The Sukhoi 22M4 is the export version of the Sukhoi 17M4. The NATO reporting name for both is Fitter-K. Poland began using Su-22s in August 1984, when it was a member of the Cold War era Warsaw Pact. Poland joined NATO in 1997. Polish officials want to phase-out the Su-22 by 2026.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sergeant Dengrier M. Baez, 07JUN2018.
Note the shark mouth painted external fuel tanks on this Polish Su-22M4, NATO Baltic Operations (BaltOps), June 2018.
U.S. Army video, by Sergeant Jacob Holmes, Su-22s over the Gora Hetmanska Range in Drawsko Pomorskie, 15FEB2017:
A Polish Su-22 now a museum piece. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Lauren Harrah, 13AUG2016.
Swedwin, Poland, 08JUN2016. USA photo by Private First Class Antonio Lewis.
U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Matthew Plew, 05JUN2016.
Polish Su-22M4s in Estonia, taking part in NATO’s Spring Storm wargames, June 2016.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Matthew Plew, 05JUN2016.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Matthew Plew, 05JUN2016.
Tight formation break-away during Spring Storm 2016. For kit builders, note the new larger blade antenna behind the cockpit.
Video showing Su-22M4s along with F-15s and SAM batteries:
USAF photo by Airman First Class Kyle Gese, 13JUN2014.
Polish Su-22M4s take-off from Lask Air Base during NATO’s Eagle Talon, June 2014. Note the smaller original blade antenna behind the cockpit.
USAF photo by Airman First Class Kyle Gese, 13JUN2014
Video, Polish Su-22 during NATO Exercise Anakonda 2014:
Apparently there are only a handful of countries using the Su-22, with Poland being the only NATO member flying the Fitter-K. Peru has less than a dozen Su-22s in reserve status. In 2012 Peru signed a ‘codification’ agreement with NATO but is not considered a member, or partner, of NATO.
The first time the Afghan military used the NATO-reporting-name Hind was during the Soviet occupation (1979-1989). It was during that occupation that Mujaheddin on the receiving end of the Mi-24D nicknamed it Satan’s Chariot. After the Soviets left, Afghanistan managed to operate a few Mi-24s (NATO reporting-name Hind-D), some sources say right up until the 2001 U.S. invasion.
Apparently the Mil 35 is the export version of the Mil 24V (NATO reporting-name Hind-E), and apparently there’s wasn’t much difference between the Soviet version and the export version. However, don’t confuse a Mi-35 with the newer Mi-35M (prototype Mi-24VM). Along with many internal upgrades the basic visual differences between Mi-24/25 (another ‘export’ designation)/35 and a true Mi-35M are the landing gear, wings and chin-gun. The Mi-35M has fixed landing gear (apparently in an effort to reduce weight and keep production costs down), shorter span wings and a twin barreled 23mm chin-gun.
Kabul International Airport/Air Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Cecilio Ricardo, 02APR2007.
The push to build Afghan government controlled air power was seen as a way of reducing reliance on U.S./NATO forces, a way of avoiding getting stuck in a ‘Tar Baby’ the way the Soviets did in the 1980s.
U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Edward Gyokeres, 27MAY2009.
Live fire at East River Range Complex near Bagram Air Base, May 2009.
June 2009 video of Czech technicians training Afghans for live fire exercise:
According to the exalted Wikipedia, it states the Czech Hinds were “purchased” by Afghanistan and training was done by technicians from India. Wrong! Here’s an official NATO report from July 2009:
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Thomas Dow, 09SEP2009.
2009, U.S. Air Force video report explaining what the plan is for the Afghan Hinds:
USAF photo by Airman Brian Ybarbo, 15DEC2009.
USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Manuel J. Martinez, 11MAY2010.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Oshawn Jefferson, 15MAY2010.
Quick live fire video from June 2010:
USAF photo, 26JAN2011.
Photo by Vladimir Potapenko, 05MAR2011.
USA photo by Staff Sergeant Elvis Umanzor, 18SEP2013.
In 2019, the arrogant U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) stated the Czech gifted “…Mi-35s were removed from the authorized fleet in 2015, but the Afghans continue to attempt to sustain them. DoD has advised them against doing so….”, and seemed perplexed at Afghan military leaders wanting a more reliable and survivable gunship like the Mi-24.
Sensing an opportunity to make points with the Afghan government, India gifted four refurbished Hinds (originally purchased from Belarus) between 2015 and the end of 2019. The Indian Hinds were denoted as Mi-25s and Mi-24Vs by the Indian news media and even Jane’s Defence Weekly, U.S. news sources refer to the Indian gifted Hinds as Mi-35s.
Moral of the story is; if you want to make Afghans happy just give them more Satan’s Chariots!
Update, 11AUG2021, Taliban capture Mil 24V (Mil 35):
#BREAKING: Taliban Captures Mi-24 attack helicopter which was gifted by India to Afghan Government in May 2019. This afternoon Taliban today captured Kunduz airport in Afghanistan. Video released by Taliban. pic.twitter.com/9YkMYmYrKD
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Lauren Harrah, 19JUL2016.
