Air Forces Monthly UK 2017-06

EXCLUSIVE

TURKISH ‘VIPERS’

FORCE REPORT SYRIAN AIR POWER

THIRTY YEARS OF THE F-16 IN TURKEY

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June 2017 #351

Officially the World’s Number One Authority on Military Aviation

LAKENHEATH LIGHTNINGS COVERAGE OF USAF F-35AS IN EUROPE EXCLUSIVE

JUNE 2017 UK £4.90

EXERCISE REPORTS

• INIOHOS • REAL THAW • USAF C-130 IN POLAND

RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

Baltic missions analysed

PLUS

• ITALIAN TORNADO STRONGHOLD • BLACK HAWKS IN MEXICO • ARMY AIR CORPS APACHE

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03/05/2017 14:11

COMMENT

Chinese carrier aircraft – like this J-15 – currently still rely on a ski-jump for launch. Now both electromagnetic and steam-powered catapults are under test.

China’s long march to the sea T

HE CAPACITY of Beijing’s military machine to spring surprises shows no sign of abating. On April 26, China launched a new aircraft carrier, the yet unnamed Type 001A. Once shrouded in secrecy, such events are now more widely publicised, and the extensive coverage in the Chinese state media soon filtered through to Western channels. Currently, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has only one carrier in service, and the Kuznetsov-class Liaoning (Type 001) is a somewhat limited vessel, primarily a training aid for future naval aviation operations. The broadly similar Type 001A that was unveiled to much fanfare incorporates a number of improvements, but most importantly it is indigenously built. It’s another example of the prodigious growth of China’s defence industry. With growing tensions in the Far East, the spotlight is once again on China, its role in relations between North Korea and Editor: Thomas Newdick World Air Forces Correspondent: Alan Warnes Editorial Contact: [email protected] Attrition: Dave Allport Group Editor: Nigel Price Chief Designer: Steve Donovan Assistant Chief Designer: Lee Howson Production Editor: Sue Blunt Deputy Production Editor: Carol Randall Advertising Manager: Ian Maxwell Production Manager: Janet Watkins Group Marketing Manager: Martin Steele Mail Order & Subscriptions: Liz Ward Commercial Director: Ann Saundry Executive Chairman: Richard Cox Managing Director & Publisher: Adrian Cox Copies of AirForces Monthly can be obtained each month by placing a standing order with your newsagent. In case of difficulty, contact our Circulation Manager. Readers in USA may place subscriptions by telephone toll-free 800-428-3003 or by writing to AirForces Monthly, 3330 Pacific Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA23451-9828. We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited

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the United States, and above all its future ambitions amid the flashpoints of the East China and South China Seas (see Intel Report in this issue for more on the latter). Carriers have long been symbols of national military power, but exactly what role the PLAN sees for them is open to question. From construction to launch, the Type 001A required just over two years. That’s a notable contrast to the US Navy’s new carrier USS Gerald R Ford, on which construction began in late 2009 with the vessel only now going to sea. The new Chinese carrier is a much less advanced vessel, but reports suggest the PLAN’s next-generation carrier, the Type 002, will be a far more capable asset, launching its aircraft by catapult rather than a ski-jump. For the Chinese military, it is no longer about quantity but quality. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Type 002 is a true ‘super-carrier’ that will further close the technological gap pace with the best the West has to offer. to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication. Postmaster: Send address corrections to AirForces Monthly, Key Publishing Ltd, c/o Mail Right International Inc. 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway NJ 08854. Printed in England by Warners (Midlands) plc, Bourne, Lincolnshire. AirForces Monthly (ISSN 0955 7091) is published monthly by Key Publishing Ltd and distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854. The entire contents of AirForces Monthly is a copyright of Key Publishing Ltd and cannot be reproduced in any form without permission. The Editor is happy to receive contributions to AirForces Monthly. Please note that all material sent to the Editor is forwarded at the contributor’s own risk. While every care is taken with material, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred. All material rates available on request. Submitted material (especially illustrations) should have the contributor’s name and address clearly marked and a stamped addressed envelope should be enclosed if it is required to be returned. All items submitted for publication are subject to our terms and conditions, which are regularly updated without prior notice and are freely available

Above: China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier was launched on April 26, witnessed by the PLAN commander-in-chief Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong. both via Chinese internet

Thomas Newdick Email at: [email protected] from Key Publishing Ltd or downloadable from www. keypublishing.com. All digital imagery should be at least 300dpi and 10 x 8 inches (25.4cm x 20.3cm) in size and submitted on a CD/DVD with thumbnail prints to the Editor at Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs., PE9 1XQ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261 Subscription: [email protected] Website: www.keypublishing.com Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PP. Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 4000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7429 4001

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CONTENTS June Issue 351

Cover: An F-35A from the 34th Fighter Squadron joins a 48th Fighter Wing F-15E Strike Eagle. Jamie Hunter Right: In this issue, we detail the consolidation of the Italian Air Force’s Tornado force at Ghedi. Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT

Claim your FREE Military Flying Displays DVD when you take out a twoyear or Direct Debt subscription to AirForces Monthly. See pages 18 and 19 for details.

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Regular features 32 INTEL REPORT: Patrolling hostile waters

46 EXERCISE REPORT: FAP in force

The South China Sea is a magnet for trouble, but airborne maritime surveillance assets are still a scarcity, as AFM’s Alan Warnes explains.

This year’s Real Thaw exercise – the ninth – involved aircraft from almost every squadron in the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP, Portuguese Air Force). Jorge Ruivo watched the action.

44 EXERCISE REPORT: Chariots of fire

48 EXERCISE REPORT: Hercs on tour

The latest Iniohos exercise featured an increased number of participants drawn from four air arms. Amit Agronov reports from Andravida air base, Greece.

Together for the ninth time, Polish and American C-130 crews trained at Powidz, Poland, and got the chance to ‘tangle’ with MiG-29s, as Krzysztof Kuska reports.

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Features 3 Comment

AFM’s opinion on the hot topics in military aviation.

37 Watching Russia watching us

Tim Ripley examines the secretive world of RAF and USAF spy flights around Russia’s western borders.

64 Lightnings at Lakenheath

The US Air Force said it planned to make a first international operational deployment with its F-35As in 2017, and in April eight aircraft from Hill AFB, Utah, arrived at RAF Lakenheath, UK, to make that a reality. AFM’s Thomas Newdick details this landmark overseas exercise.

70 Three decades of Turkish Vipers The Turkish Air Force celebrates its 30th anniversary as an F-16 ‘Viper’ operator later this year. Since its first aircraft were delivered in October 1987, the fleet has grown into the third largest after those of the US and Israel, as Alan Warnes explains.

78 Mexico’s rotary revival

Mexico is upgrading its helicopter fleet to a standard previously unknown in the region. Mariano García and Jose Quevedo visited Escuadrón Aéreo 108, the first Mexican Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk operator.

88 Italian Tornado force

Ghedi air base is home to 6º Stormo ‘Alfredo Fusco’. Since the disbandment of 50º Stormo, and 155º Gruppo’s return to 6º Stormo, the base has become home to all of Italy’s Tornado squadrons. Niels Roman, Roy van Sonsbeek and Robin Coenders report.

News by Region

All the world’s military aviation news, by region 6-7 Headlines 8-9 United Kingdom 10-12 Continental Europe 14-17 North America 20-21 Latin America 22 Africa 24-25 Middle East 26 Russia & CIS 28-29 Asia Pacific 30 Australasia

50 SURVEY: European Gunships – Part 4

AFM concludes its review of Europe’s helicopter gunship fleets with a focus on the British Army Air Corps Apache.

54 FORCE REPORT: Syrian Arab Air Force

In the wake of the first US military action directed specifically at the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Tom Cooper lifts the veil,

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at least partially, of secrecy and mystery surrounding the Syrian Arab Air Force and its declining capability.

96 FLASHPOINT: Wolves in sheep’s clothing

84 Attrition

Dave Allport details the world’s most recent military accidents.

Iraqi An-32 Clines have seen recent action in an offensive capacity, but the concept of transforming Antonov transports into auxiliary bombers is not new, as Arnaud Delalande reveals.

94 Book reviews

98 Coming up

AFM evaluates some of the latest offerings in aviation literature.

See what’s featuring in your AFM next month.

#351 JUNE 2017

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NEWS

Headlines

USAF F-35As deploy to Lakenheath THE US Air Force’s F-35A has made its first overseas training deployment, and the first to Europe by the US Lightning II. Six F-35As from the 34th Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Rude Rams’, 388th Fighter Wing (FW) and the Air Force Reserve’s 466th FS, 419th F W, Hill Air Force Base, Utah arrived at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk on April 15. Two more jets landed the following week.

General Tod D Wolters, US Air Forces in Europe, Air Forces Africa commander said: “As we and our joint F-35 partners bring this aircraft into our inventories, it’s important that we train together to integrate into a seamless team capable of defending the sovereignty of allied nations.” A deployment to Europe or the Pacific was announced last

summer, just ahead of the USAF declaring initial operational capability for the type. “As RAF Lakenheath will be the first overseas beddown location for the F-35A, this deployment allows our pilots and maintainers to learn more about the European operating environment and will improve our interoperability with partners in the region,”

Wolters added. The transatlantic flight was supported by Air Mobility Command and the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, with C-17 and C-5 aircraft providing airlift support. As part of training with NATO allies, the F-35s are also making ‘out and back’ visits to other nations in the region. Two F-35As (14-5094 and 14-5102)

departed Lakenheath for a visit to Ämari air base in Estonia on April 25. On April 28 the type’s exposure to Eastern Europe continued, when 14-5094 and 14-5091 arrived at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria, flying as ‘Conan 01 and 02’. RAF Lakenheath will become the first USAF F-35 base in Europe and is scheduled to receive Lightning IIs in 2020.

F-35A Lightning II 13-5072 ‘HL/388 FW’ of the 388th FW touches down at RAF Lakenheath on April 15 as ‘Thud 11’. It was the first F-35A of a flight of six that arrived at Lakenheath for the type’s first European deployment in USAF service. Ryan Dorling

First two-seat JF-17B flown in China THE FIRST prototype of the twin-seat JF-17B Thunder multi-role fighter performed its maiden flight at Chengdu, China on April 27. This version was unveiled by CAC/CATIC at the 2013 Paris Air Show and since then some design details have evolved. Most obviously, the new

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aircraft has a second cockpit and a dorsal spine accommodating relocated avionics, and a slightly taller and more prominently swept tailfin. Overall the JF-17B is based on the current JF-17A Block II configuration that also features an in-flight refuelling probe but it also incorporates

some elements from the forthcoming JF-17 Block III. These include an enlarged front section and radome in order to accommodate an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar – most likely a KLJ-7A – and a new triplex fly-by-wire flight-control system. Manufacture of the

first prototype (01) was initiated in late April/ early May 2016 and was reportedly completed in December. Reports prior to its maiden flight suggest that a first taxitest was performed on April 21, 2017. In Pakistan Air Force service the JF-17B is likely to be used as a lead-in-

fighter-trainer (LIFT) platform. Reportedly three JF-17Bs are currently on the production line and two of these will be assigned to the PAF. The JF-17B is also aimed at prospective export customers that require a dedicated trainer for conversion training. Andreas Rupprecht

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Hill ‘Vipers’ debut at TLP ON APRIL 28 four Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) Ala 15 EF-18Ms and a spare aircraft departed Zaragoza air base for Ämari air base in Estonia to assume

the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission over the Baltic region. This is the fourth time Spain has participated in the mission and the first time with

THE SECOND Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) of the year at Albacete air base in Spain saw the debut of F-16C/Ds from the US Air Force’s 388th Fighter Wing (FW) and the 419th FW, an Air Force Reserve Command unit attached to the 388th at Hill Air

EF-18M Hornets, as previous detachments included four Ala 14 Mirage F1Ms at Šiauliai, Lithuania in 2006, four Ala 11 Eurofighters at Ämari in 2015 and four

Force Base, Utah. Eight F-16s were present for the exercise, marking the final deployment by the Fighting Falcon before the unit finally switches to the F-35. The detachment included: 87-393 ‘HL’, 88-042 ‘HL/421st FS’, 88-466 ‘HL/466th FS’, 88-495 ‘HL’,

89-087 ‘HL’, 90-725 ‘HL’, 90-744 ‘HL/419th OG’ and Holloman-marked 88-457 ‘HO’. The jets arrived at Albacete on April 21 as ‘Trend’ flight, flying directly from the US supported by two KC-135s and two C-17As. The TLP ran from April 24 to May 19. Dietmar Fenners

Ala 14 Eurofighters at Šiauliai in 2016. The 44th BAP rotation will extend from May to September and will include Polish F-16s based at Šiauliai.

Below: On their way to Estonia on April 28 are two of the five aircraft assigned to the Spanish ‘Ambar’ Detachment that includes EF-18Ms C.15-23/15-10, C.15-24/15-11, C.15-26/1513, C.15-32/15-19 and C.1536/15-23. Roberto Yáñez

Spanish Hornets begin first BAP mission www.airforcesmonthly.com

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NEWS

United Kingdom

No XV(R) Squadron Tornados to Marham

TORNADO GR4s have been transferred from RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, to RAF Marham, following the disbandment of No XV (Reserve) Squadron on March 31. The aircraft will either join the fleet THE ROYAL Air Force received its first Chinook HC5 when the helicopter arrived at RAF Odiham, Hampshire from the Gosport Fleetlands facility operated by Vector Aerospace, Boeing’s principal subcontractor in the programme, on March 22. ZH901 is the first of eight HC3 versions to be converted under the £400m upgrade as the RAF works towards a standardised fleet of 60 Chinooks under Project Julius, which addresses both HC2 and HC3 models. The Mk5 Chinook improves the ‘legacy’ Mk3 by including moving maps, a new digital automatic flight control system, giving better handling qualities and aircraft stability, plus increased safety. The Mk5 also has a greatly increased fuel capacity compared to the original version. Rich Cooper/COAP

of GR4s on strength with Nos IX (Bomber), 12(B) and 31 Squadrons at the Norfolk base, or go into storage there. The move began on April 5 with Tornado GR4s ZA453 ‘022’ and ZD713 ‘081’ leaving to join, it

is understood, No 12(B) Squadron, while April 12 saw ZD741 ‘LS-F’ depart for Marham to go into storage. This left five GR4s still at Lossiemouth but all were due to have been delivered to Marham by the first week of May.

One of eight former No XV(R) Squadron Tornado GR4s transferred to Marham, ZD741 ‘LS-F’, in ‘MacRobert’s Reply’ markings, departs Lossiemouth on April 12 for its ferry flight. This GR4 was due to go into storage at the Norfolk base. Niall Paterson

First Chinook HC5 for Odiham

Commando Merlins work with French Navy TWO ROYAL Navy Merlins from 845 Naval Air Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset, together with a contingent of Royal Marines, are aboard the French amphibious

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warfare ship Mistral for a six-month cruise. The deployment is the first for the Merlins since they were transferred from the Royal Air Force to the Commando Helicopter Force (CHF). Mistral and

its embarked helicopters will go through the Indian and Pacific Oceans on a 24,000-mile (38,624km) round-trip, including visits to Vietnam, Singapore and Sri Lanka. A total of 60 British

personnel are embedded with the French task group. Prior to heading to the Far East, 845 NAS conducted a month of pre-deployment training with the French Navy in the Mediterranean.

Contract award for F-35 THE LATEST contract preparing RAF Marham, Norfolk for the arrival of the United Kingdom’s F-35Bs in 2018 has been signed. UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon and US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis announced the Workstream III contract in London on March 31. The contract, awarded to Lockheed Martin by the US Department of Defense F-35 Joint Program Office, is worth more than £80m and includes initial training, engineering, maintenance and logistics support for the UK’s Lightning II fleet over a threeyear period. Lockheed Martin has subcontracted work worth £40m to BAE Systems. Between them, the two companies will form a team of more than 100 engineers and technicians at RAF Marham to provide training for aircrew and ground crew, conduct routine maintenance and help manage the jets’ worldwide supply chain. Marham will serve as a global repair hub, providing maintenance, overhaul and upgrade services for European F-35s. Sir Michael said: “Nothing demonstrates the strength of our relationship better than our joint work on the most advanced combat aircraft in the world – the F-35. The UK is proud to be the future repair hub for all the European jets. This additional investment at RAF Marham will ensure that we have a formidable fighting force that, at a time of growing danger, will help us work with our US partners to promote international peace and security.” No 617 Squadron at Marham will fly the UK’s initial operational F-35Bs from 2018. It will be followed by 809 Naval Air Squadron from 2023.

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F-35 pilots begin carrier simulator ‘flights’

Lynx HMA8 tests Sea Venom MBDA HAS announced successful trials of its Sea Venom/ANL missile using the Lynx naval helicopter. During tests that took place in March – only days before the retirement of the Royal Navy Lynx HMA8 version – ZF558 conducted a series of air carriage trials before jettisoning two of the weapons over the Larkhill Range at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. They were both fitted with telemetry kits. While 815 Naval Air Squadron has withdrawn the last Lynx HMA8 helicopters from service, with a formal decommissioning ceremony at Royal Naval

Air Station Yeovilton on March 23, the Lynx and Super Lynx remain in frontline service in many countries. The Sea Venom will also arm the Royal Navy Wildcat HMA2. The Sea Venom and the French ANL equivalent will replace existing and legacy systems including the British Sea Skua and the French AS.15TT anti-ship missiles. As part of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) initiative, the latest trials at Boscombe Down were conducted by MBDA in collaboration with the UK Defence Solutions Centre (DSC), the Royal Navy and QinetiQ.

A No 3(F) Squadron Typhoon after its arrival at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base. The British fighters will provide a quick reaction alert (QRA) facility to support the Romanian Air Force’s LanceRs based at Câmpia Turzii in the northwest of the country. FAR

Typhoons begin Southern Air Policing mission THE ROYAL Air Force’s No 3 (Fighter) Squadron has deployed a detachment to Romania for a fourmonth mission to support NATO’s Southern Air Policing mission. Four Typhoons departed RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire and arrived at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base on April 24. The detachment includes around 150 support personnel. The first rotation of the new mission lasts until September. Beginning on May 1, it will be

controlled from NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at Torrejón in Spain. Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, said: “The UK is stepping up its support for NATO’s collective defence from the north to the south of the alliance. With this deployment, RAF planes will be ready to secure NATO airspace and provide reassurance to our allies in the Black Sea region.”

Sentry surprise at Manchester An unusual visitor to Manchester Airport was RAF E-3D Sentry AEW1 ZH106. The aircraft arrived at Manchester from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire on April 4 using the callsign ‘Solex 01’ and wearing a primer finish, suggesting it was about to undergo a re-spray. Daniel Griffiths

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PILOTS HAVE begun using a new F-35 Lightning II simulator at BAE Warton, Lancashire to prepare for trials on the Royal Navy carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth next year. The BAE Systems engineering simulator is being used to practise deck landings on the new carrier in a range of difficult sea and weather conditions. The £2m, 360-degree, full-motion training aid includes a full representation of the ship’s flying control tower (FLYCO), where a Landing Signal Officer on board the carrier will control aviation operations. UK and US military test pilots who have experience of flying the F-35 on US carriers will be the first to use the simulator. Peter ‘Wizzer’ Wilson, BAE Systems’ test pilot for the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B variant, said: “The immersive experience is as near to the real thing as possible. The data will show us exactly what will happen when F-35 pilots fly to and from the Queen Elizabeth carriers. The trials we can run through the simulator are far more extensive than what we will do in the actual flight trials because we can run and re-run each trial until we have all the data we need. The simulator provides greater cost efficiency for the overall programme and is extremely important to the success of the first flight trials.” As of mid-March, the UK had eight Royal Air Force and five Royal Navy pilots trained to fly the F-35B.

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NEWS

Continental Europe

Austrian Eurofighters debut in Germany SEVEN EUROFIGHTER EF2000s of the Luftstreitkräfte’s (Austrian Air Force’s) Überwachungsgeschwader (Surveillance Wing) arrived at Wittmund air base,

northern Germany on April 27. Once there, the detachment – which amounted to almost half the Austrian Eurofighter fleet – undertook two weeks of live gunnery

training with the help of the resident Discovery Air Defence Services A-4N Skyhawks. This was the first time that Austrian Eurofighters have deployed to Germany.

The individual aircraft deployed to Wittmund were Eurofighters 7L-WB, 7L-WD, 7L-WG, 7L-WH, 7L-WI, 7L-WJ and 7L-WO supported by C-130K 8T-CB of the Lufttransportstaffel (LuTSta, Air Transport Squadron). Oliver Jonischkeit

Polish Masters grounded VERIFICATION FLIGHTS conducted by mixed Polish and Italian crews have revealed that some core functionalities of the Polish M-346 variant are missing. Poland received its first two M-346 (locally named ‘Bielik’ – white-tailed eagle) trainers last November. According to the Polish Ministry of Defence (MoD) the aircraft cannot simulate the required

armament, which is essential for the advanced training of future Polish F-16 pilots. The contract required the aircraft to simulate the AIM-9X, AIM120C, AGM-65G-2, AGM84, AGM-88 and AGM154C missiles, and the GBU-12E/B, GBU-38 and GBU-31 guided bombs. Since the aircraft equipment doesn’t meet the contract agreement,

technical handover has been stopped until Leonardo upgrades the software to meet the requirements. Since the aircraft are not approved, technically this means they are grounded. Leonardo has committed to resolving these problems by July 2017 and will have to pay resulting penalties. Krzysztof Kuska

Poland won’t buy used F-16s

DURING A parliament defence committee hearing on March 22, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Bartosz Kowncaki, informed his deputies that Poland will not buy used F-16A/B aircraft. In January the Polish MoD highlighted two options for strengthening the Siły Powietrzne (Polish Air Force) fighter fleet. The first was to buy used aircraft and the second was to buy new jets, probably in smaller numbers. The secondhand option assumed buying as many as 96 used F-16s from US stocks, which would be refurbished and upgraded to meet Polish needs. The modernisation programme was expected to take place in Poland. An analysis by the MoD, General Staff and the Armament Inspectorate revealed that the modernisation programme could cost more than buying new aircraft. This indicates that the next batch of multi-role fighters for Poland will be brand-new aircraft. Krzysztof Kuska

Finland seeks future fighter weapons THE FINNISH Defence Forces’ Logistics Command has issued a Request for Information (RfI) relating to weapons and other equipment as part of its HX project to replace the country’s F/A-18C/D Hornet fleet. The preliminary RFI sent to governments in France, Germany, Israel, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States aims to find suitable weapons and other external equipment for the new multi-role fighter. According to the Defence Forces: “The goal of the RfI is to establish the true weapons and equipment options offered by the candidates for the HX project (F/A-18E/F, Rafale, Typhoon, F-35 and Gripen).” As well as comparing capabilities, the information will be used to examine prices, availability, life-cycle costs and integration. The deadline for answers to the preliminary RFIs is mid-June.

Boeing opts out of Belgian fighter competition BOEING HAS decided not to compete in Belgium’s fighter replacement competition to find a successor to the Belgian Air Component’s F-16 fleet by 2023. Boeing announced its decision on April 19, its press release stating

that: “after reviewing the request we do not see an opportunity to compete on a truly level playing field with the extremely capable and cost-effective F/A-18 Super Hornet.” Boeing believes the Belgian Request for

Government Proposals (RfGP) unfairly favours the F-35. The other candidates are the Rafale, Typhoon and Gripen. The company also believes the RfGP fails to fully consider costs related to upgrading or replacing

equipment and facilities. The RfGP calls for 34 new-build multi-role combat aircraft, with initial deliveries beginning in 2023 and continuing at a rate of four or five annually until 2030. Specific requirements

include quick reaction alert (QRA) duties from mid2025, initial operational capability by mid-2027, and full operational capability by late 2030. The aircraft are intended to serve at Florennes and Kleine Brogel air bases until 2058.

Arriving at Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands on March 24 to take part in the Frisian Flag exercise, 349 Smaldeel F-16AM FA-70 wears a special scheme to celebrate the squadron’s 75th anniversary. Frits Jongerman

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Self-protection systems for Luftwaffe Tornado SAAB HAS received an order for self-protection systems to equip the Luftwaffe Tornado fleet. The order for the BOZ-101 EC was placed by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) on behalf of the Luftwaffe. The latest order covers 29 units of the enhanced version

of the wing-mounted BOZ self-protection and countermeasures pod that has been in use on the Tornado for many years. The new pod contains a missile approach warning system in the aft section and a countermeasures dispensing system. Deliveries will take place during 2017-20.

Unique German Navy EC135 LEASED BY Marinefliegergeschwader 5 (MFG 5) at Nordholz from DL Helicopters, Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC135P2+ D-HDDL (c/n 1200) is the sole example of the type in the Marineflieger

(German Naval Aviation) inventory and was delivered in November 2015. This aircraft allows student pilots who have completed basic helicopter flying training at the Internationale Hubschrauberausbild-

ungszentrum in Bückeburg to gain additional flying experience if there are no training slots available on the Sea Lynx Mk88A or Sea King Mk41. The helicopter is also fully seaworthy and can be used for operations over water.

Mali helicopter deployment complete THE HEERESFLIEGER (German Army Aviation) has completed its deployment of helicopters to Gao, Mali, to take part in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The first two Tiger attack helicopters arrived in Gao on March 25 armed with FN HMP400 0.5in (12.7m) calibre heavy

machine gun pods (see German Tigers arrive in Mali, May 2017, p10); the remaining two followed on March 31. The MINUSMA detachment also comprises four NH90s that arrived earlier this year and which achieved operational capability in early March. An NH90 flew a first medical evacuation sortie on March 1.

EC135P2+ D-HDDL (c/n 1200) participated in the Belgian Helidays event at Beauvechain air base, which took place from April 11-13. Jos Schoofs

Upgrade for German CH-53s THE BUNDESWEHR (German Armed Forces) has revealed details of an upgrade for the Luftwaffe’s fleet of CH-53 helicopters. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has concluded an obsolescence management contract

that will see 26 helicopters modernised. The conversion work will allow the CH-53 to remain in service until around 2030. The upgrades will address 20 CH-53GS and six CH-53GE models. The first two helicopters are already being prepared for work by Airbus Helicopters, and the others will follow from next year at a rate of six

annually. The CH-53GS and ’GE helicopters will receive new components for the flight control, navigation and communications systems. The revised cockpit will feature multifunctional displays, a new radar altimeter and full autopilot system. Final deliveries of the re-worked helicopters are due in 2022.

Italian F-35A flies with ‘Panthers’

New VIP Boeings for Poland THE POLISH government has signed a contract with Boeing Business Jets for the supply of three Next-Generation 737s as VIP transports for the Siły Powietrzne (Polish Air Force). A March 31 statement from Boeing revealed

Italian King Air 350 breaks cover A NEWCOMER to the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) is King Air 350ER MM62300, seen at Pratica di Mare on April 10. It belongs to the 71º Gruppo of the 14º Stormo. The

THE US Air Force’s 63rd Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Panthers’ was recently reactivated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona to serve as the F-35 training squadron for the Turkish

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pilots that are scheduled to fly this type (see First F-35A for ‘Panthers’, May 2017, p13). However, since the squadron is not yet up to its full complement, it has often operated with Italian

the order for two new BBJ 2 aircraft and one 737-800, which will be used as head-of-state aircraft for the president and top government officials. Deliveries are scheduled to begin late this year and continue until 2020.

extended-range aircraft is equipped for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) role and includes a synthetic aperture radar capability. Timm Ziegenthaler

and Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s. On April 7, Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) F-35A 12-5072 ‘32-01’ was seen flying a sortie on behalf of the 63rd FS at Luke. Nate Leong

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NEWS

Continental Europe

Macedonian Mi-17s return to service THE VOZDUHOPLOVNA Brigada na Armijata na Republika Makedonija (Vbr na, Aviation Brigade of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, ARM) received a pair of transport-configured Mi-17 helicopters from general overhaul on March 5. The helicopters had been grounded for more than five years. The following day the two became fully operational with the brigade’s Skvadron na

Transportni Helikopteri (STH, Transport Helicopter Squadron). The two Kazanproduced helicopters, 302 (ex VAM-302, c/n 223M97) and 303 (ex VAM-303, c/n 223M99), are the survivors of a group of four Mi-17s procured in 1994 as the first aircraft for the ARM. Acquired via the Czech Republic, the four Mi-17s were delivered to Macedonia in two batches with the first pair

arriving at Petrovec air base on June 28, 1994. Two aircraft were later written off in accidents, on March 17, 2001 and on January 12, 2008. Returning the Mi-17s to service significantly increases the overall capabilities of the STH, which also operates four combat-configured Mi-8MT helicopters acquired second-hand from Ukraine in March 2001 (305, 306, 307 and 308). Igor Bozinovski

First Poseidons ordered for Royal Norwegian Air Force NORWAY HAS ordered five P-8A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). Norwegian Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide announced the contract with Boeing on March 29. The P-8As will be delivered in 2022 and 2023, and will cost around US$1.147bn via

the Foreign Military Sales programme. The Poseidons will replace six P-3 Orions and three Falcon 20s currently in use. Oslo decided to renew its MPA capability under the Norwegian Long-Term Plan, issued last year. According to Eriksen Søreide:

“Besides the actual aircraft, the contract also includes modern sensors, monitoring and support systems and new anti-submarine weapons.” The US State Department cleared the sale of five P-8s to Norway, at an estimated value of US$1.75bn, last December.

