pilot

Many questions remain about the complex mission to rescue the crew of the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle that came down over Iran in April of this year and what led to it. Now, the reported testimony of the Strike Eagle pilot involved describes a ‘jellyfish-like’ swarm of drones in the sky, moments before they ejected from the stricken jet.

According to a report from CNN, the pilot recounted seeing “multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish.” The report is based on statements from four unnamed sources said to be familiar with the matter.

Needless to say, the veracity of the report should be treated with caution, especially bearing in mind the highly dynamic and confused nature of the situation. However, CNN claims that the account was taken seriously enough to prompt debate within the U.S. intelligence community. It should also be noted that the testimony relates only to the pilot and not the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO).

The report suggests that, during a post-incident debriefing, the F-15E pilot told intelligence officials that they saw:

“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs. Real alien shit.”

Those words are not from the pilot themselves, but are said to be from one of the sources familiar with the witness account.

Another source told CNN that the same pilot described seeing a “minefield of drones” in the air.

Again, provided these accounts are correct, we cannot say for sure that the pilot actually saw what they described. After all, this was during an extremely high-stress period, and the pilot also ended up with a concussion. Even the U.S. intelligence officials involved in the debrief reportedly disagreed on how to interpret what the F-15 pilot described, and whether the pilot could recount the incident clearly, according to CNN.

The same report also repeats the assertion that the pilot had previously been shot down in the same conflict, during a friendly-fire incident that left three Strike Eagles downed over Kuwait in March. The High Side, a publication on Substack, first reported this detail, citing unnamed current and former Air Force officials. CBS News also subsequently reported this, citing anonymous individuals familiar with the events.

As for the F-15E incident over Iran, you can read our analysis of what was previously revealed about what happened here.

While the exact cause of the loss of the F-15E hasn’t been revealed, NBC News previously quoted three unidentified officials who said the jet “was probably struck by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile” and that the engagement may have been supported by a “long-range early-warning radar that spots stealth aircraft,” which Iran received in the “early days” of the war. U.S. President Donald Trump also reportedly said that the Iranians used a shoulder-fired missile, and that “they got lucky.”

Furthermore, while the pilot was rescued within hours, the WSO hid out in a crevice as both rescuers and Iranians frantically searched for him. They were picked up around 50 hours after ejection, aided by a rescue mission involving hundreds of troops, scores of aircraft, and diversion operations over more than a half dozen different parts of Iran. The effort also saw the loss of a second aircraft, an A-10 attack jet in the air, as well as two MC-130J Commando II special operations cargo planes and several H-6 Little Bird special operations helicopters that were destroyed on the ground.

The most dramatic interpretation, that a drone swarm directly participated, even if by happenstance, in the shootdown of the Strike Eagle, cannot be entirely ruled out, but there is no publicly available evidence supporting it. There is the description of this formation being a “minefield,” as in something the F-15 could stumble into. This is an interesting note and it may just be how it was mentioned figuratively. At the same time, putting up some sort of a drone screen formation along a known route, especially if it is being used for low-level transits, or near a high-risk facility, could make some sense. Basically, the aircraft would fly into it and be destroyed if it hits a drone, the drones are detonated in close proximity to the aircraft or even if they are connected physically somehow and the aircraft hits the cables. This would match with the description, to a degree, and it would not require any sort of real swarming capability. This would be something of a new ‘barrage balloon’ concept that is more flexible and easier to deploy on demand. China is using balloons in a similar manner to protect key installations today. In addition, Iran certainly has employed its fair share of bizarre tactics and weapons concepts to that point that this doesn’t seem that implausible, but still, it is just a guess.

Returning to the new report, if the pilot really did see a ‘jellyfish-like’ group of Iranian drones that were truly swarming, that would point to previously unknown capabilities within that country, but this is technology that is certainly within the realm of credibility.

Swarms, in this context, are groups of vehicles or guided munitions that are interconnected via datalink and work cooperatively to maximize their combined abilities to accomplish an objective or set of objectives. It is important to note that a major role is played by the nature of a swarm’s computing and autonomy capabilities, and the supporting communications architecture. Swarms can range from ones offering basic cooperative capabilities to far more advanced and dynamic, advanced AI-driven ones. Swarms are not to be confused with a group of drones that are simply sent on a mission together, but have no true cooperative capabilities. These can be best viewed, at least in the aerial sense, as formations of drones or ‘flocks’ of drones that are basically preprogrammed, with tactical planning and large numbers providing an advantage, not the ability to react to external stimuli and make decisions as a team in real-time.

Regardless, based on two of its sources, CNN asserts that “initial reports indicated that it was possible the drone formation had in some way enabled Iran to shoot down the American jet.”

This would raise questions about what type of performance and configuration these drones had, including what altitude the drones were at when they were supposedly sighted, as well as the flight level of the Strike Eagle.

Previously, U.S. officials disclosed that Iran had made use of smaller drones in the hunt for the missing F-15E WSO, but there was no mention of any kind of drone swarms.

For China and Russia, to name just two nations, both of which have provided military assistance to Iran, drone swarming is very much an area of focus. Swarms have many uses, not just to overwhelm the enemy, but also to sense broad areas cooperatively and to work as a highly efficient group offering mixed capabilities that equate to a sum greater than their parts.

In the case of China, as we have been reporting on for years, the country has moved especially fast on drone swarming, working to evolve these capabilities on different scales for many years. China has repeatedly demonstrated swarms of loitering munitions, deployed from container launchers that can be mounted on light vehicles or helicopters, for example. The country also has worked to develop higher-end swarming capabilities using larger drones, as well as advanced unmanned combat air vehicles. This is on top of the country’s place as an absolute leader in low-end unmanned technologies, including massive coordinated drone swarms for commercial purposes.

中国电科陆空协同固定翼无人机“蜂群”系统

The potential of this kind of warfare has not been lost on the U.S. military either, which has been working on it for decades. These efforts date back many years, with the public disclosure of the Perdix having come nearly a decade ago now, and cooperative swarming trials have been carried out repeatedly in the open since then. These efforts have since become ‘mainstream’ as the drone revolution has taken hold of the defense industry. Some of these technologies are now being operationalized in a publicized manner. All this is on top of what is likely an extreme level of development in the classified realm.

Only last month, TWZ reported on how the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was looking into drones with a high degree of autonomous operation, as well as remotely-operated containerized systems to launch, recover, and otherwise support them. The end result would be a largely self-sustaining “autonomous constellation” capable of supporting networked swarms consisting of as many as 500 drones at once.

By now, swarming capabilities are a key emerging tenet of modern military drone development and are beginning to be demonstrated on the battlefield in Ukraine.

At this point, it is worth noting that Iran has already demonstrated “loitering” surface-to-air missiles, an unusual category of weapon that blurs the distinction between a kamikaze drone and a more traditional surface-to-air missile. As far as we know, Iran has not attempted to use these weapons in swarms, although having them operate in larger groups would clearly boost the probability of success.

There is also the possibility that what the F-15E pilot saw was some kind of previously unknown drone technology fielded by the U.S. or Israeli military, before the Strike Eagle came down. Clearly, Israel and the United States deployed certain systems in the conflict that had not been seen before, and both countries have the ability to field platforms with swarming capabilities. Releasing a group of drones that can hunt and even kill over the Iranian countryside, looking for targets of opportunity over large areas, like air defenses and standoff weapons launchers, is exactly the kind of concept that swarms were envisioned as being so capable at realizing.

Subsequently, while the rescue effort was underway, the U.S. military certainly was making use of drones in the vicinity. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously described how “A-10s and […] drones and other tactical aircraft were violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight to keep them away from the front-seater and allow the pickup force to get into the objective area.” 

The use of drones for suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses, as well as stand-in jamming of those systems, is a very real component of modern air warfare dating back decades. Israel was a pioneer in it, which you can read all about here. Those capabilities are far more advanced today, especially for long-range systems dedicated to those missions and for the emerging ‘launched effects’ segment of drone warfare. It’s hard to imagine that these proven capabilities were not put to some use over Iran during the war. The U.S. military even employed its own one-way attack munition, the LUCAS drone, with similar capabilities.

With all that being said, there is the possibility that the pilot experienced something else entirely, perhaps related to their concussion or another kind of phenomenon. Even a flock of birds or a group of balloons, the latter of which can be used as decoys to confuse enemy radar and bait fighter aircraft and other air defenses, could appear as a drone swarm, for example. Iran had every reason to use such cheap, but potentially effective tactics. While an experienced fighter pilot would normally be able to tell the difference between drones or birds, these were very much abnormal circumstances. Then there is the matter of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), which this could fall into, just for the reason that what was seen may be hard to identify. We don’t know what the description of the configurations of the drones was, or if any was provided, which could help narrow down the possibilities. Also, did the aircraft’s sensors detect these craft? We just don’t know.

For now, the reported drone sighting remains an intriguing but unverified element of a much larger story, many important details of which are still to emerge.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

June 21 (UPI) — An unruly passenger bit a fellow flyer and started throwing punches aboard an American Airlines flight on Sunday, according to audio of a pilot’s conversation with air traffic controllers.

A recording first obtained by CBS News and then posted online by aviation industry monitors shows the incident happened aboard American Airlines flight AA3046 from Charlotte, N.C., to Philadelphia.

In it, the pilot of the Airbus A320 tells controllers to have emergency medics and law enforcement personnel ready meet the aircraft on arrival at Philadelphia International Airport due to a disturbance onboard allegedly created by a male passenger in his 70s.

“I don’t know… if he’s hallucinating or whatever, but he just bit a passenger and he’s trying to fight everybody,” the pilot is heard saying.

After getting confirmation from the control tower, the pilot adds, “What a day, huh?”

The controller responds, “Happy Father’s Day!”

American Airlines told CBS the passenger was experiencing a medical emergency and that he was “assisted” before the flight landed but did not confirm if police were present upon arrival.

