airforces monthly - november 2015

70 and Still Going Strong!

Belgian F-16s targeting ISDramatic Sniper IR imagery

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South Africa's weary Dakotas

FRANCE LEADS RUSSIA'S AGENDA?

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AS EUROPE DITHERS OVER SYRIA

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3#332 NOVEMBER 2015www.airforcesdaily.com

CONTENTS November Issue 332

NewsAll the world’s military aviation news, by region.4-7 Headlines8-10 United Kingdom12-15 Continental Europe16-20 North America21-22 Latin America23 Africa26-27 Middle East28-31 Asia Pacific32 Australasia/Contracts

Life on Mars 34

Glenn Sands AFM Brand Editor

Claim your FREE Rafale Cockpit DVD worth £12.49, when you subscribe to AirForces Monthly. See pages 24 and 25 for full details.

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34 Life on MarsLearning to fly and then fight in the AV-8B Harrier takes all manner of skills, as Joe Copalman found out at MCAS Yuma, Arizona.

42 EXERCISE REPORTAviadarts International 2015 Andrey Zinchuk and Alexander Mladenov report on the latest round of the annual multinational competition, which saw Byelorussian, Chinese, Russian and Kazakhstani combat aircraft gather at Ryazan-Dyagilevo airfield in Russia.

48 Guarding America’s Shores In the first of a two-part feature, Tom Kaminski explains how the HC-130H Hercules has been the mainstay of the US Coast Guard’s long-range surveillance operation since the 1960s.

54 EXCLUSIVEHunting IS – In Belgian F-16sJoe Schoofs gained an exclusive insight into the way air operations are

conducted against IS when he spoke to the Belgian Air Force about its role in trying to defeat the terrorists.

60 EXERCISE REPORT Fada’ian-e-HarimeVelayat-5Babak Taghvaee reports on Iran’s recent air combat exercise.

66 Taking the StrainCarlo Kuit and Paul Kievit of Bronco Aviation visit Boboc Air Base in Romania to find out how the air force is training its pilots and preparing for the arrival of F-16s.

72 EXERCISE REPORTThracian Star 2015 Alexander Mladenov visited the big-gest international air and air defence exercise in Bulgaria this year.

76 Seventy and Still Going Strong!The South African Air Force operates some of the oldest aircraft serving any air force, in the shape of the C-47TP Turbo Dakota. Christopher Szabo investigates this old warrior’s role.

82 Inside NevatimRemco Stalenhoef, Patrick Smitshoek and Stephan van Geem visited the Israel Air and Space Force base, where C-130s, F-16s and KC-707s dominate.

84 AIRCRAFT PROFILEEmbraer EMB-145 AEW&CSantiago Rivas and Sergio Santana profile the first Latin American-designed AEW&C platform and outline its role in helping to intercept slow-flying illegal aircraft.

90 AttritionAFM’s Dave Allport reports on the world’s latest military accidents.

94 DebriefReviews of recently published books on military aviation.

95 Base WatchA snapshot of recent military visitors to air bases in Europe.

Cover: French Air Force Rafales over the Middle East en route to carry out the country’s first air strikes against IS in Syria. Armée de l’Air

FREEDVD!

Seventy and Still Going Strong!

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4 www.airforcesmonthly.comNOVEMBER 2015 #332

NEWS

HEADLINESNEWS

HEADLINESHEADLINESHEADLINESHEADLINESHEADLINES

WITHIN HOURS of the French joining the effort to bomb

Islamic State in Syria, the war took an unexpected twist when Russian fighter-bombers started to deploy to one of Syria’s main bases, Latakia/Bassel al-Assad Air Base on September 27. The aircraft they sent comprised 12 Su-24M/M2 Fencers, 12 Su-25UB/SM Frogfoots, four Su-30SM Flankers and six Su-34 Fullbacks, as well as 12 helicopters. Most of the world watched in

amazement, as President Vladimir Putin once again outflanked

Above: Russian Air Force Su-24M ‘26 White’ takes off from Latakia on October 3 for an air strike mission. Russian MOD

Above: This pair of two-seat Su-25UBs, ‘44 Red’ and ‘53 Red’ are among 12 Russian Air Force Su-25s deployed to Latakia. Both are fully bombed up, awaiting their next mission. Russian MOD

his Western counterparts, as he had done in Ukraine earlier in the year. Moving the Russian Air Force into Syria to support President Assad’s ailing war effort went against all that NATO and its Arab coalition had been trying to achieve in the past year. However, some believed that the Russian intervention, if co-ordinated with NATO, could be a good move as it would strengthen efforts to defeat known terrorist groups. However, on September 30 when

the airstrikes began, it appeared to NATO that Putin was not just

intending to target IS but any forces opposing Assad, including those Syrian rebels supported and trained by the US and its allies. On October 4, Russian jets

violated Turkey’s air space causing two Turkish F-16s to be scrambled – Russia later claimed the pilot had made a navigational error. In March 2014 Turkey shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-25 (see Attrition, May 2014 p26) and in May this year downed a Syrian helicopter (which Syria claimed was a UAV) for crossing its borders. A NATO statement October 5, on

behalf of its 28 members, warned Russia of “the extreme danger of such irresponsible behaviour” and urged it “to cease and desist”.None of the Russian fighters

are using IFF codes, identifying themselves to other aircraft in the skies over Syria, so there is a real possibility of a collision between the aircraft of the two sides fighting the armed groups on the ground. As tensions mount, Russia is continuing the airstrikes on a daily basis and is expected to expand them further, according to Russia’s defence ministry.

RUSSIA STRIKES IN SYRIA

Russian Fighter - Bombers at LatakiaSu-24M

’04 White’/RF-90943, ‘05 White’/(RF-90942), ‘08 White’,‘16 White’, ‘25 White’, ‘26 White’, ‘71 White’, ‘74 White’, ‘76 White’, Plus three more unidenti� ed

Su-25SM

‘22 Red’, ’23 Red’ (uncon� rmed), ‘24 Red’, ‘25 Red’, ‘27 Red’, ‘28 Red’, Plus four more unidenti� ed

Su-25UB

‘44 Red’, ‘53 Red’

Su-30SM

‘26 Red’(RF-93670), ’27 Red’, ’28 Red’, ’29 Red’

Su-34

‘21 Red’, ‘22 Red’, ‘25 Red’, ‘29 Red’, Plus two unidenti� ed

Alan Warnes gives an overview of the developing military situation in Syria.

5www.airforcesdaily.com #332 NOVEMBER 2015

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Almost 44 years after Ba’athist Syria agreed to allow the

Soviet Union to establish a naval supply and maintenance facility at Tartus, this strategic area was in danger of being occupied by terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al-Nusra (JAN) and IS. In response, the Russian government ordered its air force to protect its most important naval base in the Mediterranean Sea.Since the late 1970s, when the

Soviets were ordered to evacuate their naval bases in Egypt following the peace deal between Egypt and Israel, the Tartus naval facility has become the sole Soviet base in the Mediterranean. The Soviet Navy based its 229th Naval and Estuary Vessel Support Division, later upgraded to 720th Logistics Support Point, at the facility. In spring 2015, when Syrian

Army forces were weakened by

the war of attrition on the north and northwest fronts, the Kremlin approved a strategic plan to deploy Russian armed forces to Syria. These were to protect Syria’s strategic shores and especially the city of Latakia, which the anti-Assad jihadists would have to take in order to reach Tartus.The Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF)

has a fleet of 27 operational MiG-21bis/UMs, 74 MiG-23BN/MLD/UBs, 40 MiG-29B/UBs, 47 Su-22M2/M4/UM3/UM3Ks and 20 Su-24MKs at the core of its strike force. Of these, 70% have been operational simultaneously, but they have

not been able to act effectively to provide adequate air support for the Syrian ground forces.As a solution Russia wanted to

deploy a series of air-superiority, ground attack and strike bombers, as well as attack helicopters to Syria. To prepare for the deployment, Exercise Centre-2015, held from September 14 to 20, trained the air and ground crews involved, along with 6,000 other servicemen. Almost 170 aircraft from the units based in central and eastern areas of Russia took part in the exercise.In early September, the terrorist

groups exploited the Syrian Army’s

What is Russia’s agenda?Babak Taghvaee provides the background to the conflict and examines the Russian perspective.

A video released on October 2 showed this Russian air strike on a command post 8 miles ( 13km) west of Jisr al-Shughur. Russian MOD

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Military News Editor: Dave AllportSteve Donovan

EXCLUSIVE

Above: The Russian Su-30SMs deployed to Latakia include this aircraft, ‘25 Red’, seen here with its brake chute deployed after landing following return from a mission on October 4. Russian MOD

Above: A Russian Air Force Su-34 lands at Latakia after returning from an air strike mission on October 3. Russian MOD


NEWSNEWS

HEADLINES

weakness in the northwest and western fronts to achieve several victories. The most recent was on September 9, when Jaish Al-Fateh rebels, led by Jabhat Al-Nusra, overran Abu al-Duhur air base and took control of the whole airfield.On September 7, the Russian

Air Force began logistics flights from Mozdok, Sochi and other areas to Latakia’s airport to set up a forward air station there. At least four An-124-100s and six Il-76MDs were used to carry all the required equipment.The next day, Bulgaria was

requested by the US Government to block its airspace to the Russian aircraft heading for Latakia. A similar US demand to the Greek Government was, however, turned down and Greece kept its airspace open until September 24.After that, Europe’s sky was closed

to the Russian transport aircraft carrying weapons and ammunition, as well as those loaded with military helicopters such as Mi-24V/Ps and Mi-8AMTShs.By mid-September, the Russian

Air Force had begun deploying helicopters, mainly from Mozdok Aviation Base, using An-124-100s. After this, fighter aircraft started to move to Syria, where recent construction work at Bassel al-Assad airport had ensured it was able to accommodate them.The first arrivals were on

September 18, comrpising four Su-30SMs from the 412th Aviation Base at Domna. These had already been flown to the 6980th AB at Shagol in readiness, then made the flight to Syria via a refuelling stop at Mozdok. They then continued their long journey to Syria, accompanied by an Il-76MD and routing via Georgia, Armenia and Iran.The next day 12 Su-25s,

including two Su-25UBs and seven Su-25SMs, all belonging to the 412th AB at Domna, departed Shagol toward Syria. They made refuelling stops at Mozdok and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force’s 3rd Tactical Fighter Base at Noujeh (Shahrokhi).Simultaneously, 12 Su-24s,

including four to five Su-24M2s from the 6988th AB, departed Shagol and had reached Syria by September 21, after routing over Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq.On September 27, the final

aircraft to arrive at Bassel al-Assad were four Su-34s from the 6970th AB at Morozovsk. This gave the Russian Air Force 12 Su-24M/M2s, 12 Su-25UB/SMs, four Su-30SMs and six Su-34s, as well as 12 helicopters, at the airport.

First StrikesBefore the Russian Air Force detachment in Syria could start bombing its targets, familiarisation flights were carried out over the west and northwest of Syria. Syrian UAVs, including Orlan-10s, were used for reconnaissance and surveillance sorties over the territories

under control of JAN and IS.On September 30 it led President

Vladimir Putin to order the Russian Air Force to conduct the first air strikes against all of the rebel and terrorist groups threatening the west and northwest of Syria. The Syrian Army selected several targets, with the help of Russian UAVs, including the Pchela-11s, Orlan-10s and at least two IAI Searchers. Twenty sorties were flown on the

first day with eight targets attacked in Rastan, Talbsieh, Zafaraniya and the outskirts of Hom. A variety of weapons were used, including FAB-250 iron bombs, KAB-500L laser-guided bombs and KAB-500S-E satellite-aided internally-guided bombs, one of the latter apparently striking the underground HQ to CIA-backed rebels. That attack was claimed

to have destroyed a stockpile of BGM-71A TOW missiles allegedly supplied by the Saudis and killed at least 12 IS terrorists.Between 0030hrs and 0315hrs

on October 1, eight combat sorties were carried out with Su-24M2s and Su-25SMs. One IS facility, a JAN hideout and two Free Syrian Army installations were reportedly hit with precision guided munitions. The targets were said to include an ammunition depot near Idlib, a headquarters near Hama and an improvised explosive device factory.At the same time, at a different

facility, a Syrian Army Special Forces Cheetah unit carried out a raid on IS frontline defences in the village of Ayn Sabil. One day later, the same unit, supported by six Russian Air Force Mi-24Ps, liberated the nearby town of Al-Salihiyeh, close to Aleppo.After sunrise, near Homs, the

550th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division of the Syrian Arab Army liberated the city of Harraan Al-Fawa’arah from IS with close air support from the Su-25SMs. In total during that day, the RuAF conducted 18 combat sorties against ten targets, killing dozens of terrorists, including a local field commander from the Homs Liberation Movement.On October 2, the RuAF

conducted 14 sorties against six targets belonging to the JAN, IS and other jihadist groups. These apparently included an IED

Above: Two Russian Air Force armourers fi t a Zvesda Kh-25L/AS-10 Karen to Su-24 ’04 White’/RF-90943 at Latakia on October 5 prior to another mission. The Kh-25L is the RuASF’s most commonly used close air support munition. Russian MODBelow: This image taken from a video released on October 1 shows an air strike by Russian Air Force Su-24 and Su-25 aircraft at an unspecifi ed location in Syria. Russian MOD

A sateliite image of the threshold of Runway 17 Left at Latakia, which is being used as an impromptu apron for the deployed Russian Air Force combat aircraft. From left to right, these comprise four Su-30SMs, four Su-24s, 12 Su-25s and a further eight Su-24s.


France Expands Air Strikes into SyriaFRANCE HAS broadened its operations against IS, performing its first air strikes in Syria on September 27. The country had previously only carried out such missions in Iraq. Five Rafales, an Atlantique 2 and an C-135FR tanker were involved in the mission.The sortie was conducted as part

of France’s Operation Chammal and involved an attack on an IS training camp located in the Euphrates valley, south of Deir ez-Zor. This was a deliberate strike on a target that had previously been identified, according to a statement from France’s defence ministry, which said its information had been cross-checked with coalition partners. It had been clearly established that the camp was active and busy.The attack utilised assets from

two air bases being used for Operation Chammal – Azraq Air Base in Jordan and a location officially identified only as being “in the Persian Gulf”. This is known to be Base Aérienne 104 (BA104) Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi, UAE, from where French Rafales have been operating similar missions against IS in Iraq for some months.The air strikes began at 0630hrs

French time (0730hrs local time) and the raid lasted for five hours. French officials said the targeted objective was destroyed.France launched Operation

Chammal on September 19 last year. On September 8 this year, this was extended to include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions over areas controlled by IS in Syria. For that first ISR sortie,

two Armée de l’Air (AdlA - French Air Force) Dassault Rafales took off from Al Dhafra – the mission lasted 6hrs 30mins. The Rafales used their Reco NG pods, to capture high-speed day and night video footage. Aerial refuelling support for the mission was provided by a French C-135FR.By September 24, France had

carried out 12 ISR missions. They enabled France to self-assess the situation in the IS-controlled regions and helped identify targets of interest.France’s current Operation

Chammal aircraft comprise 12 fighters (six Rafales, three Mirage 2000Ds and three Mirage 2000Ns), plus an Aéronautique Navale (French Navy) Atlantique 2. The six Rafales and the Atlantique are operating from Al Dhafra and all of the Mirages from Azraq.

First Australian Missions in SyriaAUSTRALIA’S GOVERNMENT has extended air strikes against IS into Syria. The decision was announced on September 9 by the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott and came in response to a formal request from the Obama Administration after Iraq asked for international help to fight the terrorist organisation.This marks the next phase of

Australia’s contribution to the international coalition effort to disrupt, degrade and ultimately defeat what Abbott described as the “Daesh death cult, which does not respect borders and threatens the security of Iraq and the international community from its safe havens in Syria”.From Syria, IS has been able

to operate training bases, plan and prepare attacks and move fighters and materiel into, and out of, Iraq. It also controls a large amount of territory in eastern Syria that serves as a source of

recruitment and oil revenues.Extending Australian Defence

Force operations into Syria is intended help protect the Iraqi people from the terrorists operating within their own country and across the border in Syria. Australia joins with the United States, Canada, several Arab nations, Turkey and most recently France, in the campaign against IS in Syria.Australia’s Air Task Group, already

deployed to Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE for operations against IS in Iraq under Operation Okra, consists of six F/A-18s, a KC-30A MRTT and an E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C. Prior to being ousted as PM on September 15, Abbott said the size and nature of Australia’s overall commitment would remain under regular review. As of September 13, the Air

Task Group had completed 408 ADF airstrike missions over Iraq. It was also announced on

September 13 that the Air

Task Group had carried out its first strike against an IS target in eastern Syria, destroying an APC. Two RAAF F/A-18s identified the APC, hidden in an IS compound. The information was reported back to the CAOC via the RAAF E-7A Wedgetail. Upon receiving authorisation

to proceed, one of the Hornets employed a precision guided weapon to destroy the target. The first operational RAAF mission over Syria took place on the previous day, but no weapons were released.

Three French Air Force Rafales over the Middle East en route to carry out the country’s fi rst air strikes against IS in Syria. Armée de l’Air

workshop (being used to convert gas cylinders to IEDs) which was destroyed by a pair of Su-25SMs at Maarat Al-Nuuman, Idlib.Also, at 1245hrs local time on the

same day, it is claimed two Su-34s equipped with four KAB-500S-E bombs blew up the underground HQ of a terrorist group in the Al-Latamna district, Hama.An hour after the Su-34

attack, two Su-24Ms and two Su-25SMs used FAB-500 and KAB-500 bombs against two bunkers in the same area, destroying what was described as a terrorist command centre.In the evening, to the north of

Kafranbel, near Idlib, two strike sorties were made by another pair of Su-24Ms, an Su-25UB and an Su-25SM. They used FAB-250 and FAB-500 bombs to destroy a Free Syrian Army (FSA) Mount Hawks training camp covering an area of 3,230 sq ft (300m2).

Incoming Storm Against IS & Al-QaedaThe intervention by Russian bombers over the course of three days led to the Syrian Arab Army advancing on the north and northwest fronts. The SyAAF also conducted an average of 30 daily sorties, which were mostly against targets near Idlib, all preparing the situation for a major joint offensive in the second week of October.On October 2, information

was leaked about a major joint offensive by an assortment of forces that included the Syrian Arab Army, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard – Qods Force (IRGC-QF), as well as Iraq’s Badr groups. It claimed almost 3,000 Hezbollah soldiers who had won an earlier battle during the Al-Zabadani offensive, together with 1,000 Syrian National Defence Force troops and 1,300 soldiers of IRGC-QF and Badr group, had been re-deployed to northern Syria. This was possibly to participate in a joint offensive with the Syrian Army and IRGC-QF’s Fatemiyun Division (consisting of Afghan troops) in the first major Syrian Government offensive against IS east of Aleppo, all supported by the Russian Air Force. It was also intended to recapture the al-Ghaab plains from Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliates in Jaish Al-Fateh.Between September 30 and

October 1, 2,000 soldiers of IRGC-QF’s Fatemiyun Division relocated to Hama on board IRGCASF Il-76TDs and Syrian Air Il-76Ts from Tehran and Mashhad, respectively.

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two Armée de l’Air (AdlA - French Air Force) Dassault Rafales took

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EXCLUSIVE

RAAF MissionsF/A-18F Super Hornets: 209 missions, 278 weapons released.

F/A-18 Hornets: 199 missions, 237 weapons released.

KC-30A: 394 missions, nearly 32 million pounds of fuel o� oaded to Australian and coalition aircraft.

E-7A Wedgetail: 135 command and control missions.


NEWSNEWS

UNITED KINGDOM

Indian Chetak Onboard INS Trikand

Above: Indian Navy HAL Chetak IN 481 hangared aboard INS Trikand (F 51) on September 16 when it moored in Victoria Dock for the DSEI Exhibition. Alan Warnes

SOME INTERESTING helicopters were seen during the recent DSEI (Defence and Security Exhibition) held at the ExCel centre in London between September 12 and 15. The Royal Victoria Dock on the River Thames hosted several navy vessels including the Indian Navy’s INS Trikand (F 51), with a HAL 316 Chetak on board. Undertaking SAR, medevac, cargo and reconnaissance, the helicopter, IN481, was manned by crews from INAS (Indian Navy Air Squadron) 321 based at INS Sikra

(formerly Kunjali) near Mumbai. During its brief stay in UK waters,

the INS Trikand was involved in two days of manoeuvres under Exercise Kon Kan with HMS Iron Duke in the Atlantic Ocean. This saw the crew of the Chetak practise different approaches to the Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, which was also berthed alongside at DSEI. Trikand is a Talwar-class

guided missile frigate which was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad, Russia, on

June 29, 2013 and docked at Portsmouth Harbour in mid-July 2013 during its journey home. According to one crew member, the vessel has spent 400 days at sea since being launched. Equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors, the frigate can confront threats from the air, surface and sub-surface. INS Trikand is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet and will be at sea for three months on a cruise that will include anti-piracy ops off Somalia. Alan Warnes

Wildcat’s Anti-Surface Weapons INTEGRATION OF future anti-surface weapons for the Royal Navy Wildcats is now under way. The MOD awarded a $90 million contract to integrate the next-generation Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (FASGW[H]) and FASGW (Light) onto the Royal Navy’s 28 Wildcat HMA2 attack helicopters at Farnborough on July 16, 2014. Thales won the FASGW (Light)

multirole missile contract with what is known as Martlet, which has a range of over 4 miles (6km). MBDA won the FASGW (Heavy) bid, with what is now referred to as the Sea Venom, which has a range of 12 miles (20km). They are expected to reach initial operational clearance (IOC) in 2019/20 and will replace the ageing Sea Skua weapon on the Lynx HMA8, which is due to be retired from service in 2018. A third ASuW weapon, the Rafael

Spike NLOS (No Line of Sight) with a range of 15 miles (25km), will

equip the eight Republic of Korea Navy Wildcats that were ordered in January 2013. Four aircraft should be delivered by the end of the year, with the second batch of four following in 2016. Alan Warnes

Merlins Training at Black AlligatorTHE FLEET Air Arm’s 845 Naval Air Squadron operated a detachment of three Merlin HC3 helicopters out of Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in southern California from mid-August through to early October. The detachment – the Royal Navy’s first with its HC.3s, recently acquired from the RAF – was aimed at preparing 845 NAS for its upcoming year-long period of ‘R2’ readiness in support of 42 Commando, which will assume the role of the UK’s maritime force-in-readiness for 2016. The dusty ‘hot-and-high’ conditions at Twentynine Palms allowed eight aircrews from 845 NAS to complete their environmental qualification. The proximity of the base to Nellis AFB in Nevada facilitated some joint personnel recovery training with the 66th Rescue Squadron. The final two weeks of

the detachment saw 845 NAS directly supporting 42 Commando during Exercise Black Alligator on company-level raids at several of the ranges at the Combat Center. They were assisted by two RAF Chinooks that were on detachment at NAF El Centro, California.

Above: Wildcat HM1 ZZ378 of 825 NAS, based at RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset, on the fl ight deck of HMS Iron Duke (F234), a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, berthed alongside the DSEI exhibition on September 16. Alan Warnes

Falklands Typhoon SwapFOUR RAF Typhoon FGR4s departed from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on September 14, headed for Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands to join 1435 Flight. They have replaced four other Typhoons that had been continuously deployed to the Islands with 1435 Flight since September 2009. At that time they replaced the Tornado F3s previously used for the role of protecting the Islands. The four replacements were all

Tranche 1 aircraft, comprising ZJ915, ZJ926, ZJ933 and ZJ941. Two air spares, ZJ918 and ZJ930, left with them, but later returned to Coningsby.The Tranche 2 examples they

replaced have since also returned to Coningsby. On September 25, ZJ950 'C' and 'ZJ944 'F' arrived back, followed by ZJ949 'H' and ZK301 'D' on September 27.


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RAF Sea Kings Bow Out

Above: Royal Air Force Sea King HAR3A ZH544 from 22 Squadron ‘A’ Flight touches down at RMB Chivenor on October 4 after completing its final SAR mission. MOD Crown Copyright/Cpl Peter Devine

ROYAL AIR Force search and rescue (SAR) operations formally ended on October 4 at 1300hrs, when the duty SAR crew at Royal Marine Base Chivenor, Devon, was formally relieved of its standby commitment by the UK Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre. Moments earlier, both of Chivenor’s SAR

Sea King HAR3As, operated by 22 Squadron ‘A’ Flight, touched down at the base after their last missions. The facility was the last to hand over responsibility for helicopter SAR operations to Bristow Helicopters. Chivenor’s SAR role will be taken over by two Bristow’s AW139s operating from St Athan, Wales.

The only other SAR base that had still been flying the Sea King, RAF Boulmer, Northumberland, had relinquished its two helicopters a few days earlier. Operated by 202 Squadron A

Flight, its two Sea King HAR3s departed on September 30 for HMS Sultan, Gosport, Hampshire, for storage pending disposal.

French Army PC-6 Visits Wattisham

Lossiemouth Typhoons’ First Multi-Role SortieTWO RAF Typhoon FGR4s have flown the type’s first multi-role sortie with live weapons while in squadron service. The aircraft, from 1(F) Squadron, took off from their base at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, on September 15, armed with one live Paveway IV and a single live Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) for a sortie over several UK ranges.The mission took the Typhoons

to the Benbecula missile firing area on the Hebrides Range off the west coast of Scotland to release the ASRAAM. The Paveway IV was released onto Garvie Island inside the Cape Wrath Range on the northwest coast of Scotland. The final part of the sortie was to Tain Air Weapons Range to fire the Typhoon’s 27mm Mauser cannon before recovering to Lossiemouth.

Brand New US Army CH-47F on Show at DSEILeft: A small static display of helicopters, including this US Army CH-47F Chinook, 13-08435, operated by the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade at Ansbach, Germany, was arranged on the Victoria Dock quay for the DSEI Exhibition, which was held at the ExCel Centre in London from September 15-18. This particular helicopter was fresh off the Boeing production line and had only been delivered to its unit in Germany a few weeks earlier. Alan Warnes

Above: French Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre (ALAT – Army Air Corps) Pilatus PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo Porter, 887 ‘MCA’, landing at Wattisham, Suffolk, on September 30. This rare UK visitor was supporting Exercise Eagles Amarante at the base, which involved six ALAT helicopters (four Pumas and two Gazelles). Five PC-6s are in ALAT service, all operated by the Peleton Pilatus de Escadrille de Transport et de Convoyage du Matérial (Pilatus Platoon of the Materials Transport and Conveying Squadron) at Montauban, ALAT’s main maintenance and support facility. They are primarily used to deliver spares for ALAT and Armée de l’Air aircraft. Neil Damsell

Merlin HM2s Reach Full Operating CapabilityROYAL NAVY Merlin HM2 anti-submarine warfare helicopters have achieved Full Operating Capability (FOC). This follows delivery of 24 out of the total of 30 Merlin HM1s being upgraded to the new HM2 standard. The achievement of FOC

was announced by Defence Minister Philip Dunne at DSEI in London on September 15. It was reached on time and on budget, said the Minister. The upgrade is being carried out

under an £807 million capability sustainment programme.

AGUSTAWESTLAND HAS completed the UK Ministry of Defence’s Rotary Wing Unmanned Aerial System (RWUAS) Capability Concept Demonstration (CCD) contract, which was awarded in 2013. Announcing its successful conclusion on September 15, the company said it included 27 hours of demonstration flying and 22 automatic simulated deck landings using its SW-4 RUAS Solo technology demonstrator.The flying element of the

contract was carried out at Llanbedr Airfield, Wales in late May and included demonstrating the operability of an RWUAS, pseudo deck landings and various mission capabilities.Phase I operability

demonstrations covered launch and recovery, mission management, mission system integration with the DNA(2) Ship Combat Management System and degraded operations. Phase II incorporated a series of pseudo deck landings being made by the SW-4 RUAS Solo in automated mode onto a towed trailer that replicated the deck of a frigate.Phase III demonstrated

maritime security and littoral reconnaissance missions utilising the mission sensors to identify various targets of interest. As part of it the SW-4 RUAS Solo helicopter was flown as an unmanned air system under automatic control from a ground station with a safety pilot on board.The Royal Navy’s Commander

Maritime Capability (Aviation), Cdr Bow Wheaton, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the rotary wing UAS demonstration

project and have learnt a lot that will inform future options. Rotary wing UASs offer a niche combination of endurance and payload, whilst being able to launch and recover from relatively small warships with a flight deck.”Under the capability study

element of the RWUAS CCD, various rotorcraft size options have been investigated that could deliver persistent maritime capability. The project also investigated the concept of a rotorcraft system that could provide mine hunting, hydrographic survey and

airborne surveillance capability with the ability to operate from a frigate size ship.AgustaWestland, as prime

contractor, brought together an industry team with specialist expertise, comprising Atlas Elektronik UK for mine countermeasures, BAE Systems for surface ship combat management systems, Pelydryn Ltd for airborne hydrographic surveying and Finmeccanica-Selex ES for surveillance sensors.The SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH,

based on the PZL-Swidnik SW-4 light single-engine helicopter.

Over 20 'Protectors' to Replace RAF ReapersUK PRIME Minister David Cameron has revealed plans to replace the Royal Air Force's ten current MQ-9A Reaper unmanned air vehicles with more than double the number of new UAVs. He announced the proposal on October 3, saying that they will be replaced by more than 20 of the latest generation of remotely piloted air system, which will be called Protector and will carry the very latest technology.It is not yet clear exactly what 'Protector' will be, as there is no known system either under development or in service using that name. He did say that it would have greater range and endurance, while also dramatically increasing the UK's ability to identify, track, deter and ultimately counter potential threats. Combined with the increase in the size of the fleet, he said this will substantially enhance the UK's global ISR capability. Cameron said provision for funding of the Protector is included in the upcoming 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Above: The fi fth RAF A400M Atlas C1, ZM406/A4M025 (c/n 025), returns from a test fl ight at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, on September 9. Note the ram air turbine deployed from the front section of the port undercarriage housing as part of its pre-delivery trials programme. It was delivered to RAF Brize Norton on October 2. Roberto Yáñez

Above: AgustaWestland’s SW-4 Solo RUAS, SP-PSZ (c/n 60.01.04), fl ying unmanned on May 19 near Llanbedr Airfi eld, Wales, during the UK MOD trials. AgustaWestland

UK MOD Rotary-Wing UAS Demonstration

Fifth Royal Air Force A400M DeliveredTHE FIFTH Royal Air Force A400M Atlas C1, ZM406 (c/n 025, ex A4M025), was ferried from Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, to RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, by a 206 (Reserve) Squadron crew, using callsign 'RR4041', on October 2.

Four aircraft had preceded it, the most recent being ZM405 (c/n 024), which arrived from Seville on September 10. It joined ZM400, ZM402 and ZM403. The next two RAF aircraft have also now flown. ZM407 made its maiden flight on August 7,

followed by ZM408 on August 20. On September 15 the MOD

announced the type had achieved its in-service date, with seven aircraft handed-over, although three were still having their DASS self-protection equipment fitted at that time.


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Eurofighter F_P.indd 1 28/09/2015 12:34


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Norway Takes Delivery of Its First F-35A NORWAY took delivery of its first F-35A Lightning II during a ceremony on September 22 at Fort Worth, Texas. The jet, 5087 (AM-1), had rolled off the Fort Worth production line on August 19 – see Norway’s First F-35A Completed, October, p8.It was then moved to the Aircraft

Final Finishes (AFF) facility, where it received its low observable coatings before undergoing functional fuel system checks. It then moved to the flight line for operational ground checks

prior to its maiden flight.After company flight testing, it

will be delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, later this year to become part of the pilot training programme for both the USAF and other countries’ forces.Aircraft AM-1 is the first of four

F-35As in production for the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), which plans to buy 52. The second, AM-2, will be delivered to Luke this autumn, followed by the third and fourth (AM-3 and AM-4) in 2016. The first RNoAF

F-35A will arrive in Norway in 2017, with six a year due to arrive between then and 2024. They will be based at Ørland

Main Air Station in central Norway, with a forward operating base at Evenes Airport in the country’s north. The first RNoAF F-35As are expected to be operational from 2019, with full capability in 2025. The Norwegian Parliament

has so far approved purchase of 22 of the eventual 52 F-35As for the RNoAF.

Above: The fi rst RNoAF F-35A Lightning II, 5087 (AM-1), at the hand-over ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas. Norwegian MOD

Netherlands to Buy 14 CH-47FsDUTCH MINISTER of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert has confirmed that The Netherlands is buying 14 new Boeing CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters to replace the 11 older-model CH-47Ds currently in Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) service. Approval for the order was confirmed in a letter from the minister to the Dutch Parliament on September 7. They will join six previously

purchased CH-47F(NL) variants, which will be modernised, although details of the upgrade have yet to be determined. This will bring the RNLAF Chinook fleet to 20. Deliveries will begin in 2019.It had been planned to

buy 11 CH-47Fs in a similar configuration to those already flown by the RNLAF, but the proposal was rejected last year as being too expensive. Instead, the model being purchased is the standard US Army CH-47F Multi-Year II production model with the digital common avionics architecture system (MYII CAAS).Minor changes will be made

to meet Dutch operational requirements. These will be carried out post-production and will include crash-resistant seats in the cockpit and a VHF combat net radio for secure communications with Dutch military units.The resultant cost savings have

allowed an additional three to be bought, instead of the previously planned 11, but within the same budget. The overall cost will be €838 million, well within the allocated €915 million.This does not account for any

sales proceeds from disposal of the 11 existing CH-47Ds – although, in co-operation with Boeing, it’s planned to reuse as many of their components as possible in the new CH-47Fs to yield further cost savings. Buying the helicopters as part

of the US Army’s five-year MYII contract, signed on July 29, 2014, gives The Netherlands the economies of scale associated with a large order. The Dutch deal is expected

to be formally signed before the year’s end. The order will represent conversion of 14 of the FMS options from the MYII contract into firm orders.

Slovak Police Bell 429 DeliveryBELL HELICOPTER has delivered the first of two Bell 429s ordered for the Slovak Policajný Zbor (National Police Force), a division of the Ministry of Interior. Although arrival of the helicopter, OM-BYM (c/n 57202, ex N538AK), was not announced by the manufacturer until September 1, it had been handed over at Bratislava Airport on August 17. The second is due for delivery

before the end of the year. During the delivery ceremony

it was announced that the European Union has allocated finance for a total of four new helicopters. Ultimately, the target is to acquire a fleet of eight in this class for the police force. The helicopters will primarily

be used for border protection, search and rescue, natural disaster relief missions and road traffic law enforcement.

Above: Slovak Police Bell 429 OM-BYM at Bratislava Airport on August 17. The helicopter is fi tted with a rescue hoist over the cabin door and a spotlight under the forward section of the tail boom. Bell Helicopter

Slovakia Orders Four UH-60M Black HawksA PRODUCTION order has been placed for the first four of a planned total of nine UH-60M Black Hawks for Slovakia. Sikorsky Aircraft was awarded a $46m Foreign Military Sales contract on September 3 by US Army Contracting Command for the helicopters, along with other government equipment configured to customer requirements. Work is expected to be completed by May 31, 2017.Slovak defence minister Martin

Glvác announced on April 28 that the Slovak Security Council had approved the acquisition the previous day – see Slovakia Buying nine UH-60Ms, June, p8. The contract with the US Government was then finalised on May 4.The UH-60Ms will replace

the eight Mi-17s currently serving with the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2016, with all nine in service by 2019, according to Mr Glvác.



New-Generation L-39NG Flies

AERO VODOCHODY Aerospace has flown its new-generation L-39NG jet trainer technology demonstrator. The aircraft, 2626 (c/n 332626), made its maiden flight from Vodochody on September 14 in the hands of company flight test crewmen Miroslav Schützner and Vladimír Kvarda.It has been converted from

a former Ukraine Air Force L-39C that had been used for several years as a company development aircraft. The new variant features a

Williams International FJ44-4M engine and avionics built around Genesys Aerosystems’ multi-functional displays, with head-up displays (HUD) by SPEEL Praha.The aircraft will be used

to validate the new engine installation and avionics for the L-39NG project. Other improvements include composite wingtips in place

of the original fuel tanks.Brig Gen Libor Štefánik,

commander of the Czech Air Force, together with Czech defence ministry representatives, witnessed the maiden flight. Company President Ladislav Šimek said the flight took place less than three weeks after the engine had been delivered. Five days after it had flown, the jet was displayed at NATO Days in Ostrava on September 19 and 20. Next year, the company

also plans to participate in international aviation trade shows with the L-39NG as part of its bid to promote sales of the aircraft.Its development was launched

with an announcement at the Farnborough International Air Show on July 16 last year – see Aero Launches New L-39NG Trainer, September 2014, p12. The new variant is intended as a direct replacement for the original L-39 produced by

Aero, which says it expects to begin deliveries in 2018. At the Paris Air Show on

June 16 this year, the Czech manufacturer announced it had signed up its first customers – see L-39NG Orders, August, p16. One is Czech state-owned LOM Praha, which is responsible for training Czech Air Force pilots and international customers at its Flight Training Centre.The company currently

operates seven L-39s, which will be upgraded to the new L-39NG standard. Its contract also includes an option to purchase new L-39NGs as a potential replacement for, or in addition to, the existing fleet. Aero has also received letters of intent (LoIs) from two aerobatic teams – the Breitling Jet Team and the Black Diamond Jet Team, which are both seeking to re-equip their current aircraft with the new Williams engines.

Turkey’s Newest A400M Atlas FliesAIRBUS DEFENCE and Space has flown another A400M Atlas destined to join the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (THK, Turkish Air Force) transport fleet. The aircraft, A4M028 (c/n 028, due to be 15-0028), made its first

flight from Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, on September 9 and was airborne for around five hours over the Mediterranean.It had been scheduled to be the

THK’s fourth delivery but, due to the fatal crash of the third Turkish

A400M on its maiden flight on May 9 this year, becomes the third. It will join 221 Filo ‘Esen’

at 12nci Hava Ulastirma Ana Us Komutanligi (Air Transport Air Base Command) base Kayseri-Erkilet.

Below: Turkish Air Force A400M Atlas A4M028 (c/n 028, to be 15-0028) taxies to the active runway at Seville-San Pablo Airport on September 9 prior to its maiden flight. Roberto Yáñez

More CH-47Fs Ordered for Turkey BOEING HAS received an order to manufacture additional CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters for Turkey under a $131m Foreign Military Sales contract awarded by US Army Contracting Command on September 14. Estimated completion date for the deal was given as December 31, 2020.The number involved was not

revealed in the US Department of Defense announcement. However, approval to buy five CH-47Fs for the Türk Kara Kuvvetleri (TKK, Turkish Land Forces) was granted by Turkey’s Savunma Sanayii Müstesarlıgı (SSM, Undersecretariat for Defence Industries) at a meeting on January 7 this year – see Turkey Approves More F-35As and CH-47Fs, February, p11. Turkey’s search for a type to meet its heavy-lift helicopter requirements go back for at least six years, with US Congress formally notified by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency on December 7, 2009, of a Turkish request for purchase of 14 CH-47Fs. These were to have been acquired in a complete package, including associated equipment, training and support, worth a total of approximately $1.2 billion.Insufficient funding for the

full purchase led to a letter of offer and acceptance eventually being signed on July 9, 2010, with the US Government for just six CH-47Fs.As part of a $3.4 billion US

Army multi-year CH-47F production contract awarded to Boeing on June 17, 2013, a portion of the funding was allocated to support FMS helicopters for Turkey. This presumably covered manufacture of these first six CH-47Fs for the TKK. Previous reports have suggested that at least one, or possibly two, of the six will be allocated for special forces use.None of the original six has

yet been delivered. Although the additional five bring total orders for Turkey to 11, it is currently unclear whether there are still plans to eventually also buy three more CH-47Fs to make up the originally requested total of 14.

