combat aircraft

6 HEADLINE NEWS

F-35B combat debut, Tyndall hit by

hurricane and UK eyes E-7 Wedgetail

8 US NEWS

Boeing wins T-X, ATAC shows Mirage F1s,

plus the latest unit and deployment news

18 WORLD NEWS

News from Europe and around the globe

including the UK’s Sea King retirement, plus

all the latest military losses

14 THE OPS DESK
Scott Wol ’s regular column looks at US Navy
plans for personnel readiness and retention

16 EXERCISE REPORT: ‘PITCH BLACK’
Roy Choo reports from ‘Pitch Black’, the largest
air exercise in the southern hemisphere, and
one that has grown in signi cance

24 EYE ON THE EAST:
CHINA JOINS THE ‘LIFT’ LEAGUE
For many years, two companies — Guizhou
and Hongdu — have been the major suppliers
of trainers to China’s air force and naval
aviation. Now both are o ering very di erent
solutions on the international market

28 DESERT WARRIORS
The Royal Saudi Air Force has clocked up 32
years of Tornado operations. Jon Lake recalls
the story of how Saudi Arabia became the
only export customer for the Tornado and
how the aircraft have been upgraded to
remain credible

36 BASE REPORT:
ALTUS AFB — HOME OF THE HEAVIES
Altus AFB has become a center of training
excellence for the USAF’s heavy-lift C-
and KC-135R crews. It is also planned as the
training base for the forthcoming KC-46A
Pegasus, as Henk de Ridder describes

40 BOEING’S BRAVE NEW WORLD
Boeing has secured a trio of impressive
competition victories in recent months,
crowned by a huge win in the USAF T-X
trainer contest. Jamie Hunter reports

44 EXERCISE REPORT:
‘NORTHERN LIGHTNING’
Although often overshadowed by ‘Red
Flag’, the ‘Northern Lightning’ large force
employment exercise is proving to be
valuable and popular, as Curt Jans discovers

52 BEST OF ‘FIENDS’
The 36th Fighter Squadron ‘Fiends’ has been
celebrating its centenary over the past
year. Scott Wol meets this famous unit on
exercise in Alaska

IN THE NEWS

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Jamie Hunter

ON THE COVER | PAGE 76

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60 EXERCISE REPORT: ‘AMPLE STRIKE’

James DeBoer joins Arizona Air National

Guard F-16s in the Czech Republic for a

major close air support exercise

68 VERTICAL CHALLENGES: PART 2

In the concluding half of this two-part

series, Joe Copalman examines how the

US Marine Corps  elded the AV-8A Harrier

76 F-35B FORGES ONWARDS

Jamie Hunter reviews a spell of signi cant

gains and a notable setback for the F-35B

84 FIGHTERTOWN LAKENHEATH

Raptors and Super Hornets descended on

RAF Lakenheath in October for a unique

exercise with an impressive blend of

 ghter hardware as Jamie Hunter reports

94 CUTTING EDGE

Combat Aircraft’s monthly column

reporting from the front line of aerospace

technology, by David Axe

96 FLASHBACK

Combat Aircraft’s regular feature looking at

highlights of the recent past — this month

it’s QF-86 Sabre drones

KEEPING THE ‘BUFF’ ALIVE

Michael Keaveney visits the B-52 heavy maintenance facility at Tinker AFB and  nds out how this team

must  nd clever yet e cient ways to keep the mighty ‘BUFF’  eet in the air