Unlike the movies, where directors get the glory, TV directors sit lower in the hierarchy, below creators, producers and actors. In most series, which might employ several over a season, they are interchangeable — which isn’t to say they aren’t valuable, transforming words on a page into a four-dimensional living thing. But a director hired to helm a pilot, as James Burrows, who died Friday at 85, was again and again — almost as a lucky charm — helps set the tone for the series. Jake Kasdan’s input was crucial to the feel (and philosophy) of “Freaks and Geeks,” as Hiro Murai’s was to “Atlanta” (and most recently “Widow’s Bay”). In some cases a director is a co-creator in all but title and union affiliation. A show might subsequently pass to later hands, but they’ll be honoring its established look and feel.

But Burrows was more than a little well known. If you sat through the opening credits of “Taxi,” whose pilot he directed along with 74 other episodes — and why wouldn’t you, with its pleasing Bob James theme and Checker Cab crossing the Queensboro Bridge — you would have seen his name for weeks on end. You might have noticed it on “Cheers,” which he co-created and for which he directed 236 episodes, or on “Will & Grace” (246 episodes), or “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Caroline in the City,” “Two and a Half Men,” “2 Broke Girls,” “The Neighborhood” or, just last year, “Mid-Century Modern” — all series whose pilots he directed. You might have caught it on episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Phyllis,” “Rhoda” or “Laverne & Shirley,” until you began to think that maybe there was nobody else directing network multi-camera situation comedies, the most human of television formats and a specialty from which he rarely strayed.

And you might have seen him as himself this year in the third season of Lisa Kudrow’s “The Comeback,” as the man she enlists to save a television pilot from hacky AI jokes. “Surprising only comes from a group of writers huddled in a corner, beating themselves up to beat out a better joke,” he says.

“As director, I am there to help create the ensemble, to do everything I can to foster a community among the company, and to train a new set of actors to behave as a group and respect one another,” he wrote in his 2022 memoir, “Directed by James Burrows.” He famously took the cast of “Friends” to Las Vegas before the show premiered in order to foster bonds in a soon-to-be-impossible state of anonymity. “I guess I have a gift for creating families,” he told the New York Times in 2023.

But if “Friends” refers to the characters and the people who play them, it includes the audience too. Burrows’ talent was to midwife a real relationship between the viewer and the viewed, “You want to go where everybody knows your name,” runs the “Cheers” theme, and where you know everyone’s name. The families he excelled at creating were yours as well, and one watched knowing that these things happened in real time in real space, and that you could be in the room, if you made the effort. Tickets were available.

The son of Abe Burrows, who wrote or co-wrote the books for “Guys and Dolls,” “Can-Can” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and co-created the radio comedy “Duffy’s Tavern” — set, like “Cheers,” in a bar, though the younger Burrows denied any influence — he’d been directing dinner theater when he had the idea to write to Mary Tyler Moore, whom he’d met on the set of a never-opened “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” musical. His stage experience (and his Yale School of Drama degree, presumably) proved eminently transferable to the proscenium reality of multi-camera situation comedy.

What Burrows shows share — the ones we remember, at least, out of many we don’t — is that they’re fundamentally joyful. They lack cynicism. They’re expressive of their times without being showily edgy. They walk a line between freshness and familiarity, which makes one want to return week after week. They may push an envelope — “Friends” was something new, after all — but subtly. We can assume, given his reputation and the fact that he could have retired on “Cheers” alone, that he liked what he did and did what he liked, and regard his choice of projects as a form of personal expression in itself, the basis of a body of work that has and will live on.

Those of us who have a fear of flying, also known as aviophobia, probably have all the same questions.

Flying fills me with dread, meaning every holiday is a rollercoaster of anticipation and anxiety. Aviophobia, or fear of flying, is remarkably widespread and, for those of us who suffer from it, likely stems from the same fundamental issue — our brains struggling to cope with an environment where we feel utterly powerless. Chances are we’re all asking the same questions:.

• Can turbulence bring down a plane?
• Can someone open the cabin door mid-flight?
• What if the plane gets hit by lightning?
• What happens if an engine fails?
• What happens if we hit a bird?
• Are budget airlines less safe?

Sound familiar? Sadly, while anyone can turn to Reddit or Facebook for tips from fellow nervous passengers, very few of us ever get the chance to quiz the real experts — the pilots themselves. Fortunately, I managed to put my questions to Simon Tranter, a pilot with 18,000 flight hours spanning a 17-year career in the Royal Air Force and 25 years as a commercial pilot at British Airways who is now head of training at EmPower Flight, reports the Express.

I also had the opportunity to speak with Dan Bubb, a former commercial pilot who currently teaches aviation courses at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Are budget airlines actually less safe?

“In the aviation world, the price for your ticket dictates your legroom and whether you get a free sandwich – it has zero bearing on safety,” said Simon. “Every single airline operating in our skies must adhere to the exact same stringent regulatory laws and safety standards. Budget airlines actually tend to fly younger fleets of aircraft, which means they are equipped with the newest safety technology. They save money on business models, not on maintenance or pilot training.”

Dan continued: “Budget airlines are just as safe as safe as more expensive airlines. Even though the pay scale is different, all airline pilots are trained and held to the same rigorous standard whether they fly a 15-passenger Beech 99 or a 400-passenger Boeing 747.”

Can turbulence bring down a plane?

“Aircraft are engineered to withstand forces far greater than anything nature can throw at them,” Simon explained.

“Higher levels of turbulence can be uncomfortable for the pilots, crew and passengers, but generally the most turbulence will affect a flight is intermittent and rather like driving slowly over cobblestones. Most importantly, if you don’t have your seatbelt fastened, a sudden turbulent bump can cause you to spill your drink – that’s one of the main reasons we ask you to buckle up.”

Could a passenger to open the aircraft door?

“It is physically impossible for a passenger to open the plane door because aircraft doors are designed as ‘plug doors’,” Simon stated. “Due to the air pressure inside the cabin being much higher than the thin air outside at 35,000 feet, the cabin pressure effectively seals the door shut with thousands of pounds of force. You could get the strongest person on Earth, give them a crowbar, and they still couldn’t open that door while we are in flight.”

Dan added: “In the past, we have seen passengers try to open the door, but they were unsuccessful.”

Are cabin crew trained to hide concern during an emergency that passengers are not aware of?

Dan explained: “Cabin crew are trained to handle emergencies with calm and discretion to avoid alarming passengers. Even though the situation might be stressful, pilots and flight attendants are trained to remain calm and keep passengers calm.”

Simon added: “Cabin crew are primarily safety professionals and they undergo rigorous, regular emergency training. If you look at a crew member and they look calm, it’s because they are in control of the situation.”

What happens if the landing gear fails to deploy at landing?

“This is something we practice to perfection in flight simulators,” Simon said. “Aircraft have multiple backup systems to get the wheels down. If the main hydraulic system fails, we can use an alternate system, or even let gravity ‘free-fall’ the gear into place where it locks automatically. In the extremely rare event that the gear completely jams, planes are designed to land safely on their bellies. Fire crews might decide to foam the runway, and the aircraft slides to a halt. It makes for a dramatic news headline, but it is entirely survivable.”

What happens if an engine fails?

“Modern airliners are built with massive amounts of redundancy,” said Simon. “If one engine fails, the aircraft is completely capable of climbing, cruising and landing safely on the remaining engine. Even if both engines were to fail (which is virtually unheard of), a plane does not suddenly drop but instead becomes a very large glider. From a normal cruising altitude, an airliner can glide for about 80 to 100 miles, giving us plenty of time to head for a safe runway and to re-start the engines in the glide.”

Dan revealed he has actually witnessed an engine failure mid-flight – it occurred during take-off while transporting passengers to the Grand Canyon: “We shut down the failed engine, declared an emergency and landed on the single, good engine without any problem.”

How likely is a plane crash?

“Statistically, you are far safer in a commercial airliner than you are walking down the pavement or driving to the supermarket,” said Simon. “The International Air Transport Association (IATA) say there is ‘one fatal accident for every 5.6 million flights (2021-2025)’. You’d have to fly every single day for thousands of years to statistically encounter an accident.”

Dan explained: “Given the rigorous training through which pilots have to do, the chance of a commercial passenger plane crashing is slim. As a colleague of mine likes to say, you have much higher chances of getting into a car accident on your way to the airport than in a commercial passenger plane.”

Why do passengers have to switch off mobiles during take-off and landing? Will they disrupt the plane’s system?

“The technical reason is that older phones used to occasionally cause a harmless but annoying ‘click-click-buzz’ sound in the pilots’ headsets, similar to putting a mobile phone right next to an old audio speaker,” Simon revealed.

“The real-world reason is that take-off and landing are the most dynamic parts of the flight. We need you alert and not looking at a screen, in case we need to give you important instructions.”

Dan supported this, stating: “Take-off and landing are the most critical phases of flight, which is why flight attendants are adamant about enforcing this regulation.”

Could a passenger shatter a window and what would happen if they did?

“No,” Simon stated. “The windows you see are made of incredibly tough, multi-layered aerospace acrylic, not household glass. They can easily withstand immense pressure and impact. If an outer pane were to crack, the inner layers are more than strong enough to hold the cabin pressure perfectly.”

Meanwhile, Dan also noted it would be “difficult for a passenger to break a window”, but referenced a harrowing 2018 incident in which a window shattered, apparently as a result of an exploding engine, tragically claiming the life of a woman who was partially sucked out.

Is it safe to fly during a storm? What happens if the plane gets hit by lightning?

“We don’t fly through severe storms,” said Simon. “Our onboard weather radar allows us to see them miles in advance and simply steer around them. If a plane does happen to get struck by lightning, it’s surprisingly uneventful. The skin of the aircraft acts like a protective shield (a Faraday cage). The electricity strikes the plane, flows harmlessly along the outside skin and through specific lightning conductors, and leaves through the tail. Passengers might hear a loud crack or bang, but the aircraft systems are built to handle it effortlessly.”

