MARCH 2015 ISSUE #324
28 PAGES OF NEWS BRIEFINGS -1970S USS MIDWAY
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THINK SMART...DESTROY STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION
JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER Variants, Prototypes and Deliveries
Exclusive! FRANCE’S ANTI-TERRORIST HELICOPTERS
Armed and Dangerous
OPERATION CHARLIE HEBDO Tracking the Terrorists
GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS Russian Long Range Aviation
RAF REAPERS Primed and Ready to Kill
UK £4.70
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CONTENTS March Issue 324 Force Report Russia’s Long-Range Aviation 42
News All the world’s military aviation news, by region. 4-5 Headlines 6-7 United Kingdom 8-11 Continental Europe 12-18 North America 19-23 Latin America 24-26 Africa 28 Russia & CIS 29 Middle East 30-33 Asia Pacific 34-35 Australasia 35 Contracts
36 RAF Reapers
pinned down at a rural printworks.
The RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle force was committed to action over Iraq last October. Tim Ripley reviews its operations and contribution to the international campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
58 Strike Warfare Evolution
Lon Nordeen looks at describes the evolution and technical developments used in strike warfare.
64 Chinese Task Force
42 FORCE REPORT Russia’s Long-Range Aviation
Alexander Mladenov examines the current state, operations and inventory of Russia’s Long-Range Aviation (LRA) force, which last year intensified its global ‘power projection’ patrols.
50 GIGN Response – Sniper in the Sky
Jean-Marc Tanguy lifts the veil on air assets supporting the French domestic counter terrorist officers who were called into action after the massacre at the Parisian offices of Charlie Hebdo in January.
56 GIGN Response – Manhunt
Frédéric Lert details the GIGN response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks and how, with helicopters in support, the gunmen were GIGN RESPONSE
GIGN RESPONSE
F
SNIPERS Jean-Marc Tanguy lifts the veil on the air assets supporting French domestic counter terrorist officers who were called into action after the massacre at the Parisian offices of Charlie Hebdo in January.
Main image: A police RAID gunner aims his HK417 and fires from a Gendarmerie EC145. All photos author
Invaluable Helicopters
While much of the media attention has been focused on the thousands of officers involved in the apprehension of the killers, police helicopters also played an invaluable role (though sadly they were prevented from helping on January 7 by poor visibility). But where did the helicopters come from and who operated them? France has two counter-terrorist teams. The famous Groupe d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) was created during 1974 and the Police RAID (Recherche, Assistance,
IN THE SKY
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RAF REAPERS
DRONE WAR IRAQ The RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle force was committed to action over Iraq last October. Tim Ripley looks at their operations and contribution to the international campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Below: RAF MQ-9 Reapers have been operating against ISIL from an unidentified base in the Middle East since October. The RAF has issued no photographs of its MQ-9 Reaper operations over Iraq and Syria. These images date from recent operations in Afghanistan. All photos RAF/Crown Copyright unless stated
O
n November 10 last year, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) posted a brief statement on its website announcing the first strike by a RAF General Atomic MQ-9 Reaper against a target in Iraq. “A series of coalition missions were conducted near Bayji, north of Baghdad, where Islamic State terrorists were laying improvised explosive devices,” said the statement. “The Reaper, using procedures identical to those of manned aircraft, successfully attacked the terrorists using a Hellfire missile.” The MoD has publicly acknowledged a further 25 strikes or operations by RAF Reapers against targets in Iraq. The statements briefly describe the targets attacked but give little away. The ministry and RAF have surrounded Reaper operations in Iraq and Syria with an unprecedented veil of secrecy. It is possible, however, to build a relatively detailed picture
rench anti-terrorist police immediately sprang into action after two Islamic gunmen burst into the offices of satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and shot dead 12 people on January 7. There followed an extensive manhunt for the two brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi who were suspected of carrying out the massacre and the murder of a policeman outside the office. At approximately 9am on January 9 police started to close in on the suspects, who were holed up in a printworks not far from Charles de Gaulle airport. After a tense eight-hour stand-off the brothers were shot dead by snipers. Meanwhile, at around 1pm, another siege was taking place in the capital. An accomplice of the Hebdo killers, Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to have shot dead a policewoman outside the French metro the day before, took hostages at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris and demanded that Kouachi brothers be allowed to go free. Minutes after the printworks siege had come to an end, elite commandos stormed the supermarket and killed Coulibaly. Fifteen hostages were freed but the bodies of four murdered men were discovered by police officers.
Intervention, Dissuasion) founded in 1985. GIGN is now a 400-strong unit tasked with overseas protection missions (in places such as Iraq in 2003) but its core business remains in France, with a wider counter-terrorism responsibility. It is charged with protecting France’s 75 nuclear power plants and the two houses of Parliament. The ‘Group’, as GIGN is called by its members, is also called upon to deal with any hostage situations on French soil. GIGN has been supported by a special helicopter squadron, Groupe Interarmées d’Hélicoptères (GIH, Joint Helicopters Group) since 2006 to help meet an increased workload. GIH was formed after a desperate lack of helicopters was highlighted in September 2005 during the recovery of a car ferry hijacked by Corsican nationalists in the Mediterranean. It took hours to get a few Pumas to the scene, so the government decided GIGN should get its own helicopters. The Gendarmerie had a fleet of AS355 Squirrels and EC145s (now reinforced with EC135s) but they were too light to operate with a full squad of armed troops. These helicopters have a support duty role, to quickly deploy a negotiator, a pair of snipers, or to provide real-time imagery intelligence (IMINT). The EC135 has a powerful Wescam MX-15 turret, with a data link that can be downloaded to officers via a dedicated kit called ‘Handy View’. Because of its role in protecting nuclear power plants, and the need for the GIGN to transport heavy loads of support equipment the French Joint HQ provided the unit with seven Pumas, all based near Paris, on Base Aérienne (Air Base) 107 in Villacoublay, close to the GIGN camp. From this fleet, the unit had at least three Pumas on alert, ready to take off in only a few minutes. During 2012, this quick reaction alert (QRA) was reduced from three to two Pumas,
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A rare visit to European shores by the Chinese Navy allowed Carlo Kuit and Paul Kievit of Bronco Aviation to get aboard the ships and look at the Task Force’s helicopter air assets.
66 AIRCRAFT PROFILE Joint Strike Fighter Alan Warnes assisted by Dave Allport reviews the current status of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
74 EXERCISE REPORT Operation Thunderstorm Yissachar Ruas reports from Israel’s Ovda AFB where a short-notice air exercise took place between Greek and Israeli squadrons.
76 Wedgetail Warriors Nigel Pittaway examines how the Royal Australian Air Force
Wedgetail Warriors 76
has become one of the world’s leading operators of airborne early warning and control platforms.
82 ZSU Modernisation Vladimir Trendalovski reviews recent developments of new and upgraded aircraft for the Ukrainian Air Force.
84 BRIEFINGS Carrier Air Wing Five
As the US Navy’s sole forwarddeployed carrier air wing, CVW-5 takes pride in being at the ‘tip of the sword’. Tony Holmes looks at its early operations during the Cold War.