Above: The L-39NG jet trainer demonstrator, 2626, during its maiden flight from the Vodochody factory airfield on September 14. Aero Vodochody

Above: Draken International’s fi rst L-159A ALCA, which was handed over in the Aero Vodochody factory on September 30. Aero Vodochody


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Italian Air Force’s First G550 CAEW NEW GULFSTREAM 550 N849GA (c/n 5249), the first of two for conversion to Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control (CAEW) configuration for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI – Italian Air Force), has been delivered to Tel Aviv, Israel, for fitting out. The aircraft, already wearing AMI titles, an 11° Stormo badge

and code ‘11-01’, arrived at Shannon Airport, Ireland, from the factory in Savannah, Georgia, on September 29. It departed the next day for Tel Aviv. The aircraft has been structurally modified with the necessary radomes for its CAEW role, but Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will now complete the full mission systems

equipment fit before delivery to the AMI. A contract was signed with IAI on July 19, 2012 for two of these aircraft, the type having been selected as the platform for Italy’s JAMMS (Joint Airborne Multi-sensor Multi-mission System) programme to replace the existing Aeritalia G.222VS in the SIGINT/ELINT role.

Above: Italian Air Force Gulfstream 550 N849GA (c/n 5249) ‘11-01’ at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on September 30 while en route from Savannah to Tel Aviv for completion of its conversion to Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control (CAEW) confi guration. Malcolm Nason

First AMI T-346A Ab-Initio Pilots SEVEN MONTHS after receiving its first series production T-346A, the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI – Italian Air Force) has started training four new pilots. They are studying with 61° Stormo's 212° Gruppo at Lecce-Galatina,. Having completed 150 hours of flying FT-339s during Phase 2/3, they have progressed to Phase 4 – the Lead-In Fighter Training (LIFT) element, which will introduce them to fifth-generation aircraft performance and sensors. If successful, they will convert to one of the three current AMI fighters, Eurofighter, AMX and Typhoon, but in the longer term the F-35 JSF. The IAF has ordered 15

T-346As and has options on three more; fiv e are currently on strength, with the eighth set to arrive by March 2016. Since receiving the first

permanently assigned T-346As in February, 214° Professional Instruction Squadron personnel have been fine-tuning the Phase 4 T-346A LIFT course. The ‘experimental syllabus’, as it is known, provides a 50/50 split between flying training and simulator work, covering air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-air refuelling, dissimilar air combat training and air-to-air gunnery. That currently comprises 90 flying hours and 177 events in the ground-based training systems (GBTS). However, the time in the air is expected to decrease when Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) simulation is introduced into the GBTS by May 2016. Pilots will then be able to interact on combined air ops (COMAOs) both on the simulator and in the air. Working alongside the four new

graduates on the first course are two experienced pilots training to become T-346A instructor pilots (IPs). One serves with the AMI and the other is from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The latter announced in mid-May that it would send an IP and two student pilots to Lecce to evaluate the suitability of the new jet as a JSF LIFT. The Polish Air Force, which

ordered eight T-346As in February 2014, is expected to send the first of 16 pilots for IP training to Lecce in November. The PAF should take delivery of its first jets in late 2016. Alan Warnes

First ex-Czech AF L-159 ALCA for DrakenAERO VODOCHODY formally handed over the first ex-Czech Air Force L-159 ALCA to Draken International on September 30. The ceremony at the Vodochody factory was attended by Brig Gen Libor Štefánik, commander of the Czech Air Force; Deputy Defence Ministers Tomáš Kuchta and Pavel Beran, representatives of the US Embassy in the Czech Republic, as well as various foreign guests.

By the end of this year, Aero is scheduled to hand over eight single-seat L-159As, which will be used for commercial activities, including supporting the US armed forces. This first foreign sale of the L-159A ALCA took nearly three years to negotiate, but was finally concluded with contract signature on July 14 last year. The deal covered an initial purchase of 14 aircraft, with options on 14

more. Today’s announcement, however, said that the final total will be 21, indicating that not all of the options will be taken up.The L-159 will be used by

Draken to support the US Marine Corps, US Navy and US Air Force during training exercises, taking the role of the aggressor. The L-159 will be flown in this role at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, during Red Flag exercises.

Netherlands Selects Sniper ATP for its F-16s LOCKHEED MARTIN'S Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) is to equip the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16 fleet. Under a contract awarded through the Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation, the RNLAF will acquire 29 Sniper ATPs, together with support equipment.

Training and sustainment is also included in the deal. The manufacturer announced selection of Sniper ATP for the RNLAF on October 5. It becomes the 21st international customer to acquire this multi-mission system. Expedited deliveries of the pod will begin in the first quarter of 2016.

This will allow the RNLAF to rapidly deploy Sniper ATP to support its current mission requirements. A Lockheed Martin performance-

based logistics programme will support the pods and any depot repairs required will be carried out at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, Georgia.

Fifteenth French Navy NH90 CaïmanANOTHER NH90 NFH Caïman Marine helicopter has joined the French Aéronautique Navale (French Naval Aviation), the service’s 15th. Serial number 15, it was handed over on September 21 at the Airbus Helicopters facility in Marignane, France, at a ceremony that was attended by various representatives of the Navy and the country’s defence procurement agency, the Direction générale de

l’armement (DGA).The helicopter is the first to

be delivered in Final Radar Configuration (FRC) standard, which affords better radar performance in rough sea and a mission system fitted with an advanced sonar for improved submarine detection and classification. The addition of a digital map generator meanwhile assists mission preparation and execution.

The DGA has ordered 27 NH90 NFHs for the Aéronavale in two different configurations. The service declared operational capability with the Caïman in the ASW role on Decmeber 5, 2014. This was followed on March 3 this year by operational capability with the MU90 torpedo. The most recent delivery, the 14th NH90 NFH, was on July 17 – see NHI Delivers 14th Caïman to French Navy, October, p9.

Italian CH-47F DeliveriesLeft: Italian Aviazione dell’Esercito (AVES – Army Aviation) CH-47F Chi-nook MM81779 ‘EI-702’, with taped-on test serial C.S.X81779, during a recent test fl ight. As of mid-September, the fi rst six AVES CH-47Fs (MM81778 ‘EI-701’ to MM81783 ‘EI-706’) had been delivered from the Vergiate fi nal assembly line to 11º Gruppo Squadroni Aviazione dell’Esercito Ecole at Viterbo. The seventh and eighth are now test fl ying and the remaining eight of the 16 on order are in production. via Bob Sutherland


‘Flying Tigers’ A-10Cs Join ‘KC Hawgs’ in EstoniaANOTHER DEPLOYMENT of US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to Europe got under way on September 21, when 12 A-10Cs arrived at Amari Air Base, Estonia. The aircraft, along with around 350 airmen, came from the 23rd Wing’s 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron ‘Flying Tigers’ at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.They form part of a theatre

security package deployment in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR) and will augment US Air Forces in Europe’s (USAFE’s) existing contribution to OAR. The A-10Cs will conduct training

with NATO allies to further develop interoperability. Lt Col Bryan France, the 74th EFS’s commander, said: “The benefits to training with our NATO allies

are astronomical. It’s a very difficult piece… to be able to communicate effectively with one another on the battlefield and in the battlespace, so being here in Eastern Europe to train alongside those military partners will enable us to better operate on the battlefield together. It also allows us to learn from each other, which better prepares us to operate together in the future.”During the six-month

deployment, the 74th EFS airmen will conduct routine flying training and participate in exercises with NATO allies and European partners. The TSP deployment is a first for Moody’s A-10s. Aircraft involved in the deployment, with the callsigns used on arrival, areThis is the third TSP deployment

to Europe. The first involved the

354th EFS, which returned home to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on July 31. The second involved the 303rd FS ‘KC Hawgs’, which flew in to Amari on August 22 and were still present when the ‘Flying Tigers’ joined them at the base.


Above: USAF A-10C 79-0164 ‘KC’ heads a line-up of eight aircraft from the 303rd FS ‘KC Hawgs’ on the ramp at Amari Air Base, Estonia, on September 3. They have been deployed there since August 22 and were joined on September 21 by 12 more A-10Cs from the 74th EFS ‘Flying Tigers’ at Moody AFB, Georgia. Ralph Blok/DutchAviationPhoto.com

Seventh French A400M Named ‘City of Cambrai’A NAMING ceremony for the seventh Armée de l’Air (AdlA, French Air Force) A400M Atlas transport aircraft on September 5 was presided over by General Denis Mercier, AdlA Chief of Staff, who officially dubbed 0019 ‘F-RBAG’ (c/n 019) as ‘Ville de Cambrai’.The event took place at the

former Base Aérienne (BA) 103 Cambrai-Epinoy ‘René Mouchotte’, which closed in 2013 but was temporarily reopened for just one day, especially for the ceremony.As well as carrying the name, the

port side of the forward fuselage of the aircraft is also emblazoned with the coat of arms of the town.Accompanying Gen

Mercier at the christening were Francois-Xavier Villain, deputy mayor of Cambrai; Thierry Hégay, sub-prefect; and French senator Jacques Legendre – together with other civil and military dignitaries.The aircraft, the most recent

A400M delivery to the AdlA, had been handed over on June 19 – see Airbus Resumes A400M Deliveries, August, p11. It was then flown to BA123 Orléans-Bricy on June 21 to join Escadron de Transport 1/61 ‘Touraine’. It is the first French A400M to

have been cleared for dropping paratroopers, although currently this can only be carried out from the rear ramp. This is because certification for paradropping from the side doors has yet to be completed.It was decided earlier this year

that all French A400Ms are to be named after towns that have, or have had, strong connections with the military. To date they include:

This leaves 0012 ‘F-RBAE’ (c/n 012) as the only A400M delivered to date for which a name has yet to be confirmed.

Named A400Ms 0007 ‘F-RBAA’ (c/n 007)

‘Ville d’Orléans’

0008 ‘F-RBAB’ (c/n 008)

‘Ville de Toulouse’

0010 ‘F-RBAC’ (c/n 010) ,

‘Ville de Lyon’

0011 ‘F-RBAD’ (c/n 011)

‘Ville de Metz’

0014 ‘F-RBAF’ (c/n 014) .

‘Ville de Colmar’

Deployed A-10Cs 78-0600 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 81’)

79-0189 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 82’)

79-0192 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 83’)

78-0642 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 84’)

78-0586 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 85’)

80-0149 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 83’)

81-0995 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 91’)

78-0639 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 92’)

78-0621 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 93’)

79-0193 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 94’)

79-0216 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 95’)

78-0647 ‘FT’ (‘Mazda 96’)

Four More MC-130J Commando II DeliveriesA FURTHER four Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando IIs have been delivered to the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The most recent aircraft, 13-5775 (c/n 5775), left the factory in Marietta, Georgia, on September 21 for Kadena Air Base, Japan, where it will join the 353rd Special Operations Group’s (SOG’s) 17th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) ‘Jackals’.

Earlier MC-130J deliveries included 12-5770 (c/n 5770), which left Marietta on August 27 for the 27th Special Operations Wing’s 522nd SOS ‘Fireballs’ at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was flown by a crew captained by Col Justin Hoffman, who was appointed commander of the 27th SOG at Cannon on July 2. Two more deliveries took place

on September 10, when 12-5772 (c/n 5772) and 13-5776 (c/n 5776) both left Marietta. The first of these, 12-5772, was delivered to Hurlburt Field, Florida, for the 1st Special Operations Group, Detachment 2. It is reportedly earmarked for conversion to AC-130J Ghostrider gunship configuration. The other, 13-5776, was delivered to Kadena AB for the 17th SOS.

Above: US Air Force MC-130J Commando II 13-5775 leaving Marietta, Georgia, on September 21 for Kadena Air Base, Japan, on its delivery fl ight to the 17th Special Operations Squadron. Lockheed Martin/David Key

Bell V-280 Valor Fuselage Completed

Above: Spirit AeroSystems newly completed Bell V 280 Valor fuselage at the company’s rapid prototyping facility in Wichita, Kansas. Spirit AeroSystems

SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS has completed manufacture of the fuselage for the first Bell V-280 Valor advanced tiltrotor as part of the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) programme. The fuselage was formally unveiled on September 22 at the company’s rapid prototyping facility in Wichita, Kansas, where it was designed and assembled in 22 months.The composite fuselage will be

transported to Bell Helicopters’ facility in Amarillo, Texas, for final assembly. The US Army-led JMR-TD programme is a technology demonstrator precursor to the US Department of Defense’s Future Vertical Lift programme, which will replace 2,000 to 4,000 US Army medium-class utility and attack helicopters. The V-280 Valor, Bell Helicopter’s proposal for the JMR-TD programme, is due to make its maiden flight in the second half of 2017.

Reaper ER DeploymentGENERAL ATOMICS Aeronautical Systems’ Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) was fielded operationally for the first time in August by the US Air Force. The company announced the milestone on September 15.Reaper ER provides a

significant increase in both range and endurance. A Reaper can be transformed into a Reaper ER using a mod package comprising two wing-mounted fuel tanks to extend endurance, plus associated equipment. The upgrade can be carried out in the field. Reaper’s original external

equipment carriage configuration remains unchanged, providing a ‘mix and match’ capability that enables it to carry both fuel tanks and external payloads. To increase thrust and

improve take-off performance at higher gross weights, an alcohol/water injection system and a four-bladed propeller are incorporated, along with a heavyweight trailing arm undercarriage for safe ground operations at the heavier gross weight.

US Army Orders Another UH-60M ONE ADDITIONAL UH-60M Black Hawk has been ordered for the US Army through a US$10.9 million contract awarded to Sikorsky Aircraft by US Army Contracting Command on September 17. The deal is a modification to the $2.8 billion multi-year award to Sikorsky on July 11, 2012, which covers eventual acquisition of 916 UH-60/MH-60 helicopters for the US Army, US Navy and other agencies, as well as Foreign Military Sales (FMS).Estimated completion date

is December 30, 2015. The helicopter is being acquired under the US Army’s BEST programme. BEST is an acronym for Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Transaction, the Army’s divestiture programme for older-model UH-60As. Under the BEST initiative, all proceeds from the sale of the old helicopters go towards the purchase, rent or lease of replacement aircraft.

US Army CIR CM Contract AwardNORTHROP GRUMMAN has been selected to carry out engineering and manufacturing development and low-rate initial production of the Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) for the US Army. The company announced on August 31 that it had been awarded a US$35.3 million contract on August 28 by US Army Contracting Command for the CIRCM programme. The deal includes options for low-rate initial production in 2017 and 2018.Work will be performed at

the company’s Land & Self-Protection Systems Division facility in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of October 28, 2017. Two bids were received for the contract, with the unsuccessful offer coming from BAE Systems. The US Army plans to begin a critical design review of the CIRCM programme in mid-2016 and begin operational testing and evaluation in late 2018.Northrop Grumman’s

industry partners on the CIRCM programme are Daylight Solutions of San Diego, California and Selex ES, Edinburgh, Scotland. The new system will augment existing self-protection systems with a directed laser jamming capability.

'Mighty Shrikes’ Last Legacy Hornet FlightUS NAVY Strike Fighter Squadron 94 (VFA-94) ‘Mighty Shrikes’ completed the unit’s final flight with a legacy F/A-18C Hornet at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, on August 26. The last sortie was piloted by VFA-94’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr Mike Langbehn. The final

mission involved a low-level , self-escort strike training flight with high-drag ordnance over the Fallon Range Training complex. The unit will now continue

with its transition to the new F/A-18F Super Hornet. The Mighty Shrikes had been flying the Hornet since 1990.


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USAF F-35A Training Begins at Hill AFB

TRAINING HAS begun at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, with the newly delivered Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs of the 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron ‘Rude Rams’. The first F-35A training sortie from the base took place on September 17.

The first two operational F-35As to be stationed at Hill had arrived there on September 2. During the first sortie, 34th FS Commander Lt Col George Watkins, carried out mission qualification training in aircraft 13-5071. This focused on weapons employment, range

familiarisation and mission system proficiency. Also performing its first local training sortie from Hill on the same day was the other 34th FS F-35A, 13-5072, which was flown by 34th FS Assistant Director of Operations Maj Brad Mathern.

US AIR Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has begun conversion of a number of B-52H Stratofortress bombers from a nuclear to a conventional-only capability under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). On September 17, AFGSC announced the conversion of the first of 30 operational aircraft from across the command was completed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, this summer. The aircraft involved was Air Force Reserve Command/307th Bomb Wing aircraft 61-0021. After

completion of the conversion process, the B-52 retains full conventional capabilities.The USAF will also convert 12

non-operational B-52Hs currently maintained in storage with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. All conversions are scheduled for completion by early 2017.Under New START, the US and

Russia are required to have no more than 1,550 deployed warheads; 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental

ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers and nuclear-capable heavy bombers; and 700 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs and nuclear-capable heavy bombers. AFGSC also began the transition

of 50 Minuteman III launch facilities across the command to an operational non-deployed status in May 2015. The US Department of Defense had announced its force structure to comply with New START requirements in April 2014.

Final USAF MC-12W Flight at BealeUS AIR Force airmen from the 427th Reconnaissance Squadron and 306th Intelligence Squadron performed the final flight of an MC-12W Liberty at Beale Air Force Base, California, on September 16. The final sortie in USAF service was flown by 09-0644.Although deployed USAF

airmen are still supporting the mission downrange with the US Army, the final flight at Beale represented Air Combat Command’s last MC-12W sortie. The flight was a step

towards the transformation of joint capabilities as the MC-12W moves to its new force providers. Within a few weeks, the final USAF airmen deployed with the type were due to return home, leaving the US Army in full control of MC-12W operations.The aircraft has flown

more than 400,000 combat hours and participated in over 79,000 combat sorties since flying its first combat mission on June 10, 2009. MC-12s have enabled

ground forces to target high-value individuals and terrorist networks, provided situational awareness during troops-in-contact battles and helped divert convoys around improvised explosive devices.Beale had been an MC-12W

base since June 6, 2011. An American flag was flown in the aircraft on its final flight to commemorate its historical achievements to date. The flag will be sent to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to be archived.

Above: USAF F-35A 13-5071 ‘HL’/‘34 FS’ from the 34th Fighter Squadron (FS), piloted by the 34th FS Commander, Lt Col George Watkins, performs a flyby of the tower at Hill AFB, Utah, on September 17 during the first F-35A training sortie. See also First F-35As Arrive for Hill's 'Rude Rams', October, p16. USAF/Alex R Lloyd

New START B-52H Non-Nuclear Conversion

Above: US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress 61-0021, assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 307th Bomb Wing, is the first B-52H to be converted to a purely non-nuclear role as part of the New START Treaty. US Air Force/MSgt Dachelle Melville




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Fully-Confi gured KC-46A Flies

Above: The fi rst fully confi gured KC-46A Pegasus landing at Boeing Field on September 25 on completion of its maiden fl ight. Boeing

MAIDEN FLIGHT of the first US Air Force Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, N462KC (c/n 41275), took place on September 25. The aircraft took off at 1324hrs PST from Paine Field, Everett, Washington, and, after 4hrs 1min in the air, landed at 1725hrs PST at Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington. During the sortie, Boeing test pilots performed operational checks on engines, flight controls and environmental systems and took the tanker to a maximum altitude of 35,000ft prior to landing.This was the first flight of a

fully-configured KC-46A tanker aircraft. It follows test flights of the programme’s initial trials aircraft,

Boeing 767-2C N461KC (c/n 41273), which took to the air for the first time on December 28 last year – see USAF KC-46A Pegasus Maiden Flight, February, p14. Col Christopher Coombs, US Air

Force KC-46 System programme manager, said: “This first tanker flight is a key milestone for the programme and we’ll now begin free air stability tests and flight controls of the boom and wing aerial refuelling pods (WARPs) before conducting aerial refuelling tests where the KC-46 will make contact with other military aircraft down the road.”The Boeing team will conduct

a post-flight inspection and calibrate instrumentation prior to the next series of flights,

during which the tanker boom and WARPs systems will be deployed. Before the end of the year, the KC-46 will begin aerial refuelling flights with a number of US Air Force aircraft. Those flights, along with the mission systems demonstrations and a recently completed ground cargo handling test, will support the planned Milestone C production decision in 2016.As part of a contract awarded in

2011 to design and develop the US Air Force’s next-generation tanker aircraft, Boeing is building four test aircraft – two are currently configured as 767-2Cs and two as KC-46A tankers. The KC-46s will fly as fully equipped tankers throughout the FAA and

military certification process, while the 767-2Cs enter flight test prior to receiving their later upgrade to the KC-46A configuration and the addition of their aerial refuelling systems.The first test aircraft N461KC

(EMD-1), a 767-2C, has completed more than 150 flight test hours to date. Overall, Boeing plans to build 179 KC-46A aircraft for the US Air Force.The programme has been

hampered by various delays, most recently due to fuel system problems. However, Boeing is working hard to catch up again and has expressed confidence that it will be able to deliver the first tankers on schedule in August 2017.

Last Sea Knight RetiredFINAL RETIREMENT of the US Department of Defense’s last flying H-46 Sea Knight helicopters was marked on September 26 with a ceremonial send-off at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The last three operational helicopters were US Marine Corps HH-46D/E search and rescue variants flown by Marine Transport Squadron 1 (VMR-1) ‘Roadrunners’. They comprised HH-46Ds 156476 ‘00’ and 157678 ‘01’, plus HH-46E 157688 ‘02’.After forming up over the Neuse

River, the last three ‘Phrogs’ returned in formation for a final flypast at Cherry Point’s Miller’s Landing facility. They were turned over to the US Navy on September 29 for disposal, prior to the official deadline for transfer of the last H-46s on October 1.

Prior to this, the last combat-configured Sea Knight, a CH-46E operated by Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774 ‘Wild Goose’, had made its last flight on August 1 – see Final USMC CH-46E Sea Knight Flight, September, p15. The CH-46 has been replaced in the Marine Corps inventory by the MV-22B Osprey.At Cherry Point, VMR-1 will

continue its other mission of providing short- and medium-range rapid response/high-speed multi-purpose light transport of key personnel and critical logistics support to DOD. Those duties are conducted with two C-9 Skytrains and two UC-35 Citations. The SAR role previously performed by the HH-46s will be taken over by the US Coast Guard and other agencies.

Above: US Marine Corps HH-46E 157688 ‘02’ operated by Marine Transport Squadron 1 (VMR-1) ‘Roadrunners’, takes off from MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, on September 25 to meet up with the other two remaining VMR-1 ‘Phrogs’ for a fi nal farewell fl ight. USMC/Lance Cpl Jason Jimenez

Experia F_P.indd 1 05/10/2015 10:25


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AFTER A career spanning 56 years, the US Navy has retired its last T-2 Buckeye carrier-capable jet trainers. The type had been withdrawn from use in the training role in 2008, after completion of its replacement with the T-45 Goshawk. Three T-2Cs were, however, retained by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 (VX-20) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, where they were used as safety chase aircraft during test and evaluation flights of the E-2D Hawkeye, P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system.These three aircraft (158320

‘320’, 158581 ‘581’ and 159713 ‘713’) were finally retired after an official last flight by 158320 on September 25. The three VX-20 T-2Cs arrived at Pax River on August 29, 2008, after a ferry flight from NAS Pensacola, Florida. Since then, they have flown 1,978 sorties, 2,672 flight hours and 850 photo/safety chase missions. In all that time, only 67 maintenance-related cancellations occurred. The final aircraft, number ‘320’, ended its final flight on September 25 with a total of 13,945 flight hours on record. Their role with VX-20 will be taken

over by two former US Air Force IAI C-38A Courier business jets, which were retired by District of Columbia Air National Guard’s 113th Wing’s 201st Airlift Squadron at Joint

Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland, earlier this year – see USAF Retires C-38A Fleet, September, p16. The C-38As will serve as chase aircraft, radar test targets and pilot proficiency

aircraft. The first of them, 41570 (94-1570), joined VX-20 in July. The second, 41569 (94-1569), was expected to join it during October.The original T2J-1Buckeye

variant entered US Navy service

in July 1959, followed by the T-2B in December 1965 and T-2C in December 1968. The type was also exported to Greece and Venezuela, but only the Hellenic Air Force still flies the type. All three of the VX-20 examples will be stripped of useable spares to support the remaining operational Greek Buckeyes.The two-seat, twin-engine jet

was first introduced in July 1959 for training, including carrier-based arrested recoveries. It had trained more than 11,000 Navy and Marine Corps student pilots before it was replaced by the T-45 and retired from training in August 2008.

First AC-130U Spooky Gunship RetiredA SMALL ceremony was held at Hurlburt Field, Florida, on September 21 to mark retirement of the first AC-130U Spooky gunship, after 20 years of service. The aircraft, 90-0163 ‘Bad Omen’, had been delivered to Hurlburt on February 17, 1995, to join the 1st Special Operations Wing’s 4th Special Operations Squadron ‘Ghostriders’. Karl Cirulis, 4th SOS pilot, said:

Bad Omen flew more than 2,300 sorties with approximately 5,600 landings and accumulated more than 10,000 hours. Bad Omen was last deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in December 2013, where it accumulated approximately 600 combat hours and flew more than 100 sorties.”Following its retirement

ceremony, Bad Omen flew to Davis-Monthan Air Base, Arizona, for storage with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. As

part of the drawdown plan for the type, which is being replaced by the new AC-130J Ghostrider, it had been planned to withdraw three AC-130Us in Fiscal Year 2015 and two more in FY16. However, speaking at the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition in

National Harbor, Maryland, on September 15, Air Force Special Operations Command chief Lt Gen Bradley Heithold revealed revised plans for the type. Heithold said that delays in

integration of the 105mm gun on the AC-130J and increased operational demand for gunships in Iraq and Syria has meant that

plans have changed. As a result, ‘Bad Omen’, which has some non-standard modifications, will be the only AC-130U retired in FY15. This will leave AFSOC with 28 gunships, comprising 16 AC-130Us and 12 AC-130W Stinger IIs. The first AC-130J to be

delivered (the second to be converted) arrived at Hurlburt Field on July 29 – see AFSOC’s First AC-130J Ghostrider Arrives, September, p15. It is currently undergoing operational test and evaluation (OT&E), which is not expected to be completed until next spring. The first AC-130J conversion is believed to be still at Eglin AFB, Florida, pending completion of repairs following its previously reported mishap there on April 21. The third AC-130J is still

undergoing conversion, but on completion will also join the OT&E programme at Hurlburt.

Final US Navy T-2 Buckeye Flight

Above: US Navy T-2C Buckeye 158320 ‘320’ from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 (VX-20) performs its fi nal fl ight over Chesapeake Bay on September 25, fl own by VX-20 Commanding Offi cer Cmdr William Selk along with retired naval aviator Kent Vandergrift. US Navy

Above: New VX-20 C-38A 41570 on the apron at Pax River on September 25. The aircraft is one of two of the type that will replace VX-20’s three T-2Cs and had arrived in July. The second is due to follow in October. Mike Wilson

Above: Newly retired AC-130U Spooky 90-0163 ‘Bad Omen’ on the arrivals ramp at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on October 2. The aircraft had been fl own in on September 21 after a retirement ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Florida. USAF/309th AMARG


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Prefectura Naval Argentina’s First H225 AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has delivered the first H225 to the Prefectura Naval Argentina’s (PNA – Argentine Naval Prefecture) Servicio de Aviación. The company announced on September 16 that the helicopter, PA-14 (c/n 2958, ex F-WWOF), was handed over at the PNA base at San Fernando Airport, Buenos Aires, presided over by the Prefecto Nacional Naval, Luis Alberto Heiler.It arrived at Buenos Aires-

Ezeiza International Airport on board an Antonov Airlines An-124 on September 7. After re-assembly in the Aerolíneas Argentinas Maintenance Base’s Hangar 4 it was test flown the next day and departed for San Fernando on September 9. It will be based in Mar del

Plata for SAR missions in the Atlantic Ocean. Delivery of the H225 (formerly designated an EC225LP) marks the start of the renewal process for the PNA’s fleet of SA330L Pumas.Helier said: “This helicopter’s

extensive range will allow us to fly to zones far from the coast. In addition, it is equipped for day and night rescue operations and extreme weather conditions.”

The PNA H225 has an Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), which allows SAR missions to be carried out with greater precision, safety and effectiveness. For its SAR role, the aircraft is equipped with searchlights, a winch and a rescue basket, although it can also be rapidly reconfigured to carry out other missions such as coastal surveillance, port security or aid missions for coastal communities.The PNA has placed an initial

order for two H225s, of which this is the first to be delivered, while it holds an option on a third example. Approval of funding for the purchase was granted by an Argentine Ministry of Finance resolution on November 20, 2013. On October 7, 2014, the €30,692,804 tender for the first helicopter, submitted by Airbus Helicopters as the sole bidder, was opened and the contract was signed the following month.

Above: Prefectura Naval Argentina H225 PA-14/F-WWOF (c/n 2958) ready for departure from Buenos Aires-Ezeiza International Airport on September 9 after re-assembly in Hangar 4 at the Aerolíneas Argentinas Maintenance Base. Leonardo Daniel Nemec

Re-engined Pucará TestingARGENTINA IS making progress with development of an upgraded version of the Fábrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA – Argentine Aircraft Factory) IA-58 Pucará, re-engined with Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-62 turboprops and four-bladed propellers. The prototype conversion, A-561 from the Centro de Ensayos en Vuelo (CEV – Flight Test Centre), was carrying out taxi trials with the new engines installed at the FAdeA factory in Córdoba on September 17.The first ground tests were

carried out on August 24. The new powerplants replace the obsolete Turbomeca Astazou XIVG engines with three-bladed propellers, which are no longer supported by the manufacturer. Technical assistance with the project has been provided by Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), which carried out the complex structural modification of the wing for installation of the PT-6As. After completion by IAI, the modified wing was picked up in Israel by Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA – Argentine Air Force) L100-30 Hercules TC-100

at the beginning of June and flown to Argentina, where it was redelivered to FAdeA for fitting on the aircraft at Córdoba.Re-engining is the first phase of

a wider upgrade for the Pucará, originally designated FAS-1160, but now called IA-58H. This will include a new avionics suite, with a multifunction display screen for each of the two crew, hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls and cockpit and engine armour. A new comms suite will also be installed and obsolete components replaced. Israel’s Elbit Systems is expected to be involved in

the avionics modernisation.Once testing is completed, it

is planned to upgrade 17 FAA Pucarás, enabling them to remain operational for at least 15 more years. This provides new hope for the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (FAU – Uruguayan Air Force), which has grounded its five Pucarás due to difficulty in acquiring spares, in particular for the engines and undercarriage. The FAU has a high regard for its Pucarás, which it is reluctant to replace and may well decide to upgrade them with the new engines and avionics. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Two More UH-60Ms for Mexican NavyTWO ADDITIONAL UH-60M Black Hawks have been ordered for Mexico’s Fuerza Aeronaval (Naval Air Force) through US Army Contracting Command. The $22,557,911 foreign military sales (FMS) contract for the helicopters was awarded to Sikorsky on September 15.The deal is a modification to

exercise options under the $2.8 billion contract awarded to Sikorsky on July 11, 2012, which covered multi-year procurement of up to 916 UH/MH-60 helicopters for the US Army, US Navy and FMS customers. Estimated completion date for the new order, which has been financed by Fiscal Year 2015 ‘other procurement’ funds, is June 30, 2016.This is the second UH-60M

order from the Mexican Navy within the last nine months. Five were contracted for on December 15, 2014 – see More Mexican Navy UH-60Ms, February, p19. They are due for delivery by May 30 next year. Completion of both orders will

bring the Mexican Navy’s fleet of UH-60Ms to ten. They will join an initial three examples handed over on August 24, 2011. Those first UH-60M helicopters were transferred from US Northern Command as part of the Merida Initiative, a $1.4 billion aid agreement signed in March 2007 to assist the fight against drug trafficking in Latin America.

Above: Argentine Air Force IA-58 Pucará A-561 in the FAdeA factory in Córdoba after installation of new Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-62 turboprops and four-bladed propellers. Ground testing has now begun with the newly re-engined aircraft. Z Militar via Ju an Carlos Cicalesi

LatAm Hermes 900 OrderISRAEL'S ELBIT Systems has gained another Latin American customer for its Hermes 900 unmanned air system. The company announced on September 25 that it has been awarded a contract worth approximately $70 million by an unspecified customer in the region for the supply of intelligence integrated systems, which will be used for homeland security applications.The system will be based around the Hermes 900 and include an intelligence-gathering system. The Hermes 900 has already gained regional orders from Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

Above: Newly a cquired Aviación de Ejército (Army Aviation Command) CASA C-212-S1 AE-265/N433CA (c/n 285, ex Spanish Air Force/D.3B-8) at Cancún International Airport, Mexico, on September 28 during its delivery fl ight. It left the EADS CASA North America facility at Mobile Regional Airport, Alabama, on the previous afternoon, routing via Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, Florida, to Key West International Airport, also in Florida. It fl ew on to Cancún the next morning before continuing its ferry fl ight to Argentina. It is one of two CASA C-212s on order – see Additional CASA 212 Joins Argentine Army, September, p20. Mario Theresin

Argentine Army Medevac Citation Bravo

Above: Newly acquired Argentine Army Cessna 550 Citation Bravo AE-186 during a visit to the Comando de Aviacion Naval Argentina base at Buenos Aires-Ezeiza International Airport on September 26. Leonardo Daniel Niemc

ARGENTINA’S COMANDO de Aviación de Ejército (Army Aviation Command) has taken delivery of a second-hand Cessna Citation 550 Bravo in air ambulance configuration. The aircraft, AE-186 (c/n 550-1086, ex N5171M), built in 2004, was cancelled from the US register on transfer to the Ejército on September 17.It was previously registered

to US Air Force Materiel

Command’s Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFMC/AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The Foreign Military Sales contract for this aircraft had been awarded to Cessna on January 26 by AFLCMC– see Air Ambulance Cessna 550 and 208Bs for Argentine Army, March, p19. It will be based at Campo de Mayo, replacing Ejército Sabreliner 75A AE-175, which has been in service since December 1974.

The January 26 contract also included two new Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EXs, both of which were modified for aeromedical evacuation before delivery. The first of these arrived at Campo de Mayo on June 9, followed by the second on June 27 – see Two Grand Caravan EXs Join Argentine Army, August, p29. All three will also be used for transport missions. Juan Carlos Cicalesi and Augustin Puetz

Upgraded Brazilian P-95M BandeirulhaTHE FIRST of eight Embraer P-95 (EMB-111A) Bandeirulha maritime patrol aircraft being upgraded for the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB – Brazilian Air Force) has been delivered back to the FAB. The updated version is designated the P-95M (‘M’ for modernised). The aircraft, FAB 7103 (c/n 110488), formerly a P-95B variant, was received by 2° Esquadrão of the FAB’s 7° Grupo de Aviação (2°/7° GAv) ‘Esquadrão Phoenix’ (Phoenix Squadron) at Florianópolis on September 15.The work is being undertaken

at the Parque de Material Aeronáutico dos Afonsos (PAMA-AF – Afonsos Aeronautical Materiel Park). At the heart of the upgrade is a new Selex Seaspray 5000E active electronically scanned array (AESA) multi-mode surveillance radar. This can detect large ships at ranges of up to 200nm (370km) and track up to 200 targets simultaneously. A new glass cockpit and modern digital communications are also installed.In addition to 2°/7° GAv,

the newly upgraded aircraft will also be operated by 3°/7° GAv at Belém. The first P-95M had flown on

December 18, 2013. Since then it has undergone extensive flight testing with the involvement of the Esquadrão Phoenix and the Instituto de Pesquisa e Ensaios em Voo (IPEV – Research and Flight Testing Institute). Additional aircraft are also now with PAMA-AF for conversion to P-95M standard.The upgrade is part of a wider

programme involving 50 FAB Bandeirantes: the eight P-95Bs, plus 42 C-95A/B/C transport variants. All 50 will receive the cockpit upgrade, along with structural improvements to extend service life, plus replacement of some hydraulic and mechanical components. The new radar, however, is only being installed in the eight P-95Bs. Upgrade of the C-95 variants has been under way for several years and the first with the new avionics suite, C-95C FAB 2332, was handed over on December, 8, 2011 – see First Upgraded Brazilian Bandeirante Delivered, April 2012, p21.

Argentine Army CASA 212 Delivery

Seven P68 Observers for Chilean NavyVULCANAIR IS to supply seven of its P68 Observer 2 aircraft to the Armada de Chile (Chilean Navy) for operation by its Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation) division. The planned acquisition was announced by the manufacturer on September 29. The company said the contract had been approved by Chile's Dirección

General del Territorio Maritimo y Marina Mercante (DIRECTEMAR - General Directorate of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine) on September 25. The aircraft will be used for various missions, including search and rescue, maritime policing, reconnaissance, medical evacuation and transport. Special

mission equipment will include an AIS for ship identification, infra-red camera and other systems.Deliveries will take place during 2016-2017. They will replace the Chilean Navy's ageing fleet of Cessna O-2A Skymasters, which are operated by VC-1 at Base Aeronavale Concón, Viña del Mar.

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AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA’S Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) completed the first flight of its electronic testing, evaluation and training pod at Lanseria, South Africa on September 10. The Inundu (Zulu for ‘moth’) pod was fitted on a Hawker Hunter flown by Ron Wheeldon and retired South African Air Force pilot Major General Desmond Barker. CSIR has been working on the pod for about 16 months and tested it up to a flight envelope speed of Mach 0.9 at 20,000ft. It will serve as an experimental

platform for airborne electronics and support electronic warfare (EW) testing and evaluation. Designed to provide an airborne laboratory environment during flight on military type platforms, no customised electronic hardware hardening is required.

