The Spanish Air Force operates a wide-ranging fleet of aircraft, everything from fighters to transport aircraft and passenger transports to helicopters. It currently maintains some 650 aircraft.[1][dead link] The Spanish Air Force is experiencing a process of great change with the goal to be a quantitatively small army, with a very high quality technical and technological. Today, the Spanish Air Force is a force smaller (almost 50% less) than when I was in service the previous generation of aircraft, with an operating fleet reduced to about 650 aircraft as published in the Budget for 2009 and 27,000 troops, including 10,000 panels, more than 11,000 professional military troops and civilian personnel. The transport force role is taken by planes such as the C-130 Hercules and the CASA C-295. The Spanish Air Force also includes helicopters like the Cougar and the Colibri. 180 fighter aircraft are incorporated into 9 alas (wings) charged with different missions. Finally, the Spanish Air Force has a fleet of aircraft, including the CASA C-101 (manufactured in Spain), Beechcraft Bonanza and Enaer T-35C, to meet training requirements.[2] These air assets are supported by ground units and a sophisticated infrastructure[3]
The "Future backbone" of the Spanish Air Force will be mainly composed of the new generation fighter, the Eurofighter Typhoon.[4]
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Spanish Air Force
Swiss Air Force
The mission of the Swiss Air Force historically has been to support ground troops (erdkampf) in repelling invasions of neutral Swiss territory, with a secondary mission of defending the sovereignty of Swiss airspace. During World War II this doctrine was severely tested when Switzerland was literally caught in the middle of an air war and subjected to both attacks and intrusions by aircraft of all combatants. Its inability to prevent such violations of its neutrality led for a period to a complete cessation of air intercepts, followed by a practice of coercing small numbers of intruders to submit to internment.[1]
At the end of the 1950s, reflecting both the threat of possible invasion by the Soviet Union and the realities of nuclear warfare, Swiss military doctrine changed to that of a dynamic (mobile) defense that included missions for the Swiss Air Force outside of its territory, in order to defeat standoff attacks and nuclear threats, including the possibility of defensive employment of air-delivered nuclear weapons. However the inability to field an air force of sufficient capability to carry out such missions led to a return of traditional doctrine.[2]
In 1995 the Swiss abandoned traditional doctrine and implemented a defensive plan that made control of Swiss airspace its highest and main priority. Modernization of the Swiss Air Force to achieve this mission was subject to popular referenda challenging its cost and practice.
Friday, June 5, 2009
French Air Force
The French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA), literally Air Army) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, it is the world’s oldest military air service.The organisation of the ALA is based on having complete control of air operations and on flexibility in execution, both in peacetime and at war. As most modern defence organisations at the moment (2007) the ALA is busy reorganising itself (see Future).
After an absence lasting several decades the French president, Mr Sarkozy, confirmed that France will rejoin NATO integrated command again.Many consider the Armée de l'Air to have been the first professional air force in the world. The French took active interest in developing the air force from 1909 and had the first WWI fighter pilots. During the interwar years, however, particularly in the 1930s, the quality fell when compared with the Luftwaffe, which crushed the French during the Battle of France.
In the post–WWII era, the French made a concerted and successful effort to develop a home grown aircraft industry. Dassault Aviation led the way with unique and effective delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Mirage series of jet fighters. The Mirage repeatedly demonstrated its deadly abilities in the Six-Day War and the Gulf War, becoming one of the most popular and well-sold aircraft in the history of military aviation along the way. Currently, the French Air Force is expanding and replacing. The French are awaiting the A400M military transport aircraft, which is still in developmental stages, and the integration of the new Rafale multi-role jet fighter, whose first squadron of 20 aircraft became operational in 2006 at Saint-Dizier.
Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force (Turkish: Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) is a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It is one of the oldest air forces in the world and operates one of the largest combat aircraft fleets of NATO. In its relatively long history, numerous air aces and aviation pioneers have served in the Turkish Air Force, including Sabiha Gökçen, the world's first female combat pilot. Supported by the TuAF's long-range in-flight refueling capability, the fighter jets of the Turkish Air Force can participate in international operations and exercises throughout the globe.