92 Attrition
AFM’s Dave Allport reports on the world’s latest military accidents.
96 Debrief
Reviews of recently published books on military aviation. Cover: This F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath is equipped with the AN/AAS-13 Navigation pod and AN/AAS-14 LANTIRN pod, which should ensure the jet equipped with smart bombs, hits the target. Jamie Hunter
Editorial As I write this editorial, the French and German governments are in talks with Russia’s President Putin to try and bring a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Ukraine. However, defence sceptics remain unconvinced that Russia will change its cause of action due to pressure from the West. To rub salt into the wounds, Russian bombers are now flying straight through Europe’s civilian airways without their transponders switched on, forcing airliners to be rerouted. So far there have only been near misses – but how long will it be before there’s a mid-air collision and how will the West respond? If one looks at the attacks against ISIL as an indicator of how the West and its coalition partner’s work, it seems reluctant to take the next step. History has proven that airpower alone can’t defeat a determined enemy. But what’s the best and most appropriate cause of action to take? I expect such meetings are taking place amongst senior military officials across Europe behind firmly closed doors. The team working on AFM debates these current events throughout the day. Now it’s time to have your say. Whether you serve in the military or the defence industry or whether you are an enthusiast, contact the team via email at: afmletters@keypublishing. com Our new letters page awaits your thoughts.
RAF REAPERS
of what the Reapers are doing over Iraq and Syria from information released by US sources, by looking back at previous operations, and using published data about the drone’s performance and capabilities.
Intelligence Picture
First, it is necessary to build a picture of how the RAF Reapers fit into the air campaign against ISIL. Since the US-led offensive began in August last year, the allies have been engaged in a sustained operation to first blunt the advance of ISIL in Iraq and Syria. This is to allow time for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to be re-built and then begin a ground offensive to drive Islamic State militants out of northern and western Iraq. Syrian rebels are also being recruited to take on the militants in its heartland around the city of Raqqa. US President Obama and
‘The ministry and RAF have surrounded Reaper operations in Iraq and Syria with an unprecedented veil of secrecy.’
Glenn Sands AFM Brand Editor 36 MARCH 2015 #324
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HEADLINES
TRAGEDY AT THE TACTICAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME Roberto Yanez ˜ and Sébastien Buyck report on the horrifying events that took place at the first Tactical Leadership Programme of 2015 at Los Llanos Air Base, Albacete, Spain.
Above: The crew of the Hellenic Air Force F-16D are saluted by senior officers as they are repatriated back to their home base aboard a C-27J at dusk on Wednesday January 28. Spanish Air Force
THE FIRST of 2015’s Tactical Leadership Programmes (TLP-2015-1) at Los Llanos Air Base, Spain ended in tragedy on January 26 when a Hellenic Air Force (HAF) F-16D belonging to 341 Mira crashed into five parked aircraft, killing ten people. An eleventh victim, a French airman who suffered severe burns, died of his injuries the following day. The crash happened shortly after the F-16D had taken off for a training flight on the Monday afternoon of the second week of the exercise as part of a massed launch. The first take-off had occurred at 1510hrs but because the launch had a very long ‘slot time’ some aircraft were ‘crewing up’ on the TLP apron, the furthest one from the main active runway (RWY 23). The two-seater F-16D had received its clearance to take off at 1516hrs and was following on from a formation of two Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) Mirage 2000-5Fs from EC1.002, which
were to serve as the Blue Force during a simulated air interdiction mission, and an HAF F-16C. According to witness statements, the F-16D’s take-off began normally but when it was a few metres off the tarmac, it made a sharp 90 degree turn to the right, veering away from the runway and towards the TLP parking ramp which was still full of aircraft waiting to launch. Both Greek pilots ejected but they could not achieve seat separation and died upon hitting the ground. The F-16 came down between the taxiway and parking area, bursting into flames. Debris and jet fuel was scattered across the apron which was occupied by French Mirages and Alphajets along with their ground crews from Nancy-Ochey air base (BA 133), Alphajets from ToursSaint-Symphorien air base (BA 705) and Italian Air Force AMXs from 51° Stormo based at Istrana AFB. Ten members of the French groundcrew were killed in the explosions that followed. Eleven Italian and nine French personnel
suffered serious burns and were evacuated to nearby hospitals. A Mirage 2000D (651) from EC01.003 was destroyed and another (669) was damaged beyond repair. Two Rafales deployed from St Dizier were damaged, with one pilot performing an emergency engine shutdown from the cockpit. The other aircraft was in the hangar, which was struck by wreckage and fuel from the F-16, and caught alight. French ground crew pushed the jet out of the maintenance facility before flames could envelop it. The area had to be immediately cordoned off owing to the presence of toxic substances, including hydrazine, which is used in an F-16’s emergency power unit, and is extremely corrosive. The following day members of the Spanish Comisión de Investigación Técnica de Accidentes de Aeronaves Militares (CITAAM, Military Aircraft Accident Technical Investigation
Commission), began investigating the cause of the accident, while the aircraft remained in place. Aircraft lost appear to be – apart from the F-16D – two Alphajets, two Mirage 2000Ds and two AMXs. In addition seven others sustained damage but apparently can be repaired, including two of the three F-15Es from the 492nd Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath and at least one of the Rafale Bs from EC01.091 at St Dizier. The airfield was reopened on the Wednesday afternoon to allow for the arrival of authorities from France, Italy and Greece, who were participating in memorial services for those killed. The next day an Hellenic Air Force C-27J repatriated the remains of the Greek pilots, while a Spanish C-130H was charged with transporting the bodies of the French personnel to Nancy-Ochey. The course, which began on January 19, and was due to run for four weeks until February 13, was cancelled immediately after the crash.
Above: Fire erupts as the F-16D crashes into parked aircraft waiting to taxi out for the afternoon’s mission. In the foreground the crew of a USAF F-15E from RAF Lakenheath look on in horror. Roberto Yan˜ ez Right: Pictured a few days before the tragic accident at Albacete Air Base, the F-16D that crashed (084 from 341 Mira) takes off for a training mission early in the TLP programme. Roberto Yan˜ ez
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Embraer Flies Prototype KC-390 EMBRAER HAS successfully completed the maiden flight of the prototype KC-390 multi-role tanker transport. The aircraft, PT-ZNF, took off on February 3 from the factory at Gavião Peixoto for a 1hr 25min flight over the interior of São Paulo state. Flown by test pilots Mozart Louzada and Marcos Salgado de Oliveira Lima, together with flight test engineers Raphael Lima and Roberto Becker, the aircraft is the first of two prototypes involved in the flight test programme. Trials are expected to last until the end of 2016 when deliveries will begin. The Fuerza Aérea Brasileira (FAB – Brazilian Air Force) is the KC-390 launch customer, having signed a contract on April 14, 2009, which funded research and development together with
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Above: The prototype KC-390 multi-role tanker transport, PT-ZNF, during its maiden flight from Gavião Peixoto. Embraer
production of the two prototypes. The FAB signed a production order with Embraer on May 20 last year for 28 KC-390s to replace its C-130 Hercules fleet. Commitments
are held by other countries for 32 KC-390s, comprising six for Argentina, six for Chile, 12 for Colombia, two for the Czech Republic and six for Portugal.
