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EF-2000, Eurofighter Typhoon ACIG Combat Jet, 2002 Note: This award was decided on total merit. See the Forum for more details. When choosing this aircraft we had to think of several things. One of the biggest thoughts that kept coming back was: 2 engines. Having seen the results of flying F-18s to death off of carriers we know that they have had to turn off an engine occasionally. Combat aircraft like the F-16 don't have this option. F-16: The F-16 has a great performance record to back it up. And after all that you have cost of ownership. The F-16 has a very low cost of ownership,on the surface. We looked at "cost of ownership" a different way: The satisfaction over years of not having to dump aircraft because one engine went bad on you in-flight. So at the end of the day we considered that "cost of ownership" included having a better chance of bringing back not only a wounded aircraft but bringing back the aircrew also. The F-18 Super Hornet: We could not consider this aircraft because of a serious lack of performance. Rafale: A great aircraft to be sure, but we took it off the list because we would hate to go into a deal to buy a major weapon system yet get sued because the vendor didn't like the buyers choice. SU-30: The menu of weapons combined with the vendor support made us want more. Gripen: Limited war load, single engine Mirage-2000: single engine So in closing the Eurofigher offers a no compromise situation on air-to-air performance yet has a better chance of bringing back a disabled aircraft and/or aircrew. It will no doubt carry advanced GPS/INS weapons someday making it a strike jet that can get to and from a target with good combat ability. Aircraft considered: Eurofighter, F-16 Blk 50-60, Rafale, F-18E/F, SU-30, Gripen, Mirage-2000 Aircraft not considered: F-15E (not fly-by-wire), SU-35 ( too many unanswered questions ), still a "concept" aircraft. F-22: too specialized. JSF: Like the F-22, customers have to be a member of a special club. ACIG Team The Air Combat Information Group is the leading internet database specialized on the history of air combat and air warfare since 1945, with the main purpose to offer a single source of reference and an oversight about the use of air power during every war, crisis, emergency, incidents or accidents which have happened in the last 55 years, encourage international cooperation in researching the history of aviation, and promote interest in the history of aircraft and air forces of countries involved. EUROPE & COLD WAR DATABASE Base Visit of the German Air Force JBG-31 ACIG had the chance to visit the base of the German Fighter Bomber Wing (Jagdbombergeschwader) 31 at Noervenich airbase near the city of Cologne. JBG31 is the oldest flying unit in the German Luftwaffe of today. It was formed in 1957 and was accepted into service in June 1958. Already in 1959 the Wing, which was flying the F-84 at that time, was placed under NATO command. 1961 was to be a busy year for the JBG 31. First it was given the name “Boelcke” in remembrance of the German WWI pilot Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke. It was given that name because Hauptmann Boelcke did not only achieve forty kills during his career, but also because he helped to develop many of the fighter tactics that are still used to day, before he died in an midair collision with another plane from his unit in 1916. Also in 1961 the first new F-104G arrived in Noervenich and the wing converted to that plane. It achieved the 200.000th flighthour of the F-104G in April 1982. The career of the much loved Starfighter ended in May 1983. During the period of F-104 operations the Wing lost 18 F-104Gs to accidents in which 14 pilots were killed. ACIG SPECIAL REPORTS ARTICLES Indian-Subcontinent Database Kabul IAP Gallery of exclusive photographs taken at Kabul International Airport, showing what kind of planes can be seen there. Jun 7, 2006, 00:14 ACIG Books, Articles & Media Articles in Air Combat Magazine (UK) Articles by ACIG.org authors published in Air Combat magazine. Apr 30, 2006, 05:26 ACIG Database Striking Flankers, Part 2 Artwork Gallery of Su-27 "Flanker"-family of fighters in Russian and foreign service. Apr 30, 2006, 01:33 Central and Latin America Database Caribbean MiGs An exclusive report from a visit to a trully exotic Museum of Cuban Air Force Apr 29, 2006, 01:23 ACIG Modeler's Corner Ed Okun's Gallery 02 Newest models of Egyptian MiG-17F and Israeli Mirage IIICJ by Ed Okun. Apr 5, 2006, 09:09 ACIG Database Striking Flankers, Part 1 Artwork Gallery of Su-27 "Flanker"-family of fighters in Russian and foreign service. Feb 5, 2006, 09:31 ACIG Books, Articles & Media Copyright-Viollations and Unfair Use of ACIG.org Materials by Key Publishing Ltd. Public announcement in reaction to a series of copyright-viollations and cases of unfair use of ACIG.org, its authors and correspondents, as well as support of offensive statments against ACIG.org, its authors and correspondents. Jan 22, 2006, 03:29 ACIG Special Reports al-Ain Show, January 2006 Photo-Report from the al-Ain Show 2006, in UAE, by Georg Mader, Austrian correspondent of JDW. Jan 22, 2006, 02:05 ACIG Special Reports Rheine-Hopsten Airbase Fly-Out Exclusive report from the official fly-out ceremony at the Rheine-Hopsten AB, in Germany. Jan 22, 2006, 02:03 ACIG Special Reports Eskisehir Calling! Exclusive photo-report from visit at THK-air bases in Turkey, by Vincent Jacques. Nov 12, 2005, 03:44 Europe & Cold War Database Kleine Brogel - Spotter's Day 2005 Report from Spotter's