Anthony Pecchi’s extraordinary capture of an Uzbek Air Force Su-25 Frogfoot unleashing a salvo of S-24 heavy unguided rockets against a ground target is the subject of the June cover. For this issue, AFM was granted unique access to the various bases of the rarely photographed Central Asian air arm, which remains one of the least-known among all the former Soviet Republics.

Other fascinating air arms in the spotlight include the Lebanese Air Force, which granted exclusive access to its bases at Hamat, Rayak and Beirut-Rafic Hariri, and the Croatian Air Force, with a profile of the recent detail changes to its order of battle.

Among the individual units profiled in the June edition are Esquadra 301 – the famous ‘Jaguares’ squadron of the Portuguese Air Force, which flies the multi-role F-16AM/BM – and VMFT-401 ‘Snipers’, an adversary squadron that’s part of the US Marine Corps Reserve, operating the venerable F-5N Tiger II from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona.

Reports from the cutting edge of modern military aerospace technology encompass the Italian Air Force’s HH-101A combat search and rescue helicopter, with an overview of operations at Cervia, plus the Israeli Air Force’s F-35I Adir – the IAF was the first F-35 operator to expose the type to combat and is looking forward to receiving a dedicated flying testbed as it adds more indigenous equipment to the stealth fighter.

Our combat report this month brings coverage of the French-led campaign in the Sahel, where AFM met and flew with British, French, German, Spanish and US air units involved in the war against terror in Niger and Mali.