Arab Nations Increase Tempo of ISIL Ops
Above: UAEAF&AD F-16E 3057 arrives in Jordan on February 8 to take part in operations against ISIL. Unlike this example, some of the other UAE F-16s arriving alongside it had their nationality markings scrubbed out. RJAF
ROYAL JORDANIAN Air Force (RJAF) F-16A/Bs have dramatically increased missions against ISIL in Syria in response to the murder of its captured pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who had been shot down in Syria on December 24. RJAF commander Major General Mansour Salem Jabour revealed at a media briefing on February 8 that RJAF F-16s had struck 56 ISIL targets over the previous three days. He said 19 ISIL targets were hit on February 5, including training camps and logistics centres. A further 18 targets, including ammunition and fuel depots and logistics centres, were hit the following day along with 19 more targets, including barracks and residential centres on February 7. The commander stated that 20% of ISIL’s combat capability
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had been destroyed since the beginning of the coalition air campaign. A total of 5,500 sorties have been undertaken, of which 946 were by RJAF aircraft, with more than 2,000 reconnaissance sorties. A squadron of F-16E/Fs from the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence arrived in Jordan on February 8 for operations against ISIL. The deployment was accompanied by a full complement of pilots and technicians and support by a UAEAF&AD A330 MRTT and Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. The UAE had temporarily suspended its air strikes after ISIL released a video showing the captured RJAF pilot being burned to death, leading to fears for UAEAF&AD pilots. After reassurances from the US, which
moved HH-60G Pave Hawks to Erbil in northern Iraq to improve its ability to rescue downed pilots, the UAE resumed air strikes. Pentagon spokesman US Army General Steve Warren said on February 6 that US Air Force F-22 Raptors and F-16s are now part of the standard strike package involved in anti-ISIL operations in Iraq and Syria. Both types are operating from the RJAF F-16 base at Azraq-Shaheed Muwaffaq Al-Salti and being used to escort the RJAF aircraft on missions. Warren said that, as of February 5, coalition aircraft had conducted 2,294 air strikes as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, comprising 1,259 in Iraq and 1,035 in Syria. US forces undertook 1,856 of the strikes, with coalition aircraft flying the other 438.
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NEWS
UNITED KINGDOM New RAF Typhoon Support Contract BAE SYSTEMS has been awarded a £112m order by the Ministry of Defence to extend the Typhoon Availability Service (TAS) for in-service support of the RAF’s Typhoon fleet by 15 months. The contract extension, announced on January 20, means the company will continue to work with the RAF in meeting the Typhoon’s operational requirements until early 2016, and will help sustain around 650 jobs for BAE Systems’ personnel at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. BAE Systems is responsible for delivering Typhoon aircrew and ground crew training, maintenance of the aircraft, provision of technical support and management of spares, repairs and logistics. The company says its TAS contract work has extended the time between maintenance intervals from 400 to 500 hours through increased efficiencies and continued improvement in aircraft performance, adding: “This initiative followed a detailed analysis to ensure changes could be implemented without compromising safety. The result generated a saving of more than £100 million and has increased availability of the jets to the RAF.”
UK F-35B Arrives at MCAS Beaufort MARINE CORPS Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, has welcomed its first international F-35B Lightning II. One of three UK F-35Bs currently flying, it arrived on February 3 to join Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’. The aircraft – flown from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, by RAF pilot Hugh Nichols, the UK’s
senior national representative – was the last F-35B delivered to Beaufort from Eglin. Lieutenant Commander Beth Kitchen, the UK senior engineering officer at VMFAT-501, is responsible for ensuring it is maintained and the UK is able to develop its own engineering maintenance and air competency to operate the aircraft independently. “The fact that we can operate
from VMFAT-501 for the next couple years means we’ll be ahead of the game when it comes to developing our own capabilities back on UK soil come 2018,” said Lt Cdr Kitchen. Of the UK’s other two F-35Bs, one remains at Eglin AFB and the other is currently at Edwards AFB, California, for testing. See also On Your Marks. Get Set. Go? on p66-73 for more on the JSF.
Below: The first international F-35 at MCAS Beaufort, ZM137 (BK-03), one of three UK F-35Bs, arrives at the base on February 3 to join VMFAT-501 ‘Warlords’. USMC/Pfc Samantha Torres
Eleventh Voyager Delivered to AirTanker
Above: The latest Voyager for AirTanker after being delivered to RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire on February 5. The underwing refuelling pods, along with other military equipment, will be removed over the next three months as part of the jet’s conversion to civilian configuration for Thomas Cook Airlines. AirTanker
AIRTANKER has taken delivery of its latest Voyager multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The aircraft, ‘MRTT026’/EC-330 (c/n 1555, ex F-WWYI, EC-336, allocated ZZ341), callsign ‘CASA326’, arrived on February 5 after a flight from Getafe, Spain.
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The Voyager, the 11th for the AirTanker fleet under the RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme, will be the first to be commercially available as part of the ‘surge’ fleet, which can be leased out when not required by the RAF. It will now begin a three-
month in-house conversion by AirTanker during which all military modifications will be removed to restore it as a commercial A330-243, in a 320-seat configuration with a seat-back IFE system. The aircraft will be registered to AirTanker as G-VYGK prior to scheduled
operation in support of Thomas Cook Airline’s UK long-haul programme from May this year. Under a 2008 contract with the MOD, AirTanker is supplying 14 Voyagersto the RAF. Nine will form the core fleet, dedicated to RAF operations, and the other five the surge capacity.
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Falklands SAR and Support Contract for AAR THE MINISTRY of Defence has given a contract to AAR’s Airlift division for search and rescue (SAR) and support helicopter services in the Falkland Islands. Announced by the US company on January 19, the ten-year deal is valued at around $275m. AAR Airlift, together with British International Helicopters (BIH) and Air Rescue Systems (ARS), will provide the combined SAR and support helicopter service to British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) operations. The programme will include AgustaWestland AW-189 SAR and Sikorsky S-61 support helicopters, flight operations, maintenance, logistics and facilities support at the Mount Pleasant Complex in the Falkland Islands and surrounding maritime region. The mission includes all-weather SAR, helicopter emergency medical services, rescue hoist operations, passenger and cargo transfers and use of night-vision imaging systems. Readiness states will vary from 15 minutes’ to 60 minutes’ response and require a round-the-clock alert posture 365 days a year. The contract will begin in April 2016. The new SAR service will use two AW189s to replace the two Sea King HAR3s of the RAF’s 1564 Flight currently undertaking the duty from the Mount Pleasant Complex, which will continue to provide SAR cover until the new operation is fully up and running. BIH already carries out the support helicopter task from Mount Pleasant under contract to the MOD, using two Sikorsky S-61Ns, and will continue with the service as a sub-contractor to AAR under the new contract – also using two S-61Ns, which will be upgraded with new rotor blades.
