4 // FEBRUARY 2018 #359 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
32 EXERCISE REPORT:
Joint Stars 2017
Air force, army and navy assets from across
Italy were engaged in Joint Stars, the country’s
largest national joint exercise of 2017.
Giovanni Colla and Remo Guidi investigate.36 INTEL REPORT: 2018 – the
rebirth of UK maritime air power
With the first new carrier working up,
F-35Bs preparing to come home and
Merlins being modified, 2018 is set to be a
busy year for the UK’s maritime air power
capabilities, as Alan Warnes explains.54 SURVEY: European
maritime patrol aircraft Part 3
AFM’s correspondents continue their round-
up of the maritime patrol aircraft fleets of
Europe’s NATO and Partnership for Peace
members. This month, the focus turns to
the Armed Forces of Malta, the Netherlands
Coastguard and the Royal Norwegian Air Force.64 FORCE REPORT: Vigilance
Formed in 1968 with the motto ‘Vigilance’,
the Australian Army Aviation Corps currently
numbers over 120 helicopters spread across
three operational aviation regiments and aRight: A pair of Aeronautica Militare AMX A-11Bs
from the 51º Stormo at Istrana holds station
off the wing of a KC-767A tanker high over the
Mediterranean. Sicily, Sardinia and southern-
central Italy were the stage for Joint Stars – the
Italian military’s largest national combined exercise
of 2017. Giovanni Colla and Remo Guidi
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pages 26 and 27 for details.Contents February 2018 #
Cover: With the WW (‘Wild Weasel’) tailfl ash
proudly adorning its aircraft, the 35th Fighter Wing
at Misawa AB takes the role it represents very
seriously. This is one of Misawa’s most famous
Fighting Falcons, ‘BOB’, a Block 50 F-16C, serial
90-0808, which surpassed 9,500 hours of fl ight
time on November 20. The 14th Fighter Squadron
‘Samurais’ jet fi rst fl ew 27 years ago, making it
older than many of the lieutenants and captains
that fl y it. Jim Haseltine