In 2019, a plane landing in Cardiff Airport from Ibiza was hit by lightning and passengers reported a “huge bang”. The flight landed safely with no reported injuries.

Are bird strikes dangerous?

“Most bird strikes happen at low altitudes, when the aircraft is at slower speeds near airports, and the vast majority of them are entirely harmless events”, said Simon. “Aircraft engines and structures are specifically designed and tested to ingest birds without catastrophic failure. As a precaution, if we suspect a bird strike, we will always make an assessment of any possible damage and let our engineers give the plane a thorough inspection.”

Nevertheless, Dan warned that bird strikes “can be very dangerous”, pointing to the famous incident where Captain Chelsey Sullenberger landed his US Airways Airbus on the Hudson River in New York City after a flock of Canadian geese struck and disabled both of the aircraft’s engines.

What happens if the pilot arrives at work extremely fatigued?

“We have a very strict, no-blame safety culture in aviation called fatigue reporting,” Simon explained. “If a pilot hasn’t slept well or feels unfit to fly for any reason, they simply log into the system and declare themselves unfit due to fatigue. The airline immediately calls in a standby pilot, no questions asked. There is absolutely no pressure to fly if you aren’t at 100%.”

How much does a computer control a plane compared to how much the pilot controls it?

“The computer — or autopilot in an aircraft — is like a highly sophisticated cruise control on a modern car,” Simon noted. “It’s an incredible tool that does the heavy lifting of flying the aircraft while the pilots are managing the busy flight.

“However, the computer only does what we tell it to do. We manually fly the aircraft during take-off and generally during the landing. The humans are always the ones making the strategic decisions. Occasionally, the autopilot will land the aircraft but this is only in situations of extreme fog when the aircraft is programmed by the pilots for an automatic landing and the airport is specifically authorised to apply the very special protections and safeguards needed for an ‘autoland’.”

What stops pilots from becoming distracted or nodding off on lengthy flights?

“We have highly structured protocols whilst airborne to keep us engaged,” Simon explained. “We are constantly monitoring aircraft performance, the autopilot function, fuel logs, cross-checking weather reports and communicating with air traffic control. On ultra-long-haul flights, we carry an ‘augmented crew’ (three or four pilots total). This allows us to take turns sleeping in dedicated pilot bunk beds built into the aircraft, ensuring that the two pilots at the controls are always fresh and focused.”

Is flying at night more dangerous?

“Not at all,” Simon responded. “In fact, at night the high-intensity lights of other aircraft and runways stand out perfectly against the dark background.”

Have you ever seen another aircraft too close to yours?

“Not in civil flying, but yes as an RAF fighter pilot!” said Simon. “Furthermore, all commercial planes are fitted with a system called TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System). It talks to other aircraft automatically and if another plane ever wandered even slightly too close, our cockpits would warn us and tell us exactly what manoeuvre to fly to stay completely safe.”

What does it take to become a commercial airline pilot?

“It’s a rigorous journey,” Simon explained. “It starts with strict medical clearance, followed by months of ground school training where you learn everything from meteorology to aerodynamics. From there, you start in small, single-engine aircraft to master the basics, progress to twin-engine planes, and eventually step into full-flight simulators to learn the specifics of the jet you will be flying for the airline.

“After a pilot passes all their simulator checks, they step into the real cockpit with real passengers. However, they are not amateurs. They are already fully qualified commercial pilots. During this phase, they fly with a highly experienced training captain (someone like me) sitting next to them, guiding them through the real-world nuances of airline operations until they are completely polished.”

FInally, what’s the most frightening thing you’ve ever had to deal with while flying?

“Honestly, after many years flying fighter jets in the Royal Air Force and later as an airline captain, the thing that would raise my heart rate in commercial aviation is a very, very occasional turbulent and gusty crosswind landing towards the maximum crosswind component allowed,” said Simon.

“But in fairness, after 44 years as a professional pilot it’s not overly difficult, it’s simply a matter of following procedure. As our training is so intensive, when something unexpected does happen – like a sudden change in weather or a technical glitch – fear doesn’t enter the equation. Your brain instantly switches into ‘training mode’ and you calmly execute the checklist. It feels like just another busy day at the office.”

Meanwhile, Dan revealed his most terrifying moment in the cockpit came when an engine failed during take-off while carrying passengers to the Grand Canyon. Despite the harrowing ordeal, he recalled: “We shut down the failed engine, declared an emergency and landed on the single, good engine without any problem. Even though we appeared calm and collected, our adrenaline was pumping.”

June 9 (UPI) — A former pilot and captain for Air Canada faces fraud charges after an investigation showed he flew hundreds of flights over 17 years without a proper license, police said Tuesday.

Geoffrey Wall, 59, of Barrie, Ontario, was arrested June 1 after the investigation, which police called “Project Icarus,” CBC News reported.

Wall, who’d started his career with Air Canada in 1998, did not obtain the required airline transport pilot license in 2009 when he was promoted to captain, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said at a press conference.

That license requires a series of written exams. Instead, Wall allegedly used fraudulent licenses for Air Canada and Transport Canada (the country’s federal transportation department)and then attempted to conceal that in a false police report, Milinovich said.

“This is very similar to a doctor who that is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office,” Milinovich said.

Air Canada said that Wall was immediately removed from duty when the fraud was discovered, The BBC reported. Airline officials said passengers were never at risk and that Wall was completely trained with a valid commercial pilot license, just not the ATPL.

Police said Wall flew several types of airplanes in a total of 900 domestic and international flights. The investigation through Transport Canada started when officials noticed inconsistencies with his license documentation in a routine evaluation. The Peel Regional Police then started a criminal investigation. The charges include fraud, forging documents and possession of counterfeit mark.

Wall is expected to appear in court on June 29.

Former airline captain charged with fraud after allegedly commanding more than 900 flights without required credentials.

A former airline pilot in Canada has been arrested for allegedly flying hundreds of flights without a proper licence for nearly 17 years.

Police in Peel, Ontario, said on Tuesday that they had charged former Air Canada captain Geoffrey Wall with fraud and other charges following a four-month investigation.

The Peel Regional Police said Wall, 59, had used fraudulent pilot licences to command more than 900 domestic and international flights between 2009 and 2025.

Police said they obtained evidence to suggest that Wall had deceived both Air Canada and civil aviation authorities about his credentials before his retirement in 2025.

While Wall did hold a valid commercial pilot licence, he did not have an airline transport pilot licence, the highest level of pilot certification required to captain commercial aircraft, police said.

Wall faces one count of fraud, two counts of uttering forged documents, three counts of possessing a counterfeit trademark, and one count of public mischief.

Al Jazeera was unable to locate Wall’s legal representatives for comment.

“This case is deeply concerning and strikes at the heart of public trust and safety, as the accused is alleged to have put hundreds of thousands of passengers at risk across more than 900 domestic and international flights,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement.

Air Canada said that while it viewed the pilot’s alleged actions with “utmost seriousness”, passenger safety had not been compromised, as all pilots undergo mandatory training every six months to assess their competency, in addition to an annual flight check with a certified pilot.

The airline said that Wall had “successfully met or exceeded” his training requirements and demonstrated “a high level of competency to safely operate large aircraft”.

The Canadian flag carrier also said it had found no other instances of non-compliance with licensing requirements following an audit of its pilots.

“Immediately upon Air Canada’s discovery of this, the individual was removed from active duty, and the company voluntarily reported the matter to Transport Canada,” the airline said in a statement.

Hassan Shahidi, a licensed pilot who heads the US-based Flight Safety Foundation nonprofit, described the charges against Wall as an “exceptionally rare case”.

“If the allegations are proven, the key issue isn’t that an untrained person was flying airliners, but that this pilot bypassed a fundamental regulatory requirement for many years,” Shahidi told Al Jazeera.

“The case could point to weaknesses in licence verification and oversight processes, particularly if fraudulent credentials were able to evade detection for so long.”

Shahidi said that Wall’s alleged actions did not appear to have exposed passengers to the same level of risk that they would have faced if an untrained pilot were at the controls.

“The larger concern is the apparent failure of a regulatory safeguard that is supposed to ensure trust in the system,” he said.

DUBAI — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that President Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic.

In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.” It comes after Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had blamed Iran for shooting down a helicopter close to the Strait of Hormuz and said the United States must respond. Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near the country’s territory “are at constant risk.”

The Apache helicopter that crashed went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the Iranian drone collision.

Trump said Iran shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” in a post to social media.

The U.S. military later announced that it had begun strikes against Iran.

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel.

Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters.” Both service members “are safe and uninjured,” he added.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran on Monday.

(Vahid Salemi / Associated Press)

Soon after Trump made his accusation, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the strait is “thousands of miles away from U.S. shores.”

“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” Araghchi wrote. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.”

The downing of the helicopter further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Army crew members picked up by drone boat

The Army aviators were rescued at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their helicopter went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Hawkins initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.

It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Trump insists an Iran deal is coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said late Monday. But he did not provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Before Trump’s comments on negotiations, Qalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks so far on a possible deal “contradicted the agreed-upon sections,” showing that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority as well. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon’s government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.

Israel issues a warning for Tyre, Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes on the city.

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.

After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”

Gambrell, Superville and Toropin write for the Associated Press. Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. AP writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., contributed to this report.

For decades, the massive MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter has served as the Navy’s primary airborne mine countermeasure platform, dragging massive mine hunting sleds through waters all around the globe. However, the Sea Dragon’s days are now numbered, with the last 11 aircraft scheduled to sunset sometime next year. With the MH-53E’s demise on the horizon, we reached out to one of its former pilots, Steve Jones — a man who came to know this monster intimately during the Global War On Terror. He had plenty of stories to tell and provided us with a new understanding of the often misunderstood counter-mine mission.

The MH-53E’s mission is also, of course, extremely topical right now thanks to ongoing tensions with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told senators that the Islamic Republic mined “large segments” of the Strait of Hormuz, endangering shipping in the region.