Flying Squadrons Return to RAF Wittering
Above: Tutor T1 G-BYWX arriving at RAF Wittering on February 4 – one of six from Cambridge University Air Squadron, the University of London Air Squadron and No 5 Air Experience Flight which flew in from RAF Wyton. MoD Crown Copyright/RAF Wittering
THE ARRIVAL OF six Tutor T1s at RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, on February 4, marked the base’s return to full-time flying operations. Five aircraft – G-BYVE, G-BYVI, G-BYVP, G-BYWH and G-BYWX – arrived early that afternoon, followed later by the sixth, G-BYUU. The Tutors were towed into the historic Gaydon hangar, which housed Victor B2 bombers during the 1950s and 1960s. It has been extensively refitted for the Tutors, which will eventually total around 25 when the last arrive in June. The aircraft, which flew in from their previous base at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, are operated by Cambridge University Air Squadron, the University of London Air Squadron and
No 5 Air Experience Flight for elementary flying training. The planned closure of RAF Wyton led to the move to Wittering, which has been without flying units since retirement of the Harrier in December 2010. Meanwhile, as part of overall rationalisation, East Midlands UAS and No 115 (Reserve) Squadron, both flying the Tutor, will also move to Wittering from their current base at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, by mid-2015. Approriately for the ex-Harrier base, Squadron Leader Ben Plank, an ex-Harrier pilot and now commanding officer of the University of London Air Squadron, was one of the first pilots to land at his unit’s new home.
Wittering’s new Officer in Charge of Flying, Commander Neil Bing, also comes from a similar background, being a Royal Navy pilot with two decades’ experience on Harriers and Sea Harriers. The station’s preparations for the Tutors started with reactivating the airfield and air traffic control, the installation of radar, and construction of two new buildings for the incoming squadrons. The airfield was formally reactivated on April 14, 2014 when three of Wyton’s Tutors flew in for a preview of their future home (see Changes in RAF Tutor Fleet Moving Ahead, June 2014, p7). Within the next 12 months, the Tutors will be fully integrated into the station and undertake normal flying operations.
Last USAF MC-130H Leaves Mildenhall
News Brief
Above: Airmen from the 352nd Special Operations Group and the 100th Air Refueling Wing line Delta Row taxiway on January 8 for a salute as the last Lockheed MC-130H Combat Talon II leaves Mildenhall for Hurlburt Field, Florida. The aircraft, 88-0195, was the last of its kind to leave the European theatre. US Air Force/Senior Airman Laura Yahemiak
THREE RAF BAE 125 CC3s (ZD620, ZD703 and ZE395) were put up for tender by the UK MOD on February 9. The type, which was operated by 32 (The Royal) Squadron at RAF Northolt, is to be withdrawn from service on March 31.
USAF SPECIAL Operations Command Europe has completed transition from the MC-130H Combat Talon II to the CV-22B Osprey. The final step was marked by the departure of MC-130H 88-0195 from RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on January 8. This was
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the last of the type with the 352nd Special Operations Group/7th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) ‘Air Commandos’, which now only flies the CV-22B. The MC-130H was flown to Hurlburt Field, Florida, where it will join the 15th SOS ‘Global Eagles’.
The 7th SOS MC-130Hs had been resident at Mildenhall since February 17, 1995, when it moved from RAF Alconbury, Cambridgeshire. The unit began transition to the Osprey when the first two arrived at Mildenhall on June 24, 2013.
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NEWS
CONTINENTAL EUROPE
Final Italian Police AW139 Delivered DELIVERY OF the Italian Polizia di Stato’s (State Police’s) AW139 intermediate twin helicopters was completed at the end of last year, AgustaWestland announced on February 5. Eight aircraft were supplied over an 18-month period up to December and are now in service at five different bases in central and southern Italy. Three are at Pratica di Mare, close to Rome, with 1° Reparto Volo (Flight Department), two in Reggio Calabria with 5° RV and one each in Bari/Palese Macchi (9° RV), Palermo/Boccadifalco (4° RV) and Fenosu-Oristano (7° RV). Designated the UH-139C, the Italian Police’s AW139 configuration includes a highdefinition latest generation FLIR, satellite communication system, searchlight, rescue hoist, cabin mission console and a high-definition video down link. Close co-operation between the customer and the company led to the development of a dedicated mission configuration and a comprehensive range of support and training services. More than 1,500 flight hours have been logged by the fleet so far and training has been provided to about 50 aircrew and 70 maintenance technicians. Replacement of old helicopter models with AW139s, partially funded by the European Union Frontex programme, supports fleet modernisation by the Italian Police and will increase security in the communities they serve. A total of 31 AW139s have been
The first of the Italian Police UH-139Cs, MM81817 ‘PS-110’ (c/n 31505), during a pre-delivery test flight. AgustaWestland
ordered by Italian government operators, covering a wide range of public utility roles including law enforcement and homeland security, patrol, special operations, search and rescue, command and control, government/VVIP transport, disaster relief and training. The AW139 has been selected by and is in service with the Italian Coast Guard, Guardia di Finanza (Customs and Border Protection) and the Italian Air Force. The various Italian Government agencies operating the AW139 are able to benefit from shared logistics, training and support systems.
In excess of 800 orders have been placed to date for the AW139 by more than 220 customers from over 60 nations. A total of 700-plus units are in service. These are for a wide range of roles including EMS/SAR, maritime patrol, law enforcement, fire-fighting, offshore transport, executive/private transport and other government duties. A growing number of law enforcement and border security agencies have selected and operate the AW139 in many other countries, including Brazil, Chile, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Oman, the UAE and the USA.
Turkish Aerospace Flies Anka Block B UAV TURKISH AEROSPACE Industries (TAI) has successfully completed the maiden flight of its Anka Block B newgeneration, high-performance, unmanned air vehicle. The flight on January 30 included automatic take-off and landing, plus testing of various different autopilot and landing modes. Anka was developed for the Turkish Armed Forces and the initial version was the Block A, which carries an electro-optical/ infra-red sensor payload. The first of six prototypes in Block A configuration made its maiden flight on December 30, 2010. The new Block B variant adds a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), inverse SAR and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capability.
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Above: TAI’s Anka Block B UAV during its maiden flight on January 30. TAI
It has a 30,000ft (9,145m) service ceiling and 24-hour endurance. Turkey’s arms procurement agency, the Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi (SSM – Undersecretariat for Defence Industries), signed an acquisition contract which covered the
purchase of ten Anka Block Bs on October 25, 2013. Under the contract between the SSM and TAI, the first Anka Block B is scheduled to be delivered to the Turkish Air Force in 2016. All ten are expected to be in service by 2018.
