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.

Although Sri Lanka is nowadays an island paradise, the country was torn apart during a civil war for multiple decades not too long ago. During that period, the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) had a large budget, and therefor over the years many aircraft were acquired. In 2009 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers) were finally defeated and peace prevailed.

Early January saw the arrival of the first F-35A for the Volkel AB based 312 squadron. After a flypast over its future home in the South of The Netherlands the aircraft landed at Leeuwarden AB in the North of the country. Here the acceptance of all European built F-35s for the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) is done.

In October the harbour of Vlissingen in the south of The Netherlands got even busier than it normally already is. But instead of with ships, the place is now buzzing with helicopters and vehicles of the United States Army.

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.

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.