Tag Archives: economy

International, Technology

NATO Vehicle I-D: MiG-29 Bŭlgariya

Video

The Republic of Bulgaria is now a member of NATO, during the non-declared Cold War (1947-1991) the People’s Republic of Bulgaria was a member of the Warsaw Pact.  Warsaw Pact Bulgaria first received the MiG-29 during the last years of the Cold War, starting in 1989.  Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004.

U.S. Air Force video report, from 13OCT2010, explaining wargame Thracian Star:

MiG-29 taxis past a Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing F-16, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 26MAY2014.

A Bulgarian MiG-29UB pilot helps a Louisiana Air National Guard F-15 Eagle pilot attach his oxygen mask before a familiarization flight in a MiG-29UB during a training mission at Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 20APR2015. Louisiana Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Toby M. Valadie.

In May 2015, Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C Eagles trained alongside Bulgarian MiG-29s. Video by Master Sergeant Toby M. Valadie, edited by me to focus on the MiG-29:

New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley, 13JUL2015.

MiG-29UB, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, 15JUL2015. New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley.

F-16s, MiG-29 and MiG-21. New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley, 20JUL2015.

Bulgaria began NATO ‘policing’ of the Black Sea in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Joe W. McFadden, 08SEP2016.

USAF video, by Staff Sergeant Ashley Corkins, MiG-29s during NATO’s first ever ‘joint air policing’ (along with California & Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 Eagles) of the Black Sea, on 09SEP2016:

Bulgaria began NATO ‘policing’ of the Black Sea in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Joe W. McFadden, 09SEP2016.

NATO video released 13OCT2020, showing ‘air policing’ operations over supposed NATO Black Sea territory. Video was edited by me to highlight the MiG-29:

MiG-29UB. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 13JUL2021.

MiG-29UB excerpt from U.S. Air Force promo video (by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 15JUL2021):

MiG-29UB. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 20JUL2021.

USAF Airman First Class Brooke Moeder shows you MiG-29 action during wargame Thracian Star, July 2021:

In 2019, NATO-Bulgaria paid Lockheed Martin, in full, for eight U.S. made F-16 Falcons, however, on 17MAY2023, BulgarianMilitary.com reported that the United States government/Department of Defense canceled any additional F-16 purchases and told Bulgaria to continue using the MiG-29!

On 11AUG2023, The Sofia Globe reported that NATO-Bulgaria is paying NATO-Poland 9.5-million Euros to rebuild six MiG-29s!

Cold War & Beyond: Микоян и Гуревич (Mikoyan & Gurevich) МиГ-29 (MiG-29)

Post Cold War: NATO’s MiG-21s (including Bulgaria)

Idaho, Technology

5th & final generation Chevy El Camino SS

Video

Photo by me.

A 1980s Chevrolet El Camino SS at the 23 September, 2023, auto-show in Pocatello, Idaho. Video by me.

SS El Camino on the move:

23SEP2023: PETERBILT VISITS POCATELLO

Idaho, Technology

Peterbilt visits Pocatello

Video

A Peterbilt tractor decided to take part in the auto-show on 23 September 2023, in Pocatello, Idaho.  Video by me.

Night rollout:

Day & Night:

23SEP2023: OLDS 442 CUTLASS

International, Technology

Cold War & Beyond: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29

Video

Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

During the Cold War it was known as Mikoyan & Gurevich (Микоян и Гуревич), hence MiG (МиГ). The MiG-29 began military service in 1983.  NATO reporting name Fulcrum.

U.S. Department of Defense concept of what a MiG-29 looked like, image released to the public on 23MAY1984.

From 1983 to 1985 the MiG-29 was kept out of public sight, then the leadership of the Soviet Union changed, adopting a concept called Glasnost which resulted in public demonstrations of the MiG-29 all over the world.

Photo of MiG-29 number 01, published in Western NATO countries in January 1987.

Photo of MiG-29 number 02, published by the NATO-West in January 1987.

In 1989, the Soviet Union was trying so hard to be ‘open’ that they sent one of their new MiG-29s to an airshow in NATO-Canada.

U.S. Air Force personnel help Soviet personnel refuel a MiG-29 that stopped at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, enroute to an airshow in British Columbia, Canada. USAF photo by Sergeant Gregory A. Suhay, 01AUG1989.

