{"title":"Alexander Mladenov","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the thrilling world of Alexander Mladenov, where historical battles meet gripping military strategy. Perfect for history buffs and wargame enthusiasts, discover meticulously researched accounts and expert analyses.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"gator-on-the-rise-book-alexander-mladenov-9781911096450","title":"Gator On The Rise","description":"The Kamov Ka-50 (NATO code name Hokum) was developed as a new-generation heavily-armored attack helicopter - originally conceived as a one-to-one replacement of the Mi-24 Hind. The program was launched at the Moscow-based Kamov Experimental Design Bureau in the late 1970s. The concept - promoted by the then young and inventive head of Kamov, Sergey Mikheev - called for an unorthodox, well-protected, agile and small-size attack machine. The unorthodox attack rotorcraft made its maiden flight in June 1982. It pioneered the Kamov's trademark co-axial rotor scheme, combined with a highly automated flight\/navigation\/targeting suite and long-range antitank guided missiles. In the late 1980s - after a protracted head-to-head competition pitted against the Mil Mi-28 - it was judged as being definitely superior to its competitor and was subsequently ordered for serial production. The first production-standard Ka-50 took to the air in May 1991 and the new type was formally commissioned into Russian Army Aviation Service in August 1995. As many as five prototypes and 13 production-standard helicopters were manufactured between 1982 and 2009. The single-seat and highly-automated Ka-50, however, appeared on the scene at just the wrong time, with its production launched during the dissolution of the mighty Soviet Union and the onset of sharp cuts in Russia's defense budget, which led to its termination in the late 2000s. 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The extensive 'Sovietisation' of the Bulgarian air arm led to the eventual change of its official title in late 1949, becoming identical to its Soviet counterpart, the Voennovazdushni Sily (VVS), featuring a structure identical to that of a Soviet front-line air army.In April 1951, the Bulgarian Air Force entered the jet era with the delivery of the first batch of Yak-23 fighters, followed not after long by the MiG-15.The hot period of the Cold War in the early and mid-1950s saw frequent night overflights by US aircraft ferrying CIA teams to be delivered by parachute to Bulgarian territory, and often to Romania and the southern parts of the Soviet Union.This tense situation required a constant high alert state, but the Bulgarian jet fighters and anti-aircraft artillery proved largely unsuccessful in countering the night intrusions. They were more successful, however, in countering the flights of high-altitude balloons with photo reconnaissance equipment launched by the US intelligence in an effort to gather information on the countries behind the Iron Curtain.The only occasion of a foreign aircraft being shot down was El Al Flight 402, a Super Constellation on a regular passenger flight between London to Tel Aviv via Vienna and Istanbul. The ill-fated airliner, known as one of the greatest victims of the Cold War tensions, nervousness and distrust, was attacked by Bulgarian MiG-15 fighters on 27 June 1955 after it erroneously strayed off course into Bulgarian territory, killing all 58 people onboard.The formation of the Soviet Union-dominated Warsaw Pact Treaty Organisation on May 14, 1956 heralded the beginning of a new era in the VVS' development. 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A small country, located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, the Kingdom of Bulgaria entered into the fourth decade of the century as a still-neutral, but in fact strongly pro-German state. So it was not a surprise when it eventually joined the Axis on 1 March 1941, declaring war on both Britain and the US six months later. In the course of the war the moderate and poorly equipped air arm of late 1930s steadily matured during the wartime years into a small but capable force, able to mount fierce resistance to the Allied bomber raids against the country's capital Sofia in late 1943 and early 1944. 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