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MILAVIA
Monthly Newsletter |
May
2003 | ||
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CONTENTS
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New
Newsletter Design |
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Those of you who already were receiving the
MILAVIA newsletter, probably already noticed the big change. I have
redesigned the newsletter to make sure you enjoy it quite as well as the
website. Only the design has changed for now, the content remains the
same. But will probably change in the future. If you think something is
missing in this newsletter, feel free to send me your ideas and
comments!
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New Domain Name: www.milavia.net |
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Since just a few weeks the MILAVIA website
has its own domain. You can now visit the website at http://www.milavia.net or http://milavia.net. This new address is much
easier to remember. Also for those of you who were using http://milavia.cjb.net the new address
has NO pop-ups! So update your bookmarks with
the new URL!
Also all e-mail addresses will change to
@milavia.net instead of @milavia.cjb.net. So you are now receiving this
newsletter from webmaster@milavia.net. Make sure
it does not end up in your Bulk Mail folder or is deleted as Junk Mail, if
you are using Hotmail or Yahoo!.
The website will still be accessible from the
old URL for quite some time to come. Also you can still use the old e-mail
addresses.
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Website
Updates |
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Unfortunately I have been very busy this
month, so I have not done much updating.
- You can now vote for MILAVIA in the
Aviation Top 100 by clicking on the button just below the main navigation
bar. It opens the Top 100 page in a new windows. If you look just below
their header, you can rate the MILAVIA website. I would appreciate it if
you can give your rating, it only takes a minute.
- Some links and banners were added.
Please visit Jagdmail and consider
using their e-mail service using a domain name based on WWII Luftwaffe
Units. Check it
out.
- EA-6B Prowler, Saab Draken, MiG-29 Fulcrum,
Mirage F1: These aircraft will be added to the aircraft directory as soon
as possible. I just need to finish some of the information and for some I
am waiting for permission to use pictures.
- And last but not least, there is a new
quiz!
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Military
Aviation News |
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March 20 - OPERATION IRAQI
FREEDOM
During the night of March 20 OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM commenced, two
F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft attacked a presidential palace
in down-town Bagdad, Iraq. The attack by the F-117s was aimed at killing
Saddam Hussein and four of his top lieutenants. At the same time 40
Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched at Iraqi air defenses to make sure
the Iraqis would not get a lucky kill, just like the Serbs in the Kosova
war. Also US F-15E Strike Eagles and RAF Tornado GR.4 strike aircraft
attacked air defenses en route to the target. EA-6B Prowlers cleared the
way for the F-117s, knocking out radar stations. The main air strikes did
not start until the evening of March 20.
March 21 - OPERATIONAL DEBUT OF STORM
SHADOW
During the evening of March 21, the main air
strike on the Iraqi capital was launched. The attacked concentrated on
leadership targets in a small area in the center of Bagdad. Smart weapons
and Tomahawk cruise missiles were used. A RAF Tornado
GR.4 launched the first MBDA Storm Shadow in anger during these
attacks. The Storm Shadow is the RAF stand off cruise missile, which
carries a payload of conventional high explosive warhead. It uses TERPROM
(Terrain Profile Matching) and GPS (Global Positioning System) to navigate
and uses an imaging infra red sensor for terminal guidance. It is powered
by a small TRI turbofan engine and has a range over 135 miles or 250
kilometer. It can be launched for the Tornado GR.4/4A and the
Eurofighter Typhoon
March 22 - TORNADO SHOT DOWN BY US
PATRIOT
On March 22 a Patriot took out an RAF
Tornado, unfortunately both aircrew were killed. The Tornado was returning
from a strike missions when a US Patriot Missile system based in Kuwait
mistakenly targeted and engaged the Tornado. The system failed to identify
the aircraft as friendlyPatriot Systems were based in Kuwait to protect
coalition forces and Kuwaiti citizens from incoming ballastics missiles
(SCUDs).
March 26 - PRODUCTION TIGER
FLIES
The first production Franco-German Tigre
(French name) armed escort helicopter for the French Army Aviation made
its first flight on March 26. During the 55 minutes flight the entire
flight envelope was explored and no problems were accounted. The first two
Tigres will be delivered to France this year, eight more will be delivered
in 2004. France and Germany ordered an initial batch of 80 helicopters
each. Australia has ordered 22, to be delivered in 2004. Germany will also
receive its first variants of the Tiger (German name) later this
year.
C-130J HERCULES
ORDER
Lockheed Martin received a massive order to
supply 40 CC-130Js (enlarged fuselage) for the US Air Force and 20
KC-130Js (air-refuelling tanker) for the US Marine Corps. Delivery will
commence in 2003 and is to be completed in 2009. The contract is worth
$4.05 billion.
RNZAF WANTS TO REPLACE
HELICOPTERS
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is looking
for a replacement helicopter for its old fleet of UH-1s and Bell 47G
Sioux, which were acquired in the mid-1960s. The candidates include the
UH-60 Blackhawk, the Eurocopter Puma and the NH Industries
NH-90.
MiG-31 REMAINS IN
SERVICE
It is announced that the MiG-31 Foxhound will
remain in service for an unspecified period. The long-range interceptor
will be upgraded and rearmed with the R-37. The R-37 is a development of
the the R-33 long range air-to-air missile.
More news next
month!
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Quiz
Results |
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The correct answer to the April 2003 quiz is
the B-1B Lancer. This supersonic bomber is developed and build by Rockwell
and operated by the US Air Force. In the quiz picture you were shown the
nose with the fuel receptacle and the canards.
A lot of visitors took part in this quiz and
most of them submitted the correct answer. The winners are:
Congratulations! I hope you all enjoyed the
April quiz and take part again in the new quiz! I hope you will find the
new quiz picture a little bit harder to guess. Good luck!
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Picture
of the Month |
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A US Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare
aircraft, beautifully lit up. Enjoy!
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A Word
from the Webmaster |
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First, let me thank the new subscribers.
Thank you for subscribing to the MILAVIA newsletter. I hope you have
enjoyed the newsletter and the website and will visit it again!
Like I said in the updates section, I had
only time for some minor adjustments to the website past months. I will
try to make up for this. But I can use your help! Especially for the
article sections I don't have much to add. I am afraid of copyrights so
want to write everything myself, but that just takes a lot of time and
energy. So if you think you can contribute in any way, let me know! Also
please help me promote this website a bit, you probably know some people
who are interested in military aviation. Please tell them about
MILAVIA.
If you have any comments, suggestions, found
anything missing or something wrong, don't hesitate to e-mail me.
Thanks,
Niels Hillebrand
MILAVIA Webmaster
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