Similar in appearance to the earlier Mirage III This is a totally new design. Its superb Fly By Wire control system has given the old delta format a totally new edge. It is superbly powerful and manauverable and is the mainstay of the French Air Force. It has recieved many export orders from the middle east, India and Greece to name a few.
The first operational jet fighter in the world. It held the postwar speed record, a clipped wing variant topped 616 MPH in 1946. It was credited with destroying many V1 flying bombs. It also saw combat with the Australian AF in the Korean War, although they were no match for the advance Mig15. This is a postwar Meteor F8 model.
The mighty hunter of the open ocean. Easily the best maritime patrol and anti submarine aircraft in the world. It is faster and has a bigger weapon load than all its rivals. It is based on the old Comet airliner but has more power and internal capacity. It is so good that the only replacement for it is...another Nimrod! The fleet will be completely re-built and fitted with the latest sensors over the next few years. The aircrafts display is an amazing combination of power, grace and manauverability for such a large aircraft.
A truely staggering aircraft. It combines the manauverability of the smaller MiG29 and combines it with massive range and weapon load. This aircraft can fly direct from Moscow to the UK and still have enough fuel for a full 20 minute "turnin & burnin" display! The latest thrust vectoring versions are truely heart stopping to watch in action This is a Ukrainian example.
Embraer Tucano (Above)
This Brazillian trainer has been adopted by the French AF. It has even been built under licence by Shorts for the RAF. It has also been selected to train NATO pilots in the NATO pilots in the NATO Flight Training school in Canada.
The mainstay of NATO. This low level attack plane was develped by a consotium of British, German and Italian companies. It is built in all 3 countries. It also serves with the Royal Saudi Airforce. The Germans seem to like special markings and here are 3 stunning paint schemes . The middle pic is of a German Navy (Marinefleiger) example, armed with AGM88 HARM anti radar missiles. These 3 are of the IDS (Interdictor Strike) version. The low level performance of these aircraft is superb, flying at supersonic speed as low as 50 feet with automatic terrain following. The RAF, RSAF and AMI (Italian AF) also use an interceptor version. Though this is not the most manauverable fighter in the world it has a superb weapon system. When fighting at very low level the Tornado is incomparable!
The Vampire entered service at the close of WW2 . It had a twin boom layout so that the jet pipe could be as short as possible to allow the maximum thrust. Swiss AF examples were not retired until 1990!
This is the 2 seat training version .
The infamous U2 spyplane has had a colourful history and will serve on for the forseeable future, with the most advanced sensors available. Several shootdowns in the 60's led to much cold war tension and a suspension of overflights of Soviet airspece. It is the largest single engined aircraft in the world and is designed to fly at extreme altitudes. Despite its age it is still shrouded in mystery.
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