Draken International: Air Force for Rent.

Explore the rise of Draken International, a real-life private military air force with a massive fleet and global contracts. Discover how they shape military training and the world's defense landscape.

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[akend]

Calling it right now: a group clearly inspired by Draken International is going to have a major role in a future Ace Combat game.

[theanglosaxon]

The fact he has his own mig-29 makes me think of him as some sort of Ace Combat boss battle 💀

[arrjay]

From Draken International's Wikipedia entry. They have the following.
13 A-4K Skyhawks
23 L-159E ALCA
21 Dassault Mirage F1
25 MiG-21bis
12 Atlas Cheetah
24 F-16 Fighting Falcons
15 Dassault Falcon 20
They probably make more money as a training force.

[ashbirk]

I feel like this company has pricing tiers:

Basic tier: MiG-21
Pro tier: Mirage F1
Gold tier: F-16 and full technical support

[walldoby]

I work for Draken as a Licenced Engineer, I work on the Bournemouth flight line supporting our Falcon 20 fleet. I did my apprenticeship with the company and have since stayed. It’s a privilege to see our stuff presented by Mr Whistler himself, it’s a job I’m proud to do and I love sharing it (within allowable reason) 👍

[BanzaiYaris]

Fun, except for the small matter of Draken not possessing a single live weapon in it's arsenal lol.

[_lime.]

There's also Top Aces, out of Montreal Canada. They were the first civilian operator of the F-16, and currently have a fleet of 29 of them, more than even Draken. They also operate A-4 Skyhawks and Alpha Jet trainers. They've also been around quite a bit longer than Draken

Like Draken, they're primarily contracted to provide aggressor training to militaries, notably the USAF, USMC, USN, RCAF, RAAF, and Luftwaffe. However, their most notable contract in recent history was to train Ukrainian F-16 pilots.

[FreeFallingAir]

Marcus Licinius Crassus, a Roman politician and considered one of the wealthiest individuals in ancient Rome, famously said that "no one is rich unless he can support an army from his own income, " essentially meaning you're not truly rich unless you can afford to maintain a Roman legion..or AirForce

[roguebanana]

Draken had no plans for world Fact Boy planted the seed!

[nickmadar]

I used to watch these boys when i was a c-130 mechanic im the marine corp. Them boys were the talk of the town when they rolled in.

[timothyvalvo]

Draken has a operation in my town, got to go into their hanger once!

[DexterS]

Fun fact: The A-4s came from New Zealand on one condition, the RNZAF roundel remain on the aircraft.

[evilwelshman]

IMO the major factors limiting Draken's ability to become an actual PMC are a lack of access to munitions and logistics. While combat aircraft are scary and all, the thing that actually makes them dangerous are the weapons they carry. Thus far, Draken don't seem to have the access or means of obtaining missiles (bearing in mind different aircraft systems are only compatible with certain missile systems). Likewise, it would be difficult to ship their aircraft around. Meanwhile, Draken don't seem to have any tanker aircraft or the ability of midair refeuelling.

[anakamarvelous]

“Merryweather for all your private security needs. How can we help you?”

[abelesperanz]

"what does the world look like if countries could rent a private airforce and use it as a highest bidder see's fit"

Project Wingman got that covered with the sky going ORANGE

[RCJPOP]

On flightradar you can see them every day off the east coast of England with the Typhoons training along with refueling tankers

[yubakrarai]

How can I buy a raid on my landlord house?

[boosted_z]

It’s “Drah-ken” not “Dre-Ken.” We use them almost daily for contract red air.

[abelesperanz]

<< What do you have to show for yourself, merc? Blood? Gold? A broken throne? >>

[DennisMK-vrxc]

Draken means "The Dragon" in Swedish, if you need another reason to think it has a cool name