Alan Dawes is a former staff writer on Air Forces Monthly and Air International , having previously had a long career in the Royal Air Force as an in intelligence analyst, where he was able to develop his Russian translation skills. He has specialised in the study of modern Russian military aviation and written on a wide range of related military and civilian topics, being shortlisted twice for the Royal Aeronautical Society Aerospace Journalist of the Year award. He is married and lives in Cambridgeshire, England
