13 EXERCISE REPORT:
Real Thaw 2018
Portugal’s annual two-week Real Thaw
exercise involved assets from most
of the country’s air force squadrons,
as well as from Denmark, Spain and
the US. Jorge Ruivo investigates.32 Book reviews
AFM evaluates some of the latest
offerings in aviation literature.34 INTEL REPORT:
Warfi ghters versus wildfi res
AFM’s regular columnist Alan Warnes visits
California to witness US Air Force rapid
response and life-saving support for the
US Forest Service and CAL FIRE as they
conduct vital aerial firefighting operations.40 EXERCISE REPORT:
Iniohos 18
This year’s Iniohos took place between
March 12 and 23 and was the largest NATO
air exercise of 2018 so far. Babak Taghvaee
was at Andravida air base in Greece at a
time of heightened tensions in the region.72 FORCE REPORT:
Serbian Air Force and Air
Defence
The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence has
given itself the goal of putting years of crisis
behind it and embarking on the road to
recovery, as Aleksandar Radić explains.86 COMMANDER’S UPDATE
BRIEFING: Airlift
Last month, Air Power Association President,
Air Marshal (Ret’d) Greg Bagwell CB,
CBE looked at air refuelling, the lifeblood
of air operations; this month he turns his
attention to the ‘muscle’ that sustains
every aspect of military campaigns.90 Attrition
Dave Allport details the world’s
most recent military accidents.98 Coming up
See what’s featuring in your AFM next month.Regular features
News by Region
All the world’s military aviation
news, by region
6-7 Headlines
8-9 United Kingdom
10-12 Continental Europe
14-17 North America
18-19 Latin America
20 Africa
22-23 Middle East
24 Russia & CIS
28-29 Asia Pacific
30 Australasia58 Last WEF at Meiringen
This year was the final chance for Meiringen to
play a part in the protection of airspace during
the World Economic Forum at Davos, as Joris
van Boven and Alex van Noye describe.
62 View to a kill – part one
In the first of a two-part feature, Douglas Barrie
and Piotr Butowski review the short-range air-
to-air missiles currently in service around the
world.
66 Dragon Lady at war
The US Air Force’s U-2 ‘Dragon Lady’
spy planes have played a key intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance role over Syria
and Iraq since the start of Operation Inherent
Resolve, as Babak Taghvaee recounts.78 Training a Typhoon pilot:
part two
Concluding a two-part feature, Jamie Hunter
returns to No 29 Squadron at RAF Coningsby,
Lincolnshire, to learn how Royal Air Force
Typhoon pilot training has evolved in recent
years.94 Manching magicians
The German Armed Forces’ WTD 61 conducts
a wide range of flight test activities on behalf
of the Federal Ministry of Defence. Peter ten
Berg reports from Manching in Bavaria.Above: The Israeli Air Force participated in Exercise Iniohos for the fourth time in succession, with a
main force spearheaded by four F-16C Baraks from the Ramat David-based 117 ‘First Jet’ Squadron,
including Barak 345 (c/n 4J-19). The IAF’s presence at the Hellenic Air Force exercise had been
uncertain until the last minute, but its appearance was a sign of the growing spirit of co-operation
between the two air arms. See p40 for a full report on NATO’s biggest air exercise of the year so far.
Babak Taghvaee
Cover: Upgraded MiG-31BM ‘01 Red’ (RF-92330) – named ‘Mikhail Sementsov’ after a World War Two
fi ghter ace – from the 712th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kansk approaches the tanker during a
refuelling training exercise from the ‘Foxhound’ base at Bolshoye Savino. The Russian military now has
approximately 130 operational MiG-31s and with a successful modernisation programme under way and a
similar number of airframes in storage, the future of this unique interceptor looks bright. Kirill Mushak
http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 5