The pod is intended to support the CSIR, local industry, the South African National Defence Force and international requirements, mainly in the Middle East. Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar (which

have all purchased new fighters in recent months or are due to receive them shortly), along with Saudi Arabia and UAE, are keen to take on their own EW training system responsibilities. Most Middle

East countries have strict security regulations and are concerned about sharing very sensitive EW information with foreign companies. These air forces would be able to fit systems, such as the Inundu, onto their own aircraft and develop their own tactics.Kevin Jamison, leader of the CSIR

Inundu aeronautic development team said: “The pod is similar in size and mass to the widely-used BL-755 store, which allows low-cost integration with many fast jet aircraft types, such as the BAE Hawk, Alpha Jet, Hawker Hunter, F-16, Tornado, F-4 Phantom and the Mirage III. It is highly configurable with a modular interchangeable payload.” Most Middle East countries are

operating the Alpha Jet or Hawk, so might be attracted by the South African system. Alan Warnes

New South African EW Pod Flown

A Hawker Hunter at Lanseria on September 10, fi tted with the new Inundu EW pod. CSIR

EGYPT HAS agreed in principle to purchase the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers that were built for Russia under a contract suspended by France in September 2014 due to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its actions in Ukraine. The press office of the Elysée

Palace in Paris confirmed in a statement on September 23 that terms of an agreement had been reached for the purchase. This was agreed during a meeting between France’s President François Hollande and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. The announcement gave no indication of whether a price had been agreed or when the contract is likely to be finalised. Unofficially, a French Defence

Ministry source said the carriers could be delivered to the Egyptian Navy in March next year, after crew training has been completed. One is likely to be positioned for operations in the Red Sea and the other in the Mediterranean.The vessels, named Vladivostok

and Sevastopol, are officially designated Batiment de Projection et de Commandement (BPC – Force Projection and Command) ships. They are built to the same design as the French Navy’s two BPCs, Mistral and Tonnerre, which are equivalent to the US Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) multi-purpose amphibious assault ships. They are each capable of carrying up to 16 helicopters and in Russian

Navy service this complement was planned to comprise eight Ka-52Ks and eight Ka-29/31s. They were built by DCNS and

STX shipyards in St Nazaire, with the first having been due for hand-over to Russia in 2014 and the second this year. When the contract with Russia was suspended, France said that it could be reinstated if there was an effective ceasefire in Ukraine and that the crisis was resolved through political agreement. Finally, when it became apparent that this was not going to happen, France officially cancelled the contract August 5, 2015.On the same day, France

reimbursed Russia for the cancelled deal, returning 949.7 million euros that had already

been paid for the vessels. Since then, work has been under way to remove specialist Russian equipment and systems from the ships. France agreed not to sell the BPCs to countries that could contravene Russia’s interests. Several other nations had previously shown interest in them, including Canada, India, Singapore and the UAE.Russian officials said they are

ready to supply Ka-52Ks to Egypt for operation from these vessels, should it wish to place an order. This navalised version of the Ka-52 attack helicopter had been primarily developed for operation from these BPCs, but owing to the cancellation of the original contract, Russia is now looking for other customers.

African Customer Orders Two C-27JsA NEW order has been signed for two C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters by an unspecified African air force. The contract, which was announced by Finmeccanica on September 23, will also include a logistics support package.The aircraft will be delivered from

2017. They will be used for the transport of troops and materials and for homeland security and civil protection, also operating on semi-prepared strips. This is the third African customer, after Chad and Morocco.

USAF C-17 Transports Operation Barkhane PumasA French Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre (ALAT – French Army Aviation) SA330 Puma being loaded onto a US Air Force C-17A at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on August 22 for transport to N’Djamena, Chad. A similar mission to transport a second ALAT Puma was carried out the next day. The two Détachement ALAT (DETALAT) helicopters were being transported to Chad in order to support Opération Barkhane. CJTF-Horn of Africa

Egypt to Buy Cancelled Russian Helicopter Carriers

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Join us exclusive coverage of the French Air Force’s Dassault Rafale! Entering service for the French Air Force in 2006, the Rafale is a twin-jet able to carry out short or long range missions, reconnaissance, high accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence. View inside Mont de Marsan Air Force base and witness footage of the Mali Missions in Africa... Feel the power of one of the newest fi fth generation fi ghters in the world!

Kuwait to Buy 28 Eurofi ghter TyphoonsKUWAIT HAS confirmed its intention to purchase 28 Eurofighter Typhoons. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Rome on September 11 to purchase 22 single-seat and six twin-seat aircraft, which will be bought through a government-to-government deal with Italy.Italian Eurofighter partner Alenia

Aermacchi had been leading the efforts to sell the Typhoon to Kuwait and when the final order

is signed, possibly by year-end, the aircraft will be produced on the Italian production line at Cameri. Eurofighter said in a statement that it welcomed this new member of the Eurofighter community, which is the first export success since an order from the Sultanate of Oman for 12 aircraft in December 2012.The aircraft will be to Tranche

3 standard and become the first export variants with the new airborne electronically scanned

array (AESA) radar. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2019.Including Kuwait, Eurofighter

has commitments for 599 Typhoons. Since entry into service at the end of 2003, 444 aircraft have been delivered to six nations: Austria, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the United Kingdom. The type is in service with 22 operational units and the whole fleet has completed more than 300,000 flying hours worldwide to date.

Maiden Flight of New Saudi Hawk

New Airbus Helicopters for Israel PoliceISRAEL’S ELBIT Systems has ordered six new helicopters for operation by the Israel Police. The company has signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters Inc, which announced on September 3 that it will supply four H125 AStars and two H145s to replace the Israel Police’s ageing fleet of single-engine helicopters.Israel Police is the civilian law

enforcement agency which also conducts counter-terrorism, border security and search and rescue. There are also plans for the aviation element to support firefighting missions. The new helicopters will be equipped with numerous role-specific options, including thermal imagers, searchlights, moving map systems and cargo swings for firefighting.The Israel Police has

contracted with Elbit Systems to provide financing for the six aircraft, along with full maintenance and spare parts support, to ensure high levels of availability for their demanding mission requirements. Airbus will provide the helicopters, their completion services, flight and maintenance training, plus spare parts support throughout the contract term with Elbit. Deliveries are due to begin by the end of 2016.This will mark the introduction

of the H125 and H145 to Israel. The H125s will be the first built for a foreign customer on the final assembly line in Columbus, Mississippi.The H125 was previously

known as the AS350B3e and the H145 was designated the EC145T2.

Above: Royal Saudi Air Force Hawk Mk 165 AJT ZB101 (‘ST001’) performing a test fl ight at Warton on September 30. It made its maiden fl ight there on September 16. Neville Beckett

BAE SYSTEMS has flown the first Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Hawk Mk 165 Advanced Jet Trainer. The aircraft, test serial ZB101 (‘ST001’), made its maiden flight from the factory airfield at Warton, Lancashire, on September 16.It is one of 22 of the type

on order under a £1.6 billion contract announced by BAE Systems on May 23, 2012. The deal to support future

Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircrew training requirements also included 55 Pilatus PC-21s, deliveries of which are now well under way.

First Saudi C295W CompletedAIRBUS DEFENCE and Space (ADS) has completed the first of four C295Ws for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior (MOI) General Security Aviation Command. The winglet-equipped aircraft, c/n 143, which will be registered MOI-C1, is currently undergoing

pre-delivery testing at the factory in Seville, Spain.In addition to the winglets,

which give better performance and improved fuel economy, the model also incorporates improved Pratt & Whitney PW127 engines, giving better overall performance, particularly in

hot and high conditions. ADS had announced the order at the Paris Air Show on June 16 – see Saudi Arabia Orders Four C295Ws, August, p21. Roberto Yáñez

Above: Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior C295W c/n 143 (to be MOI-C1), the fi rst of four on order, undergoing engine runs on the ramp at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, on September 11. The aircraft carries ‘General Security Aviation Command’ titles on the forward fuselage in both Arabic and English. Roberto Yáñez

Israeli F-35 SDD ContractLOCKHEED MARTIN has been awarded a contract for the system development and demonstration (SDD) Phase I, Increment 2, element of the Israeli Air Force F-35A programme. The $89.265 million Foreign Military Sales deal, awarded on August 27 by US Naval Air systems Command, is in support of the first Israeli aircraft arrival and initial operations. The work includes development and demonstration, integration and sutainment planning for the Israeli F-35A system. An initial $10 million in funding was released at the time of the contract award. Completion is anticipated in March 2020. Israel has ordered 19 F-35As to date, while the Israeli Cabinet approved an order for 14 more, plus 17 options, on November 30, 2014.


NEWSNEWS

MIDDLE-EAST

Iomax Archangel Delivered to UAE

Above: The second United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence (UAEAF&AD) Iomax Archangel 2361/N802KH (c/n T660P-102DC) passing through Malta International Airport on September 11 during its delivery flight. Brendon Attard

A SECOND Iomax Archangel has been delivered through Malta-Luqa International Airport, Malta, destined for service with the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence (UAEAF&AD). The aircraft, second production example 2361/N802KH (c/n T660P-102DC), passed through on September 11, continuing its journey via Aqaba-King Hussein International Airport, Jordan. Although the UAE flag on the tail was taped over, the serial beneath it was fully visible.

The aircraft had left Lake Norman Airpark, Mooresville, North Carolina (the location of the Iomax headquarters) on September 7, routing to Bangor International Airport, Maine. It continued the next day to St John’s International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, before leaving there on September 9 for Santa Maria in the Azores and onwards to Malta and Jordan to eventually arrive in the UAE.Another Archangel, first

production aircraft N801KH

(c/n T660P-101DC), had passed through Malta on its delivery flight on July 7 – see Iomax Archangel Delivered to Middle East, October, p23. Its final destination at that time was unconfirmed, but it now seems likely this was the first delivery to the UAEAF&AD. The Archangel is an armed derivative of the Thrush S2R-T660 agricultural aircraft, developed into its military configuration by Iomax USA. The UAEAF&AD is the launch customer for the type, with 24 on order.

HELLENIC ARMY helicopters made an historic first deployment abroad during September when they carried out a joint training exercise in Israel with Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter squadrons. ‘Blue and White Glory’ was just one of several co-operative exercises taking place during the month involving Israel and different forces from around the world.Israel had also taken part in

Red Flag in the USA, displayed Israeli aircraft at the Radom Air Show 2015 in Poland and deployed to Greece. The latter

involved IAF AH-64 Apaches, ISR Beech 200 King Airs and C-130 Hercules going to Larissa Air Base, Greece, for a training exercise. Lt Col Omri, commander of the

IAF’s Apache-equipped ‘Magic Touch’ squadron, said: “The co-operation between the Israeli Army and the Hellenic Army has been intensifying in recent years and we are definitely expecting more joint deployments in the future.” The aviation element of ‘Blue and White Glory’ included six Greek helicopters, two fighter jet squadrons and one Israeli helicopter squadron.

During the exercise, the participating aircraft conducted familiarisation flights over the Negev Desert and also practised attack missions and rescuing downed pilots in joint formations. “There are great differences between the IAF and the Hellenic Army’s air forces”, stressed Lt Col Omri. He noted that the two air arms’ mission profiles vary and each country has to be prepared for different threats. “In spite of all that, we did find many similarities in the foundation of each force’s operational activity,” said Omri.

ScanEagles for Lebanon INSITU HAS been awarded a $9.466 million US Naval Air Systems Command Foreign Military Sales contract for hardware upgrades and modifications to previously procured Lebanese Army ScanEagle unmanned air systems. The work, which also includes training, programme management, site activation/survey and associated data, was ordered under a contract awarded on September 30 and is scheduled for completion in September 2016. Lebanon acquired four Insitu

ScanEagle UAVs through a direct, Commercial Off The Shelf purchase from the manufacturer earlier this year. The ScanEagle air vehicles

will consist of analogue electro-optical (EO 900) and medium wave infra-red (MWIR 3.0) systems. The hardware will include the air vehicles, launch and recovery element, ground control stations and video exploitation systems.

Jordanian ISR AT-802U OrderL-3 COMMUNICATIONS is to supply four Iomax/Air Tractor AT-802U ISR aircraft to the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). The company’s Platform Integration Division, based in Waco, Texas, was awarded a $9.78 million sole-source Foreign Military Sales contract by the US Air Force’s 645th Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on September 28 to deliver the aircraft. The deal also includes pilot, maintainer and mission system training. The unarmed aircraft will

be fitted with Wescam MX-15 electro-optical infra-red sensors to support counter-terrorism efforts in Jordan. Contract completion is due by September 30, 2016. L-3 had recieved a contract on June 2, 2014, to supply the AT-802Us to Yemen (see Yemen Air Force Order for Four ISR Aircraft, August 2014, p23), but the deal was cancelled due to the country's political situation.

Greek Apaches and Chinooks Deploy to Israel

Above: A Hellenic Army CH-47D Chinook during its deployment to Ramon Air Base in Israel while participating along with Greek Apaches in the Blue and White Glory exercise held jointly with Israeli Air Force units. IAF

www.airforcesdaily.com 27#332 NOVEMBER 2015


Hong Kong GFS Orders Seven H175 HelicoptersSEVEN AIRBUS Helicopters H175s have been ordered by the Hong Kong-based Government Flying Services (GFS), which becomes the world’s launch customer for the public services configuration of this new-generation super-medium-sized rotorcraft. The order was announced by the manufacturer on September 8.The GFS is a department of the

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with a primary responsibility to provide 24-hour emergency support services. It is an established operator of Airbus Helicopters types, currently flying three AS332s and four H155s for search and rescue

(SAR) and firefighting missions.Captain Michael Chan,

Controller of GFS, said: “The H175 ticks all the right boxes for our mission requirements. We are confident that the addition of the H175s to our fleet will enhance our capabilities to serve the local community inshore and out at sea.” The H175 was previously known as the EC175, prior to rebranding of the Airbus Helicopters product line earlier this year.The public services configuration

offers multi-role capabilities. GFS missions could include SAR operations, emergency medical services, firefighting,

law enforcement and land/maritime border security patrols. Deliveries will begin towards the end of 2017 with the first batch of three aircraft, followed by the remaining four in 2018.The GFS H175s will have an

inbuilt electro-optical system for observation and tracking, along with an enhanced digital map display, both managed from an operator’s console in the cabin. Other mission equipment includes dual hoists, loud-speaker hailers, a searchlight and steerable external lighting. The H175’s autopilot will incorporate additional advanced modes to further decrease pilot workload during SAR operations.

Second Philippine C295M DeliveredAIRBUS DEFENCE and Space (ADS) has completed the delivery flight of the second C295M for the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The aircraft, 140/EC-003 (c/n S-140), left the factory at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, on September 7, flown by an ADS crew. It touched down in the Philippines on runway 02R

at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, at 1730hrs on September 15.After the PAF Technical

Inspection and Aerospace Committee had gone through the required inspection and acceptance procedures, it was to be flown to Villamor Air Base, Pasay City, for a formal induction ceremony. The aircraft

will join the PAF’s 220th Airlift Wing/222nd Airlift Squadron, which accepted its first C295M at the end of March – see First Philippine Air Force C295M Delivered, May, p29. The third and final PAF aircraft,

142 (c/n S-142), is test flying from Seville and is expected to be delivered shortly.

Below: The second Philippine Air Force (PAF) C295M, 140/EC-003 (c/n S-140), passing through Malta-Luqa International Airport on September 9 during its delivery fl ight. Brendon Attard

Brand new Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) VVIP-confi gured Airbus A320-214CJW 60203/HS-TYT (c/n 6112) lifting off from Toulouse, France, on June 17 to begin its delivery fl ight to Thailand. It arrived at Don Muang Air Base the following day. The aIrcraft joined 6 Wing/602 Squadron (The Royal Flight) at the base on June 23 and was formally inducted into RTAF service during a ceremony there on September 11. It is confi gured with four VVIP seats, six VIP seats, a seat for the director of travel, eight other seats and 54 standard passenger seats, plus two aircrew crew seats. John Spencer

Thai A320CJ Inducted into Service

India Signs Deal for 15 CH-47Fs and 22 AH-64EsINDIA HAS finalised contracts for purchase of 22 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters for the Indian Air Force. Two contracts were signed on September 28 by the Indian Defence Ministry for both the direct commercial sale and Foreign Military Sale (FMS) elements of the deals.Officials said that one contract with Boeing covered acquisition by direct commercial sale of the CH-47Fs complete and in fly-away condition, plus the basic AH-64E airframes (less engines), together with logistics support, spares and services. A separate Letter of Agreement was signed for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) element of the Apache deal, including weapons, electro-optical sensors, radar, training and aircraft certification.Under the terms of the contract, Boeing will commence deliveries of both types within 36 months of contract signature. All of the helicopters are to be delivered within 48 months. Options for follow-on orders for eleven more Apaches and seven Chinooks are included. Boeing is also committed to a 30% offset as part of the deal.After years of indecision and deliberation, final clearance for the acquisitions was given on September 21 at a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting.

Thailand Orders Four KAI T-50sTHAILAND IS to buy four T-50TH Golden Eagle jet trainers from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The contract was signed on September 17 during a ceremony in the JW Marriot Hotel in Seoul.Deliveries are to take place

within 30 months. The deal is worth around $110 million. The aircraft will replace elderly Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainers currently in Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) service. Although the limited Thai defence budget has only been able to finance an initial four T-50s, KAI said it expected follow-on orders for the RTAF, when funding allowed.


NEWSNEWS

ASIA PACIFIC

Pakistani Saab 2000 Erieye Back in ServiceA PAKISTAN Air Force (PAF) Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control aircraft has been returned to service, three years after being extensively damaged during a terrorist attack on PAF Base Kamra-Minhas. The aircraft was officially declared operational again with 3 (AEW&C) Squadron on September 10 at Minhas, after being repaired by the co-located Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).The aircraft, identity still

unknown, was parked in its hangar at Kamra-Minhas on August 16, 2012, when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the building’s wall. Shrapnel from the explosion caused serious damage to the Erieye – see Attrition, October 2012, p35.An initial inspection by

engineers from PAC Kamra the following day indicated the aircraft should be repairable. However, on February 6, 2013, Pakistan Defence Secretary, Lt Gen (retired) Azra Fazal Pechuho, told a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence that the aircraft had been assessed as beyond repair. It appears a later re-assessment determined it could be repaired after all. A meeting of Pakistan's Senate

Standing Committee on Defence Production was informed on September 10, 2015, that US aircraft engineers had estimated the cost of rebuilding the aircraft would be around $30 million. However, Pakistani personnel had completed the work for just $15 million. The rebuild was carried out over a period of ten months.

Pilatus Completes 75th Indian PC-7 Mk II

Above: The 75th and final PC-7 Mk II of the initial Indian Air Force order, P-175/HB-HLW (c/n 764), taxiying out from the factory at Stans-Buochs, Switzerland, on September 7. The aircraft carries special ‘75th Successfully Revolutionising IAF Pilot Training’ titles on the fuselage to celebrate completion of the last aircraft. Stephan Widmer

PILATUS AIRCRAFT has completed the 75th and final Indian Air Force (IAF) PC-7 Mk II from an initial order that was announced on May 24, 2012. The final aircraft, P-175/HB-HLW (c/n 764), was first noted engine running on September 3 outside the factory at Stans-Buochs, Switzerland, in readiness for its maiden flight.The most recent IAF deliveries

were P-172 and P-173, which are reported to have departed from Stans on September 14. This left just the final two, P-174 and P-175, still to be delivered. India’s Defence Acquisition Council approved purchase of 38 more PC-7 Mk IIs for the IAF on February 28 this year. An order, however, has yet to be placed for these aircraft.

Indonesia Plans Su-35 PurchaseINDONESIAN DEFENCE Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has confirmed that the Sukhoi Su-35 has been selected to replace the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU – Indonesian Air Force) F-5E/F Tiger fleet, which is now 40 years old. Ryacudu said on September 21 that he would meet with Russian representatives at the end of the month to finalise the purchase, which is expected to involve an eventual total of around 16 aircraft. He said he had received direct instructions from President Joko Widodo to buy the type.The Minister said that, as

with previous purchases, the entire squadron would not be purchased in one go, but the buy would be staggered and the aircraft bought in smaller batches to spread the cost. He said the initial purchase would probably involve eight aircraft. Ryacudu had first indicated that the Su-35 had been selected during an inspection of military units in Jakarta on September 2, when he confirmed that the type was to be purchased because TNI-AU pilots are already familiar with Sukhoi fighters. Indonesia currently flies two Su-27SKs, three Su-27SKMs, two Su-30MKs and nine Su-30MK2s. The contract will include

a mandatory 70% transfer of technology, offset and countertrade agreement, in accordance with Indonesian law. The Su-35 had been in competition with the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16 Block 60 and Saab JAS39 Gripen NG for the TNI-AU requirement.

Above: Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Xian H-6H bomber 40077 test flying on September 24 with radar absorbent material (RAM) applied to various areas, including the wing and tailplane leading edges, engine intakes, nose and other areas to reduce its radar cross-section. The aircraft’s serial number indicates that it is, or was, assigned to the 36th Bomber Division’s 108th Regiment at Wugong, although it is presumably being used by a trials unit for the RAM testing. Via Chinese internet

Veteran PLAAF Xian H-6H Testing Stealth Coatings

India to Buy Ten Heron TP UAVsINDIA IS to purchase ten armed Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicles. On September 11 India's Ministry of Defence announced that the $400 million acquisition of the UAVs for the Indian Air Force (IAF) has alreadybeen approved. The MOD said that it anticipates inducting the new UAVs into IAF

service within 12 months. The procurement is being fast-tracked on the orders of the Government due to little progress having been made with indigenous armed UAV programmes. A delegation from IAI has already visited New Delhi to discuss the possible local production of the Heron TP as part of the 'Make in India' initiative.

Pakistan Scan EagleINSITU HAS been awarded a contract to provide its Scan Eagle to the government of Pakistan under the foreign military sales programme. The company was awarded a $15.18 million US Naval Air Systems Command contract on September 29 to provide hardware and technical data for the Scan Eagle to Pakistan.Contract completion is anticipated in August 2016.




NEWSNEWS

ASIA PACIFIC

Afghan A-29 High-Altitude Training

Above: Afghan Air Force Embraer A-29B Super Tucano 13-2005 is checked over by maintenance personnel from Sierra Nevada Corporation, the prime contractor on the Afghan A-29 programme, before a high-altitude take-off from Peterson AFB, Colorado, on September 16. US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Rose Gudex

AFGHAN AIR Force pilots and US Air Force instructors from the 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, deployed to Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, with their A-29B Super Tucano aircraft for several weeks in September. Whilst there, they carried out high-altitude training in the mountainous terrain of the area. Since the beginning of 2015, nine Afghan pilots have been receiving basic flight training and tactical instruction with the 81st FS at Moody in the A-29B Super Tucano. They have also been learning how US Air Force fighter squadrons operate in order to stand up their own squadron when they return to Afghanistan. The USAF’s 438th Air

Expeditionary Wing, based in Kabul, which is tasked with training, advising and assisting Afghanistan to develop a professional, capable and

sustainable air force, reported on September 23 that the A-29Bs will be delivered to the country in early 2016. It was previously planned to begin deliveries before the end of this year, but the reason for the delay was not revealed.Lt Col Jeff Hogan, 81st FS

commander, said when the first group of Afghan pilots and maintainers finish their year-long training, the 81st FS will send USAF pilots and maintainers to Afghanistan to provide advisory support. Hogan added: “We’ll have a constant rotational presence in Afghanistan, mentoring them as they stand up this new capability.”The end result of this training is

for Afghanistan to have its own fighter force that is capable of self-sustained combat operations. The training the Afghan pilots get will help them stand up their own sustainable fighter squadron

and enable them to provide aerial fire support for their ground forces. To achieve that, the 81st FS is training them on four different missions, comprising close air attack, air interdiction, helicopter and convoy escort, and armed reconnaissance.The A-29B will replace the

old Mi-35 attack helicopter that is nearing the end of its service life and lacks the same capability as the A-29.The training so far has

been at Moody, which has an elevation of around 200ft and does not compare to the high elevation in Afghanistan. The deployment to Peterson gives the pilots the opportunity for more realistic training.As with any aircraft, performance

is lower at a higher altitude, because the air is less dense, so aircraft take longer to accelerate and get off the ground.

Indian Air Force Re-Forms Surya KiransINDIA HAS re-formed the Surya Kiran aerobatic team using four Hawk Mk 132 Advanced Jet Trainers. An Indian defence ministry spokesperson confirmed on September 12 that the team was back together and photographs of an Indian Air Force Hawk in the team colours were released.

The team’s first display was scheduled for October 8 during the Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air Force Station.The team had previously

flown the HJT-16 Kiran Mk II but was disbanded after a final performance on February 13, 2011, at Aero India, as the jets were needed to make up a

shortfall of IAF ab initio training aircraft. The routine with the new Hawks at Hindon will be limited to a few simple manoeuvres, as the team is not yet fully worked up. A full flying sequence will not be performed until next year.

Above: The fi rst Indian Air Force Hawk Mk 132 to appear in the Surya Kiran’s aerobatic team colours. Indian MOD

Centre Fuselage for First Japan-built F-35NORTHROP GRUMMAN has completed the centre fuselage for the first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II that will be assembled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the Japanese Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) facility in Nagoya. The aircraft, AX-5, will be the fifth of 42 F-35As for the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF). The first four JASDF F-35As will be assembled by Lockheed Martin on the US production line in Fort Worth, Texas.

Japanese MV-22B Development ContractBELL-BOEING has gained an additional order for work on the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor variant being developed for the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). A contract valued at $20.88 million was awarded to the company by US Naval Air Systems Command on September 25.This provides for non-recurring

efforts for the development, qualification test, integration, airworthiness substantiation, flight test demonstration and validation/verification of the unique configuration of the JGSDF MV-22B Block C aircraft. It also includes work on the MV-22 containerized flight training device. Work on the contract is expected to be completed in May 2016.A $332.5 million contract

for the JGSDF’s first five MV-22Bs was awarded to the Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office on July 14 (see Japan’s First V-22 Ospreys Ordered, September, p26), marking the first overseas sale of the type. Japan's Cabinet had approved

plans to acquire 17 Ospreys when it gave the go-ahead for the country's five-year defence plan on December 17, 2013. However, Japan will phase its purchases of the type in order to spread the cost.



Bangladesh Yak-130 DeliveriesBANGLADESH HAS begun taking delivery of its first Yakovlev Yak-130 jet trainer/light attack aircraft. A Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124-100 heavy transport aircraft arrived at Zahurui Haque Air Base on September 20 carrying the first six Bangladesh Air Force aircraft. It had previously been planned to deliver the first batch in June, but the reason for the delay is unclear.Bangladesh is buying 16 Yak-130s, which are being built at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant. The contract for these aircraft was finalised with Russian state-owned arms export agency Rosoboronexport in late 2013. Financing for the deal, which is estimated to be worth around $800 million, is being provided as part of a $1 billion credit agreement between Bangladesh and Russia that was signed in January 2013.

First Singapore A330 for MRTT ConversionAIRBUS DEFENCE and Space has taken delivery of the first A330 for conversion to Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) configuration for the Republic

of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). The aircraft, A330-243 EC-333 (c/n 1667, ex F-WWYH), arrived at Getafe, Spain, on September 30 for MRTT conversion.The aircraft had made its

first flight on September 10 at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, France. It is the first of six ordered for the RSAF under a contract announced by the manufacturer on March 7, 2014.

Final Chinese SAR S-76Ds Delivered

Two More A-50EhI AEW&Cs for Indian Air ForceA FURTHER two A-50EhI airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft are being prepared for delivery to the Indian Air Force (IAF). They will join three of the type already in IAF service. Indian media reports on September 3 indicate that the two ‘green’ airframes scheduled for conversion have already been purchased from the Tashkent Aviation Production Association factory in Uzbekistan. They are currently being

structurally modified at Beriev’s Tashkent Mechanical Plant in Taganrog, Russia, in readiness for installation of the Phalcon AEW&C system by IAI’s Elta Systems. The two new examples are to

be to an upgraded standard, but they will be compatible with the equipment fit of the three existing IAF aircraft. India’s three current A-50EhIs

were delivered between 2009 and 2011. They are operated by 50 Squadron, which is based at Agra Air Force Station. The two additional aircraft were options in the original contract which have now been converted into firm orders.

Above: One of the China Rescue and Salvage Bureau S-76Ds, N7643M (c/n 760143), during a pre-delivery test fl ight on August 14. Sikorsky Aircraft

SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT has delivered the final two of an order for eight S-76Ds to the China Ministry of Transport (MOT). The helicopters were accepted on September 28 during a ceremony at Sikorsky Aircraft’s commercial helicopter centre in

Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The MOT’s helicopter fleet, which is the foundation of China’s airborne search and rescue (SAR) maritime operations, now totals 16 S-76s, eight of which are S-76Ds. They are operated by the China Rescue and Salvage Bureau.

In December 2012, the China MOT purchased four S-76D SAR helicopters and then in July 2013 contracted for another four of the same model. The latest SAR contract is the fifth awarded by the Ministry to Sikorsky for the S-76 series of helicopters since 2000.

Above: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Air Force (DPRKAF) Mi-17 867 (c/n 203M02) prepares to land at the Hyangshan helipad on September 15. A second Mi-17, 847 (c/n 96022, ex RA-25782), was also operating from there at the time. As with most other North Korean military aircraft, the DPRKAF Mi-17s are rarely seen and it is still unknown how many have been delivered. Robbie Shaw

North Korean Mi-17

Republic of Singapore Air Force Airbus A330-243 EC-333 arriving at Getafe for MRTT conversion. Roberto Yáñez

Australian KC-30A Refuels F-35AA ROYAL Australian Air Force (RAAF) KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) has completed the first fuel transfer to a US Air Force F-35A Lightning II using its air refuelling boom. The achievement was announced on September 29. During the trial at Edwards Air Force Base, California, a total of 59 contacts were conducted, of which five transferred 43,200lbs of fuel.Australia’s Chief of the Air Force,

Air Marshal Leo Davies, said:

“Refuelling between the KC-30A and F-35A is an important step towards the KC-30A’s achievement of Final Operational Capability [FOC]. This achievement is significant because the future of Australia’s air combat capability is reliant on the successful partnership between these two aircraft and our ability to be interoperable with our international partners.” The KC-30A has two refuelling

systems – hose-and-drogue and the Advanced Refuelling Boom System (ARBS). The

different systems enable the RAAF to support a wide range of coalition aircraft on Operation Okra, for which a KC-30A is deployed to support combat ops against IS in Iraq and Syria.The RAAF has five KC-30As,

based at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, and will receive two more in 2018. Australia has committed to 72 F-35As for RAAF Bases Williamtown and Tindal, with the first due to arrive in late 2018. The F-35A will replace the ageing F/A-18A/B Hornet.

CONTRACTSAir Force Company No and Type Date Delivery Date and Notes

Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Martin 49 x PC-21 September 6 From 2019

Hong Kong Government Flying Service

Airbus Helicopters 7 x H175 September 8 2017-2018

Indian Air Force Boeing 22 x AH-64E September 28 From September 2018

Indian Air Force Boeing 15 x CH-47F September 28 From September 2018

Israel Police Airbus Helicopters 4 x H125 (AS350B3e) September 3 By end of 2016

Israel Police Airbus Helicopters 2 x H145 (EC145) September 3 By end of 2016

Mexican Navy Sikorsky 2 x UH-60M September 15 By June 30, 2016

Slovak Air Force Sikorsky 4 x UH-60M September 3 From 2016

Royal Thai Air Force KAI 4 x T-50TH September 17 Within 30 months

Turkish Land Forces Boeing 5 x CH-47F September 14 By December 31, 2020

US Army Sikorsky 1 x UH-60M September 17 By December 30, 2015

Unident African country Alenia Aermacchi 2 x C-27J September 23 Not announced

Unident LatAm country Elbit ? x Hermes 900 UAVs September 25 Not announced

Tiger ARHs in Exercise Northern Shield

Australian Agreement with Norway on F-35A Joint Strike MissileAUSTRALIA AND Norway has signed an agreement under which Australia will finance the development of a new capability for the seeker in the Joint Strike Missile (JSM). The latter is being designed by Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence Systems for integration on the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.s If Australia later decides to

procure the JSM for its aircraft, Norway and Australia will share the cost of integrating it on the F-35. The September 15 signing of the agreement between the two countries formalises the initial agreement reached when Norwegian State Secretary of Defence, Øystein Bø visited Australia during February 2015. It will provide Norway with

a missile that is both more capable and more competitive on the international market, while it also marks the first time another nation has agreed to cover some of the costs of JSM development.Norwegian defence minister,

Ine Eriksen Søreide, said: “The JSM will provide one of the core capabilities of the future Norwegian armed forces and this agreement not only confirms that other nations are seeing the value of what this missile can deliver, but also that they are prepared to help make it even better. Even if this doesn’t immediately change our costs related to developing and integrating the JSM on the F-35, it nonetheless ensures that we will get even more in return for our own investment in the missile.”The seeker that is being

developed for the JSM is based on imaging infra-red technology. This enables the missile to detect and identify targets based on its heat signature. Under the terms of the new agreement, BAE Australia will be tasked by the Australian government to integrate an RF-seeking capability on the missile so it can also locate targets by their electronic signature.

Left: Australian Army Tiger ARHs A38-003 and A38-016 from the 1st Aviation Regiment land at RAAF Learmonth, Western Australia, on September 21 after conducting security operations training during Exercise Northern Shield. The ARHs had arrived in Exmouth, Western Australia, to assist a Ready Combat Team as part of a scenario where they deployed at short notice to respond to a simulated enemy threat. Northern Shield involved over 1,000 Army and Royal Australian Air Force personnel and took place in northwest Australia from September 19 to 24. Commonwealth of Australia/Cpl Janine Fabre

Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A A39-001 from 33 Squadron refuels US Air Force development F-35A AF-04 for the fi rst time on September 25 during a four-hour sortie from Edwards AFB, California. USAF


NEWSNEWS

AUSTRALASIA

p031_AFM_Nov15_ad.indd 31 01/10/2015 10:56

Learning to fly and then fight in the AV-8B Harrier takes all manner of skills, as Joe Copalman found out when he recently visited the US Marine Corps only Harrier training squadron (VMAT-203) on one of its recent detachments to MCAS Yuma.

LIFE ON MARSLIFE ON LIFE ON

Right: A ‘Hawks’ TAV-8B high over the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range in southern California. VMAT-203 deploys to MCAS Yuma three times a year to train RPs in the delivery of live ordnance. All photos, author

“we start them at ground level and get them to a point where they can go down to an AV-8B � eet squadron and � t in there.”


USMC VMAT-203

LIFE ON MARSLIFE ON

FOR more than 30 years, the AV-8B Harrier II has been the US Marine Corps’ (USMC)

primary fixed-wing close air support (CAS) platform. It is the only aircraft designed to operate from L-class amphibious assault ships (see Anytime Anywhere, August, p48-53) and austere expeditionary airfields in support of Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs). While the type’s unique short

take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities enable the operational flexibility, they give the Harrier a reputation as a challenging aircraft to operate, especially in the critical take-off

and landing stages. Aside from mastering the quirks of STOVL operations, marine Harrier pilots must also learn to employ a wide range of air-to-surface ordnance in close proximity to friendly troops, from the GAU-12

‘Equalizer’ 25mm cannon to general-purpose bombs to precision-guided

ordnance. New Harrier pilots learn to fly the AV-8B and use it as a weapons system at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina with the ‘Hawks’ of Marine Attack Training Squadron (VMAT) 203, radio callsign ‘Mars.’

The squadron’s mission is

to prepare new Harrier pilots (known as ‘replacement pilots,’ or RPs) for fleet duty. Maj David ‘Doc’ Martin, an instructor pilot (IP) with -203 explained: “We get them out of flight school where they fly the T-6 and T-45, and they’ve never seen or touched a Harrier before. So we start them at ground level and get them to a point where they can go down to an AV-8B fleet squadron and fit in there.”

Crawl, Walk, Run, Jump, FightHarrier RP training begins with two weeks of ground school, which precedes 13 simulator events. This is followed by 13 flights with an IP in a two-seat TAV-8B. Students will then go solo in a single-seat AV-8B. Maj Trevor ‘Haveya’

operate from L-class amphibious assault , August,

p48-53) and austere expeditionary

proximity to friendly troops, from the GAU-12 ‘Equalizer’ 25mm cannon to general-

purpose bombs to precision-guided ordnance. New Harrier pilots learn to fly the AV-8B and use it as a weapons system at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina with the ‘Hawks’ of Marine Attack Training Squadron (VMAT) 203, radio callsign ‘Mars.’

The squadron’s mission is


USMC VMAT-203

Felter, also an IP with -203, stated: “We start off teaching them how to fly the jet, all the basic landing patterns because we have multiple types of landings and take-offs in the Harrier.” These take-offs are conventional, short, rolling vertical, and vertical, while the five landings are conventional, fixed-nozzle, variable-nozzle, rolling vertical, and vertical. In addition to the various take-offs and landings at large airfields, the RP syllabus introduces Harrier pilots to the amphibious and expeditionary operations that drew the Marine Corps to the type in the first place. As Maj Felter explained: “They have to

do 36 FCLP (field carrier landing practice) landings down at Bogue Field near Cherry Point, and they also do what we call FBOs –forward-based operations – where they do slow landings into a short airfield.” Once students can safely launch, recover,

and fly the Harrier, the pilots move on to spe-cifics. Maj Felter said: “We teach them basic formation again, which they already know, but now they have to fly it in the Harrier. Then we start getting tactical – how to do threat reaction, air-to-surface, basic air-to-air, and CAS. We give them the building blocks, and then when they get to the fleet, they build on that.” In all, the RP syllabus lasts six months. The ‘Hawks’ also run a refresher course

for Harrier pilots who have been out of the cockpit long enough for their currency in the AV-8 to lapse. Common commitments that take pilots away from flying duties are staff tours, forward air controller and air officer tours (see ‘Cleared Hot!,’ AFM July 2015), and graduate degree programmes. Explaining the refresher training, Maj

Martin said: “These are guys who come in with anywhere from 500 to 2,000 hours,

VMAT-203 currently operates three variants of the Harrier. The most numerous type, with 16 examples on strength is the two-seat TAV-8B ‘T-bird.’ The T-bird serves two primary functions with -203: pilot familiarisation and instructor support. In the ‘fam’ role, the T-bird is the � rst variant all new Harrier pilots � y, with an experienced instructor in the back seat. Each RP will make about ten � ights in the T-bird

before his or her � rst solo, and will come back to it a few more times during training. Unlike the single-seat variants, the T-birds do not carry any targeting aids such as the LITENING pod or nose-mounted Angle Rate Bombing System (ARBS). The type has a limited air-to-surface weapons capability, with the only weapons employed by students in the T-bird being Mk 76 practice bombs, while instructors use ‘Zuni’ 5in rockets for target marking. In the instructor support role, the T-bird will be

crewed by two IPs: one to � y the aircraft and the other to act as range safety or to observe, direct, and evaluate RPs � ying single-seat AV-8Bs. On

certain sorties IPs riding shotgun on T-birds also serve as role-players, simulating the various coordination agencies with which marine Harrier pilots work in the � eet. When armed with pods of 5in smoke rockets,

the T-bird also plays the role of a Forward Air Controller (Airborne) by marking targets for RPs to engage with their own weapons. In terms of handling, the TAV-8B � ies similarly to the single-seat Night Attack variant, with the only signi� cant di� erence being the nose. Maj Felter added: “It’s a little bit heavier so the wind has more of an e� ect on it when you’re in the hover. Outside of that, she � ies the same.” With 12 examples on strength, the second-

most numerous variant operated by VMAT-203 is the single-seat AV-8B Harrier II Night Attack, known as the ‘B-bird,’ in which all RPs will � y most of the � ight hours they accrue in training. Identi� ed by the glass dome of the ARBS on the nose and a GEC-Marconi FLIR sensor above it, the Night Attack Harrier is one of two variants in

operational service with � eet squadrons, though in fewer numbers than the radar-equipped AV-8B Harrier II Plus. The Night Attack birds can carry the full range of air-to-ground ordnance that the radar birds can, making it an ideal aircraft for the training carried out with -203. The � nal variant � own by -203 is a single baseline

AV-8B, similar to the Night Attack variant, but lacking the GEC-Marconi AN/AAR-51 FLIR on top of the nose. Though AV-8B bureau number 163199/KD-40 is reported to be the last ‘day attack’ AV-8B in operational service, it would be inaccurate to call it ‘unmodi� ed.’ It is, in fact, a regenerated attrition-replacement airframe on to which Boeing attached the wing of a newer Harrier II Plus variant as well as the Plus-model’s newer and more powerful Rolls-Royce Pegasus 11-21 engine. The result is a ‘Frankenstein’-type aircraft that

one RP referred to as a ‘hot rod’ that performs better than any of the other aircraft on VMAT-203’s � ight line due to being roughly 400lb lighter.

