Pakistan Air Force about current and
future plans for the Sino/Pakistani FC-1/JF-17 Thunder fighter.
A Pride of Ospreys
Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics. com reports on the US Marine Corps’ newest Osprey squadron, the ‘Lucky Red Lions’.
REGULARS
Attrition
New Contracts
Country report: Australia
The
large but sparsely populated continent continues to take an important
part in international military operations around the globe. Nigel
Pittaway describes the country’s increasingly modern aircraft assets of
its three armed forces.
Exercise report: Cruzex 2013 – Brazilian Blend
Dr
Séan Wilson/Prime Images, assisted by Paul Mulligan, reports from Natal
Air Base in Brazil on the seventh edition of Exercise Cruzeiro do Sul
(Exercise Southern Cross – CRUZEX).
Exercise report: Blue Flag – Out of the Blue in Israel
Four countries took part in Exercise Blue Flag at the end of November – Yissachar Ruas reports for AFM.
Exercise Report: Serpentex – Corsican Co-operation
Jan Kraak flew to Corsica to report on this multi-national exercise headed by the French Air Force.
Postcard from... Brunei
Gordon Arthur visited the BRIDEX Air Show.
Ops Board
All the events and airshows of the coming months.
And
Finally… Farewell, Fenton Mick Britton pays tribute to RAF Church
Fenton in North Yorkshire, which closed at the end of 2013.
