November 2009

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News
HEADLINE NEWS
Leading stories from around the world.

GENERAL NEWS
Worldwide military and commercial news by Dave Willis.

UK MILITARY NEWS COLUMN
Tim Ripley examines whether the RAF is undergoing a fundamental shift away from a fast jet centric air arm.

US MILITARY NEWS COLUMNS
US lawmakers face tough choices on some major programmes. Robert F Dorr and Rick Burgess look at the issues that could affect the US Air Force, US Navy and Marine Corps.

COMMERCIAL NEWS COLUMN
Chris Kjelgaard examines the effects of the falling price of commercial aircraft.

Features

GOLDSTARS RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN
The RAF’s No.31 Squadron has deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick. Gary Parsons visited the unit at its RAF Marham base just prior to its departure.

RAPTOR WEAPONS SCHOOL
Dave Majumdar reports from Nellis AFB, Nevada, on the toughest instructor course for the F-22 Raptor.

REPUBLIC AIRWAYS – GROWING FOR GOLD
Jay Selman profiles US carrier Republic Airways.

AMX, UPGRADED AND READY FOR COMBAT
Riccardo Niccoli and Paul Ridgway examine the Italian Air Force’s AMX fighter-bomber.

LARGE TURBOFAN ENGINES: TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY TODAY
The large-turbofan engines that power modern widebody commercial aircraft, such as the Boeing 777-300ER and the Airbus A380, are the most powerful jet engines in the world. Chris Kjelgaard looks at state-of-the-art big-fan technology.

RAFALE FOR BRAZIL?
Rafale appears to be close to its first export contract, André Mileski reports from Brazil.

PISTON-POWERED WORKHORSE
Ian Harding went to Townsville, Australia to hear about the history and impending retirement of the Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4 Caribou fleet.

EVERGREEN SUPERTANKER EUROPEAN TOUR
Frédéric Marsaly saw the world’s largest fire-fighting aircraft demonstrated for the first time outside the USA at Chateauroux Airport in France.

EXERCISE GREEN SHIELD
Ian Harding reports from Dijon in France on the latest Royal Saudi Air Force overseas deployment.

JOINT FORCE SAR
AIR International's Editor Mark Ayton travelled to Brittany to see the Eurocopter EC725 Caracal on Search and Rescue alert at Lanvéoc-Poulmic.

JACK OF ALL TRADE
Jim Winchester visited RNAS Yeovilton to see how the ‘grey’ Lynx community has adapted to meet current challenges, such as fighting piracy.

BOOSTING CHINOOK CAPABILITIES
Jon Lake reports from Odiham on the latest upgrades for the RAF’s Chinooks.

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