US State Dept Approves Reaper Sale to Netherlands US STATE department approval has been granted for the sale of four General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 UAVs to the Government of the Netherlands. The US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the planned sale on February 6. The deal will be worth an estimated $339 million, including associated equipment, parts and logistical support. It will include four Block 30 mobile ground stations (with an optional Block 50 upgrade) and two spare Honeywell TPE331-10T engines. Equipment will include four General Atomics Lynx (exportable) synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indicator systems with maritime wide area search capability. Six AN/DAS-1 multi-spectral targeting systems, two SATCOM earth terminal sub-systems and various other items of equipment will also be included. An initial spares package will support 3,400 flight hours over a three-year period. Plans for the acquisition had first been announced by the Dutch Minister of Defence on November 21, 2013.
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Dutch to Order Seventh French A400M Maiden Flight Eight F-35As AN INITIAL batch of eight operational F-35A Lightning IIs are being ordered for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). The contract is due to be signed by the Dutch Ministry of Defence on March 26 at a meeting of the JSF Executive Steering Board. Making the announcement in a written statement to the Dutch Lower House on December 15, Dutch Defence Minister, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said the aircraft would be delivered in 2019. Six will go to the F-35 Pilot Training Centre at Luke AFB, Arizona. The two test aircraft that are now at Edwards AFB, California, for the Operational Test and Evaluation phase will also go to Luke after completion of OT&E. After completion of the transition from F-16 to F-35 in 2023, five aircraft will remain in the USA; four for training and one for flight testing. This will leave 32 of the 37 currently planned for the RNLAF in the Netherlands. The MoD intends to have the first six, to be stationed at Luke, assembled at Forth Worth, Texas. Remaining aircraft, to be stationed at Leeuwarden AB and Volkel AB, are to be assembled by the final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base, Italy. Engine maintenance of the Italian F-35s will be conducted in the Netherlands. Leeuwarden will start preparing infrastructure for the aircraft in 2016 and the first pilots and maintenance personnel will start F-35 training at the end of 2018. The first two F-35s will arrive in the Netherlands in 2019. Initial operational capability (IOC) will be attained in the fourth quarter of 2021. IOC is defined as four F-35s with personnel and support being available to be deployed for a period of three to four months. Volkel will start preparing its infrastructure in 2019. The remaining F-35s will arrive there from the end of 2021. The RNLAF expects full operational capability in 2024. They will have one operational squadron at Leeuwarden and two at Volkel. For the RNLAF, 29 combat ready pilots will perform the annual training programme of 180 hours. Five will be permanently available for operational deployments. Gert Kromhout
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Above: The seventh A400M Atlas for the Armée de l’Air (French Air Force), 0019/A4M019 (c/n 0019), taking off for its first flight on January 24 at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain. This was the first A400M maiden flight of 2015. Airbus Defence and Space
MQ-9 Joint Training Unit USERS OF the MQ-9 Reaper may establish a joint training unit. The MQ-9 Users Group, comprising Britain, France, Italy and the USA, met for the first time on January 29 in France to discuss sharing of knowledge, enhancing interoperability and reducing costs. The Italian Air Force said last year it was considering a new in-house training school for UAV pilots to reduce the need to send them to the US for training. Non-Italians may also be trained. Italy is the only European country that flies them at home. Increasing demands for UAV missions overseas and in Italy (the Italian police will use Reapers for crowd-control) created a need to amplify training operations. The UK, France and the Netherlands all train in the USA. The Reaper is not cleared for flight in UK airspace. The Royal Netherlands Air Force will have its four MQ-9s operational by
the end of 2016 at Leeuwarden and they will join the users group. The RNLAF expects clearance to fly them in the Netherlands in the future. The users group will share lessons on ISRmissions. Armed operations are excluded from the agenda. Britain and the US are the only two nations flying armed versions. Italy would like to arm its machines but so far has failed to get approval from the US government. France has deployed two Reapers to Niamey in Niger for Operation Barkhane against Islamic State rebels in Mali. France will order three more this year and add one to the Niamey detachment in March. The UK withdrew its Reaper fleet from Afghanistan last year and has now deployed them to Kuwait for Operation Shader, flying them against ISIS in Iraq. Italy has withdrawn them from Afghan operations. Gert Kromhout
Terma MASE Pods For Dutch NH90s TERMA HAS been contracted by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) to integrate its Modular Aircraft Survivability (MASE) Pod on to the RNLAF NH-90 helicopters. Announcing the deal on January 27, the company said the RNLAF CH-47s Chinooks, AS532 Cougars and AH-64D Apaches are also equipped with similar Terma self-defence systems. The MASE Pod includes the latest version of the Terma-developed and manufactured ALQ-213 electronic warfare management system, together with missile warning sensors and chaff/ flare dispenser modules. The modular design allows for future integration of new sensors and requirements. Gert Kromhout
UN Boeing 767 at Madrid on Trooping Flights
Above: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-3BGER ET-ALH, in white United Nations colours, taxiing out from Madrid Airport, Spain, on January 22 after a fuel stop while returning troops from the Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH – UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti) mission in Haiti. The aircraft had made several flights into Madrid on similar missions in the previous few days. The aircraft has been flying on UN operations for several years. José Ramón
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CONTINENTAL EUROPE
Dutch F-35As Arrive at Edwards AFB TWO ROYAL Netherlands Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters have been flown to Edwards Air Force Base, California, to begin the operational test and evaluation (OT&E) phase of the type’s introduction to RNLAF service. The aircraft, F-001 and F-002, made the five-hour ferry flight from Eglin AFB, Florida, to Edwards on January 16. The RNLAF formed 323 Squadron on November 4 at Eglin for OT&E with the F-35A, and the unit has now transferred to Edwards with the RNLAF’s first two aircraft. The 323 Squadron Detachment Commander is Colonel Bert de Smit. The first RNLAF F-35As are expected to arrive in the Netherlands in 2019. Right: RNLAF F-35A Lightning IIs F-001 and F-002, both now wearing an ‘OT’ tail code, arrive over Edwards AFB, California, on January 16. Dutch MoD
Croatian Air Force Offers 15 Aircraft For Sale CROATIA’S state-owned Agencija Alan defence import and export organisation has invited tenders for 15 Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzracˇna Obrana (HRZ i PZO – Croatian Air Force and Air Defence) aircraft and helicopters: six Pilatus PC-9/9Ms, seven Mi-24V Hind helicopters and two Antonov An-32Bs. The agency announced the sale on January 7, stipulating a letter of intent had to be submitted within 21 days. A refundable bidding fee/deposit of 15,000 euros was then required prior to viewing the aircraft, after which bids had to be submitted within 14 days. The six Pilatus training aircraft on offer include PC-9s 051 (c/n
107), 052 (c/n 183) and 053 (c/n 185), which were withdrawn from service in 2006 and are currently in storage at Zadar-Zemunik. The other three are PC-9Ms 058 (c/n 621), 060 (c/n 623) and 065 (c/n 628), all active at Zadar until late last year. This will leave the HRZ I PZO with 14 PC-9Ms still operational. The An-32Bs, the only two of the type in the HRZ i PZO inventory, are 707 (c/n 3310) and 727 (c/n 2810), which were withdrawn from use as they became due for major overhauls. The first was grounded in August 2012 and the second retired by August 2013. The Mi-24Vs are H-303 (c/n 353242411763), H-304 (c/n
3532422912747), H-305 (c/n 353242810857), H-306 (c/n 3532424810871), H-307 (c/n 3532424808779), H-308 (c/n unknown) and H-310 (c/n unknown) – all of which have been out of service for at least a decade and are in storage at Zagreb-Pleso and ZTZ Velika Gorica. No other Hinds remain in HRZ i PVO service. Previous attempts to sell the helicopters have been unsuccessful. The highest bidders will be selected subject to the price not being below market value and all will be notified of the results within 60 days of the deadline, following which a contract must be signed within 15 days.