As it currently stands, the mighty Sea Dragons, which are considered one of the military’s most dangerous to fly due to numerous fatal mishaps, are being phased out in favor of the smaller MH-60S Seahawk paired with a suite of new aerial mine countermeasures systems, as well as other new technologies, like uncrewed underwater and surface vessels. The Navy’s overall mine hunting force is going through a transition that is controversial, to say the least, with many questioning if the Pentagon is investing enough resources in this critical missions set.

With all these issues in play, in an exclusive, wide-ranging, two-hour interview, Steve Jones offered in-depth insights about the Navy’s airborne counter-mine mission, the Sea Dragon’s capabilities and dangers, current mine sweeping operations, as well as everything from what it was like to narrowly avoid getting entangled with a surfacing sub to his experiences ferrying celebrities like Robin Williams and Tom Jones around a war zone.

So, with the stage being set, let’s get into this incredible exchange.

Some of the questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: How did you end up becoming an MH-53 Sea Dragon pilot?

A: During the time that I selected, you could choose SH-60 Seahawks, you could choose CH-46E Sea Knights and the MH-53 Echo. You could choose SH-3 Sea Kings, but they were kind of winding down the H-3s, which is the same as the presidential helicopter Marine One that they fly now, but they were flying out of Norfolk and Puerto Rico, primarily for VIP transport. 

So, I looked at the 53 for a lot of reasons. One, I liked the instructors that came from that community in the advanced helicopter training. And two, I just thought the helicopter just really looked awesome, and it was big, and so that’s why I chose it, and I just thought it would be a good personality fit, work fit for me, and it ended up being that way.

Q: What are the main differences between the Navy’s MH-53E and the Marines’ CH-53E Super Stallion?

A: It’s primarily the same aircraft. Except our aircraft has larger fuel sponsons, so we could carry more gas. The reason for that is ideally we’d want to be able to fly an hour to where the mission objective was, be able to stay on station for about an hour, and be able to fly back. That requires at least three and a half, four hours of gas and extra fuel in those side sponsors. And that allowed us to do that. So instead of a small sponson with two tanks, we had one big sponson with four fuel tanks that were inside each of the sponsons on either side of the aircraft.

Q: So how much gas would that larger sponson hold?

A: About 22,000 pounds of gas.

Q: Talk about the training and some of the biggest challenges of flying that huge aircraft. 

A: Typical Navy training is two years of flight school, and then after flight school, we went to our Replacement Air Group, which we call the RAG, that was in Norfolk, Virginia. You spend about a year, or up to 10 months, in Norfolk, Virginia, learning primarily how to fly the helicopter, how to land the helicopter, and we do that in the combination with the Airborne Mine Countermeasure Squadron. We used aircraft from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 14 to learn how to fly the different mission sets and learn aircraft familiarization. And then from there you either get assigned to HM-14, which was in Norfolk, Virginia, or HM-15, which was in Corpus Christi, Texas. HM-15 has now moved to Norfolk, Virginia. [Editor’s note: HM-14 sunsetted in 2022.]

The training takes about 10 months. Mine was a little bit longer because when I actually joined that community, the aircraft were down because of a crash off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas. There was a problem called ‘thermal runaway,’ where the bearings in the main rotor head would fail, and they would seize together and get hot, and we lost a few sailors from HM-15. And until they figured out why and how to prevent it, it took about a year for those aircraft to come back up, so I was in Norfolk for maybe about a year and a half, almost two years, before I got to Corpus because of that bearing issue.

Q: What was it like when you finally got out there and learned how to fly while pulling a mine countermeasure sled?

A: There’s different types of equipment that you use and it takes a special kind of person to be able to maintain the situational awareness – both flying the aircraft and what’s happening in the back – because there’s dangers in the back. You have a very confined area, lots of equipment, and under lots of tension, and so the very first couple of times, the instructor is kind of handling everything, and you’re just kind of riding along.

Then eventually you start to do more tasks, physical tasks, in terms of flying and maintaining a stable platform for the men and women that are working in the back, and then over time those skills translate into a larger situational awareness, where you’re now a mission commander – where you’re flying the aircraft, but also, conducting the mission in the back is your primary responsibility. The positions are second pilot or co-pilot, and then you become a Helicopter Aircraft Commander (HAC), which is like the captain, and then you become an Airborne Mine Countermeasures Mission Commander (AMCM MC), meaning you’re flying the aircraft, you’re the commander of the aircraft, but you’re also commanding the mission.

Q: Did you become a mission commander?

A: I did. So I was fully qualified in the MH-53 Echo in my squadron, so I was a mission commander. I worked the maintenance side, so I was the maintenance check pilot and functional check pilot. It takes a lot of maintenance, and then post maintenance, and you have to do post maintenance flights to be able to make sure the aircraft is safe for anyone else to fly. So I spend most of my time in those areas in that squadron.

Q: What are the MH-53’s unique quirks and advantages?

A: One of the advantages was pure brute strength. You had three GE engines, so you could handle lots of torque, and the way that we hunted and swept for mines was pulling sleds in the water, which causes thousands and thousands of pounds of stress, so it’s really like a forceful instrument in the water. The operation requires the coordination of not only meteorologists and Operations Specialists, which are like intel specialists in mine warfare, but then you have the maintainer, you had two pilots and a crew chief, plus it could be up to four people in the back, depending on the type of gear you’re stowing in the back, so it really takes coordination from the front.

The disadvantage is that it’s a very expensive aircraft to operate. Every hour of flight, required 24 hours of maintenance, and if a squadron had 10 helicopters, which we did at one point in time, you’re looking at the largest deployable squadrons in the Navy, like 600-plus people to operate these aircraft.

With everybody working together, we advertise that we could be anywhere in the world in 72 hours, where there’s a mine threat. We could break down the helicopters, put them in a C-5 and then reassemble them anywhere in the world in 72 hours. After 9/11, for Operation Iraqi Freedom, we did deploy by C-5. We took half the helicopters to Sicily and the other half went to Bahrain and took 11 C-5s in order to move a squadron that size into those two locations, so big footprints, lots of money, lots of parts.

Q: How fast could the Sea Dragons fly?

A: The 53 is a fast helicopter. One of the fastest out there. We were limited to 150 knots for airframe preservation. Under towing conditions, we typically flew between 18 and 25 knots, depending on the device in the water.  Each vehicle had different performance parameters to properly deploy the device. Under rapidly changing conditions we always had to maintain proper speed and altitude control. 

Q: The Sea Dragon has experienced a notoriously high rate of mishaps. Did that ever concern you? What do you think contributed to this record?

A: It did. If you’ve ever seen one or been on one, been close to one, or heard one, you’ve got 100-foot long machine with millions of moving parts, right? 

Our maintenance crews were very good, I always felt safe flying. I think you have to if you choose to fly that particular weapon system, but there were a lot of accidents. And I knew folks that were killed in MH-53 accidents who I went to flight school with, and buddies.

Maintaining MH-53E’s

It’s a very complicated machine that did a very important mission, and accidents do happen, both mechanically, but also because of pilot error. In combination, you end up losing a lot of airframes. Besides the United States, there is only one other nation that flew that airframe, and that was the Japanese for their mine sweeping operation. It’s a very complicated, expensive machine, and that’s why not very many people flew it.

Q: Did the danger concern you?

A: You know, you’re in your 20s, right? So you feel a little bit invincible. I’ll tell you a story. When I switched from 53s and started flying C-130s, after the Haitian earthquake, I flew into Guantanamo Bay, and my old squadron was there on the same ramp as we were. So I walked over to see who I still knew there, and they had a 53 turning on the deck there, and I was just going, ‘wow, I couldn’t believe I used to do that,’ and not thinking about how many things have to go right in order to have a good day. And I just kind of said to myself, ‘it’s really a young person’s game,’ because you gotta kind of hit the ‘I believe’ button on a lot of things, because there’s just a lot of opportunity for negativity to come in. Weather, environment, and then the mechanics of things.

Q: What were the biggest factors contributing to the Sea Dragon mishaps?

A: With any aircraft system, the largest factor that contributes to any accident is the human factor. Yes, engines will fail, components will fail, but a lot of times it was human error that caused the ultimate catastrophe because when an emergency happens, you have three criteria in order to gauge when you should land.

The two critical ones are ‘land immediately,’ meaning if you do not ditch in the water or put the aircraft down, it is going to come apart in flight. The other critical criteria is ‘land as soon as possible,’ meaning as soon as you have a safe place to land, then you land as soon as possible. Then you have another condition where you can continue to fly, but flying is not recommended. And so that decision factor between land immediately and land as soon as possible, it’s a bit of a gray area, right? You have a set of skills you can fly, but you can never time when the aircraft is going to come apart.

Navy ‘Sea Dragon’ Helicopter Unsafe For Flight | NBC Nightly News

For example, in the Corpus Christi crash, they knew that they had a problem. I’m not second-guessing the pilot, but it was in that gray area between land immediately and land as soon as possible.

The aircraft commander chose to try to bring the aircraft closer to the beach, so you could survive a ditch, because putting a helicopter in the water – nothing is guaranteed, right? Then you have no control. However, bring it closer to the beach means you’re flying that much longer. So land immediately, there could have been more survivors.

Not to ‘Monday morning quarterback’ anything. I probably would have made the same call. And then with the new equipment that was put on the aircraft, there are lights now placed in a monitoring system that kind of took the gray area out of those decisions when it came to thermal runaway with the main rotor head. So now the decision is clear. Land immediately if certain indications happen, and land as soon as possible if certain indications happen. Prior to 2000, we didn’t have that.

Q: The Sea Dragon community has been well-documented for being neglected by the Navy. What was your experience when you were flying it? Why do you think that was?

A: It’s a unique mission set. It kind of came online during the Vietnam War and Haiphong Harbor, and clearing those mines, and then again in Desert Storm, when the USS Tripoli was hit by a mine.

