EATURES

a€ You Break Them, We Move Thema€
Derek Bower explains how a€~aircraft post-crash managementa€ and aircraft transportation is handled within the UKa€ s Ministry of Defence.

Preparing for Armageddon
Luca Giandomenico Polidori reviews Francea€ s nuclear air power.

MAFFS Test
As wildfires ravage many parts of California, Neil Dunridge looks at the US Air Forcea€ s fire-fighting Hercules.

AFRICA SPECIAL: Mercenaries in Africa
Africaa€ s wars are a magnet for mercenaries a€ Al Venter explains how these hired guns and their gunships have changed the course of history.

AFRICA SPECIAL: Somaliaa€ s Youth Against the World
Tom Hart tells of the continuing war in the Horn of Africa against Al-Shabaab, an off-shoot of Al Qaeda, whose name means a€~The Youtha€ .

AFRICA SPECIAL: Africaa€ s Top Guns
North Africa is seen by many as the a€~next Afghanistana€ . Joe Coles looks at the capabilities available to the continenta€ s air forces.

AFRICA SPECIAL: Years of the a€~Flossiea€
Christopher Szabo tells the story of the worlda€ s oldest fleet of Hercules transport aircraft, still going strong in South Africa.

Proving the Concept
Guy Warner revisited the Royal Navya€ s 750 Naval Air Squadron and its Avenger T1s at RNAS Culdrose to see how rear crew training is progressing a€" one year on.
Turning & Burning in the Land of a€~No Slacka€
Robert F Dorr and Jim Haseltine describe how US Air Force pilots train to fly and fight in the single-seat F-15C Eagle.

Angels of the Med
Everyday can bring life or death situations for the HH-3F aviators at Trapani-Birgi airport on the western tip of Sicily, as Francesco Militello Mirto found.

Italya€ s New Hospital Helicopter
The veteran HH-3F Pelican is a hard act to follow, but Francesco Militello Mirto and Luca La Cavera say the Italian Air Force is confident it has a worthy a€" albeit temporary a€" replacement in the AgustaWestland HH-139A.

Qasim a€" In the Thick of the Action
Alan Warnes visited the Pakistan Army base at Qasim, in Rawalpindi, which is playing a major part in the countrya€ s war against terrorism.

Irana€ s a€~Grandmothersa€
The Iranian Air Force still operates Boeing 707s a€" fondly referred to as a€~Grandmothersa€ a€"as Babak Taghvaee explains.

REGULARS

Opinion
Dr Dave Sloggett considers the impact of the violent political unrest in Egypt on its own air force.

Deployments and Contracts

Attrition

Ops Board
All of the events and airshows of the coming months and the first dates for 2014.

Force Report: US Army Air National Guard
Tom Kaminski describes the aviation component of Americaa€ s Army National Guard, an enormous military machine.

Feedback
Correspondence from our readers.

Postcard froma€Ã