Above: Croatian Air Force and Air Defence Pilatus PC-9M 065 comes in to land at Zadar-Zemunik Air Base on August 5, 2005 – the aircraft is one of three PC-9Ms and three PC-9s now being offered for sale. AFM-Alan Warnes
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RNLAF Disbands 303 Squadron THE ROYAL Netherlands Air Force’s 303 Squadron, based at Leeuwarden, has been disbanded. The search and rescue (SAR) unit was formally stood down on January 15 following the retirement of its three Agusta-Bell 412SPs on January 1 (see RNLAF AB412SPs Retired, February, p10). Disposal of the trio was confirmed by Dutch defence minister Jeanine HennisPlasschaert on January 19 when she announced an agreement had been reached with Peru for their purchase. The contract, expected to have been signed by the start of February, will include a package of spare parts, test equipment and special tools. The helicopters, R-01 (c/n 25630), R-02 (c/n 25638) and R-03 (c/n 25641), will be used by Peru’s Aviación Naval for vertical replenishment of the Peruvian Navy fleet as well as for humanitarian aid operations. They are expected to form the air component of Peru’s new logistic support ship BAP Tacna (ARL 158), the former Royal Netherlands Navy’s HNLMS Amsterdam (A836), which was decommissioned on December 4 for transfer to Peruvian ownership.
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Swiss AF F-5Es Spanish Tiger HAD-Es and NH90 Delivered Grounded TEMPORARY FLIGHT restrictions have been placed on Swiss Air Force single-seat Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs after an airframe crack was found in one during a routine inspection. Further examination revealed an even more serious crack in the same part of the aircraft’s structure. The problems were revealed by the Swiss Air Force on January 12. After a joint risk analysis by defence procurement agency armasuisse and defence company RUAG, the Swiss Air Force grounded all 30 F-5Es operational at the time for inspection before progressively returning them to flight after repairs. The process took around two weeks per aircraft. As of January 12, there were still 13 grounded aircraft awaiting inspection, but they are all expected to be returned to service by the second quarter of this year. The exact nature of the problem was not revealed, but the Swiss say it does not affect the two-seat F-5F variant. Eighteen other Swiss F-5Es and F-5Fs are in storage.
Above: One of the first two Tiger HAD-Es and the first NH90 GSPA for the Spanish Army’s FAMET during flight testing on November 10, 2014. Airbus Helicopters/La Mancha/Luis Vizcaino
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has completed delivery of the first two Tiger HAD-E helicopters and the first NH90 GSPA tactical transport helicopter for the Spanish Army Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (FAMET – Army Airmobile Force). The manufacturer announced their handover on December 18. All three were assembled at the company’s Spanish plant in Albacete, before airworthiness certification and technical acceptance. The NH90 is intended to meet the operational needs
of the three branches of the Spanish armed forces through a common platform in a bid to improve effectiveness and streamline operating expenses. Airbus Helicopters España will supply 22 NH90 helicopters to the Spanish armed forces, with final deliveries due in 2021. The plant is responsible for assembly of all Spanish NH90s, along with manufacture of the front fuselage sections for these and others destined for export. The HAD-E version of the Tiger has many advantages over the HAP-E model currently in service,
French Navy's 13th NH90 Caiman Delivered AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has delivered the 13th NH90 Caïman for France’s Aéronautique Navale (Naval Air Arm). It was accepted on December 12 by Escadrille de Servitude 10S of the Centre d’Expérimentations Pratiques de l’Aeronautique (CEPA - Practical
Aerospace Experimental Centre) and flown to Hyères. It will eventually join the fleet of Flottille 31F to support the training of crews for operational detachments on air defence frigates. The last Aéronavale NH90
delivery was on October 23 when the 12th of these helicopters arrived at Lanvéoc-Poulmic (see Delivery of 12th French Navy NH90 Caiman, December, p12). The French Navy is scheduled to take delivery of a total of 24 Caïmans by 2019.
The 13th French Navy NH90 Caïman was handed over on December 12 to CEPA/10S and flown to Hyères. Marine Nationale
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including a new MTR390-E turboshaft with 14% more power, an improved optronic vision system, Spike air-to-ground missiles, an identification friend or foe (IFF) system coupled with an interrogator and a new electronic warfare and countermeasures system. The Spanish Army has ordered a total of 24 HAD-Es. Meanwhile six HAP-E Tigers delivered to the FAMET were successfully deployed in Afghanistan during 2013, representing an important milestone for the helicopter.
Sixth French Air Force A400M Delivered FRANCE’S SIXTH A400M military transport aircraft, 014/F-RBAF (c/n 0014), was formally handed over to the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) on December 12. It was subsequently flown from the factory at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, to Base Aérienne 123 Orléans-Bricy on December 18. It joined the Armée de l’Air’s (French Air Force’s) Escadron de Transport 1/61 ‘Touraine’, which operates the five A400Ms that have already delivered. The latest aircraft is in the same equipment configuration as the previous three, which were delivered over the summer. Prior to this, the most recent delivery, the fifth aircraft, 0012/F-RBAE (c/n 012), had arrived at Orléans on September 9 (see Fifth French AF A400M Delivered to Orleans, November, p12).