A Macedonian Air Force Mi-17 seen at Debrecen International Airport, Hungary, on March 3, during a refuelling stop while on post-overhaul delivery to Petrovec air base in Macedonia. Istvan Jozsa via Igor Bozinovski

Hungary acquires Zlins A PREVIOUSLY unknown Hungarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) order for Zlin light training and reconnaissance aircraft has recently come to light. Following a tender launched last year, the MoD has acquired two Z-242L two-seat basic training aircraft and two Z-143LSi four-seat reconnaissance/utility

aircraft for the Magyar Légierö (Hungarian Air Force). The aircraft were scheduled to be delivered to the 86th ‘Szolnok’ Helicopter Base by the end of March, where the Z-143LSi will replace Aerostar Iak-52s. Together with ground equipment and training for aircrew and ground crew, the deal is worth around $1.8m.

Portugal approves Alouette successor THE PORTUGUESE government has authorised the purchase of five helicopters to replace the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP, Portuguese Air Force) fleet of Alouette IIIs, which has been operated for more than 50 years. The order, signed by the defence minister, authorises the purchase of five helicopters plus two options, training, spare parts and support material, with a base price

of €20.5m, using funds registered in the Military Programming Law. The type has not yet been chosen, but the helicopters are required to undertake pilot instruction, search and rescue missions, and general transport. The helicopters must also be equipped for firefighting duties in the summer. The purchase of the aircraft will be spread over three years, €10m in 2018, €7m in 2019 and €3.5m in 2020. Jose Matos

Portuguese Air Force Alouette III serial 19401 (c/n 1917), in ‘Rotores de Portugal’ colours, takes part in Exercise Real Thaw this March (see also p46-47 for an Exercise Report). Ivo Pereira

RF-4E farewell

THE HELLENIC Air Force marked the final flight of its RF-4E Phantom IIs with 348 MTA at Larissa on May 5. To mark the occasion, this RF-4E (7499) received special markings. More details on the retirement will follow next month. Alexander Golz

12 JUNE 2017 #351

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SLEP for US Air Force F-16

An F-16 undergoes full-scale durability testing. Lockheed Martin

F-15 retirement “inevitable”: ACC AIR COMBAT Command chief Gen James ‘Mike’ Holmes has commented on recent proposals to phase out the Air National Guard F-15C/D fleet (see Air National Guard proposes F-15C cut, May 2017, p13). According to Gen Holmes, speaking to Air Force Magazine on April 13, the measure is being considered as part of anticipated budgets and

force structure. Noting that the last F-15C was bought 31 years ago, and “they’ve been used really hard”, he said structural upgrade of centre fuselage bulkheads would be required for operations beyond the late 2020s. Such an upgrade would cost $30-$40m per aircraft, based on Boeing and Air Force Materiel Command projections.

THE US Air Force has authorised a service life extension for its F-16 Block 40/42/50/52 fleet, numbering up to 300 aircraft. The Lockheed Martin Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) will incorporate structural modifications to increase the F-16’s original design service life of 8,000hrs to 12,000 equivalent flight hours. The USAF will be able to operate the aircraft until at least 2048. The USAF and Lockheed Martin

also expect a reduction in service life costs. “Combined with F-16 avionics modernisation programmes like the F-16V, SLEP modifications demonstrate that the Fighting Falcon remains a highly capable and affordable fourthgeneration option for the US Air Force and international F-16 customers,” said Susan Ouzts, Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 programme. A second phase of the

F-16 SLEP airworthiness process will seek to validate further extending the aircraft’s operational life based on final analysis from extended durability testing. The F-16 SLEP may tie in with a tentative plan to retire around 200 Air National Guard F-15C/Ds in the 2020s. An alternative for the Eagle in the air defence role could be found in fielding F-16s with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars.

Arizona ANG RC-26B at Boeing Field

A US Air Force RC-26B of the Arizona Air National Guard paid a visit to Seattle’s Boeing Field on April 20. Aircraft 92-0369 (s/n DC-831M) used the callsign ‘Bear 26’. Unlike the same type that is based with the Washington State ANG, 94-0262, the Arizona aircraft wears a white colour scheme. Joe G Walker

SABR still under test

THE US Air Force’s 416th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) is continuing evaluation of the Northrop Grumman APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) on the F-16. Integration and testing of the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar is being conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, California as part of the F-16 Radar Modernization Program (RMP). The Northrop Grumman system was selected by the USAF for the F-16 RMP after Raytheon failed to submit a bid for its APG-84. “The APG-83 will be a form, fit and function modification that will operate within existing space, power and cooling capabilities of the platform,” said Lt

14 JUNE 2017 #351

Col Chris Keithley, 416th FLTS commander. The 416th FLTS has been continuing the F-16 RMP over the past two years, including “several” ground and flight tests with the APG-83 to determine if the radar can be implemented operationally in the future. “With the modernisation comes increased capabilities,” said Michael Powell, 416th FLTS, project lead, noting that the APG-83 “is a more modern and stable radar” than the mechanically scanned radars currently used in the air force’s F-16s. F-16s from the 416th Flight Test Squadron conducting in-flight testing of the APG83 radar installed on board one of the jets on March 20. USAF/Christopher Okula

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No Boeing or Lockheed entrant in OA-X NEITHER BOEING nor Lockheed Martin will take part in the US Air Force’s light attack demonstration planned for this summer. The studies, which will take place over four to six weeks at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, are not intended to select a candidate for a future OA-X procurement. Instead they will help decide whether to pursue with plans for a light attack fleet of up to 300 aircraft, which would also go some way to address the USAF’s growing pilot shortage. Proposals for the demonstration were received by April 7. Boeing could have offered the OV-10 Bronco after previously working on plans for a modernised version of the aircraft. Other options would have been the Mwari, which Boeing is collaborating on with the South African Paramount Group, or a version of the BTX advanced trainer that it is co-developing with Saab. Boeing has not ruled out joining the OA-X effort at a later date. Once the Holloman demonstration is complete, the USAF may move ahead with further experiments, a combat demo, or an immediate acquisition programme. Lockheed Martin, which could have offered the T-50A for the OA-X experiment, also opted out. Company officials suggested that the T-50A did not meet the air force’s requirement, which stipulated lower cost and lower capability than in the T-X trainer requirement. The T-50A may also have exceeded the runway and fuel-burn parameters for OA-X. Textron is the only major contractor to confirm participation in the OA-X demonstration. It will likely offer the Textron/Beechcraft AT-6 or Textron Scorpion.

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‘Hot load’ for F-35B at Yuma MARINE FIGHTER Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron (MAWTS) 1 have conducted the first ‘hot loads’ with the F-35B Lightning II. A ‘hot load’ involves installing a weapon while the aircraft’s engine is running. The event took

place during the sevenweek Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) 2-17 course at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, on April 4. The weapons consisted of a 500lb GBU-12 laserguided bomb and a 2,000lb GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition ( JDAM). The event marked the first time that

either of these weapons had been hot loaded onto an F-35B and the first time that the squadron had loaded a GBU-32. “VMFA-211 is stepping up to the plate to perform the tasks and getting their pilots trained and implementing the ideas and tactics that WTI has created,” said MSgt Jason Daniel, an

ordnance chief with MAWTS-1. “With WTI, we have all the resources available to us. This is the one opportunity when all the aircraft are here dedicated to supporting WTI. We’re able to execute and fully implement the hot load. Hot loading will most definitely enhance what we get out of the F-35B.”

Marines with VMFA-211 prepare to conduct a ‘hot load’ on an F-35B at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. USMC

Sniper pod for ‘Blue Foxes’

FLYING IN the Northern Edge 2017 exercise in Alaska in early May, 18th Aggressor Squadron F-16C Block 30 86-0268 ‘AK/068’ was seen at Eielson Air Force Base carrying a Sniper advanced

targeting pod, a store not previously associated with the aggressor mission. The jet also carries an apparently new threat simulation pod under the port wing. Søren Augustesen

Have Raider II demos manned/unmanned teaming THE AIR Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works have demonstrated manned/unmanned teaming under a recent evaluation at the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The twoweek Have Raider II trial, which also involved the Calspan Corporation, was

“an important milestone in AFRL’s maturation of the technologies needed to integrate manned and unmanned aircraft in a strike package,” said Capt Andrew Petry, AFRL autonomous flight operations engineer. “We’ve not only shown how an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) can

perform its mission when things go as planned, but also how it will react and adapt to unforeseen obstacles along the way.” The flight demonstration used the F-16 Vista test aircraft as a surrogate UCAV autonomously reacting to a dynamic threat environment during an airto-ground strike mission.

A previous demonstration, Have Raider I, focused on advanced vehicle control. The experimental F-16 autonomously flew in formation with a lead aircraft and conducted a groundattack mission, before automatically re-joining the lead aircraft after the mission was completed.

#351 JUNE 2017 15

NEWS

North America

Alaska Raptors pass through Mildenhall WITH THEIR usual stopover location of Morón Air Base in Spain not accepting transient traffic, RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, was the recipient of six F-22A Raptors from the US Air Force’s 525th Fighter Squadron ‘Bulldogs’, part of the Pacific Air Forces’ 3rd Wing. The fighters

were returning home to Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson, Alaska, which they reached via a stopover at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The first two jets arrived at Mildenhall on April 19 and departed the next day. Two more arrived on April 20. Peter R Foster

Oregon Eagles on the move

F-15C 84-0026 of the 123rd Fighter Squadron, 142nd Fighter Wing, arrives at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on March 25. The Eagle passed through the base on its return home to Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. On February 28, a flight of six Oregon F-15Cs (‘Trend 31’ flight) passed through RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, for an undisclosed deployment. Luca Chadwick

AN INERT B61-12, the latest upgraded version of the US Air Force’s B61 nuclear bomb, has been dropped from an F-16C during a development flight test at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The first test is part of a lifeextension programme for the bomb to improve its safety, security and reliability. The F-16 from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis demonstrated the aircraft’s capability to deliver the weapon and tested the functioning of the weapon’s non-nuclear components, including the

F-16C tests inert B61-12

arming and fire control system, radar altimeter, spin rocket motors and weapons control computer. “The B61-12 gravity bomb ensures the current capability for the air-delivered leg of the US strategic nuclear triad well into the future for both bombers and dual-capable aircraft supporting NATO,” said Paul Waugh, Air-Delivered Capabilities Director at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. The B61-12 will be compatible with the B-2A, B-21, F-15E, F-16C/D, F-16 MLU, F-35 and Tornado.

An F-16C of the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron drops an inert B61-12 over the Nellis Test and Training Range Complex on March 14. USAF/SSgt Brandi Hansen

CH-53K cleared for production THE CH-53K helicopter has been approved for low-rate initial production, which will eventually lead to 200 helicopters for the US Marine Corps (USMC). On April 4 Lockheed Martin announced the King Stallion programme successfully

16 JUNE 2017 #351

passed its Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) review and achieved a Milestone C decision that enables lowrate initial production (LRIP) funding. “This affirmative Milestone C decision validates the maturity and the robust capability

of the King Stallion in meeting the United States Marine Corps mission requirements”, said Dr Michael Torok, Sikorsky Vice President, CH-53K Programs. The Milestone C decision was preceded by prime contractor Production Readiness Reviews last

year to establish the programme’s readiness to move into LRIP. Last October an initial Operational Assessment by the USMC established the King Stallion’s ability to achieve critical mission flight and ground scenarios. The first six of the 200

CH-53Ks for the USMC are under contract and deliveries are scheduled to start next year. Two additional aircraft, the first LRIP aircraft, are under longlead procurement for parts and materials, with deliveries due to begin in 2020.

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Milestone B award for Chinook Block 2 THE US Army has awarded Milestone B approval to the Block 2 version of the CH-47F/ MH-47G Chinook, making it a formal programme

of record. The decision means the Chinook Block 2 has moved from the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TD) phase to Engineering

and Manufacturing Development (EMD). Milestone B for Block 2 was approved on April 5, paving the way for signature of the EMD

contract. This will be followed by a Milestone C decision on low-rate initial production in 2021. The US Army is scheduled to receive deliveries

of the first aircraft, which feature Boeing’s Advanced Chinook Rotor Blade (ACRB) as well as improved engines, in 2023.

Three US Army CH-47Fs of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade arrived for the first time in the Baltic States as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The helicopters touched down at Lielvārde, Lithuania, on April 10 and then took part in Exercise Summer Shield from April 17-30. SRZ/Ēriks Kukutis

Combat debut for GBU-43 MOAB THE MOST powerful nonnuclear bomb in the United States inventory was used in combat for the first time in Afghanistan on April 13. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) was dropped by an Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130 on a terrorist stronghold located in a large tunnel complex in the Achin district of Nangarhar province. According to US officials

the action resulted in 36 enemy deaths. “The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and US forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximising the destruction of ISIS-K [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - Khorasan] fighters and facilities,” US Forces-Afghanistan said in a statement. The GBU-43 was developed in just nine weeks to be ready for

the Iraq War in 2003, but was never previously used in combat. The GPSguided bomb weighs a total of 21,000lb (9,525kg), of which 18,000lb (8,165kg) is attributed to its high explosive BLU-120/B warhead. “This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,” said Gen John Nicholson, commander of US Forces-Afghanistan.

HC-144 progress THE US Coast Guard’s HC-144 Ocean Sentry medium-range surveillance aircraft programme has achieved two recent milestones, the USCG announced on April 25. The HC-144B programme has now received design approval and related Ocean Sentry Refresh (OSR) modifications have begun at the Aviation Logistics Center in

Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The OSR provides HC-144s with a new flight management system for communication control, navigation and equipment monitoring. Minotaur mission system suite prototype integration has also been completed, and the first test flights flown at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

‘Pelicans’ complete Sixth Fleet deployment THE ‘PELICANS’ of Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45) completed a sevenmonth deployment to the US Sixth Fleet area of operations (AOO) as the last P-8A maritime patrol aircraft returned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville,

Florida, on April 8. The squadron had been attached to Commander, Task Force 67 (CTF 67) with a detachment of seven Poseidons and 274 personnel at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The squadron was

the first to take the P-8A to Europe. During the deployment, VP-45 conducted 24 detachments throughout Europe including operating out of Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy,

Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom in support of missions including Atlantic Resolve. While in the Sixth Fleet AOO, the ‘Pelicans’ flew more than 3,700hrs of operations. The ‘Pelicans’ were

replaced at Sigonella by VP-16 ‘War Eagles’, which began to arrive for a six-month deployment on March 24.

P-8A BuNo 168853 ‘853/LF’ from VP-16 departs RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, on April 1 for an Exercise Joint Warrior 17-1 sortie. The last week of March saw the ‘Pelicans’ take part in the first week of Joint Warrior, before being replaced on March 31 by the ‘War Eagles’. Niall Paterson

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Latin America

M28 on Latin American tour SIKORSKY IS continuing to demonstrate PZL Mielec M28 SP-DGW to potential customers in Latin America. Between April 4 and 7 the multi-mission turboprop was displayed at the LAAD Defence & Security tradeshow

in Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft arrived at Rio’s Jacarepaguá Airport on April 3 after previous demonstrations to operators in Trinidad and Tobago, and to the Brazilian Army in Manaus and Brasilia. Sikorsky showed the

Brazilian Army how the aircraft can be loaded with mission equipment or up to 17 equipped troops, or alternatively conduct medical evacuation or airdrop paratroops and cargo. From April 17 to 18 the M28 was presented at

the I Brigada Aérea (1st Air Brigade) of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force) in El Palomar, where it was evaluated by personnel from the FAA, army, navy, Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard) and Gendarmería Nacional (Border Patrol).

PZL Mielec M28 SP-DGW (s/n AJE 00347) in El Palomar, Argentina, where a 30-minute demo flight was witnessed by officials including FAA Comandante de Adiestramiento y Alistamiento (Training and Enlistment Commander) Brigadier Oscar Charadía and Army Aviation Director General Juan Gettig. Esteban Brea

Argentine presidential 737 returns

ARGENTINA’S AGRUPACIÓN Aérea Presidencial (Presidential Air Group) is returning Boeing 737-5H6 T-04 to service. The move comes ahead of the imminent

retirement of Fokker F28 T-02 and is intended as a cost-saving measure. First, the engines will be replaced and minor maintenance undertaken at the I Brigada Aérea (1st

Colombia’s CAMAN delivers fifth Huey II upgrade THE COMANDO Aéreo de Mantenimiento (CAMAN, Maintenance Air Command) of the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force) has brought a UH-1H helicopter up to Huey II standard. CAMAN is one

20 JUNE 2017 #351

of the only two companies certified by Bell Textron to perform the modification, together with the Dirección de Aviación (Aviation Management) of the Ejército Argentino (EA, Argentine Army). Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Air Brigade) of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force) in El Palomar. The aircraft will then fly to Aeroparque in Buenos Aires City. There, the aircraft will undergo

Boeing 737-5H6 T-04 (c/n 26456) formerly served with Aerolíneas Argentinas as LV-AYE. After being withdrawn from use it was stored, without engines, at El Palomar. S Brimley/S Sagarna

a C-check and additional maintenance to comply with service bulletins and airworthiness directives (AD) over the course of two months. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

L-159 and MiG-29 pitched to Argentina OFFICIALS FROM Aero Vodochody have confirmed that the company is offering the L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) to Argentina. Under negotiation is a deal that would see Fabrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA) collaborate in production, with the potential to establish a local assembly line if the order is large enough. Aero Vodochody recently re-launched production of the L-159 after 13 years and has also introduced an upgraded trainer version, the L-159T1+. Meanwhile, Russian news agency TASS reports that Argentina has shown renewed interest in the MiG-29. According to an official from Moscow’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Co-operation, Russia has presented Argentina the terms of a possible deal.

Chile to receive first S-70i in 2018 PZL MIELEC, the Polish subsidiary of Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky division, expects to begin delivering S-70i transport helicopters to the Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh, Chilean Air Force) early next year. The FACh purchased six Black Hawks in late 2016 at a cost of $182m. The service introduced a single S-70A-39 in 1998, and in its 19 years of service this aircraft has recorded several important achievements, reaching the South Pole in 1999 during Operation Halcón Polar (Polar Falcon), as well as providing support to populations affected by natural disasters. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

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Chilean Dauphin modernisation AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has announced that the Aviación Naval (Chilean Naval Aviation) will modernise its HH-65 Dauphin helicopters. The contract has gone to Helibras in Brazil, which conducts similar work on AS350, AS550 and Panther K2 helicopters of the Brazilian Army. The Dauphin upgrades will

be completed in stages to achieve a standard as close as possible to the AS565MBe Panther. In contrast to Chile, the Argentine Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard) plans to modernise its four Dauphins in a single stage, with the work also being completed by Helibras. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Serial 56 (c/n 6482) is an HH-65 operated by the Aviación Naval’s HU-1. In service from 2007, it is one of four secondhand, former civilian AS365N2 Dauphins modified for naval operations. Gabriel Correa

Brazil to receive KC-390 in 2018 THE FORÇA Aérea Brasileira (FAB, Brazilian Air Force) is to receive the first two examples of the KC-390 in 2018. The transport and tanker is the largest aircraft produced in Brazil. The total

The FACh acquired five second-hand Bell 412s in 2000, one of which was lost in an accident. The Bell 412EP entered service in July 2009 and by mid2011 a total of 12 examples had been delivered. via Gonzalo Godoy

FACh adds new Bell 412 THE COMMANDER-INCHIEF of the III Brigada Aérea (3rd Air Brigade) of the Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh, Chilean Air Force) in El Tepual, Puerto

number to be ordered by the FAB has not yet been determined due to drastic budget cuts being imposed on the Brazilian Armed Forces owing to the country’s economic situation. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Boeing 727 transports with three factoryfresh Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The new jets are painted in a dark

grey scheme with lowvisibility markings and have received the serials 3526, 3527 and 3528. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Winglet-equipped Boeing 737-800 3526 is one of three such aircraft recently taken on charge by the Mexican Air Force. Gabriol Mora

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is part of the replacement process for the FACh’s UH-1H helicopters, which now average around 50 years of age. Juan Carlos Cicalesi

Peru’s fleet of KT-1P trainers also includes some armed versions, including SEMAN-manufactured serial 430 (c/n 11). Peruvian MoD

New 737s for Mexican Air Force THE FUERZA Aérea Mexicana (FAM, Mexican Air Force) has replaced its recently retired ex-Mexicana

Montt, has confirmed the arrival in service of a new Bell 412 twinengine helicopter. The delivery was announced on March 21. The aircraft

Final KT-1P delivered to Peru THE PERUVIAN Ministry of Defence has announced the delivery of a final KT-1P Torito turboprop primary trainer to the Fuerza Aérea del Perú (FAP, Peruvian Air Force). An official delivery ceremony took place at Las Palmas air base in Lima on April 7, in the presence of the Peruvian President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. The final aircraft was one of 16 manufactured by SEMAN Perú, the Maintenance Service of the FAP, in conjunction with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Other guests

at the event included the defence minister, Jorge Nieto Montesinos and the general commander of the FAP, General of the Air Javier Ramírez Guillén. A $209m co-production contract for 20 aircraft was signed between Peru and the Republic of Korea in November 2012, and included technology transfer, a parts manufacturing plant and a flight simulator. The first four aircraft were built at KAI facilities in South Korea, while the remaining 16 were co-produced by KAI and SEMAN.

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NEWS COMBAT REPORT

Africa

Air power in the battle for Ras Lanuf

THE PETROCHEMICAL facilities, known as the ‘oil crescent’, located around the Libyan cities of Ras Lanuf and Sidra, are of key strategic value. They represent one of the few financial resources for the government of Tobruk and have been fought over by rival powers in Libya. In the east, these comprise the secular national government of Tobruk, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA). In the west, these comprise Islamist rebels from Misrata and Government of National Accord (GNA) rebels from Tripoli as well as the Seraya Defend Benghazi (SDB) terrorist group. On March 3, the SDB launched Operation

Return to Benghazi with the main objective of taking control of the strip of coastal territory between the towns of Nawfaliya and Ras Lanuf and their oil facilities on behalf of the GNA. SDB convoys departed Al Jufrah and Zillah in the early hours, and surprised LNA forces at Ras Lanuf Airport. The LNA quickly retreated from the area, managing to save MiG-23UB serial 8008 and MiG-21MF serial 27. However, Mi-35V serial 858 (c/n 280858) remained at Ras Lanuf due to a technical problem and was captured by the SDB. It was bombed the next day by MiG-23UB serial 8008 flying from Benina.

Despite the tactical retreat from Ras Lanuf, the Libyan National Army Air Force (LNA/ AF) carried out air strikes using MiG-23BN serial 4136 (two sorties), MiG-23UB serial 8008 (one sortie) and a Mi-35 (one sortie) flying from Benina. These targeted an SDB convoy south of Nawfaliya on March 3. The next day, the LNA launched Operation Crushing Lightning to retake the oil crescent. In the period between March 3 and March 14, two MiG-21MFs (serials 05 and 27), two Mi-24Ps (serials 301 and 353) and MiG-23UB serial 8008 carried out an average of four daily and one nightly air strikes against SDB

forces to support the LNA. The LNA launched its fourth and final offensive in the area on March 14. Around 1500hrs local time, the LNA/AF launched a final wave of air strikes against the SDB and its allies west of Ras Lanuf using a Mi-24P, two MiG-21MFs and the MiG-23UB. This led to the complete liberation of Ras Lanuf, Sidra and Bin Jawad as well as Ras Lanuf Airport and the Marble Arch highway strip by 1700hrs local time. With Ras Lanuf, Sidra and Bin Jawad cleared of the SDB and its allies, the oil facilities damaged by SDB attacks began to be reconstructed to resume Libyan oil exports. Babak Taghvaee

US lines up Nigerian A-29 sale

THE US government is moving ahead with plans to sell up to 12 Sierra Nevada Corporation A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria (see New and used A-29 Super Tucanos for Nigeria, April 2017, p22). The Trump administration will supply the aircraft for use against Boko Haram Islamic extremists. US Congress is expected to be formally notified of the proposed sale in the coming weeks. The deal could be worth up to $600m. Nigeria has been seeking to purchase Super Tucanos since 2015, but previous plans for the Obama administration to set the deal in motion were frustrated after reports of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) allegedly bombing civilians.

MiG-23UB serial 8008 is the sole airworthy example in the LNA/AF. It is with MiG-21MF serial 27 on the Marble Arch highway strip a few days before it was captured by the SDB. The fighters were then used in Operation Crushing Lightning between March 3 and 14. al-Shilabee al-Sheekhi

Mi-17V-5 for Kenya Police Airwing

Nigerian Mi-35Ms delivered THE FIRST two Mi-35M attack helicopters ordered by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have been delivered. NAF559 and NAF560 were handed over in Abuja in January. Assembly of the helicopters took three months and the pilots were trained by Russian instructors. The helicopters were officially inducted during celebrations marking the 53rd anniversary of the NAF at Makurdi Air Base on April 21. In September 2016, Rosoboronexport announced that Nigeria had procured Mi-35M helicopters. It was later disclosed that funds had been allocated to

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procure 12 Mi-35Ms. The remaining aircraft are due to be delivered this year. As well as procurement of the Mi-35Ms, it has been reported that the NAF will overhaul and

reactivate NAF530 and NAF531, two former Russian Air Force Mi-35Ps that were grounded due to end of their mean time between overhaul (MTBO). Babak Taghvaee

Mi-35M NAF560 at Makurdi AB. The first two Mi-35Ms, equipped with sophisticated targeting systems and precisionguided air-to-ground weapons, will increase NAF capabilities in the war against the Boko Haram Islamic extremists. NAF

FOUR MONTHS after Kazan Helicopters completed production of a Mi-17V-5 multi-role helicopter ordered by the Kenyan government for use by the Kenya Police Airwing, the helicopter, 5Y-DCI, was transferred to Wilson Airport, Nairobi. Under the contract, Russian Helicopters also trained local aircrews and groundcrews. The Kenya Police has operated Mi-17s since 1999, when the first two were delivered. These comprised 5Y-EDM with a VIP cabin configuration and 5Y-UKW in a transport configuration. The

following year, two more Mi-17s were delivered, comprising 5Y-STA and 5Y-SFA, both transports. On May 11, 2009, 5Y-UKW crashed shortly after take-off from Kapsabet in the Rift Valley region. In 2015, 5Y-STA and 5Y-SFA were overhauled by LOM Praha at Prague-Kbely. In April 2016 AW139 5Y-NPS was delivered to replace the lost Mi-17. Only five months later it also crashed while hovering near Kenya School of Monetary Studies along Thika Superhighway, Mathare North, on September 8 last year. Babak Taghvaee

Mi-17V-5 5Y-DCI was delivered to the Kenya Police Airwing on March 29 to replace an AW139 lost on September 8 last year. via Babak Taghvaee

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NEWS

Middle East Production set to slow for Kuwaiti Eurofighters

COMBAT REPORT

A battle damage assessment image of Shayrat air base following the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) strikes of April 7. US DoD

US cruise missile strike on Syrian airfield IN THE first direct US military action against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, cruise missiles launched from two warships in the Mediterranean struck the Syrian airfield of Shayrat on April 7. The strike was authorised by President Donald Trump in response to the Assad regime’s use of nerve agents in the Idlib area earlier that week, although Russia described the US attack as a violation of international law. In response, Moscow suspended an arrangement with the US under which information about flights

over Syria is shared to avoid possible incidents. The US strike against Shayrat involved 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the Arleigh Burke-class guidedmissile destroyers USS Ross (DDG 71) and Porter (DDG 78) in the eastern Mediterranean. According to the Pentagon, the strike targeted “aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defence systems, and radars”. The aircraft on the base comprised a significant proportion of the Syrian

Israeli Re’em visits Scotland

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Arab Air Force (SyAAF’s) surviving Su-22s. These represent the SyAAF’s main strike asset, and it is thought around ten were at Shayrat. The strike also destroyed the base’s five to eight remaining MiG-23MF/MLD aircraft. “The places we targeted were the things that made the airfield operate,” said Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis. “It’s the petroleum facilities, it’s the aircraft radar, what they use for take-off and landing, as well as air defence radar. It’s the sites that are specific to making it operate, as well as hangars and

aircraft themselves.” Reports from inside the base suggested that at least nine aircraft were destroyed in the US attack. The US apparently informed Russia about the cruise missile strike beforehand to avoid Russian casualties. The Russian Aerospace Forces evacuated its detachment of four to five helicopters (including a Mi-8AMTSh and three to four Ka-52s and Mi-35Ms) from the base prior to the raid. For a full report on the current status of the SyAAF, see the corresponding article on p54-63.

