The largest of all the Greek islands, Crete sits to the South of Greece’s mainland and is home to the 115 Combat Wing - Hellenic Air Force (115 CW) based on the sprawling Souda Air Base situated near Chania. Commanded by Colonel Ioannis Birmpilis, 115 Combat Wing is tasked primarily with protecting the southern flanks [...]

Continuing a long-standing tradition, the Belgian Air Force has again provided an F-16 solo fast jet display team to perform on the European airshow circuit for another season. Once every three years, an experienced F-16 pilot is selected to represent the Air Force both at home and internationally. From 2018, Sr. Capt Stefan ‘Vador’ Darte [...]

Lying in the west of the Baltic State Latvia, the newly refurbished Jurmala Airport resides near the small historical town of Tukums. Since their inception in 2008, the Baltic Bees Jet Team have based themselves and their six immaculate and brightly coloured yellow and blue Aero Vodochody L-39Cs at this quiet ex-Soviet airfield. Duncan Monk [...]

“Here we go, here we go, here we go!” - No, not the chant from fans at a football match, but the cries emanating from the two loadmasters of VRC-40 ‘Rawhides’ sat at the rear of our C-2A Greyhound, as they warn us we are just seconds from ‘trapping’ on board the deck of the [...]

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth, and final Nimitz Class nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier for the United States Navy (USN), is currently on its third deployment since entering service in 2009. On it's return from operations with the US Navy 5th and 6th Fleets in the ongoing operation against so-called Islamic State, the ship [...]

RAF Fairford was once again the focus for many aviation enthusiasts in recent weeks, with the United States Air Force (USAF) deploying all three Bomber types on the USAF inventory to the Gloucestershire base. As well as supporting a number of multinational exercises being held within the European theatre, namely BALTOPS and Saber Strike, the [...]

Eight F-35A Lightning IIs from the 34th Fighter Squadron ‘Rude Rams’ along with pilots, maintenance specialists, security and other support personnel from the active component 34th Fighter Squadron and the Air Force Reserve's 466th Fighter Squadron, both based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah recently undertook a three week deployment to RAF Lakenheath. Mark Kwiatkowski reports from [...]

Life in the United States Air Force (USAF) begins with the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) with their mission to "recruit, train and educate Airmen to deliver air power for America". Often nicknamed ‘The First Command’, over 30,000 students – both domestic and international – train with the 19th Air Force and the many [...]

The United States Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) and the five Training Air Wings (TAW) of which it is comprised, pride themselves on producing the finest Naval Aviators in the world. Headquartered at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, the student pilot training program – commanded by Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) - instructs [...]

The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at Davos in Eastern Switzerland attracts many world leaders and important visitors to it and, as can be imagined, requires a high level of security - especially in these times of heightened alert states not only in Europe but around the world. In order to protect the skies [...]