Day 2005, at Kleine Brogel Nov 12, 2005, 03:33 Base Visit: "Fluglehrzentrum F-4": Hopsten AB, Germany The "Fluglehrzentrum F-4" (FLZ) is still training German F-4-crews fresh out of type-training in the US on how to fly and fight with the F-4F in the European airspace. This transition is quite challenging, as the airspace over Europe is much more crowded then the airspace over the USA. Add the much more changing weather conditions and it becomes obvious that the new crew members still have a lot to learn at Hopsten. Hopsten airbase has a long history as an active airfield in Germany. Construction of the first airfield to bear the name of Hopsten airbase started in 1938, with the airfield becoming operational in 1939. Interestingly, there were problems to name the airbase during that time, as the town of Dreierwald refused to give its name to an airfield. Thus, only after extensions of the base in 1940 and 1944 that used land coming from the village of Hopsten a name was found and the airbase was called Hopsten AB. After the final extension the airbase had three runways, with the main east-west runway being 3.000m long. The other two runways were running north-south and southwest-northeast. In the early years of the WWII Hopsten was only playing a secondary role. It was only a temporary home of different units. In 1944 however, with the increasing allied bomb-attacks on Germany in full swing, the strategic location of Hopsten airbase right along the main entry routes of the heavy bombers meant that it became an important airbase in the defence of Germany. Even Messerschmitt Me -262 jetfighters and Arado Ar.234 jet bombers were operating from the base in late 1944. Additionally, other conventional prop fighter units were operating from the base – sometimes acting as cover for landing jets. Near the end of the war Hopsten airbase was regularly bombed by allied planes, but the heavy AA defences and well-dispersed aircraft, in combination with quick repairs to the runways meant that the airbase remained operational until allied ground forces reached it, on the 6th April 1945. The allies had no use for the airfield and gave the area to the local population for use as fields. In 1959 the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe decided to built a new airbase on the area formerly used by the old WWII airfield. It was decided to build an entirely new airbase there, which was designed in accordance of the latest NATO standards. A new 3000m long North-South runway was constructed, as were HAS areas, underground fuel tanks and other support structures. However, the housing complex was built no less but eight kilometres away, in the city of Rheine. The new JaBoG36 (“Jagd-Bomber Geschwader” - Fighter Bomber Wing) was formed from a core of personnel from HBG 31 based at Nörvenich airbase, near Cologne. After getting all the aircraft and all personnel the unit was assigned to NATO in 1961. It operated the Republic F-84F fighter bombers in support of the 2nd Allied Air Fleet of NATO. At the time JBG36 did only consist of one flying squadron tasked with close air support: in 1962 a second squadron was formed, with the primary task being the training of fresh pilots coming from the US and teaching them how to fly and fight with the F-84F in Germany. In 1963 the wings badge was officially accepted. It displayed the rampant horse of Westphalia on a red and blue background. Blue stands for the sky, while the sky is a reminder of the naturally red soil of the fields of Westphalia. The badge was to remain basically the same during all later changes the wing would later go through. Rheine-Hopsten Airbase Fly-Out By Stefan Kuhn On 15 December 2005, the official fly-out ceremony was held at Rheine-Hopsten airbase in Germany. ACIG was able to attend the event. The day did mark the end of flying operations for the FLZ F-4F (Fluglehrzentrum F-4F = Flight-training centre F-4F) and also marked that last local mission from Rheine airbase. The last F-4F left the base on the 20th and the base will be turned over to civilian authorities in June 2006. The airbase at Rheine-Hopsten had seen 44 years of service with the Luftwaffe since the end of WW2. During WW2 the base had been used by the Luftwaffe and had even seen Me262 operations. In the last days of the second World War, German forces destroyed the remaining infrastructure and rendered the whole airbase useless. The British occupation forces then turned over the area to the local population for civilian use. With Germany being rearmed and joining NATO the increasing demand for new airbases let to the construction of a new airbase on ruins left over from WW2. For more information about the history of the base and the units based there please see the following website: Fluglehrzentrum F-4 The ownership of the base was returned from Oberstleutnant Kling (the commander) to the commander of the 3rd Luftwaffendivision, Generalmajpr Kreuzinger. In his speech General Kreuzinger did not miss to mention the great work done by all members of the unit, past and present, as well as the great integration into the local communities and the the support from the local communities the base and ist soldiers had enjoyed for 44 years.

As a final gesture former members of the unit as well as the local press and people from the neighbouring villages were invited to witness the final local sortie from the base planed for the afternoon of the 15th December. To mark this occasion, six F-4Fs - including the specially painted example 37+11 - were assigned to make one last flight from this airfield.