Israeli Air Force 120 Squadron 707-366C Re’em 295 visited Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, Scotland on March 20. The tanker-transport aircraft arrived using the callsign ‘IAF207’ and made a stopover for a crew rest before departing the following day. Unlike 707-3J6C Re’em 272/4X-JYV, which visited Europe earlier this year (see Israeli 707 visits Germany, April 2017, p24), Re’em 295 wears the less conspicuous overall grey scheme. John Reid

DURING THE handover of the 500th Eurofighter at Leonardo’s Turin Caselle facility on April 11 it emerged that production of the aircraft at the Italian facility is set to slow down. Leonardo is building the 96 Typhoons on order for the Italian Air Force. To date, 85 – comprising 74 single-seaters and 11 dual-seaters – have been delivered to Italy. However, with the Kuwait Air Force (KAF) order of 28 aircraft not set to roll off the production line until 2019, a Leonardo spokesman confirmed to AFM that “production will be slowed down next year to bridge the gap between the Italian aircraft and the 28 new-build Kuwait Air Force jets.” With just 11 aircraft to be handed over before 2019, it suggests that deliveries will be cut to about three aircraft a year. Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) announced a deal with the Kuwait Air Force on April 5 last year. It is believed to be worth nearly $9bn and covers 28 Eurofighters: 22 single-seaters and six dual-seaters, which are expected to be delivered between 2019-23. On the KAF deal, the Leonardo spokesperson said: “As well as the aircraft, the contract includes three years of support, from delivery of the first aircraft, training for operations with the Italian Air Force, and the building of infrastructure at Ali Al Salem Air Base where they will be housed. A complete training package will be created for the Academy training centre.” He added that eight KAF instructor pilots will join 4° Stormo’s 20° Gruppo – the Italian Air Force operational conversion unit – to convert to the new jet. The April 11 event saw a delegation headed by the Kuwait Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency Sheikh Ali Al Khaled Al Jaber Al Sabah, presented with the first component to be built for the initial KAF Eurofighter. Alan Warnes

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ON THE morning of April 18, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation (IRIAA) conducted a major flypast during Iran’s Military Day parade over the south of Tehran. A total of 33 aircraft and 51 helicopters were involved. Highlights of the event included the IRIAF’s demonstration of two of its first modernised F-14AMs flying behind a KC-707 tanker and three from a total of seven Saeghe I/ II aircraft now in service. The IRIAF conducted three major rehearsals before the parade, and its aircraft were flown from the 1st Tactical Fighter Base (TFB) Lashgari, Mehrabad in Tehran; the 3rd TFB Nojeh (Shahrokhi) near Hamedan, and the 8th TFB Babaiee (Khatami) near Isfahan. IRIAF aircraft were drawn from a total of nine tactical fighter squadrons, one tanker squadron and one tactical transport squadron and from eight bases. Meanwhile, the IRIAA contingent comprised 21 Bell 214As, 12 AB206s, nine AH-1Js and six CH-47Cs from its 4th and 5th General Support Groups (GSGs) and the Vatan-Poor Training Centre. Babak Taghvaee

F-15SA deliveries continue A THIRD batch of F-15SAs has been delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). After a two-day layover at Goose Bay, Labrador following tanker problems, five F-15SAs arrived at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk on the afternoon

of March 29. Using the callsigns ‘Retro 61’ to ‘Retro 65’, the aircraft continued their onward journey on the morning of April 1. Deliveries of RSAF Advanced Eagles began when the first four aircraft landed at Lakenheath

on December 10 (see Saudi F-15SA deliveries commence, February 2017, p24). Transfers continued when three more aircraft landed at Lakenheath on February 9 (see Second batch of F-15SA deliveries, April 2017, p24).

RSAF F-15SA 12-1047 touches down at RAF Lakenheath on March 29. Peter R Foster

Military Day parade in Tehran

The third formation flight of IRIAF aircraft during the flypast. The lead aircraft is F-5F Saeghe II 3-7182, accompanied by F-5E Saeghe Is 3-7367 and 3-7368. All the aircraft are from the 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 2nd TFB Fakkuri in Tabriz. Mahmood Kiani

Iranian KC-707 begins overhaul

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5-8301 was scheduled to undergo PDM. On the civil register as EP-SHG of Saha Airlines between December 2008 and September 2011, 5-8301 was returned to military service in March 2012 and had aerial refuelling systems installed in August 2012. It remained operational until December 2014 when it was grounded awaiting PDM. It arrived

at IACI on March 5 last year for an overhaul and modest upgrade. As of February, the IRIAF had only two KC-707s operational with the 11th Tanker Transport Squadron of the 1st Independent Tactical Transport Base at Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran. Of these, only 5-8310 (EP-CPQ) had aerial refuelling systems installed, while

QATAR’S MINISTER of State for Defence Affairs, his Excellency Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Attiyah, visited Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina to gain insight on the US Air Force’s F-15E. After a tour of the 334th Aircraft Maintenance Unit and a mission briefing with the 334th Fighter Squadron, Dr Al Attiyah flew a back-seat ride in a Strike Eagle on March 28. According to a press release from Seymour Johnson, Qatar is poised to buy “over 30” F-15QA aircraft. On November 18, the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) for up to 72 F-15QA aircraft at an estimated cost of $21.1bn. This would include weapons and related support, equipment and training. However, sources have suggested the deal is for 36 aircraft and will include the provision of continental United States-based lead-in-fighter-training.

Iran may build Ka-226

A rare view inside the IACI facility at Mehrabad International Airport shows Boeing 707-3J9C 5-8301 prior to entering PDM. Nashenas

IRANIAN AIRCRAFT Industries (IACI) is making progress on the overhaul and modernisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force’s (IRIAF’s) fleet of four KC-707 (Boeing 707-3J9C) tankers. Programmed depot maintenance (PDM) and an avionics upgrade for 5-8304 were due to be completed in the second half of February, after which

Qatari official visits Seymour Johnson AFB

5-8312 (EP-CPP) was used for transport work. EP-CPQ has been kept airworthy via several extensions after reaching its meantime between overhaul (MTBO), and soon will be grounded for PDM. In its place, 5-8312 will be equipped with all its aerial refuelling systems. This will leave 5-8304 as a reserve aircraft to support 5-8312. Babak Taghvaee

RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS has reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran’s Industrial Development & Renovation Organization (IDRO) with a view to launching licence production of the Ka-226 utility helicopter in Iran. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, the MoU was signed on April 3. The Ansat light helicopter may be offered as an alternative to the Ka-226 in the joint venture.

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NEWS

Russia & CIS

Second batch of Mi-8MTV-5s for Belarus

THE BELARUSIAN Ministry of Defence received a second batch of six Mi-8MTV-5 helicopters ahead of schedule in April. According to Rostec, the Russian state corporation for defence exports, Russian Helicopters originally intended to begin deliveries from its Kazan Helicopters subsidiary in May. A first batch of six Mi-8MTV-5s was handed over at Machulischi air base near Minsk last November 28. These are operated by the 50th Combined Air Base of the Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily (Belarusian Air Force and Air Defence Corps, see Mi-8MTV-5s for Belarus, February 2017, p26).

Russia plans Tu-160M2 production in 2020 ACCORDING TO Russian news agency TASS, series production of the improved Tu-160M2 strategic bomber for the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) will begin in 2020. Quoting an unnamed source in the defence and industrial sector, the report stated that two to three Tu-160M2s will be produced annually by the Gorbunov Aircraft Plant in Kazan under a contract signed by the United Aircraft Corporation and the Russian Defence Ministry. A first flight of the bomber is expected next year. The Tu-160M2 incorporates the same basic airframe as the existing Tu-160 Blackjack, but includes all-new avionics, electronics, cockpit, communications and control systems, as well as new weapons. New engines of increased thrust are also to be incorporated. Last October, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov said the VKS had a requirement for 50 Tu-160M2s.

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The An-132D prototype immediately after taking off from Kiev-Svyatoshino airport on March 31. Note the orange nose radome fitted with flight-test instruments, as well as the various cameras fitted on the wingtips and tailfin. Sergey Smolentsev

Maiden flight of An-132D prototype THE PROTOTYPE An-132D (c/n 001), formally rolled out at Antonov’s main production facility in Kiev on December 20 last year (see An-132D prototype rolled out, February 2017, p26), completed its maiden flight on March 31. Now sporting the registration UR-EXK and a new orange nose section fitted with various test instruments, the aircraft took off from Kiev-Svyatoshino Airport, Antonov’s main production facility, at around 1250hrs local time. After spending 1hr 45mins in the air, it landed at Kiev-Gostomel Airport, the company’s main flight-testing facility. For the duration of the flight it was joined by the An-178 prototype (UR-EXP,

c/n 001), which flew as chase plane. Taking off from Kiev-Gostomel some ten minutes earlier, it appeared over KievSvyatoshino to coincide with the An-132D’s takeoff run. Despite overcast weather and rain, the whole process went smoothly, and Antonov’s test pilot and crew captain Viktor Goncharov, reported that everything went as planned. From now on, Kiev-Gostomel will be home to the An-132D prototype and most subsequent test flights will be carried out from there. It is then due to be flown to Saudi Arabia, possibly by midMay, for further test and demonstration flights. The An-132D is the demonstrator (hence the

letter D in its designation) for a planned An-132 medium multi-purpose transport, which has been under development by Ukraine’s Antonov and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) since April 2015. A second Saudi Arabian company, Taqnia Aeronautics, joined the project in May 2015 – its task is to organise series production in Saudi Arabia and handle marketing and sales. Once testing is complete, initial production of the An-132 is likely to begin at Antonov’s main plant in Kiev. In the meantime, a second production plant is intended to be built in Saudi Arabia by Taqnia Aeronautics after which both plants

will produce the An-132 simultaneously. Antonov is expected to offer the aircraft to customers in Latin America and Asia, while Taqnia Aeronautics will cover customers in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia alone is expected to acquire around 80 aircraft in different sub-variants and its Ministry of Defence signed a memorandum of understanding with Antonov and Taqnia Aeronautics in November 2015 for the initial acquisition of six – four of these could be fitted for search and rescue and maritime patrol operations, the remaining two being specialised electronic warfare variants. Vladimir Trendafilovski

Kazakhstan orders two more C295s

One of five previous C295s that entered service with the Sil Vozdushnoy Oborony Respubliki Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Air Defence Force) from January 2013. Airbus DS

AIRBUS DEFENCE and Space announced on April 20 that Kazakhstan is to acquire two more C295 transport aircraft. The contract between

Kazakhstan and Airbus covers the final two aircraft included in a memorandum of understanding signed in 2012. The latest deal

also includes a spares and support package. Both aircraft will be delivered in the second half of this year and will take the Kazakhstan

Air Defence Force’s C295 fleet to eight. The deliveries will also bring total C295 worldwide sales to 186, including 12 to former Soviet states.

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NEWS

Asia Pacific

New Indian Su-30MKI squadron A NEW unit has been formed with the Su-30MKI under the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command. During a ceremony at Halwara Air Force

Station, Punjab, on April 24, the type was inducted into service with 221 Squadron ‘Valiants’. The ‘Valiants’ was originally formed on February 14, 1963, at

Barrackpore and latterly flew the MiG-23, but phased the type out and disbanded in 2009. The unit becomes the second at Halwara to operate the Su-30MKI,

joining 220 Squadron ‘Desert Tigers’ as part of 9 Wing. Western Air Command also has one other Su-30MKI unit, 21 Squadron at Sirsa AFS. Dave Allport

Two of the Su-30MKIs newly delivered to the Indian Air Force’s 221 Squadron form a backdrop for a formal photograph of unit personnel during the induction ceremony for the type at Halwara AFS on April 24. IAF

India poised to negotiate C295 deal INDIA HAS moved closer to sealing a deal to acquire 56 Airbus Defence and Space C295 transport aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) HS748 fleet. The IAF Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, has confirmed that contract negotiations will soon be opened with Airbus. In addition to the 56 aircraft required

Russia approves Ka-226 production in India RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has approved the establishment of an IndoRussian joint venture for the production of Ka-226T utility helicopters to replace Cheetah and Chetak helicopters with the Indian armed forces. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Russian Helicopters and Rosoboronexport will set up the joint venture, under a $1bn deal that was agreed last October. A total of 60 Ka-226T helicopters will be supplied to India in ‘flyaway’ condition, while 140 more will be manufactured in India.

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by the IAF, the Border Security Force has also announced its intention to acquire four C295s to move its troops within the country. Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in ‘flyaway’ condition from its own final assembly line in Spain. Subsequent aircraft will be manufactured in India by Tata Advanced Systems in partnership with Airbus.

India eyes Malaysian MiGs

INDIA IS reportedly hopeful of buying surplus MiG-29 fighters from Malaysia, before upgrading them for use by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak confirmed that the proposal was one of the military co-operation initiatives discussed between Malaysia and India. Najib said the transfer of the MiGs would be reciprocated by acquiring Indian-produced spare parts for Malaysia’s Su-30MKM fighters.

TC-90s arrive in Philippines THE FIRST two Beechcraft TC-90 training and maritime surveillance aircraft loaned by Japan have arrived in the Philippines. The aircraft,

which will be used to patrol sea-lanes in the South China Sea, arrived at a naval base in Sangley Point, Cavite province on March 27. A handover ceremony

marked their transfer from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Philippine Navy. Japan will lease a total of five surplus Beechcraft TC-90s to the Philippines.

Singaporean Apache upgrade THE SINGAPORE government has confirmed that the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has embarked on an upgrade programme for its AH-64D Apache fleet.

The attack helicopters have been equipped with “new mission systems to enhance the helicopter’s survivability and improve its mission capability”. The upgrade includes

integrating the Helicopter Integrated Electronic Warfare System (HIEWS) and SATCOM. The programme is expected to be completed “over the next few years”.

Japan MSDF retires MH-53Es

The final two JMSDF MH-53Es at the retirement ceremony for the type on March 3 at Iwakuni. USMC/Lance Cpl Joseph Abrego

A RETIREMENT ceremony was held at Iwakuni on March 3 to mark the decommissioning of the Japan Maritime SelfDefense Force’s (JMSDF’s) Sikorsky MH-53Es. The last two of these helicopters that had

remained in active service were used as a backdrop for the proceedings in a hangar at US Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. They comprised 8625 and 8631, which had made their final flights on February 25 and January 17, respectively.

The JMSDF had operated a total of 11 MH-53Es, of which one was written off on June 6, 1995, while the remainder have been progressively retired. They were operated by 111 Kokutai at Iwakuni, which has

now re-equipped with the MCH-101 and CH-101. During 27 years of service with the JMSDF, the type flew 6,000 hours of operations in the mine countermeasures and heavy transport role. Dave Allport

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Pakistan buys more AW139s PAKISTAN IS continuing to reinforce its helicopter fleet with additional AgustaWestland AW139s. An undisclosed number of helicopters have been purchased from Leonardo,

the Italian company announced on March 28. Deliveries will begin in early 2018 and the aircraft will be used for utility, search and rescue and emergency medical service missions.

Pakistan is acquiring the AW139 in several batches, which include logistic support and training. It remains unclear how many of the type are now on order for Pakistan.

Production of AW139s for the Pakistan Air Force is continuing at the manufacturer’s Vergiate plant in Italy. On April 19 16-063/I-EASG (c/n 31761) was flight tested in full military markings, wearing a three-tone brown/green camouflage scheme with blue undersides. Two others noted on test sorties on April 11 both wore overall white, civilian-style colour schemes with green trim. One was I-EASH (c/n 31724), with its military markings taped over, although it had earlier been seen carrying serial SIX-055. The other was I-EASY, the c/n of which is unconfirmed. Marco Bianchi

Panthers arrive in Indonesia AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has delivered the first two of 11 ‘green’ AS565MBe Panthers to PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI). The helicopters will be adapted for maritime missions by PTDI and delivered to the Indonesian Navy. PTDI will equip the AS565MBe Panthers with an anti-

submarine warfare suite, including dipping sonar and torpedoes. The first two ‘green’ basic platforms arrived in Indonesia in mid-March and will be delivered to the Indonesian Navy by the middle of the year. Airbus Helicopters and PTDI also delivered

one H215M and two H225M helicopters to the Indonesian Air Force in mid-March, and the first two Fennec armed scout helicopters to the Indonesian Army in January. The two H225Ms are the third and fourth of a batch of six units under contract.

Cessna deliveries to Pakistan Army completed AN ADDITIONAL delivery of Cessna aircraft to the Pakistan Army Aviation Corps took place on March 24, when they were formally handed over by the US Office of Defense Representative-Pakistan, in Islamabad. This brings total deliveries of these aircraft to the Pakistan Army since November 2016 to six, comprising two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EXs and four T206H Stationairs, all modified for aeromedical evacuation. The aircraft will be used for air mobility and medevac missions, in addition to limited troop and equipment transportation. Cessna had been awarded a $14m Foreign Military Sales contract for these aircraft through the US Air Force on April 20 last year. The deal also includes a 24-month sustainment package, providing spares and support, along with training for pilots and maintenance personnel. Dave Allport

Pakistan Air Force Il-78MP in France

PAKISTAN AIR Force (PAF) Il-78MP R11-03AN was an unusual visitor to Châteauroux-Centre ‘Marcel Dassault’ Airport on April 20. In 2006, Ukraine sold four former

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Ukrainian Air Force Il-78s to the PAF. These aircraft, which bear the unique designation Il-78MP, were overhauled at Nikolayev between 2007 and 2011. The first

aircraft was delivered in late 2009 or early 2010, with the second following suit on October 29, 2010. A third example was delivered on February 5, 2011, followed by a

fourth during December 2011. The aircraft serve with 10 Squadron and are employed in support of Mirage and JF-17 operations. JeanBaptiste Rouer

Indonesia nears A400M deal

AIRBUS DEFENCE and Space will conduct talks with Indonesia over a contract to supply A400Ms. The negotiations will include terms of potential industrial collaboration and technology transfer. Also up for discussion is the number of aircraft that may eventually be procured for the Indonesian Air Force for service with Skadron Udara 31 and 32. In late March, PT Pelita Air, which is responsible for an Indonesian industrial consortium, signed a letter of intent with Airbus for an undisclosed number of A400Ms. It was previously reported that Jakarta had approved $2bn to spend on five A400Ms. Under Indonesian law, a deal to acquire the Atlas will require partial manufacture by stateowned industry.

India to buy 32 maritime ALHs

THE INDIAN government has approved the purchase of 32 maritimeconfigured Dhruv MkIII Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Valued at US$1.2bn and announced by HAL on March 30, the contract will provide helicopters for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, with 16 for each service. The deal includes performancebased logistics (PBL) support for the 16 Coast Guard helicopters over a period of five years. Deliveries are scheduled between 2020 and 2022. Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 322 currently operates the ALH from Indian Naval Station Garuda in Kochi.

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NEWS

Australasia

Additional Poseidons under contract BOEING HAS RECEIVED a $2.2bn contract to produce additional P-8A multi-mission maritime aircraft for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The latest deal, awarded on March 30, covers at least 17

Poseidon aircraft under Lot 8 full-rate production, including four for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), 11 for the US Navy and the first two for the UK’s Royal Air Force. The agreement also includes options for 32 additional

aircraft, as well as funds for long-lead parts for future orders. After exercising all options, the total contract value will be US$6.8bn. On April 28 the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale

to New Zealand of up to four P-8As as part of a deal that could be worth US$1.46bn.

The third P-8A for the RAAF is currently undergoing pre-delivery flight-testing at Seattle’s Boeing Field facility. Poseidon A47-003 (s/n 62290, l/n 6076) is seen departing the airfield for a test flight on March 31. Joe G Walker

Australian seeker for Joint Strike Missile NORWEGIAN COMPANY KONGSBERG Defence Systems has signed a deal with Australia’s Department of Defence to integrate a new seeker on the Joint Strike Missile ( JSM). Under the US$17.4m contract, Kongsberg will

integrate and qualify the Australian-developed passive seeker onto the JSM. This follows on from a previous agreement between the Norwegian and Australian governments in 2015. The ‘fifth-generation’ JSM is a long-range

precision strike weapon that will be integrated for internal carriage on the F-35. The additional passive radio frequency (RF) seeker will be developed by BAE Systems Australia and will enable the JSM to locate targets based

Sixth KC-30A prepares for delivery ON THE EVENING of March 14 KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) A39-006 for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) arrived at Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Manching, Germany to

receive its military paint scheme. The aircraft, MSN892/MRTT39, built in 2007, is a former Qantas A330-302, previously on the civil register as VH-EBH. Conversion to MRTT standard was completed by

Airbus at Seville, Spain. It is part of a follow-on order for two more of the tankertransports announced in July 2015. These two former Qantas airliners are due to be delivered to the RAAF next year.

KC-30A A39-006 arrives at Manching on March 14, prior to receiving its military paint scheme. Dietmar Fenners

Now fully painted, A39-006 was seen again before returning to Seville on April 20. Dietmar Fenners

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on their electronic signature. BAE Systems has already delivered a pre-production passive RF sensor for the JSM programme, and this has been used to perform fit checks, system integration and support flight-testing in

a development-standard missile. According to BAE Systems Australia the receiver “will feature an additional land attack and littoral attack capability as well as a two-way communications line for target adjustment and inflight termination.”

S-70B-2 Skeletor retired THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Navy has retired S-70B-2 Seahawk serial N24-011 (c/n 70-595) Skeletor after a career during which it logged 6,200 airframe hours. After more than 28 years of service, the Seahawk completed its last operational flight during HMAS Arunta’s recent maintenance period in Bahrain while deployed on Operation Manitou, the Australian government’s contribution to the international effort to promote maritime security and stability in the Middle East. The helicopter’s last flight

from the ship was into Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East region, where it was dismantled and prepared for transport back to Australia. An MH-60R will soon arrive in theatre to provide a new ship’s helicopter for Arunta, which is undertaking patrols with the multinational Combined Maritime Forces in the region.

RAN Seahawk N24-011 prepares to take off for its final flight at Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East. Commonwealth of Australia/CPL Bill Solomou

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INTEL REPORT

Patrolling ho s The South China Sea is a magnet for trouble, but airborne maritime surveillance assets are still a scarcity, as AFM’s Alan Warnes explains.

A

IRBORNE SURVEILLANCE is a role Southeast Asian countries should be taking very seriously these days. Terrorism, or the threat of terrorists crossing the South China Sea, has focused minds, yet for several countries in the region, such as Indonesia (with 17,000-plus islands), Malaysia and the Philippines which circle

SLOC

The South China Sea occupies a central position in the Indo-Pacific Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), which connect Europe, the Middle East and South Asia to Southeast Asia and North America. A SLOC is a primary maritime route between ports – used for trade, logistics and naval forces – which underpins the economic attractions of the regions. Maritime security is paramount to the free flow of vessels and their cargos as is the need to settle interstate disputes.

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these waters, little has changed. Despite years of crime on the high seas – where piracy, kidnapping, narcotics and people trafficking, smuggling, arms proliferation, illegal fishing and environmental crimes are all rife – there doesn’t appear to be much urgency to stamp it out. Everyone understands the need for co-ordination, information sharing and capacity building, but often this is just talk. To exacerbate matters, the Chinese government in Beijing has drawn a demarcation line in the South China Sea, known as the ‘nine-dash line’, and claims all territory behind it while continually extending it southwards. At the same time, it’s ignoring the economic exclusion zones (EEZs) of countries such as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam as it muscles its way around contested areas. Two major arenas where flash points regularly arise are the Paracel Islands, occupied by

China but claimed by Vietnam; and the Spratly Islands, disputed by the Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Each nation claims either a part or all the islands, which are believed to sit on vast mineral resources. As China’s ‘ninedash line’ pushes deeper south, Indonesia has been dragged into the dispute with part of its EEZ to the north of the Natuna Islands, which are also now being claimed by Beijing. No-one really knows the true extent of China’s strategic aspirations.

Malaysian misfortune

In February 2013, Malaysia was involved in a standoff with more than 200 armed militants in Lahad Datu, Sabah, in eastern Malaysia. They had arrived by boat from the southern Philippines claiming eastern Sabah as part of the Philippines under an unresolved territorial claim.

The six-week confrontation was only resolved when security forces were supported by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) BAE Systems Hawks and F/A-18D Hornets, which attacked the group and put down the revolt. Then came the loss of Malaysian Airlines MH370 in 2014, and the poor national response to the disaster witnessed by the whole world. The importance of maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) or maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) couldn’t have been highlighted better. Fortunately, many of Malaysia’s allies, such as the US, Australia, Russia and even China, sprang into action in search of the doomed airliner. The Malaysians had to call on careful diplomatic skills to persuade Vietnam to allow Chinese vessels into its waters to assist the search. Other countries in the region looked on, knowing their own capabilities were far from perfect and that they too would have struggled had it

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o stile waters Above: Japan has offered Malaysia some of its 100 P-3C Orions, which will become surplus as increasing numbers of Kawasaki P-1s take over the anti-surface/anti-submarine role. Other nations like Australia will also have available Orions as it receives the P-8 Poseidons on order. Alan Warnes Top: Leonardo sent one of the two recently delivered ATR 72MPAs to LIMA, which received a good deal of interest during the event. Babak Taghvaee

been one of their airliners. At the recent Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) 2017 exhibition in Malaysia, the local minister of defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, summed up the issues he faces in the matter: “Malaysia has the maritime responsibility for 556,000km2 [214,700 sq miles] and a coastline of 6,000km [3,730 miles]. “Our borders are therefore porous and we depend heavily on the sea to transport goods between the main

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peninsula and our eastern part, separated by over 600nm across the South China Sea. “It goes without saying that Malaysia wants good order in the sea to prevail, to ensure the safe passage of seaborne trade passing through the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea. It is a responsibility of all partners, but maritime security will remain an integral part of our strategic defence policy.” However, three years after MH370 disappeared, the minister confirmed there’s still no

timetable for a Malaysian MSA, preferring to say that as soon as it’s on line, Malaysia will buy it. He told AFM: “The endusers need to decide on the technical specifications. The air force [needs to decide] which [platform]; the Ministry of Finance will need to decide if it is affordable; and the Ministry of Defence will need to look at ways the aircraft can help the Malaysian defence industry. “The MPA is something we need to do, looking at the geopolitical considerations in the region. I

am working with the Japanese with regards to the P-3 Orions, but the P-8 Poseidon is far too expensive [for Malaysia].” A senior RMAF officer also commented on the requirement: “The MSA/MPA has to be a priority: we are surrounded by water and we need it. We have two different scenarios – to the east of Sabah we have pirates, smugglers and small boats as well as rafts with people, and we don’t know who they are. “Then there’s China. It’s a different story. They have over 100 ships and we really [can’t] do a lot [to counter that], but we can say ‘we see you, we know what you are doing’.”

Potential offerings

The LIMA exhibition in March was a golden opportunity for industry to outline the various offerings on the table in the region. Leonardo sponsored the appearance of a brand-new Italian Air Force ATR 72MPA at the event. The mission suite of

#351 JUNE 2017 33

INTEL REPORT

Map of the ‘nine-dash line’ as claimed by the PRC Shantou

China

Taiwan Kao-hsiung

Hong Kong

200m depth

Macau Hanoi Pratas Reel Pratas Island (occupied by Taiwan)

Luzon Strait

Helen Shoal

Gulf of Tonkin Hainan Dao

Chinese Claim line

Parcel Islands Cresent Group

Laos

Amphitrite Group

Triton Island

Thailand

Luzon Truro Shoal

Macclesfield Bank Scarborough Reef

Vietnam

Manila

South China Sea

Cambodia

Philippines

Phnom Penh

Philippine (Kalayaan) claim line Thitu Reefs

Calamain Group

Reed Tablemount

Panay

Union Atoll Negros

Spratly Islands

Spratly Island

Con Son

Palawan Sulu Sea

Rifleman Bank

Chinese Claim line Ma

lay

cl sian

aim

line

Mindanao Royal Charlotte Reef

200m depth Luconia Reefs

Kepilauan Natuna

Brunei

James Shoal

Malaysia Malaysia

Indonesia

Singapore Above: The so-called ‘nine-dash line’ refers to the demarcation line used initially by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and subsequently also by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), for their claims of the major part of the South China Sea.