Mining sea straits is a very cheap way to stop a huge navy, such as the one that we have in the United States. However, the Navy, in my opinion, didn’t necessarily see the value in that mission. There are very limited resources. There’s only so much money to go around, and large strike groups and ships just took priority. We were always probably a little bit underfunded, in my opinion, for a mission that’s important, which you can see today with the Strait of Hormuz. But it was definitely a huge problem that many people did not talk about during the first two Gulf Wars.

Q: Why was it a huge problem?

A: Well, when you try to move a carrier strike group into a small area like the Persian Gulf, by putting mines in the water, you create doubt in a captain’s head. The captain is responsible for thousands and thousands of lives, and the battle group commander is responsible for thousands and thousands of more lives, plus the strategic reason of why they’re there. If a mine is discovered, then everything has to pause. You can’t land Marines on the beach, you can’t move the strike group closer to the shore. The ability for you to project power ashore, all that kind of comes to an end. 

Q: How does the MH-53E go about this unique mission set? Can you walk us through what a mission would look like from start to finish? 

A: Depending on the intel, you’ll have a threat and the threat could be you suspect that there’s mines in the water, or that you know that there’s mines in the water. So, typically it’s ‘you suspect,’ right? And we used the AN/AQS-14, or “Q-14.” There’s about three different versions of the Q-14. It’s a side-looking sonar, which you drag in the water – we call it the fish. We would fly the fish at certain depths based on the terrain and what was in the water. That was called mine hunting. 

So initially you would always kind of begin with a hunting mission, where we could, or the OS operator, or the console operator would mark what they view as a mine-like contact. You’re really kind of looking at the sonar and distinguishing between man-made objects and natural objects. If you believe it’s a man-made object, and then you would mark a tape. You could also, real time, send that image back to the ship, but that capability came a little bit later.

We also had devices that allow you to sweep. A mine can be triggered by different mechanisms. Sometimes they’re triggered by contact.

Some mines are acoustically triggered, meaning you can set that mine to blow up for a certain type of ship acoustics. For instance, a destroyer has a different set of acoustics from an amphibious ship, from an aircraft carrier. If you want to let 1,000 destroyers pass you or a submarine and then wait for the aircraft carrier, you can tune it to that way. So we had devices that could mimic the sound signatures of different ships, and you could tow that in the water, you could tow it really fast. One of the reasons why we were successful is that we could do large areas of the ocean relatively quickly. 

The last piece for sweeping is the magnetic variation. Each ship is a metal hull, and as a ship is moving through the water, it has a magnetic signature, and then we have gear, which you could tune to mimic certain types of ships in the water, in order to have them explode behind the gear that we’re towing in the water.

So you hunt, that means you’re searching, and then you sweep, and then that means you’re clearing. Sometimes you can clear using other technology, such as sometimes the Avenger class ships would go in and sweep, and not us. Sometimes you would use dolphins to work with EOD teams in order to sweep mines. It just depends upon the threat, on what the second tool is used after you hunt.

Navy Dolphins Practice In Key West How To Find Mines In The Ocean

The most time that I spent was in the hunting phase of the mission set. In Bahrain, every week, a couple days a week, we would hunt. We would do the Strait of Hormuz. We would do the approaches into Saudi Arabia for the tankers. We would do the approaches into the Suez Canal, just to be sure that there are still no mines in that area.

That is for what we call change detection, meaning you map the ocean floor, and then over time, because of consistency, you’ll be able to tell if something changed. If something changed, then you went in to investigate further. It’s constant because the ocean floor is constantly moving, and then somebody could easily place a very cheap object that could be devastating.

Q: Walk me through how a mission would take place.

A: The intel can be good sometimes, sometimes the intel is lacking. The weather has to be at a certain sea state in order for it to be successful, and you can’t do it at night, right? You have to do it during a daytime in littoral situation, so you’re pretty close to shore and you are susceptible to threats that are on the beach. That is the mission set and if you don’t know where the mines are, that’s why you begin with hunting. The Q-14 is a relatively quick device to deploy. You can pull it in the water relatively fast. Then you can real-time send images back, or you can collect tapes to study for that change detection.

When you’re going out for a mission, you’ll have your standard aircraft brief, where the crews get together and talk about the state of the aircraft, the conditions, the environmental conditions of today. And then you’ll get into the mission brief on where the ship is, or where the shore is, and where actually the square, or the box, or the rectangle is, where we’re going to conduct a mission. We talk about the distances from that point that we’re going to deploy the gear, because it takes time to be able to do that, and then we’ll enter what we suspect is a minefield or an area of interest from which we want to be able to tow in.

Minesweeper Exercise

Then we fly what we call tracks. It’s almost like rows on a field, like cornrows, and we go up, down, up, down, and you have to stay within track by feet, okay? If you, if you stray as little as 20 feet off track, then you have to redo that track, because you want to have a continuous picture of the ground. And so it may take two or three sorties to cover an entire minefield.

And then times where the device may have strayed off track. It takes time, but we can do it quicker than a ship doing it on its own, like the Avenger class ship, and so between the aircraft brief and the mission brief, and executing, it’s like a six, seven hour day in the heat or in the cold, depending on where you are.

This is the Navy’s Largest Helicopter | MH-53 Sea Dragon

There’s no air condition on that helicopter. So everybody’s working in those conditions based on the information that we bring back. Then the tactics folks that are supplied to us by COMINEWARCOM  (Commander, Mine Warfare Command), which was our bosses, those intel folks will say what needs to happen next, meaning there’s nothing that needs to happen now, or we need to investigate this further. And then they pick the next tool for us to be able to deploy, or they go with the EOD and dive teams to go take a closer look.

Q: How fast are you flying, and how high are you flying? How deep do the sleds go?

A: The helicopters are anywhere between 25 and 75 feet over the water, depending on the gear, because the speed in which we pull through the water is extremely important. You could go as fast as 25 knots in some cases, which is about the top speed, or you’d have to go as slow as 12 knots.

Mine Countermeasures Unit Drops a Slocum Glider from a MH-53E Sea Dragon

Q: How deep do the sleds go?

A: The depth of some of the gear is classified, or at least it was at my time. I’m not sure now, but you could go relatively deep. It’s under lots and lots and lots of tension, and the reason why you had to go very deep is that some gear has to be able to get to the sea floor at certain distances, because there’s also the subsurface fleet that is operating down there, and mines will affect them as well.

Q: What’s the tension like when you’re dragging a sled?

A: You’re looking at around 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of tension. The aircraft will kind of buckle. You look at the side of a 53, it has a crease from the tension that goes on it.

If there is a swell in the sea state, sometimes the Doppler radar – which would kind of track how fast you’re going forward, backwards, or sideways – it’ll go from forward to negative, meaning we’re actually getting pulled backwards by the sea state. And the engines would automatically just start – the torque would come in as the blade did a bigger bite out of the air. And the aircraft will kind of turn, because of the torque. It’ll kind of turn and whine, and you’re just flying an out of balance flight, nose down.

Q: Did you ever have the sled get tangled up behind you?

A: Yes. It can get caught on things in the water, and the tension will spike. If the tension spikes too high, or the gear gets fouled in something, you always have the option to guillotine or cut the gear.

Q: Did the aircraft have other devices that helped in the mine hunting mission?  

A: Yes. In addition to the Q-14, we had the Mk 104 acoustic device, mine chain cutting devices and the Mk 105, a huge gas generator, which produces electrical charges in the water for those magnetic-seeking mines that change the magnetic variation.

HM-15 Sailors Recover Mk 104

There’s at least six devices that I know of that are used for hunting mines, including something as simple as what we call a MOP, which is stands for Magnetic Orange Pipe, which is what they used in Vietnam.

Essentially you have this pipe, it looks like a telephone pole, which is about the size of a telephone pole or larger, and it’s orange. It has a positive charge on one end and negative on the other end. It’s just a magnetic pipe that we would tow in the water. It’s probably the easiest thing that you can tow, and the simplest, but it’s looking for those magnetic variations. The problem with the magnetic orange pipe is you can’t change it, so it’s set for a certain amount of tactics. You can see how that could become obsolete in today’s environment.

Q: How does the Sea Dragon integrate with other mine hunting capabilities, like the Avenger class ships or other assets?

A: We worked as a team, but obviously we’re a tool in that larger mine warfare strategy. We were the speed aspect of that, meaning we could have left holes, but if you’re trying to move at the speed of war, then sometimes we were the tool that was required. And if you have 72 hours to be somewhere, speed is required. We could do that to be sure that the fleet can continue to do what it needs to do, but if you’ve got time, then you could sail a ship or move one of those slower small boats into that environment, that makes sense.

Q: Did you ever work together with Avenger class ships?

A: Maybe in the same AOR, but other than an exercise where you would see an Avenger class ship working the tow area, and then we will be working our tow area. It was under controlled condition. When I was doing change detection, and during work conditions, we were operating concentrated on our mission set, they’re probably concentrating on their mission set, and between the two pictures, they came together in the operation center to have a very clear picture.

Q: When was the Sea Dragon actually used for this mission operationally? How did it perform?

A: It was used throughout Iraqi Freedom, from Shock and Awe to the pull-out to the drawdown. If not every day, every week there was change detection in mine operations, because it’s always a threat. It’s a very cheap weapon that non-state actors can get off the black market. One mistake or one mishap causes devastating consequences for the individuals on that ship, but also the mission, so it’s a constant threat, and still is a threat. 

During my time, actively hunting for mines to be sure that those straits and those approaches remain clear, dominated my entire career in the community. From the time I started  and then I towed to my last days in the squadron, which was in 2005.

Q: How did the Sea Dragon perform?

A: I would say, since there was not a mishap, it performed as designed. It doesn’t mean that the mines were not there. During Iraqi Freedom, mines were put in the water, but we didn’t have the mishaps like we had before that I can recall. So I would say it was a success.

