combat aircraft

6 HEADLINE NEWS

‘Dambusters’ back in the UK, Su-57  res

mysterious missile and 300 not out for

the F-

8 US NEWS

New F-35 missile test update, plus all the

latest unit and deployment news

18 WORLD NEWS

News from Europe and around the globe,

including a Canadian Hornet update, plus

all the latest military losses

14 SPECIAL REPORT: CZECH MATES?

Aero Vodochody has set out its stall to o er

either its L-39 Next-Generation or an upgraded

L-159 for the US military’s light attack needs. Is

the US ready to take such an o er seriously?

24 ‘DAMBUSTERS’ RETURN HOME

On June 6, the British Lightning program took

a major step forward as No 617 Squadron

‘Dambusters’ brought its  rst aircraft back to

RAF Marham, Norfolk

42 BEHIND ENEMY LINES

The 12th edition of the Air-centric Personnel

Recovery Operatives Course (APROC) was

held at Gilze-Rijen air base in the Netherlands

between May 21 and June 6, as Stephan de

Bruijn reports

44 FORMIDABLE ‘FANTASMAS’

Aerial gunships strike fear into the hearts of

even the most battle-hardened soldiers. Cees-

Jan van der Ende and C ristobal Soto Pino sneak

into the Colombian jungle to meet the AC-47T

‘Fantasmas’ that  ght the guerrilla groups and

drug cartels

52 ISRAEL’S LEADERSHIP FORUM

Yissachar Ruas reports from the Israeli Air Force

commanders’ conference, which a orded

senior air force o cers a chance to  y in the

new M-346 Lavi advanced trainers

54 ON THE PROWL IN POLAND

The latest NATO Tiger Meet was held at

Krzesiny Air Base near Poznań, Poland. This

year’s exercise ran from May 14-25 and it

attracted 22 squadrons from 13 countries.

Krzysztof Kuska was there, with photos by

Piotr Łysakowski

58 GLORY DAYS:

DAGGERS OVER VIETNAM

The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was one of the

 rst USAF combat aircraft to be deployed to

Vietnam, yet its impressive war record is often

overlooked. Warren E. Thompson charts the

type’s service in South-east Asia

IN THE NEWS

28

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An F-22A Raptor of the

94th EFS on patrol over

Syria during a recent

Operation ‘Inherent

Resolve’ mission.

Jamie Hunter

ON THE COVER

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INSIDEAUGUST 2018 • Vol 19 • No 8

66 SPIRIT OF CHESAPEAKE

Ivan Voukadinov joins the US-French joint

training operation o the Virginia coast, the

culmination of which resulted in French

Navy  ghters  ying from the US Navy aircraft

carrier USS George H. W. Bush

74 CALIFORNIA’S HEAVIES

The latest version of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy

has greatly improved mission-readiness

across the airlifter  eet. Ashley Wallace talks to

members of the 22nd Airlift Squadron about

life on the Travis AFB  ight line

80 RUSSIAN TACTICAL BOMBERS

In the  rst of a two-part review of strike

aircraft in Russian service, Piotr Butowski looks

at the Su-24 ‘Fencer’ and Su-25 ‘Frogfoot’

94 CUTTING EDGE

Combat Aircraft’s monthly column reporting

from the front line of aerospace technology,

by David Axe

96 FLASHBACK

Our regular feature looking at squadrons

and types that are gone but not forgotten

— this month it’s an F-111F Aardvark from

Cannon AFB

HOLDING THE LINE

Jamie Hunter visits Al Dhafra in the United Arab

Emirates, home of the US Air Force’s 380th Air

Expeditionary Wing, which is a central pillar in

the ongoing Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’ and

missions in the region

88

RUSSIA’S HOT SHOTS

The Russian military’s regular live

 re exercise provided an excellent

opportunity for Dmitriy Pichugin to see

the country’s latest hardware in action

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