The Soviet Union released this photo to the NATO-West in September 1989.

A Warsaw Pact East German (German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik) Mig-29, on Preschen Airfield sometime in 1990. Photo by Rob Schleiffert. East Germany ceased to exist in October 1990.

U.S. Department of Defense photo showing the remains of an Iraqi MiG-29, after Operation Desert Storm in March 1991.

(See more in Desert Storm: AIRCRAFT GRAVEYARD)

Post Cold War, Balkan Wars, War on Terror, Battle for Ukraine, 1992 to present. Since the end of the Cold War the company is known as Mikoyan and is now part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), but the aircraft are still referred to as MiGs.

A former Warsaw Pact East German (German Democratic Republic/Deutsche Demokratische Republik) Mig-29UB, now wearing unified NATO-Germany markings, parked next to a USAF F-16B on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 11AUG1993. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Gary Tomoyasu.

Former Warsaw Pact Romania MiG-29, 23MAR1996. Romania would officially join NATO in 2004. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Russ Pollanen.

NATO-Germany MiG-29 flies alongside a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet, somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, in Summer 1996.

The USAF claims this F-15C shot down the first Serbian MiG-29, during Operation Allied Force. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ken Bergmann, 24MAR1999.

Oregon Air National Guard F-15C Eagle taxis with a NATO-Poland MiG-29, on Minsk-Mazowiecki Air Base, during wargame Eagle Sentry, 29APR2001. Former Warsaw Pact Poland joined NATO in 1999. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jerry Bynum.

A former Warsaw Pact Czechoslovakia MiG-29, now wearing independent Slovakia colors, 09JUN2001. Slovakia would join NATO in 2004. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Mitch Fuqua.

USAF officers get a tour of a NATO-Hungary MiG-29, 15MAY2002. Former Warsaw Pact Hungary joined NATO in 1999. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Colette M. Horton.

Final flight of NATO-Germany’s MiG-29s over the Gulf of Mexico, 14MAY2003. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Michael Ammons.

In the late 1980s, MiG developed a ‘K’ navalized version of the MiG-29 (first flight 23JUL1988), but there were no takers.  In 2004, India decided they wanted the MiG-29K for their small aircraft carrier fleet.  The training version MiG-29KUB first flew in 2007. The KUB version can also act as an electronic warfare aircraft.

Russian navalized MiG-29Ks.

Apparently, the fact that India liked the MiG-29K influenced the Russian Military Maritime Fleet to buy their own MiG-29Ks in 2009.

In 2011, California Air National Guard F-16s flew to Ukraine to take part in wargame Safe Skies. This video, by Senior Master Sergeant Christopher Drudge, shows a Ukrainian MiG-29UB taxiing past the California F-16s:

MiG-35 Fulcrum-F

In 2016, UAC-Mikoyan introduced a new ‘MiG-29’ called the MiG-35 (which looks a lot like the navalized MiG-29K).  NATO calls it the Fulcrum-F.

This is from a NATO promotional video about Poland’s MiG-29 (edited by me), released in Spring 2018:

U.S. Department of Defense video claiming to show Russian MiG-29s operating over war-torn Libya, 05JUN2020:

Indian Air Power, 2021: Includes the MiG-29KUB

NATO-Bulgaria MiG-29 escorting U.S. Air Force B-52H, 24MAY2021, video (no audio) by Senior Airman Daniel Hernandez:

Ukraine Crisis, 2022: SLOVAKIA SUDDENLY RETIRES THEIR MiG-29 FULCRUM, AT NATO’S BEHEST

NATO video, 21MAR2023, NATO-Poland’s MiG-29UB launching from Malbork Air Base in Poland, and flying over the Baltic Sea:

On 16SEP2023, for the first time Republic of Serbia MiG-29s took part in an airshow in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia.  Serbian Air Force-Air Defense video:

Post Cold War: NATO’s MiG-21s

Idaho, Technology

Olds 442 Cutlass

Video

Oldsmobile seen at the 23SEP2023 auto-show in Pocatello, Idaho.  Video by me:

Olds 442 on the move:

September 2023: 1937 PLYMOUTH DELIVERY WEBCO CUSTOM

Idaho, Technology

Pocatello, Idaho: Old Ford COE U.S. Postal Service, September 2023

Video

This former USPS Ford 1960s though 1980s C (Cargo) series Cab Over Engine (COE) truck has been in use as a static billboard for more than 30 years, by a re-sale store in Pocatello called Westwood Discount. I do not know the exact year of this truck. In Canada, this truck was known as the ‘M’ series because Ford trucks were sold under the Mercury brand-name in Canada.