Polish modified ZSU-23-4, known as ZSU-23-4MP Biała, July 2016.
Very quick video of Polish ZSU-23-4MP, a mine throwing TRI-Kroton (aka Opal, modified MTLB) and some 2S1 SP guns, in Romania for NATO wargames in 2017:
USA photo by Sergeant Justin Geiger, 18JUN2017.
Cold War era Warsaw Pact Czechoslovak designed/built 152mm Samohybná Kanónová Húfnica vzor 77 (ShKH vz. 77, or self-propelled cannon howitzer model 77), June 2017. It’s also known as DANA (Dělo Automobilní Nabíjené Automaticky, or gun vehicle loaded automatically).
Video, 2S1 Gvodzika Self Propelled artillery guns, March 2017:
Polish designed MTLB engineer vehicle known as Opal or TRI, June 2017.
Quick video of TRI:
A PT-91(improved T-72) based WZT-3M recovery vehicle on public display in 2016 (note the Christian priest wearing the tanker helmet).
WZT-3M, June 2017.
Video of WZT-3M towing BMP-1, followed by BMP-1s, June 2017:
BMP-1 (known as BWP-1 in Poland), June 2016, NATO Exercise Anakonda.
Video from 2014, BMP-1 used to defend beach against wargame invasion:
Video, Poland BMP-1s invade Romania for NATO’s Noble Jump 2017:
The PT-91 is Poland’s version of a modernized T-72, this pic was taken in June 2018 during NATO’s Puma 2 Exercise-Saber Strike.
Here’s some PT-91 videos from 2017:
Video from 2016, 2K12 Kub (NATO code-name SA-6 Gainful) SAM launching, the 2K12 Kub is mounted on a highly modified MTLB chassis:
Video from 2014, S125 Neva SAM (Surface to Air Missile) mounted on T-55 chassis, with launch at the end of the video:
Since the end of March 2020, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been conducting a taxpayer funded global ‘Project Air Bridge’ in response to pathogen CoViD-19.
FEMA photo by Alexis Hall, 29APR2020.
China Cargo’s Boeing 777F arrives at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, 29APR2020.
“This thing is so different from anything that we’ve ever done before that nobody’s going to touch it with a ten foot pole without somebody going out and flying it.”-Larry Loftin, NASA’s Langley Research Center
NASA photo, 1971.
F-8A Bureau Number 141353/NASA tail number 810 with SuperCritical Wing (SCW) flies in its original paint-job in 1971. On its first flight, on 09MAR1971 the SCW marking on the fin was made from tape. Also notice the F-8 SCW lacks the bulges on the sides of the forward fuselage, as seen on the later pretty paint-job.
The F-8A Crusader was built by Vought (which has been known by several other names before and since, such as LTV), the SCW was built by North American Aviation (which became Rockwell International). The wing itself cost U.S. taxpayers $1.8-million.
Richard Whitcomb with a F-8 wind tunnel model equipped with the Supercritical Wing. NASA photo, 19JAN1970.
On 27MAY(the day I was born, not the year)1992, both SCW and DFBW were put on ‘gate guard duty’ at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Build your own:
By 1980, the SuperCritical Wing became know as the Aeroelastic Research Wing. NASA photo, 12JUN1980.
Can you recognize the SuperCritical Wing (renamed Aeroelastic Research Wing) on this BQM-34 Firebee II drone?
Before conversion to NASA’s ‘LL’ configuration. NASA photo, 1995.
17MAR1996 rollout of Tu-144LL at Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia. A joint project between Russian Aeronautics Establishment, NASA, Boeing, McDonnell-Douglas, Rockwell, and others.
NASA photo, 17MAR1996.
LL stands for Letayuschaya Laboratoriya, which means Flying Laboratory. The intent was to develop a practical SST (Super Sonic Transport) for the 21st Century, to be built in the United States. The NASA led program was paid for by U.S. taxpayers and corporations. It was hoped that a market for SST aircraft would reveal itself in the 2020s.
NASA photo, July 1997, Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia.
NASA photo, July 1997, Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia.
Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia. NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.
Test flights began in June 1996 and ended in April 1999.
NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.
Tu-144LL had Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines (same as those used on the Tu-160 strategic bombers) rated at more than 55,000 pounds of thrust in full afterburner.
NASA photo, 1996.
NASA photo, 1996.
NASA’s computer room for data collection from Tu-144LL. The effects of flight on the real Tu-144LL was compared to data collected from models used in wind tunnels.
NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.
This photo was taken in 1998, note that some of the names of the sponsoring companies have been removed from the fuselage.
NASA photo by Jim Ross, September 1998.
In 1998 two NASA pilots conducted three flights to test handling of the SST at subsonic and supersonic speeds.
Inside of BTR-80. 9th Iraqi Army Division Warrant Officer explains to U.S. troops how it works. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Mary S. Katzenberger, 27SEP2010.
Ukrainian made BTR-94, 2018.
