Dropping the Big One

by Krzysztof Dabrowski

The Big One usually refers to a nuclear weapon, a nuclear bomb in particular. In case of the AN602 (AH602) this term is especially fitting for this thermonuclear weapon was indeed big both in terms of its yield as well as weight and dimensions. The bomb went under several other designations including RDS-202 (РДС-202), RN202 (PH202) and names such as Ivan (Иван). It was also called Kuzkina mat (Кузькина мать) literally meaning the mother of Kuzma which was a reference to the Soviet Union’s leader of that time Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev ( Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) exclamation "Мы вам покажем Кузькину мать!" – phonetically “My vam pokazhem Kuzkinu mat!” – which literally means we will show you Kuzma’s mother but colloquially expresses the intention to teach others a harsh lesson. However arguably the weapon is best known as the Tsar bomba (Царь-бомба) even if the Soviets themselves never actually used this term. Since it is pointless to “swim against the tide” Tsar bomba will henceforth be used in this piece as well. The said “doomsday device” was developed by a team of physicists headed by Yulii Borisovich Khariton (Ю́лий Бори́сович Харито́н) which also included many other distinguished Soviet scientists with Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Андре́й Дми́триевич Са́харов) among them.

While considerable attention is usually devoted to the bomb itself and its test – that hardly being surprising – the aircraft which delivered it and the men who flew it usually stay in relative obscurity. Yet a nuclear bomb without a bomber remains useless for obvious reasons. Thus it begs to devote a few words to the Tu 95V bomber which was an aircraft devised specifically to carry and drop the Tsar bomba.

The bomb undergoes the necessary preparations

Misrata has recruited new mercenaries for its air force

Forces loyal to the Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar claim foreign mercenaries are being recruited to bolster the air power of rival fighters in the city of Misrata. Colonel Ahmed Almesmari, of Haftar's Libyan National Army, said this week that the 11 mercenaries had entered the city, including "nine jet technicians from Ecuador, one Ukrainian pilot, one missile expert from Georgia".

A source close to the international mission in Libya, who asked to remain anonymous, also confirmed this to Middle East Eye. Almesmari told MEE that the Libyan National Army (LNA) was "not in a stage to comment further". "In case we decide to announce detailed info, it will be on our official outlets," he added.

The mercenaries were reported by MEE's source to have entered the cities of Misrata and Mitiga. The hiring of mercenaries would break UN resolutions on arms control in Libya.

Libyan militia building mercenary air force, rivals claim

My publication in May 2017

Two publications in May 2017 : in DSI issue No.129, I talk about the engagement of Egyptian and Emirati Air Forces in Libya with a focus on the UAE deployment at al-Khadim airbase; I have also written a short piece about the latest batch of four F-16IQs delivered to Iraqi Air Force in Issue No.350 of Air Forces Monthly magazine

The LNA Air School rehabilitated nine pilots and upgraded eight

The Libyan News Agency published on 16 April 2017 a video from inside the Libyan National Army Air School at Tobruk where new pilots are being trained on Mi-2 helicopters. Colonel Pilot Mohamed Ben Ali, commanding officer of the Mi-2 Squadron, said that the military personnel carried out 1553 sorties, which lasted 1200 hours and 45 minutes. Ben Ali explained that these flights included military operations in addition to other training that contributed to the rehabilitation of nine pilots from the combat squadrons, and raise the efficiency of eight other pilots on Mi-2 Squadron.

My publication in April-May 2017

In March-April, two of my articles are published in DSI and Combat Aircraft Monthly magazines. The first one is the story of the Garud commando forces, the special forces dedicated to the Indian Air Force in DSI special Issue. In Combat Aircraft Monthly, I published a short piece about the latest Aero Vodochody L-159s delivered to Iraqi Air Force.

The Libyan National Army Is Running Out of Air Power

The Libyan National Army Air Force — part of the eastern-based Tobruk regime, one of two competing governments in Libya — lost two fighter-bombers and an experienced pilot in fewer than two weeks. A MiG-21 shot down over the Al Sabri district in Benghazi and a second MiG-21 that crashed near Tobruk after a mission to Derna, killing the commander of Gamal Abdul El Nasser air base.

The LNA/AF, under the command of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, also lost a Mi-35 gunship helicopter that the air arm abandoned at Ras Lanouf air base during a militant attack — and then destroyed.The losses have sharply reduced the LNA/AF’s combat capability as it battles western-based Misrata militants who are determined to hold Libya’s central oil crescent.

The Libyan National Army Is Running Out of Air Power

My interview in Libération newspaper on 7 April

My interview (in French) in Libération newspaper on 7 April 2017 about US airstrikes on al-Shayrat airbase in retaliation of the chemical attack on Khan Cheikhoun in Syria.

