On this page you will find a selection of my work for German armed forces and about military events in Germany.
Please feel free to download some PDF copies of my published work for non-commercial purposes.
Dirk Jan de Ridder
Old-timers with new skills, in Air Forces Monthly (February 2015)
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Boelcke’s Bombers go multi-role, in AirForces Monthly (October 2012)
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“All Eurofighter wings will be able to do both air-to-air and air-to-ground. The aim is that there will not even be wings focusing a bit more on one specific role. All wings are going to be multi-role, but this wing will be the leading unit to set the standards for air-to-ground, to do the testing and evaluation, because we have pilots with that background.”
LtCol Stefan Kleinheyer
about converting from the Tornado fighter-bomber to the multi-role Eurofighter
“Although the air assets of the Marineflieger are getting older and its current missions might be moving away a little bit from ‘alluring’ high threat level operations, it is still a very potent air arm with a wide range of capabilities. Marineflieger personnel are flying year-round in order to ensure the security and economic stability in Germany and the rest of the world, possibly more than ever before with fewer assets.”
From ‘Old-timers with new skills’, AirForces Monthly (February 2015)
First in, last out
August 15, 2015
At Army Aviation Base Celle the Bo-105 ‘Bölkow’ will retire at the end of 2016 after being introduced into German Army service there in 1973. Read more
Old-timers with new skills
December 12, 2013
Exactly 100 years after its establishment, the German naval air arm operates less aircraft than it has for decades, but they are more active than Read more
Boelcke’s bombers go multi-role
September 26, 2012
Jagdbombergeschwader 31 ‘Boelcke’ at Nörvenich is the Luftwaffe’s first fighter bomber wing to replace the Tornado with the Eurofighter Typhoon. Read more