Chubbuck Days, Idaho: CARS & CANDY, August 2023!

International, Technology

Cold War & Beyond: Russia’s ‘Hip’ Helicopters

Video

Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

NATO reporting name Hip. The Михаил Мил Ми-8 (Mikhail Mil Mi-8) rotary wing began military service in 1968, with the Soviet Union. First production was done in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.  The Mi-17 Hip has more powerful turbines than the Mi-8 Hip, also, the position of the tail rotor is different.

A Soviet Aeroflot silly-vilian Hip, early 1970s.

The Mi-8 is also used by silly-vilian (civilian) transport companies. I have several Western/NATO publications from the 1970s that speculate that the Mi-8 started military service prior to 1967.  The earliest photos I’ve found of the Hip are from the early 1970s.

Fresh Hip for Pakistan, early 1970s.

Warsaw Pact Poland’s PWL license built the silly-vilian Hip, early 1970s.

Purportedly a Hungarian Hip, early 1970s.

Soviet military Hips, early 1970s.

Silly-vilian ambulance version, photo published 1980.

Slov-Air airliner Hip, 1980.

1980.

Warsaw Pact Czechoslovakia Hip, 1980.

Fueling a Warsaw Pact Czechoslovak Hip, during a snow storm, 1980.

Egyptian Hips, photo dated 10SEP1983.

Soviet Hip visiting Little Diomede, Alaska, part of Operation Bering Bridge to help Alaskan Eskimos visit their relatives in the Soviet Union. Photo by Master Sergeant Ed Boyce, 23APR1989.

Vietnamese Hip, 08FEB1991. Photo by Master Sergeant Jose Lopez.

Abandoned Iraqi Hip, after Desert Storm, 03MAR1991. Photo by Staff Sergeant Dean W. Wagner.

Post Cold War, Balkan Wars, War on Terror, Battle for Ukraine, 1992 to present:

Last days of a former East German Mi-8S VIP transport. Photo credit C.J. van Gent, published 1993.

Kazak Hip during the international Central Asian ‘Peacekeeping’ Battalion 2000 so-called humanitarian wargame in Kazakhstan. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Jim Varhegyi, 10SEP2000.

The remains of an Afghan Hip, 18JAN2002. Photo by Captain Charles G. Grow.

In 2005, a new Hip was created with improved turbines, larger cargo door, it was called the Mi-8AMT, but the export version is known as the Mi-171.

United Nations’ Hip during Operation Jingle Air in Afghanistan, 07JUN2008. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Charles Brice.

Iraqi Hip, 17OCT2009. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Travis Zielinski.

U.S. Air Force video (by Technical Sergeant Scott Wilcox), Afghans prep their new U.S. taxpayer funded Hip for take-off, 10NOV2009:

Vehicle I-D, 2009-2018:

AFGHAN Mil Mi 8/17

Russian Hips in Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, moments before taking off to support the landing of another Soyuz spacecraft, 08MAR2010. Photo credit Bill Ingalls.

Lithuanian Mi-8 lands onboard USS Mount Whitney during a NATO wargame, 17SEP2010. U.S. Navy photo.

Vehicle I-D, 2010-2017:

MARINA ARMADA DE MÉXICO MIL 17

Croat Mi-171 Hip, 29MAY2012, U.S. Army video by Staff Sergeant Jose Ibarra:

Czech Republic (Czechia) Hips on the Baumholder Training Support Center, Germany, for a NATO wargame, 12SEP2014. U.S. Army photo by Ruediger Hess.

Laotian Hip, 13DEC2017. U.S. Army photo via Clayton Harrison.