Q: Any close calls during any of your sled-towing flights? 

A: I got disoriented one time with vertigo. Like I mentioned earlier, you’re on an out-of-balanced flight, so your ears are doing one thing, your eyes are doing another thing, and sometimes there’s low fog over the water early in the morning. Under tow there was a time where I got vertigo and put the aircraft in an undesired state, but there’s two pilots. I recognized it and told the aircraft commander ‘I’ve got vertigo.’ He took the control and saved it. Being that close to the ground, getting vertigo could have devastating effects, right? We just ended up releasing the gear that day.

Q: How do the big rearview mirrors help with towing?

A: Mirrors are super important for situational awareness when lowering the equipment into the water and for ensuring the tow cable is staying on track. The co-pilot is crucial while under tow because they are responsible for making sure the aircraft remains clear of obstacles and threats. The pilot flying will be head-down monitoring performance of the helicopter and the gear deployed. The pilot flying will maintain navigation in the minefield and overall safety. When flying, looking out of the windows was a brief luxury. 

Q: Tell me about the time you encountered a surfacing sub while dragging your sled.

A: It was sometime in 2003 or 2004. We were flying over the Strait of Hormuz, towing a side-looking sonar to do bottom mapping. I’ve got a very loud helicopter in the air and a sonar that’s pinging on the bottom, so it probably was not a surprise where we were to the submarine, but their location was a surprise to us.

It’s a bright sunny day. The water looked beautiful, and we’re just doing a random tow. And all of a sudden, this big black submarine surfaced right in front of us. Just popped out of the water, and right in line with our track.

I think I was maybe 50 feet over the water and the gear is behind me. Now I have to turn like a semi truck, having to turn myself and the gear all at the same time to maneuver around the submarine. I said something like ‘holy shit’ and I remember I banked to the right because I think it was the easiest thing to do. There’s more space.

We ended up able to clear the sub, but it had a startling effect. So either they were in the wrong spot or we were in the wrong spot, I couldn’t tell you. But no one came and knocked on the door, saying that I did something wrong. So I’m gonna leave it as if they were in the wrong spot.

Q: What was it like aerial refueling such a monstrous helicopter and did you use it operationally often?

A: Very intimidating at first. However, it is all about training. Yes, you are very close to the other airplane, but that is not your focus. Your focus is on check points. Align your check points and the aircraft will plug. Once you connect and position the aircraft above the wing and propeller wash, the ride is smooth. When I switched over the flying C-130s, it would have been nice to go full circle, but never got the chance to give fuel.

We almost did aerial refueling during a possible mission scenario, but the plan was scaled back and we ended ship hopping. I only used the boom in training. I’m sure it happened, but didn’t know anyone who did it. They were there for a reason, and we trained for it.

Q: What’s the operational situation regarding Iran at the time you were flying?

A: Annoying. They have a lot of islands that are in the Persian Gulf that are their territory, and sometimes during operations, when you’re either delivering cargo or going to field a tow, it puts you in close proximity with those islands. At the same time, if it’s necessary, you could have your own boat team in the water as well. It was post-Cole [a reference to the October 12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole just a few years earlier by explosive-laden suicide boats at the port of Aden in Yemen. The blast ripped a 40-foot-wide hole near the destroyer’s waterline, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring nearly 40 other crew members.]

A Suicide Boat Attack Leaves the USS Cole Reeling from the Damage | Combat Ships | Smithsonian

So you have fishing boats in the water, and you don’t know who’s on that boat that is getting close to your ship. But when you got close to Iranian territory, they will speak up on the radio, and tell you to turn around, that you’re approaching their territory,. Even though you know exactly where you are, and you know exactly where this island is, they’re still going tell you are in violation of their airspace. 

Then it’s always a constant threat, right? So, if I were to have to ditch a helicopter or airplane in the water, they’ve got boats in the water. You wouldn’t want to get captured by them, where they could say you are in violation of their sovereign territory by mistake, and then it becomes an issue.

We were flying helicopters without GPS, so you’re using visual navigation maps and whatnot.  I’m sure there’s a GPS on those birds now, but at the time, I had a handheld GPS from Academy Sport, where I marked the islands myself, so I knew exactly where I was, or at least the best that I could manage with the equipment, to be sure that was in the right position. 

Q: Did they ever directly threaten you while you were on those missions?

A: No. They talked about violating their airspace, but they never intercepted or anything like that. I think that would be a huge mistake. It would not be a good day for them.

Q: Tell us about other locales where Sea Dragons operated.

A: We had detachments in South Korea for the North Korean threat from underwater mines. We did exercises in the Pacific. We did exercises with Japan because there’s a threat of mine in those straits, like the Strait of Malacca. 

There’s obviously a threat in the Pacific theater. But because of the situation with Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, I spent most of my time in the Middle East.

Q: Were there any difference between operating in the Persian Gulf area and the Pacific, or Europe?

A: A lot of the effectiveness of what we do is dependent upon water. The salinity of the water, the sea state, the amount of garbage and trash that’s in the water. So those environmental threats change the tactics. That’s why you need to practice out there.

In terms of the purpose of the mission, that does not change, but how you go about it does change. If you’re closer to a near-peer actor, it’s going to require better intelligence, different types of equipment in order to counteract the threat. I would say the Iraqi Navy was not near-peer in terms of mine tactics, but the Chinese could probably be very different in terms of mine tactics. They would be a more sophisticated enemy in this case, which would heighten everything.

Q: Did the Iraqi Navy or the Iraqis present a threat to your aircraft? Did they harass you, fire at you?

A: No, not during my time. I think maybe possibly during the first Gulf War. The threat was that there, it was always a threat when you’re operating close. So yes, something could have happened. They’ve got boats, they’ve got men in the water.

Q: What are your thoughts about the current MCM missions taking place now in the Middle East? Just how hard is it to clear an area of mines like the Strait of Hormuz?

A: I would say that it is difficult. All mine clearing operations are difficult because you’re talking about the needle in the haystack. Like literally, and you know they’re deploying something that can be hoisted by one person and thrown overboard into the water or by a machine, and you can deploy a lot of mines in a very short time in a concentrated, tactical way, or randomly. It really doesn’t matter, it’s still a threat. 

I would say it is difficult because people talk about how narrow and small the Strait of Hormuz is, but you have to remember the earth is large, and there is just a sheer volume of water, and square miles or square kilometers on which something can happen.

It is a very daunting task, and so having more MH-53E helicopters probably wasn’t the solution for the future.

From reading, and then from hearing from my peers that are still in, the tactics are different, but also the equipment that they use to detect this threat is also different. It is faster. It is unmanned. You can deploy more assets quicker because you’re not relying upon one machine or two machines at one time being deployed.

What kind of sea mines is Iran using in Strait of Hormuz?

Q: What equipment are they using now? What are the differences?

A: I retired in 2017 and it has changed dramatically. For one, it is more integrated into the fleet, so you’ll have multi-mission capabilities, meaning an MH-60Ss can be used for different sets of missions, from delivering cargo, to deploying different sensor arrays. You have AI for detection assistance. You have side-looking sonar, which instead of being towed are now on underwater unmanned vehicles. So I think more of what you’re looking at now is a mission package of sensors that can be deployed.

When you have sensor sets, it’s integrated into the larger Navy strategic picture better. I think that that was lacking in the past in a way, because you have to cover such a large volume of area, you need more sensors and eyes to be able to do that, and I think that’s the strategy today.

Q: Do you talk to any of the current pilots/crews of the last squadron flying them? What do they say about the current status of the fleet? Are they involved in the mine clearing operation in the Strait?  

A: So I talked with folks, there’s still some folks that are still active duty. Some of them have transitioned out of the 53 pilot-wise and have transitioned into the MH-60S community and so they are deploying those tactics and new systems.

I would say it is probably still a neglected community in their opinion. Everybody’s fighting for resources, but I think when you’re talking about the current situation with Iran in the straight, there’s always a time where mine countermeasures become a very hot topic, because people do forget about it. 

Q: Are the MH-53Es still performing airborne counter-mine missions?

A: I’m not sure. 

Q: What other missions does the MH-53 community perform? Can you talk about your experience with those and what they entail?

A: When you have that much capability, you move a lot of things. And so we did a lot of moving cargo. I could move an F-14 Tomcat engine with the afterburner completely attached. I could move it at 150 knots from shore to ship internally, so I didn’t have to sling it underneath the aircraft in a pod. I can have the engine assembled together and be able to move it. So we moved things that the C-2 Greyhound couldn’t.

The primary mission was mines, the secondary cargo and people. We would do people movement, if a better ride wasn’t available to move an admiral or someone for an important meeting, then we would do so. Obviously, you know, it’s a very dirty ride.

Q: What admirals did you move?

A:  I can’t remember the admirals, because they kind of all blend together, but we did move fun people. We did Tiger Woods for all the USO engagements. Blink 182. We did Tom Jones, Robin Williams, a number of NASCAR folks and other celebrities. We did a lot of that.

Q: What was Robin Williams like?

A:  Funny. He was on from the time that we picked him up in Bahrain, and then giving him the brief. He liked talking with sailors and making jokes. Tom Jones was memorable because he’s got the hair right, and he didn’t want to wear a cranial or helmet on his head to mess up his hair before he did the show, and so that became a thing. But you know, the hair won out. The hair was not going to get covered by the helmet.

Q: What will the Navy miss when that last squadron is finally retired next year and there are no more Sea Dragons flying? Can the MH-60S handle the job?

A:  With the Greyhounds going away, I think even with the CMV-22, which is a very capable aircraft, a very fast aircraft, but in terms of lift capacity internally, there’s something to that. If it’s outsized or weirdly shaped or is on wheels, the MH-53E is your catch-all aircraft. The Navy will miss that and the large numbers of people that we can move.

