Author: TheDesignHangar
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Polish Air Force Su-22 Farewell
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato & Matteo Buono The beginnings With a farewell ceremony held at the 12 Baza Bezzałogowych Statków Powietrznych (12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base) located 5 km north of Mirosławiec, on September 11, 2025, the Polish Air Force officially retired the last of its Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter fighter-bombers. This powerful Cold…
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Osan Air Power Days 2025
Text & Photography by Max Zammit Introduction On 10–11 May 2025, Osan Air Power Days 2025 marked the return of a full public airshow to Osan after a six-year hiatus, welcoming U.S. forces, South Korean partners and nearly 48,600 attendees across the weekend. The two-day event used the theme “Respect the Past, Forge the Future”,…
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50 Years of Turkish Air Force F-4 Phantom II
Text, illustrations & Photography by Max Zammit With an unforgettable celebration featuring close-range fly-bys and an “elephant walk” at the type’s last main operational station in the country, Turkey has commemorated 50 years of operations of the legendary F-4E Phantom. The Legacy goes on Eskizehir is a city that embodies Turkish aviation in its purest…
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AMX – Phase-Out 2024
Text & Photography by Max Zammit To commemorate the retirement of the AMX “Ghibli” aircraft, the Italian Air Force held a special ceremony at Istrana Air Base in northern Italy on April 5, 2024. The retirement of the 35-year-old A-11 signaled the end of an era. A cold war icon By the early 1970s Italy…
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Base Aérea Monte Real
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato Fast-jet aircraft of the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP – Portuguese Air Force) have been based at Base Aérea n. 5 (BA5) since it opened in October 1959 in Monte Real, Leiria, 150 km north of Lisbon. It has housed the only two fighter squadrons of the FAP for more…
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The Italian way of fast jet training: 61o Stormo
Photography by Max Zammit. Text by Max Zammit, Simone Marcato & Fabrizio Capenti Pilot training has a very long and illustrious history at the 61o Stormo (Wing) at Lecce-Galatina Air Base in southeast Italy. As of right now, it has 3 squadrons (212o, 213o, and 214o Gruppo) and 3 flight lines (T-339A, FT-339CD, and T-346A),…
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The end of the USMC Prowler’s era
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato On the 8th of March 2019, with the Sundown Ceremony at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, the Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Two (VMAQ-2) “Death Jesters” was deactivated. The event also marked the end, after 42 years and 260,000 flying hours, of the Northrop Grumman EA-6B…
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Cruzex 2018
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato Introduction The largest military exercise in South America, the eighth Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise, or CRUZEX, took place at the Natal-Augusto Severo airbase in the state of Rio Grande do Norte from November 18 to 30, five years after the previous one. In the five years between these last…
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International Military-Technical Forum “ARMY-2018”
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato ARMY’s fourth annual International Military-Technical Forum took place from August 21 to 26 in three different locations: the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre (also called Patriot Park), the Alabino Military Training Grounds, and the airfield of Kubinka Air Base, which is located in the Moscow region, 70 kilometers west…
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Kunsan Air Force Base
Text & Photography by Simone Marcato Kunsan Air Base (Kunsan AFB), also known by the military designation K-8, is – along with Osan AFB – one of the two main USAF installations on the Korean Peninsula. It is located at Gunsan Airport, about 10 kilometers west of the city of the same name, an important…