Here's another article with photos I captured at this year's NATO Days 2025 (Ostrava-Mošnov airport, Czechia). This time, it'll be aerial demonstrations.
We'll start with helicopters, specifically the multipurpose helicopter NH90 TTH and the attack helicopter EC-665 Tiger.
A stunning release of flares - anti-missile decoys.
While the NH90 looks more like a composed, steady machine, the Tiger pilot pushed the helicopter to such wild extremes that I was amazed at the incredibly acrobatic maneuvers it could perform - including crazy stunts like inverting the aircraft completely.
In the next two photos are aircraft from completely opposite ends of the spectrum. One shows the visually bulky A400M Atlas, a transport plane from the German Luftwaffe, while the other captures the unmistakably elegant Jas-29 Gripen from the Czech Air Force.
Among the aerial demonstrations, I included this one where the aircraft isn't the main attraction. It features the nine-member parachute team RAF Falcons from Great Britain, led by Captain Alice Adams-Cairns. It was a beautiful and precise performance with smoke effects that created stunning patterns in the sky.
And the article's finale belongs to an aircraft that has become an icon and a symbol. A symbol of dominance and power. A reminder of a time when the USA was still the leader and pillar of the democratic world, inspiring admiration from allies and respect and fear from enemies. An eight-engine apocalyptic demon and embodiment of hell itself - the strategic bomber B-52.
(As a movie lover, I must mention the film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in this context. If you haven't seen it, track it down and watch it.)
