For nearly 50 years the silence in the area surrounding Hyakuri air base north of Tokyo has been broken by the sound of the twin General Electric J-79 engines of the locally based McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms (known locally by the nickname ‘Samurai’) starting up for their daily tasks.
This year’s Australian International Air Show was hot and hotter. The previous air show in 2017 had the focus on existing assets of the Australian Defence Forces with the Boeing EA-18G Growler and Lockheed-Martin’s F-35A Lightning II just being integrated at the time.
It was 1988 that Australia hosted an international air show to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary. That air show featured a lot of international presence with the F-15 Eagle, Tornado F3, Harrier, the Royal New Zealand Air Force “Kiwi Red” aerobatic team and even featured a flypast of the famous B-52 Stratofortress bomber.
The first set is from Dong Tac, home to the 910th Regiment and its Aero L-39Cs. The 910th is known as the 910th Julius Fucik Training Regiment
The Turkish Air Force again in 2016 hosted Anatolian Eagle (AE). This exercise continues to attract foreign air arms, who clearly value this opportunity to assess their capabilities and readiness for an air war.
Over the weekend of May 21st and 22nd the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) opened its arms to welcome the public to the Bi-annual Open House, held this year at Paya Lebar air base.
Guam, a name that symbolises World War Two and the Pacific conflict in modern history, which reverberated to the sounds of heavy bombers again the 1960’s and 70’s, with the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress launches towards Vietnam, is now a modern vibrant holiday destination where east and west collide, not surprising when you consider the islands location in the middle of the Pacific.
In early 1982 I graduated from the Royal Thai Air Force academy as a Pilot Officer (2nd Lieutenant) and a few days later I joined the Primary Flight Course School in Kamphaeng Sean, Nakhon Pathom Province.
Interviews by Mark Rourke with the Malaysian Defence Minister and Lt Col Fadzar Bin Suhada Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Retired
Langkawi, a small island off the west coast of Malaysia, is the setting for the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition, and Mark Rourke of Pixelsnipers was there braving the high temperatures to attend the event.