During the start Operation Iraqi Freedom, when I was in Sigonella we spent four days offloading the Marine Corps battalion landing team from the Iwo Jima on to Souda Bay for them to be flown into the northern part of Iraq. With those two helicopters and in one helicopter with Helicopter Detachment 4, we moved hundreds and hundreds of Marines from a ship to the shore for them to be staged in order to be moved into Iraq in a matter of days. I don’t think that same amount of capability in terms of volume of moving at that speed can be done with what’s available today. So I think they’re going to miss the kind of the ad hoc nature of having a big aircraft to move odd things. It’s good to be a generalist sometimes.

Q: What about the mine countermeasures mission? Is there anything that the Navy will miss from the capabilities of the 53 from that standpoint?

A: I can’t speak on it with the new equipment, because I’ve never operated it, but I think what the Navy won’t miss is the price tag, and maybe the lack of full mission capability. We operated a lot of times in that partial mission capability, because of the complexity of the equipment and the machine, and then you have to get the equipment and the machine to work together, the machine being the helicopter. I don’t think the Navy will miss that part of it.

Q: Can the MH-60 do the job?

A: They can do the job, but they don’t conduct it the same way we did. They can’t pull big sleds like we did for underwater sonars because of power and tension. And you can’t send as many crew members in the back in order to make that mission successful. But the 60 is a very capable platform in order to conduct the mission the way they do it now.

Q: What’s the difference between what they do and what you did?

A: They’re deploying sensor arrays and underwater vehicles from the thing, so they have standoff distance. They’re capable of not putting the helicopter in the same proximity to danger. They can’t put a Mk 105 in the water, but they don’t need to, because they have other types of technology to do it. 

Q: What was your most fear-inducing flight in the Sea Dragon?

A: For me, I was on the sea wall in Corpus Christi, Texas, about to do a towing training mission off the coast of Texas. In the 53 you have three engines, and then you have an auxiliary power unit – another gas turbine that’s above the cockpit.

The purpose of the auxiliary power unit is to run the hydraulics and various components and accessories when the engines and the rotor head aren’t turning. The idea is, once you get the engines going and the main rotor is turning, there is a shaft that goes from the main gear box into that auxiliary power unit, where all your generators and hydraulic systems are run. So we had the engines running, we were on the sea wall – we had a hanger, and then we had an apron, and right there was the Corpus Christi Bay.

I was taxiing out to take off from the helipad, and you’re over the water as soon as you take off from the sea wall. Well, that shaft sheared while I was taxiing up. I have to push the cyclic (the stick) forward in order to tip the rotor head forward to pull me along the ground. If you lose hydraulics in a 53 there is no amount of strength that you or the other copilot has to help to change the path of that helicopter. 

When the shaft broke, it meant whatever condition that rotor head was in, it was not going to move, and that rotor head was in position for me to be able to take off, but I did not have enough power in order for me to lift off. Even if I lifted off, I probably would have just careened into the water. 

So we were going in a situation where I heard it pop, and then all of a sudden the controls froze, and I told the co-pilot, Ty Jurica, that I was so concentrated at that point because I could not control the aircraft. I said ‘I don’t have control, I cannot move the controls.’ But Ty’s quick thinking noted that he could get the hydraulic power unit started again, which it takes time to spool up, but he was able to hit the start on the APU, and we managed to spool up to get hydraulics back, and as soon as the pressure came on at 3000 psi, I was able to move the controls again.

We stopped the aircraft where we were, and we shut it down at that particular time, but in a few seconds, maybe, we probably just would have taxiied off over the sea wall, and into a very bad situation.

Q: What was your best memory of a mission you flew, or a moment during one of your missions in your time in the Sea Dragons? Put us in your shoes of what that was like.

A: Oh man, my best day there? There were a lot of good days. A lot of times, we would fly in formation – two ships going out to whether it was an aircraft carrier or whatever – and we would take off before sunrise. When you’re flying in formation low over the water, and the sun is coming up over the Persian Gulf, those are those are great days. Because everything is working. You have two planes actually going to conduct the mission and not training. I don’t care who you are, it’s always a lot of fun. 

You’re going relatively fast. I mean, we’re not Hornets or whatever, but we were low and fast at that time for us, and we thought we were pretty cool.

You couldn’t touch us on those days.

Author’s note: we added three additional sets of questions and answers to this story. We asked Jones about how fast the Sea Dragons could fly, how helpful the big rearview mirrors were when pulling a sled and what it was like conducting aerial refueling in the giant helicopter.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

An airline pilot has shared advice for anyone who deals with anxiety on flights

Anxious travellers could enjoy calmer travel days by following three pilot-approved tips. An airline pilot has revealed several steps nervous passengers can take to calm their nerves before boarding.

The advice was shared by Simon Belmont, who describes himself as an airline pilot, Airbus A350 Captain and a fear-of-flying coach. With over 130,000 followers on TikTok, Simon regularly shares tips and tricks for passengers on social media as @Flyman_simon. In a recent video, the pilot shared his top recommendations for holidaymakers feeling anxious about upcoming trips.

He wrote: “Holiday travel can feel extra intense when you are already a nervous flyer. Crowded airports, delays, noise and rushing around can make anxiety feel even bigger.” Fortunately, the pilot identified three steps passengers can take to help alleviate their stress.

In the post, Simon urged passengers to give themselves plenty of time on travel days, be polite to staff, and ensure they’ve packed properly. As he explained, making sure you “keep fed, watered, and entertained” is key to a good flight. “A calmer flight often starts before you even board. Small changes really do help,” the expert pointed out.

In his video, Simon told viewers: “I’ll give you three top tips to try and make it de-stressed. If you’re a fearful flyer, de-stressing that journey really does lower your levels, and it stops you peaking, maybe overthinking, and doing all that doom thinking that gets you worried about flying.”

Simon said: “Number one, give yourself plenty of time. That is one of the biggest things. If you’re up against the clock, wondering whether that gate’s going to close and you’re going to make the flight, it’s stress from the second you leave your home or the hotel, sat in traffic. So give yourself that extra bit of time.”

He continued: “When you get to the airport, be really courteous, really nice and friendly. Remember all of those staff, all the security staff, and everyone else, they’re not trying to hold you up. They’re trying to do their job. They’re not going to cut corners on safety, and they are going to try to get you through as soon as possible.”

The pilot also advised people to pack entertainment. He explained: “Keep entertained and keep fed and watered. So keep things to keep you busy when you are sat around waiting.”

“Make sure that you have got some snacks, you’ve got some things to eat to keep that blood sugar level up, and that will again de-stress you, put you in a much happier mood, and give you a much better chance,” Simon explained.

He continued: “Keep hydrated because at the other end you want to be able to enjoy the holiday, the business trip, seeing family and friends. Dehydrated, you’re going to feel groggy and crappy.

“So yeah, give yourself plenty of time. Be courteous, remember the people are working hard, and keep yourself fed, watered, and entertained. So download those videos, take little games, card games, whatever you can.”

ASUNCION, Paraguay, June 1 (UPI) — Paraguayan authorities are investigating a suspected international drug-trafficking operation after discovering 577 pounds of hashish and cannabis aboard a private jet whose pilot left the country before the drugs were found.

The drugs were valued at approximately $3.6 million, making the case one of Paraguay’s largest recent air-related drug seizures.

The tale began at 9:12 p.m. Friday, when a Bombardier Challenger 604 arrived at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport from Panama carrying Estonian pilot Keith Siilats, American co-pilot Jabari Stephen Brown and three American passengers.

The aircraft landed without incident and all occupants left the airport terminal, authorities said.

About 10:30 a.m. Saturday, one of the passengers returned to retrieve luggage that had been left behind. Airport police said the man was reluctant to undergo a routine inspection and claimed the suitcase contained musical instruments.

His behavior raised suspicions among officers, who notified the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Anti-Drug Secretariat and the National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics.

Minutes later, authorities detected hashish in one of the inspected pieces of luggage. The discovery led to a broader inspection of the aircraft and its cargo.

Authorities ultimately found the 577 pounds of hashish and premium cannabis varieties concealed in bags inside the jet.

Jalil Rachid, minister of Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat, said the operation represents one of the most significant air-related drug seizures carried out by Paraguay.

Authorities later determined that Siilats left Paraguay on a commercial flight Saturday morning, hours before the drugs were discovered and the investigation began.

Anti-drug prosecutor Ingrid Cubilla told Paraguayan media that Siilats remains under an arrest warrant.

Investigators have identified Siilats, 47, as one of the central figures in the case. He is known in the United States as co-founder and former chief technology officer of Bolt Mobility, an electric scooter and micromobility company that ceased operations in 2022.

Brown, a 21-year-old American who gained attention on social media after winning a competition organized by content creator MrBeast and receiving a multimillion-dollar business jet as a prize, was released by order of prosecutors.

The three American passengers who remain in custody were identified as Troy Anthony Vasquez, 42, whom investigators said rented the aircraft; David Thomas Wise, 57; and Marisol Rivas, 39.

Anti-drug prosecutor Cubilla charged all three with international drug trafficking and unauthorized possession of narcotic substances. All remain in pretrial detention.

Rachid said Paraguayan authorities are sharing information with international agencies and working with Panama and other countries to determine the route of those involved and possible regional connections.

According to Rachid, authorities believe Paraguay was only a transit pointm and that the final destination of the shipment was Brazil.

“We are certain that the final market for this type of drug, especially given the quantity, is Brazil,” he said.

“There is not very high consumption here precisely because of the cost of this type of drug.”

In this episode of TWZ: Special Access, Jamie Hunter talks with Lt Col “Evil” Marcus, a B-1B Lancer test pilot assigned to Air Force Reserve Command at Edwards AFB, California, about how the B-1B’s armament is morphing to meet the challenges of facing off against a peer threat. This includes reactivating its external pylons, which have been gone since it lost its nuclear mission decades ago, as well as the introduction of hypersonic missiles to its menu of available weapons options.