Harrier Variants – T-Birds, B-Birds, and a Hot Rod

A TAV-8B ‘T-Bird’ heads for the range with a student fl ying and an instructor in the rear observing.

Left: Captain Kevin Smalley, an IP with VMAT-203, reviews targeting pod symbology with a group of student pilots during downtime between morning and afternoon sorties. Right KD-32’s plane captain observes as a stu-dent pilot runs through the Harrier’s startup checklist. Postings with VMAT-203 offer main-tainers a degree of stability and predictability those assigned to deployable units typically don’t have.Below: A Harrier RP checks that a Mk.82 fi n-re-tarded 500lb Snakeye bomb is securely attached to a pylon during his pre-fl ight check.


USMC VMAT-203

but haven’t flown a Harrier for a few years. We have modified the syllabus depending on how long they’ve been out, and again, we put them through ground school, simulators, two-seater and single-seater flights, and off to the fleet again.”In addition to training USMC Harrier pilots,

VMAT-203 also trains AV-8 pilots from Spain and Italy. Foreign partners in the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program that currently lack a short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) platform on which to keep that skill set current also go to VMAT-203. Maj Martin said: “The Spanish are a

little unique. They come through and they only do the ‘fam’ [familiarisation] stage to learn how to take off and land. We don’t do anything tactical with them.” The Italian pilots, however, go through the

same syllabus as the marine RPs. Describing the British presence in the squadron, Maj Martin continued: “For the British pilots, they don’t fly the Harrier any more, but they are going to the JSF shortly. To keep them current we have trained four of them – two are on the east coast at Cherry Point and two are here at Yuma MCAS on the west coast – and they are going to fleet squadrons for three or four years. Then transi-tion to the JSF while they’re here in the States.”

Moving Mud – Slinging Lead at YumaWhile RPs learn to fly the Harrier at Cherry Point, it is at MCAS Yuma in Arizona where they really learn to employ it as a weapons system. Three times a year, -203 sends a large detach-ment of IPs, RPs, and maintainers to Yuma for six weeks’ intensive training in the employment of air-to-surface ordnance. Alternately called ‘Broken Resolution’ for the late-winter deploy-ments, ‘Hot Chili’ or ‘Cinco de Mayo’ for the summer ones, and ‘Turkey Bowl’ in the autumn, these detachments allow the Hawks to expose RPs to most of the weaponry they will poten-tially employ during their careers in the fleet. Yuma is an ideal location for these dets due to

the numerous live ordnance impact areas on the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range and because, as Maj Felter explained: “The weather is better out in Yuma, especially when we come out here in November and then come back in February. At Cherry Point you’re just going to get gray overcast, whereas out here, it’s crystal clear. The jets perform better, it’s not as humid, so they typically don’t break as much.” By the time they reach -203, incoming Harrier

pilots have already been introduced to basic air-to-surface tactics in the Boeing T-45C

Above: Ordnance men download Mk.76 practice bombs from a ‘T-Bird’. They handle a variety of ordnance, including practice bombs, rockets, general-purpose bombs, precision-guided munitions and even napalm and cluster bombs.

“Right now we’re hurting for ACTIs, so if you’re a Harrier guy with ACTI quals and due a move soon, you might find yourself here.”

USMC VMAT-203


Goshawk. VMAT-203’s instructors build on that by starting the RPs out dropping Mk 76 practice bombs as they would have done in the T-45 before moving on to high-explosive ordnance, and then to precision-guided weapons. During their time at Yuma, the RPs are

taught to employ almost the full array of weapons the modern Harrier can carry. Maj ‘Doc’ Martin said: “We expose them to dumb bombs, JDAM, laser-guided weapons,

rockets, guns, cluster munitions, all sorts of stuff that we couldn’t dream

of doing on the east coast.” The only air-to-surface ordnance

the RPs do not employ live versions of are the AGM-65E Maverick missile, primarily due to deployed units taking priority on allocations

of them. The GBU-54 laser JDAM has started making

Above: A Northrop-Grumman AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pod on the centreline pylon of a VMAT-203 Harrier. The pod has become part of the way the Marine Harrier community goes about its work, and the ‘Hawks’ have established a new syllabus that focuses heavily on its use.Left: The AV-8B Harrier II Night Attack is identifi able by the Hughes AN/ASB-19 Angle-Rate Bombing System (ARBS) at the tip of the nose and the GEC-Marconi forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor atop it. The ARBS is a 1970s-era laser spot tracker no longer used outside basic air-to-surface train-ing; the FLIR aids in degraded weather conditions and in bringing ‘hotspots’ on the ground to the attention of a pilot as potential targets.Right: All instructor pilots posted to VMAT-203 require a minimum of 500 hours in the Harrier and need to be certifi ed as a Weapons Training Offi cer and qualifi ed as a division lead.Below: Captain ‘Rudy’ Fletcher, an in-structor pilot with VMAT-203, taxies in after a fl ight with a Harrier Weapons and Tactics Instructor from Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron (MAWTS). The dets to Yuma enable ‘Hawks’ instructors to fl y with those from MAWTS-1 to earn new certifi ca-tions or keep existing ones current.

rockets, guns, cluster munitions, all sorts of stuff that we couldn’t dream

of doing on the east coast.” The only air-to-surface ordnance

the RPs do not employ live versions of are the AGM-65E Maverick missile, primarily due to deployed units taking priority on allocations

of them. The GBU-54 laser JDAM has started making

longer used outside basic air-to-surface train-ing; the FLIR aids in degraded weather conditions and in bringing ‘hotspots’ on

structor pilot with VMAT-203, taxies in after a fl ight with a Harrier Weapons and Tactics


USMC VMAT-203

Angle-Rate Bombing SystemIn addition to the Litening pod, Harrier RPs still train to use the Hughes AN/ASB-19 ARBS, a laser-spot tracking targeting aid carried over from the aircraft the Harrier replaced in USMC service, the A-4M Skyhawk. Though it lacks a designation function, the ARBS can detect targets directed by third parties and compute the attack pro� le that will yield the most accurate e� ects on them. Though the ARBS still equips all non-radar USMC Harriers, its use in the � eet has virtually ceased since Litening pods have become ubiquitous in the VMA community. Maj Felter said: “The students don’t do basic air-to-surface with the targeting pod. We try to gear it toward, ‘here’s why we’re doing this with the ARBS, and here is how it carries over to the targeting pod’. The maths and the algorithms are very similar, the HOTAS [Hands On Throttle And Stick] and the pro� les are very similar, so we try to tailor it towards that.” Beyond its use as an instructional aid, it is highly unlikely those Harrier pilots coming out training now will ever use the ARBS operationally, with some reports indicating that � eet squadrons have stopped main-taining the units altogether.

its way into the curriculum within the past year, whereas the only time the squadron employed the weapon previously was to use a limited number for instructor proficiency. As close air support specialists, Harrier

pilots are called upon to work with numerous control agencies, such as Direct Air Support Centers (DASCs), regimental and battalion air officers, and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs). Knowing how to effectively interface with these agencies is crucial to performing the CAS mission safely and successfully. That said, RPs do not work with any of these

external agencies while with VMAT-203. Rather, the Hawks handle this important training entire-ly in-house. Maj Martin said: “We simulate a lot of that in the CAS stage. We simulate checking in with the DASC, with the air officer, with the JTAC, they conduct their CAS mission and then they check out through the same process.” Describing how this is done, Maj Martin

elaborated: “We’ll launch a T-bird with one IP in the back doing nothing more than comm. He’s playing the DASC on one channel, he’s playing the Air Officer on another radio, and once he’s done playing DASC, he switches over and he’s the JTAC on this frequency.”

Syllabus Changes – Keeping the Harrier RelevantThough the mechanics of flying the AV-8B have remained virtually unchanged since the type’s introduction, new sensor and weapons systems have greatly expanded its capabilities. To reflect these new enhancements a new syllabus was adopted by VMAT-203 in mid-2013. The main focus of this syllabus is, as Maj Felter put it, ‘to give the fleet a more capable product’.This is particularly important as the Harrier

force draws down during the transition to the F-35, with fewer VMA squadrons available to meet the current level of deployment obligations. The advantage of more thoroughly trained pilots who arrive in the fleet from VMAT-203 is that the new units don’t have to cover so much during unit-level training. The new pilots have already been exposed to so much of it. The primary change to -203’s RP syllabus

has been the incorporation of the Northrop-Grumman AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pod. With the majority of ordnance dropped by marine Harriers in Iraq and Afghanistan having been precision-guided, the Litening has become a ubiquitous component

“We expose them to dumb bombs, JDAM, laser-guided weapons, rockets, guns, cluster munitions, all sorts of stu� that we couldn’t dream of doing on the east coast.”

Posting to VMAT-203 gives maintenance marines a measure of stability and predictability they typically would not get in a deployable squadron.


USMC VMAT-203

of the AV-8’s combat load. It is a critical component of the AV-8B’s two roles – forward air controller (airborne) and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Explaining the changes to the syllabus, Maj

Martin said: “We used to have Litening pods, but only instructors would fly with them to host the RPs’ laser-guided weapons or to confirm hits. But now they get the simulators and the flights with the pod itself, so they’re learning hands-on how to do that.” The syllabus’ robust emphasis on night

systems training removes the burden of this aspect of instruction from the fleet units.

Maj Felter explained: “We never used to do nights in -203. We started that a few years ago. Now with the new syllabus, the RPs will almost be full night systems qualified.” VMAT-203 has also taken on initial training

of RPs on the AN/APG-65 radar with which most AV-8Bs in the fleet are equipped. While -203 operates three variants of the AV-8B, it does not possess any of the radar-equipped AV-8B+ models. In an effort to better prepare Harrier RPs for fleet duty and to make the job of the training officers in their gaining units easier, VMAT-203 now includes more classroom and simulator work involving the radar

In accordance with the marines’ 2015 Aviation Plan, the Harrier will serve until 2025, with the Hawks scheduled to provide new pilots for the VMA community through to 2022. With continued upgrades planned for the Harrier to keep it relevant and complementary to the F-35, the RP syllabus may undergo further revision. Those units converting out of the AV-8 into the F-35 will free up radar-equipped Harriers for training, which may yield even better-trained pilots for fleet squadrons. Regardless of whether that happens, the Harrier community can count on the Hawks sending them competent pilots through the end of the type’s service.

Above: With anti-collision strobes fl ashing, KD-40 speeds off to the range. Even fi tted with the heavy GEC-Marconi FLIR this jet has a reputation among students as a ‘hot rod’.

A ‘Hawks’ RP taxis out for his fi rst sortie of the day during a weapons det at MCAS Yuma.


USMC VMAT-203

Harrier IPs: Gatekeepers of Marine STOVLPosting as an instructor with VMAT-203 requires a Harrier pilot to have a minimum of 500 hours, be certi� ed as a Weapons Training O� cer, and be quali� ed as a division lead, all benchmarks that typically are not reached until the end of a pilot’s � rst � eet tour. Additionally, the Hawks must maintain a minimum number of IPs with speci� c instructor certi� cations to teach certain tactical skill sets. The need for such instructors is often why Harrier pilots get assigned to -203. As Maj Martin explained: “The squadron needs

to have a certain number of air combat tactics instructors (ACTI), night systems instructors, and low-altitude tactics instructors. We don’t rob from the � eet squadrons, but we do need certain quali� cations for the di� erent stages that we teach. “Right now we’re hurting for ACTIs, so if you’re a Harrier guy with ACTI quals and due a move soon, you might � nd yourself here.” While individual instructors hold di� erent

instructor certi� cates, all are involved in general instruction of the RPs, with the certs simply qualifying RPs to teach speci� c phases of the curriculum. Maj Martin used his own experience to explain this point: “I’m a night systems instructor. I don’t focus on that per se, but whenever we � y nights, I’m one of the instructors � ying.” In addition to certi� cations IPs might possess

upon assignment to VMAT-203, the squadron provides professional development opportunities in the form of additional certi� cation training. Maj Martin said: “It used to be that -203 – I wouldn’t call it a dead-end road – but you’d come here, you’d instruct for a few years, and you wouldn’t progress. We’ve made a pretty valiant e� ort to produce our Low-Altitude Tactics Instructors, our Night Systems Instructors, we’ve made an Air Combat Tactics Instructor, and we’ve actually made a couple of WTIs [weapons and tactics instructor] here, too. Those are kind of a big deal.”

Regardless of the number of hours they have in the Harrier or which instructor certs they hold, all incoming IPs go through an Instructor-Under-Training (IUT) syllabus. Under the IUT syllabus, it typically takes nine months’ training with veteran IPs for new instructors to begin training RPs in the late stages of the familiarisation phase. Late-stage ‘fam’ is where the students have

become more con� dent and competent in the Harrier and are making fewer mistakes, or at least the kinds of mistakes a rookie instructor can better anticipate, prevent, and correct. Only after they have proven themselves as instructors in late-stage familiarisation are new IPs entrusted with training new RPs in early-stage fam. Maj Martin summarised: “That’s just so we don’t have an instructor who has been here for two months taking out a guy who has never � own [the Harrier] before, as they’re both just so junior in the syllabus.”

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GROWLER DOWN UNDERAustralia’s decision to procure the EA-18G will provide the Royal Australian Air Force with a stepchange in capability. With the first Aussie Growler now rolled out, Brad Elward provides a timely program update ‘BONEHEADS’ ON THE FRONT LINEJamie Hunter details how the arrival of four F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron marked the first formal training detachment of the type to the European theater CLOSER TO THE FIGHTThe Turkish government’s ‘game-changing’ decision permitting coalition forces to operate fighters from Incirlik saw Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’ enter its second phase. Babak Taghvaee reports on Aviano’s F-16s that are now right on the front line THE SURGICAL STRIKERHaving entered front-line service with the Royal Air Force in 1982, the Tornado has enjoyed an unparalleled service record. Jamie Hunter describes how these aircraft still provide the backbone of the RAF’s precision strike force ‘HAMMER’ BLOW!Centerspread poster of an F-15I Ra’am (Thunder) Eagle of the Israel Air and Space Force’s 69 Squadron ‘Hammers’ during Exercise ‘Red Flag 15-4’

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Fighting FitAndrey Zinchuk and Alexander Mladenov report on Aviadarts 2015, the latest round of the annual multinational competition, which saw Belarussian, Chinese, Russian and Kazakhstani combat aircraft gather at Ryazan-Dyagilevo airfield in Russia.


EXERCISE REPORT Aviadarts International 2015

helicopters and armed assault helicopters. The event included Xian JH-7A bombers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and Sukhoi Su-24M2s and Su-34s of the host nation’s air arm.Russian Air and Space Force

(RuASF) Su-30SMs, Su-27SMs and Mikoyan MiG-29SMTs represented the fighters, alongside KADF MiG-29s and Su-27s, while attack aircraft included upgraded RuASF Su-25SMs and non-upgraded Su-25s from the Bye-lorussian Air Force (BelAF) and KADF.For the armed

assault helicopter part of

the competition the RuASF brought Mi-8AMTShs and Mi-8AMTSh-Vs, while the KADF sent Mi-8MTs; the attack helicopter category included RuASF Kamov Ka-52s, Mi-35Ms and Mi-24Ps.Russian units flying Il-76MDs

contested the transport aircraft events with the Tu-22M3 repre-

senting the long-range bomber category.

Participants flew from three airfields south of Moscow – Ryazan-Dyagilevo (where the fighters, attack aircraft, fron-tal bombers and attack and assault transport helicopters were based), Shai-kovka (long-range bombers) and Seshta (transport aircraft).

Range Facility The Dubrovichi range near Ryazan featured a large target field with several target types set up for the competition. For the first time in an RuASF event the range featured retired surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems as targets. There was also a simulated air-

field with runway and aprons – and a quick reaction alert (QRA) site close to the runway end, occupied by a row of four retired MiG-29s.Fifty targets had been installed

at Dubrovichi, including 20 retired MiG-29s, a number of T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs), BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and 16 x 16ft (5 x 5m) wooden panels used for practice with 80mm rockets and cannon.Bomb, rocket and cannon hits

were recorded by a system of TV cameras and unmanned air

The second international Aviadarts competition took place

between July 27 and August 8. The event included aerial gunnery, bombing and a cargo delivery competition, all part of the International Armed Forces Games. It was considerably larger than

last year’s event thanks to the Kazakhstan Air and Defence Force (KADF), which entered three categories with three fast jet types and Mil Mi-8MT helicopters.Six further countries also sent

observers to the competition and some are expected to bring their crews and aircraft to next year’s event. Aviadarts was divided into seven

categories: fighter, attack, frontal bombers, long-range bombers,

transports, attack

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Xian JH-7A bombers from the 82nd Regiment, subordinated to the 28th Ground Attack Division and stationed at Hangzhou, from central East China participated in the exercise. The PLAAF pilots demonstrated good combat employment skills, creating lively competition for their Russian colleagues fl ying more sophisticated all-weather bombers. A JH-7A, laden with three external tanks, arrives at Ryazan-Dyagilevo at the start of the competition. All images Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov



vehicles (UAVs) circling at a safe distance. In addition, GoPro motion cameras in the cockpits of the rocket and cannon-firing aircraft enabled more accurate assessment of their results.Video footage from each partici-

pant’s shooting was evaluated in detail by the judging panel, which also made a close visual inspection of the targets to ensure points allo-cation was as accurate as possible. The first week of the exercise was

dedicated to familiarisation flying in the area of operations and over the range, which is close to the city of Ryazan, 86nm (150km) southeast of Moscow. After an interruption on July 28 following the crash of an Mi-28N attack helicopter from the Berkuti Army Aviation display team during the Aviamix air show at Dubrovichi, the competition restarted on August 4.It comprised three stages

designed to evaluate a variety of aircrew skill sets. The first

challenge tested air navigation and aircraft handling technique, combined with a visual search for camouflaged ground targets, all in one sortie.The Frogfoots were required to

perform their aircraft handling proficiency demonstration in the form of a simple pairs aerobatics routine at low altitude. Entry into the operational area had to be at a set time after the en route navigation and air reconnaissance phases of the sortie. The fighters flew similar mis-

sions, with their aerobatics phase at altitudes between 500 and 3,000m (1,640 and 9,840ft). Their demonstrations included minimum-radius 360-degree sustained horizontal turns at mili-tary power and in full afterburner, climb-outs at 45 degrees, split-S manoeuvres, loops and combat turns (climbing 180-degree turns). The bombers performed single-

ship navigation sorties at varying

Aviadarts 2015 Rankings by Individual CategoryPosition Operator Unit Home Base Aircraft Type

Attack

1 RuASF 968th IISAP Lipetsk Su-25SM

2 RuASF 187th ShAP Tchernigovka Su-25SM

3 RuASF 38th SAP Gvardeyskoye Su-25SM

Fighter

1 RuASF 968th IISAP Lipetsk Su-30SM

2 KADF 600th Guards AB Zhetygen Ilysk MiG-29

3 RuASF 14th Guards IAP Kursk-Khalino MiG-29SMT

Frontal Bomber

1 RuASF 47th SAP Voronezh-Baltimor Su-34

2 RuASF 277th BAP Khurba Su-24M2

3 PLAAF 82nd Regt/28th Ground Attack Division

Hangzhou JH-7A

Assault Helicopters

1 RuASF 546th AB AA Rostov on Don Mi-8AMTSh

2 KADF 612th AB Ucharal/Yenbekshi Mi-8MT

3 RuASF 562nd AB AA Novosibirsk-Tolmachevo

Mi-8AMTSh-V

Attack Helicopters

1 RuASF 39th VAP Dzhankoy Ka-52

2 RuASF 575th AB AA Tchernigovka Ka-52

3 RuASF 344th CTACC Torzhok Ka-52

Long-range Aviation

1 RuASF 43rd CTACC Ryazan-Dyagilevo Tu-22M3

2 RuASF 6952nd AB Belaya Tu-22M3

3 RuASF 6952nd AB Belaya Tu-22M3

Transport

1 RuASF 117th VTAP Orenburg Il-76MD

2 RuASF 708th VTAP Taganrog Il-76MD

3 RuASF 334th VTAP Pskov Il-76MD

Glossary; AB: Air Base, AB AA: Air Base of Army Aviation, BAP: Bomber Aviation Regiment, CTACC: Combat Training and Aircrew Conversion Centre, IISAP: nstruction and Research Composite Regiment, IAP: Fighter Aviation Regiment, SAP: Composite Aviation Regiment, ShAP: Attack Aviation Regiment, VAP: Helicopter Aviation Regiment, VTAP: Military Aviation Transport Regiment

Above: Byelorussian Air Force (BelAF) Su-25s from the 116th Attack Air Base at Lida failed to get into the top three places in the attack aircraft category.

Above: The PLAAF detachment was supported by one Il-76MT Candid airlifter bringing the JH-7A’s technicians, ground support equipment and munitions needed to participate in the gunnery competition.Below: The Kazakhstani Hip aircrews fl ying older Mi-8MTs proved they were equal to their RuASF counterparts who oper-ated newer and more capable Mi-8AMTSh and Mi-8AMTSh-V assault transport helicopters.



“Once again we have demonstrated to the world and the people of our countries that our airspace is held in reliable hands.”

altitudes, combined with visual reconnaissance. The criteria for evaluating their missions included the accuracy of arrival at each waypoint and of their reporting on the time over target in a designated 43.7sq mile (150km2) area.The transports also flew single-

ship navigation tests along a pre-set route at varying altitudes, the sole evaluation criterion being the accu-racy of their arrival at the waypoints. Attack and assault helicopter

sorties were similar to those of the fast jets, with their final manoeuvres at altitudes between 200 and 400m (656 and 1,312ft).

AssessmentThe competition’s second stage evaluated the gunnery and bombing skills of the combat types, while the Il-76MD crews demonstrated their proficiency in the accurate air deliv-ery of (15,428lb) 7,000kg cargo platforms. Cargo was dropped at low level, after which the aircraft employed their self-protection aids and flew defensive manoeuvres intended to defeat anti-aircraft fire. Accuracy over the designated

slot over the range or in the drop zone was also included in the evaluation criteria. On arrival at the range each crew was assigned targets to be hit in a total of three passes, one with rockets, the second with cannon and the third

Above: The Kazakhstan Air and Defence Force (KADF) brought its top guns to this year’s Aviadarts International 2015. They had a successful competition with the MiG-29 pair from the 600th Guards Air Base achieving a second place in the fi ghter category.Below: The Ka-52 co-axial helicopters proved the most successful attack type with the Alligator aircrews taking all top three positions in their category.

Above: A PLAAF Xian JH-7A bomber on the fl ight line at Ryazan undergoes pre-fl ight maintenance. The PLAAF bombers fi red 57mm rockets and dropped bombs during the competition at the Dubrovichi range.Below: A KADF Su-27 pair armed with B8 rocket packs take-off from Ryazan-Dyagilevo in the competition sortie evaluating the gunnery skills with cannon and rockets.



as a ‘spare’, should problems arise on the first or second.Rockets were required to be

fired from altitudes of 8,200ft (2,500m) down to 4,920ft (1,500m) and cannon from ranges between 4,920 ft (1,500m) and 2,624ft (800m). With firing complete, crews manoeuvred to avoid being hit by fragments or ricochets, turning sharply away from the target area.The fighters and attack aircraft

performed these sorties in pairs again, firing rockets and cannon in shallow dives and climbing out after each pass in a combat turn.The helicopters also flew in

pairs, employing manoeuvres to avoid anti-aircraft fire and evade fighters as soon as they entered the range. They then

Above right: Two Kazakhstani Fulcrum pilots rehearse their mission on the ground –the so-called ‘on foot in-fl ight simulation’ – which is a last-minute practice inherited from the Soviet era. Above: The Mi-35M aircrews failed to get into the top three in their category, but their colleagues on the Mi-8AMTSh (below) won the assault helicopters category.

attacked their assigned targets, first with rockets, then cannon.During the post-sortie judging

of the fixed-wing and helicopter rocket and gun work, 100 points were assigned in the case of one or more direct hits scored. Hits within the perimeter of an area marked around a target scored ten points. Bomber crews won 100 points

for every hit within a radius corresponding to an ‘Excellent’ grade as defined in the KBP OTA-2012 bomber aviation training syllabus – and 50 points for hits within the radius cor-responding to a ‘Good’ grade. The competition’s third stage

assessed crew fitness through basketball, swimming and pull-up events.

Superior SkillsFrontal and long-range bomb-ers dropped 100 250kg (551lb) bombs during this year’s Aviadarts. Fighter, attack and helicopter crews � red more than 700 23mm and 30mm cannon rounds and 350 80mm rockets. Accumulated � ight time during the competition exceeded 300 hours. In the � nal results, the RuASF

team took � rst place overall, fol-lowed by the KADF, PLAAF and Be-lAF. Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony at Ryazan-Dyagilevo air� eld on August 8, the RuASF’s commander-in-chief, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev, noted that all the competing teams demonstrated superior skills and preparation, adding: “Once again we have demonstrated to the world and the people of our countries that our airspace is held in reliable hands.“I wish to express my great

gratitude to all of you for making the contest into an uncompro-mising struggle. The aircrews demonstrated their abilities to the full extent, expressing everything they have learned in their national air arms.”

afm

This Mi-8AMTSh-V, armed with B8V-20 rocket packs and UPK-23-250 gun pods, is a new-generation derivative of the Mi-8, operated by the 562nd Air Base of Army Aviation at Novosibirsk-Tolmachevo, whose aircraft achieved third place in the assault helicopters category.



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The Tornado is a military success story through and through. Despite being over 40 years old this iconic type has been involved in many and varied campaigns – often as the ‘weapon of choice’ when a conflict erupts. It first flew in 1974 and continual upgrades have ensured it remains at the ‘tip of the spear’ in the air arms it serves. From the deserts of Iraq to protecting UK skies from long-range Soviet bombers, the Tornado has proved its worth as a formidable combat asset. This 100-page special, from the team behind Aviation News magazine, is a comprehensive guide to both the bomber and fighter variants, and the people who fly them. Topics covered:

• Early development• Cold War operations with the RAF in West

Germany• Combat operations far and wide• Tornado aircrew training• What the future holds

And much more!

The Tornado is a military success story through and through. Despite being over 40 years old this iconic type has been involved in many and varied campaigns – often as the ‘weapon of choice’ when a conflict erupts. It first flew in 1974 and continual upgrades have ensured it remains at the ‘tip of the spear’ in the air arms it serves.

From the deserts of Iraq to protecting UK skies from long-range Soviet bombers, the Tornado has proved its worth as a formidable combat asset. This 100-page special, from the team behind guide to both the bomber and fighter variants, and the people who fly them.

Topics covered:

• Early development• Cold War operations with the RAF in West

Germany• Combat operations far and wide• Tornado aircrew training• What the future holds

And much more!

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LONG RANGE SURVEILLANCE

THE US COAST GUARD’S HC-130 HERCULES PART ONE

Serving as a long-range surveillance (LRS) aircraft, the HC-130 Hercules is

the largest airborne platform operated by the US Coast Guard (USCG) and tasked with numerous missions including search and rescue (SAR); ports, waterways, coastal security; living marine resources and marine environmental protection; and migrant and drug interdiction duties. The aircraft also support the International Ice Patrol (IIP) and are often used for logistical work.The fleet, which currently includes 24

operationally-funded aircraft, is assigned to five air stations and in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 flew 17,876 hours, comprising 3,786 by the HC-130J and 14,090 by the HC-130H. During that period the HC-130H and HC-130J demonstrated availability rates of 70% and 86%, respectively.These statistics include 1,171 hours flown

during 209 SAR missions. The HC-130s typically fly around 6,000 hours in support of migrant and drug interdiction duties under Joint Inter Agency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) and Hercules crews spend some 1,000 days away from home station each year, while deployed for JIATF-S duties. During the 2014 ice season, HC-130Js

USCG HC-130 HERCULES - PART ONE


GUARDINGAMERICA’S SHORES

LONG RANGE SURVEILLANCE

THE US COAST GUARD’S HC-130 HERCULES PART ONE

The HC-130 Hercules has been the mainstay of the US Coast Guard’s long-range surveillance operation since the 1960s. In a two-part feature Tom Kaminski explains how a declining fleet of legacy HC-130H aircraft continue to be vital US assets.

Above: Flying in formation with an HC-130J from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, HC-130H tail

number 1504 (73-0845) was assigned to the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics

Center and served as a prototype platform for aircraft upgrades and modifi cations until its retirement in

2014. USCG via Dave SilvaRight: Delivered in April 1974,

HC-130H tail number 1504 received a special paint scheme to

commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Hercules in Coast Guard Service

during 2009. Mike Wilson



GUARDINGAMERICA’S SHORES

from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, conducted 12 detachments in support of the IIP. Operating from St John’s International Airport, Newfoundland, the aircraft assigned to the Ice Reconnaissance Detachment (IRD) conducted 49 patrol flights and flew a total of 324 flight hours. Since receiving its first Hercules in December

1959, the USCG has operated 55 C-130s, including 12 HC-130B, one EC-130E, 36 HC-130H and six HC-130J aircraft. Addition-ally, between 1984 and 1986 it operated a single HC-130H on loan from the USAF.The Coast Guard ordered an initial batch of

four HC-130B (Model 282-2B) from Lockheed in 1958, under a USAF contract. Eight more examples followed between 1960 and 1962. Originally operated under the US Navy designation R8V-1G, the aircraft were assigned the mission design series (MDS) designation SC-130B in 1960. They were redesignated HC-130B under a new joint services system on September 18, 1962, but for a short time were also referred to as HC-130Gs.In August 1966, the USCG received a specially

configured EC-130E (Model 382-4B) featuring equipment used to calibrate the service’s Long Range Navigation (LORAN) stations. Besides differences in the aircraft’s avionics, the EC-130E retained the HC-130B’s 4,050shp Allison T56-A-7A turboprop engines and was equipped with a pair of 1,360 US gal (5,150 lit) auxiliary fuel tanks under the wings. The EC-130E, which was also referred to as the HC-130E for a while, was retired in April 1986.

HC-130H DeliveriesThe first of 35 HC-130Hs was ordered in 1967 and initial examples entered service in 1968. Although based on the USAF HC-130H and assigned the same designation, the aircraft were actually delivered in 11 different Lockheed model configurations. An initial batch of three

aircraft shared the air-frame of the air force HC-130H, including the re-contoured nose associated

with the Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System. Like the USAF examples, they were based on the C-130E (Model 382-12B) airframe and equipped with more powerful 4,591shp Allison T56-A-15 engines and two 1,360 US gal external tanks, and offered a 10,000lb (4,536kg) increase in payload compared with the HC-130B. Nine subsequent aircraft were built on the C-130H (Model 382C-27D) airframe and powered by the same -15 engines.USCG HC-130s wear four-digit tail numbers,

the H-models taking 1500-, 1600- and 1700-series numbers. While two of the five 1500-series HC-130Hs remain in service, two were scrapped following retirement in 2010.

They had received replacement outer wing panels, purchased

in the mid-1980s, which the Coast Guard ALC in Elizabeth City, North Carolina then installed on newer 1700-series aircraft. A third machine was recently removed from service.Three of the four 1600-series HC-130Hs were

withdrawn in 2001. Two were placed in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Although they remained in storage in mid-2015, both had largely been stripped of their useable compo-nents. The third aircraft was later scrapped having initially been used for training by the Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City. The first machine in the series had been written off in a mishap in July 1982.The service accepted the first of 11 HC-

130H-7 (Model 382-22E, 37E and 50E) aircraft when tail number 1700 was delivered to Air

Above: Entering operational service with the USCG in March 1960, HC-130B tail number 1342 (58-6974) was the fourth Hercules to be delivered. Originally operated under the designation R8V-1G, the model 282-2B aircraft was retired in July 1982 and later scrapped. Author’s collectionBelow: After 16 years of service with the USCG, HC-130H tail number 1453 (67-7184), was retired in Octo-ber 1984. It subsequently entered USAF service after being modifi ed for the PACER COIN II reconnaissance mission by Lockheed Aircraft Services. Author’s collection



Station Clearwater, Florida, on May 31, 1983. The HC-130H-7 differed from the service’s previous 23 HC-130Hs in being powered by Allison T56-A-7B engines taken from the HC-130Bs. The latter had been removed from service between July 1982 and May 1985. Beginning in June 1997, Allison upgraded the engines on the ten surviving HC-130H-7s to the more powerful -15 configuration as part of a US$20.1 million contract.Between 1984 and 1987, another 11 HC-

130Hs were purchased in six variants – Model 382-57E, 61E, 64E, 76E, 79E and 82E. A crew of seven typically flies a Coast Guard HC-130H, comprising two pilots, flight engineer, navigator, radio operator and two drop/load-masters. It has a range of 4,100nm (7,593km)

and can remain airborne for up to 14 hours.

Mission EquipmentAs delivered, the HC-130H’s sensor equip-ment included the Bendix/King AN/APN-215 weather radar. Between 1988 and 1994, however, the Coast Guard Aviation Repair and Support Center at Elizabeth City equipped the aircraft with the Raytheon (formerly Texas Instruments) AN/APS-137(V)4 pulse-Doppler X-band, inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR), which was also known as Forward Looking Airborne Radar (FLAR). It provided the capability to detect, track, classify, and identify surface vessels in high seas. The controls and displays associated with the APS-137 were located at the navigator’s station.

HC-130Hs first deployed side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) in 1983, when the early model 1500-series HC-130Hs fielded a Motorola AN/APS-135 X-band SLAR pod. Capable of surveying an area extending 15 miles (24km) wide to each side of the aircraft, the system was used in support of the IIP mis-sion, but also provided the capability to detect and map oil spills. It was based on the AN/APS-94D SLAR installed as part of the Airborne Oil Surveillance System on earlier HC-130Bs.Beginning in 1999, 30 HC-130Hs were

made compatible with the removable C-130 Airborne Sensor with Palletized Electronic Reconnaissance (CASPER) system. A total of 14 CASPER systems were purchased in 1998/1999, at a cost of US$37 million. Boeing modified the aircraft at its Shreveport, Louisiana aircraft modification centre.The CASPER system provides aircrew with

the ability to detect, classify and identify targets, and transmit images and tactical data to vessels, shore stations and other aircraft. Its L-3 Wescam MX-20 (Model 20TS) electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret features a wide field-of-view (FOV) colour camera with a zoom range of 9-162mm, a nar-row FOV low-light monochrome camera with step zooms of 600mm, 1200mm, 1900mm and 3200mm, and an infrared sensor with selectable wide, medium, and narrow FOV.Two CASPER operator stations are located

on the Palletized Airborne Sensor Station, which is carried in the cargo hold. Occupying the left station, the sensor system operator (SSO) controls the sensor turret, ISAR and MILSATCOM voice communications.The tactical system operator (TSO) sits to

the right, operating the Airborne Tactical Workstation and with responsibility for target data management using Raytheon Over-the-Horizon Airborne Sensor Integration System (OASIS) software to display target information, and software for image capture and transmis-sion. Additionally, the TSO has access to the MILSATCOM voice and data, and EO/IR system controls. Whereas the SSO station features a 9in (22.9cm) FLIR/EO video display, the TSO station has two 9in displays and a 19in (48.3cm) colour video display. The HC-130Hs can be configured with the removable CASPER system in approximately three hours.

Above: HC-130H tail number 1717 (86-0420) was delivered in November 1987 and the model 382C-79E Hercules served as the validation/verifi cation aircraft for the glass cockpit modifi cations in support of the Avionics Phase 1 Upgrade (A1U). Tom KaminskiLeft: Delivered to the Coast Guard in May 1968, HC-130H tail number 1454 (67-7185) was one of four mod-el 382-12B Hercules that featured the same nose as the USAF’s HC-130H, although they were not equipped with the Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System (STARS) like the air force variants. Author’s collection

LossesSince entering service three HC-130H aircraft have been lost in accidents. The � rst occurred on July 30, 1982 when tail number 1600, which had been assigned to Air Station Kodiak, struck a mountain and crashed during a resupply mission to the LORAN Station on Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain. Two personnel aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash, which occurred around 3.1 miles (5km) south of the runway near Casco Cove.On June 28, 2006 HC-130H tail number 1710,

which was also assigned to Kodiak, was severely damaged when it departed the runway while

landing at Alaska’s St Paul Island Airport in the Bering Sea, during a logistic support mission. Although none of the nine personnel aboard the Hercules were seriously injured, the aircraft was subsequently written o� . Most recently, C-130H tail number 1705, which was assigned to Air Sta-tion Sacramento, California, crashed as a result of a mid-air collision with a US Marine Corps AH-1W helicopter, while conducting a SAR mission 15 miles (24km) east of San Clemente Island, Califor-nia, on October 29, 2009. Seven crew, aboard the Hercules, were killed.

‘The CASPER system provides aircrew with the ability to detect, classify and identify targets, and transmit images and tactical data to vessels, shore stations and other aircraft.’

