As in previous years, I wanted to see how my taxes are used for the defense of the Czech Republic and Europe. Unfortunately, the forces of nature meant that this year's NATO Days at Ostrava Airport could

25 years ago, on 12 March 1999, the Czech Republic joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Before that, NATO had 16 members, today it has twice as many. And after years of peace and comfort, it

I was looking at some photos from this year's "NATO Days" in Ostrava, and this one caught my eye - an A-400M Atlas transport plane of the German Luftwaffe. Originally I didn't want to publish

The title of this article is somewhat cryptic, but still reasonable. The point is that among the photos of Gripen I found two with Eurofighter Typhoon. Which ones are they? The first one and the last one,

The NATO Days 2023 (Ostrava, CZ) featured a range of aircraft, from older pieces to modern ones. But when Maj. Kristin "Beo" Wolfe took off for a demonstration with her F-35 Lighting II, it was

I admit that if I go to any air shows, it's mostly for the high-tech military equipment. And I mostly took those aerobatic shows as a necessary " stuffing" to fill the free time between military

I once had a colleague whose husband was a pilot. And in one conversation he referred to helicopters with mild disdain, calling them "blenders". I took it as a kind of aviation humor, and I can

As I do every year, I attended a show of allyship, strength and dominance. NATO Days and Czech Air Force Days 2023. And I also went to check out what all the two percent of the state budget goes to. And

Some of the military and police helicopters on display at last year's NATO Days in Ostrava. Některé z vojenských a policejních helikoptér, které byly k vidění na dnech NATO loni v Ostravě. Mi-35 Hind A

Although it doesn't look like it, the first photo is not black and white, but in color. However, when shooting against the sky, only the silhouettes of the planes remain, and the only thing left in colour

The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft. In this case, it is a Finnish Air Force aircraft. It is photographed as it deploys for landing. Open landing gear, wing flaps at maximum,

I once read a book written by former US SEAL Commander Richard Marcinko. And he wrote something that "you don't get as many nice toys anywhere as you do in the army." Pictured here is a T72-M4CZ

The photos show an F-16 multirole fighter aircraft of the Belgian Air Force. This aircraft is nicknamed "Dream Viper" and its colouring corresponds to that. However, to me it looks more like

The Gripen maneuvering wildly between flares may look dramatic. But don't worry, it's just an exhibition. NATO Days 2022, Ostrava, CZ Divoce manévrující Gripen mezi světlicemi vypadá možná dramaticky.

The photos show the massive twin-engine Mi-35 attack helicopter (which is an export version of the Mi-24V). The Mi-24 helicopters have been in the arsenal of many countries around the world for 50 years

We had this massive turboprop aircraft with counter-rotating propellers here once before, during a simulated air-to-air refuelling. Here we see it as a classic transport aircraft. Although at first glance

A powerful multirole aircraft in the colours of the Austrian Air Force. Performance at the NATO Days 2022 in Ostrava. Among the biggest users of this aircraft in Europe are the UK, Germany, Italy

German Luftwaffe A400M Atlas tanker gives a drink to two thirsty dragons - JAS39 Gripen of the Czech Air Force. (In this case it is not "wet-contact", it is just a simulation, so the planes are

The launching of flares - anti-missile decoys - is always a very spectacular fireworks display. In this case, a German NH-90 multi-role helicopter demonstrates this. Odpálení flérů - protiraketových návnad

A rather aggressive takeoff of an F16 fighter. These aircraft have been in production since the mid-1970s until today. Twenty-five countries use them. Poněkud agresívní start stíhacího letounu F16. Tato