I still hope you can replace your avatar with a happy guy in an MFI-17 soon 😀
I still hope you can replace your avatar with a happy guy in an MFI-17 soon 😀
The only trip to Turkmenistan i know of was in 2000, in which little was seen except some 80 stored MiG-23s, and about a regiment’s worth of Su-15s also in storage. Nothing operational, although it has to be said that this particulair trip was more a general recon for Central Asia rather than a full-scale log mission 🙂
I don’t think Kaliningrad is that much of a problem for the Baltic nations. There aren’t any Lithouanian or Polish claims over it (obviously, since the area has been completely Russified after the Germans were kicked out), although there are some redicilous ATC rules from Lithouania for allowing Russia-Kaliningrad flights (i’m not sure if it is still in place, but there used to be a 72-hours-advance request for permission filed for each flight, and such).
However, both Latvia and particularly Estonia have some border disputes with the Russians, something of which the Russians were particularly concerned at least in 1996. In fact, it took us some three hours of worrying in the police station in Gdov (the town next to the Smuravyevo Su-24 base) before we realised we got busted for being in the border zone, rather than for hanging out near an airbase. The Estonians also appear to claim Russian cities like Narva and even as far as Kingisepp.
But since the FOL is appearantly going to be Siauliai-Zokniai in Lithouania which is relatively far from the disputed areas (some 500 km from Gdov if i’ve got the map in my head correctly), i don’t think there will be a lot of attention for these disputed pieces of real estate.
I think it would be a good thing for western-NATO people to see the nice apartheid-like states they have allowed to join the alliance though. Non-ethnic Balts are really treated like sh!t in those countries, having no right to a passport or even driver’s license.
The first two look odd (or ugly if you will) because they were based on the two-TV-engine layout of the Yak-36 FREEHAND, whereas the others follow the two lift + one TV engine layout from the Yak-38.
Nope, the drone is the D-21. The carrier aircraft is an M-21, which is a converted A-12.
There is an M-21 drone… but that is an unmanned MiG-21 for use as aerial target (M for Mishen’ or target). There should be one at the base museum at Akhtubinsk. You can spot M-21s from the ‘saddle’ antenna housing over the spine.
Here is a picture of the Minuteman being thrown out of the back of the Galaxy, with the chutes deployed. The A-3 or B-66 (don’t know what chaseplane they used, but since the tests were over the Pacific ranges of the Navy i guess it’s a Skywarrior) gives a nice bit of scale.
Well, i don’t think the Dhruv or Mi-28 make a lot of sense, since it clearly is about a combined order for utility plus combat helos. Stupid me didn’t think about it, but Aurel’s definately got a point. Bell could indeed be an interesting candidate by dusting off it’s B412 and Cobra rigs, and offer the AH-1W/UH-1Z combo. This combination makes just as much sense as the ECxxx (don’t know the current Eurocopter designations, sorry – but i mean the Dauphin-one)/Tigre combo, or A/W with their A109 (or 119)/A129 combo.
Chances of me finding it would be about as big as me winning the national lottery, but a number of years back Scramble produced an overview with everything known to be Lebanese. I think it had the fates (either presumed or confirmed, can’t tell) of the SM79s. If anyone does keep his/her collection organised…
L-113 is ex MM24499, ex LR-AMAC and is now at the Museo Gianni Caproni in Trento in full Lebanese colours, while the one at Vigna di Valle (the ‘national’ museum if you will) is in AMI colours. These two are referred to as the only survivors, so if Tony would like to make his trip to Lybia worthwile…
And at least one F-15 vs. F-15 incident too… although there could even be two, some nagging voices inside my head are both shouting ‘Eglin’ and ‘Alaska’. I can confuse a lot, but not those two states 🙂 As stupid as it may sound, the “sorry, forgot the safety”-excuse has rightfully been used before. As i mentioned earlier.
I second Plawolf’s request, Nighthawk. And welcome to the forum.
Oooold JH-7 pic. Third-prototype-old.
Yes, Eurocopter is in the race, but another Bolkow 117 design-sale to an Asian country (first to Kawasaki, then to HAL) would be pushing it a bit too far 😀
Thanks for the diplomats for doing the behind-the-scenes-work here. Some affairs just need a little bit of ‘nothing to see here, move on’.
The Blackhawk doesn’t seem like a serious candidate either. Not only is it too big, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense either since the RoKArmy already operates them in large quantities, and in fact the UH-60P is assembled and partly built in Korea. Writing a whole new tender with Blackhawks in mind doesn’t make any sense at all.
The transport/utility part of the tender is obviously for a replacement of the UH-1H. Despite the replacement of the Huey in the USArmy by the UH-60, one can’t really consider these two helos to be one-on-one replacements – the UH-60 is much larger and heavier, and definately overkill for the more mundane utility roles. Something the USAr now seems to be re-discovering fast with the demise of the OH-58 and the cancellation of the RAH-66.
This likely renewed interest of the USAr for a real utility helo does make it interesting for US companies to invest for this tender, since it could make the development of such a helo worthwile. From the current catalogue of available US helos, i think only the Bell 407 and Kaman would really fit the utility requirement. The basic design of one going back almost forty years and it’s currently a Canadian helo anyway, while the other’s basic design is closing on to fifty years of age… It definately seems both Eurocopter (Dauphin and Tigre) and AgustaWestland (A109-ish helo and Mangusta) have very good if not excellent machines ready to fill this requirement. Especially if you consider the systems commonality between each manufacturer’s two helos. I can’t think of any American company offering a package-deal like that. Also, i think the Charge of the Helo Brigade in Iraq has shown that an attack helicopter is a good asset as long as you don’t attack with it. Which makes lighter and cheaper attack helos an even more interesting option.