Written off after overrunning the runway at St. Paul Island, Alaska, HC-130H 1710 (USAF serial 84-0479) was assigned to Air Station Kodiak, Alaska when the mishap occurred on June 28, 2006. Author's collection



H UpgradesWith 20 HC-130Hs and six HC-130Js currently in service, the Coast Guard had planned to reduce the number of operational HC-130Hs to just 16 aircraft once the modernisation project was fully implemented in 2017. More recently however, the scope of the HC-130H upgrade was scaled back in favour of acquiring additional HC-130Js.The HC-130Hs were nevertheless

updated with new systems via a four-part modernisation. Upgrades were carried out in a series of programmes the Coast Guard refers to as Discrete Segments (DS). As part of DS1, 16 aircraft and one prototype were equipped with new SELEX Galileo Seaspray 7500E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems, which replaced the APS-137 radar. The effort was begun in 2005 and Pegasus installed the first 7500E on a Coast Guard HC-130H in February 2007.Following an extensive period of

developmental and operational testing, including more than 450 hours of operation, the Coast Guard decided to fit the radar on its remaining HC-130Hs at a cost of US$49 million. The first production installation began on May 14, 2008. Six additional HC-130Hs received so-called ‘A-Kits’ allowing the Seaspray radar to be installed when required. SELEX Galileo carried out the work at its Stennis International Airport facility in Kiln, Mississippi.Additionally, interim updates installed the

ARC-145 airborne data communication system and Garmin GPSMAP 696 moving

map display. First carried out in July and October 2010, respectively, these installations improved the aircraft’s communications, tracking and situational awareness. Providing the Coast Guard with a ‘Blue Force Tracking’ capability, installation of the ARC-145 was completed in 2010. Between September 2007 and January 2009, 23 HC-130Hs also received the DF-430 UHF/VHF DF at a cost of US$2.5 million. It enables them to home on emergency position indicating radio beacons.Assigned to the ALC as a dedicated test asset,

HC-130H tail number 1504 supported trials work for the avionics upgrade that made up DS2. Known as the HC-130H Avionics Phase 1 Upgrade (A1U), it was intended to address critical modernisation issues including internationally

mandated communications navigation surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) requirements, flight safety, mission performance, interoperability, component obsolescence and related mission availability concerns.Developed by Rockwell Collins, the A1U

installed an electronic flight display system comprising four 6×8in (15.2×20.3cm) multifunction displays (MFDs). Additionally, it included CDU-7000 control display units, ARC-210 satellite (SATCOM) radios, ARN-149 automatic DF and an enhanced ground proximity warning system. The CNS/ATM architecture was originally developed for the US Navy’s P-3C, C-2A, E-2C and CH-53E programmes. The EFDS interfaces with the aircraft’s

engine instrument display system (EIDS), installed by BAE Systems from 2007. The EIDS replaced 43 separate instruments with two liquid crystal displays and is also installed on 20 US Navy C-130Ts.On August 8, 2011, the ALC issued a

US$6.81 million contract to Rockwell Collins for delivery of the initial three shipsets of A1U components. SELEX Galileo incorporated the A1U modifications into tail number 1504 at Kiln, under a subcontract from Rockwell Collins, beginning in December 2011. Ground testing began in June 2012 and the USCG accepted the prototype on November 7, 2012.It arrived at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland

on December 7, for development test and evaluation and operational test and evaluation under a programme managed by VX-20, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft

Above: Originally delivered in HC-130H-7 confi guration, HC-130H tail number 1707 (USAF serial 83-0506) entered service in September 1984. Tom KaminskiBelow: Rolling out on runway 10 at Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City, North Carolina, HC-130J tail number 2004 is one of fi ve examples assigned to Air Station Elizabeth City. Tom Kaminski

Above: One of fi ve model 382C-27Ds delivered was HC-130H tail number 1500 (72-1300). Following its retirement in 2010, the aircraft’s outer wing panels were removed and transferred to HC-130H tail number 1700. Tom Kaminski



Above: A new glass cockpit was fi rst installed in HC-130H serial 1504 (73-0845) as part of the Avionics Phase 1 Upgrade (A1U). The project was later cancelled and two aircraft that had been modifi ed were retired from service in 2014. Mike Wilson

Division’s (NAWCAD’s) air test and evaluation squadron. HC-130H tail number 1717, also upgraded by SELEX Galileo, served as the validation/verification (VAL/VER) aircraft.The Department of Homeland Security’s FY13

appropriation included US$14 million for up to four A1U installations. Air Station Clearwater had been scheduled to begin the A1U transition during FY14; the VAL/VER aircraft arrived there in October 2013 in preparation for operational testing. Initial plans to upgrade 22 HC-130Hs were scaled back to 16 aircraft and then to 11, at an estimated cost of US$177 million. The programme was put on hold in late 2013 and the A1U cancelled in January 2014.Cancellation of DS2 resulted in tail number

1717, which was then considered a one-off aircraft that could not be supported by the Coast Guard’s logistics system, being withdrawn. It was made available for transfer to other federal agencies and acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which has extensive experience operating unique airframes.Added to the inventory of NASA’s Wallops

Flight Facility in Chincoteague, Virginia on December 10, 2014, the Hercules has been assigned the civil registration N436NA and began supporting airborne scientific research activities and range surveillance in autumn 2015. It will initially support NASA’s Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America project,

afm

Above: The 1500-series HC-130H, including tail number 1502 (USAF serial 72-1302), was capable of carrying the AN/APS-135 side-looking radar, which was installed above the main landing gear fairings, in support of the International Ice Patrol. Wally Van Winkle

which will locate the sources of regional carbon dioxide, methane and other gases, and document how weather systems transport those gases through the atmosphere. Meanwhile, USCG HC-130H 1504 has also been removed from service and is currently awaiting disposal.

Making DoNew centre wing boxes (CWBs) were planned for installation on selected HC-130Hs under DS3, and funding for the first six CWB replacements was included in the FY12 budget. The USAF’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WRALC) at Robins AFB, Georgia began work on HC-130H tail number 1706 in November 2011. The effort was completed on August 12, 2012 and the aircraft flown to the logistics complex, where additional modifications and inspections were carried out. With those complete, it was assigned to Air Station Clearwater, Florida.Plans then called for a total of six CWB

upgrades by the end of 2017 and HC-130H 1714 entered the modification line at Robins in October 2012. The planned induction of tail number 1708, which had previously received replacement outer wing panels removed from a retired USAF aircraft that had served as a ground trainer at the Minneapolis-St Paul Air Reserve Station in Minnesota, was cancelled. HC-130Hs 1700 and 1702 had also received low-time replacement outer wing panels, removed from retired tail numbers 1500 and 1501. Although four HC-130Hs were scheduled to receive the CWB modifications annually in FY12-15, the project was cancelled.

An Avionics Phase 2 Upgrade (A2U) had been planned for the HC-130H fleet under DS4 and the Coast Guard had been considering missionisation options for the type under DS5, in order to bring it up to the same capability as the HC-130J. However, the scope of both upgrades was reduced in favour of acquiring additional HC-130Js and the plans restructured under a new baseline approved on July 31, 2012. As a result, Discrete Segments 4 to 6 were cancelled and critical requirements moved to DS2 and DS3, respectively. The cancellation of DS5 will likely mean that the HC-130H will rely on its CASPER system until the fleet is retired. Upgrades for the HC-130H had previously been scheduled for completion in 2017.The service’s legacy Hercules fleet increased

to 24 aircraft when the US Navy returned NC-130H tail number 1721 to the Coast Guard in 2012. Prior to its return, the aircraft had been assigned as a test platform with the NAWCAD at NAS Patuxent River and was actually struck from the US Navy inventory on March 14, 2012. After a progressive structural inspection and modification, which were carried out by DRS Technologies at its Heavy Maintenance Facility in Elizabeth City, the aircraft replaced HC-130H tail number 1705, lost in a fatal crash off the coast of Southern California in October 2009. Although the Coast Guard's FY14 budget included a plan to retire tail numbers 1502 and 1503, the service subsequently made the decision to withdrawal 1504 and 1717. As a result, the two oldest HC-130Hs curently remain in service at Air Station Clearwater.



AT THE request of the United Nations and the US and Iraqi governments Belgium’s

inner cabinet decided on September 24 last year to support the multinational coalition

against Islamic State (IS), also known as DAESH in the Middle East. Its decision was endorsed two days later by 114 of 128 members of the federal parliament. On September 28, six Lockheed

Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcons departed Florennes Air Base

for Muwaffaq Salti Air Base near Al Azraq in Jordan, making a night stop in Araxos, Greece.Under the codename Operation Desert Falcon

(ODF) – later Operation Inherent Resolve – the jets supported the US-led multinational coalition, launched in August 2014. Their main task was to conduct reconnais-sance missions and air strikes against IS combatants, their positions, weapons and infrastructure in Iraq. The initial parliamentary approval was valid for one month and did not cover any missions over Syria.

Jos Schoofs gained an exclusive insight into the way air operations

are conducted against IS when he spoke to the

Belgian Air Force about its

role in trying to defeat the

terrorists.

HUNTING ISyear to support the multinational coalition

against Islamic State (IS), also known as DAESH in the Middle East. Its decision was endorsed two days later by 114 of 128 members of the federal parliament.

Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcons departed Florennes Air Base

HUNTING ISIN BELGIAN F-16s

BAF F-16s AIR OPS


The first operational mission, flown on October 5, 2014 by a pair of F-16AMs, involved an armed reconnaissance flight over extremists’ positions west of Baghdad and lasted around three hours. By October 13, the detachment had completed 30 armed reconnaissance and ground attack sorties.Ten days later the Belgian Government

extended Operation Desert Falcon until the end of the year – and, in its session of December 19, the council of ministers approved a second extension until June 30. During the night of December 27/28, the

detachment flew its most widely publicised mission. A pair of F-16AMs neutralised the oil refinery of Al Qaim, used by IS to supply fuel for its vehicles in western Iraq, with four laser-guided 500lb (227kg) bombs.When Operation Desert Falcon ended on June

30, the six Belgian aircraft had flown 796sorties, totalling 3,552 flying hours, with an average of 4.5 hours per sortie. Their contribution represented 5.5% of all missions flown by the multinational coalition from October 1, 2014.

Muwaffaq Salti Air BaseThe Belgian contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve operated from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base,

Above: The Belgian Government only approved interventions over Iraq, not Syria. Its F-16s participated in most of the battles for the major cities and helped to secure communication lines. Bombing took place mainly in the northern part of the country.Left: Badge of the Coalition Air Forces’ CAOC at Al Udeid AB in Qatar (left) Belgian’s Operation Desert Falcon at Al Azraq AB in Jordan (right).Below: Belgian F-16s parked on the apron at Al Azraq Air Base ready for their next mission. They fl ew 796 sorties during ops from the Hashemite Kingdom.

BAF F-16s AIR OPS


near Al Azraq in Jordan. The city is around 50 miles (80km) east of the Jordanian capital, Amman, and has a population of around 10,000.The Al Azraq region is known for its good vis-

ibility and fine weather for flying. Military avia-tion started here during the Arab Revolt in the final year of World War One, when T E Lawrence – also known as Lawrence of Arabia – used the plains around the city’s historic castle, his head-quarters, as a landing ground for aircraft sup-porting troops advancing northwards into Syria.In the mid-1970s the Royal Jordanian

Air Force (RJAF) selected Al Azraq for the construction of a new major air base. It has two main runways (13/31 and 08/26), around 30 hardened aircraft shelters north of runway 13/31 and 12 quick reaction alert shelters near the threshold of runways 13, 31 and 26. When it was completed in 1980, two squadrons equipped with F-5A/Bs and F-5E/Fs were

based here. The facility was officially opened on May 24, 1981 and named after Lt Muwaffaq Salti, a Hawker Hunter pilot killed in an aerial combat with the Israeli Air Force during the Arab-Israeli War (a cross-border incident by Israeli soldiers into Jordan) on November 13, 1966 on the Jordanian-controlled West Bank.Two squadrons of Dassault Mirage F-1CJ/

EJs and a squadron each of Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BMs and F-16A/B ADFs later replaced the F-5s. The six Belgian aircraft were accommodated at an apron just south of the threshold of runway 31. Al Azraq Air Base was not unknown

to the Belgian Air Component as it participated in the Falcon Air Meet 2007 here between May 14 and June 1, 2007.The distance between Al Azraq AB

and Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, is 480 miles (750km) or one hour’s flying.

The Belgian detachment at the base consisted of 110 to 120 personnel, around half of whom were technicians and armourers. The others were pilots and staff personnel, some 20 mission support specialists (mainly intelligence and mission planning) and 20 to 30 force protection troops. Each rotation lasted about two months. Personnel originated from the 2nd Tactical

Wing at Florennes Air Base and the 10th Tacti-cal Wing at Kleine-Brogel Air Base with the 48 pilots between them clocking up around 75 hours each. Most aircrew had previous experi-ence in Afghanistan (Operation Guardian Falcon) or Libya (Operation Freedom Falcon).The Belgians closely collaborated with a

similar detachment of the Koninklijke Lucht-macht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force), also based at Al Azraq, while more Belgian personnel were deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, at the Coalition Air Forces’ Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) of US Air Force Central Command (USAFCENT).A key role in the Belgian air operations was

played by the national ‘red card holder’. Usually an F-16 pilot, he or she evaluates each and every mission for compliance with the multinational coalition’s rules of engagement as well as additional caveats drawn up by the Belgian Government.The red card holder evaluates not only pre-

planned missions but also those redirected in flight, before execution. To enable them to do so expertly, they are assisted by an intelligence specialist and a legal adviser who often have a real-time view on the target through the coalition’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).Even when a ‘go’ is given for a mission

against an objective determined as a legiti-mate military target, the pilot always evaluates it with their own eyes before attacking, to avoid collateral damage or civilian victims.

Three types of missionsThe Belgian detachment was authorised by the government for armed reconnais-sance (AR), air interdiction (AI) and close air support (CAS) missions over Iraq.The objective of armed reconnaissance

was to gather intelligence to improve situ-

The Belgian detachment at the base consisted of 110 to 120 personnel, around half of whom were technicians and armourers. The others were pilots and staff personnel, some 20 mission support specialists (mainly intelligence and mission planning) and 20 to 30 force protection troops. Each rotation lasted about two months. Personnel originated from the 2nd Tactical

Wing at Florennes Air Base and the 10th Tacti-cal Wing at Kleine-Brogel Air Base with the 48 pilots between them clocking up around 75 hours each. Most aircrew had previous experi-ence in Afghanistan (Operation Guardian Falcon) or Libya (Operation Freedom Falcon).The Belgians closely collaborated with a

similar detachment of the Koninklijke Lucht-macht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force), also based at Al Azraq, while more Belgian personnel were deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, at the Coalition Air Forces’ Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) of US Air Force Central Command (USAFCENT).A key role in the Belgian air operations was

Images taken by the Sniper XR advanced targeting pod of a Belgian F-16AM show three hot spots (left), which appear to be gun-equipped heavy vehicles hidden under what looks like camoufl age netting (right).

Above: The Central Command’s Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar oversees Operation Inherent Resolve. The CAOC is staffed by personnel of the multinational coalition partners. It executes day-to-day combined air and space operations and provides rapid reaction, positive control, co-ordination and de-confl iction of weapon systems fi elded by the multinational coalition. The Belgian ‘red card holder’, his intelligence assistant and legal advisor all operate from this location.

BAF F-16s AIR OPS


ational awareness of the positions, movements and possible intentions of IS militants for advancing Iraqi troops and identification of targets for air interdiction missions.The Belgians’ main tool for such

missions is the AN/AAQ-33 PANTERA (precision attack navigation and targeting with extended range acquisition), the export version of the Sniper XR (Extended

‘Close air support missions were flown in support of friendly forces on the ground under fire by snipers, mortars or other arms.’

Range) advanced targeting pod, which is carried on starboard fuselage station 5R.The pod’s advanced image processing

technology enables pilots to detect and observe tactical-size targets from distances beyond jet noise range so that they can fulfil their mission without being heard or seen.It offers a three- to five-fold increase in

detection range compared to the AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN (low-altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night) targeting pod previously used by Belgian F-16s. The high-resolution imagery produced by its sensors facilitate positive identification as well as autonomous tracking and co-ordinate the generation of observed objectives.

Armed reconnaissance flights sometimes lasted up to six hours or longer, during

which the aircraft were refuelled up

to five times. Targets were identified as of high priority or in need of immediate action (time-sensitive targeting), and the armed aircraft could intervene with just a short delay sufficient for consultation with the red card holder.In a similar way, armed reconnaissance

aircraft could also be re-tasked in flight for AI or CAS missions at the request of the coalition’s CAOC at Al Udeid Air Base.Air interdiction was aimed at the neutralisation

of IS staging areas, heavy equipment, command centres, strategic infrastructure and communi-cation lines by using high-precision weapons in combination with the Sniper XR targeting pod.Paramount during such missions was zero

collateral damage. The attacks were mainly against intended or pre-planned targets and were well prepared and approved in advance by the national red card holder at the CAOC.

Above: Stills from a Sniper XR fi lm show a series of buildings around a diamond-shaped square (left). The two most easterly buildings represent legitimate military targets and were destroyed by a pair of 500lb PGBs (middle). A post-strike image shows both targets were destroyed with no collateral damage to the adjacent buildings. In the near future, the 250lb SDB will be added to the Belgian Air Component’s inventory with the aim of reducing collateral damage in urban warfare. The white circle, created by the targeting pod, represents the area in which the weapon could cause injuries to civilians. Its diameter is defi ned by the national rules of engagement. When civilians are observed within this circle, the attack is a ‘no go’ or is postponed until the civilians have left the danger zone.

The detachments participating in Operation Inherent Resolve were assigned one of four blocks of six hours (12pm-6am, 6am-12am, 12am-6pm, or 6-12pm) during which they either fl ew or were prepared to fl y missions. After a week, the assigned block shifted backwards six hours. This means that in a four-week period, about half of the sorties were fl own during darkness.

BAF F-16s AIR OPS


Examples of AI missions during Operation Desert Falcon were attacks against main battle tanks, armoured vehicles and other heavy equipment IS had captured from Iraqi armed forces, destruction of meeting places for radical key factions or troop concentrations of extremist militants and temporary interruption of roads to block advancing extremists. The F-16AMs carried a pair of 500lb (227kg)

bombs comprising a mixture of the laser-guided GBU-12 Paveway II, the GPS-guided GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the Laser/GPS-guided GBU-54 Laser-JDAM.The internal 20mm short-range M61A1 Vulcan

cannon with its M70 low-drag ammunition could also be fielded against ground targets, but was never used during Operation Desert Falcon. Despite having long-range ammunition, use of the cannon required the aircraft to descend below safe altitudes from enemy fire.Such unnecessary risks were not taken,

especially after the downing over Syria of RJAF F-16 pilot Lieutenant Muath Safi Yousef al-Kasasbeh on December 24, 2014 and his subsequent murder. MANPADS or other SAMs were not observed by Belgian aircraft.

Close air support missions were flown in support of friendly forces on the ground under fire by snipers, mortars or other arms.The main weapons of choice were, as with AI,

500lb (227kg) high-precision bombs, which could be launched from safe altitudes and distances. Belgian F-16s operated in support of the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga, holding a front hundreds of miles long against IS extremists, especially in the northern and northeastern parts of Iraq. Some CAS missions were pre-planned but most were at the urgent request of ground troops under fire, transmitted via the coalition’s CAOC, and with approval of the national red card holder. Military legitimacy of the targets and zero collateral damage continued to take priority.During armed recce, AI and

CAS missions, self-defence was provided by a pair of short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder infrared-guided missiles and two AIM-120B AMRAAM radar-guided missiles.An AN/ALQ-131 electronic counter-

measures pod – and chaff and flares dispensers – were also fitted in the

Examples of AI missions during Operation Desert Falcon were attacks against main battle

Close air support missions were flown in

tanks, armoured vehicles and other heavy equipment IS had captured from Iraqi armed forces, destruction of meeting places for radical key factions or troop concentrations of extremist militants and temporary interruption of roads to block advancing extremists. The F-16AMs carried a pair of 500lb (227kg)

bombs comprising a mixture of the laser-guided GBU-12 Paveway II, the GPS-guided GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the Laser/GPS-guided GBU-54 Laser-JDAM.The internal 20mm short-range M61A1 Vulcan

cannon with its M70 low-drag ammunition could also be fielded against ground targets, but was never used during Operation Desert Falcon. Despite having long-range ammunition, use of the cannon required the aircraft to descend below safe altitudes from enemy fire.Such unnecessary risks were not taken,

especially after the downing over Syria of RJAF F-16 pilot Lieutenant Muath Safi Yousef al-Kasasbeh on December 24, 2014 and his subsequent murder. MANPADS or other SAMs were not observed by Belgian aircraft.

under fire by snipers, mortars or other arms.The main weapons of choice were, as with AI,

500lb (227kg) high-precision bombs, which could be launched from safe altitudes and distances. Belgian F-16s operated in support of the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga, holding a front hundreds of miles long against IS extremists, especially in the northern and northeastern parts of Iraq. Some CAS missions were pre-planned but most were at the urgent request of ground troops under fire, transmitted via the coalition’s CAOC, and with approval of the national red card holder. Military legitimacy of the targets and zero collateral damage continued to take priority.During armed recce, AI and

CAS missions, self-defence was provided by a pair of short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder infrared-guided missiles and two AIM-120B AMRAAM radar-guided missiles.An AN/ALQ-131 electronic counter-

measures pod – and chaff and flares dispensers – were also fitted in the

Examples of AI missions during Operation Desert Falcon were attacks against main battle

Close air support missions were flown in support of friendly forces on the ground

‘Air interdiction was aimed at the neutralisation of IS staging areas, heavy equipment, command centres, strategic infrastructure and communication lines by using high-precision weapons in combination with the Sniper XR targeting pod.’

When an IS sniper (in crosshairs, above) fi red at al-lied troops on the ground, a pair of Belgian F-16AMs were called in to neutralise the threat. The target was attacked with a single 500lb precision guided bomb. It would have been more cost-effi cient to have used the aircraft’s internal cannon, but its shorter range would have endangered the pilot by forcing him to descend to an altitude within the range of small arms fi re or anti-aircraft artillery.

Above: Six F-16AMs – FA-72, 116, 129, 131, 134 and 135 – fl ew home, without a stopover, to Florennes on July 2, 2014. The brownish dirt on top of the fuselage and wings and on the tail fi n is a mixture of fuel, hydraulic and lubricating oil and desert sand. Below: To avoid any possibility of retaliation by IS military personnel which participated in Operation Desert Falcon were only interviewed upon their return, with the visor of their joint helmet mounted cueing system down.

BAF F-16s AIR OPS


event that MANPADs were used against the Belgian F-16s, but they never came across enemy air threats. Jets dropped bombs on 163 of the 796 sorties they flew against IS. None caused any collateral damage.

The way aheadThe return home of the F-16 detachment does not mean Belgium has left Operation Inherent Resolve completely. It still provides force protec-tion for the Dutch F-16 det at Al Azraq Air Base and will continue doing so until at least the end of this year. The Belgian Government intends to prolong the mission until June 30, 2016.A pair of liaison officers remain at the CAOC

in Qatar, keeping the Belgian Air Component informed on the situation and developments in Iraq – pending its government’s decision over whether to resume air operations next July. The Belgians and Dutch are currently set-

ting up an integrated EPAF EAW (European Participating Air Forces Expeditionary Air Wing) det in the Middle East to enable the two air arms to continue supporting the coalition cost efficiently by operating six-month rotations between both countries.

Above: This pilot watches over the advance of an IS convoy before dropping a 500lb PGB. It caused enough damage to the junction to halt the extremists’ vehicles (left) but the damage was light enough so that local civilians could repair it in the future. After searching the surrounding area the pilot detected a pair of vehicles parked at the roadside near the junction (centre). When he observed civilians were present (right), he postponed the attack until they had left the area.

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The value of air powerReviewing the results of Operation Desert Falcon, Major General Frederik ‘Fred’ Vansina, the commander of the Belgian Air Component, said the use of air power is essential to defeat IS, but not su� cient, as it ful� ls a supporting role by shaping the battle� eld for future operations. He said: “The most important trademarks of air power is its very short reaction time, its ability to cover great distances and its � exibility to perform a wide range of missions.”The Belgian F-16AM aircraft represent mature,

state-of-the-art equipment able to produce high-quality images and to combat static or moving targets with high-precision weapons from safe distances and with a very low risk of collateral damage. With more than 40 years of experience on the type, the Belgian F-16 pilots are highly appreciated in the community of military combat pilots.

General Vansina con� rmed that the e� ects of the air campaign become more and more

visible on the ground every day. “The IS has been stopped to a large

extent but, thanks to its good communication skills, the extremist group still succeeds in exploiting to the maximum the limited tactical successes it achieves only rarely now.“IS’ freedom of movement is reduced

signi� cantly. The long, conspicuous convoys with numerous black or yellow � ags that once paraded almost daily in the streets of Iraq have become a rare sight. The group’s military capabilities have been degraded to a large extent by the destruction from air of heavy equipment and infrastructure. About 30% of the territory it once occupied has been regained by Iraqi ground forces.“The air campaign has been e� ective in

preventing the fall of Baghdad and the establishment of a caliphate in Iraq, which buys some extra time for Iraqi security forces to regain momentum in its � ght against IS.”The intervention by the multinational coalition

has also reduced the risk of ethnic and religious cleansing in Iraq and has safeguarded regional stability by containing the extremist militant group.

The basic weapons load of an F-16AM participating in Operation Desert Falcon included two precision guided 500lb (227kg) bombs (either GBU-12, 38 or 54 on stations 3 and 7). There was a pair of AIM-9M Sidewinders (on stations 2 and 8) and AIM-120 AMRAAM (on stations 1 and 9) for self defence. Also included were 510 20mm rounds for the internal Vulcan cannon, an AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod (on station 5), a Sniper XR targeting pod (on station 5R) and chaff and fl are cartridges. Sargent-Fletcher 370 US gallon (1,400 lit) underwing fuel tanks were carried, one each on station 4 and 6.

BAF F-16s AIR OPS



EXERCISE REPORT Fada’ian-e-Harime Velayat-5

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

A major two-day air combat exercise, held in a simulated

hostile jamming environment, was recently completed in Iran, involving 48 Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) fixed-wing aircraft and two helicopters. Exercise Fada’ian-e-Harime Velayat-5 (which translates as Devotees of the Country’s Territory-5) took place in Isfahan province on September 5 and 6. This type of event is relatively

rare in Iran, as most of the Iranian defence budget over the past few years has been spent on Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps operations, in Syria and also internally, in order to protect the Islamic Regime against public unrest. However, funding is generally still available to enable the Iranian armed forces, including the IRIAF, to conduct exercises every two years.

Development of New TacticsIn March 2015 the Persian Gulf states, led by the Saudi Arabia, began Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, a military campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. In their headquarters 1,240 miles (2,000km) from the battle

zone, the IRIAF monitored the Arab coalition air forces’ activities during the intensive air raids against Yemen’s infrastructure. IRIAF commanders noted how the coalition successfully blocked Yemen’s airspace from flights by any military or civil aircraft. As a result of operations analysis,

lessons were learnt and new tactics developed. Beginning in mid-April 2015, the IRIAF’s

Deputy of Operations issued new directives for the ten Tactical Fighter Bases (TFBs) to prepare personnel for air operations in dense electromagnetic, or jamming, environments.For 12 days between May

2-14, the F-4E pilots from TFB6 at Bushehr and TFB9 at Bandar Abbas practised strike and anti-ship sorties at extreme low altitude, while F-4E

pilots from TFB3 Hamadan-Shahrohki practised low- level bombing using Mk 82SEs. All of these training missions were conducted in co-ordination with electronic warfare (EW) aircraft of the IRIAF, which were used to simulate the jamming environment in a combat zone.Later, in June, Su-24MK Fencer

pilots from the 72nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) at Shiraz

Above: Sukhoi Su-24MK 3-6855 armed with an S-24 unguided rocket and a Kh-25ML ATGM on the ramp at TFB8 on September 5. All photos, Kazem GhaneTop: A line-up of exercise participants on the military apron of TFB8 on day one. From front to rear, two FT-7Ns, an F-7N, three F-5Fs, one Saeghe II, two Saeghes, a MiG-29UB, a MiG-29A and a Falcon 20F which brought in Brig Gen Hassan Shah-Safi , C-in-C of IRIAF.



KEEPING UP APPEARANCESBabak Taghvaee reports on Iran’s recent air combat exercise

used the same tactics, but this time conducting electronic countermeasures (ECM) tactics against surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites as well as electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) against EW aircraft. The Su-24 pilots had passed their last ECM course in Russia in 2010.Beginning in July 2015,

IRIAF’s Industrial Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad delivered six domestically upgraded AN/ALQ-101 ECM pods to TFB3, TFB6 and TFB9. The new ECM systems were equipped with an improved and more compact cooling system, which gives more space for installation of additional

electronic devices inside the pod.Using the ECM pods, F-4E pilots

refreshed their ECM tactics, after more than five years without operational ECM pods in their squadrons. Also, the F-5E/F and Saeghe pilots from the 21st and 23rd TFS (both based at Tabriz), plus the 42nd TFS at Dezful, practised strike sorties at higher altitudes than previously, under the protection of the IRIAF EW aircraft.

Preparations for the ExerciseAs a result of the IRIAF training sorties between May and August, the IRIAF HQ decided to plan and execute an exercise in August 2015 that would focus on air-to-air and air-to-ground combat in jamming environments. Subsequently, a series of additional training sorties, including dissimilar air combat

training (DACT), were performed by personnel from eight IRIAF fighter bases prior to the exercise.Restrictions have been

imposed by Iran’s Supreme Leader’s office on IRIAF HQ, aimed at showing that there is now less air force activity, especially after the success of

IRIAF Su-24MK 3-6843, armed with a Kh-25ML under its left wing, taxiing towards runway 26R at TFB8 prior to take off for the exercise area on September 5.

‘Restrictions have been imposed by Iran’s Supreme Leader’s o� ce on IRIAF HQ, aimed at showing that there is now less air force activity.’



the nuclear talks between Iran and the West. As a result, the exercise was restricted to just two days. The two air bases selected for the stationing of participating fighter aircraft and combat helicopters were TFB3 at Hamadan and TFB8 at Esfahan.In preparation for the exercise,

on August 31 two Il-76TDs and two C-130Hs, from the Shiraz, carried ground equipment, weapons and groundcrews for five Su-24MKs to TFB8.Two more C-130Hs, from

the 12th Tactical Transport Squadron at Tehran-Mehrabad, transported ground equipment and groundcrews of the 11th and 22nd TFS from Tehran and Tabriz respectively, to Isfahan.In three days, starting on

September 1, one F-5E, six F-5Fs, two F-5E Saeghes, one F-5F Saeghe, a MiG-29A Fulcrum, two MiG-29UBs and five Su-24MKs were forward deployed to TFB8 Babaiee (Khatami), while on the other side of country two F-4Es from the 61st TFS at Bushehr and another F-4E from 91st TFS at Bandar Abbas were forward deployed to TFB3.

Exercise BeginsAt 0800hrs on September 5, the one-day training phase of the exercise started. The first participant, ELINT/ SIGNIT Boeing 707-3J9C 5-8316, took off from TFB1 in order to play the role of airborne command and control post during an eight-hour flight. Next came EW-configured

Top: Destruction of full-scale F-4E mock-ups on the Naeen gunnery range using Mk 82 bombs dropped from two 31st TFS F-4Es. Kazem GhaneAbove: One of three F-14 Tomcats used in DACT sorties during the exercise, 3-6036, landing at TFB8 on September 5. The aircraft had served with the 62nd TFS between 1996 and 2005. It was brought up to FMC status during maintenance at TFB8’s Tomcat Overhaul Centre in 2014. Left: The sole Chinook participating in the exercise, CH-47C 5-9304, carrying a World War Two-era Willys M606 Jeep for the 65th Airborne Special Force Brigade Troops on September 6. Right: IRIAF F-14A Tomcat 3-6061 releasing fl ares to defl ect an IR-guided air-to-air missile over the gunnery range on the second day.


Participants in Fada’ian-e-Harime Velayat-5Type Serial Squadron Role In Exercise

1st TFB Lashgari Air Base

MiG-29A 3-6117 11th TFS Interceptor

MiG-29UB 3-6304 11th TFS Interceptor

707-3J9C 5-8310 Tanker Sqn Tanker/logistics support

747-131F 5-8103 Tanker Sqn Tanker

C-130E 5-8527 11th TAS Logistics support

C-130E 5-8552 12th TAS Logistics support

707 ELINT 5-8316 ELINT/SIGINT Sqn Aerial command post

2 x Unknown Unknown ELINT/SIGINT Sqn ECM

CH-47C 5-9304 11th Sqn CSAR

Bell 214C 4-9434 Unk CSAR

2nd TFB Fakkuri Air Base

F-5E 3-7167, 3-7169, 3-7173

21st TFS Attack/bomber

Saeghe I 3-7367, 3-7370

23rd TFS Attack/bomber

Saeghe II 3-7182 23rd TFS Attack/bomber

MiG-29UB 3-6307 22nd TFS Interceptor

3rd TFB Noujeh Air Base (formerly Shahrokhi Air Base)

F-4E 3-6598, 3-6669, 3-6675

31st TFS Attack/bomber/interceptor

RF-4E 2-6501 31st TFS Reconnaissance

4th TFB Vahdati Air Base

F-5E 3-7307 41st TFS Attack/bomber

F-5F 3-7154, 3-7155, 3-7166, 3-7181

41st TFS Attack/bomber

6th TFB Yassini Air Base

F-4E 3-6532, 3-6633

61st TFS Attack/bomber/interceptor

7th TFB Dowran Air Base

C-130E 5-8526 72nd TAS Airdrop

C-130H 5-8544 72nd TAS Logistics support

Su-24MK 3-6807, 3-6843, 3-6852, 3-6855, 3-6860

72nd TS Strike bomber

8th TFB Babaiee Air Base

F-14A 6-6036, 3-6061

82nd TFS Interceptor

F-14AM 3-6049 82nd TFS Interceptor

F-7N 3-7515 F-7 CCT Sqn Attack/bomber/interceptor

FT-7N 3-7705, 3-7711

F-7 CCT Sqn Attack/bomber/interceptor

9th TFB Abdol-Karimi Air Base

F-4E 3-6656 91st TFS Attack/bomber/interceptor


KC-707 5-8310, KC-747 5-8103 and two C-130Hs (5-8527 and 5-8552), which departed Mehrabad International Airport between 0815hrs and 0845hrs.At TFB3, RF-4E 3-6501 took off to

perform a tactical reconnaissance sortie over Anarak gunnery range between 0830hrs and 0945hrs. From TFB8, F-14A 3-6061 became airborne for a combat air patrol sortie, during which it also made a visual weather check over the area of the exercise.During its return, the recce

Phantom was refuelled by the KC-747 and the F-14A by the KC-707. This initial stage of the exercise ended after the transferring of images from the RF-4E to the fighter squadrons, following which the second stage of the exercise began.

At 0930hrs, two F-4Es and two F-5Fs armed with Mk 82 dummy bombs departed TFB3 and TFB8 respectively to bomb their targets at the Naeen gunnery range. Also taking part were F-4Es

equipped with the upgraded AN/ALQ-101s, which jammed SAM system simulators at the Anarak EW range.Next, two DACT sorties were

performed by a pair of F-5Fs and two F-4Es over the Anarak EW range in a jamming environment created by the EW aircraft. Finally, a pair of FT-7Ns and Saeghes bombed more dummy targets on the Naeen gunnery range.Between 1115hrs and 1142hrs,

three Su-24MKs (3-6843, 3-6852 and 3-6855) armed with Kh-25MLs, Kh-29Ls and S-24 unguided rockets departed TFB8

Participants in Fada’ian-e-Harime Velayat-5

Hotshot! A MiG-29UB prepares to fi re an R-73E missile at a TDU-11/B target launched from an F-5F on September 6.


to destroy their targets at the Naieen gunnery range. All had returned to TFB8 by 1225hrs.After the Fencers, MiG-29UB

3-6307 and F-14A 3-6036 performed DACT between 1230hrs and 1312hrs, while the EW aircraft remained airborne to simulate a jamming environment for the Tomcat and Fulcrum pilots. Ten minutes later, two-seat MiG-29UB 3-6304 was flown in another DACT sortie with an F-4E.Between 1315hrs and 1512hrs,

two bombing sorties were performed by a single F-5F Saeghe II and a pair of F-5Fs, while simultaneously three F-4Es from the 31st and 91st TFS undertook similar missions from TFB3.

Second DayDuring day two of the exercise, all the combat sorties that had been performed the previous day were repeated. However, this time the missions were with live bombs and against a full-scale air base. On the latter were five-to-six full-scale dummy F-4Es and Saeghes, spread over various aprons, plus several radio-controlled pickups acting as moving targets.Prior to starting operations,

the pilots of a MiG-29UB and

Above: A formation comprising Boeing KC-747 (747-131F) 5-8103 and F-4Es 3-6556, 3-6669 and 3-6675 perform a fl ypast to mark the end of the exercise. Right: Pilots of the Su-24MKs walk towards their aircraft, 3-6860 and 3-6852, on the morning of September 5. IRIAFLeft: IRIAF F-4E 3-6598 releases its Mk 82 load over the Naeen gunnery range during the second day of manoeuvres. Below: McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II 3-6598, armed with nine Mahame Parchin-manufactured Mk 82s, en route to the Naeen gunnery range on September 6. Alpha Bravo

64 NOVEMBER 2015 #332 www.airforcesmonthly.com

65#332 NOVEMBER 2015


Above: IRIAF Boeing 707-3J9C 5-8310 departing from TFB1 towards the exercise area at 0830hrs on September 6. Two F-14As and three F-4Es received fuel from the tanker between 0900hrs and 1230hrs. Kayvan Tavakkoli

an F-14A performed weather-check sorties at 0900hrs to ensure visibility was within limits in the exercise area.One EW aircraft was used to

support the Blue Air forces, while the second EW aircraft performed radar and radio jamming against the friendly fighters. On this occasion, the Su-24MKs launched four Kh-25MLs, two Kh-29Ts and two S-24 weapons against targets on the mock air base between 0930hrs and 0943hrs. At 0957hrs, C-130E 5-8526 from

the 72nd TAS airdropped 20 tonnes of supplies for 30 commandos of the 65th Airborne Special Forces, who jumped over the exercise area from another Hercules, C-130H 5-8544, at 1004hrs. The commandos and their

supplies had been transported on board C-130Hs 5-8527 and 5-8552 from TFB1, which had flown from Tehran to Isfahan on the morning of the previous day.Later, at 1014hrs, an 11th CH-47

Squadron Chinook, 5-9304, deployed from Tehran a day before, transported a Jeep for the commandos, which was used during their simulated combat

search and rescue exercise to save a friendly pilot. The role of the latter was played by a 65th Airborne commando. A SAR Bell 214C from TFB1’s SAR group evacuated the downed pilot an hour later. Also, another team of commandos simulated destroying enemy SAM and radar sites on the ground.Minutes later, the F-4Es, F-5E,

F-5Fs, Saeghes and FT-7Ns started bombing and destroying their targets on the full-scale air base, while two F-14AMs performed force combat air patrols (FORCAPs) over the exercise area and engaged with two aggressor MiG-29UBs. Later, MiG-29UB 3-6304 launched an R-73E air-to-air missile against a TDU-11/B target launched from an F-5F.At 1035hrs, two F-4Es, including

3-6598 from the 31st TFS, bombed the dummy F-4Es on the apron using 18 500lb (227kg) Mk 82 iron bombs, which were claimed to be domestically manufactured by Mahame Parchin Industries.At 1115hrs, a moving radio-

controlled Nissan pickup was destroyed by an AGM-65A

Maverick anti-tank guided missile launched from an F-4E. At 1139hrs, Saeghes 3-7367 and 3-7370 bombed the apron of the air base with four Mk 82 bombs, while two FT-7Ns struck its runway with four Mk 82s.At 1215hrs, KC-747 5-8103

provided aerial refuelling for three F-4Es of the 31st TFS on their way back from the training area, following which the exercise ended.

AchievementsThe exercise was completed despite budget cuts having restricted the purchase of fuel and the Ghased GBU-78 TV-guided bombs and Sattar 4 laser-guided bombs from Mahame Parchin Industries. In addition, the pressures of the Supreme Leader’s office to reduce the activities of the IRIAF had restricted the length of the exercise. Despite these constraints, the IRIAF’s fighter pilots refreshed their tactics for air combat in a hostile jamming environment with the assistance of the two recently developed IRIAF EW aircraft.

