PHOTO: Royal Thai Air Force jet trainers (Alpha Jet and L-39)

The recent Thai Boomerang exercise between the Thai and Australian Air Forces offered a glimpse of the Royal Thai Air Force's Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets and the Aero L-39ZA/ART Albatros trainers. Note that the L-39 shown below is armed with AIM-9P Sidewinder Air-to-Air missiles. The RTAF currently operates 36 L-39ZA/ARTs with two squadrons and 19 (out of an original 25) Alpha Jet As with one squadron.

Ex Thai Boomerang 2011 was hosted by the RTAF's Wing 1 at Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) Royal Thai Air Force Base and also involved the host unit's F-16s along with F/A-18A Hornets of the RAAF's Williamtown-based 77 Sqn.

Click on the thumbnails below to view high-resolution images.


© Commonwealth of Australia


© Commonwealth of Australia

Cameroon AF Alpha Jet overshoots runway, crashes into house

© Sipa Press/Rex Features via Flightglobal

A pilot from the Cameroon Air Force has had a lucky escape when his Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainer overshot the runway when landing in Yaounde. The two-seat aircraft came to a rest in the courtyard of a house after running down an embankment, with the sole pilot and a civilian on the ground sustain light injuries.