What’s happening on the Viktorfeed? Something called “Skyway Ltd”, using the ICAO code DGD, is doing quite a few flights into Iraq and Afghanistan; so is “Transaviaservice” or FNV. This last is the current owner of Antonov 12 ER-AXE/7345201, which we’ve had here before, both with Aerocom and with a shortlived project involving routes from South-East Asia to Australia that somehow required a cargo door that could be opened in flight. They also have ex-Air Van aircraft, and one that was used by Astral in Kenya; and several of their An-72s are on lease to SkyLink.
Since the An-12s were banned from the UAE, they’ve apparently moved to Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq, indeed as far north as you can go before it ceases to be Iraq. Here’s a of one of their An-72s in Tarin Khowt, Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Ethan Zuckerman muses on the possibilities of jarking for a good cause; he wants to release ammunition that deliberately jams the firer’s weapon into the illegal supply chain. There’s much more arms trade goodness, including this cartoon and his realisation that….
As I read the story, I realized I knew most of the terminology used, not from a close study of the issue, but from Frederick Forsyth’s classic novel, “The Dogs of War“.