Мил Ми-8MTV5 (Mil Mi-8MTV5, export version Mi-17V5) during Russia’s Vostock wargame in the Eastern Military District, 11-17SEP2018:

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant James Lefty Larimer. A ‘hip’ Egyptian helicopter (Mil 17V-5) conducting med-evac (medical evacuation) training during Bright Star 2018.

(See more Egyptian helicopters.)

Sling Load 2019: CH-47 CHINOOK COLLECTS MIL 8 ‘HIP’ BONES

Government Shenanigans 2020: UH-60 FOR AFGHANISTAN, KILLED-OFF BY THE MIL 17, U.S. TAXPAYERS RAPED TWICE?

Photo via Russian Helicopters.

Photo via Russian Helicopters.

NATO wargame Rapid Trident 2021: UKRAINE’s MIL 8MT/MSB-V 

June 2022: Ukraine now using the Hips they were supposed to repair for Afghanistan

January 2023: Nigér loses Mi-17Sh helicopter during training

February 2023: Iraq gives up it fleet of Hips due to lack of spare parts

Croatia prepares to send 14 Mi-8 helicopters to Ukraine
.

NATO-Poland Hip gives British Royal Lancers a lift, as part of NATO’s Task Force Ivy training. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Alex Soliday, 19JUL2023.

July 2023: The Kyrgyz Air Force Receives A New MI-17V-5 Helicopter From Russia

August 2023: Russian pilot defects to Ukraine with an Mi-8 assault helicopter

NATO-Poland to replace its Hip helicopters

Cold War & Beyond: MIL 26 HALO, COLD WAR HELICOPTER WITH NO PLANS TO RETIRE!

Vehicle I-D: T-34-85, FROM PATRIOTIC WAR TO COLD WAR AND BEYOND?

International, Technology

Whore-Dog-of-War: Slovakia gets new Leo-2A4s, at NATO taxpayer’s expense!

Video

As of 11SEP2023, NATO-Slovakia now has six NATO-Germany supplied Leopard 2A4 battle tanks.

Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

The taxpayers of NATO-Germany should be proud that they are funding 15 rebuilt Cold War era Leopard 2A4 battle tanks for NATO-Slovakia! It is part of a deal Slovakia made to give 30 Cold War era BVP-1 (BMP-1) Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine.

Official Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic video of the first live-fire training of the Leo-2A4 for Slovak tank crews, in August 2023:

German tankers teach Slovak tankers how to boresight the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, August 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

Bore-sighting the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, August 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

The 120mm round has a silver/gray casing which is combustible plastic, not metal. This one has a Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS, aka Sabot) projectile, the blue color indicates it is a training round. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

These are 120mm HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

A Leo-2A4 delivered to Slovakia, April 2023. Photo via Slovak Defense Ministry.

Forever Wars: UKRAINE DEAL GETS NATO-CZECH REPUBLIC ‘NEW’ taxpayer funded LEO 2A4

International

Whore-Dog-of-War: NATO admits they are the new enforcers of UN’s globalist agenda!

Video

“In September 2008, building on the experience of over a decade of working together, the Secretaries General of both NATO and the United Nations (UN) agreed to establish a framework for expanded consultation and cooperation….

The UN is frequently invited to attend NATO ministerial meetings and summits; the NATO Secretary General participates in the UN General Assembly; and staff level meetings, covering the broad range of cooperation and dialogue, take place on an annual basis between the secretariats of NATO and the UN.”–Relations with the United Nations, NATO, 25JUL2023

On 19SEP2023, the taxpayer funded North Atlantic Treaty Organization released a promotional video boasting that both NATO and the United Nations were created after the Second World War to impose the Western elites’ version of ‘peace & security’:

At the July 2023 Vilnius Summit, NATO issued a detailed statement revealing that after 1992 (the end of the Cold War/fall of the Soviet Union) the Balkans Wars were used to justify the expansion of NATO and integration into UN ‘peacekeeping’/globalist operations. The title of the NATO statement is Relations with the United Nations, read it for yourself (and notice they use British empire English grammar and spelling, they do not use U.S. English).

Forever Wars, July 2023: JAPAN #1, GLOBAL TAKEOVER, NATO WAR WITH CHINA?

Forever Wars, December 2022: UKRAINE DEAL GETS NATO-CZECH REPUBLIC ‘NEW’ taxpayer funded LEO 2A4