Duke took me on a visit to TOPGUN and I got to meet with the pilots there. The meeting was planned…
Mirage
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Aviation HistoryMilitary Aviation
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Aviation HistoryMilitary Aviation
Did you know that the highest-scoring jet-mounted ace Giora Even-Epstein had also been the eldest Israeli pilot to fly an F-16?
by Dario Leone“I flew the F-16 for nine years. Grandpa fighter pilot. Older than the parents of most of the young pilots at…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
The day KGB tried and failed to steal a Lebanese Mirage
by Dario LeoneOnly months after the delivery of Mirage IIIELs to Lebanon, an unusual diplomatic incident took place. The Dassault Mirage III is…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
The story of the Israeli Mirage that shot down an Israeli F-4E Phantom II during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War
by Dario Leone‘While one of the Mirages from No. 144 Squadron, IAF shot down the F-4E with the call-sign Buffet 2, another went…
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Aviation HistoryCold War EraMilitary Aviation
Iraqi Air Force Performed the Only two Tupolev Tu-16 Air Strikes Ever Conducted against Israel
by Tom CooperThe Israeli Mirages attempted to attack with Shafrir Mk.1 air-to-air missiles, but these missed, and both pilots were then scared away…
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Military Aviation
The Myth of Soviet Arms and Tactics in the Middle East, Part Five: why Soviet arms perform so poorly in Arab service
by Tom CooperThe available technology and know-how just couldn’t keep up: by the time the MiG-23 ‘had to enter series production’, it was…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
The Unknown Story of the Syrian MiG-21 Pilot who Developed the Cobra Manoeuvre: i.e. Pugachev Wasn’t the First to Perform the Cobra
by Tom CooperWhen Pugachev Cobra was flown by Soviet test-pilots for the first time, nobody cared any more about who has originally developed…
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Cold War EraMilitary Aviation
That time two RAF Phantoms shadowed two Soviet Bears over France because French fighters were grounded for Bastille Day celebrations
by Dario Leone“I could not avoid a feeling of irritation when I pictured our Mirage colleagues as they attended their Bastille barbecues on…
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Military Aviation
AFTER ATAC ANOTHER DEFENSE CONTRACTOR BUYS SURPLUS MIRAGE F1 FIGHTERS FOR AGGRESSOR ROLE
by Dario LeoneParamount Aerospace Systems will operate them alongside Mirage F1 fleet that was acquired from the South African Air Force in 2006…
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Aviation HistoryMiG KillersMilitary Aviation
MiG KILLER AND SCHOLAR AT THE SAME TIME: HOW A COLLEGE STUDENT SCORED THE FIRST EVER GUN KILL FOR AN ISRAELI F-4 PHANTOM II
by Dario LeoneThree or four times a week Aviem Sella returned from missions over Egypt flying at low altitude over Haifa to inform his…