34 JUNE 2017 #351

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the type (known in Italian service as the P-72A) is the modular Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance (ATOS) system, which has been integrated in some 40 different aircraft to date, according to the company. Central to ATOS is the increasingly popular Seaspray 7300E active electronically scanned array (AESA) multimode radar. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was also at LIMA, sending one of its 15 AP-3C Orions – which will be surplus to requirements when eight new P-8A Poseidons have entered Australian service. But the Japanese government appeared to have trumped the RAAF on the first day of LIMA 17 by offering Malaysia an attractive deal for surplus Kawasaki P-3Cs, which are also now becoming available as the first 12 of up to 70 Kawasaki P-1s enter service with the Japan Maritime SelfDefense Force (JMSDF). Many companies were talking about MPAs, but without having hardware present. Airbus Defence and Space, for example, displayed a large model of a C295MPA, which it’s offering with the Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) installed, as already in service with Oman and Portugal. Indonesia’s PTDI’s vice president of business development and marketing, Ade Yuyu Wahyuna, spoke about the company’s work with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on the Turkish Navy MELTEM (Sea Breeze) II contract for six CN235ASWs. The Bandung-based firm carried out aircraft modifications including a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) – the only CN235s fitted with such a system. PTDI also worked with Israel’s Elta on four Indonesian-built CN235-220MSAs for the Korea Coast Guard, which are fitted with EL/M-2022 maritime radars. Two batches of CN235MPAs have also been delivered so far to the Indonesian military by PTDI to meet the Maritime Patrol-1 (MARPAT-1) and MARPAT-2 contracts. The first three for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) were integrated with a FLIR Systems Star SAFIRE III and Thales AMASCOS system. Delivered by Thales during 2013-14, it is built around a tactical command system and integrates a full range of

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Above: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency is in the process of receiving six Thales Fulmar UAS systems as part of its acquisition of 12 new patrol craft. They can monitor operational areas from the vessels, which will often be a cheaper option than using a maritime surveillance aircraft. Thales

sensors and communication equipment. The CN235MPAs are now operational with Skadron Udara 800 at Surabaya alongside several NC212MPs, which are believed to use indigenous LEN radar systems. Work on a second batch of three CN235s, which started in 2014, has recently been completed, with US-based Integrated Surveillance and Defence (ISD) taking over the work from Thales – the American firm integrating the Telephonics AN/APS-143C(V)3 Ocean Eye maritime surveillance radar and a BriteStar 380HD onto the two navy and one air force aircraft. PTDI confirmed it was bidding for the Philippines MSA contract with the CN235-220, probably again in partnership with Elta. It’s likely to be facing stiff competition from the C295MPA, ATR 72MPA, Bombardier/L3 with their Dash 8 Q400 and the Saab Swordfish MPA. Saab is marketing the Swordfish

mission system on two main platforms, the Bombardier Global 6000 jet aircraft or a Q400 turboprop. They can be equipped with up to four weapon hardpoints under the wings to carry anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, and drop pods for search and rescue missions. Viking Air, the Canadian company now producing Twin Otters, is keen to gain more of the maritime surveillance action in Asia too. It’s offering the Guardian 400 Multi Role Sensor Aircraft (MRSA), a mock-up of the aircraft’s nose featuring on their stand at LIMA 17. Inside was a Leonardo Osprey 30 (a version of the Seaspray 5000 maritime surveillance radar) and a retractable L3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/ infrared (EO/IR) turret.

Time to go unmanned?

Thales is pushing unmanned aircraft systems in the region,

as evidenced at LIMA. Using them instead of an MSA/ MPA, the military could save a lot of operational costs. The French company, which has delivered two of six Fulmar unmanned aerial systems (UASs) to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), announced in April last year that the type, a small highperformance fixed-wing UAS, would equip the MMEA’s fleet of 12 new-generation patrol craft (NGPCs). The design of the maritime version of Fulmar enables it to take off and land while a ship is in motion, a key MMEA requirement. It has eight hours’ endurance and can fly 500 miles (800km) without the need to be refuelled. According to Matt Moore, a Thales UAS product development manager, deploying UASs on a patrol vessel “allows the operators to project an eye into operational areas”. While a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper featured in the static park at LIMA, manufacturer General Atomics was probably keener to market its maritime surveillance MQ-9A option. The US Customs and Border Patrol operates the variant, fitted with the Raytheon Seaview radar inside a large housing under the fuselage. General Atomics could also supply it with a Northrop Grumman AN/APY-10, Leonardo Seaspray 7500 or Osprey radar.

Current capabilities

Above: Malaysia’s Minister of Defence, Hishammuddin Hussein acknowledges the need for a maritime surveillance aircraft. At LIMA he said there is no timetable for such an acquisition, despite the loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014 with all 239 people on board. Alan Warnes

Despite current interest in supplying Malaysia with new equipment, it already has some maritime surveillance capabilities serving three different agencies: the MMEA, the police and the RMAF. The MMEA flies a pair of Bombardier 415MPs, which have been in service at Subang since January 2009. In addition to an aerial

#351 JUNE 2017 35

INTEL REPORT firefighting capability, the two aircraft have been modified for the maritime surveillance role, equipped with the Swedish Space Corporation MSS 6000 system, which includes a SLAR (side-looking airborne radar), a FLIR turret for still and video cameras, AIS (automatic identification system) and satellite communications plus a ground station for pre- and post-mission data processing. The RMAF has three King Air 200s, flown by 16 Skuadron at Subang. Four were originally delivered in May 1994 but one crashed on December 16 last year. Two had been modified by Airod with a Telephonics RDR 1700B radar by early 2013, and the other two were due to follow suit, one source claiming the Thales AMASCOS was selected. The Royal Malaysian Police at Sungai Besi took on two Super King Air 350ERs in late 2013, equipped with the Telephonics RDR-1500B maritime search and surveillance radar. The system has been enhanced for airborne law enforcement operations and has brought a new level of mission to the Air Operations Force. Indonesia, meanwhile, appears desperate for a robust maritime surveillance system. Unlike Malaysia, it has modernised its MSA requirements in recent years with PTDI taking the lead. Interestingly, the air force CN235 upgraded by ISD – now based at Ujang Pandang (Makassar) with SkU 5 – has been fitted with a Leonardo SAGE electronic support measures (ESM) system, the sole example

Above: The MMEA operates two Bombardier 415s equipped with the Swedish Space Corporation MSS 6000 for maritime surveillance. Maintenance issues have dogged the aircraft, which is also used for firefighting. Alan Warnes

so far equipped with this kit. The original CN235MPA delivered in 2007 will probably receive a similar system, including SAGE, but a contract is still awaited. It was one of three ordered more than 20 years ago to be fitted with the Thales AMASCOS system; however, only one aircraft was ever delivered, in 2007. The Philippines has no MSA capability, but has recently issued its fourth request for information (RFI) in four years. In 2014, 18 companies were bidding to supply the nation with an MSA, offering different solutions involving the PTDI CN235, Bombardier Dash 8 and the ATR 72. It’s likely to be the usual suspects again for this latest RFI, plus the Airbus C295W. PTDI was close to clinching a $135m deal to supply two CN235s with a “Raytheon system” installed – likely to comprise the new Mk54 lightweight torpedo and Fish Hawk kit. The latter attaches

to torpedoes and enables submarine-hunting aircraft to precisely deploy the weapons from high altitudes while standing off at a safe distance. But the deal fell through. Singapore has five Fokker 50MPAs based with 121 Squadron at Changi (West) and used to patrol its EEZ and other interests. One deployed to Djibouti in 2010 and 2011 as part of the multinational Task Force 151, charged with counterpiracy duties in the Gulf of Aden. Its defence ministry said at the time: “When freedom of navigation is threatened, and where we can make a useful contribution, we will do our part to counter piracy. This is why we are in the Gulf of Aden to assist the shipping community and maintain maritime trade.” The city state’s also seeing regular P-8A detachments from the US Navy’s Pacificbased Seventh Fleet, which helps keep a close eye on

Above: Viking has offered South Korea its Guardian 400 as an anti-surface warfare option. The aircraft could be equipped with the LIG Nex1 Blue Shark anti-shipping missiles or MU90 torpedo integrated into a large belly pod, which Field Aviation has already designed. Viking Air

36 JUNE 2017 #351

Chinese activity in the region. Elsewhere, Thailand operates MSA assets owned by its navy, although none are believed to be operational. The country is currently in the early stages of scoping an aircraft requirement for its three veteran Fokker F27s, the sole MSA version of which is undergoing a mission system upgrade with a Seaspray 7300E radar. The other two remain grounded. All seven of Thailand’s Dornier Do228s are in need of modernisation, with four still using the obsolete Telephonics RDR-1500 radar. Two tenders put out recently covered a general aircraft mechanical systems upgrade plus a radar/ mission systems upgrade – RUAG offering options including a Thales OceanMaster, Telephonics RDR 1700 or Leonardo Seaspray 7000E maritime surveillance radar. Meanwhile a pair of P-3T Orions fulfil anti-submarine/ anti-surface warfare roles. In a bid to bolster its airborne maritime surveillance capabilities, the Vietnam Marine Police took delivery of three new C212-400s in August 2012, equipped with the Swedish Space Corporation’s MSS 6000 surveillance radar system. They were followed in mid2013 by the first of three Viking Guardian 400 MPA-configured aircraft – which serve the Vietnamese Navy – modified by Ikhana Aircraft Services of Murrieta, California, with an Elta EL/M-2022 maritime radar systems and MiniPOP day/night EO turret. With a coastline of 2,500 miles (3,400km) to cover, the aircraft are kept busy in what is a hotbed for maritime patrol and surveillance.

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WATCHING RUSSIA WATCHING US RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

Tim Ripley examines the secretive world of RAF and USAF spy flights around Russia’s western borders.

E

ARLY ON a cold February morning, one of the Royal Air Force’s two Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft lifted off from its home base of RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and headed out over the North Sea. It topped up the fuel tanks from a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker soon after take-off and then headed east. A little over an hour later, aircraft monitoring enthusiasts picked up opensource transponder signals from the big RAF spyplane as it crossed Denmark and set course for the coast off the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Almost simultaneously, a USAF RC-135 was spotted on patrol over northeast Poland, a few miles from Kaliningrad. What had tempted British and US spyplanes into some of the most sensitive airspace in Europe? Only a few days earlier, the Russian defence ministry had posted a notice to airmen and ships’ captains, warning them to keep away from a missile test firing range off the Kaliningrad coast. Could the opportunity to monitor test firings of anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles from one of the most modern warships in the Russian Navy have caused this gathering of spyplanes? In response to questions, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London said: “We

Main photo: A Royal Air Force RC-135W tops up from a KC-135 Stratotanker belonging to the US Air Force’s 100th Air Refueling Wing off the coast of England. This was the first time a tanker belonging to the Mildenhall-based 100th ARW had refuelled an RAF ‘RJ’. USAF/A1C Jonathan Light Right: The view from the cockpit of a Russian Su-27 fighter as it intercepts an RAF RC-135 over the Baltic sometime in 2015. In July of the previous year, a Rivet Joint conducting a “routine surveillance mission” in international airspace over the Baltic was forced to flee into Swedish airspace in order to avoid an “attempted encounter” by Russian fighters. VKS

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#351 JUNE 2017 37

RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

Above: RAF RC-135W ZZ664 at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire wears special markings to commemorate the centenary of No 51 Squadron, the Royal Air Force’s SIGINT specialists. Ryan Dorling Right: RC-135W 62-4131 taxies out for a mission from RAF Mildenhall, Norfolk. This aircraft is one of six conversions of six TF33-PW-5-powered, Vietnam War-era RC-135M Combat Apple signals intelligence (SIGINT) platforms. The USAF Rivet Joint fleet currently numbers nine RC-135Ws. Ryan Dorling

don’t comment on intelligence matters”. The RC-135 missions passed without incident, but with a definite echo of the Cold War stand off – or ‘Great Game’ as it was nicknamed – between NATO and the Soviet Union, yet they took place this year. The game is still clearly under way, albeit on a completely different scale to the intelligence duels prior to 1989 when the Berlin Wall collapsed, ending Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.

Preparing for the worst

During the Great Game, Soviet and NATO air forces, as well as some of the air arms of neutral countries, regularly flew ELINT missions around one another’s territory, monitoring military dispositions and looking for weaknesses in air defence networks. Building an electronic order of battle enabled radar stations to be pinpointed and the limits of radar coverage calculated, as well as identifying locations of surface-to-air missile batteries, their command posts and details of the radio frequencies they used. Such data informed the preparation of war plans so that should the Cold War turn ‘hot’, enemy air defences could be penetrated and/ or taken down with maximum efficiency. The intelligence also helped determine the range and effectiveness of weapon systems and informed the development

of counter-tactics and new weapons. Electronic intelligence gathering, or ferret, missions were typically long and dull, operators on board the aircraft staring at cathode-ray tubes, watching for spikes signifying radar or radio emissions. Foreignlanguage speakers were often on board to translate the overheard radio conversations. Some ELINT flights were co-ordinated with other aircraft that flew directly towards the foreign border, turning away at the last moment, but not before forcing the opposition to ‘light up’ their air defence system. Interceptors might be launched in response, and more radars and missile systems activated, enabling the ferrets to soak up greater quantities of intelligence. Fast forward to 2017 and although the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically, Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 prompted a build-up of NATO forces along its eastern borders in the Baltic and Black Sea regions. NATO is concerned about the prospect of a Russian covert invasion by groups of undercover operatives spreading subversion to destabilise allies in the Baltic region and consequently wants as much early warning as possible of any Russian military buildup near Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland. NATO intelligence chiefs are also acutely aware that after largely ignoring Russia’s armed forces for 25 years to concentrate

Above: Rarely seen NC-135W 61-2666 is configured as a permanent test aircraft and plays an important role in developing new equipment for the Rivet Joint fleet. The operating unit is the 645th Material Squadron Det 2 of Air Force Materiel Command. Normally based at Majors Field outside Greenville, Texas, where it is employed by L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, the aircraft is an infrequent visitor to Europe. Ryan Dorling

38 JUNE 2017 #351

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RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

UK and US strategic reconnaissance units in Europe No 51 Squadron, Royal Air Force

Base: RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, UK. Aircraft type: Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint. Number of aircraft: two (third for delivery in 2017). History: Established in 1916 and disbanded in 1950. Re-formed in 1958 as an ELINT unit, flying the de Havilland Comet R2 and English Electric Canberra until 1974, when it reequipped with the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R1. The Nimrod was retired in 2011 and the first RC-135s handed over in 2013.

55th Wing, United States Air Force

Base: Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Temporary Duty Detachments to RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk in the UK and US Naval Air

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Station Souda Bay, Crete. Aircraft type: Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint. Number of aircraft: 17, although two or three is a typical Mildenhall detachment and one or two are usually forward deployed at Souda Bay. History: Established in 1940 as a fighter group and re-formed as the 55th Reconnaissance Group (Very Long Range) (Mapping) in 1947, before deactivation in 1949. Re-formed as the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (55th SRW) in 1950 and immediately involved in spy flights around the USSR, losing a Boeing RB-50 aircraft to Soviet fighters in 1953. Received its first RC-135 in 1967 and became the 55th Wing in 1991.

on peacekeeping in the Balkans and counter-insurgency in the Middle East and Afghanistan, there are huge holes in their understanding of the Russian military. A major difference between 1987 and 2017 is that today, surveillance flights in international airspace are far more easily noticed. Anyone with an internet connection can listen to air traffic control radio traffic and/or monitor civilian and military aircraft transponder networks. Thanks to websites such as Flightfinder24, which offer real-time display of the positions of aircraft ‘squawking’ or transmitting ADS-B and other transponder data, it is usually possible to track where British and US spyplanes are when they are flying in controlled airspace. Transponders are a requirement of civilian air safety regulations that require all aircraft flying in international airspace to broadcast position data to

#351 JUNE 2017 39

RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

RC-135U Combat Sent: the ‘U-Boat’

From a total of three built, only two RC-135U Combat Sent aircraft (64-14847 and 64-14849) remain in the USAF inventory and both are assigned to the 55th Wing’s 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offutt. While the Rivet Joint is more focused on an enemy’s intentions and deployment, the Combat Sent collects technical intelligence, gauging the operating characteristics and capabilities of particular adversary systems (especially radars). The Combat Sent also provides strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the President, the Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense leaders, and theatre commanders. Serial 64-14847 received shark mouth markings during its deployment to Mildenhall earlier this year. Flying as ‘Spool 06’, this aircraft was on station in the Baltic during the deployment of two F-35As to Ämari in Estonia in April. Luca Chadwick

40 JUNE 2017 #351

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RIVET JOINT IN THE UK

Above: At one time, RC-135W 62-4132 was the highest-time Rivet Joint aircraft, having amassed 44,468 hours by February 2000 and surpassing 50,000 hours six years later in March 2008. Missions over the Baltic continue to keep the fleet busy. Commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force Col Gen Viktor Bondarev stated that as of late 2014, RC-135s were carrying out “almost daily” surveillance flights along his country’s borders. Luca Chadwick Left: Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operators assigned to the USAF’s 97th Intelligence Squadron at work inside a Rivet Joint. A mission crew typically comprises three Electronic Warfare Officers (‘Ravens’), 14 ‘intelligence’ operators (including linguists) and four in-flight maintenance technicians. An additional six individuals can be accommodated if required and aircraft are flown by a flight crew of two pilots and two navigators. USAF Below: Another former M-model, RC-135W 62-4138 is named ‘Jungle Assassin’. The 95th Reconnaissance Squadron at Mildenhall provides pilots and navigators to fly the Rivet Joints deployed to Europe, and the Suffolk base is also home to the 488th Intelligence Squadron that supplies rear crewmembers. Ryan Dorling

avoid air-to-air collisions. Older radio-based transponders are steadily being augmented or replaced by GPS-based systems such as ADS-B, leading to a mix of systems currently in use. Other websites, blogs and Twitter feeds, including @MIL_radar, regularly post recordings of radio communications from military aircraft flying across and around Europe. The watchers are being watched.

Modern missions

The exact configurations of today’s RC-135s are highly classified, but they include an array of receivers believed to enable the monitoring of traditional radio communications, mobile telephone traffic, guided-missile control telemetry and radar emissions. The systems are computerised, their operators sitting at workstations from which they monitor raw emissions and make real-time analysis of recorded traffic. Satellite links enable intelligence staff on the ground to analyse RC-135 intercepts as they happen. British and US strategic surveillance aircraft currently fly more than one mission per week over the Baltic and Black Seas, under an intensified effort to monitor Russian

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military activity in these sensitive regions. Over the past six months, details of their sorties have emerged through analysis of open-source transponder data posted online, the monitoring of air traffic control communications and aviation enthusiast sighting reports from their bases. More than 20 USAF RC-135 missions over the Baltic Sea and northeast Poland have been flown from RAF Mildenhall since the beginning of October 2016. Two or three 55th Wing aircraft and crews are usually stationed at the Suffolk airfield on temporary detachment from their home base at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. The 55th Wing’s UK-based detachment seems to be paying particular attention to the Kaliningrad enclave, to where Moscow announced it was deploying nuclearcapable Iskander ballistic missiles in October 2016. Transponder data suggests two flights were flown around the North Cape into the Barents Sea, in November 2016 and January 2017, respectively. The USAF’s Black Sea RC-135 missions are flown from Naval Air Station Souda Bay on Crete, which has long been home to a 55th

Wing detachment. Since the beginning of last October, at least nine sorties have been completed. They usually involve the aircraft flying race-track patterns in the centre of the Black Sea, to the south of Crimea.

British RJs

The RAF’s RC-135 is officially designated Airseeker by the MOD, but known by everyone in the RAF as Rivet Joint and universally referred to as ‘RJ’. Last December, the first photograph of an RAF RJ over the Baltic Sea, taken from a Russian Su-27 fighter, emerged. The fighter had been scrambled to intercept the British spyplane on a mission the previous year and it appears that its pilot shared it with a friendly retired RAF officer. No 51 Squadron, the RAF’s Rivet Joint operator, seems not to have flown Baltic missions with the intensity of its USAF colleagues, although a senior RAF officer describes co-operation between 51 and the 55th Wing as “long-standing and deep”. Further bolstering the relationship, the UK’s two RC-135s (of an eventual three) were temporarily based at RAF Mildenhall until November 2016 while a two-year long

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RIVET JOINT IN THE UK runway resurfacing project was underway at their Waddington home. One of the RAF RJs is also usually deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, supporting coalition efforts against so-called Islamic State. RAF RC-135s on missions over Europe do not appear as frequently on transponder tracking websites as their US counterparts because they don’t fly as often and monitoring coverage is variable in some parts of northern Europe. However, based on the analysis of reports from aviation enthusiasts working around Mildenhall, last year No 51 Squadron’s aircraft flew around 12 missions long enough to get them to the Baltic region, including three six-hour sorties and two of eight hours. Two missions were recorded in the first two months of this year. Before they head to the Baltic, RAF Rivet Joints refuel from USAF KC-135 tankers. The commander of the USAF’s 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, Col Thomas D Torkelson, told the February 2016 issue of Air Force Magazine, the publication of the Air Force Association: “… the UK doesn’t like Waddington as a longterm solution for their Rivet Joints, because the runway is too short and they require a tanker for every mission from there.” There have been discussions between the USAF and RAF for a joint RC-135 base, but these appear to have come to nothing. In response to Col Torkelson’s claim, an RAF spokesman told AFM: “RAF Waddington will remain the main operating base for UK RC-135 Rivet Joint (Airseeker) aircraft. Co-location will continue to happen on operations and exercises, but there is no plan to permanently co-locate US and UK aircraft.” A senior RAF source described Col Torkelson’s comments as “interesting”, adding: “On deployed operations it is mutually beneficial for the UK and US to co-locate Rivet Joint aircraft. Co-location enables the sharing of mission and engineering support and, importantly, the sharing of operating personnel and their ideas. “RAF Waddington is suitable for RC-135 operations and as the UK’s intelligence,

Above: One of eight USAF RC-135Vs, 64-14844 is a former C-model. The RC-135Vs were converted from either RC-135C or RC-135U aircraft, are fitted with the Boeing-developed air refuelling receptacle (ARR), and were originally delivered with TF33-PW-9 turbofans. Luca Chadwick

surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) hub, provides natural synergies between all the RAF’s ISTAR platforms. The runway is sufficient for planned UK mission capabilities. Airto-air refuelling is not essential for the aircraft as the RC-135’s new fuel-efficient engines enable it to operate for longer. Where required, it can be refuelled by the UK’s NATO allies and coalition partners.”

Mission planning

Exactly what intelligence RAF and USAF aircraft are collecting over the Baltic, Black and Barents Seas is unknown. But in the age of cyber warfare and cyber espionage, why is it considered necessary to fly spyplanes up to Russia’s borders at all? Spokesmen for the RAF and US European Command said it was not their policies to comment on matters of intelligence and surveillance. A former RAF intelligence officer suggested to the author that “old-fashioned” spyplane flights were still required because Russian air, air defence and long-range aviation forces continue to rely on “low-tech” high-frequency radios to control their aircraft. “Getting within range of their radio ground stations is the only way to listen to what they’re saying to their aircraft. It’s the same with radars – to know their weak spots you need to get ‘painted’ by flying inside their emission envelope.” Asked about the control of RC-135 missions, a NATO official said: “US and UK reconnaissance aircraft have not flown under NATO command over the Baltic States

or the Black Sea, but do support NATO ISTAR missions with national assets.” A retired intelligence officer friend suggested the author examine the history of UK-US spy flights to identify the controlling agencies. In the 1950s, reconnaissance missions over Russia were first requested by US Strategic Air Command’s Gen Curtis LeMay and his British counterparts in RAF Bomber Command. These nucleararmed units were looking to identify routes through the Soviet Union’s air defences. Today, responsibility for monitoring Russian military activities and capabilities falls to US European Command’s Joint Analysis Center at RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, and the UK Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre at RAF Wyton, in the same county. These are the organisations responsible for generating the intelligence-gathering requirements sent to USAF in Europe Headquarters at Ramstein, Germany, and RAF Air Command at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, from where aircraft are tasked with reconnaissance missions. Since the famous 1960 shoot-down of a Central Intelligence Agency U-2 over the Soviet Union, the subject of reconnaissance missions against Russia has been a political hot potato. Although overflights have long since ceased, US operations are still approved at the highest levels in the White House and occasionally by the President himself. According to a senior RAF source, British missions are approved by the National Security Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister or her deputy.

Above: Reflecting Anglo-American co-operation in strategic reconnaissance, RAF No 51 Squadron and USAF 55th Maintenance Group maintenance personnel repair the undercarriage of RAF RC-135W ZZ665 inside a hangar at Offutt. The aircraft diverted from Nellis AFB, Nevada to Offutt during February’s Exercise Red Flag. USAF/Delanie Stafford

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03/05/2017 11:38

EXERCISE REPORT Iniohos 2017

ChariotsI of fire This year’s Iniohos exercise featured an increased number of participants drawn from four air arms. Amit Agronov reports from Greece.

Above: Israeli F-16C Block 40 Barak 519 from the ‘First Fighter’ Squadron made its first appearance with a kill marking representing an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by Hamas below the left side of the cockpit. Below: HAF F-4E AUPs recover to Andravida after an afternoon mission. The aircraft nearest camera, 338 Mira’s 01534 (ex 72-1534), carries a Rafael Litening III targeting pod that was also used by the Israeli F-16s and Italian AMX. All photos Amit Agronov

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NIOHOS IS a medium-scale international exercise organised by the Hellenic Air Force (HAF, Eliniki Polemiki Aeroporia) and comprises complex air operations across the geographical area within the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR). The latest exercise took place between March 27 and April 6. Iniohos (meaning ‘charioteer’ in Greek) was launched in the late 1980s and initially involved only HAF squadrons, however it was enlarged to encompass the entire Hellenic Armed Forces in 2005. In November 2013 it became an international event and the single-base concept was adopted. It has subsequently been hosted by 117 Pterix Mahis (117th

Combat Wing) at Andravida on the Greek mainland. The HAF fielded six squadrons of F-16s, comprising Block 50 aircraft (341 and 347 Mira from Nea Anchialos) and Block 52+ (340 and 343 Mira from Soúda, Crete, and 335 and 336 Mira from Araxos), F-4Es from the local 338 and 339 Mira, and Mirage 2000-5EGs from 331 Mira at Tanagra. The Hellenic Army and Navy also took part in the manoeuvres. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) participation included a total of 15 aircraft from five squadrons. These were spearheaded by 12 F-16C/D Block 40 Barak 2020s from 101 ‘First Fighter’ and 105 ‘Scorpion’ Squadrons based at Hatzor. Support assets drawn from Nevatim comprised a G550 Nachshon

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Top: United Arab Emirates Air Force F-16E Block 60 Desert Falcon serial 3045 lands at Andravida. The type is generally accepted as the most capable Fighting Falcon version operational anywhere in the world. Above: 51° Stormo AMX A-11B MM7170 ‘51-30’ returns from an early-morning mission. Below right: ‘Scorpion’ Squadron F-16D Block 40 Barak 642 launches for an evening mission over the Peloponnese peninsula. Carried outboard underwing are training versions of the Delilah (AGM-142 Popeye) cruise missile, which combine the weapon’s TV sensor head with a GBU-15 glide bomb body.

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Eitam airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from 122 ‘Nachshon’ Squadron, a Boeing 707 Re’em from 120 ‘Desert Giants Squadron’ and a C-130J Shimshon from the ‘Elephants’ Squadron.

