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Volume 11 Number 4
World News
PAK FA flies • FY2011 US defense budget announced • UK Harrier squadron cutbacks • Third F-35B airborne • Kawasaki XC-2 maiden flight
PLUS! Special reports on aerospace trade shows in Singapore and Morocco
Front Line
Our hard-hitting regular column by Robert F. Dorr 26 Sukhoi T-50 — Russia’s Raptor
Russia is making some grand claims for its newly-flown next‑generation fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, but do they stack up? Jon Lake investigates the PAK FA’s prospects
So Others May Live
Although Portugal’s introduction of the Merlin as a rescue helicopter has not been without difficulty, it is now well established in service, as Luigino Caliaro describes
Vipers over Vermont
Ted Carlson reports from Burlington International Airport, home to the famous ‘Green Mountain Boys’ of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, and its ‘Viper’-equipped 134th Fighter Squadron
Tomcat in a Furball
In this month’s ‘Glory Days’ feature, Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek takes us back to NAS Miramar, California — Fightertown USA — and the Topgun school, 1982-style
A Black Hawk with bite
Ofer Zidon looks at the armed UH-60 Yanshuf, currently under test in Israel
Schooling the Slovenian Air Force The Slovenian AF’s pilot training regime is examined by
Frank Toenders and Joost Michiels
‘We Train Hookers’
Neil Pearson visits NAS Meridian and embarks aboard the USS Harry S. Truman to find out how Training Air Wing One prepares student naval aviators to become tailhookers
Scramble! Why does Britain need QRA?
With defense cuts beginning to bite, the question of whether the UK needs to spend so much on its Quick Reaction Alert capability has been in the news. Jon Lake provides Combat Aircraft Monthly’s contribution to the debate
Crewroom
Our new interactive feature, including a look at the lady behind some of the US Navy’s brightest special schemes, and new product reviews
French Aggressors
Henri-Pierre Grolleau flies with Escadron d’Entraînement 2/2 ‘Côte d’Or’, the French AF’s aggressor squadron
PLUS!
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US Fighter programs
Your exclusive Combat Aircraft Monthly guide to current US fighter aircraft programs — we detail the background and current status of the F-15, F-16, F/A-18E/F and F-35