combat aircraft

A section of VFA-103 ‘Jolly

Rogers’ F/A-18F Super Hornets

fl ies over Lake Tahoe as the

squadron hones its skills at

nearby NAS Fallon.

Jamie Hunter

6 HEADLINE NEWS

F-35 costs back under the spotlight and

‘Chinese Growler’ breaks cover

8 US NEWS

CH-53K delivered for operational test,

plus latest unit and deployment news

18 WORLD NEWS

News from Europe and around the globe

including Turkey’s  rst F-35A, plus all the

latest military losses

14 THE BRIEFING

Robert Beckhusen looks at the second

phase of the USAF Light Attack Experiment

24 EYE ON THE EAST

Combat Aircraft’s regular air warfare

brie ng from the Asia-Paci c

28 GATEWAY TO THE FIGHTERS

With USAF pilot training under scrutiny

amid a manning crisis, Rich Cooper meets

Lt Col John ‘Clarence’ Macasek, commander

of the 49th Fighter Training Squadron,

responsible for the introduction to  ghter

fundamentals course

36 OPINION — PILOT CRISIS

It has all happened before — David Axe

examines what history teaches us about

the present USAF pilot shortage

52 VICTORY PARADE

The Russian Aerospace Forces showcased

some of their most advanced new

technology in the May 9 Victory Day parade

in Moscow, as Dmitriy Pichugin describes

54 ITALIAN TANKER SQUAD

Luca La Cavera and Francesco Militello

Mirto visit Pratica di Mare, home of the

14° Stormo and its KC-767A tankers —

the Italian Air Force’s force multipliers

66 RAVENS IN THE DESERT

The US Air Force’s EF-111A Ravens made

a signi cant, yet unsung, contribution to

Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in 1991. Warren

E. Thompson provides an incredible

insight into the  rst nights over Iraq

74 30 YEARS OF TURKISH FALCONS

The Turkish Air Force has  own the F-

for more than 30 years. Having initiated

a restructuring project, it is a community

that has changed dramatically, as outlined

by Onur Kurc and Tayfun Yaşar

IN THE NEWS

42

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INSIDEJuly 2018 • Vol 19 • No 7

‘JOLLY ROGERS’ ON WORK-UP

Jamie Hunter joins VFA-103 ‘Jolly

Rogers’ at NAS Fallon, Nevada,

for the squadron’s Strike Fighter

Advanced Readiness Program

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS

80 BAYWATCH JAYHAWKS

Patrolling Florida’s coastline is the

business of the US Coast Guard at

Clearwater. Yissachar Ruas joins its

MH-60T Jayhawks

84 CONQUERING THE DRAGON

In the  rst of a series of features,

former U-2 pilot Lt Col (ret’d) Rick

Bishop recounts how he joined this

elite group of USAF aviators

94 CUTTING EDGE

Our monthly technology column by

David Axe

96 FLASHBACK

Combat Aircraft’s regular feature looking

at squadrons and types that are gone

but not forgotten — this month it’s an

F-4G ‘Wild Weasel’ at George AFB

60

‘DARK FALCON’

Nicolas Deboeck details how

the Belgian Air Force F-

solo display team is ready for

the 2018 airshow season

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