Syrie: Al-Shayrat et les 59 Tomahawks

My publications in March-April 2017

In March-April, two of my articles are published in Airpower and Air Force Monthly magazines. The first one is an analysis of the future of the F-35 : "Le F-35 est-il condamné ?". In Air Forces Monthly, I published the first contribution to my new series of monthly reports named the "Flashpoint" : "Dusty' goes to war", the secretive Libyan war record of the Air Tractor.

How Emirati/Egyptian air power turned Haftar's Libyan oil ports disaster to victory

On 14 March, General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army launched a counterattack against the fighters of the Saraya Defend Benghazi and the Petroleum Facilities Guard coalition, which had managed to take most of the coastal cities near the oil terminals 10 days earlier.

This lightning counter-offensive has left observers skeptical. How could an army have lost an entire region in a few days - and then recovered it so quickly?

How Emirati air power turned Haftar's Libyan oil ports disaster to victory

Balloon busting

by Krzysztof Dabrowski

With various events commemorating the centennial of the First World War or the Great War as the global conflict is also known the attention of aviation enthusiasts is among other things drawn to the so call balloon busting – that is to the shooting down of enemy aerostats which was an important part of World War One aerial warfare. This was so despite the fact that powered flight was by that time already well established. However aerostats still played an important role, especially observation blimps were of great use allowing to watch enemy positions and look behind his lines. For obvious reason neither of the warring side could tolerate this and hence the aforementioned balloon busting. It is less known however, that many balloons and other aerostats were also shot down in times chronologically much closer.  In particular the Cold War saw many such incidents occurring but they also took place even more recently – leaving the former for another time it seems fitting to bring to attention the latter.

A new offensive in the Oil Crescent could reshuffle the cards in Libya

On March 3, 2017, fighters from Saraya Defend Benghazi — also known as Benghazi Defense Brigade, an Islamist militia group that formed in June 2016 to oppose the dominant Libyan National Army and its popular leader Gen. Khalifa Hafter — together with members of Ibrahim Jadhran’s Petroleum Facilities Guard and Misrata’s Al Marsa Brigade, attacked An Nawfaliya, Bin Jawad, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf in Libya’s Oil Crescent.

Their goal was to seize the oil terminals in those towns. And thus control Libya’s wealth. The attack has upended the Libyan civil war.

All Bets Are Off as a Surprise Offensive Roils the Libyan War - Libyan National Army oil facilities fall to lightning assault

Russia has provided at least one fighter jet to Libya National Army

By Arnaud Delalande and Wolfgang Pusztai

On Feb. 24, 2017, photographs taken by Libyan National Army Air Force technicians — and which appeared on social media — revealed that Russia appears to have supplied at least one warplane to forces under the command of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar’s army, concentrated in eastern Libya and based in Tobruk, is the chief rival of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord based in the western capital of Tripoli. The 73-year-old marshal, who once lived in exile near the CIA headquarters in Virginia, has received military support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries.

And, as the evidence strongly suggests, Russia as well.

It Looks Like Russia Gave a Fighter Jet to Libya’s Warlord

My publication in March

This month, two of my short reports are published in March Issue of Air Force Monthly about the deployment of Nigerian Air Force in Gambia and a combat report about Iraqi Air Force and Iraqi Army Aviation in action in the battle of Mosul.

Les émirati sont sur le point de déployer des chasseurs en Libye

Base aérienne d'al-Khadim au 30 décembre 2016 (TerraServer)

De nouvelles photos satellites de la base aérienne d’al-Khadim prises en décembre dernier montrent clairement que les Emirats Arabes Unis sont sur le point de déployer des chasseurs sur le territoire libyen. L'engagement de la force aérienne d'Abu Dhabi aux côtés du maréchal Haftar a déjà été confirmé depuis plusieurs mois. En effet, les IOMAX AT-802 Air Tractor et les drones Wing Loong de fabrication chinoise sont situés sur la base aérienne d'al-Khadim depuis au moins le mois de juillet. Leurs pilotes - la plupart d'entre eux des mercenaires américains travaillant pour Erik Prince – ont régulièrement effectué des missions de soutien aérien au profit de l'Armée Nationale Libyenne contre les groupes islamistes à Benghazi.

Emirati are on the verge of deploying fighter jets in Libya

New satellite photos of the al-Khadim airbase taken in December clearly show that the United Arab Emirates are on the verge of deploying fighter jets on Libyan territory. The engagement of the air force of Abu Dhabi alongside Marshal Haftar has already been confirmed for several months. Indeed, IOMAX AT-802 Air Tractors and Chinese-made Wing Loong drones are located on al-Khadim airbase since at least July. Their pilots - most of them are American mercenaries working for Erik Prince as source told War Is Boring in January - regularly carried out air support missions for the benefit of the Libyan National Army against Islamic groups in Benghazi

Emirati Fighter Jets Could Help Tip the Libyan Civil War - A deployment of Mirage 2000s appears to be imminent