10 Percent True - Tales from the Cockpit

Former French Navy fighter pilot Alban “Daffy” Le Duc explains why attacking a warship is one of military aviation’s most difficult missions.From flying low and radio silent to locating a moving high-value target, coordinating Exocet attacks and overwhelming a ship’s defences, he breaks down the anti-ship tactics flown by Super Étendard crews.Watch the complete conversation with Daffy Le Duc on 10 Percent True.#SuperEtendard #Exocet #FrenchNavy #NavalAviation #MilitaryAviation

In 2001, a Chinese J-8 fighter collided with a US Navy EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea. Badly damaged and with limited flight controls, the American crew made an emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island.Former EP-3 mission commander Hoover Coggins examines the crew’s controversial decision, the sensitive material left aboard and the intelligence windfall handed to China.Watch the complete Hoover Coggins interview on 10 Percent True.#EP3 #HainanIsland #USNavy #China #MilitaryAviation

This is a clip. For the full episode, subscribe: 10percenttrue.comFormer US Navy Naval Flight Officer Hoover Coggins takes us inside the secretive world of the EP-3 electronic-intelligence aircraft. Flying from Spain and forward bases around the Mediterranean during the Cold War, Hoover progressed from navigator to senior tactical electronic-warfare evaluator and mission commander. In Part 1, he explains the EP-3’s enormous mission crew, its sensors and linguists, how operators identified hostile radar systems, and what happened when Soviet, Israeli or Libyan fighters came to investigate.

Watch full episodes at: 10percenttrue.comJosé Jiménez 10PCT EP59 P4 ClipFormer F-111 pilot, Libya raider, test pilot and squadron commander José Jiménez returns to recount an extraordinary third career. After retiring from the US Air Force and briefly flying Boeing 747s, the events of 9/11 drove him back toward public service. At 44, he entered the US Foreign Service and began again at the bottom, eventually serving in Senegal, Iraq, Morocco and Zimbabwe. In this clip, José offers an unusually candid account of diplomacy, de-Ba’athification, reconstruction, terrorism and the strange realities of representing America in a war zone.#iraqwar #militaryhistory #geopolitics

Former Mirage F1 combat pilot Easy Bethoux initially dismissed aerobatic flying as “circus” work—until a friend told him that life in the Patrouille de France was “war twice a day.” One selection flight changed everything. Easy went on to fly with and ultimately lead France’s national display team. In this remarkably candid conversation, he explains the fear, trust, discipline and emotional cost behind one of the world’s most respected formation teams.00:00:00 Introduction00:02:15 From the Mirage F1 to the Patrouille de France00:03:26 “I’m not a circus guy”00:04:04 “It’s war twice a day”00:05:31 Arriving for the selection day00:07:00 Flying in the Alpha Jet’s back seat00:09:12 The formation tightens—and Easy cries00:10:33 The dynamic flight at 100 feet00:12:00 The selection interview00:15:00 Joining the team and starting again00:19:40 Searching for the perfect formation flight00:21:16 Going to war with yourself00:25:01 Learning to accept fear00:27:29 “I was afraid of dying”00:34:00 A typical Patrouille de France training day00:39:00 The pilot–mechanic relationship00:44:00 Learning movements from the team’s “Bible”00:50:30 The training flight that nearly ended in ejection00:57:50 The relentless display schedule01:10:00 Safety, fatigue and flying within your limits01:19:09 Dealing with threats during a live display01:25:46 The hardest part of the job01:31:00 When the entire formation reaches 100%01:34:15 Choosing the next leader01:38:25 Emotion and honesty among fighter pilots01:39:43 Easy’s fear above Flight Level 30001:45:01 Creating the “Apache” manoeuvre01:50:00 Meeting the world’s other display teams01:54:57 Why the Alpha Jet works so well02:05:34 What audiences never see behind the display02:15:00 How the show continues to evolve02:21:40 Leaving the Patrouille de France02:24:19 Bringing every pilot home02:24:35 Bertrand and the death of his father02:31:44 “You bring him back every day”02:33:26 The team’s accident and safety briefing02:35:35 Should Bertrand see his father’s fatal accident?02:37:31 The decision and its aftermath02:39:50 “You can be a fighter and you can cry”02:41:00 Closing thoughts