Exercise debuts

The two first-time participants were the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) with four AMX fighter-bombers from the 51° Stormo’s 132º Gruppo at Istrana, and the United Arab Emirates, which brought six F-16 Block 60s from the 1st and 2nd Shaheen Squadrons both located at Al Dhafra. Finally, the USAF sent 12 F-16C Block

30 aircraft and 220 support personnel from the Air Force Reserve Command’s 482nd Fighter Wing (FW), Homestead Air Reserve Base. While the F-15Es that took part last year came from the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, this year the 482nd FW deployed 5,744 miles (9,244km) away from their Florida home. Greece is a popular training location for mission planners and crews thanks to minimal air traffic and the fact that missions can take place over isolated areas. Participants flew more than 1,000

sorties during the exercise with morning, afternoon, evening and night waves being flown by formations mostly comprising between 20 and 32 aircraft. Specific missions included counter-air, fighter sweep, antisurface force operations, combat search and rescue, time-sensitive targeting and suppression of enemy air defences. Capt Emanuel, an Israeli Fighting Falcon pilot from the ‘Scorpion’ Squadron, said: “The exercise combined many operational aspects alongside mental challenges. All of the obvious elements entailed in flying in Israel are completely different here – from the runways to the radio communication, which is performed in a language we aren’t used to.” Capt Guy, commander of the ‘Nachshon’ Squadron’s Operations Department, added: “The deployment is an opportunity for mutual knowledge sharing with the foreign air forces. We are exposed to the way they think and plan their missions, an experience that greatly enriches us.” During the opening briefing the Minister for National Defence of Greece Panos Kammenos spoke of the exercise’s importance in the fight against terrorism: “This concerns the very sensitive area of the southeast Mediterranean. It is an area where we have developments in Syria and Libya, upheavals in terms of policies and, meanwhile, a joint effort against terrorism, which is spreading rapidly.”

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EXERCISE REPORT Real Thaw 2017

FAP in force R

Above: Spanish Hornets took turns with Portuguese F-16s to defend the slowmovers as they delivered paratroopers and other loads. Most days one of the fighter contingents flew escort while the other attempted to intercept, but on one occasion the F/A-18s and F-16s operated together. FAP Top: Real Thaw 2017 was very likely the last such exercise for the Portuguese Air Force’s Alpha Jet As. Although not involved every day, two examples were on hand to fly air-to-ground missions including close air support. Jorge Ruivo

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EAL AL THAW 2017 – planned and conducted by the Portuguese Air Command – took place from March 5 to 17, its main objective to evaluate and certify the operational capability of air power in a multinational joint training environment. The exercise also set out to prepare forces for international missions in operational scenarios and to develop interoperability between countries and their armed forces. Overall it involved around 1,000 military personnel and 35 aircraft. FAP participants included F-16AMs from Monte Real, P-3C Orion, Alpha Jet and Alouette III aircraft from Beja itself and C-130 and C295M Persuader aircraft from Montijo. Other air assets came from Portugal’s navy and army plus Belgium, Denmark, France, NATO, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. Covering air, sea and land scenarios, the exercise aimed to provide a realistic environment as close as possible to current theatres of operation and

adapted to the training needs of the various armed forces.

US participation

US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) took part with two C-130Js and around 70 personnel from the 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany – its constituent 37th Airlift Squadron focusing on tactical airlift training, including formation and low-level flying, assault landings and personnel and equipment airdrops with paratroopers from US Army Europe and partner nations. Also participating were two MV-22Bs from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 764 plus 60 US Marines from the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Africa (SP MAGTF-CR-AF) which is permanently based at Morón Air Base in Spain. A US Marine Corps KC-130 took part in the exercise flying from Morón. Other ‘players’ included Belgium and the Netherlands with a C-130H-30 each plus Spanish Hornets and a single C212

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Real Thaw 2017 participants Type 5 x F-16AM 2 x Alpha Jet A 1 x C295M 2 x P-3C CUP+ 3 x Alouette III 3 x F/A-18CX 1 x C212 1 x C-130H 1 x C-130H 2 x C-130J 2 x MV-22B 1 x E-3A

Force Portuguese Air Force Portuguese Air Force Portuguese Air Force Portuguese Air Force Portuguese Air Force Spanish Air Force Spanish Air Force Belgian Air Component Royal Netherlands Air Force US Air Force US Marine Corps NATO

1 x E-3F

French Air Force

1 x Falcon 20

Cobham

Squadron Esquadra 201/301 Esquadra 103 Esquadra 502 Esquadra 601 Esquadra 552 Ala 46 721 Escuadrón 15 Wing 336 Squadron 37th Airlift Squadron VMM-764 E-3A Component Escadron de Détection et de Commandement Aéroportés 36

Bottom: Belgian Air Component C-130H CH-08 (c/n 382-4478) was one of four Hercules aircraft involved in the exercise. Between them they could drop almost 200 paratroopers on the Santa Margarida training area during each mission. Ivo Pereira Below: F-16s like F-16AM 15131 (ex 83-1068) have been a constant presence at Real Thaw since the exercise was first launched as a Portuguese-Danish close air support training initiative. Today, the exercise is much more complex, involving multinational conflict scenarios. Jorge Ruivo

This year’s Real Thaw exercise – the ninth – involved aircraft from almost every squadron in the Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP, Portuguese Air Force). Jorge Ruivo watched the action. from Ala 37. Able to operate from unprepared runways, the C212 conducted infiltration and extraction missions for special forces during Real Thaw. NATO meanwhile dispatched a Geilenkirchen-based E-3A to Beja for air surveillance. Air activities began on March 6 at Base Aérea (BA, Air Base) 11 in Beja, where C-130s took off throughout the day along with a C295M, a C212 and a P-3C CUP+. F-16s and F/A-18s, two Alouette III helicopters and an E-3A were also involved. On March 14, BA11 hosted a demonstration of air and ground capabilities, its centrepiece being a simulated rescue from a warehouse: a Portuguese Navy team and two vehicles disembarked from a C-130 and assaulted the building before rescuing a casualty. Focused on preparing units for current operations, and drawing participation from a range of NATO allies, the Real Thaw series remains the FAP’s most important exercise.

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EXERCISE REPORT AvDet 17-2 in Poland

Hercs on to u L

AST YEAR the 33. Baza Lotnictwa Transportowego (33rd Transport Aviation Base) at Powidz hosted airmen from the US Air Force’s 94th Airlift Wing (AW), from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, and the 86th AW from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. This year it was the turn of the 166th AW of the Delaware Air National Guard, which brought two C-130H2 aircraft to Poland for the Aviation Detachment (AvDet) 17-2 exercise that took place from March 3 to 28. The H-model Hercules is very similar to Poland’s C-130E, allowing for a high degree of interoperability and mixed-crew training. The training was mainly conducted by Polish instructors. The crews practised standard Container Delivery System (CDS), Simulated Airdrop Training Bundle (SATB) and heavy equipment drops. A small component from the 166th was meanwhile stationed in Kraków where it trained for joint

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Above: C-130E 1505 (70-1276) kicks up dirt on the grass strip at the 33rd Transport Aviation Base. The operating unit for the Polish Hercules fleet is the 14. Eskadra Lotnictwa (14th Aviation Squadron) home-based at Powidz. All photos Piotr Łysakowski Right: A crewman scans the skies from the upper-fuselage observation blister of a Delaware Air National Guard C-130H2, photographed from the same position on a Polish Hercules. Below: Polish and US aircrew huddle on the flight deck of a ‘legacy’ Hercules. For the 166th Airlift Wing overseas exercises are a very important element of training, allowing combined operations and, for some personnel, a first overseas deployment.

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C-130 vs MiG-29

The pilot of a 1. Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (1st Tactical Aviation Squadron) MiG-29 comes in for a close look at a Polish C-130E. Serial 108 is part of the original batch of new-build ‘Fulcrums’ and was delivered to Poland in 1990.

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Together for the ninth time, Polish and American C-130 crews trained at Powidz, Poland, as Krzysztof Kuska reports.

Among the most spectacular and challenging elements of the AvDet were the mock fighter engagements between C-130s and Polish MiG-29s from the 23. Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego (23rd Tactical Aviation Base) at Mińsk Mazowiecki. In the first scenario a C-130H from the 166th AW leading a formation of Polish C-130Es violated airspace guarded by MiG-29s, which were scrambled to intercept them. The formation moved into the Temporary Segregated Area 02 (TSA-02) zone near Mińsk Mazowicekci. One of the fighters approached the lead transport and gave visual commands to follow him and land at the nearest designated airfield. A second MiG flew behind as cover during the mission. After conducting the escort operation the various aircraft returned to the TSA-02 zone for the next drill. The second scenario involved two

MiGs intercepting a C-130. The C-130 had to avoid being ‘shot down’ by the interceptors, using high-G manoeuvres. The task was conducted while maintaining safe distances. While the first Hercules was approached, the second was circled in a holding pattern waiting for its turn. The fighter exercises began at 3,000ft (914m) but due to cloud cover had to be moved up to 14,000ft (4,267m). Normally in such circumstances the C-130 would go very low and conduct evasive manoeuvres to avoid visual identification and missile engagement. This type of training is very important for US airmen as they get a rare opportunity to tackle non-Western threats. It is also a chance to check on-board defensive systems and methods of evading interception.

operations with Polish air-medical evacuation teams. One of the most frequently practised elements during the AvDet was formation work, sometimes involving very tight flying, as well as rapid landings in contested airspace after steep landing approaches. The crews also had a chance to fly at night with their night-vision goggles and conduct rough-field landings on a grass strip next to the main runway in Powidz. However, a planned airdrop of Polish paratroopers had to be cancelled due to very high winds. On March 24 the crews took part in a competition and performed precision drops and precision landings. For the first time since the beginning of AvDet training a Polish crew won both competitions. The team led by kapitan Szymon Gajowniczek dropped a package only 48m from the target and landed 12m from the marking line.

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FLEET SURVEY GUNSHIP HELICOPTERS PART 4

European United Kingdom

T

HE BRITISH Army first ordered the AH-64D variant of the Apache attack helicopter in 1996 after a fiveyear procurement competition. It then took almost a decade to build the helicopters, train their crews and declare the first attack helicopter (or AH) regiment fully combat ready. The Army Air Corps’ (AAC’s) new helicopters were soon dubbed the ‘Queen’s Apaches’ by the employees of US aerospace giant McDonnell Douglas, which had modified their design to meet British requirements. This included fitting Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines, the UK-supplied Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids System (HIDAS) and Bristol Aerospace CRV7 rockets as well as UK-standard radios. The rest of the helicopter was made in the US, and included the Lockheed Martin Longbow

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Above: Apache AH1 ZJ203 from 4 Regiment takes part in Pashtun Rat 2010/1, one of the biannual Mission Rehearsal Exercises (MRXs) on the Salisbury Plain Training Area. After flying a training sortie, the Apache lands for a rotorsrunning refuel from the RAF’s tactical supply wing. The exercises were designed to prepare troops for deployment to Afghanistan for Herrick tours. All units about to be sent to theatre would be placed in the same area of operations to simulate Helmand. This Apache is loaded with two reduced size, crashworthy external fuel system tanks, two inert Hellfire missile rounds, a CRV7 rocket pod and the M230 chain gun. Rich Pittman

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Gunships AFM concludes its review of Europe’s helicopter gunship fleets with a focus on the British Army Air Corps Apache.

PART 4

A line-up of AAC Apaches at Royal Naval Air Station Merryfield, Somerset, during a major 16th Air Assault Brigade exercise held between Dartmoor and Salisbury Plain. Rich Pittman

millimetre-wave radar and provision for AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. A deal was struck with the then Westland Helicopters to be the design authority for the AAC variant and assemble the bulk of the 67 helicopters at its Yeovil site in Somerset. By the time the Apaches were delivered to the AAC, Westland had been fully absorbed by state-owned Italian defence company Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) and the type officially designated AgustaWestland Apache AH1 by the British Army. AAC Apaches were subsequently upgraded with the Lockheed Martin Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/ PNVS), or Arrowhead system, which dramatically improved the performance of the thermal optical sensors used by the helicopter’s pilot and gunner.

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Afghan action

The first AAC AH squadron was declared combat-ready in October 2004, with 9 Regiment certified as ready for operations the following spring – just in time to begin preparing to deploy to Afghanistan as part of the British Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade in May 2006. Over the next eight years, the AAC’s six Apache squadrons each completed back-to-back tours in Helmand province, providing close air support for British and NATO troops fighting Afghan insurgents. When Prince Harry qualified as an Apache pilot and deployed to Afghanistan for a six-month tour of duty he dramatically raised the profile of the AAC’s most powerful attack helicopter. Even with the Apache fully committed to Afghanistan, the AAC achieved a notable first when it deployed a detachment of the type aboard the Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean

during the 2011 Libya conflict as part of a tailored air group with RN helicopters. During the mission the Apaches flew 75 combat hours and fired 99 Hellfire missiles and 16 CRV7 rockets, destroying 107 targets including 54 enemy vehicles and two inflatable boats. By April 2014 the Apache squadrons had flown 50,000 hours in Afghanistan, their presence overhead credited with turning the tide of battle many times. Although several Apaches were hit by small arms fire during their low-level missions over Afghanistan, none were shot down during Operation Herrick, as the UK mission was codenamed. One, however, was written off after being badly damaged in an accident in Helmand province. During the Afghan war, the AAC established a readiness cycle to prepare Apache squadrons for deployment to Camp Bastion in Helmand,

Inventory Apache AH1

50*

*50 AH-64Es ordered in July 2016

Gunship ORBAT Wattisham Flying Station, Suffolk 3 Regiment, AAC 653 Squadron (Apache Conversion Squadron) 662 Squadron 663 Squadron 4 Regiment Army, AAC 656 Squadron 664 Squadron Army Aviation Centre, Middle Wallop, Hampshire 7 (Training) Regiment, AAC 673 Squadron

under which the six Apache squadrons were concentrated in two units – 3 and 4 Regiments – both based at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk.

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FLEET SURVEY GUNSHIP HELICOPTERS PART 4 Plans to operate three mixed Apache/Lynx AH7/9 regiments were dropped because of the need to streamline training and logistic support for the Apache Force. Meanwhile, AgustaWestland set up a depth maintenance hub at Wattisham so the Apaches could be overhauled on the same site as the operational squadrons. The two AH regiments took turns to deploy to Afghanistan: their regimental headquarters deployed to Camp Bastion for a year at a time, each of their three squadrons spending four months in theatre. The other regiment remained at Wattisham to oversee routine and predeployment training for units heading to Afghanistan. The process then repeated, each regiment swapping roles. The last Apache unit to deploy to Afghanistan, 662 Squadron, flew top cover for the final withdrawal of British troops from Camp Bastion in October 2014.

US production

As a subcontractor to AgustaWestland, Boeing built the first eight British Apaches and partially assembled the other 59 at its Mesa, Arizona, facility. Final assembly, flight test, delivery and support for the aircraft took place at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil facility. Apache AH1 ZJ166 (ex N9219G), the first of eight British Apaches to be built at Mesa, made its inaugural flight on September 25, 1998, with official handover to AgustaWestland three days later. Rich Pittman

Above: An Apache AH1 prepares to lift off from a forward refuelling point during an exercise on Salisbury Plain. Note the black Hellfire Collective Training Missile (CTM) fitted on the port side of the Apache. The CTM pod can simulate targets for engagement as well as hits to the aircraft itself, and can communicate with other aircraft carrying the pod. It’s often used in conjunction with a blue M34 Hellfire training round. Chris Lofting

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Above: Wattisham-based Apache AH1 callsign ‘Gunship 54’ conducts whiteout snow landings on Netheravon Airfield, Wiltshire, during a Mission Rehearsal Exercise in February 2009. Whiteouts are similar in terms of visibility and type of approach to brownout conditions in the hot and sandy climate of Afghanistan, except that sand is a lot more abrasive on aircraft components, especially the rotor blades. Rich Pittman

In the annual Ministry of Defence (MOD) spending round in 2015, it was decided to scale back the size of the Apache Force – reducing the operational fleet to 50, with surplus aircraft being cannibalised for spares. At the same time the number of frontline squadrons was reduced by two to four, with 3 Regiment’s 653 Squadron re-roled as the aircrew operational conversion unit and 4 Regiment’s 654 Squadron being disbanded.

Contingency operations

Since the end of Operation Herrick combat operations, the Apache Force has undergone a ‘reset’ process to prepare for what the British Army calls ‘contingency operations’ – in effect, preparing for the unexpected. The basic concept of the readiness cycle has been retained since the end of the Afghan deployment, the two AH regiments taking turns to be at ‘readiness for operations’. Under this arrangement, each AAC regimental headquarters is on alert for a year at a time to deploy and act as a Joint Helicopter Force HQ for either 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines or the army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade. The operational regiment’s two squadrons are also at readiness or alert to support these rapid reaction units. One squadron is also held at very high readiness (VHR) to support

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the UK Special Forces (UKSF) either domestically or overseas. Since early 2015, the VHR units have been called forward to Royal Air Force Akrotiri, Cyprus, to support the UKSF in Operation Shader in Iraq and Syria. Not much is known about this detachment’s operations but its helicopters are clearly visible on publicly available satellite imagery of RAF Akrotiri.

New equipment

With the US Army retiring its AH-64D variant Apaches and bringing the AH-64E into service, the British Army has been forced to follow suit to ensure long-term support costs are manageable. The AH-64E incorporates new computers and flight control systems, more powerful General Electric T700-GE-701D engines,

data links and the ability to control unmanned aerial vehicles from the cockpit in flight. Last July, the MOD announced a $2.3bn purchase of 50 AH-64Es to replace the AAC’s Apache AH1s between 2021 and 2024. Unlike the original Apache procurement, the new batch will be assembled in the US at Boeing’s line at Mesa, Arizona, so there will be minimal UK-specific industrial content, the AAC helicopters being virtually identical to their US Army counterparts. Major changes are also to be made to how the AAC Apache Force is based, trained and supported. The Joint Helicopter Command, which controls all the UK’s battlefield helicopters, is reviewing its basing structure as part of another MOD economy drive – which means the AAC will have to look again at the viability of Wattisham as the home for the force. Boeing is also proposing to set up a European hub for helicopter training and maintenance in the UK. The AAC Apaches are expected to be part of the project, leading to the end of the Aviation Training International Limited-provided simulation service at Wattisham and the demise of the Leonardo-run depth support facility at the Suffolk base. Tim Ripley

Conversion to type training

Above: A 673 Squadron Apache AH1 returns to the secure compound at Middle Wallop after a training flight. The unit, re-formed for attack helicopter training at the School of Army Aviation, Middle Wallop, in 2003, conducts conversion to type training on the Apache for both newly qualified and experienced army pilots. On completion, pilots are posted to their respective regiments to complete combat training. The squadron also conducts Qualified Helicopter Instructor training as well as refresher training for qualified pilots after non-flying tours of duty. Rich Pittman

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FORCE REPORT Syrian Arab Air Force

AIR POWER I Tom Cooper lifts the veil, at least partially, of secrecy and mystery surrounding the Syrian Arab Air Force and its declining capability.

R

ESEARCHING AND analysing the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) has never been easy. In the past, the ‘Silent Service’, as the SyAAF is known within its own ranks, went about its work behind a thick veil of secrecy, and reliable information was extremely

Above: After years of intensive combat operations, the SyAAF has let safety standards drop below acceptable levels. Bombs and fully loaded rocket pods are regularly stacked in heaps outside aircraft shelters. BA

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difficult to obtain. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, however, the situation is diametrically opposite – nowadays information and photographs are available in abundance via firsthand sources (much information for this article was provided on condition of anonymity) and social media, and the SyAAF’s operations can be followed in near-real time. The SyAAF’s activity over the last six years has often been highly unorthodox and thus difficult to explain within the confines of a magazine article. Accusations of corruption, nepotism, sectarianism and blatant criminalisation have blighted the SyAAF since the late 1970s and their debilitating effects were clearly exposed during the Lebanon War of 1982.

Origins

The SyAAF was established in 1946 with help from France – which trained the first group of Syrian (and Lebanese) pilots and ground personnel – and the United States, which donated an initial ten T-6 Texans and two Piper Cubs. While a few more pilots were subsequently trained in Iraq, further development was significantly boosted when the SyAAF’s first commander – Colonel Abdel Wahad al-Hakim – hired eight foreign instructor pilots, including six Croats and two Germans, all of them highly experienced World War Two aces. With around 30 pilots and slightly more than 50 ground personnel, the SyAAF took part in what the Arabs call the

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R IN DECLINE Palestine War and the Israelis their Independence War, of 1948-49, with some success, but little overall effect. Through the 1950s, the SyAAF was bolstered through purchases of Italian-built Fiat fighters and advanced trainers, and British basic trainers and jet fighters, including Meteors. While most of its pilots and technical personnel had latterly received instruction in the UK, increasingly larger groups began training in Egypt, then in Eastern Europe – particularly in Czechoslovakia and Poland. In 1955, Syria placed its first of two orders for a total of 45 MiG-15bis interceptors and MiG-15UTI conversion trainers, thus entering a period of military co-operation with the Soviet

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Above: Operated by three squadrons, about a dozen examples of the Su-22M-3/M-4K family remained the backbone of the SyAAF’s fighter-bomber fleet until the April 7 cruise missile strike on Shayrat. via RS Below: A close look at two FAB-like bombs, crudely manufactured for the SyAAF by the ammunition factories located in as-Safira. via RS

#351 JUNE 2017 55

FORCE REPORT Syrian Arab Air Force Union that lasted for much of the following 30 years. Even then, major political differences between Damascus and Moscow created a situation where, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, the SyAAF might have been described as Czechoslovak- but by no means Soviet-influenced. In 1958 Egypt and Syria entered into a political union known as the United Arab Republic. The SyAAF was disbanded and for the next three years was fully integrated into the Egyptian Air Force. The Egyptians took away almost all Syria’s aircraft and de-facto all its ground equipment, leaving Damascus with no choice but to establish an entirely new air force once the country declared its independence from Egypt following a military coup. An approximation of the establishment of the modernday SyAAF can therefore be traced to the period 196273. It was characterised by the personal domination of Hafez al-Assad, a former Meteor pilot who took command of the air force before becoming minister of defence (he was also the father of current leader, Bashar al-Assad). Assad turned Dmeyr air base into his private fortress and transformed the SyAAF into what was effectively his private army, tasked with ensuring his survival and that of the regime he established in the country in 1970. During this period, the Air Force Intelligence Directorate became the most powerful and notorious intelligence and security service in Syria, a position it has retained ever since. Despite being a staunch anti-

Turkey

Qamishli

Menagh Aleppo Mediterranean Sea

Kweres Al-Nayrab

Taftanaz

Jirah

Abu al-Duhur

Iraq

Tabqa

Dayr az-Zawr

Syria

Hama Homs

Tiyas/T.4

Al-Qusayr Shayrat

Lebanon

Tadmor

As-Sien

KEY Capital

Al-Nasiriyah Damascus Al-Dumayr Marj al-Sultan Mezzeh Marj as-Sultan Khalkhalah

Regional Towns Government held Air Base Islamic State of Iraq held Air Base

Marj Ruhayyil

PKK/PYD/YPG conglomerate held Air Base

Tha’lah

Jordan communist, Assad entered closer co-operation with the USSR in April 1973, when he needed additional arms in the build-up to the October 1973 war against Israel. Even then, Soviet instructors working in the country were strictly segregated from Syrian personnel and closely monitored by Air Force Intelligence. The Syrians attacked Israel on October 6, 1973, fighting on until

Abu Kamal

the ceasefire on May 1, 1974. Their aim had been to recover the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, but instead the war cost the SyAAF dearly in terms of aircraft and personnel. These losses, combined with the dominance of members of the minority Alawite sect over all other ethnic and religious groups, which had begun in the 1960s, and another period of tense relations with Moscow, resulted in the

HTS (transnational Wahhabist group) held Air Base

service’s gradual degeneration and de-professionalisation during the 1970s. Similar Alawite dominance elsewhere in the state apparatus resulted in widespread unrest and an insurgency in the late 1970s. This culminated in a coup attempt from within the air force and the assassination of the SyAAF commander-inchief in 1981, as well as the brutal crushing of the uprising in

Above: In 2008, Syria acquired 28 second-hand MiG-23MLDs and five MiG-23UBs from Belarus. After six years of war, only a handful remain in operational condition. BA Right: One of two MiG-23MFs that are still regularly flown by 675 Squadron from Hama air base, seen bombed-up with FAB-like general-purpose incendiary bombs. BA

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Hama, in western-central Syria, a year later, in which loyalist forces massacred as many as 30,000 civilians. The principal coup leaders were soon arrested and quickly ‘disappeared’, while dozens of Sunni officers suspected of disloyalty were concentrated into ‘punishment units’; the Hafez al-Assad regime intentionally spent them in combat during the Lebanon War of 1982. Syria’s defeat by vastly superior Israeli forces finally persuaded the Soviets to deliver around 40 MiG-23ML and 20 MiG-25PDS jets, plus almost 100 Su-22M-3 and Su-22M-4K warplanes over the next four years. However, Syria’s differences with Moscow continued to grow, Damascus complaining ever more bitterly about the poor quality of Soviet arms. Furthermore, the Syrian economy proved unable to support the military build-up and in 1988 Moscow halted deliveries of all arms when Syria could no longer service its debt of about US$17bn. The SyAAF thus received only 24 out of 48 MiG-29s and only 20 of 24 Su-24MKs ordered in 1986. These were the last brand new combat aircraft to enter Syrian service.

Grounded

Above: The Hama-based 675 Squadron still has two MiG-23MLs flying. This example (2779) was photographed in late 2015. BA

to clock 25 hours’ flying time annually. Unable to support their families on their meagre salaries, ever more officers took civilian jobs. Hundreds served in the air force during the morning and then drove taxies during the afternoon and evening, or worked as tourist guides or car mechanics. Others in the air force, especially Alawites, who were closer to the Assad regime (the Assad regime represents one of six major Alawite clans), became involved in criminal activity,

including smuggling. Several Russian attempts to sell Syria Su-27s, MiG-29s and/ or MiG-31s during the 2000s all proved fruitless. In 2006, President Vladimir Putin wrote off 50% of the Syrian debt to Moscow and even this failed to incite major arms orders from Damascus. On the contrary, after he came to power in 2000

Bashar al-Assad’s regime merely allocated funding to buy spares necessary for basic maintenance and upgrades. In 2008, Syria – with financial support from Iran – bought 33 second-hand MiG-23s and several shipments of spares from Belarus. SyAAF technicians used these and parts cannibalised

Cut off from its primary source of equipment and spares, and denied state funding, the SyAAF was grounded for much of the next 20 years. Lack of money resulted in widespread shortages of spares and fuel, and there was no regular maintenance. Pilots typically struggled

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FORCE REPORT Syrian Arab Air Force SyAAF air order of battle, April 2017* Squadron Types C-in-C: Major General Ahmed Baloul 22nd Air Division (HQ Shayrat), Major General Malek Hassan Kweres Air Force College (CO Major General Monzer Zamam) Air Institute (Brigadier General Kamal Dayoub) ?? Squadron 3-4 L-39ZA/ZO (unit periodically has a detachment at Nayrab IAP) Dayr az-Zawr 24th Fighter-Bomber Brigade 8 Squadron 2-3 MiG-21MF/bis/UM Hama 14th Fighter-Bomber Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Ali ad-Darbouli) 675 Squadron 4 MiG-23MF, MiG-23MLD (23-18) and MiG-23MLD (23-22) 679 Squadron 2-3 MiG-21bis/UM 63rd Helicopter Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Badie Ma’ala) 618 Squadron 2-3 Mi-14, Ka-25/28 253/255 Squadron 3-4 Mi-8/17 Shayrat 50th Fighter-Bomber Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Ibrahim Mahla) 675 Squadron 0 MiG-23MLD (23-18; unit status unclear; no flights since April 7, 2017) 677 Squadron 2 Su-22M-4K (unit status unclear; possibly re-deployed to Kweres) 685 Squadron 2 Su-22M-4K (unit status unclear) ?? Squadron L-39ZA/ZO (unit status unclear; probably re-deployed to Kweres) T.4/Tiyas 70th Fighter-Bomber Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Mohammed Mansour) 819 Squadron 6-8 Su-24M2/MK2 827 Squadron 2-3 Su-22M-2/3/4K 976 Squadron 4-5 SA342 Gazelle ?? Squadron 6-8 L-39ZA/ZO ?? Squadron 2 MiG-25PDS, 1 MiG-25RB (none flown since 2014) 20th Air Division (HQ Dmeyr), CO Major-General Bassam Haider Nassiriyah 20th Fighter-Bomber Brigade 695 Squadron 2-3 MiG-23BN As-Seen 17th Fighter-Bomber Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Mohammed Dibbo) 697 Squadron 12-14 MiG-29 (no activity observed since late 2016) 698 Squadron 2-3 MiG-23BN Dmeyr 30th Helicopter Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Tawfik Khaddour) 766 Squadron 3-4 Mi-25 ?? Brigade ?? Squadron 1-2 MiG-23BN 67 Squadron 1-2 MiG-23MLD (23-22) ?? Squadron 0 Su-22M-2/3K (unit likely moved to Shayrat in 2015) 945 or 946 Squadron MiG-21bis/UM (inactive) Almazza 59th Helicopter Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Hassan Ghamnam) 532 Squadron 4-5 Mi-8/17 765 Squadron 4-5 Mi-25 86th Helicopter Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Mohammed Ibrahim) 976 Squadron 2-3 SA342 Gazelle 977 Squadron 2-3 SA342 Gazelle Damascus IAP 29th Transport Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Muhe’eb Eskaif) 522 Squadron Il-76MD, Yak-40, Falcon 20E, Falcon 900, Mi-8 Marj Ruhayyl/Bley 64th Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Ali Safi) ?? unit ?? equipment Khelkhleh 73rd Fighter-Bomber Brigade (CO Brigadier-General Mohammed Hazima) 54 Squadron 3-4 MiG-23MLD/MiG-23UM * Unless otherwise specified, numbers of aircraft based on daily operational averages for each unit in question.