‘During day two of the exercise, all the combat sorties that had been performed the previous day were repeated. However, this time the missions were with live bombs and against a full-scale air base.’

afm

www.airforcesdaily.com

TAKINGTHE STRAIN

With the imminent arrival of its first F-16s, the Romanian Air Force has a spring

in its step. There’s a sense of excitement among the student fighter pilots who are learning to fly, knowing that they could fly one of the best known jets in the world.The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) flying school

– the Scoala de Aplica‚tie pentru For ‚tele Aeriene (SAFA) as it is formally known – is located on the outskirts of Boboc, about 10 miles (15km) northeast of Buzau. The school is also named after Aurel Vlaicu (1882-1913), one of three pio-neers of Romanian aviation who, in 1910, built the first aircraft for the Romanian Armed Forces. Boboc has been at the heart of Romanian military aviation since 1958 when the Aviation Officers School relocated there. Since 2003, training for pilots, radar and missile/anti-aircraft artillery have all been conducted at the base. The school currently houses two flying

squadrons; the Escadrille 1 Aviatie Instr (1st Squadron) operates the Iak-52 and IAR-316B for initial flight training. The IAK-52 was licence-built by IRAv Bacau (now

known as Aerostar) and has served the RoAF since 1985. Despite its elderly design, no replacement is foreseen for the near future. The IAR-316B is a Romania licence-built Alouette III, which was originally manufactured by Industria Aeronautica Româna (IAR) in 1971 at its plant near Brasov. Out of 125 IAR-316s delivered, only six remain in service. All are based at Boboc for helicopter training duties.The IAK-52 squadron was previously based

at Bra‚sov-Ghimbav and relocated to Boboc in late 2003. Ten remain in service and are expected to soldier on for at least another seven years, according to SAFA sources. The Alouette IIIs, along with the An-2 fleet, were based at Buzau before relocating to Boboc in 2002. However, after an An-2 crashed in 2010 killing 11 people, including the school commandant, Commander Nicolae Jianu, the fleet was grounded. There is now the need for a multi-engine civilian type aircraft to bridge the gap for future fixed-wing pilots, but no decision on procurement has been made. Potential fast jet and fixed-wing pilots

attend the Esc 2 Aviatie Instr (2nd Instruction

Above: Wg Cdr Viorel Calenciuc is responsible for initial pilot training on IAK-52s, with the 1st Squadron.Below: A pair of IAK-52s depart Boboc’s grass strip. The licence-built Yak-52s have been used for basic fl ying training since the mid-1980s.

ROMANIAN F-16 TRAINING


TAKINGTHE STRAIN

Carlo Kuit and Paul Kievit of Bronco Aviation visit Boboc Air Base in Romania to find out how the air force is training its pilots and preparing for the arrival of F-16s.



Squadron) operating the IAR-99 Standard Soim (Romanian for Hawk) in the second portion of flying instruction after students have passed the IAK-52 phase. During late July 2015, 26 students graduated – 11 on the IAR-316 and 15 on the IAK-52. The IAR-99 Soim is operated by Esc 205

(205th Squadron) currently based at Bacau under the logistic support of Baza 95 Aeriana since 2012. There is speculation the Soim fleet will return to Boboc in 2016. The IAR-99 Soim, unlike the Standard, has a glass cockpit ideal for the advanced training of pilots who have graduated from Boboc and are due to make the transition to the LanceR-C fighters currently operated out of Câmpia Turzii and Mihail Kogalniceanu. The SAFA is planning to train the first F-16 students in 2017.

Initial trainingThe academy at Boboc is responsible for the ini-tial training of air force students who have gradu-ated from the Air Force Academy ‘Henri Coanda’. Around 15 new students are trained each year. “This year has been very busy for us with 25

new students flying the IAK-52 alongside 15 IAR-316 student pilots,” said Wing Commander Viorel Calenciuc. “We utilise the IAK-52 for screening and the development of basic flying skills. Over the past years we have seen our procedures and mentality change in order to be compatible with NATO standards. We also have regular contact with the Turkish Air Force, and Polish Air Force training school at Deblin to learn and exchange ideas.” Until this year all air force students had to

study for three years at ‘Henri Coanda’, to finalise their training at Boboc. The first year focused on the IAK-52 (30-45 flight hours) flying visual flight rules (VFR) in landing procedures, traffic patterns, manoeuvring, formation flying and aerobatics. According to IAK-52 instructor pilot Captain

Pusca Bogdan: “The decision as to whether future pilots will become transport, fighter or heli-copter pilots is being made after 25 flight hours.“The exception are pilots we train for the

Ministry of Interior. They skip the IAK-52 phase and start directly with the IAR-316 as they operate only helicopters.According to Wg Cdr Calenciuc: “This autumn

1: A C-27J Spartan taxies out at Bucharest Otopeni, which also houses C-130 Hercules. Those pilots destined to fl y transport aircraft will head here after graduation.2: Two LanceR-Cs parked on the Mihail Kogalniceanu (MK) fl ight line where they are temporarily based. One of the aircraft features a Baza 86 Aeriana squadron emblem from Fetesti where it would normally be based. However the facility is currently being rebuilt in preparation for the arrival of the F-16s next year. 3: This student pilot concentrates on the task ahead – his fi rst solo fl ight in the IAR-99.4: IAR-99 Standards parked on the Boboc fl ight line are prepared for another wave of departures.5: For those hoping to make a career out of fl ying helicopters, the next stop after the IAK-52 is the IAR-316B Alouette III.

1

5

Student pilots have a preference for the transport unit as it enables them to be involved in international missions and gain valuable flying experience



a new concept is being introduced into the training which will deliver new pilots, better trained within an uninterrupted 18-month time frame instead of more than four years, flying only several months each year.” Previously, students joined the IAK-52 squadron for three months during the summer when the air force academy was closed for the holidays. The first phase of this new approach

comprises six months’ training on the IAK-52, with a view to students obtaining their pilot’s licences after graduating from university. The second phase is six months’ training on the IAR-99 Standard and the third phase involves six months on the Soim at Bacau with Esc 205. Pilots are being trained in the latter to use the glass cockpit as well as night flying and weapons use. “We aim to further professionalise and

standardise our operations” said base com-mander, Col Nic Tanasie an experienced pilot himself. With a total of 1,100 flight hours on the L-29, MiG-21 LanceR, Cessna T-37, F-16 and MiG-23, he brings a lot of experience to the training school. Commander Tanasie took

over the running of the Air Force Training School in early 2015. “Bringing all my experiences as a fighter pilot, I can share my knowledge with our 18 instructor pilots and deliver the best possible new pilots to our air force.” Due to financial constraints, not all air force

academy students are trained at Boboc. A civilian company based at Strejnic, near Ploiesti, offers students the chance to fly the Cessna 172 or EC145. The aim is to achieve 50 flight hours and obtain their PPL (Private Pilot Licence) before joining the Air Force School at Boboc. Another instructor pilot, Captain Adriana

Alecu added: “We also offer this as an extra programme/training capacity, which provides an opportunity for students to enhance their flying skills. We aim to train student-pilots on the helicopter and fixed wing prior to obtaining their military pilot wings.”

Frontline assignmentsThe Baza 90 Transport Aerian (90th Airlift Base) at Otopeni is home to the RoAF transport fleet operating a mixture of C-130B/H, C-27Js with the Esc 901 Av Transport Strategic

2

3

4

The Boboc base commander Colonel Nic Tanasie stands alongside instructor pilots and students. Behind them are the three types of aircraft used by the school at Boboc.



(901st Strategic Airlift Squadron) and IAR-330 helicopters as part of the Esc 903 Elicoptere Transport (903rd Transport Squadron). The contract for the delivery of seven C-27Js

was signed in December 2007. The final example was delivered during January 2015. Lt Colonel Emil Tecuceanu, a transport

aircraft pilot said: “The first crews underwent training with Alenia in 2009. We had seven months of training and 34 simulator training hours. After this initial phase, we went to Turin [Italy] for qualification and type rating. From 2010 we trained locally in Romania with support from Alenia.” There are currently six crews, of

which four are combat ready, the other two conduct basic missions. Lt Col Tecuceanu explained: “The C-27J helps

us to be compatible within NATO, it changed our philosophy of conducting operations. We are heavily involved in international co-operation and operations. In June we sent a C-27J to the ‘European Air Transport Training 15’ exercise organised under the co-ordination of European Defence Agency and the European Air Transport Command at Beja in Portugal. “We have been focusing on a common way of operating and it has been valuable to train and work together internationally. Furthermore, we are also involved in the Spartan User Group and come together each year to share experiences around topics such as flight hours and technical issues. “For us, it is important not be isolated

from other users operating the new C-27J fleet. For both refresher courses and training new crews, which just graduated

from Boboc, we have a simulator available on base. Qualification on the C-27J takes around 36 flying hours for new crews.” Lt Col Tecuceanu added: “We would be

able to train foreign crews when asked. The 903rd Transport Squadron currently has six new pilots. Student pilots have a preference for the transport unit as it enables them to be involved in international missions and gain valuable flying experience, according to one of the new pilots at Otopeni. The transition from the IAR-316 to the IAR-330

and from IAK-52/IAR-99 to the C-27J is com-pleted in about 50 flying hours, in which moving maps and GPS are introduced to the pilots. Newly qualified aviators are also joining the

Hercules community, and the training is more complex as they graduated from Boboc having been trained on the IAR-99. Ten new pilots are currently on the training programme, according to 2nd Lt Hasegan Bogdan. He graduated from Boboc in 2014 and chose to fly transports. After a three-month theoretical course, the

basic flying starts with a focus on turns and horizontal flight. After flying 30 hours, an exam completes the basic flying segment. The next phase of around 100 hours will see specific transport tasks and paradropping. Once quali-fied they are appointed as co-pilots on the C-130. The whole process takes a year.

F-16 conversionFuture LanceR pilots will join Esc 205 based at Bacau and start with a three-month familiarisa-tion on the IAR-99 Soim after completing their training at Boboc. According to Capt Ramon ‘Balan’ Balanica, one of current LanceR pilots as-signed to Esc 861 Aviatie Lupta (861 Squadron) operating out of Baza 86 Mihail Kogalniceanu. The transfer to the Soim is made easier by a simulator. Capt Balanica explained: “Around 100 � ight hours are necessary to transfer to the LanceR, then we conduct basic � ying, BFM mis-sions, acrobatics and weaponry training.” The � rst year is around 40 hours and the sec-

ond year is 60. To transfer to the LanceR, pilots � rst have to pass a three-month academic phase. “We spend 31 hours on basic � ying and then the advanced phase starts with formation, night and instrument � ying followed by an extensive air-to-air and air-to-ground programme.” All LanceRs currently � y from Mihail

Kogalniceanu as Baza 86 (86th Air Base) at Fetesti is being rebuilt to house the 12 F-16s. Operations are planned to start from September 2016 and ‘Balan’ is one of the selected LanceR pilots to transition. In 2013 the RoAF purchased nine ex-Portuguese Air Force F-16AM/BMs and three former USAF F-16s, which the Portuguese military procurement agency DGAIED will acquire on behalf of the RoAF. The 12 F-16s will be upgraded by the Portuguese Air Force to Mid Life Update (MLU) standard with assistance from OGMA-Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal. This is scheduled to happen prior to transfer to Roma-nia, which is planned for September 2016. On September 30, 2014, a year after contract signa-ture, the � rst Romanian detachment of 23 pilots, maintenance crews and mission planners started a training programme on the F-16 MLU at Monte Real Air Base, Portugal. A major milestone in the training programme, was reached on November 26 when Lt Col Constantin Andrei became the � rst Romanian pilot to make a solo � ight in an F-16A MLU. The initial cadre of Romanian pilots will become F-16 instructors. They will remain in Portugal until they � nish the Mission Quali� cation Training (MQT) and return to Romania quali� ed as instructors to train other pilots of the � rst RoAF F-16 squadron. Nine Romanian pilots will have been trained in Portugal. The third group will be instructed locally in Romania from September 2017, which is when the real work begins.

Right: An IAR-99 passes the Boboc air traffi c control tower after a training sortie.

Above: One of the students prepares to taxi out in her IAK-52. An increasing numbers of females are now joining the pilot training school.

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Big StarsAlexander Mladenov reports on the biggest international air and air defence exercise inBulgaria this year


EXERCISE REPORT Thracian Star 2015

Main image: A pair of F-16Ds from the 119th FS return from a

joint air defence mission with BuAF MiG-29s. Lyubomir Slavov

Right: The New Jersey ANG brought six F-16Cs and two

F-16Ds to Bulgaria, fl ying them alongside the host nation’s MiG-

29s, MiG-21s and Su-25s, as well as with Romanian LanceRs and

Greek F-16s. All photos, Alexander Mladenov unless stated

From mid-July, Graf Ignatievo near Plovdiv, Bulgaria hosted

eight F-16s from the 119th Fighter Squadron ‘Jersey Devils’, 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard (NJANG). Deployed from their Atlantic City Airport base, the F-16 ‘Vipers’ took part in the Thracian Star 2015 international air defence exercise. The largest multi-national training event of the year in Bulgaria, the NJANG conceived Thracian Star 2015 as a total-force exercise to enhance interoperability with the Bulgarian Air Force (BuAF) and bolster readiness to conduct combined air operations. The 119th FS’s deployment to

Bulgaria presented tremendous opportunities for its air-

crew to hone their air combat

skills from

Kogalniceanu, and Greece contrib-uted F-16C Block 50s from 341 Mira (Squadron), 111 Pterix Mahis (Combat Wing) at Nea Anchialos. The Romanian and Greek fighters flew from their home bases. The annual exercise, Thracian

Star generated a very high degree of realism in air-to-air encounters, including 1 v 1 basic fighter manoeuvring (BFM), tactical inter-cepts, offensive and defence counter-air operations, close air support (CAS), ground-based air defence (GBAD) and combined air operations (COMAO) against targets protected by fighters and GBAD systems.The exercise, held

between July 13 and 24, involved

30 fighter and attack aircraft from four nations in addition to three Bulgarian GBAD units, equipped with S-125 Neva (SA-3 Goa), 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) and 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), plus several Bulgarian Navy frigates and corvettes, also carrying out air defence. Thracian Star 2015 included

a large-scale readiness check of the BuAF’s air defence system,

a pair of F-16s simulating slow-speed ‘bandit’

aircraft. Entering Bulgarian airspace from the east and flying towards the Black Sea coast, they were promptly intercepted by the quick reac-

Big Stars a forward operating location, pitted against or teaming up with Soviet-era BuAF MiG-29 Fulcrums, MiG-21 Fishbeds and Su-25 Frogfoots. For the small and struggling BuAF fighter and attack pilot community the exercise was another training event in a year saturated with exercises. An almost continuous series of international exercises has enabled them to polish their skills and interoperability when working with other air forces.Unfortunately, the eagerly

anticipated participation of two upgraded Polish Air Force MiG-29s from 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktyc-znego (Tactical Air Squadron ELT) at Minsk Mazowiecki near Warsaw, was cancelled at the last minute. The Romanian Air Force, however, sent IAR LanceR Cs from Baza 86 Aeriana (86th Air Base) at Mihail



support (CAS), ground-based air defence (GBAD) and combined air operations

a pair of F-16s simulating slow-speed ‘bandit’

aircraft. Entering Bulgarian airspace from the east and

they were promptly

the quick reac-

tion alert (QRA) MiG-29s.All air operations were conducted

in virtually unrestricted airspace over land and sea there being vast areas free of civil air traffic. Two waves were flown each working day, with 14 to 16 aircraft taking off from Graf Ignatievo and heading to reserved airspace in central, north-eastern and southeastern Bulgaria. The areas used for 1 v 1 BFM were just a few minutes from the base.

Intense TrainingThracian Star 2015 was the most intense air exercise in Bulgaria this year thanks to massed BuAF participation, with all available fighter and attack jets involved since the USAF paid the fuel bill. The Bulgarian assets comprised four MiG-29s (including a pair of two-seaters) and three MiG-21s (including one two-seater) from the 3rd Aviatsionna Baza (Air Base) at Graf Ignatievo, and three Su-25s (including one two-seater) from the Baza Prednov Razpolojenie (Forward Deployment Base) at Bezmer, temporarily deployed to Graf Ignatievo. The NJANG and BuAF two-seaters

Above: A young BuAF MiG-21 driver who converted to type in 2014, 1st Lt Alexander Staykov prepares for a tactical intercept mission during the afternoon wave on July 22. Below: The Frogfoots acted as Red Force attackers during Thracian Star 2015, penetrating at low level to attack targets defended by F-16s and MiG-29s, in addition to various Bulgarian SAM systems. They also practised CAS, fi ring 57mm rockets on the Elena range.



Squadron Commander’s View Lt Col Timothy Hassel, 119th Fighter Squadron Commander, has � own the F-16 since July 1994, logging more than 3,000 hours on the type. His � rst op-erational squadron was the 77th FS at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. He subsequently spent a year at Kunsan AB, Korea with the 80th FS, then had two and a half years with the 21st FS at Luke, Arizona, before joining the 119th FS.Lieutenant Colonel Hassel said

the NJANG brought approximate-ly 150 personnel to Bulgaria, comprising maintainers, pilots and support sta� , with roles including � nance, communica-tions, fuel specialists, air� eld management, � re � ghters, air-crew � ight equipment (previously known as life support), medical, security and public a� airs.Asked about the function of the

NJANG’s deployment to Bulgaria he replied: “Our purpose here is two-fold. First, we’re here to continue solidifying the bonds with Bulgaria and our NATO allies. Second, we’re here to conduct multi-national air-to-air training with the Bulgarians, as well as the Romanian and Greek air forces.”He explained that his squadron

� ew the full range of air-to-air sorties during the exercise. “We started with 1 v 1 basic � ghter manoeuvres, then 2 v 2 tactical intercepts and then scaled up to dissimilar air combat tactics and escort of strike forces.”He noted that the training ben-

e� ts derived from Thracian Star were numerous: “We brought joint terminal air controllers to interact with the Bulgarian range folk and Frogfoot strike pilots. We also shared academics on � ight leader training and forward air control in order to familiarise the Bulgarian air force with NATO procedures. This is the � rst time many of our pilots have been able to merge and � ght with actual MiG-21s and MiG-29s, as well as � y combined tactics with our Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek NATO allies.“We were very impressed with

the professionalism and skill of our Bulgarian counterparts during brie� ngs and post-� ight debrie� ngs. They have very good English skills and their tac-tical capability shows that they have been getting good training with other NATO allies for a while. Their hospitality has been great and has contributed to the increased camaraderie.”

gave orientation rides to some of the foreign pilots, expanding their experience and knowledge. The BuAF MiG-29UBs flew only 1v1 BFM against the 119th FS Vipers, while the MiG-21UM and F-16D participated in the daily tactical intercept and COMAO sorties.Bulgarian Army SA-8 mobile

SAMs, assigned to the 61st Mechanised Brigade, deployed adjacent to the range at Elena to counter attacking Frogfoots and Vipers, while the BuAF’s SA-3 and SA-6 systems participated from their permanent locations on the Black Sea coast (south of the city of Bourgas) and Stara Zagora, respectively. Training rounds for the AIM-120

and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles dominated the Viper weapon

loads, while the NJ ANG pilots flew with the Joint

Helmet-mounted Cueing System. In addition, they flew forward air controller (air) missions at Elena, controlling the BuAF Frogfoots attacking

ground targets with 57mm S-5 rockets.

“This is the fi rst time many of our pilots have been able to merge and fi ght with actual MiG-21s and MiG-29s”



loads, while the NJ ANG pilots flew with the Joint

Helmet-mounted Cueing System. In addition, they flew forward air controller (air) missions at Elena, controlling the BuAF

ground targets with 57mm S-5 rockets.

Above: A New Jersey ANG FS F-16C and a Bulgarian MiG-29UB about to break overhead Graf Ignatievo airfi eld after a BFM mission on July 22. Left: Major Lyubomir Slavov, a BuAF Fulcrum pilot who also fl ew MiG-21s has a huge experience in international air exercises since 2002, noted that Thracian Star 2015 was among the most useful exercises of his career. He fl ew mainly 1 v 1 BFM sorties in the MiG-29UB. Below: The BuAF MiG-21 fl eet is nearing the end of its service, but the pilots proved very motivated during Thracian Star missions. afm

Today the main claim to fame of the South African Air Force’s (SAAF) 35 Squadron

is its ageing fleet of C-47TP Turbo Dakotas. Based on the tried and tested C-47 airframe, the military version of the legendary Douglas DC-3 Dakota continues to contribute to the well-being of South Africa. One of the eight aircraft still serving the SAAF hails from 1943 (see box). The fleet was upgraded to turboprop standard between 1989 and 1994 under Project

Felstone by Braddick Specialised Air Services International, based at Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria, using the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A 65R. Project Felstone aimed at converting 40 Dakotas. Eventually only 12 were converted to C-47TP standard and stayed in the SAAF.

Challenges galoreTechnical Officer Captain Jonathan Trzos (pronounced ‘Chos’) pointed to the age of the airframes, the oldest of which, 6814, hails from 1943. “Not too surprisingly, a lot of work has gone into the aircraft since then,” he said. “Obviously it’s been modified, and had various conversions. It was one of the original aircraft that came into the SAAF so it’s quite old, just as the others are. There have been so many airframes but there are not many left now.“It is quite a challenge. The biggest is

because some of the equipment we require for maintenance is not readily available anymore. It has to be sought through various channels and outside companies have to come up with ways to figure out how to get the replacement parts. Some of them have to be manufactured from scratch.

“You can have some parts breaking down for the first time and the company won’t have the parts anymore.”It would seem logical that such elderly

airframes suffer from metal fatigue. Captain Trzos said that was not the main difficulty. “On the major servicing, we have all the critical areas checked by X-ray for fatigue. Our main issue at the moment is corrosion which is much more of an issue than fatigue. “It affects the metal, especially critical

areas like the stress panels and wing roots. Corrosion just finds its way into everything, although we try and prevent it by spraying and treating it. We have to carry out constant corrosion checks. It’s a culmination of operating close to the shore and flying over the sea where you pick up the moisture and salt.”Referring to the squadron’s participation

in Operation Copper, South Africa’s anti-piracy operation based in northern Mozambique which ended in March this year, he said: “Some countries have high humidity, and there (in Pemba, Mozambique) corrosion started to pick up, so that’s why we had to rotate more regularly to be able

35 Sqn HeritageFormed during World War Two as a Royal Air

Force submarine hunting unit, number 262

Squadron was re-numbered in February 1945

as 35 Squadron, South African Air Force (SAAF)

and given the Zulu-language motto ‘Shaya

Amanzi’ (‘Strike the Water’). The squadron

adopted the symbol of a pelican standing on

the African continent, over the ocean. The

squadron operated Consolidated Catalina

and Short Sunderland seaplanes and then an

assortment of aircraft until they received the

Avro Shackletons in 1957. Of the planes they

� ew, some were C-47 Dakotas, and today the

squadron is synonymous with the type.

SAAF C-47TP TURBO DAKOTA


SEVENTY AND STILL GOING STRONG!

The South African Air Force operates some of the oldest aircraft serving any air force, in the shape of the C-47TP Turbo Dakota. Christopher Szabo marvels at the veteran aircraft, with aircrews who still fly in them.

C-47TP 6854 over Simon’s Town Harbour, South Africa’s main naval base. Irene McCullagh

“You can have some parts breaking down for the � rst time and the company won’t have the parts anymore.”



to maintain it to an acceptable level.”Of the eight available aircraft, the unit

usually keeps three in the air. “We usually do smaller scheduled servicing. We call this ‘check servicing’. These are monthlies, weeklies, the 150 hours, and then every approximately nine months it would go in for a bigger servicing. The servicing would take quite a time, where everything is stripped, checked, all components, airframe, wiring are re-checked, so that would take quite a while before it is released again. We try to stagger them. This way, they hope to keep three aircraft in the air,” he said.The C-47TP squadron is known within South

Africa for its Search and Rescue (SAR) work, but this is not the unit’s main task. Captain Roussouw Stemmet, a navigator with the squadron, explained: “Our primary role is to support the navy. In essence, we are an horizon extension for the navy. We’re up, we do range clearances for when they want to do tests, when there have combined exercises with other navies we are (effectively) under command of the navy. They’ve got very sophisticated radars. They’ll detect a contact and tell us to go see what is

that, we suspect that’s something.“Believe it or not, with this aircraft,

we’ve done submarine hunting, but not the normal way. We used radar. We can detect the snorkel. But we don’t have sonobuoys. We lost that capability years ago with the Shackleton. So hopefully with our new aircraft we’ll have something. We don’t know what we’re going to get. “We do other operations with the navy

that I can’t mention. But [some operations] entail shadowing a ship and relaying information so that our ship knows what it is looking for. We keep our distance and we gather as much information as possible. We’ve also got a photographer on board to see what’s going on.”

The rolesNo 35 Squadron’s main role is maritime and specific seaward missions include coastal patrol, naval support (as in the anti-piracy role) anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare and SAR missions as well as the closely guarded Electronic Warfare (EW) mission. Other tasks include transportation, paratrooping, drogue towing and medical evacuation. Aircraft are painted in two colour schemes. A two-tone light blue and grey is used for the trooping version. The MSA (Maritime Surveillance Aircraft) has a dark grey scheme and a prominent white

Op CopperOperation Copper was established following the hijacking of a Mozambican � shing vessel, the Vega 5 in December 2010, by Somali pirates. Countries in the region began working on a response and Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which led to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) initiating Operation Copper on February 17, 2011.While the operation was a joint one under

the auspices of the regional organisation, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), most of the hardware came from South Africa. The South African Navy deployed a Valour-class frigate (and later o� shore patrol vessels and other ships) with Super Lynx helicopters of 22 Squadron operating from the ships and C-47TP Dakotas � ying from an airstrip at Pemba in northern Mozambique. In April 2012, the Navy’s replenishment

vessel, the SAS Drakensberg, with two Denel Oryx helicopters on board, responded to a pirate attack in the northern Mozambique Channel and followed up into Tanzanian territorial waters. The pirates were herded into the hands of

Tanzanian and European Union forces under the EU’s Operation Atalanta. Members of the Navy’s Maritime Reaction Squadron (MRS) and the South African Special Forces are usually embarked on the ships as they do the actual Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) operations. A member of the MRS, Able Seaman

Thulani Mbuli was lost while attempting to board an Iranian dhow on May, 12, 2012. He was the � rst casualty of Operation Copper. No 35 Squadron assisted the navy in this action by following up intelligence or radar contacts they had and getting exact information to the task force commander.

“Believe it or not, with this aircraft, we’ve done submarine hunting, but not the normal way. We used radar. We can detect the snorkel. But we don’t have sonobuoys. We lost that capability years ago with the Shackleton.”

Now part of the SAAF Museum at Swartkop, C-47 6859 gained fame, or notoriety, as the ’gunship Dak’. Some say it carried a 20mm cannon, others a .50 calibre machine gun. All photos, author unless stated

Below: The SAAF operates C-47TPs, in both maritime (nearest) and transport colour schemes. Rene McCullagh



stripe on top to assist air search in case the plane has to ditch at sea. Captain Stemmet discussed the aircraft’s navigation and sensor systems. “Our primary navigation system is called

‘RNAV’. It’s a basic system; it does what it needs to do. RNAV stands for Area Navigation and is widely used in both civilian and military applications. It also has different inputs from the aircraft and displays on a monochrome screen with letters and words. There are no graphics, there’s nothing fancy, but it does its job. “We do have other basic analogue

instruments. We’ve got two compass systems on board, one is a primary and one is a backup system. Then we have a normal airspeed indicator and radio altimeters. There is a GPS in the front of the aircraft as a reference but it is not our primary navigation system. It’s a backup because it’s not a military application. “On a maritime sortie, I’ll get all the

information from the different inputs, then I’ll filter the information and I’ll give back what’s needed.”Capt Sibusiso Nkosi, a pilot with the unit,

is very enthusiastic about the Dakota. “It’s a beautiful machine to fly”, he said, after admitting that at first it was a bit difficult flying an old-fashioned “tail dragger”. The Op Copper participation was

“challenging”, he said. Aircrews rotated every six weeks, and they might have to

SAAF C-47TP survivorsSerial Year Tasking

6814 1943 Maritime

6825 1944 Maritime

6828 1944 EW

6839 1944 Transport

6852 1945 Maritime

6854 1945 Maritime

6887 1967 Transport

6885 1971 Maritime

C-47TP 6832 fl ies off the Cape Town coastline in 1992. The aircraft is now an exhibit at the SAAF Museum, Swartkop. Key Archives

Above: Cockpit and instruments.Left: The large observation port in the C-47TP – note the fl are release chute in front.Below: Radio, radar and other avionics in the aircraft.

Inside the SAAF Dak



fly paratrooping missions too, or other maritime missions, depending on need.The Dakotas had about six hours’ flying

time over water, but this figure dropped when flying in most inland areas because of poorer performance at high altitude over the Highveld, the high plateau that characterises a large area of South Africa, he added.

SARNaval support is 35 Squadron’s main tasking but policing also plays a large role (countering crime, people smuggling, illegal fishing). Along with this is search and rescue (SAR), which, although not the Dakota squadron’s primary role, is still important. Stemmet added that in SAR work, more than 90 percent of calls were false alarms. The unit was very careful in responding and worked with the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) as well as other squadrons. “If there’s an emergency they contact the MRCC which is located here [in Cape Town] in Plattekloof. They’re the maritime search and rescue centre for the whole of South Africa. The land one is in Johannesburg. So what they would do is scramble the NSRI if they’ve found something on their emergency systems. They’ve got quite nice systems. Then eventually, the air force

would come in. In a SAR situation, we would get our tasking from headquarters or chain of command and then we would only react on that. “On a typical day, I would do the planning. I

would get the area or the position and get as much information as possible. People think on a typical search and rescue we have all the information. We only know it’s a yacht; a yacht that capsized. And then we’ll phone and find the position, the updated position, how

Special DaksOver the last seven decades, South Africa has operated some very special Dakotas. Possibly the most famous is 6832, which was used to � y a Coelacanth (a � sh thought to be extinct for 66 million years) to South Africa from the Comoros in 1952 at the request of ichthyologist JLB Smith. An earlier specimen had been found in 1938, but was not well preserved so the hunt was on for a better one. In December, 1952, a Comorian � sherman caught a Coelacanth and told Captain Eric Hunt, who contacted Professor Smith. Smith went as far as contact-ing the Prime Minister who requested a SAAF aircraft to take him to the Comoros island of Dzaoudzi (now Dzaoudzi Pamandzi), part of the French Overseas Department of Mayotte. The plane sent to fetch the Coelacanth was a Dakota C-47 from Swartkop Air Force Station

which � ew to Durban, Lumbo in Mozambique and then to Dzaoudzi island in the Mayotte group of Comoros. While SAAF navigator Lt (later Major General) Duncan Ralston did not know much about the island, he discovered the airstrip had been built by South African troops in preparation for the Allied occupation of Vichy French Madagascar in 1942 but was unaware of its condition. Apparently, when the French authorities in Madagascar were radioed about the � nd, they were not fully cognizant of its importance and made no reply. The SAAF aircrew claimed a cyclone was approaching and begged to leave the island in time to escape it, thus enabling them to keep the prize. Another famous SAAF Dakota, 6859 now in the SAAF Museum near Pretoria, was one of the aircraft set up for use as a gunship.

many people, what colour what location aids they have on board. So all of that makes our job easier.” He said finding one person in the water was one of the most difficult things to do and that was in clear conditions. Once we have located the area, he said: “We’ll decide on what search we are going to do. We can do an expanding box, or a parallel search, or a creeping line ahead search, or a ‘flower pattern’, depending on the person or object that we’re searching for. Obviously the bigger the craft, the easier it will be to find. Sometimes we’ll have a course and direction, so we’ll plot that ahead in time, so we can more or less gauge where this ship would have been and then we’ll work back. “Then there are other things, during the day you can’t search an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset because of the glare so all of that plays a big role. We don’t have as much on the aircraft as we would like. Then we have the weather radar – a very qualified radar operator will be able to tell you more or less what we would be looking for. That’s obviously only surface contacts. We can’t see what’s underneath the water or very far ahead.“In a search pattern, everybody in the

aircraft will be looking out. We have certain heights that we fly and certain speeds that we fly to make it easier to see. Then we’ve got a term called ‘Mark I Eyeball’, when the engineer is there with gyro-stabilised

Known as ’Gooney Bird’, C-47TP 6840 was painted in the colours of the SAAF aerobatics team, the Silver Falcons. Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed in the Drakensberg Mountains on December 5, 2012 with the loss of all on board. Sgt Reynier Kotzé via SAAF.



Above: No 35 Sqn personnel carrying out major repairs on C-47TP 6854 at their Ysterplaat base in Cape-Town, earlier this year. Below: Looking stunning on the ramp at Ysterplaat in 1992 is a maritime confi gured C-47TP 6873 which was sold to a civilian operator and became ZS-NTE. Its current whereabouts is unknown. Key Archives

binoculars and can see very well with them.“Once a survivor is spotted, then we fly a

so-called ‘SAR-RAFT pattern’. We will fly a certain procedure, calculate the wind, then we’ll drop a SAR raft upwind, and then the wind and waves will drive it towards the survivors. As the SAR raft hits the water, it inflates – it’s normally a 10-man dinghy – then we’ll stay in the area, until we’ve contacted 22 Squadron (flying the Westland Super Lynx 300) or whoever else is there. We will loiter in the area until they fetch them. If it’s very far out to sea, we’ll contact another of our aircraft and hand over to them.”He explained that 35 Squadron also

carried out regular coastal patrols which were continued during Op Copper.

TrackingAsked if the planes were equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS), a standard feature on modern vessels, Stemmet said no. “There is a system that they were busy with, but not on all the planes. The problem is if a boat switches off AIS then you won’t see it. Only the test aircraft has the full system.”He mentioned that navigators were taught

to keep a physical plot (this can be seen on SAAF aircraft, it is fairly standard practice) like navigators used to do but systems were used more and plotting was purely a back up. “We always plot, in case the system goes

down, because, believe it or not, when you’re out at sea 200 miles (320 km) and something happens, the first guy they turn to is the navigator. You need to know where you are and where you’re going. You need to create the atmosphere of comfort and ease when something goes wrong. It’s good to know the other aircrew members, there’s a lot of trust, so when they ask something and you give your answer, they know it’s correct. They don’t have to second guess,” he said. Members of 35 Squadron do not know

what the replacement for their 80-year-old aircraft will be. The Airbus C295 has been mooted as has the C-130J. Warrant Officer 2 Class Lindsay White, a senior flight engineer, put it like this: “It’s very enjoyable, nice. I’ll always have a soft spot for Dakota, it is like having a favourite old car that you’ve restored and put in a corner over there. If it’s suddenly gone you’ll always miss it.”

Above: A transport version of the C-47TP, 6887. Below: This C-47TP 6884, seen at Ysterplaat AFB in 1999, is now a ground instructional airframe at Bokrivier. Key Archives

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Dakota, it is like having a favourite old car that you’ve restored and put in a corner over there. If it’s suddenly gone you’ll always miss it.” afm




IASF NEVATIM

Inside NevatimRemco Stalenhoef, Patrick

Smitshoek and Stephan van Geem visited the Israel Air and Space Force base at Nevatim,

where C-130s, F-16s and KC-707s dominate, and the

F-35I is eagerly awaited.

Israel Air and Space Force (IASF) base Nevatim, on the northern edge of the Negev

desert, is home to a variety of aircraft types, some of which are slated for retirement in coming years. Nevatim will receive the first Lockheed Martin F-35I jets, with the initial pair due to be delivered in late 2016. The type will eventually replace the remaining General Dynamics F-16A/B ‘Netz’ (Hawk) fighters with 116 ‘Defenders of the South’ Squadron.

In April 2014 the first of two Lockheed C-130J-30 ‘Shimshon’

(Samson) transport aircraft arrived at Nevatim. Two more are on order and Israel has an option on another five. As a result of their acquisition, the C-130E ‘Karnaf’ (Rhino) fleet, flown by 103 and 131 Squadrons, is slowly being phased out. The C-130H transport and KC-130H tanker/transport are also in service.There are no firm plans to replace the IASF’s

other tanker/transport, the Boeing KC-707 ‘Saknai’ (Pelican). Nevertheless, the IASF has expressed interest in acquiring second-hand USAF KC-135R Stratotankers.

afm


IASF NEVATIM

Nevatim TenantsSquadron Type

116 'Defenders of the South' Sqn

F-16A/B 'Netz' (Hawk)

First sqn to receive F-35I late 2016.

103 'Elephants' Sqn (K)C-130E/H/ 'Karnaf' (Rhino), C-130J-30 'Shimshon' (Samson)

Two in service, two on order, five in option.

120 'Desert Giants' Sqn

KC-707 'Saknai' (Pelican)IAI1124N 'Shahaf' (Seagull)

IASF is in negotiation with USAF for up to 12 KC-135R since 2013.

122 'Nashon' Sqn G550 'Nashon Eitam, G-V Nashon Shavit

131 'The Yellow Bird' Sqn

(K)C-130E/H 'Karnaf' (Rhino)

1: The C-130J-30 ‘Shimshon’ made its international operational debut when both examples flew humanitarian relief missions after the earthquake in Nepal during late April.2: The Israel Aerospace Industries 1124 Westwind Sea Scan flies maritime surveillance missions. In early 2014 the Israel Air and Space Force and Navy decided to upgrade the aircraft when it became clear that its intended replacement, the IAI Heron, lacked the required speed for some missions.3: The entire (K)C-130 fleet is based at Nevatim. Pictured is unmarked KC-130H 420 departing Nevatim for a tanker training flight.4: The 122 ‘Nashon’ Squadron operates three heavily modified Gulfstream G550s and two Gulfstream Vs in a variety of intelligence-gathering roles.5: A number of 115 ‘Flying Dragon’ Squadron

aggressor personnel appear to be permanently based at Nevatim now that the remaining

fleet of F-16A/B jets is pooled there prior to the arrival of the F-35I next year.6: The KC-707 ‘Saknai’ fleet also wears a dark grey and white colour scheme. It provides a more civilian look to the aircraft when engaged on missions abroad.

1

2

3

4

56

Brazil unveiled its SIPAM/SIVAM programme (System for

Amazon Protection/Surveillance System for the Amazon) in September 1990, with the aim of protecting one of the country’s richest ecological regions. From this early stage it was clear that an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform was necessary to work alongside planned ground-based radars.The first years of the 1990s

were spent defining the mission requirements requested by the programme and in June 1994 it was decided a single aircraft platform should be adapted to perform both AEW&C and envi-ronmental monitoring missions.By now, Embraer was producing

the EMB-120 Brasilia. A similar size to the Saab 340, the aircraft served as the basis for the Swedish Air Force’s AEW&C platform, the

TP 100C/ASC 890, equipped with Ericsson’s PS-890 Erieye active electronic scanned array (AESA) radar. Studies were made into installing the same radar in the Brasilia, but the aircraft’s internal cabin area was somewhat smaller than the Saab 340. It lacked the capacity to carry all the required equipment while its endurance was too limited for operations in such a large region. So the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB, Brazilian Air Force) studied use of a Boeing 727 as a platform, but the idea was soon discarded due to its high operating cost. The ERJ-145 performed its first

flight on August 18, 1995 and development continued the fol-lowing year. A long-range version capable of 1,864 miles (3,000km) was introduced and was selected for the SIPAM/SIVAM programme.The longer ERJ-145 had the

same fuselage cross-section as the Brasilia and was powered by turbofans rather than turboprops. The initial designs for the EMB-145SA, later known as the EMB-145 AEW&C, were shown in 1997 and a year later five examples were ordered to serve with the FAB.

