Latest Articles
115 Combat Wing
The largest of all the Greek islands, Crete sits to the South of Greece’s mainland and is home to the 115 Combat Wing - Hellenic Air Force (115 CW) based on the sprawling Souda Air Base situated near Chania. Commanded by Colonel Ioannis Birmpilis, 115 Combat Wing is tasked primarily with protecting the southern flanks of both the countries airspace and waters. Along with two squadrons of around 20 Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D variants, namely 340 Mira (Fox) and 343 Mira (Star), the 115 Combat Wing base at Souda is also home to the Operational Conversion Unit, or SMET as [...]
Royal International Air Tattoo 2018
With over 300 aircraft arriving at RAF Fairford to help celebrate the Royal Air Force’s centenary, AeroResource’s Jamie Ewan joined the masses descending on the airfield with one question on his mind – would the Royal Air Force and Douglas Bader House (DBH) pull out all the stops for what was their official ‘international’ celebration of RAF100 at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2018? When the Royal Air Force came into being on April 1, 1918, little could anyone have known what its somewhat troubled and quizzed start would eventually lead to. A century later the aircraft may have changed, [...]
Luke AFB Airshow 2018
2018 falls exactly 100 years on from the end of the First World War and it was not by coincidence that this significant anniversary was celebrated during Luke AFB Airshow 2018. At the home of the 56th Fighter Wing (FW), Luke Air Force Base (AFB) is itself intrinsically linked to the First World War through Second Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr, a Phoenix native and the first aviator in the US military to be awarded the Medal of Honor – the nation’s highest military award. Frank Luke Jr was awarded this huge accolade posthumously after gaining eighteen ‘kills’ in the air [...]
RNAS Yeovilton Air Day 2018
Over recent years, the line-up at RNAS Yeovilton Air Day has boasted many unique and rare items and 2018 was to be no different. With clear skies, high temperatures and a display both in the air and on the ground that many shows could only dream of, the question was could Yeovilton Air Day 2018 live up to expectations? Adam Duffield reports on the show, with additional images from Duncan Monk. Following the announcement that RNAS Culdrose Air Day would no longer be held earlier this year, RNAS Yeovilton’s Air Day was to be the only official airshow presenting the [...]
Dark Falcon Rising
Continuing a long-standing tradition, the Belgian Air Force has again provided an F-16 solo fast jet display team to perform on the European airshow circuit for another season. Once every three years, an experienced F-16 pilot is selected to represent the Air Force both at home and internationally. From 2018, Sr. Capt Stefan ‘Vador’ Darte will display a specially painted F-16 MLU aircraft, nicknamed Dark Falcon, at events all over Europe - including numerous shows in the UK. Graham Platt provides a guest report for AeroResource. Immediately after being appointed as the solo display pilot in late 2017, ‘Vador’ began to [...]
RAF F-35B delivered to RAF Marham
Wednesday June 6, 2018 marked a historic event in UK Aviation, which saw the first batch of RAF F-35B delivered to RAF Marham, Norfolk. Whilst public opinion may be divided on the long awaited delivery of the Lightning II, the arrival of the first four aircraft welcomes the most advanced combat system to be fielded by the RAF and, soon, the Fleet Air Arm. It has been a long and arduous 12 years since the United Kingdom announced that it would acquire a total of 138 F-35s in a procurement that has never been far from controversy. With the ever-escalating [...]
United States Naval Air Training Command
The United States Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) and the five Training Air Wings (TAW) of which it is comprised, pride themselves on producing the finest Naval Aviators in the world. Headquartered at Naval Air [...]
Royal Navy Lynx Retirement
Fast, sleek, agile and sporty; words which are often used to describe and sum up the Westland Lynx - a helicopter that, in March 2017, will finally reach the end of a remarkable forty-one years [...]
Sion World Economic Forum Air Policing
The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at Davos in Eastern Switzerland attracts many world leaders and important visitors to it and, as can be imagined, requires a high level of security - especially in [...]
AeroResource 2016 Highlights
If social media is to be believed, 2016 was the worst year in the history of the world, with several “shock” events like the EU referendum result and the election of Donald Trump dominating headlines. [...]
Aircraft Carrier Operations – USS Dwight D Eisenhower
Deployed in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE since June 2016, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, or “The Mighty Ike”, has been conducting daily strike missions against so-called “Islamic State” in both Syria [...]
USS Dwight D Eisenhower – Operation Inherent Resolve
Weighing in at a cool 95,000 tonnes, the Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69) is the second of ten such vessels that form the cornerstone of United States Naval Aviation. [...]
Lightning Preservation Group Double Twilight Scramble
With the 2016 airshow season all but a fading memory and the dark nights drawing in at a pace, ‘nightshoot season’ is in full swing all around the country. November 12th saw the turn of [...]
Aviation Nation 2016 – Nellis AFB Open House
The Nellis Air Force Base open house or to give it the official title, Aviation Nation, is a renowned event that is often considered a bucket list show. The many attractions of Aviation Nation are easy [...]
San Francisco Fleet Week 2016
Since the inaugural event in 1981, San Francisco Fleet Week has gained a reputation as being one of the best in the United States, not only for its naval participants but also for the air [...]
RAF Brize Norton Nightshoot
In the last 12 months or so, more and more nightshoots have started appearing all over the country ranging from small quiet civilian affairs to busy evenings on an operational airbase. On Saturday October 29, [...]
Northolt Nightshoot XXI
With the number of nightshoots at RAF Northolt now sitting in the twenties, there really is no introduction needed for the nocturnal activities that take place on the West London base’s flightline. AeroResource’s Jamie Ewan and [...]
Ostrava NATO Days 2016
Found in the north-eastern corner of the Czech Republic near the border with Poland, the small city of Ostrava is the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region and, since its inception in 2001, been the setting [...]