Ukrainian made BTR-94 blocks 14th of July bridge in Baghdad, 15AUG2004. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Jacob N. Bailey.
BTR-4 variants, the BSEM-4K ambulance and BTR-4 armored personnel carriers with 30mm gun turrets.
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 06FEB2016.
A mystery modified M113 seen at Camp Taji, February 2016. It’s not a ACV or YPR765. A homegrown modification?
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 06FEB2016.
U.S. Army photo by Specialist William Lockwood, 11FEB2016.
Camp Taji, February 2016.
M113 ACAV, U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Kalie Jones Frantz, 07FEB2016.
M113, U.S. Army photo by Sergeant David Strayer, 28APR2011.
M113, Kirkush Military Training Base, April 2011.
Notice the use of wide ‘snow’ tracks. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.
MTLB, May 2005.
Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 06MAY2005.
This one has the standard width tracks. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 06MAY2005.
U.S. Army photo by Specialist Sean Hanson.
March 2007. This tank is a Chinese Type 69 (Iraqi designation for Chinese Type 69 is T-55B), as denoted by the headlights on both fenders and the camera/laser sighting system on the mantlet.
Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.
May 2005, Type 69/T-55B.
Notice the U.S. antenna. Texas Army National Guard photo by Specialist Maria Mengrone, 12MAY2005.
BMP-1, October 2005:
Rebuilt BMP-1s on Camp Taji, 07OCT2005.
BMP-1, January 2007:
BMP-1, Camp Taji. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Cupp, 17JAN2007.
Video Camp Taji boneyard, T-72 turret lift, 2009:
T-62, March 2010:
T-62s in the ‘Bone Yard’. Tennessee Army National Guard photo by First Lieutenant Desiree Pavlick, 17MAR2010.
Graveyard of T-62 and T-72, October 2005:
Camp Taji ‘boneyard’, 10JUL2005.
T-72, Camp Butler/Butler Gunnery Range, February 2006:
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Brent Hunt, 16FEB2006.
Low quality video from February 2006, supposedly it was the first time Iraqis were able to fire their T-72s since the U.S. invasion:
T-72, Forward Operating Base Hammer, October 2008:
U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Evan Loyd, 31OCT2008.
U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Evan Loyd, 31OCT2008.
2008 Besmaya Range gunnery video (by U.S. Army Specialist Neil A. Stanfield):
T-72, Besmaya Range Complex, April 2010:
U.S. Army photo by Private First Class Jared Eastman, 14APR2010.
Checking out a ‘newer’ T-72, apparently donated by NATO-Czech Republic, April 2016:
U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Paul Sale, 05APR2016.
Iraqis began training on U.S. M1A1 Abrams in 2008-09:
Besmaya Range Complex, 31MAR2009. U.S. Army photo by Captain Thomas Avilucea.
According to a U.S. Defense Department news release, between August 2010 and the end of 2011, 140 M1A1M Abrams tanks were delivered to Iraq as part of a 2008 military sales agreement.
According to the the U.S. Army, these were the last of the 140 Abrams delivered to Iraq:
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Edward Daileg, 29AUG2011.
In 2016, BMP-1s were positioned for the Mosul Offensive against so-called Islamic State:
In 2008, U.S. Army officials decided to allow Iraq to refurbish several M109A1s abandoned in the ‘boneyard’ of Camp Taji: “Last fall, our brigade commander was given guidance by the 9th IA commander to pull out of the Taji boneyard roughly a battalion’s worth of M109A1 howitzers.”-Major Matthew DeLoia, Military Transition Team-Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Field Artillery Regiment, July 2009
Don’t forget the 57mm rockets.
Sensing an opportunity to make points with the Afghan government, India gifted four refurbished Hinds (originally purchased from Belarus) between 2015 and the end of 2019. The Indian Hinds were denoted as Mi-25s and Mi-24Vs by the Indian news media and even Jane’s Defence Weekly, U.S. news sources refer to the Indian gifted Hinds as Mi-35s.
Polish designed MTLB engineer vehicle known as Opal or TRI, June 2017.
A PT-91(improved T-72) based WZT-3M recovery vehicle on public display in 2016 (note the Christian priest wearing the tanker helmet).
WZT-3M, June 2017.
The PT-91 is Poland’s version of a modernized T-72, this pic was taken in June 2018 during NATO’s Puma 2 Exercise-Saber Strike.
The little covered rails on the driver’s right side of the turret are the mounts for the anti-tank missiles.
Ukrainian made BTR-4, reports say Iraq was not happy with the BTR-4, 
BTR-4 variants, the BSEM-4K ambulance and BTR-4 armored personnel carriers with 30mm gun turrets.
In 2008, U.S. Army officials decided to allow Iraq to refurbish several M109A1s abandoned in the ‘boneyard’ of Camp Taji: “Last fall, our brigade commander was given guidance by the 9th IA commander to pull out of the Taji boneyard roughly a battalion’s worth of M109A1 howitzers.”-Major Matthew DeLoia, Military Transition Team-Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Field Artillery Regiment, July 2009