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NEWS
NORTH AMERICA US FY16 Defence Budget Request DETAILS OF the US Fiscal Year 2016 baseline defence budget request have now been released. Unveiled on February 2, when the request was delivered to Congress, the $534 billion budget breaks the Congressionally-mandated sequestration cap on defence
spending of $499 billion for FY16. This means that Congress will have to determine whether to lift the cap or reduce the Pentagon’s budget. In addition to the baseline request, a further $51 billion is being sought for overseas contingency operations funding, to cover the drawdown
Above: US Air Force F-35A Lightning II 12-5053 ‘WA’/‘57 WG’ (AF-64) takes off for its first flight at Fort Worth, Texas, on January 20, 2015. This was the first maiden flight of an F-35 this year. The aircraft will be delivered later this year as the flagship of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It will be flown by the USAF Weapons School’s 16th Weapons Squadron ‘Tomahawks’. The FY16 defence budget is seeking funding for 44 F-35As for the USAF. Lockheed Martin/ Carl Richards
in Afghanistan, plusoperations in Iraq and elsewhere. As one of the top three USAF modernisation priorities, the future long- range strike bomber programme is allocated $2 billion for its continued development. A Boeing-Northrop Grumman team and Lockheed Martin are competing for the requirement and a decision on the preferred option is expected around mid-year. The other two USAF priority programmes, the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, are also supported in the FY16 request. It is planned to purchase 12 KC-46As, while the USAF is also seeking 44 F-45As. The total FY16 JSF request is for 57 aircraft, including nine F-35Bs and four F-35Cs in the US Navy budget. Once again, the USAF is attempting to divest itself of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the new budget seeking to retire the type completely by 2019, with an initial 164 being mothballed in FY16. This was first proposed two years ago, but since then there have been continual political arguments for and against the move. Previous arguments about the relative merits of retaining either the U-2 or MQ-4 Global Hawk
have reached a compromise in the FY16 budget, with both being funded for now. Financing for Global Hawk Block 30 sensor upgrades will keep the type in service beyond 2023, although the U-2 will finally be retired in FY19. US Army funding includes provision for the previously announced restructuring that will see the transfer of Reserve AH-64 Apaches to active-duty units, while UH-60 Black Hawks will go in the reverse direction to replace them. Funding is also requested for 94 UH-60Ms, 64 AH-64E Apache Guardians and 39 CH-47F Chinooks for the Army. For the US Navy, major funding is requested for purchase of 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidons, along with 29 MH-60Rs, 28 AH-1Z/ UH-1Ys, 19 MV-22B Ospreys, nine F-35Bs and four F-35Cs. Amongst the procurement plans further into the future are the first two CH-53K King Stallions for the USMC in FY17, followed by four in FY18, seven in FY19 and 13 in FY20. Future MV-22B Osprey acquisitions include 18 in FY17 for the USMC, followed by eight in each of FYs18-20, all 24 of these being the first for the US Navy. The first six Presidential VH-92As, to be operated by the USMC, are planned to be funded in FY19, followed by a further six in FY20.
FY16 Budget Request by service (with previous two years for comparison) US AIR FORCE
US ARMY NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES
Type
FY2014 FY2015 FY2016
F-35A
19
KC-46A
-
CH-47F
7 (NG)
28
44
UH-60M*
31 (NG) 31 (NG) 15 (NG)
6 (Res)
7
12
6 (Res) UH-60A and L**
-
UH-72A
10 (NG) -
-
-
40 (NG)
C-130J-30
6
6 (+1)
14
AC-130J
5
-
-
HC-130J
1
4
5
MC-130J
4
2
8
Note: *Future UH-60M allocations for the National Guard are 13 in FY17, 30 in FY18, 12 in FY19 and 30 in FY20. **Future UH-60A and L allocations for the National Guard are 40 in FY17, 42 in FY18, 17 in FY19 and 17 in FY20
MQ-9A
20
24
29
US NAVY
CV-22B
4
-
-
KC-130J (USMC)
1
1
2
Civil Air Patrol
6
20
6
E-2D
5
5
5
Target Drones
41
37
75
EA-18G
21
15
-
Notes: Figures in parenthesis are aircraft procured with funding from the Overseas Contingency Operations budget
F/A-18E/F
-
-
-
US ARMY
F-35B
6
6
9
F-35C
4
4
4 29
-
AH-64 Block IIIA (remanufactured)
42
29 (+6)
64
MH-60R
19
29
AH-64 Block IIIA (new)
4
-
-
MH-60S
18
8
-
CH-47F
39
32
39
MQ-4C
-
-
3
OH-58D (war replacement aircraft)
9
-
-
MQ-8C
2
2 (+3)
2
UH-60M
70
86 (+1)
94
MV-22B
19
19
19
UH-60A and L
-
-
40
P-8A
16
9
16
UH-72A
37
55
28
T-6B
29
-
-
Aerial Common Sensor
4
8 (+2)
0 (+5)
UH-1Y/AH-1Z
22
27 (+1)
28
Fixed-Wing Utility
2
1
-
RQ-21A
-
0 (+3)
0 (+3)
MQ-1 Predator
15
19
17 (+2)
Other Support Aircraft
1
-
-
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NORTH AMERICA
B-52H Weapons Upgrade Progresses
Above: A Conventional Rotary Launcher is prepared for installation on US Air Force/419th Flight Test Squadron B-52H Stratofortess 60-0050 ‘ED’/‘Dragon’s Inferno’ at Edwards AFB, California, on December 17 of last year. USAF/Bobbi Zapka
US AIR Force officials have provided an update on the smart weapons capacity upgrade of the veteran Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber fleet. A January 15 press release confirmed that a new Conventional Rotary Launcher (CRL) was installed in the bomb bay of 412nd Test Wing/419th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) B-52H 60-0050 ‘ED’/‘Dragon’s Inferno’ on December 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Personnel from the 419th FLTS, the Global Power Combined Test Force and Boeing carried
out the work. “The upgrade modifies the internal weapons bay of the B-52H bomber by integrating a CRL that has the capability of carrying Military Standard 1760 smart weapons,” said Jeff Lupton, Boeing 1760 programme manager. Global Strike Command had announced on September 23, 2013, plans to significantly increase the weapons payload on the type by enabling smart weapons to be carried in the bomb bay for the first time, rather than only on the external weapons pylons. This Internal
Weapons Bay Upgrade (IWBU) frees up capacity on the wing stations for additional arms. Alternatively, it allows the aircraft to fly with a clean wing, carrying all its ordnance internally, which increases range and loiter time. Since the programme was launched, teams from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Boeing and now Edwards have partnered to begin developmental testing on this upgrade. The first increment of the upgrade allows carriage of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which were previously only carried
externally. Increment 1.2 will add software to enable the aircraft to carry Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) and JASSM-Extended Range, plus Miniature Air Launched Decoys (MALD) and MALD-Jammers. All B-52Hs will be modified with the unique capability once the upgrade is complete, which is expected by October 2017. There are several stages of testing included with the hardware and software modifications and approximately ten test flights to verify the capability, including live weapon releases. Up to eight JDAMs on the internal CRL, in addition to the 12 it currently carries on exterior weapons pylons, will feature in the modification. The MIL STD 1760 IWBU is based on rewiring the existing B-52 launcher in the bomb bay with a digital interface to the new CRL, which allows the B-52 to communicate with the newest weapons in the USAF’s arsenal. A $24.6 million contract, announced by Boeing on November 6, 2013, covered development and production of three prototype modifications for test and evaluation. A budget request includes $5.12 million for low-rate initial production of another six units. Initial capability is anticipated by March 2016 and when all six CRLs have been installed and tested, a new contract will be awarded to procure kits to upgrade an additional 38 aircraft.