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Fewer than 14 Su-24MK2s are operated by 819 Squadron. While low on numbers, the Su-24 represents the most reliable fighterbomber in service. LD via YM

from available aircraft to produce two-dozen ‘new’ aircraft. Training activity also increased, pilots receiving up to 40 hours per year, although low flying was strictly prohibited after a spate of fatal incidents. But the development of new tactics, or related discussions between pilots and officers, and even conversations over the reasons for fatal accidents, were all forbidden and punishable (usually with open-ended jail sentences). Indeed, even as the foreign media was abuzz with reports of Syrian orders for various MiGs, in

2008 the Assad regime contracted Plant 150 in Kaliningrad, Russia to overhaul 36 Mi-25 helicopter gunships. The work proceeded slowly, owing to Damascus’s frequent failures to pay for it. ‘The Works’, the primary SyAAF overhaul facility at Nayrab (Aleppo International Airport), overhauled and returned to service fewer than 20 MiG-23s, while only 24 refurbished Mi-25s had been returned to Syria before unrest spread through the country in March 2011. The Works simultaneously managed to overhaul and upgrade at least 12 MiG-29s to a standard similar

Right: In early 2014, the SyAAF ran its pre-war stocks of bombs dry. Around the same time, it began arming fighter-bombers with B-8M pods for 80mm S-8 unguided rockets. Su-22M-3 serial 3002 is shown equipped with four such pods. via Pit Weinert

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As of late April 2017, the Hama-based 679 Squadron had just two MiG-21bis operational on average. However, these typically flew up to four combat sorties per day. BA

to the MiG-29SM, however, making them compatible with R-77 (AA-12 Adder) air-toair and Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) air-to-ground missiles.

Civil war

In June 2011, Mi-8/17 and Mi-25 crews were first among the SyAAF to participate in the Syrian Civil War when they were ordered to attack defecting army units in Idlib Governorate. The remainder of the personnel, especially the Sunni officers, were placed under de-facto house arrest for

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12 months. In May 2012, the Ba’ath Party headquarters in Damascus ordered the entire SyAAF into action, including the ‘grounded’ officers. From the beginning, written orders called upon squadron commanders to bomb civilians in insurgentcontrolled areas [the author has claimed to have seen originals of at least two such orders, issued by the Ba’ath Party HQ to the commanding officer of a MiG-21 unit]. Every officer was obliged to confirm receipt of the orders and his intention to obey them, with his signature. By June the

practice had ‘expanded’ to all fighter and helicopter pilots. Although the majority of SyAAF flying personnel were now Alawite, with very few Christians, Druze and Sunnis remaining, the orders met with strong dissent. Commanders who refused to obey disappeared; only a handful ever reappeared, usually after a week or two in prison, where torture was not uncommon. Orders for attacks on civilians, and mistreatment of officers, led to a surge in defections by Sunnis, and even by Alawites. This prompted the regime’s agents to kidnap the families of defectors; around 12 cases are known where children were tortured until pilots reported to the regime. Hundreds of officers therefore served on, preferring to find excuses not to fly while they worked to deliver their families into the relative safety of refugee camps in Turkey or Jordan, before defecting themselves. The homes of officers who fled with their families were always torched by regime agents and the SyAAF bombed the houses of several pilots previously awarded the prestigious Hero of the Syrian Arab Republic Medal, because they were within insurgent-held territory. Ultimately, desertions, and a spate of almost 50 combat losses between July 2012 and April 2013, cost the SyAAF at least half its manpower. Entire units were disestablished, including Hama-based 680 ‘Tiger’ Squadron, a MiG-21 operator that lost the majority of its officers and pilots to the insurgency.

By the end of 2012, only the staunchest Assad supporters remained. The SyAAF became known as the ‘Assadist air force’, not only among the defectors, but also within its own ranks. The exceptions to the rule were the instructors and students at bases cut off from the outside world by insurgents and then the advance of so-called Islamic State (IS – colloquially known as Daesh in Syria and Iraq).

Iranian support

After 20 years of neglect, sectarianism, favouritism and endemic corruption, the Ba’ath Party – which is responsible for its own militia, or ‘Ba’ath Brigades’ – ordered the air force into action on behalf of the regime. Assad, and thus the SyAAF, was saved by Iranian military and financial interventions, launched in late 2012. The SyAAF abandoned what might be regarded as normal operational behaviour. The Ba’ath Party came to term the SyAAF’s primary objective of launching up to 230 daily fixed-wing and helicopter sorties through most of autumn 2012 and spring 2013, as the “punishment and destruction of US/Israel-supported al-Qaeda terrorists”. Loyalist officers described it as “burning Sunnis”, effectively exterminating civilians in insurgent-controlled parts of the country. The campaign was designed to deny emerging civilian authorities the ability to organise and run everyday life. With few pilots having serious flying and tactics training, and discussion of tactics strictly

#351 JUNE 2017 59

FORCE REPORT Syrian Arab Air Force forbidden, some loyalists undertook to clandestinely learn how to operate their aircraft using standard tactics manuals. Some began using cell phones and Google Earth for navigation, but while a handful of pilots flew relatively often and have become proficient enough to select targets in densely built-up cities, most of the SyAAF fliers still release their weapons in the general direction of the target. Tactics and formation flying remain non-existent and combat sorties are flown by individual aircraft. They follow the most direct course between base and target, under strict ground control, and usually attack from altitudes above 4,900ft (1,500m). Air Force Intelligence continues to suppress reporting unfavourable to the regime and anything considered detrimental to the SyAAF’s reputation. The primary example of this is the total absence of any information on the causes of specific combat losses.

Reactivation

During autumn 2013, a significant increase in SyAAF training was

observed for the first time in decades. In October, as many as 50 training-related flights were monitored daily by the author’s sources, many of them by MiG-21UM and MiG-23UB trainers. In part, the improved training regime was instigated at the insistence of Iranian ‘advisors’ deployed to support the Assad regime, while at the same time Iranian funds helped increase the supply of spares from Belarus. The training was necessary preparation for three major Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) offensives from Iran later in the year, into the Qusayr, Homs and Aleppo areas. A group of SyAAF pilots seconded to the Yemen Air Force also returned, bringing with them valuable experience. They, and other personnel, suggested that B-8M pods and 80mm (3.15in) S-8 unguided rockets replace the older UB-1657 and UB-32-57 and less powerful S-5 rocket, and began deploying MiG-29 interceptors on close air support duties. Meanwhile, the old radiocommand guided Kh-23 (AS-7 Kerry) air-to-ground missile was re-introduced on the MiG-23MF and MiG-23ML/MLD. Combined

with improved work by the Syrian intelligence services, which since 2012 have been under IRGC-QF control, the Kh-23 enabled the SyAAF to begin targeting insurgent HQs with precision-guided munitions. A number of their air strikes in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates during late 2013 and early 2014 demolished a large part of the insurgent command structure and caused the disintegration of several units. The IRGC-QF was thus able to lift the siege of Aleppo, the largest Syrian city. The IRGC-QF’s successful offensive on Aleppo benefitted the SyAAF greatly. The Works again became available thanks to the recapture of Aleppo IAP, and through 2014 and 2015 it hurriedly overhauled almost 40 L-39 Albatros training jets and 40 Su-22 fighter-bombers, greatly increasing the number of available airframes at a time when the air force was barely capable of launching 50 sorties a day due to attrition and exhaustion. Furthermore, the IRGCQF’s offensive on Aleppo recovered the so-called ‘Defence Laboratories’ in the as-Safira area. Here, the Iranians rapidly rebuilt several munitions factories

and helped the Syrians launch domestic production of bombs based on the Soviet/Russian FAB-100M-54 and FAB-250M-54 designs; these were of crucial importance, since pre-war SyAAF stocks were almost depleted.

Russian return

Despite Iranian assistance, a combination of war weariness and sheer fanaticism resulted in Syria’s flying personnel becoming reckless. In 2014, Turkish Air Force F-16Cs shot down a MiG-23BN and a Mi-17 after they violated Turkish airspace. In September of that year an Israeli PAC-2 Patriot SAM destroyed a Su-24MK2

Syria originally acquired almost 60 Mi-25 helicopter gunships. Today, two squadrons still operate about a dozen examples. This photograph shows Mi-25 2802, which was destroyed at Abu ad-Duhor in spring 2013. Syrian MoD

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Above: While MiG-25s were withdrawn in 2008, a few MiG-25RBs were returned to service in 2012. The two MiG-25PDS visible inside the shelters here were overhauled in 2014 and tested for air-to-ground roles, but not flown since. YM

over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Fencer’s crew having forgotten to engage their electronic countermeasures suite. Several aircraft were also lost in accidents or to small arms fire, and pilots with three or four safe ejections behind them became common. By mid-2015, the SyAAF was barely operational when Assad’s ground forces, already weakened by massive desertions and severe losses in three years of war, and largely reorganised into a hodgepodge of sectarian militias by the IRGCQF, suffered one of their worst defeats ever, in Idlib Governorate. The insurgent advance even threatened Latakia, the heartland of the Alawite loyalists. The resulting crisis and the IRGCQF’s inability to reverse the course of the Syrian Civil War led Moscow to launch a military intervention. The Russian government stresses the legitimacy of the Assad regime and insisted on bolstering what remained of the regular Syrian military; by contrast, the IRGCQF had been co-operating with local warlords and their militias. The SyAAF and Air Force Intelligence were among the major beneficiaries of Russian support. Deliveries of spare parts and more effective weapons raised readiness levels and aircraft availability within the SyAAF’s fighter-bomber fleet. By early 2016, the air force was back to flying 60 or more sorties every day, increasing to 70 plus by the end of the year.

an IS siege in November 2015. Within weeks, reports emerged of these pilots undergoing intensive training on the L-39, including night flying – nocturnal operations had previously been reserved for a handful of highly experienced helicopter and MiG-23 pilots. In November 2015 L-39s began operating by night. Last spring, Syrian Su-24MK2 bombers flying from Tiyas and Shayrat in central Syria began night operations, too, with reports of “machine gunarmed jets” regularly operating by night from Kweres, with Hama and Nayrab following soon after. The latter jets were L-39s. The SyAAF purchased 55 L-39ZO advanced trainers and 44 L-39ZA light attack aircraft from Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and 1980s. Both variants have four underwing pylons for bombs weighing up to 250kg (551lb) and UB-16-57 pods for 57mm (2.24in) unguided rockets; the L-39ZA

also has a 23mm, twin-barrelled cannon under its fuselage. Around 50 L-39s remained in service in 2011, with two units of the Air Force Academy, or 77th Training Brigade, plus the Jet Flight School at Kweres and the Advanced Flight School at Ksheesh. The fleet subsequently suffered extensive losses. Two aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Kweres in September 2012, and seven were confirmed shot down over northwestern Syria by April 2013, when 14 were also captured intact by insurgents as they overran Ksheesh. Six more were written off for various reasons at Dayr az-Zawr in eastern Syria. By April of last year The Works had returned around 12 L-39s to service, modified to carry two B-8M rocket pods and with their cockpits adapted for night-vision goggles (NVG) use. Together with about 15 re-trained

pilots, they were assigned to a new unit under Col Yousef al-Hassan. It worked up at Tiyas, then deployed to Kweres last June, beginning nocturnal air strikes against traffic along the Castello Road, which at that time was the last supply line for insurgents inside East Aleppo. On September 19 last year, the unit’s aircraft played a crucial role in the destruction of a UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy in Urum al-Kubra, west of Aleppo City. Two air attacks were also launched against Turkish forces deployed west of al-Bab (a town around 19 miles (30km) north of Aleppo), in the early hours of November 24, killing several Turkish army soldiers. The unit continues undertaking an average of approximately 12 sorties every night over Idlib and Aleppo Governorates, and remains as one of the SyAAF’s most effective combat assets.

The remnants

The remainder of the SyAAF fleet now largely comprises overhauled, but well-used machines, many of them flown on the most basic instruments. It is likely that very few would be declared operationally ready by any other professional military flying service. Following intensive activity in 2014 and 2015, very little has been heard of Syria’s MiG‑29s, but reports suggest one squadron remains active on the type. Its pilots occasionally provide top cover for Russian and Syrian fighter-bombers flying close to the Turkish border and

Albatros strikes

Furthermore, a number of instructors and pilot cadets were freed when the Air Force Academy base at Kweres in northern Syria was relieved from

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Above: Dayr az-Zawr-based 8 Squadron is the last SyAAF unit to fly the MiG-21MF, with a pair still in service. As one might expect, these are in rather poor condition and their appearance shows they are regularly patched up. YA

#351 JUNE 2017 61

FORCE REPORT Syrian Arab Air Force

armistice lines to Israel, which are found on the Golan Heights. Reported delivery of ten Su-24Ms from surplus Russian Air Force (VKS) stocks in May 2016, and again from January this year, remain unconfirmed. They seem unlikely because the Russians are not keen to supply Syria with aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons, since they could be passed to Iran, while removing the so-called ‘A-wiring’, the equipment necessary for dropping nuclear weapons, is an expensive process. Furthermore, the SyAAF Su-24MK2 fleet rarely operates more than six to eight combat sorties in a day, indicating the survivors of the fleet delivered in 1987-88, and overhauled and upgraded at the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant in 201012, remain its backbone. The crews of these powerful attack aircraft have proven themselves capable of retargeting on the basis of emerging intelligence after the aircraft has taken off, something the VKS struggles to achieve. They, not the Russians, have successfully bombed major insurgent headquarters since December 2015, usually with FAB-250M-62 or FAB-500M-62 general-purpose bombs. Prior to the US strike on Shayrat (see Middle East News in this issue), the SyAAF also included around 30 Su-22M-3, Su-22M4K and Su-22UM-3K jets with three squadrons; this number is now down to around ten aircraft, just five or six of which are operational. The fleet was well stocked with reasonably advanced weapons, including parachute-retarded FAB-500ShN general-purpose and ODAB500ShL thermobaric bombs, OFZAB-500 incendiary bombs and 240mm S-24 unguided rockets. They fly only in daylight and before the raid on Shayrat

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Above: Syrian insurgents and transient jihadists have captured hundreds of armoured vehicles from the forces fighting for the Assad regime. This has, at times, led to Mi-25s hitting back with 9M17 Falanga (AT-2 'Swatter') anti-tank missiles. Syrian MoD

Right: Around 20 upgraded MiG-29s saw extensive combat service in 201415 armed with B-8M pods for unguided rockets, as seen here. YM

completed between ten and 35 sorties per day depending on weather conditions. The SyAAF’s MiG-21MF/bis and MiG-23BN fleets are nearly extinct, only a handful each of MiG-21s remaining active at Hama and Dayr az-Zawr. While the MiG-23BN is officially in active service with two units, they barely manage six daily sorties between them. Since the strike on Shayrat, only the MiG-23MFs and MiG-23MLs at Hama remain airworthy. They fly around

five to eight sorties a day. The five to eight MiG-23MF/MLD aircraft serving 675 Squadron were wiped out by the US cruise missile attack on Shayrat. The once huge Mi-8/17 fleet has been badly depleted and fewer than 30 airframes remain intact, of which just around 12 are operational at any time across two squadrons. Similarly, the transport fleet, which was never particularly strong, is limited to a few VIP bizjets and two Il-76s. On the contrary, Syria’s

two Mi-25 units are very active. Today’s SyAAF is a shadow of its former self. It remains capable of playing a role on the civil war battlefields primarily thanks to its attacks on the civilian population in insurgent-held areas and on the insurgents’ complete lack of advanced anti-aircraft defences – the US and its allies have successfully blocked supplies of man-portable air defence systems (MANPADs) to any of the native insurgent groups. By contrast, the transnational IS jihadists regularly use MANPADs to down SyAAF aircraft, claiming around one aircraft every two or so months, although at least as many losses are caused by mechanical failure. Syrian aircrew now mostly comprise fanatical Assad loyalists, convinced they are fighting a crusade against “a CIA/Mossad/ al-Qaeda conspiracy”. This, combined with the poor condition of most of the SyAAF’s equipment, means it is incapable of even protecting airspace still officially controlled by the Assad regime – which covers less than 30% of the country. Its fate in a conflict against any neighbouring air force, and particularly against a Western air arm or alliance, would undoubtedly look bleak.

Above: The SyAAF’s L-39 fleet suffered a series of losses in 2012-13, and for a while nearly disappeared from the battlefield. However, it made a major comeback in late 2015 as a light striker for nocturnal operations. via Pit Weinert

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Syrian Arab Air Force fast jet types

Above: This MiG-23MF, serial 2657, was one of a handful operated by Hama-based 675 Squadron as of late 2015. The inset shows the insignia of The Works at Nayrab: this is regularly applied on combat aircraft and helicopters overhauled by that facility. Artworks by Tom Cooper

Above: In 2013-14, MiG-29s upgraded to SM standard flew a number of combat missions with Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge') guided missiles to deliver precision strikes on insurgent headquarters and bridges. This small fleet is now compatible with Izdeliye 190 (R-77) medium-range air-to-air missiles.

Above: This Su-22M-4K of Shayrat-based 685 Squadron (serial 3237) is shown in the colours applied immediately after its overhaul in 2015, and armed with B-8M rocket pods. It is one of three examples that survived the US strike on April 7, 2017.

Above: Syria originally ordered 24 Su-24MKs, but only 20 of these were delivered. At least one additional example was acquired from Libya in the 1990s, and the fleet received a major overhaul and upgrade to Su-24MK2 standard in Russia, in 2011. However, not all aircraft were returned. At least two never reached Russia and remain stored.

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F-35 IN THE UK

G N I N T H H T G A LATILAKENHE nal rnatio il e t n i t A pr a f irs make 2017, and in heath, o t d ken s in anne id it pl ith its F-35A d at R AF La details this a s e c k ve w or ewdic h, arri m en t S Air F The U onal deploy ill AFB, Uta Thomas N ’s H ti opera ircraf t from realit y. AFM eight a ake that a exercise. m UK , to rk overseas a landm

Above: A 34th FS F-35A flies alongside an F-15E from the 494th FS during a large-force exercise as part of the deployment. Jamie Hunter

64 JUNE 2017 #351

S

IX F-35A Lightning IIs operated by the 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron ‘Rams’ and the Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wing’s 466th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, touched down at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, on April 15, at the start of the type’s first overseas training deployment to Europe. A further pair arrived on April 19.

The fifth-generation fighters immediately began a range of training operations with other Europe-based aircraft under the European Reassurance Initiative. The F-35As also forward deployed to Estonia and Bulgaria to “maximise training opportunities, build partnerships with allied air forces, and become familiar with Europe’s diverse operating conditions”.

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S G N

Gen Tod D. Wolters, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, said: “This is an incredible opportunity for USAFE airmen and our NATO allies to host this first overseas training deployment of the F-35A aircraft. As we and our joint F-35 partners bring this aircraft into our inventories, it’s important that we train together to integrate into a seamless team capable of

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F-35 IN THE UK

defending the sovereignty of allied nations. As part of the natural progression of the F-35 programme, an overseas training deployment has been part of the air force’s plan since the F-35A was declared combat capable last year.” He added: “RAF Lakenheath will be the first overseas bed-down location for the F-35A. This deployment allows our pilots

and maintainers to learn more about the European operating environment and will improve our interoperability with partners in the region.”

Intense operations

The Hill AFB F-35 team quickly embarked on local operations, with an aspiration to fly roughly ten sorties per day, training

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F-35 IN THE UK

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F-35 IN THE UK

Above left: A pair of ‘Rams’ F-35As takes on fuel from a 100th Air Refueling Wing KC-135R high above the North Sea. Jamie Hunter Above right: The 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath hosted the first overseas deployment of operational F-35As, illustrated here with F-15C/Es flying in formation with the Hill AFB Lightning IIs. Jamie Hunter Below right: Pilots from the 493rd and 34th FS out-brief for a joint mission. USAF/Micah Garbarino Left: The 493rd FS ‘Grim Reapers’ hosted the F-35As, illustrated here with an F-15C leading a Lightning II back to the Lakenheath pattern. Jamie Hunter

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“All the guys we’ve flown with have said that having the F-35 in the fight has been an eye-opening experience and they’re glad that these capabilities are on their side.” alongside the resident F-15Cs and F-15Es from the 48th Fighter Wing, as well as the Royal Air Force and other NATO allies. The detachment was hosted by the 493rd FS ‘Grim Reapers’, with the F-35s operating from the squadron’s headquarters and using its hardened aircraft shelters. Lt Col Scott Taylor, the 493rd FS director of operations, said: “The sensor fusion capability of the F-35A gives [our F-15s] unprecedented situational awareness which is invaluable when you’re fighting against a high-end threat. The key is it allows us to make quicker, more accurate decisions on targets.” The squadrons started flying simple missions and progressed to more complex scenarios. Lt Col George Watkins, the 34th FS commander, said: “We’ve been flying

basic fighter manoeuvres and air combat manoeuvres, as well as air-to-ground missions.” F-35 pilot Maj Luke Harris commented: “For me, it’s my first time dogfighting against an F-15. Dogfighting is a test of pilot skill, but it’s also constrained by the aircraft’s capabilities and I’ve been really impressed by the flight control and manoeuvrability of the F-35.” He added: “All the guys we’ve flown with have said that having the F-35 in the fight has been an eye-opening experience and they’re glad that these capabilities are on their side.” The local missions being flown by the F-35s ramped up throughout the deployment and culminated in a series of large-force exercises that included the F-35s alongside and against F-15C/Es and RAF Typhoons.

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F-35 IN THE UK Strategic message

US Army Gen Curtis M Scaparrotti, commander, US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, visited the F-35 detachment soon after its arrival in the UK. He discussed his priorities – which included providing ready and postured forces relevant to today’s threat to countering terrorism as well as the importance of the fifth-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft. He said: “I saw a credible force of highly skilled and professional airmen that provide a ready and postured force to defend here in Europe. I saw some great allies, one of our closest allies, the UK, who supports us here, works shoulder to shoulder with us. We’ve got over 60,000 service members here in Europe that provide for the deterrence and defence of the transatlantic region. As you look at the challenges we have in Europe today, this dynamic environment, I expect that we’re going to need to grow a bit, and we’re certainly going to modernise. And that’s what the F-35 is about.” Further endorsing this message, two F-35As accompanied by about 20 supporting airmen flew to Ämari air base, Estonia, for a surprise visit on April 25 for ‘familiarisation training in the region’, according to a US Air Forces in Europe statement. “The deployment has been planned for some time, has no relations to current events and was conducted in close co-ordination with Estonian allies,” the statement said. A further pair of F-35s detached for a day to Bulgaria on April 28. The two aircraft and about 20 airmen flew to Graf Ignatievo air base. In a statement, Gen Scaparrotti said: “This deployment clearly demonstrates our nation’s contribution to the security and collective defence here in Europe. It shows we are serious about territorial integrity and will defend our interests with the most advanced capabilities our nation has to offer.” Lt Gen Richard Clark, 3rd Air Force commander, spoke at Graf Ignatievo after the F-35s arrived. “The United States and Bulgaria have a strong and enduring relationship,” he said. “We routinely train through joint and combined initiatives like Operation Atlantic Resolve and in flying exercises like Thracian Eagle, Thracian Summer and Thracian Star. Our commitment to Bulgaria is but an example of our unwavering support to all allied nations.” It was said that both the Estonian and Bulgarian forward-deployments had been planned for some time. “I have to say that for us, this makes us very proud,” said Maj Gen Tsanko Stoykov, the Bulgarian Air Force commander. “Our efforts have been appreciated and we are trusted as a reliable ally and it immensely contributes to the development of the bilateral relations between our two counties and our two air forces.” The F-35s touched down as a new Theater Support Package of Air National Guard F-15Cs also arrived at the base. Lt Gen Clark added: “We are grateful to our Bulgarian friends for their support in making today possible. Your co-operation helps prepare the F-35 for its invaluable contribution to our alliance. We look forward to many more years of our shared commitment and partnership.”

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F-35 IN THE UK

Above: A pair of 34th FS F-35As leads an F-15C and F-15E above Norfolk, UK, during the deployment. Jamie Hunter Below: A vision of the future – F-35s are expected to start arriving to join the 48th FW in 2020. Jamie Hunter Below left: The initial six aircraft comprised serials 13-5072, 14-5094, 14-5096, 14-5097, 14-5098, 14-5102, with 13-5081 and 14-5091 following after a brief technical delay. USAF/Micah Garbarino

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VIPERS

TURKISH F-16S

THREE DECADES OF TURKISH

T

URKEY HAS built a strong military to keep safe its borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran and deal with an unpredictable relationship with its NATO ally and neighbour, Greece. The country is in a constant state of high alert and airspace protection is a top priority. A Russian Aerospace Forces Su-24M was shot down after straying into Turkish airspace on November 24, 2015 by a Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (THK, Turkish Air Force) F-16C, believed to be from 182 Filo at Diyarbakır. The Su-24M was flying an anti-terrorist mission from its base in Latakia province, Syria. Both crew ejected and while one was rescued by Russian troops, the other was killed by small arms from the ground.

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Following the incident, Turkey re-affirmed it would shoot down any aircraft committing such violations. Turkey’s F-16s are also very capable in the air-to-ground role, and strikes against Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (PKK, Kurdish Workers’ Party) militias occur regularly. Among recent operations, a February 27 engagement saw five militant targets bombed.

First combat

Although THK F-16s had confronted Hellenic Air Force jets previously, their first true combat came in April 1993, when the type was deployed to Ghedi, Italy. Eighteen F-16C/ Ds and 24 pilots from 142 Filo at Mürted began the THK’s first overseas combat

deployment to an allied base. Their mission was to enforce NATO’s no-fly zone over Bosnia, under Operation Deny Flight. They were tasked to shoot down any Yugoslavian aircraft ignoring the order. When the mission evolved into all-out war against Yugoslavia under Operation Allied Force in March 1999, the Ghedi detachment, which had drawn down to only five 182 Filo F-16C/Ds, was expanded to 11 jets. As standard, each aircraft carried two AIM-120 AMRAAMs and four AIM-9M Sidewinders. While other NATO F-16s habitually carried the AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasures pod on their centreline stations, the THK employed the internal Loral AN/ALQ-178. Under constant threat from its neighbours,

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S

TURKISH F-16S

Turkey celebrates its 30th anniversary as an F-16 ‘Viper’ operator later this year. Since its first aircraft were delivered in October 1987, the fleet has grown into the third largest after those of the United States and Israel, as AFM’s Alan Warnes reports.

Left: Fitted with CFTs, F-16C Block 50 07-1006 of 161 Filo blasts off from Konya. This squadron has a primary air-to-ground role. As of April last year, this particular Peace Onyx IV aircraft was assigned to 181 Filo. Chris Lofting

Turkey had purchased the capability from Loral late in 1988. When 191 Filo took over from 182 Filo in mid-April, the F-16s added offensive sorties to their tasking, employing Mk 82 bombs. The unit continued at Ghedi until mid-July, when 152 Filo from Merzifon took over, continuing to operate the five jets remaining at the base. The Turkish detachment ended late in 1999.

