Airforces Monthly - February 2017

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COMMENT Trump cards HOURS AFTER these words are first read, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. The weeks after the Republican candidate’s extraordinary election victory have seen a range of predictions as to how the role of the United States as a leading global – and military – power might change. How will the President of the pre-eminent superpower deal with traditional adversaries, such as Iran, North Korea and Syria? While recent years have seen talk of a Cold War ‘reboot’ with Russia, Trump’s overtures to Vladimir Putin may herald improved relations with Moscow. That could be especially crucial when it comes to dealing with so-called Islamic State. Trump has promised to order his generals to come up with a ‘30-day’ plan to defeat the terrorist organisation. No details have been released as yet, but such an effort will not come cheap. And one of Trump’s key election promises was to cut costs. Collaboration with Russia may be one route to take, but would surely prove unpopular in the wider international community. In a new development for an incoming President, Trump has taken to Twitter to voice his dismay with a range of bigticket programmes. In the months after winning the election, he lined his sights on the Air Force One replacement programme and F-35 Lightning II. Clearly, both the Boeing 747-8-based presidential aircraft and the multinational F-35 programme are incredibly expensive. More likely than not, Trump’s tweets were not genuine threats to cancel either, but the first nod towards driving down costs. But with no credible alternative to the 747-8 as Air Force One, and with billions of dollars – not to mention strategic allies – already tied into the F-35, it’s hard to see where significant savings could be made. One area of defence in which Trump has promised to spend big is in the modernisation of America’s nuclear capabilities. Critics were swift to point out that efforts to update the US Air Force’s ageing nuclear-delivery systems had already been announced by Barack Obama. As well as a resurgent Russia, which other global threats could be countered by America’s formidable strategic arsenal? “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US,” Trump tweeted on January 2. “It won’t happen!” While it might be North Korea that first faces the wrath of the new President’s foreign policy, all previous initiatives to shut down Pyongyang’s nuclear programme have failed. Trump followed up that tweet with one that urged China to take "some kind of action" against its North Korean neighbour. In so doing, Trump may have succeeded in both worsening US-China relations and overestimating Beijing’s influence over North Korea. Whichever way one looks at it, ‘interesting times’ seem to be ahead. Change is also afoot at AirForces Monthly, where I take over as editor beginning with this issue. I am looking forward immensely to the challenge and am honoured to take the helm of a publication which continues to lead the field in its coverage of contemporary military aviation. I would also like to express my huge gratitude to the previous editor Glenn Sands, for his exceptional work in the position. Thomas Newdick Email at: edafm@keypublishing.com Editor: Thomas Newdick World Air Forces Correspondent: Alan Warnes Editorial Contact: edafm@keypublishing.com Attrition: Dave Allport Group Editor: Nigel Price Chief Designer: Steve Donovan Assistant Chief Designer: Lee Howson Production Editor: Sue Blunt Deputy Production Editor: Carol Randall Advertising Manager: Ian Maxwell Production Manager: Janet Watkins Group Marketing Manager: Martin Steele Mail Order & Subscriptions: Liz Ward Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Managing Director & Publisher: Adrian Cox Copies of AirForces Monthly can be obtained each month by placing a standing order with your newsagent. In case of difficulty, contact our Circulation Manager. Readers in USA may place subscriptions by telephone toll-free 800-428-3003 or by writing to AirForces Monthly, 3330 Pacific Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA23451-9828. We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication. Postmaster: Send address corrections to AirForces Monthly, Key Publishing Ltd, c/o Mail Right International Inc. 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway NJ 08854. Printed in England by Warners (Midlands) plc, Bourne, Lincolnshire. AirForces Monthly (ISSN 0955 7091) is published monthly by Key Publishing Ltd and distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854. The entire contents of AirForces Monthly is a copyright of Key Publishing Ltd and cannot be reproduced in any form without permission. The Editor is happy to receive contributions to AirForces Monthly. Please note that all material sent to the Editor is forwarded at the contributor’s own risk. While every care is taken with material, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred. All material rates available on request. Submitted material (especially illustrations) should have the contributor’s name and address clearly marked and a stamped addressed envelope should be enclosed if it is required to be returned. All items submitted for publication are subject to our terms and conditions, which are regularly updated without prior notice and are freely available from Key Publishing Ltd or downloadable from www. keypublishing.com. All digital imagery should be at least 300dpi and 10 x 8 inches (25.4cm x 20.3cm) in size and submitted on a CD/DVD with thumbnail prints to the Editor at Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs., PE9 1XQ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261 Subscription: subs@keypublishing.com Website: www.keypublishing.com Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PP. Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7429 4001 Next Issue ON SALE FEBRUARY 16 *UK scheduled on sale date. Please note that the overseas deliveries are likely to be after this date. www.airforcesmonthly.com #347 FEBRUARY 2017 3
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Austrian Upgrade Above: An Austrian
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Ready to launch. A greenshirted cat
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The carrier’s support of Operatio
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in the fight against ISIL [Daesh],
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From the Cockpit Maj Thomas Palmkli
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Inside an F-16AM cockpit during a B
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MAGAZINES > DVDS > CDS > BOOKS > SU
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WZL-2 MRO FACILITY While the WZL-2
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WZL-2 MRO FACILITY scheduled to ret
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BALTIC AIR POLICING Armed for actio
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BALTIC AIR POLICING that “the Mir
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BALTIC AIR POLICING have only ‘vi
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NEW TYPHOONS IN ACTION A new Pilot-
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Det 1 commander Lt Col ‘Elvis’
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THE PHINAL PHOUR Above: Eric ‘Roc
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united states air force SPECIAL air
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Airforces Monthly - February 2017

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