94 207 back in the UK
The UK’s latest Lockheed Martin F-35B unit
returned to RAF Marham on July 16. No 207
Squadron is the Operational Conversion Unit
(OCU) and Jamie Hunter was there for the arrival.90 Indian Flankers in France
The Garuda series of exercises involving
the French and Indian Air Forces is held
every three to four years, alternating
between both countries. Joris van Boven
and Alex van Noye attended the recent
iteration at Mont-de-Marsan.News
All the world’s military aviation
news, by region
6-7 .................Headlines
8-9 .................United Kingdom
10 -13 .............Continental Europe
17-2 0 .............North America
21 ..................Russia & CIS
22 ..................Middle East
23 ..................Latin America
24-25 .............Asia Pacific
26 ..................Africa
27 ..................AustralasiaRegular features
Cover: Representing the tip of the spear of NATO air power in Europe, F-15E 96-0201 ‘LN’
from the 48th Fighter Wing’s 494th Fighter Squadron ‘Panthers’ based at RAF Lakenheath,
Suffolk, peels away from the camera ship on its arrival over RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire,
for July’s Royal International Air Tattoo. Known as the ‘Liberty Wing’, the 48th FW has long
been the backbone of US Air Forces in Europe, playing a key role in support of NATO forces
during Operations Deliberate Force and Allied Force in the 1990s and since then seeing considerable
action in successive campaigns in the Middle East. Rich Cooper Above:In a scene that’s symbolic of
the changes the NATO alliance has undergone in the last two decades, a Forțele Aeriene Române
(FAR, Romanian Air Force) MiG-21MF-75 LanceR C gets airborne from Câmpia Turzii while the base
hosted the F-16s of the 457th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron – part of Air Force Reserve Command’s
301st Fighter Wing – under Operation Atlantic Resolve. There are many more NATO air arms featured
in this issue, while the full story of the Texan ‘Vipers’ in Transylvania will be told next month. Dino van
Doorn, Bas Stubert and Hans van der Wilt14 EXERCISE REPORT:
Dark Blade 2019
Dark Blade 2019 was the 13th Blade exercise
organised by the European Defence Agency
(EDA) and the first in the Czech Republic.30 INTEL REPORT: UK’s
bright new ISTAR future
Alan Warnes compares the recent RAF
intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and
reconnaissance (ISTAR) orders with those from
the rest of Europe before looking at special-
mission highlights from the Paris Air Show.36 EXERCISE REPORT:
Anatolian Eagle 2019
One of Europe’s largest air exercises took
place in June after a two-year hiatus. Anatolian
Eagle 2019 involved participation from Italy,
Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, the US and NATO.40 EXERCISE REPORT:
Anatolian Phoenix 2019
Ahead of this year’s Anatolian Eagle,
Konya air base in southern Turkey played
host to another exercise, dedicated
to combat search and rescue.54 EXERCISE REPORT:
Diamond Storm 2019
Phil Buckley and Mike O’Neill attended the
Royal Australian Air Force’s Exercise Diamond
Storm held in the Northern Territory.62 COMMANDER’S UPDATE
BRIEFING: The art of avoiding
detection
Self-defence in aerial combat has been
transformed by stealth aircraft – but is it the
panacea that it was once considered?65 Book reviews
AFM evaluates some of the latest
offerings in aviation literature.66 SURVEY: Su-25 operators
Rest of the world
Our series profiling Su-25 operators around
the world concludes with two of the Frogfoot’s
more exotic customers: Peru and North Korea.80 FORCE REPORT: Republic
of Korea Navy Part two
Mrityunjoy Mazumdar and Tetsuya Kakitani
conclude their review of the naval aviation
force of the Republic of Korea Navy.85 Feedback
AFM’s letters page.86 Attrition
Dave Allport details the world’s
most recent military accidents.98 Coming up
See what’s featured in your AFM next month.Other features
http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 504-05 Contents AFM Sep2019.indd 5 8/5/2019 3:48:18 PM