Anatolian Eagle

Having seen at first hand the importance of combined air operations with aircraft from other countries, the THK set about creating a major training exercise of its own. Modelled on the Red Flag events at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, the first Anatolian Eagle took place

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in June 2001 and included a mix of 71 THK, US Air Force and Israeli Air Force aircraft. All participating machines carried air combat manoeuvring instrumentation pods. THK F-16s from units across the country were involved. Anatolian Eagle came to play a major role in qualifying personnel for specialist roles, with up to three exercises taking place every year, two of them often bilateral. As well as attending NATO and Red Flag exercises, Turkish F-16s also held regular manoeuvres with Israeli F-16s until relations soured in May 2010 after an Israeli gunboat attacked a Turkish ship off Gaza. F-16 units also worked with Chinese Su-27s at Konya in 2010, with Azerbaijan Air Force MiG-29s during 2015 and 2016, and visited Mushaf

in Pakistan during bilateral Indus Viper manoeuvres with the Pakistan Air Force.

Coup

All manoeuvres and overseas visits stopped after a failed coup on July 15 last year. Much of the THK’s F-16 experience and knowledge has been drained, with hundreds of personnel dismissed and/or imprisoned – the plotters used F-16s in their attempt to overthrow President Recep Erdoğan. Just months before the rebellion, for example, four F-16Cs and two F-16Ds had deployed to Nellis for a Red Flag, with Colonel Mustafa Erturk, an experienced F-16 pilot, as detachment commander. Erturk, Head of Operations at Konya, was arrested in the coup’s aftermath.

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TURKISH F-16s Normally based at Bandırma’s 6nci AJÜ, this pair of 162 Filo Block 40 F-16s was detached to the 3rd Main Jet Base at Konya for the two-week Anatolian Eagle exercise, where they are seen preparing for an afternoon mission. Derek Bower

Losing such highly-experienced personnel, along with their knowledge and skills, has had a detrimental effect on the operational fleet, which was previously revered as one of the best in the world. After the attempted coup, Ankara-Akıncı, home of 4 Ana Jet Üs (4 AJÜ, 4th Air Wing) was immediately closed. Its name has since reverted to Mürted, as it was known prior to 1997; the word means ‘coward’ in Mongol, hence its original replacement and the Turkish government’s decision to use it again. Its future is unclear, although there is speculation that it could be used as an aerospace test and evaluation facility, since Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is stationed on the other side of the runway. Akıncı’s three resident F-16 units, 141 ‘Kurt’, 142 ‘Ceylan’ and 143 ‘Öncel’ Filos have been disbanded and their aircraft dispersed between Eskişehir, Konya and Merzifon. At Eskişehir, to the west of Ankara, 113 Filo, which flew reconnaissance with RF-4Es until March 12, 2015, now operates ex-142 Filo F-16s that can be equipped with the UTC Aerospace Systems DB-110 reconnaissance pod. On re-equipment, 113 Filo adopted 142’s ‘Ceylan’ (Gazelle) traditions in place of its former ‘Işık’ (Light) heritage. In the process, the previously 12-squadron operational F-16 fleet has been reduced to ten. Four DB-110 systems are known to have been acquired for the F-16 under the Turkish Airborne Reconnaissance Programme (TARP). The TARP contract also included three UTC-supplied fixed/transportable imagery exploitation systems.

Above: A Block 50+ F-16 departs runway 01R at Konya with almost all the stores pylons occupied, and with additional fuel in conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and drop tanks. Derek Bower Right: This impressive line-up of F-16s seen at Anatolian Eagle 2004 and headed up by a 191 Filo F-16D includes over 20 Turkish examples from various units. Alan Warnes Below: TAI upgraded 163 F-16s at its facilities under Peace Onyx III – completing the work in April 2015. Alan Warnes

Peace Onyx I

When Turkey selected the General Dynamics (later Lockheed and eventually Lockheed Martin) F-16 to fulfil its new fighter requirements in 1984, it also kick-started its aerospace industry. An offset agreement led to the construction of F-16 production facilities, now known as TAI, opposite the military installation at Mürted. Under the $4.2bn Peace Onyx I (PO I) deal, in September 1983, Türkiye Uçak Sanayii AS (TUSAS, Turkish Aerospace Industries, predecessor to TAI) was contracted to build 160 F-16s, sufficient to re-equip eight F-5/F-104 squadrons. Contributions from local sources ($1bn), offsets ($1.5bn) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) aid ($1.7bn) funded the deal. TUSAS built 70% of each F-16, including the centre/aft fuselage and wings. The requirements of the F-16s’ General Electric F110 engines led to a

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TURKISH F-16S

F-16C/D units Base/Filo

Wing/Name

Eskişehir

1nci Ana Jet Üs Komutanlığı (1st Main Jet Base Command)

Role

113 Filo

Ceylan (Gazelle)

Konya

3ncu AJÜ (3rd MJB)

Reconnaissance

132 Filo

Hançer (Dagger)

Merzifon

5nci AJÜ (5th MJB)

151 Filo

Tunç (Bronze) 

Air defence

152 Filo

Akıncı (Raider)

Attack (SEAD)

Bandırma

6nci AJÜ (6th MJB)

161 Filo

Yarasa (Bat)

Attack (LANTIRN)

162 Filo

Zipkin (Harpoon)

Air defence

Aggressor

Diyarbakır 8nci AJÜ (8th MJB) 181 Filo

Pars (Leopard)

Attack (LANTIRN)

182 Filo

Atmaca (Hawk)

Air defence

Balıkesir

9ncu AJÜ (9th MJB)

191 Filo

Kobra (Cobra)

Attack

192 Filo

Kaplan (Tiger)

Air defence

Units specialise in particular roles, including air defence, suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD)/ destruction of enemy air defences, tactical air support for maritime operations, close air support, reconnaissance and aggressor, with their aircraft equipped as required. The 401 ‘Test Filosu’ (401 Test Flight) recently stood up at Eskişehir, tasked with testing weapons and systems/software upgrades designed by the Turkish aerospace industry.

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TURKISH F-16s $56m engine factory being built at Eskişehir and today known as Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI). Peace Onyx I comprised 128 F-16Cs and 32 F-16Ds, General Dynamics building two of the F-16Cs (86-0066 to 067) and six F-16Ds (860191 to 86-0196) at Fort Worth, for delivery in October 1987. The first of 152 locally produced F-16s (F-16D 86-0068) flew on October 20, 1987 after plans to build the 32 F-16Ds from Complete Knock Down Kits (CKDs) were abandoned. Later, the variant mix was changed to 24 F-16Ds and 136 F-16Cs. The first 44 jets (35 ’Cs and nine ’Ds) were built to Block 30 standard for the operational conversion unit, known as Öncel and later designated as 143 Filo, and 141 and 142 Filo, all at Mürted. Built from the early 1990s, the remaining 116 aircraft were finished to Block 40 standard with provision for Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting by Infra-Red at Night (LANTIRN) pods. The PO I assembly process at Mürted was completed in 1995, when the 152nd F-16 was delivered. After deliveries to 4nci AJÜ at Mürted, 6nci AJÜ at Bandırma received F-16s in 1991/92, followed by 9nci AJÜ at Balıkesir, before F-16s replaced 8nci AJÜ’s CF-104 Starfighters at Diyarbakır. Last to convert, 5nci AJÜ at Merzifon phased its F-5s out in favour of the first Peace Onyx II jets.

Peace Onyx II

Even before PO I deliveries had been completed, a contract for 68 F-16C and 12 F-16D Block 50 aircraft (later amended to cover 60 F-16Cs and 20 F-16Ds) was signed under PO II, in March 1992. It ensured there was no lapse in production, with delivery of the first PO II aircraft (93-0657) taking place in July 1996; its career was short-lived, however,

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Above: Previously assigned to the 4th Jet Base at Akıncı, after the failed coup of July 15, 2016, this 143 Filo airframe was reassigned to the 5th Main Jet Base at Merzifon. Derek Bower Right: The THK’s official Red Air unit is 132 Filo at Konya, which is kept busy training with other squadrons. This example is a Peace Onyx II aircraft fitted with an ACMI pod. Alan Warnes Left: Compare the unit marks of the aircraft at Anatolian Eagle 2004 (see previous page) with the current flamboyant mural of 191 Filo. Alan Warnes Below: F-16C 88-0033 of 152 Filo features ‘Savaşan Anka’ (‘Fighting Phoenix’) nose art. This commemorates the fact that this Block 40 aircraft was badly damaged in a belly landing and, although Lockheed Martin deemed the aircraft a write-off, the THK returned it to the air after two years of repairs. Chris Lofting

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TURKISH F-16s Mixed squadrons often operate together during Anatolian Eagle exercises at the 3rd Main Jet Base at Konya. The nearest airframe is from 152 Filo based at Merzifon, while the other example was at the time allocated to 143 Filo at Akıncı, which has since become a reserve base. Derek Bower

since it was involved in a collision on April 4, 2000. One of the pilots was killed, while the other ejected safely. Financing for PO II came from the Turkish Defence Fund, established by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the US and the United Arab Emirates in recognition of Turkey’s support during the 1991 Gulf War. Lockheed Martin commended TAI for its workmanship on PO II F-16C ‘4R-23’ (88-0021), which was certified as ‘perfect’, entirely without snags, when it left the production hall. On November 12, 1999, TAI’s production line closed after the last PO II F-16C was handed over.

Peace Onyx III

The Peace Onyx III FMS contract, agreed in April 2005, was for the Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) upgrade. This improves operational flexibility and logistics support, and reduces life-cycle costs, as well as enabling compatibility with more modern, ‘smarter’ weapons and sensors. Lockheed Martin supplied 163 Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) kits for Turkey’s surviving 163 F-16 Block 40/50s. Each comprised the APG-68(V)9 multi-mode radar, colour cockpit displays and recorders, new core avionics processors, Joint HelmetMounted Cueing System (JHMCS), Link 16 data link, APX-113 Advanced IFF interrogator/ transponder, integrated precision navigation GPS/INS, an upgraded version of the SelfProtection Electronic Warfare System (including AN/ALQ-178(V)5+) and compatibility with several new targeting systems and weapons, including AIM-9X. The upgrade was implemented in two parts. Under the initial phase, Lockheed Martin contracted TAI to modify ten F-16s. Of these, one F-16C Block 40 and one Block 50, plus one F-16D Block 40 and one Block 50, were flown to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility in July 2009 for test and verification work on the new systems. They were tested with a variety of weapons and sensors, including LANTIRN and Sniper pods. The F-16Ds returned to Turkey in July 2011, followed by the F-16Cs in August 2012. The remaining six aircraft were handed to Lockheed Martin

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TURKISH F-16s Peace Onyx

Above: Five Block 30 F-16C/Ds line up at Konya Air Base in June 2004 for an Anatolian Eagle exercise. The aircraft were by this stage wearing squadron markings, although not as bold as they are now. They belong to 141 Filo which, following the attempted coup last July, was disbanded and its Akıncı base closed down. Alan Warnes Right: F-16C Block 50 07-1003 of 181 Filo during an Anatolian Eagle exercise at Konya. Chris Lofting Below: Part of the Peace Onyx III order, F-16D 94-0110 received a special scheme to celebrate 50 years of 141 Filo in 2015. Chris Lofting

in Turkey, which ensured the work met its stringent quality standards, before delivery to the THK. The second part of PO III then began, TAI integrating the GFE kits through a modernisation and serial assembly upgrade. At the height of its integration work, 45 THK F-16s could be seen at TAI’s facilities at any one time. In a bid to speed up the process, 16 were worked at the 1st Air Supply and Maintenance Centre, Eskişehir. The final aircraft, F-16D Block 40 89-0044, was handed back to the THK on April 10, 2015 during a ceremony at TAI’s Ankara facility.

Peace Onyx IV

Under Peace Onyx IV, the THK acquired 30 Block 50+ F-16s, leading TAI to re-open its F-16 production line, which had lain dormant since 1999. An FMS deal between TAI and Lockheed Martin was signed on December 5, 2008 for 14 F-16Cs and 16 F-16Ds. They have identical advanced systems and equipment fit, but the two-seaters fly as tactical attack aircraft. The bulk was delivered to the two LANTIRN units – 161 Filo at Bandırma and 181 Filo at Diyarbakır, and the Akıncı squadrons, 141 and 142 Filo, since disbanded. Manufacturing started in early 2010 and the first aircraft, F-16D 07-1015, was delivered on May 23, 2011. It appeared at Air Show Türkiye, the THK’s 100th anniversary show at

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Peace Onyx I

160 aircraft

Deliveries from October 1987

F-16C

136

Six built in Fort Worth, 35 as Block 30s

F-16D

24

Two built in Fort Worth, nine as Block 30s

Peace Onyx II

80 aircraft

Deliveries from July 1996

F-16C Block 50

60

Final delivery November 12, 1999

F-16D Block 50

20

Peace Onyx IV

30 aircraft

F-16C Block 50+

14

F-16D Block 50+

16

Total

270 aircraft

Deliveries from June 2011

Final pair delivered December 11, 2012

Peace Onyx III modernisation work performed on 163 Block 40/50s, while 35 Block 30s are set to receive a structural life extension.

Izmir, in June 2011, carrying the indigenous 1,300lb (590kg) Roketsan Stand Off Missile (SOM). All PO IV F-16C/Ds are compatible with SOM, as well as the other indigenous weapons, including the new Nüfuz Edici Bomba (NEB, Penetrating Bomb) and KGK-82 INS/GPS-guided bomb. The initial PO IV F-16D left Turkey for test and evaluation at Fort Worth in July 2011, returning with the F-16C Block 50 in August 2012. On December 11, 2012, the THK took delivery of the final pair of PO IV jets (F-16Ds 07-1029 and 07-1030), signalling termination of the production line. A modernisation programme for 35 Block 30s now occupies TAI’s F-16 business. According to its Aircraft Division Manager, Özcan Ertem: “TAI already has a turnkey contract with SSM [Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı, Turkish Defence Industry] for life extensions on all 35 Block 30s. Lockheed Martin is supplying kits, while TAI will complete the modifications and ground/flight testing. Two lead-the-fleet aircraft (one F-16C and one F-16D) will begin the modification process, with serial modification from 2018.” Nonetheless, TAI’s F-16 business is declining. It is always interested in additional F-16 work, but the forthcoming F-35A should take up some of its spare capacity. With the Turkish Fighter programme (TF-X) also on the horizon, TAI is likely to remain busy.

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TURKISH F-16s

A Block 50+ F-16D departs Konya in full afterburner as part of a 60-aircraft mission package over the Anatolian Eagle exercise range areas. Derek Bower

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MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS

T

HE BLACK Hawk is no stranger to Mexican skies, having made its combat debut in 1994 during the armed Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN, Zapatista Army of National Liberation) uprising. At the time, the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana (FAM, Mexican Air Force) had two S-70A24 helicopters in service, purchased in 1991 as VIP transports for the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA, Secretariat of National Defence). However, the second aircraft was assigned to the now defunct Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales (GAFES, Airmobile Special Forces Group) and its performance was so impressive that four additional S-70A24s were bought in late 1994 and allocated to the now disbanded Escuadrón de Operaciones Especiales 216 (216th Special Operations Squadron). All six S-70A24s were subsequently modified for compatibility with Aviator NV Imaging System (ANVIS) night-vision goggles (NVGs) and equipped with GPS receivers, while their crews began training for a primary special operations role. However, the mission tempo began to slow owing to the limited number of aircraft and their high maintenance costs.

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Mexico’s

Rotary Revival Mexico is upgrading its helicopter fleet to a standard previously unknown in the region. Mariano García and Jose Quevedo visited Escuadrón Aéreo 108, the first Mexican Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk operator, to review the type’s status in military service.

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l

MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS Soon all six were flying only essential missions, mostly focused on humanitarian relief and special forces support, with the exception of a single example dedicated to VIP transport. As a result the fleet was not expanded, in part due to bureaucratic obstacles thrown up by the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, which delayed spares delivery. Cheaper alternatives, including the Bell 212, were also available, before the even cheaper Mi-17 Hip was introduced into Mexican service in 1997. The first Mexican Black Hawks were S-70A24 aircraft. Equivalent to the standard US Army UH-60L, they were delivered with General Electric T700-GE-401C engines equipped with the Hover Infra-Red Suppression System (HIRSS). They were regularly flown with 50-cal gun pods and rocket launchers mounted on their External Stores Support System (ESSS) pylons, and 5.56mm machine guns at their forward cabin window positions, while a

Mexican UH-60M procurement Date

Number of aircraft in service 2011/12 6 August 2011 3 April 2014 18 June 2014 5 March 2015 2

Operator PF AARM FAM AARM AARM Above: The Federal Police was the first Latin American operator to graduate a group of female Black Hawk pilots. SSPF Below: EA108’s area of responsibility covers the Gulf of Mexico and hot spots near the US border. Monterrey has two airports, Monterrey International and the Aeropuerto del Norte. EA108 is located within Aeropuerto del Norte, in a separate facility officially named BAM 14 Apodaca but sharing the same runway. Mariano García

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MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS 20mm gun could be installed in the cabin. In 2010, the SEDENA VIP S-70A24 was modified with terrain-following radar (TFR) in a nose radome. Today, all six S-70A24 Black Hawks are assigned to Escuadrón Aéreo 101 (EA101, 101 Air Squadron) at Base Aérea Militar de Santa Lucía (BAM, Military Air Base), and carry the serials 1091, 1092, 1093, 1094, 1097 and 1098. Based on FAM maintenance accounts, availability is poor, and according to official figures the aircraft only have up to nine years’ service remaining.

Naval Hawks

On August 25, 2011, the Aviación de la Armada de Mexico (AARM, Mexican Naval Air Arm) received its first three UH-60M helicopters, comprising serials AMHA 300, 301 and 302. These were recently re-serialled as ANX-2300, 2301 and 2302 to avoid confusion with a civil airline operator callsign. The aircraft were assigned to the Primer Escuadrón Aeronaval de Apoyo (1st Naval Support Squadron) at Minatitlán, Veracruz. Under the Mérida Initiative, the US covered all acquisition costs in recognition of the valuable contribution Mexican marines had made to counter-drug operations. The navy debuted the aircraft in an assault on a drug cartel’s training camp immediately prior to their official presentation. Particulate filters were subsequently added, protecting the engines from dust ingestion for a minimal loss in performance. All three examples are equipped with Star SAFIRE II FLIR systems, for operations by day or night, tracking targets from standoff ranges

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Above: After around 25 years’ service, the Lima’s career is drawing to a close. It is unclear whether it will remain in a frontline special ops role or be relegated to training. Mariano García Below: In 2011, the US donated three UH-60Ms to the AARM under the Mérida Initiative. SEMAR

Black Hawk fleet disposition Version

Operator

Introduced

Status

Received

S-70A24

FAM

1991

Serviceable

2

S-70A24

FAM

1994

Serviceable

4

UH-60M

FAM

2015/17

Serviceable

12 (out of 18)

UH-60M

AARM

2011/17

Serviceable

9 (out of 10)

UH-60L

PF

2007

Serviceable

7* (1 lost, PF-106)

UH-60M

PF

2012

Serviceable

6

S-70i

Jalisco State Police

2011

Unknown

1

* Two damaged, status unknown

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MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS Left: The authors rode with this FAM S-70L crew as they practised their display routine. Mariano García Below: Navy Mikes haul a considerable weapons load to support marines on the ground. Mariano García

without being detected; they carry 370 US gal (1,400 litre) auxiliary fuel tanks in their cabins, significantly extending endurance. Although the ‘M’ is equipped for the ESSS, the equipment has not been procured. In 2016 the AARM bought a Rockwell Collins Transportable Black Hawk Operations Simulator. On March 13, 2017, the Mexican Navy confirmed that it has already received as many as six UH-60Ms from its 2014 and 2015 orders. These are serials ANX 2303 to 2308: the final example of the UH-60M is due to be delivered this year.

SAR drill

As well as all-round ballistic protection, every FAM UH-60M is fitted with a 600lb rescue winch. Standard equipment for all FAM helicopters, the winch attests to the Mike’s primary role outside troop support – humanitarian relief. All FAM personnel undergo mandatory SAR and relief operations training and AFM was invited to participate in a SAR drill. The alarm sounded as a group of people, evacuated from a pueblo (a native settlement) under threat of flooding, is reported stranded in the mountains north of Monterrey. Among them, two pregnant women seem likely to go into labour at any moment. Some soldiers evacuating the last inhabitants were surprised when a mudslide hit the pueblo, trapping their Humvees – the swelling river having also blocked their escape route. Their only option was to hike up the mountain, taking the people out of harm’s way, and call for the helicopters. In EA108’s briefing room, the duty personnel gather to listen to the soldiers’ report, received ten minutes ago. The base commander is present and acknowledges that the crew chiefs are already preparing the helicopters. He listens carefully and offers advice as needed, but EA108 crew prepare the mission plan. Soon we’re flying over a dense carpet of vegetation, one of the most inhospitable regions of Mexico’s mountains. With the cloud base descending, rain and turbulence shake the aircraft, while the cabin crewmen lean out searching for flares or other signals from the

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Federales

The Policía Federal (PF, Federal Police) also obtained helicopters via the Mérida Initiative, becoming Mexico’s most experienced operator of the Black Hawk in combat. It bought its first seven UH-60Ls in 2007, these being upgraded or modified for the transport, assault and medical evacuation roles. Due to the nature of their operations, the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (Public Security Secretariat) has released little information on PF Black Hawk operations, but the aircraft are known

ground. We aren’t skimming along at treetop height, but we’re lower than is comfortable at this speed in poor weather. Communications with command and control is very effective as the other helicopters in our formation begin flying a search pattern; however, our pilot is taking us into the canyons, the helicopter sliding from side to side as he follows the terrain. Finally we make contact – the stranded soldiers hear us but cannot see us. Our pilots search their GPS maps and manage to close the search down until the crewman sees movement below us. The pilot can’t risk losing the contact in a gentle turn and virtually nails the Black Hawk’s nose to the ground as he swings the tail through 180° – now a soldier holding a more easily visible orange blanket in both hands stands before us; we’ve got them. With the weather closing in and ten civilians to recover, there’s no time to use the winch. Instead, the pilot sets the mainwheels on a crest above the group and the soldiers run up the hill, guiding the villagers into the helicopter; one of the women is not only in labour but injured and in need of urgent medical care beyond the abilities of our crewman’s training. The soldiers decide to stay on the ground, leaving our UH-60M less heavily loaded. They wait for another of the search aircraft, while our crew takes us out fast. In no time we’re in level flight at 120kts, dodging birds and power lines, on a short dash to the regional military hospital.

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MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS to be equipped with a TFR or FLIR, and specialist equipment for the police role. In 2012 the fleet was expanded to 13 helicopters with the addition of six UH-60Ms donated by the US and armed with M134 Miniguns. Latin America’s first four female UH-60 pilots were also certified by the PF in the same year. The aircraft have since seen considerable action in combat and humanitarian roles, and the PF is the only Mexican operator to have lost or suffered significant damage to its Black Hawks. During successive missions against criminal elements, examples of the aircraft crash-landed in Morelos in May 2009, and then at Michoacán in July 2013, officially due to bad weather and mechanical failure, respectively. A third aircraft was lost on September 19, 2013 when it crashed in poor visibility during a rescue mission. Mexico’s Jalisco State Police is also a Black Hawk recipient, having taken a Mielecbuilt S-70i in 2011; its status is unknown.

Above: Between December 2012 and January 2017 the Limas flew 1,763 hours, 438 of them on anticartel missions. Mariano García Below: As well as the 20mm cannon and Miniguns, the UH-60M is compatible with gun pods ‘borrowed’ from the FAM’s Cougar fleet. Via FAM

FAM force renewed

Many observers were surprised when the purchase of 18 UH-60M Black Hawks for the FAM was announced in April 2014, since the acquisition of more Mi-17s seemed certain. The US$680m deal included 40 T700-GE-701D engines, navigation systems, 36 M134 7.62mm Miniguns and support equipment, spares, training, etc. The FAM’s initial UH-60M squadron is EA108, a former UH-1H and Cessna 182 operator, which is based northeast of Monterrey at BAM 14 Apodaca. It received its first airframes in December 2015 and by August 2016, six or seven were believed fully operational. They had already been deployed to ‘hot’ zones, but according to the FAM, had logged less than 500 flying hours. Crews are using the few ‘Mikes’ available at BAM 14 to complete their training and obtain combat ratings as they return from the UH-60M conversion course at Fort Rucker in the US. Mexican pilots follow a theory course and 60-hour flying programme, most of them making the transition with 1,000 or more flying hours behind them on the Bell 212, MD530 and S-70L. The unit is undergoing a major change of structure and doctrine as it switches

from the Cessna to the Black Hawk. The helicopters fly humanitarian missions and provide a powerful counter to the cartels operating in northern Mexico, thanks to the 20mm cabin gun and Miniguns. In February 2017, images emerged of the second batch from the 18-aircraft FAM order, under test in the US. These six airframes featured FLIRs and air particle filters. They are expected to equip a new unit in Oaxaca. Two Mike squadrons are planned, with EA108 supporting operations along the Gulf of Mexico and the new unit working along the Pacific region.

Above: UH-60M ‘13’ sporting its new intake filters and serial. The AARF Black Hawks are assigned to the 1st Naval Support Squadron. Jova Gonzalez

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Mike advantages

AFM spoke with one of the most experienced Mexican Black Hawk pilots, an FAM captain with more than 16 years and 2,000 flying hours, 1,500 of them on the Black Hawk (his identity is withheld for security reasons). He explained the primary differences between the ‘Lima’ and ‘Mike’: “The [UH-60M] is fully integrated, from its main rotor all the way through to its avionics suite. The flight management computer is more powerful than the Lima’s, as are the Mike’s autopilot, health monitoring and flight control capabilities. The GPS display is among the most important avionics advances, bringing considerable advantages in navigation and tactical performance, simplifying crew workload and facilitating on-the-spot decision making. “We also have three hours’ endurance against two with the Lima, enabling us to perform better in humanitarian relief missions and co-ordinate SAR operations more effectively, and it increases our troop transport and support capabilities. We change configuration depending on the mission, since we can carry an auxiliary fuel tank in the cabin to increase our persistence without sacrificing too much cargo capacity. “Aside from the complete avionics change, flying the ‘M’ compared with the ‘L’ is basically similar, but the aircraft’s improved technology gives us an edge in hostile environments.”

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ATTRITION

Andersen B-52H crash report released

Above: The burnt-out wreckage of the B-52H following its accident at Andersen AFB on May 19, 2016. USAF

A

REPORT INTO the loss of US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress 60-0047/MT on May 19, 2016, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, was released on April 19. At 0832hrs local time, the mishap aircraft (MA), assigned to the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Wing, and deployed to Andersen from Minot AFB, North Dakota, departed the prepared-surface overrun of Runway 06 Left during a highspeed, heavyweight, aborted takeoff. The crew, which consisted of the pilot, co-pilot, radar navigator, navigator, electronic warfare officer, an additional pilot occupying the gunner station, and an instructor weapon system officer occupying the instructor pilot jump seat, were conducting a Higher Headquarters Directed mission. The crew was treated

for minor injuries consistent with a ground egress and the aircraft was destroyed, with the loss valued at $112m. The crew was cleared for takeoff at 0831hrs and the B-52 accelerated within performance standards verified by take-off and landing data calculated performance for S1 timing and S1 decision speed. Approximately three to five seconds after reaching the S1 speed of 111kts, the pilot, co-pilot and navigator observed birds in front of the aircraft at wing level. Shortly thereafter, the pilot and co-pilot observed indications for numbers 5, 6 and 7 engines “quickly spooling back” from the required take-off settings. The pilot also observed high oil pressure indications on the number 8 engine and a

noticeable left-to-right yawing motion. Accelerating through approximately 142kts, the pilot simultaneously announced and initiated aborted take-off emergency procedures. With the throttles set to idle thrust and airbrakes set to six, the pilot initiated continuous braking pressure. The co-pilot deployed the drag chute at 135kts but it failed to inflate properly. With 2,500ft of the runway remaining, the pilot shut down the outboard engines (numbers 1-2 and 7-8) and shortly thereafter announced that the aircraft was going to depart the prepared surface. The electronic warfare officer jettisoned the defensive compartment, starboard-side hatch and the pilot shut down the inboard engines (numbers 3-4 and 5-6). The B-52 departed

the prepared surface shearing off the main undercarriage before it came to rest slightly canted from the runway centreline, right wing down, approximately 300ft from the runway, and subsequently caught fire. The co-pilot performed emergency aircraft shutdown procedures and safely egressed the aircraft. The Accident Investigation Board (AIB) found by a preponderance of evidence that the cause was bird activity and the pilot’s reaction to perceived cockpit indications as a loss of symmetric engine thrust required to safely attain flight, subsequently applying abort procedures after S1 timing. The AIB also found that drag chute failure and the exceeding of brake-energy limits resulting in brake failure were to blame.

