After two years of absence because of Covid, this year saw another edition of Dutch exercise Frisian Flag, the biggest of its kind in Europe. Although also this year it was unsure for a while whether the exercise could go on, but this time not because of a pandemic but because of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine followed by the still ongoing war there.

The Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the following war prompted us to give an overview of the flying branches of the Zbroynykh Syl Ukrayiny or Ukrainian Armed Forces. Focus is on operational units (fighters, transport etc.), training units are outside the scope of this overview.

In July 1961 three NATO squadrons which all had a tiger in their emblem got together at RAF Woodbridge in the United Kingdom and held the first ‘Tiger Meet’. This turned into a yearly tradition that is still going strong today. This year therefor the Tiger Meet reached the age of 60, a birthday which was celebrated well.

On the 14th of April 2021 the Royal Netherlands Air Force 298 Squadron received the first CH-47F MYII CAAS Chinook helicopter. This is the first of 14 brand new helicopters build by Boeing in the USA. This Chinook is a step forward in building a 5th generation air force that is capable to fight on the digital battle field of the future.

The Belgian Air Force are renewing their VIP fleet, and the most recent addition has received its full colour scheme at Lelystad in The Netherlands.

In July 2020, for the first time in history, Israeli fighter aircraft landed on German soil. Six F-16 ‘Barak’ jets took part in the exercise Blue Wings 2020, together with two KC-707 tankers and two Gulfstream aircraft. Hosting them was fighter wing TLG31 ‘Boelcke’ of the German Luftwaffe, who operate the Eurofighter EF.2000 from Nörvenich air base.

Within the NATO community, one air arm is still operating the MiG-21. The Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo or Croatian Air Force fly their daily missions with the venerable fighter, protecting the South-eastern flank of the NATO territory.

In October a team of Ukrainian specialists from Antonov and Motor Sich visited Zagreb-Pleso airbase to inspect the two An-32 transport aircraft that are stored there. The Croatian Air Force currently rely on a fleet of Mi-17 and Mi-171 helicopters for transport, but are examining the possibility of putting the An-32’s back in service. Continue reading →

Canada has a proud history regarding their participation during World War II and D-day. This year saw the 75th birthday of the famous day that started the liberation of Europe from the Nazis.

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