Aircraft in detailModifications include the Universal UNS-1D dual flight management system added to the Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics suite used by the civil EMB-145 version, and replacement of the Attitude and Heading Reference System with the Honeywell HF746G inertial navigation and GPS system.The Erieye radar was modified

with an expanded early warning capacity with slower scanning speed, as well as improved Doppler detection. This made it

possible to detect contacts moving slower than 58kts (108km/h) while the angular coverage rose to 150º on each side of the antenna. The screening area is defined by the operator and, after the first detection, a new and stronger energy beam follows to establish the trajectory and follow the target, increasing in intensity if the target tries to escape. Meanwhile, the radar can detect other air and sea targets: air targets at between 3º and 12º per second, with a range of 9.3 and 280 miles (15 and 450km) and sea targets at 3º per second and between 18.6 and 199 miles (30 and 320km). The radar envelope covers an area that is 311 miles (500km) long (to the sides of the antenna) and 161 miles (259km) wide, and extends to an altitude of 65,617ft (20,000m). Up to 300 targets can be detected simultaneously, the radar prioritis-


AIRCRAFT PROFILE Embraer EMB-145 AEW&C

AIRBORNE EARLY WARNINGLATIN AMERICAN STYLE

Santiago Rivas and Sergio Santana profile the Embraer E-99 — the first Latin American-designed AEW&C platform. Currently the most prolific aircraft of its type in the region, the E-99 and its variants operate in a difficult environment where the main threat is posed by slow-flying illegal aircraft.

Left: The Embraer EMB-145 AEW&C was initially called the

R-99A by the Brazilian Air Force, but the designation was changed

in 2008 to E-99. Embraer


ing 100 of these and managing at least six intercepting aircraft.The operators comprise a tactical

coordinator, an electronic warfare operator and the intercept control-ler, each provided with one Ericsson console equipped with three Barco screens, one MPRD 9651 of 19.5in (50cm) and two MPRT 126 screens of 10.4in (26cm). Between the operators and the cockpit is a rest area comprising five seat with racks behind them for all the radar equipment, and six additional fuel tanks with a total capacity of 529 Imp gal (2,405 litres).

A MkX IFF (identification friend or foe), derived from the Thales SF25 interrogator/transponder, is integrated with the radar. It features a panel for the transponder function in the cockpit and another panel located in the mission crew compartment for military aircraft interrogation in modes 1, 2, 3/A, 4 and 5, and civil modes A, C and S.The aircraft also has a Com-

munication Exploration System (C/NCES) for COMINT and SIGINT (communication and signals intelligence) missions. This uses two omni-directional HF units, two monitoring units and a series of VHF antennas on the belly, the wings and fuselage to detect, analyse and record signals from transmitters operating in a range between 2MHz and 16GHz. Two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1P engines provide a total of 7,420lb (33.0kN) of thrust on take-off.A normal patrol mission is

undertaken at an altitude of 27,000ft (8,230m) and a speed of 170kts (314km/h). In this profile, maximum range is 1,566 miles (2,520km) and endurance is 8hrs. The slow speed employed for patrol means the aircraft flies with a nose-up attitude; as a result, the radar antenna was installed with 6º of inclination, allowing the radar to remain aligned with the horizon.

Embraer EMB-145 AEW&C in Latin AmericaMilitary serial

Civil regn

Con no. Del Remarks

FAB 6700 PP-XSA 145104 12/03 First Prototype. Delivered to FAB. Serving with 2º/6ºGAv at Anápolis.

FAB 6701 PP-XSB 145122 24/7/02 Delivered to FAB. Serving with 2º/6º GAv at Anápolis.

FAB 6702 PP-XSC 145263 12/03 Delivered to FAB. Serving with 2º/6º GAv at Anápolis.

FAB 6703 PP-XSD 145365 24/7/02 Delivered to FAB. Serving with 2º/6º GAv at Anápolis.

FAB 6704 PP-XSE 145392 12/03 Delivered to FAB. Serving with 2º/6º GAv at Anápolis.

FAM 4101 PP-XJN 145190 7/04 Delivered to Mexican Air Force. Serving with Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea (EVA) at Santa Lucía.

Below: Returning from a local training sortie is FAB-6702 an example of intelligence gathering platforms in constant use by the Brazilian Air Force. The type has proved highly valuable in increasing aircrew experience of operating its onboard radar systems. Força Aérea Brasileira


Above: A scale model of the proposed EMB-120 AEW&C platform. A real aircraft was never developed because it was deemed too small to carry all the necessary radar equipment. Embraer


Development and serviceThe first flight of the prototype, with civil registration PP-XSA (c/n 145104), took place on May 22, 1999. The aircraft was officially rolled out, together with the second, PP-XSB (c/n 145122), on April 1. After early tests flights winglets were installed to improve fuel economy, but together with the radar antenna, they resulted in the aircraft becom-ing slightly destabilised. Instead, four fin surfaces were fitted on the horizontal stabiliser, two above and two below, and these also house the data link antennas.Once flight tests were complete

and the equipment delivered to Embraer, the other three aircraft (civil registrations PP-XSC, -XSD and -XSE; c/ns 145263, 145365 and 145392) were finished, the first on November 8, 2000, the second on July 20, 2001 and the last on November 5 the same year.On July 24, 2002, the first two

aircraft –PP-XSB and PP-XSD, which received the military serials FAB 6701 and 6703 respectively – were delivered to the FAB. They entered service with the newly established 2º/6º Grupo de Avia-ção (GAv), Esquadrão ‘Guardião’ (2nd Squadron/6th Aviation Group – Guardian Squadron), at Anápolis air base, near Brasilia.

In service, the aircraft received the local military designation R-99A. In December 2003, the other three aircraft were delivered, with the prototype becoming FAB 6700 and the other two receiving the serials 6702 and 6704.Embraer trained crews on the

EMB-145, using aircraft provided by the company and those oper-ated by the Rio-Sul airline.The first real mission for the

R-99A took place in October 2002, when one of the first two examples performed aerial control during Operation ‘GuiSu’, when FAB A-1 (AMX) attack aircraft bombed

illegal airstrips near the borders with Guiana, and Suriname on the northeastern coast of South Ameri-ca. In June 2003, one aircraft used its C/NCES system to detect and identify the communications of a group of ‘Shining Path’ guerrillas in Peru who had kidnapped 71 Argentine citizens working on a gas pipeline. The aircraft’s work was crucial to detect the camp location and rescue the hostages.In everyday service, the main

mission of the aircraft is to control Brazilian airspace, vectoring fighters against any possible threat. In addition, it is used to intercept aircraft on illegal flights, mainly involving drug traffickers flying ‘low and slow’. Initially, the EMB-312 Tucanos of 1º/3º, 2º/3º and 3º/3º GAvs were employed in this role, they later replaced by EMB-314 Super Tucanos. A first interception took place in December 2003, close to the city of Campo Grande, two Tucanos intercepted Cessna 210 PT-IFA, which was carrying drugs and was forced to land. Brazilian law permits the shooting down of aircraft refusing to cooperate with the commands of an interceptor.In June 2008 the FAB revised

its AEW&C aircraft designation to

E-99, when they received a new data link with improved frequency hopping. In 2009 an algorithm for the BR2 data link, developed in Brazil, was delivered and enabled communications with various radio equipment in use with the Brazilian military. Utilising this system, the E-99 can serve as a C3I (command, control, communica-tions and intelligence) platform.During the 2014 FIFA World

Cup the E-99 fleet was used extensively to control airspace over the cities where matches were being played, controlling FAB F-5 Tiger IIs and Super Tucanos. The types were used as interceptors, the first against jets and the latter against slow-moving aircraft. Fortunately, no action was required from the fighters.

Mexican orderThe first foreign order for the EMB-145SA came from the Hellenic Air Force, which ordered four on July 1 1999, the first two being delivered on September 24, 2001. The second export order – and the first in Latin America – came from Mexico, which purchased a single EMB-145SA together with two EMB-145MPs for maritime patrol, on March 1, 2001. Mexico

‘During the June and July 2014 FIFA World Cup the E-99 fleet was used extensively to control airspace over the cities where matches were being played, controlling FAB Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs and Super Tucanos.’

Above: The fi rst prototype of the EMB-145 AEW&C on an early test fl ight in its original confi guration, devoid of winglets or fi ns on the tail surfaces. EmbraerBelow: A rare picture of the internal layout of the EMB-145 displaying the three radar operator’s consoles: tactical coordinator, electronic warfare operator and intercept controller. Two are seated on the right side and one to the left. The improved E-99M will house fi ve operator stations. Sergio Santana


uses the EMB-145SAs to control airspace and sea areas against drug traffickers. The single EMB-145SA named

Fortaleza is serialed FAM-4101 (c/no 145190, former PP-XJN). It has broadly the same equipment as the Brazilian aircraft, although the communications suite is different, with the capacity to operate with the Calquest CQ 200 satellite data link system. Fortaleza also has a FLIR Systems Star SAFIRE III (AN/AAQ-22) turret for infrared and TV imagery. The aircraft was delivered in July 2004, followed by the first EMB-145MP five months later. Together, the types became part of the SIVA (Sistema Integrado de Vigilancia Aérea, Air Vigilance

Integrated System), which also incorporates 16 radar stations and Elbit Hermes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The three EMB-145s are operated by Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea (EVA) at Santa Lucía air base, México State, alongside Fairchild C-26B, Sch-weizer SA2-37A, Beech C-90A and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter aircraft.The EMB-145SA operates

across Mexico and remains the sole AEW&C aircraft in service with the country’s air force. Like its Brazilian counterparts, it is used mainly to control illegal flights, usually aircraft bringing drugs from Central America or heading to the United States.Other countries in the region

have shown interest in the model. Argentina, tested one of the Brazilian examples in July 2012 at El Palomar air base near Buenos Aires. Although it was interested in acquiring the aircraft to halt illegal drug-carrying flights in the north, the government did not approve funding.Colombia has also examined the

EMB-145SA but order as of yet and continues to use Cessna Cita-tions equipped with AN/APG-66 radar for the surveillance mission.Peru, which has signed an agree-

ment with Brazil to use information gathered by the E-99s when they operate close to its border, has also shown interest in acquiring a pair of aircraft.

Embraer E-99MThe E-99 desperately needs to be upgraded to keep pace with new technologies. With this in mind, a modernisation of the aircraft was announced in January 2013 and con� rmed via contracts signed with various companies. Saab will im-prove the Erieye’s antenna and the radar itself, with its searching/track-ing capabilities being enhanced. The Swedish company will also develop a new mission compart-ment with � ve lighter and more compact workstations instead of the three currently installed. One of the new workstations will be exclusively dedicated to air defence missions and all will be equipped with � at-screen monitors, probably arranged in the same con� gura-tion as in the Indian-developed EMB-145I.Brazilian � rm Atech will provide

software to enhance air defence capabilities; Elbit will be respon-sible for the self-defence suite as well as for new COMINT/SIGINT equipment, which will provide improved accuracy for the location of emitting sources. Mectron is involved in the ongoing develop-ment of the Link BR-2 data link; Rohde & Schwarz will provide MR6000R Software De� ned Radios that will run the Link BR-2 and, � nally, Thales will install TSC2030 IFF transponders.The E-99M, as the aircraft will

be designated, was originally scheduled to be inducted into FAB service prior to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but a prototype was deployed during the 2014 World Cup, although not all modi� cations had been installed.With the Brazilian defence

budget currently su� ering from � nancial di� culties, the E-99 mod-ernisation programme planned for completion in 2017 is unlikely be met.afm

Below: There are subtle differences between EMB-145s of the Mexican Air Force and those operated by their Brazilian counterparts. The former has a FLIR Systems Star SAFIRE III (AN/AAQ-22) turret mounted under the forward fuselage. José Quevedo

Below: A Brazilian Air Force E-99 on display at FIDAE in Chile generated great interest from Latin American nations including Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Santiago Rivas



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ATTRITION REPORTMAR 9 - OCT 2 2015

FINAL REPORT ISSUED ON RCAF SEA KING ACCIDENTA FINAL Flight Safety Investigation

Report into the Category A accident involving Royal Canadian Air Force CH-124A Sea King 12435 on July 15, 2013, at 12 Wing Shearwater, Nova Scotia (see Attrition, September 2013, p26) was published on September 10. The crew planned a night training flight in the local Shearwater area and boarded the aircraft during a hot refuel with engines running and rotors turning. The aircraft had ground taxied for take off from Helipad 3 when it was recalled back to the inner ramp so that the aircraft captain could sign additional electronic aircraft records prior to the flight. After the aircraft came to a

complete stop, the captain started removing his safety harness. The co-pilot then transferred control of the collective lever to the aircraft captain and, at the same time, was motioning to the marshaller. The aircraft then pitched forward rapidly. As the aircraft’s tail rose, the

aircraft rotated forward and pivoted on the extended main undercarriage oleos before lifting off the ground. The main rotor disk then tilted rearward and impacted the tail pylon, causing it to separate from the fuselage. Once the aircraft fell back to the ground and started yawing right, it then rolled left as the left sponson collapsed and the main rotor blades struck the ground at the pilots’ 11 o’clock position. The aircraft yawed 120° to the right before coming to rest on its left side, after which the crew conducted an emergency shutdown and egressed through the personnel door. There were no injuries or post-accident fire,

though flying debris damaged the surrounding hangars. Post-accident maintenance

inspections revealed no technical faults. The investigation focussed

on flight control systems, aircrew actions and related human factors. The investigation concluded that 12435 had an upload force set in the collective, causing it to rise

easily, quickly and significantly if unguarded and/or jarred. The pilot employed a commonly accepted yet undocumented procedure for partial transfer of the collective control and released the collective without getting acknowledgement from the other pilot. Once the aircraft started to pitch forward, the pilots were unable to recognize and react in time to prevent the accident, due to reduced visual cues. Preventive measures have now

included the establishment of Sea King maintenance procedures to set a neutral collective upload, clear direction on partial transfer of control and measures to address the latent conditions that contributed to the accident.

Above: An earlier view of the accident involving CH-124A 12435, shortly after it happened, clearly showing the collapsed port undercarriage sponson. Canadian Directorate of Flight Safety

US Air Force F-16C Crash Report ReleasedSPATIAL DISORIENTATION and a loss of visual contact with his formation’s lead aircraft led to an F-16C pilot’s fatal crash into the Gulf of Mexico on November 6, 2014 (see Attrition, December 2014, p95), according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released on September 8. Matthew J LaCourse, a civilian employee with

the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, was killed by the impact and his aircraft was destroyed when it hit the water about 74nm (137km) south of Tyndall. The aircraft loss was valued at $21,927,702.The mishap occurred during

training on a one versus one aircraft intercept. During this manoeuvre, the mishap flight

lead (MFL) simulated a drone aircraft while the mishap pilot attempted to intercept and rejoin the MFL. While attempting to intercept the other aircraft, LaCourse performed a series of aircraft dynamic manouevres that stimulated fluid in his inner ear canals which are responsible for perceptions of gravity, balance, movement and direction. As

a result, he misperceived his angle of bank, angle of pitch and general position and became spatially disoriented, which resulted in his crash. In addition, the board president found by a preponderance of the evidence that LaCourse’s loss of visual contact with the formation’s lead aircraft substantially contributed to the mishap.

Above: Royal Canadian Air Force CH-124A Sea King 12435 at Shearwater following its accident on July 15, 2013. Canadian Directorate of Flight Safety


Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials

Accident Reports


D: Mar 1, 2015N: US Air Force/432nd WingT: MQ-1B PredatorS: 06-3164A total electrical failure caused by a short circuit led to the crash and destruction of this UAV in the US Central Command Area of Responsibility. The loss was not reported at the time, but revealed when an abbreviated accident investigation board report was released on September 9. The Predator was carrying out a combat support mission and being controlled by a crew from the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing/196 th Reconnaissance Squadron based at March AFB, California. The short circuit in the onboard printed wiring board caused electrical generation to exceed the capacity of both alternators and drained both batteries, leading to total electrical failure.

D: Aug 27N: Royal Canadian Air Force/ 14 WingT: CP-140 Aurora S: 140103

During take-off from Greenwood, Nova Scotia, for a transit flight to Iqaluit, Nunavut, in support of Operation Qimmiq, the crew observed a flock of birds heading towards the runway. Concerned about the collision risk, the aircraft commander directed the pilot to abort take-off. Full reverse thrust was selected on all four propellers and both of those on the left side went into full reverse, but the two on the right side continued to produce some forward thrust. The crew were unable to keep the aircraft on the wet runway and it departed the left side, approximately 1,000ft (300m) before the end. The propellers struck a runway distance marker and precision approach path indicator light before the Aurora ploughed through soft earth and the nose undercarriage collapsed. This caused the starboard inner propeller to hit the ground and break away from the engine. All crew exited safely with only minor injuries.

D: Aug 31N: Mexican Air Force/Escuadron Aéreo 402 T: PC-7S: 2517

While on a post-maintenance test flight from BAM5 Zapopan

Above: Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora 140103 following its aborted take-off at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, on August 27. Canadian DND

Above: The wreckage of Mexican Air Force PC-7 2517 following its crash on August 31. Both crew members escaped with minor injuries.

following a 200hr inspection, the crew were forced to make an emergency landing due to engine failure within the confines of the base. The aircraft, which was on loan to an unknown unit from Esc 402, was destroyed but both pilots escaped with minor injuries.

D: Sept 9N: Pakistan Air ForceT: Chengdu F-7

While undertaking a routine training flight from PAF Base Samungli, Quetta, in poor weather, the engine caught fire and then seized. The aircraft was destroyed in the ensuing crash near Mustung, Balochistan province, after the pilot, Lt Yasir Ali, ejected safely. It was believed to be an F-7PG variant. There was no loss of life or damage to property on the ground.

D: Sep 10N: Spanish UME/Batallón de Emergencias IIT: AS532UL CougarS: HU.27-02 ‘ET-669’ (c/n 2738)

This Cougar crashed at 0930hrs at Requena Airfield, Valencia, during a training flight. The

three crew members escaped unharmed, but the helicopter rolled over, severing the main rotor blades and tail section. It was being operated by the UME’s Batallón de Emergencias II (Emergency Battalion II) based at Bétera, Valencia, but had been detached to Requena for a week as part of a regular deployment for training. A Spanish Army HT.17 Chinook later airlifted the damaged helicopter back to Bétera.

D: Sept 13N: Royal Saudi Air ForceT: Unidenti� ed helicopter

The pilot of this unidentified helicopter was killed when it crashed in the Taif area during a training flight as a result of a technical malfunction. Lt Bandar Yahya Farhan Alfaifi attempted an emergency landing but crashed. It was not reported whether there were any other personnel on board. Helicopters based at Taif-King Fahd Air Base comprise Agusta-Bell 212, 412EP and Bell 412RS variants, all operated by 14 Squadron. The type involved was not reported.

D: Sep 14N: Zambian Air Force/Helicopter SquadronT: Agusta-Bell 205A-1S: AF-770 (c/n 4244, ex Italian Army/MM80782)

This helicopter was written off in a crash in the Gwembe district of Zambia’s Southern Province. Two of the five on board were seriously injured and taken to hospital, but the others were reported to be unhurt. Local sources say the injured were ZAF officers Brigadier General William Sikazwe and Colonel Webster Simwanda. The helicopter, from the ZAF Helicopter Squadron at Lusaka-Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, had flown from there to Sinazongwe, taking defence minister Richwell Siamunene on a private visit to his village. He was not on board when the helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from Sinazongwe for the return flight that evening.

D: Sep 15N: Syrian Air ForceT: Mi-8/17

Two crew members were killed when this helicopter crashed at around 0030hrs after apparently being shot down near Nayrab Refugee Camp, Aleppo. It came down shortly after taking off from al-Nayrab Air Base bound for Kweres Air Base where it was to deliver medical supplies, food, clothing and other provisions for the Syrian Arab Army soldiers under siege there from IS. It was reported to have come under heavy gunfire from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham as it was taking off.

D: Sep 16N: Russian Air ForceT: Mi-24 Hind

During a training flight, this attack helicopter crash-landed at around


MAR 9 - OCT 2 2015

ATTRITION REPORT

2030hrs Moscow time at Dvoevka Air Base, in the Smolensk region of central Russia. No injuries were reported. The extent of damage to the helicopter is unknown.

D: Sep 17N: Syrian Air ForceT: Su-22M-4 Fitter-K

During a sortie from T-4 (Tiyas) Air Base this aircraft was written off in the area of the Jazal oil field after reportedly being shot down. The fate of the pilot is unknown. The aircraft came down around 25 miles (40km) west of Tiyas.

D: Sep 17N: Venezuelan Military AviationT: Sukhoi Su-30MKVS: 0460

While intercepting an illicit aircraft that was violating Venezuelan air space this Su-30 crashed at 2107hrs. The two pilots, Captains Ronald Ramirez and Jackson García, were both killed. The aircraft came down in the northwest of the country, near the Colombian border, in an area which Venezuelan defence minister Vladimir Padrino said was known to be used by groups linked to narco-trafficking.

D: Sept 19N: US Navy/Training Wing 4/VT-28T: T-6B Texan IIS: 166056 ‘G-056’

This T-6B, assigned to Training Wing 4’s Training Squadron 28 (VT-28) ‘Rangers’ at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, crashed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, during a routine training flight at approximately 1000hrs. The two crew members conducted a controlled ejection prior to the crash and were evaluated for minor injuries. The cause of the incident is under investigation. According to a New Mexico State Police spokesman, the aircraft had been circling Las Cruces International Airport just before the crash because its undercarriage had been damaged.

D: Sep 21N: US Navy/VFA-14T: F/A-18E Super HornetS: 166446 ‘NG-210’

After the pilot ejected safely following flight control system issues just prior to landing, this Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 14 ‘Tophatters’ crashed in an open field near Naval Air

Station Lemoore, California, at 1555hrs. The pilot was able to walk over to paramedics who had responded to the crash. The aircraft came down about 3 miles (5km) from the base. The Hornet appeared to have hit the ground in a flat attitude, but was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire.

D: Sep 22N: Republic of China Air Force/ Air Force AcademyT: AIDC AT-3 Tzu ChiangS: AT-30851/77-6051

This jet trainer was reported missing in a mountainous region of Taiwan after air traffic controllers lost contact with it. The aircraft, from the Air Force Academy’s Fighter Training Group, took off from its base at Kangshan (Kaohsiung) at 1157hrs but disappeared about half an hour later. The Ministry of National Defence said it was last seen on radar over the Las Mabo mountain near Xinyi township, Nantou County, in central Taiwan, at 1224hrs while on a routine instrument flying training flight. The aircraft was being flown by two crew, with instructor Major Wang Ching-chun in the front seat and cadet 1st Lt Huang Chun-jung in the back. The ROCAF deployed an EC225 rescue helicopter to

search for the missing aircraft and its crew. The wreckage was found after an extensive search and it was confirmed the two crew had been killed. Their bodies were flown back to the Air Force Academy on September 27. The ministry is investigating the cause of the incident.

D: Pre-Sep 26N: Afghan Air ForceT: MD530F Cayuse Warrior/‘Jengi’

According to a report in the New York Times, this helicopter was destroyed after landing on a mountain when it was caught by a tailwind which flipped it down the side of the mountain. A US instructor pilot and Afghan student managed to escape before it fell down the mountain, which was located near Kabul.

D: Sep 26N: Royal Saudi Land ForcesT: AH-64 Apache

This helicopter is reported to have crashed in Jizan province, Saudi Arabia, after allegedly being shot down by Yemen Armed Forces. The fate of the crew was not reported.

D: Sep 28N: Iraqi Army Aviation CorpsT: Bell 407S: YI-125

Accident Reports

Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials

Accident ReportsAfter reportedly being shot down, this helicopter was written-off when it crashed near the city of Tikrit in the southern province of Salah al-Din. The two crew members escaped from the wreckage and were recovered safely by another helicopter.

D: Sep 29N: Argentine Air Force/ V Brigada AéreaT: A-4AR FighterhawkS: C-933

Due to not being properly chocked during an engine ground test, the aircraft ran away and crashed into the side of a hangar at BAM Villa Reynolds. The accident resulted in the death of one mechanic and injuries to five other Air Force personnel, but the aircraft sustained only moderate damage.

D: Oct 1N: Tanzanian People’s Defence ForceT: Unidenti� ed trainer

While on a training flight the aircraft crashed into the Indian Ocean off Dar es Salaam at around 0930hrs local time, killing both occupants, Lt Col Talkisiyo Bruno Ndongoro and Captain Gaudence Peter Hamis. The aircraft was flying from the Silver Sand area of Bundya Island when it had engine failure and crashed before the crew had time to bale out.

D: Oct 2N: US Air Force/774th Expeditionary Airlift SquadronT: C-130J-30 Super Hercules

Eleven peo ple on board were killed in the crash of this C-130J-30 in Afghanistan, while three Afghan security personnel on the ground also died. The fatalities comprised six US service members and five civilian contractors. The four crew killed were from the 317th Airlift Group’s 39th Airlift Squadron ‘Trail Blazers’ at Dyess AFB, Texas, while the other two military personnel lost were from the 66th Security Forces Squadron at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts. The accident occurred at 0019hrs at Jalalabad Air Base. The aircraft was assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing’s 774th Air Expeditionary Squadron at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

Additional material from: Juan Carlos Cicalesi, Mariano Garcia Rodriguez, Agustin Puetz and Scramble/Dutch Aviation Society.

Above: Spanish UME/Batallón de Emergencias II AS532UL Cougar HU.27-02 ‘ET-669’ following its accident at Requena Airport on September 10.

Above: Zambian Air Force AB205A-1 AF-700 following its crash on September 14.

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The air war over Afghanistan was dominated by the need for close-air support. As small teams of special forces troops hunted the Taliban high in mountainous regions, when they made contact and a firefight ensued, the call for air support would be made.This often resulted in a

pair of A-10 Thunderbolts racing to the area to orbit over the fight waiting to release an arsenal of precision-guided munitions or strafe enemy troops caught in the open with their Vulcan cannon.This is the story of

the A-10 pilots, who came from a huge cross-section within the USAF – active duty, reserve and Air National Guard pilots playing parts in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). From the harsh daily conditions they encountered operating from

Bagram AB, where even the basic amenities had to be established in the early weeks. It includes previously unreported accounts of the harsh daily operational conditions they encountered at Bagram AB, on their early combat missions.Pilots give accounts of

flying among the mountains of Afghanistan on NVGs, enduring weather conditions they would not fly in during peacetime while receiving calls from anxious coalition troops asking for close-air support.Wit h the future of the A-10

Thunderbolt II in doubt, Osprey has produced a fitting title on what is likely to have been the type’s last war. Glenn Sands

The uniquely shaped double-delta-winged Saab Draken protected the airspace of Sweden and its Nordic neighbours for more than 30 years. It was a real fighter pilot’s aeroplane and extraordinarily popular with them, due to its performance, comfortable cockpit and the challenge of a high workload, necessary during sorties.The Draken evolved

from a supersonic interceptor to a low-level photo-reconnaissance, tactical attack platform, for which the aircraft doubled in its maximum take-off weight but retained its excellent performance. It was a remarkable jet from Sweden’s sole aircraft company, Saab.The author’s

photographs have graced many a feature within AFM and the pin-sharp images shot against a dramatic Nordic landscape will leave the reader captivated.But this book looks beyond

familiar Swedish Air

Force operations and covers those of the Austria, Denmark and Finland air forces, all of which flew Drakens in the fighter or photo-reconnaissance role. British readers will no doubt remember the weathered look of Danish RF-35s at UK airshows towards the end of their operational service.The Nordic Airpower series is

producing high-quality titles on some unique Scandinavian

aircraft, backed-up with informative text and captions to complement the stunning images. My only gripe with this series – we have to wait so long for each volume to be published. Glenn Sands

The French Air Force has always had that extra bit of flare when it comes to painting its military aircraft in anniversary colour schemes. From the wealth of images presented in this book it seems that, at squadron level at least, any occasion – no matter how dubious its connection to a particular squadron – required

a fighter, transport or helicopter to be decorated and flown for the event.From the

outlandishly garish to some remarkable artwork seen at NATO’s Tiger Meet, they are all presented here. The authors have done an incredible job of seeking out some of the short-lived and lesser-known special schemes, some of which lasted only a matter of days before order from on high requested their removal.

Where possible a selection of views is shown of some schemes. For example the overall

white Mirage IVA was a new scheme to me and worthy of a double-page spread.There’s plenty to keep the

enthusiast busy within this book, but it also serves as a reminder of when ‘things weren’t so rigid’ and squadron members were allowed to exhibit their unique personalities and ‘bend the rules’ without fear of repercussions.It’s clear that many a French

squadron was happy to decorate its aircraft and damn the consequences. A unique piece of military aviation captured in glorious colour. Glenn Sands

Saab 35 DrakenNordic Airpower 6Jan Jørgensen and friends£44.99ISBN: 978-8799368853

A-10 Thunderbolt II Units of Operation Enduring Freedom 2008-14Osprey PublishingGary Wetzel£13.99ISBN: 978-1472805737

Décorations Spéciales 1972-1999Delta Re� ex£21.99ISBN: n/aWebsite: www.deltare� ex.com

DEBRIEF Book reviews

These titles are available from: The Aviation Bookshop, 31-33 Vale Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1BS, United Kingdom.

a fighter, transport or helicopter to be decorated and flown for the event.From the

outlandishly garish to some remarkable artwork seen at NATO’s Tiger Meet, they are all presented here. The authors have done an incredible job of seeking out some of the short-lived and lesser-known special schemes, some of which lasted only a matter of days before order from on high requested their removal.

pair of A-10 Thunderbolts racing to the area to orbit

graced many a feature within aircraft, backed-up with

SEP 15, 2015

SEP 17, 2015

SEP 8, 2015

BASE WATCH Manching-Ingolstadt Send us your Base Watch images,please include time, date and location. E-mail at [email protected]

Above: The fi rst German Air Force Tranche 3A Eurofi ghter, 31+29 (GS0089), departs the Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) facility at Manching on September 8. It was being delivered to TakLwG 31 ‘B’ at Nörvenich.All photos, Dietmar FennersRight: Two L-39s operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) – including this example 432830/N215AX – were seen visiting the base in late September. It was working with N214AX over the Grafenwöhr range.

Left: Airbus Helicopters also has a facility at Manching. This H135, registered D-HECG is destined for the Royal Australian Navy (N52-001/‘851’) and was seen on September 15 ready for a training sortie. Above: Another Airbus helicopter almost ready for delivery is Albania Air Force H145 D-HADH (c/n 9718), which was being used to train Albanian pilots on October 1.

Above: Tornado ECR 46+51 is taken for a check-ride on September 17 after being overhauled at the ADS facilities. It should have been re-delivered to AkG 51 at Schleswig-Jagel by now.

OCT 1, 2015

(GS0089), departs the Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) facility at Manching

Two L-39s operated by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC)

SEP 15, 2015


OCT 3, 2015

OCT 3, 2015

BASE WATCH RAF Lossiemouth Send us your Base Watch images,please include time, date and location. E-mail at [email protected]

The base hosted several interesting visitors for Exercise

Joint Warrior 15-2 which started on October 5 and is due to finish on the 16th. The maritime exercise was likely to include RAF aircrews involved in the ‘Seedcorn’ project. This involves RAF personnel flying in maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) operated by the US and Commonwealth states so they can maintain specific skills until the UK identifies a replacement for the cancelled Nimrod MRA4 programme. This is likely to be addressed in the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

Above: US Navy P-8A, 168760/‘LC’ of VP-8 was one of three Poseidons attending – the others being 168437/‘LA’ from VP-5 and 168759/‘LC’. Both units reside at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. VP-8 fl ew their fi rst operational P-8 mission on March 2. All photos, Niall PatersonLeft: Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140A Aurora 140114 vacates the main runway after arriving on October 3. Below: A pair of Sea King ASAC 7s ZE422/‘92’ and XV797/‘81’ from 849 Sqn at RNAS Culdrose ventured up to Scotland on October 3. They operated from the old SAR dispersal.

Above: Another MPA to arrive on a sunny October 3 was German Navy/MFG-3 P-3C 60+07. Right: US Navy C-40B Clipper 166695 back-tracks down runway 05 on September 30. The jet departed for Sigonella, Sicily after dropping off personnel for the exercise.

OCT 3, 2015 SEP 30, 2015

OCT 3, 2015


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1-12 Apr USA: NAS Key West & Sun ‘ Fun Airshows & Aviation Sites Of Florida incl Piper Aircraft Factory, Fantasy of Flight & Valiant Air Command Museums.

1-10 May RUSSIA: Moscow: Great Patriotic War Victory Day Parade, Red Square & Aviation Museums

Mid May SPAIN: NATO Tiger Meet, Zaragoza Airbase; Zaragoza hotel. 5-day tour. In addition to Spotters Days we also include full day at end of runway.

Late May BELARUS: long weekend trip to fl y in Soviet aircraft, eg, IL-18, IL-76, An-12 & Tu-134

Late May/Early Jun FINLAND: Airshow, Aviation Museums & Bear Spotting. Await confi rmation of airshow.

27 May-5 Jun GERMANY: ILA Aero Exhibition & Airshow, Berlin; Minsk, Belarus; & Warsaw & Deblin, Poland. Optional long weekend just to Berlin.

7-11 June (tba) TURKEY: Anatolian Eagle, Konya. Hotel confi rmed.

23-31 Jul/6 Aug USA: Oshkosh; 6 full days at the show. Opt Ext to USAF Museum, Dayton & Nat Air & Space, Udvar Hazy Museums in Washington D.C.. Hotel near the White House.

28 Jul-1 Aug HUNGARY: Hungarian Air Force Int’l Airshow. 4days visiting several museums in addition to “Arrivals Day” and 2 full days at the airshow.

Dates TBA REPUBLIC OF CHINA: Air Force Base Visits TBC

11-17 Sep BULGARIA: Air Force Bases: all the airbases of the Bulgarian Air Force (TBC), and military aviation museums and collections.

Sep TBA CANADA: Air Force Bases; tours of major airbases of all the major airbases; to coincide with an airshow.

17-28 Nov FALKLAND ISLANDS: airfi elds & battle sites incl Argentinian Air Force aircraft; local wildlife

26 Nov-5/12 Dec CHILE: Air Force, Army & Naval Aviation Bases: Opt 1 Week Extension to the Falkland Islands airfi elds & battle sites incl Argentinian Air Force aircraft; local wildlife

MOST ITINERARIES NOW ON OUR WEBSITE.

2016 PROVISIONAL TOUR PROGRAMME

Terminal House, Shepperton, Middlesex TW17 8ASTelephone: +44 (0)1932 255627Facsimile: +44 (0)1932 231942

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Aviation Tours

The Heathrow Aircraft Enthusiasts' Fair returns on Sunday 15th November 10-30/15:00. Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury, Middle-sex, TW16 5AQ. For an amazing assortment of aviation related items. 22nd year! 01423 862256 evenings. www.aircraftenthusiastfair.co.uk

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Left: Wearing the colours of the Turkish Stars display team, C-130E 68-13189 of 222 Filo departs RAF Mildenhall using callsign ‘Turkish Air Force 804’. The Hercules provides logistical support and passenger transport to the team during the airshow season. Ryan DorlingLeft below: Climbing out of RAF Mildenhall late afternoon on September 24, is C-32A 98-0002 callsign ‘Sam 398’. Prior to departing, the aircraft had spent a few hours conducting local circuit pattern training in the area as ‘Venus 92’. The type, which is a military version of the Boeing 757-200, has been converted to serve as VIP transports for the USAF, and the fl eet is operated by the 89th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. A primary user of the C-32A is the Vice President of the United States. Ryan Dorling Below: Using the callsign ‘Cube 54’, F-15C Eagle 85-0096 from Florida Air National Guard’s 127th Fighter Wing/159th Fighter Squadron lands at RAF Mildenhall at 1435hrs. The Eagle developed a fuel leak following an in-fl ight refuelling and landed at the base as a precautionary measure, accompanied by F-15C 80-0024 from Oregon Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Squadron/123rd Fighter Wing. Paul CallaghanBottom: This smart-looking French Air Force Airbus A340 F-RAJA arrived at RAF Mildenhall at 1230hrs on September 27, for an undisclosed visit. Two A340s are currently in service, providing logistical and VIP transport for French Government offi cials. Andrew Parker

AUG 20 2015

SEP 27 2015

SEP 24 2015

AUG 20 2015

NextIssueON SALE NOVEMBER 19TH**UK scheduled on sale date. Please note that the overseas deliveries are likely to be after this date.

BASE WATCH RAF Mildenhall Send us your Base Watch images,please include time, date and location. E-mail at [email protected]


Beechcraft F_P.indd 1 18/09/2015 09:16

Pilatus F_P.indd 1 22/09/2015 09:53

LEANER BUT MEANERTHE ROYAL

AIR FORCE IN 2015


TIM RIPLEY REVIEWS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE RAF, ITS AIRCRAFT, ORGANISATION, TRAINING AND ON-GOING OPERATIONS.

RAF TODAY • THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE UK'S AIR FORCE

2 www.airforcesmonthly.comRAF TODAY

Front Cover: A 1 (F) Squadron Typhoon FGR4 is seen with a full QRA fi t – four AMRAAMs for beyond visual range (BVR) purposes and two ASRAAMs for within visual range (WVR). The RAF’s Typhoons are busier than ever, being scrambled on a regular basis to intercept Russian bombers that are fl ying close to UK airspace. John Dibbs © 2015Above: Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford KCB CBE ADC RAF was appointed Chief of the Air Staff in July 2013. As a former helicopter pilot he saw operational service in Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Lebanon, the Balkans and the Gulf. Right: Russian Air Force activity in international airspace off the UK has increased in recent years. Flight Lieutenant Cruikshank, fl ying a 6 Squadron QRA Typhoon FGR4, intercepted this Tupolev Tu-95 Bear-H bomber on September 16, 2014. MOD Crown Copyright Sgt Stu Fenwick

Air CommandIn its current structure, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) is organised around four main frontline commands – Headquarters Air Command at RAF High Wycombe, Bucking-hamshire; the Navy Command Headquarters at Portsmouth, Hampshire; Army Headquarters at Andover, Hampshire; and Joint Forces Command at Northwood, Hertfordshire. Due to budget cuts introduced by the last government, the Chief of the Air Staff and other senior air force leaders moved to High Wycombe from the MOD Main Building in Whitehall, London. The revamped Air Command has day-to-day

control of all aspects of RAF operations, except for forces deployed on operations overseas or assigned to work under the control of other services in joint organisations. Air Command divides its forces into four main

functional organisations, controlled by two-star officers or air-vice marshals. These groups, which are all based at High Wycombe, look after air combat forces, air support forces, the train-ing pipeline and deployable logistic capabilities. Over the past decade the RAF’s logistic support

operations at its home bases have undergone major transformation, with industry taking over the management and execution of depth main-tenance and support. An industry-led team now supports each aircraft type, running a depth maintenance facility or hub, where aircraft are overhauled and, in many cases, upgraded.