D: Apr 5 N: US Air Force/ 113th Wing/121st FS T: F-16C

attempted to return to the airfield but on realising he could not safely make it back he aimed the aircraft at a wooded area and initiated ejection before the F-16 crashed at approximately 0931hrs, about 6 miles from the base. The pilot suffered non-life threatening injuries and was flown by helicopter to the base hospital at Andrews.

D: Apr 5 N: US Marine Corps/MAWTS-1/ HMH-361 T: CH-53E S: 164358

Accident Reports D: Mar 29, 2017 N: Libya Dawn Air Force T: MiG-21 Following a technical failure, this aircraft crashed in the Tarsha district, south Tobruk, after carrying out an air strike in Derna. The pilot, who was the commander of Tobruk air base, was killed, along with a family of three people in the house that the aircraft crashed into.

This aircraft was one of four that took off from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for a routine training flight in the Greater Washington area. The aircraft experienced a mechanical failure shortly after take-off and the pilot

While flying a training mission for the USMC’s Weapons and Tactics Instructors course this helicopter made a hard landing and rolled over at 1300hrs Mountain Time near the Barry M Goldwater Range

Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials

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in Arizona. None of the five Marines on board were injured. D: Apr 6 N: Iraqi Army Aviation Corps T: Bell IA-407 So-called Islamic State shot down this helicopter over the outskirts of Mosul while it was supporting federal police operations. Both crewmembers were killed when it crashed at around 1500hrs in the Mohandiseen neighbourhood of east Mosul. The IA-407 was believed to have been hit by 57mm anti-aircraft fire. D: Apr 6 N: Mexican Air Force T: MD530F S: 1137 This helicopter crashed while making an emergency autorotation landing at San Bartolo in the Huehuetoca municipality. Both crewmembers escaped injury but the MD530F was extensively damaged. D: Apr 6 N: Pakistan Army Aviation Corps T: Mushshak S: 77-5046 This aircraft crash-landed in an open area at Painda Khan village, Mattani, on the outskirts of Peshawar, following engine failure. The solo pilot suffered only minor injuries. D: Apr 7 N: Serbian Air Force and Air Defence/252 Training Squadron T: G-4 Super Galeb (local designation N-62) S: 23625 Both crewmembers were killed after failing to eject when a Super Galeb crashed at 1030hrs local time near the village of Slatina, around 37 miles (60km) southwest of Belgrade, western Serbia, during a sortie from Batajnica air base. The fatalities were Lt Col Nenad Ćulibrk and Capt Dejan Pandurović. The aircraft that crashed was a 1985built airframe that, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, was passed to the Montenegrin Air Force, where it was retired before been transferred to Serbia in 2010 together with five more of the same type. It had undergone its last general

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This aircraft struck a tree and crashed near Kalowal, coming to rest inverted, during a sortie from Army Aviation Base Mangla. Both the instructor and student pilot escaped unharmed. This was the second loss of a Pakistan Army Mushshak in less than two weeks, following the crash of 77-5046 on April 6, as reported above.

Above: The wreckage of Mexican Air Force MD530F following its crash landing on April 6 at San Bartolo.

overhaul in 2015 at the Moma Stanojlović aeronautical plant at Batajnica. Serbia’s G-4 inventory now numbers 21 aircraft with no more than ten thought to be operational. D: Apr 7 N: Syrian Arab Air Force T: 5 x Su-22M3, 1 x Su-22M4 and 3 x MiG-23ML S: Unknown After US officials determined that aircraft operating from Shayrat air base, near the western city of Homs, had been used to attack civilians with chemical weapons in Idlib province on April 4, a strike on the base was undertaken using Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the Arleigh Burkeclass destroyers USS Porter (DDG 78) and USS Ross (DDG 71) in the Mediterranean Sea. US officials said 59 of these missiles hit targets at the base. Local sources have confirmed that the above nine aircraft were destroyed. D: Apr 12 N: Pakistan Army Aviation/ MONUSCO

T: SA330 Puma S: UN-809 While operating for the United Nations peacekeeping force, MONUSCO, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this helicopter appeared to lose power on take-off at Kavumu, falling back to the ground heavily. It then rolled over onto its side, tearing off its rotor blades. No serious injuries were reported to the four crew and 16 MONUSCO personnel (mostly Uruguayan and Pakistani) on board but the Puma was substantially damaged. D: Apr 13 N: Lesotho Defence Force T: EC135T2+ S: LDF-13 This helicopter crashed after hitting power lines in the Thaba Putsoa region of Lesotho. All four on board were killed and the helicopter was destroyed. D: Apr 14 N: Pakistan Army Aviation Corps T: Mushshak S: 92-5352

Above: Pakistan Army Mushshak 77-5046 after its force landing at Mattani on April 6.

D: Apr 16 N: Iraqi Air Force/Iraqi Air College T: Lasta 95N S: YI-172 Shortly after taking off for a training flight from Iman Ari Air Base (formerly known as Tallil) near Nasiriyah in Thi Qarr province, this aircraft had a technical malfunction and crashed close to the base. Both crew suffered unspecified injuries. D: Apr 17 N: Royal Saudi Land Forces T: UH-60L This helicopter crashed in Yemen’s Ma’rib province, killing 12 of 13 aboard. It was reported to have been mistakenly shot down in a friendly fire incident by the UAE Army using a Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile. D: Apr 17 N: US Army/12th Aviation Battalion T: UH-60L S: 90-26303 One crewmember, crew chief SPC Jeremy D Tomlin, was killed and two others (pilot CWO2 Christopher Nicholas and CAPT Terikazu Onoda, C Company commander) were seriously injured when this Black Hawk crash landed at 1337hrs between the third and fourth fairways on the Breton Bay Golf Course and Country Club, Leonardtown, near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, during a routine training mission. The helicopter was from the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. D: Apr 18 N: Turkish General Directorate of Security T: S-70A-17 Black Hawk All 12 personnel on board this helicopter died when it crashed in poor weather

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ATTRITION operations from the USS Dewey (DDG 105) this Seahawk crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Guam just after take-off at 0637hrs. All three crewmembers were recovered unhurt by personnel from the ship. The helicopter was assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 78 (HSM-78) ‘Blue Hawks’ and embarked aboard the Dewey.

Above: A burnt-out Syrian Arab Air Force MiG-23ML in a hardened aircraft shelter at Shayrat air base after being destroyed by a Tomahawk missile fired from a US Navy destroyer in the Mediterranean Sea on April 7.

conditions between the villages of Çambulak and Kocatepe, Tunceli province. The fatalities included a judge, seven police officers, one sergeant and three crewmembers. The Black Hawk came down ten minutes after taking off from the town of Pülümür in Tunceli. D: Apr 19 N: Hellenic Army T: UH-1H S: ES-625 During a routine border patrol flight this helicopter struck power lines and crashed at Sarantaporo, Elassona, Thessaly, killing four of those on board: two pilots and two high-ranking military officers. A third crewmember survived with serious injuries. The UH-1 had departed from Stefanovikio air base and flown to Larissa, where it had picked up the two officers before departing for Kozani. D: Apr 21 N: US Navy/VFA-137 T: F/A-18E Super Hornet S: 165904 ‘NE-205’ While on final approach to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) the pilot ejected safely from the aircraft at 1834hrs. He was quickly recovered by a helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 4 (HSC-4) with no apparent injuries. The Super Hornet was conducting routine flight operations at the time during a transit of

the Celebes Sea, south of the Philippines. The carrier was en route to waters off the Korean peninsula as a show of force amid rising tensions with North Korea. The code quoted above for the aircraft was last reported in May 2014 and it is unconfirmed whether this is still current, but the BuNo has been confirmed by the US Naval Aviation Safety Center. D: Apr 26 N: Royal Jordanian Air Force T: AH-1 While attempting to make an emergency landing following a technical failure, this helicopter hit the ground and crashed in the Al Ghabawi area of eastern Amman. Although the Cobra caught fire, the

pilot and co-pilot/gunner successfully escaped. They were taken to Al Hussein Medical City, where they were said to be in good condition. D: Apr 26 N: Russian Aerospace Forces T: MiG-31 Both crewmembers ejected safely before this MiG-31 crashed in Buryatia, western Siberia. The aircraft came down in an unpopulated area near the Telemba proving ground at 1205hrs during a routine training flight. D: Apr 26 N: US Navy/HSM-78 T: MH-60R S: 166549 ‘NE-706’ While conducting routine flying

D: Apr 27 N: Peruvian Army/Batallón de Asalto y Transporte 811 T: Mi-17-1V S: EP-659 The port engine is reported to have lost power while on approach to land at the San Juan Bautista educational facility at Choco, near Yamango, Morropón, Piura, in poor weather conditions. This caused the helicopter to lose height and crash-land on a scrubcovered hillside, following which it rolled onto its starboard side, coming to rest almost inverted. The four crew and three passengers all escaped, but with unspecified injuries and they were taken to Piura Military Hospital. The Hip was one of three being used to deliver food to various locations in the mountains east of Piura and had departed from Chulucanas. D: May 1 N: Colombian Army T: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan S: EJC-1130 While en route from MelgarTolemaida air base to BogotáEl Dorado Airport, the aircraft impacted a hillside between Zipacón and Facatativá, about 15 miles (24km) northwest of Bogotá Airport, at around 1630hrs. All of those on board, comprising three crewmembers and five passengers, were killed. D: May 2 N: Pakistan Air Force T: Mirage III The aircraft had a technical malfunction during a routine training flight. The pilot ejected safely before it crashed in the Athara Hazari area, near Jhang.

Above: Peruvian Army Mi-17-1V EP-659 lies on its side on a hillside near Yamango after a force landing following engine failure on April 27.

Additional material from: Igor Bozinovski, Juan Carlos Cicalesi, Aleksandar Radic, Scramble/Dutch Aviation Society and Asagiri Yohko.

Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials

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FlyingLegends.indd 1

03/05/2017 11:31

D A N R O T ITALIAN TORNADOS

N A I L A T I

t he scia in to e r B r , nea h om e ir base mbardy, is ’. Since a i d e o o Gh o, ce of L o Fusc provin rmo ‘Alfred of 50 º Storm6º to 6º Sto andment return ome b ’s s i o d p p e c th 5º Gru has be and 15 o, the base y ’s Tornado Storm to all of Ital ls Roman, home drons. Nie nd Robin squa nsbeek a repor t. an So Coenders Roy v

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O D A RCE O F

ITALIAN TORNADOS

HARM-toting MM7070 ‘50-06’ gets airborne from Ghedi. This aircraft is an ECR variant, designated EA-200B in Italian service. The electronic attack jets of 155º Gruppo ‘Pantere Nere’ were integrated within Ghedi-based 6º Stormo after the closure of parent 50º Stormo. Robin Coenders

I

N ALMOST 35 years of Aeronautica Militare (AM, Italian Air Force) service, a combination of enhancements and major upgrades has ensured the Tornado remains one of NATO’s premier attack aircraft. The AM has confirmed plans to keep the jet on inventory until at least 2025, with operations centred on 6º Stormo at Ghedi. A great deal has changed for Ghedi and 6º Stormo over the past year. The unit received its first Tornado in 1982, at which point one of its squadrons, 155º Gruppo, moved to Piacenza under 50º Stormo. With 50º Stormo disbanding on September 14 last year, Piacenza has been left as a deployable operating

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base lacking permanent flying units. When the stormo was deactivated, 155º Gruppo ‘Pantere Nere’ (155th Squadron ‘Black Panthers’) moved its Tornado ECRs (designated EA-200Bs in service) to become part of 6º Stormo at Ghedi. To make room for the ECRs, 6º Stormo lost 156º Gruppo ‘Le Linci’ (‘The Lynxes’) which was also disbanded on September 14, 2016. Two other squadrons serve alongside 155º Gruppo under 6º Stormo: one of them, 102º Gruppo – known as ‘Papero Incazzato’ (‘Angry Ducks’) – is the Tornado operational conversion unit. In 1999, the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE), created by the Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe

and Italian Air Force, deactivated at RAF Cottesmore, and since then 102º Gruppo has been responsible for the training and conversion of Italian Tornado crews. Pilots come to 102º Gruppo after graduating from the Accademia Aeronautica (Air Force Academy) at Pozzuoli and completing the initial flying course at Latina, on the Alenia Aermacchi T-260B (SF-260EA). Students selected to be fighter pilots will then have taken an 18-month course at either Lecce-Galatina on the FT-339C (MB339CD) or at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, flying the T-6C Texan II and Northrop T-38C Talon on the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) course.

#351 JUNE 2017 89

Above: The twin 27mm Mauser cannon identify this Tornado as an IDS model. Aircraft are pooled, and made available to all of the gruppi at Ghedi. Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT Right: A Tornado IDS returns from a mission with a Thales Convertible Laser Designation Pod (CLDP) under the fuselage. Robin Coenders

Italian Tornado operations Operation

Theatre

Desert Storm

Kuwait/Iraq

Deny Flight

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Decisive Endeavour

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sharp Guard

former Yugoslavia

Deliberate Guard

former Yugoslavia

Deliberate Force

former Yugoslavia

Allied Force

former Yugoslavia

Enduring Freedom

Afghanistan

Odyssey Dawn

Libya

Unified Protector

Libya

Inherent Resolve

Iraq

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ITALIAN TORNADOS

Above: A smart trio of A-200C attack jets over the Tyrrhenian coast. Italy’s Tornado fleet has undergone successive upgrades focused on avionics improvements. The 6° Stormo operates three different upgrade standards: RET 6 and RET 8 represent the operational jets and the RET 7 is used for training. Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT

They then transfer to 102º Gruppo for six months’ additional training, either as a Tornado pilot or weapons system officer (WSO). For most of the course, 102º Gruppo uses the Tornado IDS(T) and IDS variants (TA-200B and A-200C respectively). Additional role-specific training for the EA-200B is provided should the pilot or WSO be selected for 155º Gruppo. The third 6º Stormo squadron, 154º Gruppo ‘Diavoli Rossi’ (‘Red Devils’), flies the Tornado IDS. Various ‘smart’ weapons are available to the Tornado, in combination with sensors including Litening III, Reccelite and the Convertible Laser Designation Pod (CLDP). Their precision attack and reconnaissance capabilities mean 154º and 155º Gruppi are frequently deployed on operations.

Operations and exercises

Between 1990 and 1991, 154º Gruppo was part of the Italian Locusta detachment, flying combat sorties in support of Desert Storm. Since then the unit has participated in multiple operations, most recently under Operation Inherent Resolve in Kuwait, combating so-called Islamic State. Subsequently, 51º Stormo Alenia AMXs replaced the Kuwait-based Tornados on offensive operations, but four remain in theatre for coalition intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

A 6º Stormo Tornado IDS outside its hardened aircraft shelter at Ghedi. The store under the fuselage is a Sargent Fletcher pod for buddy refuelling. Robin Coenders

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#351 JUNE 2017 91

ITALIAN TORNADOS As part of NATO, the Tornado force regularly takes part in international exercises. Among better known events, the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) at Albacete, Spain, frequently involves 154º and 155º Gruppi. Crews experience large, mixed formations during TLP and, given its complexity, pilots taking part must be at least flight or element leads. With 155º Gruppo moving to Ghedi, 6º Stormo now operates both frontline Tornado versions. The EA-200B is equipped for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) role, its weapon of choice being the Raytheon AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), designed to target the electronic emissions of surface-to-air radar systems. It is easily distinguished from the A-200C by its lack of Mauser BK27 cannon. EA-200B WSOs receive specific training in HARM capability and are not interchangeable with those flying the A-200C. In theory, pilots can operate either, since their cockpits are similar, but the practice is uncommon. To ensure pilots and WSOs perform equally well together, the AM does not use fixed crew pairings.

Maintenance

With the Tornado force stationed at Ghedi, maintenance has been centralised with 6º Stormo’s maintenance squadron, which undertakes various levels of work known as A through to F checks. Major ‘T’, the unit’s maintenance chief, whose name is withheld for security reasons, explained: “They vary in duration from a couple of days to as much as two years. For every check, a list is created noting individual parts that have to be examined.” The A and B checks are completed on the flight line, the A check after every flight and the B check every 150 hours, while C through to F are more involved

Above: The pilots and WSOs of 155º Gruppo ‘Pantere Nere’ constitute the Italian Air Force’s suppression/ destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEAD) capability. Since EA-200B WSOs receive specific training in this role, they are not able to fly the A-200C. Niels Roman

Tornado maintenance checks, C to F Check Interval (hours) Approximate duration C

300

2-3 months

D

600

6 months

E

1,000

1 year

F

2,000

2 years

AM Tornado designation decode Manufacturer’s designation

Popular name

AM designation

PA 200 IDS

Tornado IDS

A-200A

PA 200 IDS

Tornado IDS-T

TA-200A

PA 200 ECR

Tornado ECR

EA-200B

PA 200 MLU

Tornado IDS

A-200C

PA 200 MLU

Tornado IDS-T

TA-200B

and conducted in the hangar. The A to D checks are an AM responsibility – a team of air force and civilian Alenia personnel completing the E and F inspections. Space restrictions limit simultaneous E and F checks to four aircraft, and should the demand for F checks exceed capacity, the additional jets are flown to Alenia maintenance facilities at Cameri or Turin. The airframe reaches its flight hour limit at 6,000hrs and, with the current operational tempo, many Tornados are rapidly approaching this mark. For continued airworthiness, the maintenance squadron can, along with a team of Alenia specialists, carry out an extended F check which includes a far more thorough inspection. With the work complete, Alenia personnel review the airframe and decide whether its life should be extended by 1,000 or 2,000 hours. When an airframe has reached its absolute life and cannot be extended further, it’s either scrapped or prepared for display. In either case, all usable parts are removed and refurbished for reuse. Aircraft earmarked for scrapping are cut in half and sent to a scrap dealer. The future for Ghedi and 6º Stormo seems bright, since the station looks set to become a main operating base for the F-35A Lightning II – with 6º Stormo already confirmed as an F-35 unit. The base’s commanding officer told AFM: “A number of new buildings have been constructed, including a stateof-the-art air traffic control tower.” The arrival of the fifth-generation fighter will signal the start of a new era for 6º Stormo. Acknowledgements: Thanks to 6º Stormo, the Italian Ministry of Defence and the Dutch Embassy in Rome for their support in preparing this article.

Above: The Israeli Reccelite is the pod of choice for reconnaissance missions. It was introduced to the fleet when 6° Stormo deployed to Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, and the pod’s day/night digital imaging capability was again called upon over Libya during Operation Unified Protector in 2011. Roy van Sonsbeek

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ITALIAN TORNADOS

MM7086 ‘6-60’ carries the CDLP that was added under the first phase of the MLU. The Italian Tornados will remain in service at least until 2025. Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT

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BOOK REVIEWS Russian Air Power

Defense Now Volume One PLA Editions Salvador Mafé Huertas Pages: 160 ISBN: 978-84-946217-0-3 £22.99 A new series of softbacks from PLA Editions begins with a look at Russian air power and current operations. The author opens with the state of the air force following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and early chapters aim to clear up the rumours and misinformation that reached the West. They describe how quickly the service was revitalised with new aircraft entering service and old squadrons being re-formed. An extensive seven-page order of battle incorporates the countless changes that have taken place over the last few years, and explains how the military districts are divided up. The core of the book contains double-page spreads dedicated to each type operated by the Russian Air Force, a collection of stunning images and a specifications panel. While not as extensive as I would have liked, there are a lot of types to cover. In a bid to be as current as possible, there is also a chapter on Russian air operations over Syria. The images will be familiar to many but there are gems of information that ably illustrate just how much research has gone into this title. Glenn Sands

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet 1978 onwards (all marks) Haynes Publishing. Steve Davies. £22.99 Pages: 172. ISBN: 978-1-78521-054-9 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet has been the backbone of the US Navy and Marine Corps since the early 1980s. Operating from US carrier decks, Hornets were soon in action over Libya and their successes prompted many overseas customers to purchase the jet. If you can’t afford to buy your own ex-Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-188A, acquiring the Haynes publication is the next best thing. Following a similar format to its well-known Owners’ Workshop Manuals, if you need to change an engine, attach a Sparrow

missile or simply adjust the head-up display, the stepby-step guidance is all here. Along with practical ‘fixes’, author Steve Davies offers chapters on the anatomy of the Hornet through to the Super Hornet, a breakdown of the variants, what powers the latest generations and what it’s like flying the jet in combat. The in-depth text is complemented by official images from the US Navy and the author’s personal collection. There’s also a brief selection illustrating Hornets flown by foreign operators. One of the most informative

Russia’s Warplanes Volume 2: Russian-made Military Aircraft and Helicopters Today

aircraft, transports, tankers, trainers and naval helicopters. The author begins with a chapter on the updates and corrections that have come to light since the publication of volume one in 2015. This clearly demonstrates the continuing high level of research that is being put into this series. Author Piotr Butowski is a world-renowned authority on modern Russian military aviation and his access and level of knowledge is impressive. Cleverly broken down into aircraft types, each section contains a brief historical introduction, a list of the various avionics upgrades, projected plans for the aircraft and the nations that are flying or intend to fly the latest versions. The text is detailed and thorough – I particularly liked the section on Russia’s theatre and special-purpose transports. These include a strange collection of paramilitary types, such as the An-72P, which was converted to carry UPK-23 gun pods. The aircraft were given tactical camouflage and armour plating to support Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB. Another stunning piece of work and one highly

Harpia Publishing Piotr Butowski £34.99 Pages: 255 ISBN: 978-0-9973092-0-1

Harpia Publishing’s latest title is the second volume to examine the changes that have taken place within Russia’s military aviation over the last decade. This time the book focuses on bombers, maritime patrol

chapters clearly details the various upgrades that have been incorporated into what are known as the ‘classic’ or ‘legacy’ Hornets – the F/A-18A to ’C models, and the differences between the F/A-18A+, the F/A-18A++ and the F/A-18C are described. Glenn Sands

recommended as a perfect companion to volume one. I doubt this book will be bettered in the foreseeable future. Glenn Sands

These titles are available from: The Aviation Bookshop, 31-33 Vale Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1BS, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44(0)1892 539284 Website: www.aviation-bookshop.com

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FLASHPOINT

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

Iraqi An-32 Clines have seen recent action in an offensive capacity, but the concept of transforming Antonov transports into auxiliary bombers is not new, as Arnaud Delalande reveals.

T

HE INDIAN Air Force (IAF) began to convert its Antonov transports into bombers in 1967 when Wing Commander V C Mankotia took command of 44 Squadron equipped with An-12s. Pilots trained for low-level night operations, the dangers of which became evident when Wg Cdr A K Bhattacharjee perished with his crew in a crash near Pune. In May 1971, seven 44 Squadron crews were selected for offensive operations, the aircraft being modified to carry between 28 and 36 500lb (227kg) bombs for carpetbombing. Beginning on December 3, the first day of the war with Pakistan,

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six An-12s engaged in two days of night bombing raids against a Pakistan Army ammunition depot in Changa Manga. At the time, night navigation relied on astral means or dead reckoning. On one mission the commander of 44 Squadron, Wg Cdr V B Vashist, was forced to fly at around 200ft (61m) to draw fire from Pakistani air defences so as to disclose their positions. This enabled the rest of the formation, which remained at 6,500ft (1,981m), to carry out accurate bombing. In one of the last An-12 night bombing missions of the war, one crew was unable to locate the enemy troops, while the proximity of Indian forces demanded high accuracy. After a fourth circuit over the target, the pilot decided to switch on the aircraft’s lights, the Pakistanis then opening fire and revealing their position. More recently the IAF modified some of its An-32 transports to serve as ‘heavy’ bombers. In February 2010, during the Vayu Shakti 2010 exercise, an An-32 flew a night carpet-bombing demonstration,

dropping ten 1,000lb (907kg) bombs on a target. And on February 22, 2013, two An-32s successfully bombed their assigned target on the Pokhran Test Range in western India as part of Exercise Iron Fist.

African Antonovs

On August 7, 2006, Sudanese Air Force An-26 ST-ZZZ (s/n 10407) crash-landed at El Fasher, North Darfur. It had been fitted with four BDZ-34 weapons hardpoints – removed after the crash – which can be attached to any An-26 with minimal modifications. Acquiring a replacement An-26 in 2008, Sudan also operates at least one An-32 of similar design and operational capability – plus a handful of An-24s which have also been reported flying bombing missions. In May 2014, An-32 serial 7720 was equipped with four BDZ-34s for offensive missions in Darfur; each hardpoint is designed to carry a 500kg (1,102lb) bomb. The BDZ-34 system has also been adopted by Ukrainian Air Force An-26s – aircraft of the 456th Transport Aircraft Brigade being

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Above: One of Iraq’s two Antonov bombers heavily involved in the fighting for Mosul, this An-32B is equipped with external pylons on the fuselage sides. Crews use GPS equipment for bombing accuracy. Above right: The sight of a Russian Air Force An-26 at Chernyakhovsk equipped with BDZ34 hardpoints led to speculation among Western observers. This P-50SH practice bomb carries the World War Two-era slogan ‘To Berlin!’ Left: The shortlived Iraqi Air Force An-32B bomber configuration which used removable roller conveyors to deliver Chinese-made bombs via the rear cargo ramp. Right: Marked up with hand-painted slogans, a Russian-made 500kg FAB-500M-62 ‘dumb’ bomb on the BDZ-34 hardpoint of an IQAF An-32. All photos via Arnaud Delalande

seen with the bomb racks in May 2014. One was shot down by separatists in the Luhansk area on July 14, 2014 while flying towards the Ukraine-Russia border on a resupply mission. Surprisingly, since Russia has no shortage of conventional bombers, a Russian Air Force An-26 was seen loaded with two P-50SH practice bombs in August 2015 during an exercise at Chernyakhovsk air base in Kaliningrad.

Battle for Mosul

The most active Antonov bombers of late have been the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) aircraft, following an agreement signed with Ukraine on December 9, 2009 for the provision of six An-32B military transports. The first for the IQAF, YI-401, made its inaugural flight at Kiev-Syvatoshino, Ukraine, on October 9, 2010 but the following year Antonov stopped work on the An-32Bs owing to lack of payment by Iraq. By that stage, the first three were complete and awaiting delivery from the factory, with two more in production. In November 2011,

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the first, YI-403, was finally delivered. By October 2012, all six aircraft were in Iraq. The aircraft were initially assigned to the 23rd Transport Squadron, serving alongside C-130s at New al-Muthana Air Base. Later, the 33rd Transport Squadron formed at the same base in May 2013 specifically for the An-32. By July 2014 the major cities of Anbar province had fallen into the hands of so-called Islamic State (IS). The first F-16 fighterbombers had been planned to arrive at their Iraqi base that September, but advances made by IS militants across the country caused the transfer’s suspension. Although Russia and Iran had quickly supplied dozens of Su-25s in late June and early July, they were not immediately operational. Instead, a programme was launched to convert two of the six Antonov transports into bombers, with help from Ukrainian technicians. The first An-32 was modified with BDZ34s at four points, two on each side of the fuselage, to carry four Chinese-made 500lb bombs. Targeting used the NKPB-7 sight, also employed for landing and navigation.

The second aircraft added removable roller conveyors on the floor of the cargo hold where four 500lb bombs could be loaded. In March last year an IQAF An-32 undertook a bombing test, followed by the type’s first combat engagement in July. The two aircraft executed classified missions which showed the internal bomb rails lacked accuracy, so the roller conveyors were replaced by external suspension points. The two makeshift bombers have been fully engaged since the beginning of the battle for Mosul last October and have regularly carried out tactical bombing in non-populated areas. The aircraft are equipped with Russianmade FAB‑500M-62 and M-62PF bombs intended for the destruction of military and industrial sites and other facilities. Target co-ordinates are provided by the Joint Special Operations Command and navigators use GPS and maps to identify the objectives. The margin of error depends on the topography of the region, but IQAF pilots claim accuracy close to 95%.

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NEXT ISSUE

Coming up in AFM The July issue of AirForces Monthly features an exclusive supplement on the Dassault Rafale ‘omnirole’ fighter, France’s cutting-edge warplane that is now building up an impressive export order book.

The July issue is on sale globally from June 15.*

FREE RAFALE SUPPLEMENT * UK scheduled on-sale date. Please note that overseas deliveries are likely to be after this date. Photo: Jamie Hunter

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