Making its first visit to The Netherlands last February was Turkish Navy helicopter carrier TCG Anadolu (L400). Together with frigates TCG Istanbul (F515) and TCG Oruçreis (F245) and the logistic supply ship TCG Derya (A1590) it spent 4 days in the harbour of Rotterdam before continuing its journey.
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The airfield is just a grass strip of maybe 1.000 meters long, of which there are literally hundreds in Germany. But mention the name Hahnweide to an aviation enthusiast, and he will get shivers down the spine. Hahnweide stands for the biggest gathering of vintage aircraft in Europe: the Oldtimer Fliegertreffen!
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Every war is a human tragedy, with people being wounded and killed and innocent victims all over. But also during every war some heroic acts are recorded, small and big. These can change the lives of people involved and also serve as testimony to the spirit of mankind.
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During exercise Ramstein Flag 2025 flying operations at Leeuwarden AB in the Northern part of The Netherlands attracted lots of spectators. Dozens of jet aircraft taking off and landing every day was a spectacular sight for locals and aviation enthusiast alike. However the casual observer wouldn’t have noticed that other aircraft than fighter jets also played a very important role in the exercise.
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For decades large international exercises have been held at Leeuwarden airbase in the North of The Netherlands, from Diatit in the early nineties to most recent Frisian Flag. So far nothing new. But this year for the first time the exercise was not initiated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force, but by NATO.
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The iconic multi-role General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon made its first flight in 1974. Therefore the type reached its 50th anniversary in 2024. This was amongst others celebrated at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom, the biggest military airshow in the world. For this occasion an already withdrawn F-16AM of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) received a special colour scheme.
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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.
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In April this year, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) reached its 100th birthday. Under the motto “Your Air Force”, this is celebrated throughout the year during all kinds of smaller and larger events all over Canada. But also in Europe attention was paid to this milestone.
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In February the World Defense Show (WDS) was held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2022 a purpose built event location of some 800.000 m2 was North of Riyadh especially for the first edition of the WDS, a trade show that is not only aiming to be the largest in the region but also one of the largest worldwide.
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On March 14, 2024 the first Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian was delivered to 301 Squadron at Gilze Rijen air force base in The Netherlands. This is the first of twenty Apache’s that 301 Squadron is planned to receive.
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