The Royal Air Force and the nation marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain

in September. The commemorations focused attention on the service as it approaches

its centenary in three years’ time. The RAF in 2015 is the

smallest it has

ever been, with just under

37,000 personnel and 180 frontline fast jet combat

aircraft. Yet government ministers and RAF chiefs argue that its current inventory of aircraft and weapons is the most capable it has ever had, providing unprecedented global reach and firepower.This review aims to describe the current organ-

isation of the RAF, the roles and missions of its main flying units, and the operations to which they are curently committed around the world. While the focus is on main force elements

under the day-to-day control of RAF Air Com-mand, units operating under other branches of the UK armed forces, including Joint Helicopter Command and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, are also examined. Due to lack of space, we have not looked

at the flying elements of the Air Cadets and University Air Squadrons, which do valuable work with young people and students, but have no operational or combat role.

Contractor personnel work at these sites at frontline air bases to streamline the process and speed the return of aircraft to service. BAE Systems, for example, runs the Typhoon support facility at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and the Tornado depth facility at RAF Marham, Norfolk. These contracts are overseen by an RAF team within the Defence Equipment & Support organisation at Abbey Wood, Bristol.

No. 1 Group – Combat AirThe main fighting power of the RAF is contained with No. 1 Group. Its commander, currently Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Gary Waterfall, has respon-sibility for preparing forces for deployment on expeditionary operations overseas. Also, to keep aircraft, radar and control centres operat-ing on a 24/7 basis to protect UK airspace against attack, terrorist incursions and other incidents that might threaten public safety.The group is divided into three ‘main forces’,

each operating under a one-star officer of air commodore rank. The largest of these is Typhoon Force, based at RAF Coningsby. It operates more than 100 Tranche 1 and 2 Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 multi-role combat aircraft at Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. Earlier this year, the fifth and final frontline Typhoon unit (as required by the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)), II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, stood up at Lossiemouth to complete the Typhoon Force.

3www.airforcesdaily.com RAF TODAY



The force’s core business is sustaining the Northern and Southern Quick Reaction Alerts (QRAs), or ‘Qs’, at Lossiemouth and Coningsby, respectively, and supplying personnel for the QRA at Mount Pleasant Airfield on the Falkland Islands. This is an aircraft and manpower intensive busi-ness, which requires at least four jets to be held at immediate notice to launch to intercept and investigate suspicious activity in UK airspace, plus two more in the South Atlantic. Further aircraft are held at a lower level of readiness to replace the alert Typhoons, should they be launched. Pilots and groundcrew are scheduled for Q duty for weeks and months respectively in advance. The Q jets are launched for a variety of reasons.

Currently the most newsworthy are the inter-ceptions of Russian Tu-95 Bear bombersapproaching UK airspace. While much is made in the media of the threat posed by these aircraft, the primary reason for launching the Q fighters is to escort the Russian machines away from civilian airliners to prevent accidents, since Moscow’s air force does not file flight plans for its missions over the North Atlantic and beyond. The Typhoon Q jets often have to be refuelled in the air, calling on the services of the RAF’s Voyager K2/K3 tanker aircraft. Typhoon Force also has an expeditionary role,

providing air defence and offensive air support. Over the next five years it will be transformed by the introduction of Tranche 3 Typhoons, integrated with new sensors and weapons (see Typhoon over The Horizon, October, p32-36).

These include the MBDA Brimstone 2 air-to-ground missile, Meteor air-to-air missile and Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the Selex advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radar will come around 2022. Under current plans, as the Tranche 3 jets enter service over the next three years the 53 older Tranche 1 jets will be progressively retired, leaving a force of just 107 Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft in service.

Tornado ForceThe next largest part of No. 1 Group is Tornado Force, which is predominately based at RAF Marham and operates the rump of the Tornado GR4s remaining in service. The Tornado operational conversion unit, XV (Reserve) Squadron, remains at RAF Lossiemouth. Over the past five years the size of the GR4 fleet has progressively declined, from its high point of more than 130 aircraft to around 60 jets in frontline service today. The Tornado GR4 is the RAF’s most

capable attack and intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform, boasting an impressive suite of weapons and sensors. These include the 500lb (227kg) laser/GPS-guided Paveway IV and laser-guided 1,000lb (454kg) Paveway II and 2,000lb (908kg) Paveway III; Brimstone and Storm Shadow missiles; UTC Aerospace

Above: Typhoon provided a symbol of reassurance to the Lithuanian people during its Baltic Air Policing deployment, but also served as a declaration of intent from NATO in response to any possible aggression in the region. MOD Crown Copyright Cpl Neil Bryden Below: Royal Air Force XV (Reserve) Squadron Tornado GR4 ZA461 – in special markings for the unit’s 100th anniversary – fl ies in formation with another GR4 from the unit, ZA602 ‘F’/MacRobert’s Reply, during a training sortie. MOD Crown Copyright Sgt Peter George

Below: The RAF’s fi rst F-35B Lightning II, designated BK-1, lands at Edwards AFB, California after another test and evaluation fl ight. Lightning IIs will equip 17 (Reserve) Squadron, which will comprise both RAF and Royal Navy aircrew and personnel. USAF


BuchanBenbecula

Fylingdales

Donna Nook

ConingsbyWaddington

Scampton

Holbeach

Leeming

Neatishead

High Wycombe

Shawbury

Cranwell

Wittering

Valley

Brize Norton

Benson Northolt

LATCC (Mil)

OdihamMoD BoscombeDown

Portreath

Pembrey Sands

Lossiemouth

HQ

Stations

Ranges

Control Centres

Radars

Flying Stations

Boulmer

Spadeadam

Tain

Cape WrathRAF Base Locations

RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Island

Edward Air Force Base, California

RAF Atrokiri, Cyprus

Creech AFB, Nevada

Al Udeid, RAFO Musannah,Qatar Minhad Air

Base, UAE

Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan

Systems Reconnaissance Airborne Pod for Tornado (RAPTOR) digital reconnaissance pod; and Rafael Litening III advanced targeting pod, which has the capability to download live video to a forward air controller on the ground. A detachment of eight Tornado GR4s

deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Herrick, supporting British ground troops between 2009 and 2014, and it had been intended to begin running the force down once the Herrick commitment was over. Number II (AC) Squadron was slated to disband in early 2015, its number plate destined for the final Typhoon squadron at Lossiemouth. A further reduction would then leave just

one frontline GR4 squadron providing a niche strategic attack capability until the type went out of service in 2018. This reduced force would not have the ability to establish an enduring commitment during a sustained operation.The commitment of Tornado Force to an

intervention against IS in Iraq in August 2014 meant these plans had to be modified



RAF Owned Aircraft Inventory, September 2015Platform Forward

� eetSustainment � eet

Storage Total inventory

On order

RAF Owned Aircraft Inventory, September 2015

A400M 5 5 17

BAe 146 C2/3 4 4

C-17A 7 1 8

E-3D 3 3 6

F-35B 3 3 14

Hawk T1/T1A 66 7 52 125

Hawk T2 24 4 28

C-130J 20 4 24

Islander CC2/CC2B 3 3

King Air 200/300 5 2 7

RC-135W 2 2 1

MQ-9 Reaper 10 10

Sentinel R1 3 2 5

Shadow R1 5 5

Tornado GR4 59 28 11 98

Tucano T1 28 11 43 82

Typhoon Tranche 1/2 89 31 120

Typhoon Tranche 3 18 18 22

Chinook HC4 23 14 37 1

Chinook HC5 6 2 8

Chinook HC6 5 1 6 8

Puma HC2 10 14 24

Sea King HAR3/3A 4 21 25

Leased/Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Aircraft operated by RAF aircrew, September 2015

Voyager K2/3 8 4 12 2

Gri� n HAR2 4 4

Gri� n HT1 9 2 11

Squirrel HT1/2 23 3 26

Hawk T1 3 3

A109 Power 2 2

Notes: Forward Fleet aircraft are in day-to-day use at RAF air� elds. Sustainment Fleet aircraft are undergoing scheduled deep maintenance, overhaul or repair. On Order aircraft only include those under contract. The Hawk T1/1A � eet is a Ministry of Defence pool that includes aircraft used by the Royal Navy for � eet exercise support

Above: No 617 'Dambusters' Sqn operated Tornado GR4s until April 2014. The unit will start working up on F-35B Lightnings in 2016 at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina and relocate to RAF Marham in 2018 when it will stand up again. Alan WarnesBelow: BAE Systems technicians remove an engine from a Tornado GR4 during routine depth maintenance on January 27, 2015 at RAF Marham. MOD


Above: Royal Air Force Shadow R1 ZZ417 from 14 Squadron is based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, how-ever with runway repairs underway there, the unit is currently operating out of RAF Cranwell. The Shadows form part of the ISTAR group at the base. Alan Warnes

Above: An RAF Voyager passenger transport aircraft returns to Brize Norton with troops from Afghanistan. The Voyager represents a quantum leap in the effi ciency and reliability of trooping aircraft at the base. MOD Crown Copyright Paul CrouchBelow: Two Rivet Joint signals intelligence gathering aircraft have so far been delivered to the UK, and serve with 51 Squadron. They form part of Project Airseeker, which will provide real-time on-scene intelligence, surveillance and analysis to airborne and ground forces. Alan Warnes

ISTAR Force’s manned aircraft is also based at RAF Waddington, although Reaper training takes place at Creech AFB, Nevada in the United States. Ops are being run from both facilities. The Sentry AEW1s have a commitment to

support the QRA Typhoons protecting UK airspace and to monitor sea zones with their radar, as well as contributing to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. The Sentinel R1 is committed to the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force, which will eventually operate the Global Hawk UAV.

Little is known of the Shadow R1’s role, but it is understood to support special forces and UK security agencies, with its SIGINT/COMINT and electro-optical sensors. Both the Shadow and Sentinel received a reprieve last summer and are now due to remain in service until 2018.The latest aircraft to join ISTAR Force is

Rivet Joint or Air Seeker as it is known in the UK, which began operations overseas last summer. A second arrived in September 2015 and the last aircraft is due for delivery by 2017. Flown by 51 Squadron, the RC-135s were purchased under an agreement with the US Air Force that enables them to be maintained and upgraded as part of the US fleet. Two have been delivered to date. Close integration with the USAF is also an

integral part of Reaper operations, 39 Squadron personnel continuing to be based at Creech AFB to work in the USAF’s global drone control and intelligence centre. The RAF has opened its own control centre at RAF Waddington, linked via satellite to its US counterpart and to Reaper aircraft in operational theatres. Airspace and safety rules make

Reaper flying from a British airfield highly problematic and as such are not considered for UK basing. The aircraft are currently in the Middle East supporting Operation Shader, combating IS in Iraq and Syria.

to sustain a detachment of eight GR4s at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. In January 2015, the Tornado-equipped II (AC) Squadron was renumbered as 12 (Bomber) Squadron, and scheduled to serve until March 2016, while the ‘new’ II (AC) stood up on the Typhoon at Lossiemouth. In July this year it was announced that all three Marham GR4 squadrons would remain in existence until at least March 2017.

ISTAR ForceNumber 1 Group’s ISTAR Force is based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. Its equipment includes the E-3D Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS), Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraft, Shadow R1 manned aerial surveillance (MAS) aircraft, RC-135 Rivet Joint signals and commu-nications intelligence (SIGINT/COMINT) aircraft and the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted air system (RPAS). All the aircraft are currently working from other bases because of work in progress at RAF Waddington which is set to last until mid 2016. The Sentinels and Shadows are currently based at RAF Cranwell, Lincs, the AWACS at RAF Coningsby, Lincs and Rivet Joint at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk. ISTAR Force also controls the ground-based intelligence exploitation elements that support these aircraft, including the Tactical Imagery Intelligence Wing (TIW) at RAF Marham, which contains deployable intelligence and imagery analysts.A combined operational conversion unit for



Above: In September 2015 the RAF fl ew a unique formation of all its Tornado GR4s painted in commemorative schemes from squadrons based at RAF Marham and RAF Lossiemouth: (front to back), 15 Squadron (ZA461), 12 Squadron (ZA405), 9 Squadron (ZA456), 31 Squadron (ZA548) and 41 Squadron (ZD788). MOD Crown Copyright SAC Rob Travis

The final element of 1 Group is its radar and control facilities across the UK. The most promi-nent radar site in the UK is RAF Fylingdales on the North Yorkshire Moors. It provides early warning of ballistic missile attack on the UK and allied nations, as well as taking an important space-monitoring role. The site’s huge pyramid antenna contains US-supplied phased array radars intended to provide the infamous ‘four-minute warning’ of nuclear attack on Britain.RAF Boulmer, Northumberland is home

to the Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force’s Command Control and Reporting Centre, which provides radar coverage of UK airspace, via a network of remote radars at Portreath, Cornwall; Neatishead, Norfolk; Buchan, Aberdeenshire; and Benbecula on the Western Isles.

No. 2 Group – Combat Air SupportNumber 2 Group is the RAF’s air mobility organisation, with the majority of its assets concentrated at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The Air Officer Commanding of 2 Group is AVM Gav Parker. Its flying elements fall under the Air Mobility Force (AMF), commanded by an air commodore. Major investment in 2 Group’s aircraft has seen the veteran VC10 and TriStar air-to-air refuelling and strategic transport aircraft replaced in 2013-14 by the Voyager KC2/KC3. The Voyagers operate under an unusual financial arrangement, where they and the base infrastructure supporting them are owned by the private AirTanker consortium and ‘hired back’ by the RAF. Among AMF’s dedicated transports, 99

Squadron’s C-17A Globemaster IIIs are strategic airlift workhorses. At the height of the war in Afghanistan, the C-17s were flying daily missions to Camp Bastion to resupply the British garrison, as well as bring home wounded troops and repatriate fallen soldiers.Since 2011 RAF Brize Norton has been home

to the C-130J Hercules tactical transport. These aircraft are the mainstay of support to the army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade, dropping airborne troops and cargo by parachute. To



Above: Timely analysis of intelligence material gathered by the RAF’s ISTAR assets has proved to be highly effective in co-ordinating airstrikes on suspected enemy emplacements, not only in Afghanistan but Iraq as well. Today, RAF analysts from the Marham based Tactical Imagery Wing provide information to coalition partners attacking IS facilities. UK MOD Crown Copyright Below: An RAF Sentinel R1 from V (AC) Squadron serving as part of the 902 Expeditionary Air Wing in 2014 provided focused support to coalition forces in Afghanistan. UK MOD Crown Copyright Sgt Ross Tilly

Below: The venerable Puma returned to RAF service as the Puma HC2 following an upgrade that included more power, the latest cockpit systems and a comprehensive digital communications suite. The aircraft’s small footprint compared with the Chinook’s is especially useful for work in confi ned areas. Alan Warnes

support this role, the Royal Logistic Corps’ 47 Air Despatch Squadron provides specialist personnel to load and drop troops and freight, and the Parachute Training School trains para-chutists for all three services. Under current plans, all the C-130Js are to be retired by 2022, in a phased programme that will begin in 2016.The newest addition to the AMF is the A400M

Atlas which, when it is fully accepted into service, will replace the C-130J in the tactical role and augment the C-17A in strategic airlift operations. Four A400Ms had been delivered to RAF Brize Norton by mid-September, but the type remains under test and evaluation before entering frontline service. The crash of a Turkish A400M in May set back the aircraft’s flight test programme and it is unclear what implications this might have for the RAF.Britain is putting the A400M through its

own capability development programme to clear it against UK-specific cargo pallets and parachutes. As of July 2015, these plans did

not call for the full clearances for airdropping paratroops at night to be complete until 2022, leading to fears that a capability gap could appear as the C-130J fleet reduces in size. The AMF’s other flying elements are the

Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter of 32 (The Royal) Squadron, based inside the M25 motorway at RAF Northolt, Middlesex, to support the royal family, senior government leaders and top military commanders. With the retirement of the last BAe 125s earlier this year, 32 (TR) Sqn has consolidated its operations around the BAe 146 and AW109 Power, the latter operated under lease. Number 2 Group is in the process of winding up its search and rescue operations ahead of retirement of the last Sea King HAR3/3A by the end of the year.

Air Warfare Centre – OT&EAt the heart of its ability to field new aircraft and equipment the RAF has a dedicated


RAF Regiment – Force ProtectionThe RAF Regiment is the RAF’s airfield defence force, specifically tasked to provide security to RAF assets operating in combat zones. Its per-sonnel are trained in the tactics and procedures needed to set up and sustain security perim-eters, including providing capability into the area around a facility. As well as field squadrons trained in close combat and surveillance, the RAF Regiment boasts four Force Protection Wing headquarters, designed to co-ordinate airfield defence operations. The wing headquarters are provided with the communications equipment to enable them to manage field squadrons, as well as army artillery and air defence missile batteries. The RAF Regiment also has national responsibili-ties as the UK’s repository of military expertise in defence against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats.

RAF Regiment Order of BattleUnit Station RoleForce Protection Force

HQ RAF Honington

2 FPW RAF Leeming Airfield Defence3 FPW RAF Marham Airfield Defence5 FPW RAF Lossiemouth Airfield Defence7 FPW RAF Coningsby Airfield Defence1 Sqn RAF Honington Airfield DefenceII Sqn RAF Honington Ground Defence,

Special Forces Support & Parachute Insertion

15 Sqn RAF Honington Ground Defence34 Sqn RAF Leeming Ground Defence51 Sqn RAF Lossiemouth Ground Defence63 (Queen’s Colour) Sqn

RAF Northolt Ground Defence & Ceremonial

2503 Sqn (RAuxAF)

RAF Waddington Ground Defence

2620 Sqn (RAuxAF)

RAF Marham Ground Defence

2622 Sqn (RAuxAF)

RAF Lossiemouth Ground Defence

609 (West Riding) Sqn (RAuxAF)

RAF Leeming Ground Defence

20 Wing RAF Honington CBRN Defence26 Sqn RAF Honington CBRN Defence27 Sqn RAF Honington CBRN Defence2623 Sqn (RAuxAF)

RAF Honington CBRN Defence

Note: Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) squadrons are manned by reservists. FPW - Force Protection Wing.Above: The Chinook HC3 has an important ‘National Standby’ role. This example was in Northern Ireland in

March 2013 delivering sheep feed to hill farms cut off by snow. MOD Crown Copyright SAC Nicholas Egan

Above: The C-130 Hercules is the workhorse of the RAF’s air transport fleet and is based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The aircraft are operated by Nos 24, 30 and 47 Squadrons, which are composed of a mixed fleet of C-130K C1/C3 and C-130J C4/C5 (illustrated) aircraft. MOD Crown Copyright Richard Ellis

A Gunner of 58 Squadron RAF Regiment con-ducting a routine patrol near to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. The Squadron's role in theatre is to provide force protection to coalition forces oper-ating in the area and patrols such as these help them to engage with the local community. MoD

Unit Aircraft Type Role Home Base

No. 1 Group HQ RAF High Wycombe

Typhoon Force HQ RAF Coningsby

1 (Fighter) Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 O� ensive Support/Air Defence

RAF Lossiemouth

II (AC) Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 O� ensive Support/Air Defence

RAF Lossiemouth

3 (F) Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 O� ensive Support/Air Defence

RAF Coningsby

6 Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 O� ensive Support/Air Defence

RAF Lossiemouth

XI Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 O� ensive Support/Air Defence

RAF Coningsby

29 (Reserve) Sqn Typhoon FGR4/T3 Typhoon operational conversion

RAF Coningsby

Tornado Force HQ RAF Marham

IX (Bomber) Sqn Tornado GR4 O� ensive Support/ISTAR

RAF Marham

12 (Bomber) Sqn Tornado GR4 O� ensive Support/ISTAR

RAF Marham

31 Sqn Tornado GR4 O� ensive Support/ISTAR

RAF Marham

XV (R) Sqn Tornado GR4 Tornado operational conversion

RAF Lossiemouth

ISTAR Force HQ RAF Waddington

5 (AC) Sqn Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand-o� Radar

RAF Waddington

8 Sqn E-3D Airborne warning and control

RAF Waddington

13 Sqn MQ-9 Reaper ISTAR/O� ensive Support

RAF Waddington

14 Sqn Shadow R1 Manned Aerial Surveillance

RAF Waddington

39 Sqn MQ-9 Reaper ISTAR/O� ensive Support

Creech AFB, Nevada

51 Sqn RC-135 Rivet Joint Sigint/Comint RAF Waddington

54 (R) Sqn E-3, Shadow, Rivet Joint, Sentinel as required

ISTAR operational conversion

RAF Waddington

100 Sqn Hawk T1 Aggressor training RAF Leeming

Battle of Britain

Memorial Flight Lancaster, Spit� re, Hurricane, Dakota, Chipmunk

Air display/heritage

RAF Coningsby

No. 2 Group HQ RAF High Wycombe, Bucks

Air Mobility Force

HQ RAF Brize Norton

10 Sqn Voyager K2/K3 Air Transport/Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR)

RAF Brize Norton

XXIV Sqn C-130J/A400M Air Mobility operational conversion

RAF Brize Norton

30 Sqn C-130J Tactical Air Transport

RAF Brize Norton

32 (The Royal) Sqn

BAe 146, A109, BN2T CC2

Command Support Air Transport

RAF Northolt

47 Sqn C-130J Tactical Air Transport RAF Brize Norton

LXX Sqn A400M Atlas Air Transport RAF Brize Norton

99 Sqn C-17A Air Transport RAF Brize Norton

101 Sqn Voyager K2/K3 Air Transport/Air-to-Air Refuelling

RAF Brize Norton

SAR Force HQ RAF Valley

‘A’ Flight, 22 Sqn Sea King HAR3/3A Search & Rescue RMB Chivenor*

‘A’ Flight, 202 Sqn

Sea King HAR3/3A

Search & Rescue OSD October 2015

RAF Boulmer

SAR Training Unit Gri� n HT2 SAR training RAF Valley**

Air Warfare Centre

HQ RAF Waddington

ETPS/QinetiQ various types Test pilot/� ight test engineer training

MoD Boscombe Down

17 (R) Sqn F-35B Lightning II F-35B Test & evaluation

Edwards AFB, California

41 (R) Sqn Typhoon/Tornado GR4

Test & evaluation RAF Coningsby

56 (R) Sqn various non-assigned ISTAR aircraft

Test & evaluation RAF Waddington

206 (R) Sqn various non-assigned AT/AAR aircraft

Test & evaluation MoD Boscombe Down & RAF Brize Norton

Rotary Wing Test & Evaluation Sqn

Chinook & Puma Test & evaluation MoD Boscombe Down

No 22 Group HQ RAF High Wycombe

IV (R) Sqn Hawk T2 Advanced Fast Jet Training

RAF Valley

16 (R) Sqn Tutor Elementary Flying Training

RAF Cranwell

45 (R) Sqn King Air Multi-engine training

RAF Cranwell

60 (R) Sqn AS350BB/Gri� n HT1

Helicopter training RAF Shawbury

72 (R) Sqn Tucano Basic fast jet training

RAF Linton-on-Ouse

115 (R) Sqn Tutor Elementary Flying Training

RAF Wittering

208 (R) Sqn Hawk T1 Advanced Fast Jet Training

RAF Valley

Red Arrows Hawk T1 Air displays RAF Scampton

Joint Helicopter Command

HQ Erskine Barracks, Andover

18 (Bomber) Sqn Chinook HC4/5/6 Support Helicopter RAF Odiham

27 Sqn Chinook HC4/5/6 Support Helicopter RAF Odiham

33 Sqn Puma HC2 Support Helicopter RAF Benson

230 Sqn Puma HC2 Support Helicopter RAF Benson

28 (R) Sqn Chinook HC4 & Puma HC2

Operational Conversion Unit

RAF Benson

Director Special Forces/Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing

7 Sqn Chinook HC4/5/6 Special Forces Support

RAF Odiham

SF Flight, 47 Sqn C-130J Special Forces Support

RAF Brize Norton

Permanent Joint Headquarters HQ Northwood

1435 Flight Typhoon FGR4 Air Defence Mount Pleasant Air� eld, Falkland Islands

1312 Flight Voyager KC2/3 & C-130J

AAR & maritime patrol

Mount Pleasant Air� eld, Falkland Islands

1564 Flight Sea King HAR3/3A

Search & rescue Mount Pleasant Air� eld, Falkland Islands

84 Squadron Gri� n HAR2 Search & rescue RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus

83 Expeditionary Air Group

HQ Al Udeid, Qatar

901 Expeditionary Air Wing

BAe 146 Operations Shader & Kipion

Al Udeid, Qatar


Merlin HM2 (Royal Navy)

Operation Kipion RAFO Musannah, Qatar


Tornado GR4, Sentinel, E-3D, Voyager K2/K3

Operation Shader RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus


Voyager KC2/KC3, C-130J, C-17

Operations Shader, Kipion & Toral

Minhad, UAE

Puma Detachment

Puma HC2 Operation Toral Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan

RAF Order of Battle, September 2015

Notes: * Out of service date (OSD) October 2015. OSD October 2015



organisation to undertake operational test and evaluation (OT&E), controlled by the Air Warfare Centre (AWC) at RAF Waddington. The AWC ensures new aircraft are fit to enter service and determines how best to use them in combat. Royal Air Force OT&E has undergone a dramatic overhaul in the past 15 years. Gone are the days when prototype aircraft underwent end-to-end trials at the famous Boscombe Down test centre in Wiltshire. The RAF no longer has the human or financial resources to do this and has therefore moved testing back to aircraft manu-facturers’ sites and forward to frontline airfields. RAF experts are now based at BAE Systems’

Warton, Lancashire, facility and the Airbus factory in Seville, Spain, working with company test pilots and other personnel to develop capability and validate their work before new aircraft and capabilities enter service. Meanwhile, OT&E units at frontline airfields focus on developing operational tactics and procedures. The majority of this OT&E work takes place on standard production aircraft and various synthetic devices, rather than dedicated prototypes, reducing costs and making testing more representative of real-world activity.The RAF OT&E community is currently

heavily committed to bringing advanced capabilities into service on Typhoon, as well as introducing the new A400M and upgraded Chinooks to the front line. The largest project under way, however, is

the effort to bring the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II into service and an RAF/Royal Navy contingent is based in the US as part of a joint test and evaluation task force alongside their

US and allied colleagues. The effort is focused at Edwards AFB, California, where 17 (Reserve) Squadron is test flying the UK’s first F-35Bs. Under current plans the OT&E effort will remain in the US for several years, taking advantage of the facilities and resources available there.

No. 22 Group – The Training PipelineTraining future generations of pilots and aircrew has always been a high priority for the RAF and No. 22 Group, currently led by AVM Andrew Turner, oversees what is termed the ‘training pipeline’. It covers all aspects of selection, ele-

mentary, basic and advanced pilot and aircrew training until students are ready to progress to an operational conversion unit in 1 or 2 Group. Pilot and aircrew training for the Royal Navy

and Army Air Corps is also run by 22 Group, with instructors and other personnel from these services helping deliver training at all stages. This joint organisation was set up in the late 1990s and is heavily dependent on contractors at all stages, although military instructors have a ‘hands-on’ role in the pipeline. Selection, elementary and basic flying training

is focused at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, and RAF Barkston Heath, Lincolnshire, and RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, all using the Tutor. Students streamed for fast jet training transition to the Tucano at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire. Multi-engine students remain at Cranwell to train on Beechcraft King Airs, and helicopter students complete their basic rotary-wing training at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, alongside their army and navy colleagues.Advanced fast jet training remains at RAF

Valley, Anglesey, using the old BAe Hawk T1 and newer BAE Systems Hawk T2. The T1s at the Welsh base may be retired in 2016, training fully transitioning to the newer variant, which incorporates on-board simulation technology to enable complex air combat scenarios to be conducted using virtual ‘players’ and ‘weapons’ rather than ‘live’ opponents. No 22 Group partnered with the Ascent con-

sortium, led by Lockheed Martin, will overhaul the UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) pipeline. Last year a programme of fixed-wing equipment recapitalisation and reorganisation was announced, under a 15-year contract with the Israeli company Elbit Systems and its partner, KBR, teamed as the Affinity consortium. Elementary flying training will remain at its

existing bases, but with the new Grob 120TP, while multi-engine training will be conducted on the Embraer Phenom 100. Basic flying training, however, is to move from RAF Linton-on-Ouse to RAF Valley when the new Beechcraft T-6C Texan enters service. The programme includes provision of instruction, infrastructure and full life support through to the contract end date for UK MFTS in May 2033. Over the past five years the throughput of

student pilots has fluctuated considerably as the RAF slowed aircrew recruitment after drastic cuts to frontline aircraft numbers in the 2010


Above: An RAF Grob Tutor over Lincolnshire. The fleet is distributed throughout the UK and serves in the aircrew selection, elementary and basic flying training role. Although under private civilian contract, military instructors have a ‘hands-on’ duty. MOD Crown Copyright Sgt Jack PritchardBelow: Students destined for rotary-wing training are sent to the DHFS at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire. The tri-service institution has been operated as a public-private partnership for nearly 20 years. Basic flying training begins on the Eurocopter Squirrel HT1. MOD Crown Copyright

Above: The Tucano was selected in 1995 as the RAF’s single-engined turboprop basic flying trainer, being around 70% cheaper to operate than a jet equivalent. The large fleet is located at RAF Linton-on-Ouse with engineering and logistics support provided under a partnership by Babcock. MOD Crown Copyright

SDSR. This hit a low point in 2012, when only 30 aspiring pilots were allowed to begin flying training. An outflow of more than 250 trained pilots in 2015 has forced the RAF to begin ramping flying training up again, with some 790 students entering the pipeline this year. The other major element of the pipeline is

the rotary-wing training system based around the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) at RAF Shawbury. This tri-service institution has operated as a public-private partnership for almost 20 years and is in the process of being re-bid ahead of a down select next year.

Joint Helicopter CommandAll the UK’s battlefield helicopters have been grouped together under the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) since 1999. This is led from within the army’s main headquarters at Erskine Barracks in Andover, Hampshire, with senior officers from the army, navy and air force taking turns to head it. The RAF contributes all its Chinook HC4/5/6

and Puma HC2 support helicopters to the JHC, Air Command having little influence over their operation. Joint Helicopter Command has full operational control of the helicopters assigned to it, including routine training, basing, logistic support and deployment overseas. Headquarters 2 Group, however, retains a residual single-service link to RAF elements in the JHC, mainly regarding personnel career management and disciplinary issues. The Chinook Force is in the process of a

major upgrade programme, the majority of the HC2/2A aircraft having received digital cockpits and coming up to HC4 standard, while the HC3 is being similarly modified to HC5. Delivery of the new-build HC6 is also under way. This year saw a major change in the RAF’s

involvement in helicopter operations when

the last of its AgustaWestland Merlin HC3 support helicopters passed to the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force.

Joint Special Forces Aviation WingAviation support for the Britain’s special forces has been grouped into a single organisation since the late 1990s. The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW), based at RAF Odiham, Hampshire, has RAF and Army Air Corps elements under its command.These include 7 Squadron at Odiham,

which contributes Chinooks, and the Special Forces Flight of 47 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton, with C-130Js. Aircrew assigned to these units are among the most highly trained and operationally experienced in the RAF.

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015The UK armed forces, including the RAF, are awaiting the results of the government’s Strate-gic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which is due by the end of this year. Some details of the exercise, which is supposed to recast UK defence policy to meet new challenges, have already emerged, including the extension in service of the third Tornado GR4 squadron until 2017. Issues at the heart of the SDSR include the number of fast jet squadrons the RAF will retain, the final number of F-35B Lightning II fighters to be purchased and whether to retire all of the C-130J fleet by 2022.



Above: Designed as an executive transport, the King Air has been adapted to meet a number of military roles. It makes an excellent and economical multi-engined training platform for 45(R) Squadron but will be replaced by the Phenom 100 in near feature Alan WarnesBelow: The Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTES) is a tri-service organisation based at MOD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. It is primarily responsible for the test and evaluation of rotary wing aircraft and equipment but also supports the Empire Test Pilot School. There are two AW109E Powers within its fl eet. Alan Warnes

Above: Formed in March 2007, 39 Squadron is the RAF’s sole operator of the Reaper remotely piloted air system. The Reaper’s primary mission is to act as an ISR asset, employing sensors to give commanders real-time data. An additional role is to provide armed support to forces on the ground and, if necessary engage the target with missiles. MOD Crown Copyright Below: RAF Fylingdales’ distinctive pyramid-like solid state phased array radar serves as part of the UK and US Governments’ ballistic missile early warning system. The site, at Snod Hill on the North Yorkshire Moors, has a secondary duty to detect, report and track satellite launches, hence its motto ‘Vigilamus’ – ‘We are watching’. MOD Crown Copyright

afm


Operational CommitmentsOperation Shader – Fighting Islamic StateBritain’s involvement in the multinational campaign against the so-called Is-lamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria began on August 7, 2014 when C-130J Her-cules were scrambled from RAF Brize Norton for Cyprus, to begin airdropping humanitarian aid to Yazidi refugees cut o� by Jihadi forces on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq. The RAF also stood by to � y the Yazidis o� the mountain in Chinook helicopters, but the mission proved unnecessary.Tornado GR4s were soon dispatched to Akrotiri to � y surveillance support for

the airdrops and by September 30. 2014 the jets had begun using ordnance against IS targets in Iraq. The arrival of the Hercules, Chinook and Tornado was a step change in RAF involvement in operations against IS, which up until then had been limited to the sole RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence-gathering aircraft, based at Al Udeid, Qatar. The winding down of combat operations in Afghanistan enabled further

assets to be assigned to the war on IS. The Reapers had been transferred from Afghanistan to a new base in range of Iraq – believed to be in Kuwait – by the end of October 2014. Over the following months, further assets followed, including Sentry AEW1s to co-ordinate coalition air operations and Sentinel R1s to monitor IS movements.Throughout the past year, RAF C-130J and C-17 airlifters have delivered

arms and equipment to Kurdish and Iraqi forces, as well as moving British Army training teams to the region to bolster local forces � ghting IS. Operation Shader also saw the combat debut of the Voyager K2/3, passing fuel to RAF and coalition aircraft across the Middle East.

Operation Kipion – Middle EastAlthough the British involvement in the war in Afghanistan has diminished, the logistic footprint set up to support Operation Herrick at air bases across the Middle East has remained largely in place to deal with region security threats and to support allies. RAF o� cers remain at the US-led combined air operations centre at Al Udeid to co-ordinate missions with US and other regional allies.A large presence has also been maintained at Al Minhad in the United Arab

Emirates, supporting RAF fast jets on exercise and transport aircraft moving through the region. Personnel based in Oman and Bahrain sustain RAF links with those countries.

Operation Toral – AfghanistanBritish combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province concluded at the end of November 2014, but a little fewer than 500 UK military personnel have remained in the country as part of NATO’s follow-on training mission. The bulk of the British force is based in and around the Afghan capital Kabul, providing support to the Afghan National Army’s o� cer training academy.The RAF element of this force package is a contingent of four Puma HC2

helicopters, tasked with moving personnel and equipment around Kabul. This ensures British forces avoid the deadly road bombs and vehicle-borne suicide attacks that have plagued the city. The Puma detachment arrived in Af-ghanistan in early 2015, replacing the long-serving Chinook. Benson’s Puma squadrons, 33 and 230, take turns sustaining the Kabul detachment, with the mission currently scheduled to end in early 2017, although a long-term pres-

ence seems likely. The AMF regularly � ies into Kabul International Airport, sustaining the British contingent on what is now dubbed Operation Toral.

Defence of the South AtlanticThe defence of the Falkland Islands has been an RAF commitment since the liberation of the British sovereign territory from Argentine occupation in 1982. The centrepiece of the RAF’s presence is four Typhoon FGR4s, which maintain a 24/7 QRA at Mount Pleasant Air� eld, to the south of the island’s capital, Port Stanley. A Voyager tanker supports the Typhoons, while a Hercules � ies maritime patrol and search and rescue missions.By the end of 2015 the two locally based Sea King HAR3/3As will have been

retired and a private-sector operator will be in place to continue the provision of helicopter search and rescue cover. Although Argentina’s � oundering economy prevents Buenos Aires from rebuilding its airpower to seriously threaten the Falklands, the UK continues to maintain the islands’ defences. This year it began a project to replace the British Army’s ageing MBDA Rapier surface-to-air missiles and ordered new Saab Gira� e air defence surveillance radars to replace the existing RAF early warning network.

NATO Air PolicingThe Crimea crisis in March 2014 prompted the British Government to con-tribute to NATO e� orts to bolster the defences of the alliance’s members in Eastern Europe. Typhoon Force has therefore increased its commitment to the NATO air policing e� ort to protect Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, contrib-uting aircraft on two occasions over the past 18 months, each time spending four months on duty.The most recent deployment to Ämari Air Base, Estonia, over the summer,

saw 6 Squadron’s four Typhoons scrambled on 17 occasions – they intercept-ed 40 Russian aircraft. On one occasion the jets intercepted a formation of ten Russian planes, the largest encountered by NATO since the crisis began.RAF transport aircraft have also been active, taking contingents of British

Army troops to exercises across Eastern Europe. Since spring, the Hercules squadrons have been busy � ying training teams to Kiev, Ukraine, helping bolster the country’s ability to defend itself from attacks by Russian-backed separatists.

Global Airlift OperationsWith the ending of the UK airbridge to Afghanistan late in 2014, the AMF has taken on more global commitments. This year has been particularly busy for RAF Brize Norton, which has seen its aircraft support humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) operations on three continents. The air bridge to/from Akrotiri for Op Shader is now a prominent part of RAF Brize Norton's work. In particularly high-pro� le missions, C-17s � ew aid to earthquake victims in Nepal, as part of Operation Arlingham, and cyclone survivors on the South Paci� c islands of Vanuatu, under Operation Penny Wright.A 47 Squadron Hercules was dispatched to South Sudan in March 2014 to

move vital equipment and supplies on behalf of the UK peacekeeping mission under Operation Vogul. The three RAF Hercules squadrons have also increased their support for British Army airborne forces, carrying out parachute training in the US and Kenya over the past year.

Twenty-two A400Ms have been ordered by the RAF which has named the aircraft Atlas. The type is intended to replace the C-130K/Js when they go out of service in 2022. Serving with 70 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton, the unit stood up with its fi rst A400M on July 23, 2015. MOD Crown Copyright




Based at RAF Valley on the Isle of Anglesey, Hawk T2s serve with IV(R) Squadron as fast-jet trainers, preparing pilots for frontline operations on the Typhoon and Tornado. MOD Crown Copyright Cpl Paul Oldfield

airforces monthly - november 2015

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