Check out the video:

B-1B Lancer’s Future Weapons According To Its Test Pilot

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

A pilot who has flown more than 750 times and visited more than 50 countries in just four years has shared the ‘really cool’ European city he’d recommend to holidaymakers

If you’re wondering where to jet off to for your next getaway, a pilot who has flown to more than 50 destinations might just have the answer.

There are plenty of beautiful cities, charming towns, and golden-sand coastal resorts scattered across Europe for that idyllic escape in the sunshine, and just a short flight from the UK. Yet with a sea of options, it can be hard to know exactly where to go. But fortunately for us, Wizz Air pilot Tom Copestake knows exactly what destination he’d suggest to travellers.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Tom said: “My favourite destination is Split in Croatia, I absolutely adore it. It has a mix of Mediterranean vibes, old architecture and castles, which is really cool.”

READ MORE: UK’s ‘best day out’ for families revealed and it’s not Alton Towers or Thorpe ParkREAD MORE: Sun-soaked island 4 hours from UK with turquoise waters is ‘cheapest for Brits’

Flights to the sun-soaked city of Split start from £28.99 with Wizz Air, where visitors will be greeted with the 4th-century Diocletian’s Palace and lively seaside promenade. There’s a maze of narrow streets to wander around, ancient history to admire and nearby beaches to lap up the rays – you might even find yourself on the set of Game of Thrones while exploring the city.

The Wizz Air pilot, based at London Luton, also revealed an undiscovered destination that warrants a visit: Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. “I don’t think there’s any connectivity directly between the UK and Armenia, but we’re going to be the first people to do that, which is exciting.”

Wizz Air will welcome direct flights from London Luton Airport to Armenia this summer for the first time. The flights to Yerevan will launch on 12 June of this year, operating twice a week, with one-way fares starting from £36.99.

The pilot also added that Tirana, Albania, is another “undiscovered gem” and highly recommends that holidaymakers book a trip. Yet there’s one overlooked European destination Tom says tourists miss, but is well worth visiting, and flights start from just £26.99.

“I flew into Bilbao about two weeks ago – it’s a tremendous destination on the north coast. It was surrounded by what looked like amazing mountains or hills for hiking. I think there’s a lot of good walking in northern Spain,” Tom shared.

“I spoke to the ground handling agent in Bilbao, and he said how beautiful the area was and how we needed to stay and go exploring. There’s a place called San Sebastiá just down the road from Bilbao, which is apparently an amazing place to go and have a look at.”

After recommending Split, Tirana and Bilbao as go-to destinations, Tom offered a glimpse into life as a pilot. He acknowledged: “This is a customer service job that happens to be in the aviation industry, and I love the fact that each of the thousands of passengers I’ve flown has a story and a reason to travel. It might be for fun, to see family, or we have people who might be working in different countries. It’s really cool, and I love that so much.” He humbly added: “This job is a privilege”.

For more information on Wizz Air flights, or to book your next getaway, visit their website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Before flying hundreds of people across the world, one pilot has a particular practice he does every single time before he flies – and it’s not what you might expect

Operating an aircraft isn’t your typical 9-5 job, with varied hours and flight schedules at all hours of the day. Yet for one pilot, no matter what time it is, there’s one ritual he always does before every flight.

Waiting at the airport and clocking a member of cabin crew or a pilot confidently walking through the terminal in their pristine uniform and perfectly packed travel bag can sometimes leave the average passenger feeling a little awestruck. It is like you’re spotting a celebrity for the first time or seeing someone you shouldn’t.

It can leave us filled with curiosity about the people who take to the skies for a living, and call a plane their office while cruising at 41,000 feet. Offering an insight into the life of a pilot, Tom Copestake revealed what he gets up to before every flight, whether he’s departing at the early hours of the morning or at night.

READ MORE: ‘I’m a pilot – there’s one key thing everyone needs to know about turbulence’READ MORE: Beautiful overlooked European gem outside Schengen zone has £17 flights and £2 pints

Tom has been a Wizz Air pilot for four years and, during that time, has flown thousands of passengers on more than 750 flights, visiting more than 50 countries. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror about life as a pilot, he disclosed: “Sometimes my alarm goes off at 3am or sometimes I’m not starting work until 6pm in the evening.

“But no matter what, whenever I get to the airport, the first thing I always do is get a vanilla latte and an almond croissant. It somehow resets my mind to say, ‘ok, this is the start of my work day.’ It’s the first thing I do, and I think an airport ritual isn’t a bad idea. “

And the airport isn’t the only place, Tom, who is based at London Luton Airport, can enjoy the tasty treat. “We have some early starts, but having a cup of coffee and a croissant, going over the Alps, with this fabulous view in front of me, nothing beats it.”

While taking in the incredible vistas, Tom added: “There are parts of the earth that we look down on that no one has ever walked on – it’s really cool.

“The way it makes you feel really small, but insignificant somehow. Looking down at this expanse of snow and mountains or sand and desert, but it’s the most exhilarating feeling, I love it.”

Sharing a closer insight into his job as a pilot, Tom acknowledged: “This is a customer service job that happens to be in the aviation industry, and I love the fact that each of the thousands of passengers I’ve flown has a story and a reason to travel.

“It might be for fun, to see family, or we have people who might be working in different countries. It’s really cool, and I love that so much.” He humbly added: “This job is a privilege”.

For more information on Wizz Air flights, or to book your next getaway, visit its website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-21) “Blackjacks” gave TWZ a personal tour of one of its MH‑60S Seahawk helicopters and filled us in on some of key capabilities during the Dubai Air Show in November 2025. 

The MH-60S is a versatile multi-mission, medium‑lift maritime helicopter that is designed for a broad range of missions, such as vertical replenishment (VERTREP) at sea, search‑and‑rescue, airborne mine countermeasures, anti‑surface warfare, and electronic warfare.

The U.S. Navy operates both the MH-60S and the MH-60R variants of the H-60 and the two share a common airframe, General Electric T700 powerplants and many avionics, enabling streamlined logistics, maintenance and training across the fleet while allowing each variant to be customized for distinct operational roles. The MH-60R is primarily configured for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) but it too has anti-surface warfare (ASuW) capabilities and has been used to shoot down drones.

The MH-60S features a modern glass cockpit, twin General Electric T700‑GE‑401C engines and a flexible, modular, mission‑systems suite that supports interchangeable payloads, internal fuel tanks, and advanced mission packages.

“Sikorsky is leveraging its global MH-60R and MH-60S Seahawk users to constantly iterate while we operate, ensuring the aircraft is mission ready and evolves. This commitment to production, sustainment and modernization enables the MH-60R to stay ahead of emerging threats and maintain its position as the premier global ASW platform,” the company commented to TWZ.

Check out the full MH-60S walk-around video below:

U.S. Navy MH-60S Pilot Talks Multi-Mission Roles Of The Seahawk

Contact the editor: Tyler@twz.com

A pilot who has flown more than 750 times has revealed there’s one European city which is a ‘tremendous destination’ that’s well worth visiting – and flights start from £26.99

A pilot who has flown more than 750 times and visited more than 50 countries in just four years has revealed the European city that holidaymakers miss.

When it comes to booking a sun-soaked getaway, many of us are on the lookout for those destinations that go a little under the radar. Whether it’s to escape the onslaught of tourist crowds, packed attractions and lengthy queues, or to simply wander around a quieter location and explore somewhere new.

There’s a catalogue of beautiful European cities, brimming with charm and character, that are well worth venturing beyond the typical holiday hotspots. Yet, it’s not always easy to know where to go. But luckily for us, Wizz Air pilot Tom Copestake knows exactly what destination he’d recommend to holidaymakers.

READ MORE: EasyJet unveils nine new routes to beautiful destinations from UK airports with £24 faresREAD MORE: Spanish airports move flights and take action to tackle queue chaos for Brits

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Tom said: “I flew into Bilbao about two weeks ago – it’s a tremendous destination on the north coast. It was surrounded by what looked like amazing mountains or hills for hiking. I think there’s a lot of good walking in northern Spain.”

He continued: “I spoke to the ground handling agent in Bilbao, and he said how beautiful the area was and how we needed to stay and go exploring. There’s a place called San Sebastiá just down the road from Bilbao, which is apparently an amazing place to go and have a look at.”

Bilbao is a vibrant and colourful port city in northern Spain, with towering green mountains and a winding river valley running through its core. It’s known for its Basque heritage, innovative architecture, and world-class art.

Its most famous landmark is the curved Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, known for its contemporary art exhibitions and the ‘Puppy’ statue that towers over the city. Yet, against its ultramodern architecture, there’s the historic old town of Casco Viejo, which is made up of ancient medieval streets, the grand Santiago Cathedral, and Mercado de la Ribera – one of Europe’s largest covered food markets.

The city has a renowned food scene, with its local tapas, known as pintxos, being a notable highlight, alongside its selection of fresh seafood. Bilbao is also packed with lively bars, buzzing restaurants and cafés, so visitors can savour the flavours of its incredible cuisine, and soak up its vibrant atmosphere.

Aside from visiting the Guggenheim Museum, notable attractions include the Museum of Fine Arts of Bilbao, Zubizuri Bridge, also known as the ‘White Bridge’, and Artxanda Funicular, a mountain cable car offering breathtaking views. Nearby is also the Bizkaia Bridge, the world’s first to carry people and traffic on a high suspended gondola, and it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

And it might just be the perfect time to visit, as Wizz Air launched new routes from London Luton to Bilbao this year, with flights starting from £26.99. They also welcomed a flurry of new Spanish routes, including to Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante and Seville.

Sharing a closer insight into his job as a pilot, after recommending Bilbao, Tom acknowledged: “This is a customer service job that happens to be in the aviation industry, and I love the fact that each of the thousands of passengers I’ve flown has a story and a reason to travel.

“It might be for fun, to see family, or we have people who might be working in different countries. It’s really cool, and I love that so much.” He humbly added: “This job is a privilege”.

For more information on Wizz Air flights, or to book your next getaway, visit their website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com