NASA Receives Coast Guard Hercules AN HC-130H was added to the inventory of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia, on December 10. Formerly operated by the US Coast Guard as serial number 1717, the Hercules has been assigned the civil registration N436NA. The aircraft was previously updated as the validation/verification aircraft for the Coast Guard’s now cancelled Avionic 1 Upgrade (A1U) project. The project’s January 2014 cancellation left the Coast Guard with a ‘one-off’ aircraft that could not be supported by its logistics system, so it made the Hercules available for transfer to other federal agencies. The Coast Guard originally planned to update as many as 16 HC-130Hs with new avionics, but
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scaled numbers back to 11 before cancelling the effort. NASA, which has extensive experience
operating unique airframes, plans to use the aircraft for airborne scientific research activities and
Above: HC-130H N426NA (c/n 5104) was originally delivered to the US Coast Guard as tail number 1717 in November 1987. Prior to being upgraded in support of the Avionic 1 Upgrade (A1U) project it was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. NASA via Tom Kaminski
range surveillance from this autumn. The Hercules will initially support NASA’s Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America project to locate the sources of regional carbon dioxide, methane and other gases, and document how weather systems transport the gases throughout the atmosphere. NASA Langley’s UC-12B will support the greenhouse gas sources project, which will be conducted in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State University in University Park. The US Coast Guard also plans to dispose of HC-130H serial number 1504, which had served as the prototype for the A1U programme. Tom Kaminski
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Last Production Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs Await Buyers Unsold Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs C/n
USAF serial
Civil Registration
Registration date
50271
14-0002
N271ZD
July 9, 2014
50272
14-0003
N272ZD
June 20, 2014
50273
14-0004
N273ZD
June 20, 2014
50274
14-0005
N274ZD
June 20, 2014
50275
14-0006
N275ZD
July 14, 2014
50276
14-0007
N276ZD
July 9, 2014
50277
14-0008
N277ZD
June 20, 2014
50278
14-0009
N278ZD
July 9, 2014
50279
14-0010
N279ZD
July 14, 2014
50280
14-0001
N270ZD
June 20, 2014
BOEING CURRENTLY has ten unsold C-17A Globemaster IIIs in various stages of assembly at its production facility in Long Beach, California. The first three, N270ZD (c/n 50280, USAF/ 14-0001), N271ZD (c/n 50271, USAF/14-0002) and N272ZD (c/n 50272, USAF/14-0003), have been completed and painted. Boeing spokeswoman Tiffany Pitts told AFM on January 21 that two of the ten have been sold to an unnamed customer (probably Algeria), while Canada signed a contract for one additional
aircraft on December 19 last year. Australia’s government also announced on October 2, 2014, that it will purchase two more aircraft and is considering a further two. Discussions with other prospective purchasers are confidential but Pitts said: “Potential C-17 customers will announce their intentions on their own timetable. Customer interest continues and we remain in close communication with them.” The ten ‘white tail’ C-17As have all been allocated US civil registrations.
Below: One of the unsold Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs, N272ZD (c/n 50272, USAF/14-0003), on the ramp at Long Beach, California on January 14. Barry Ambrose
Next Generation US Coast Guard Ocean Sentry Flies THE US Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) recently completed modifications to the first upgraded HC-144B Ocean Sentry at Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The aircraft made its first flight on October 30, 2014, since when the aircraft, 2307, has supported developmental test and evaluation (DT&E) of the Ocean Sentry Refresh (OSR) programme. This was carried out in Elizabeth City and at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (CGATC) in Mobile, Alabama. On completing DT&E testing, the first HC-144B was transferred to CGATC Mobile, where operational assessment will primarily be carried out. Additional trials will be conducted at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) William J Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Aviation Training Center Mobile, which serves as the HC-144 Prime Unit, will also develop pilot and crew syllabuses and assess the upgraded mission capabilities during the operational assessment utilizing the initial two aircraft.
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Intended to make the Ocean Sentry compatible with the Next Generation Air Transportation System, the modifications will also allow the HC-144B to comply with international and domestic Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements that make it compatible with the GPS-based ADS-B system. ADS-B periodically transmits the aircraft’s identification, position, altitude and velocity and provides an exact location within
National Air Space (NAS). The updated CNS/ATM equipment suite incorporates four new multi-function displays, control display units (CDU), a new digital autopilot and a processor. Integration was carried out by the ALC, assisted by Rockwell Collins and benefited from work carried out earlier as part of the C-130 Avionics 1 Upgrade programme. Work on a validation and verification (val/ver) aircraft began when HC-144A 2306 arrived on October 20 at the ALC .
The modifications associated with the val/ver aircraft are required to verify the process before full rate production is approved for the remainder of the fleet. Flight testing of the second HC-144B was expected to begin in February and work on the initial two aircraft was due to be completed in March. The OSR modifications will be installed on the remainder of the US Coast Guard's HC-144As over three years, at a rate of four aircraft annually. Tom Kaminski
Above: The prototype HC-144B undergoes pre-flight testing prior to its first test sortie at Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on October 21, 2014. USCG/LCDR Michael Calderone
#324 MARCH 2015 15
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NEWS
NORTH AMERICA Boeing 747-8 to be New Air Force One BOEING’S 747-8 airliner has been selected as the platform for the next US Presidential aircraft, commonly referred to as ‘Air Force One’. The decision, announced on January 28, was made by Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James in co-ordination with the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Frank Kendall. Ms James said: “The Boeing 747-8 is the only aircraft manufactured in the United States [that], when fully missionised, meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission, while reflecting the office of the president of the United States of America consistent with the national public interest.” Analysis of the capability requirements concluded that a four-engine widebody aircraft was required for the Air Force One mission, the candidates being the 747-8 and Airbus’ A380. The decision, made official through a Determinations and Findings document, authorises the commercial aircraft purchase by other than full and open competition. This decision, in conjunction with the notification of the US Air Force’s intent to award a sole source contract to Boeing for the modification of the 747-8, allows discussions with Boeing that should lead to a contract for the aircraft platform as well as the modifications necessary to missionise the aircraft. To keep costs down, the USAF is seeking competitive bids for sustainment of the aircraft throughout its planned 30-year life cycle. “The programme will use multiple strategies, such as the use of proven technologies and commercially certified equipment, to ensure the programme is as affordable as possible while still meeting mission requirements,” Ms James said. The new aircraft will replace the two Boeing VC-25As – heavily modified versions of the 747-200B) – which reach the end of their planned 30-year service life in 2017.
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Sikorsky S-97 Raider Begins Ground Runs SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT has begun ground testing its S-97A Raider armed reconnaissance helicopter. The company announced on February 4 that it was testing all of the aircraft’s systems together for the first time. The trials with the first of two prototypes, N971SK (c/n 0001), at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in West Palm
Beach, Florida, will initially be with the helicopter tied down. They will focus on verifying correct operation of the propulsion system, drive train, rotor control system and pilot-vehicle interface. This follows recent successful completion of software qualification, component fatigue and gearbox testing for
the first Raider prototype. In addition to ground runs for the first prototype, the programme team at West Palm Beach is preparing for final assembly of the second prototype Raider, following acceptance last month of the fuselage structure from Aurora Flight Sciences. Sikorsky had rolled out the first prototype on October 2, 2014.
Sikorsky S-97 Raider first prototype N971SK (c/n 0001) during its first ground runs at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 3. Sikorsky
Funding for More US Army Lot 5 AH-64E Apache Guardians THE US Army has awarded a new contract to Boeing for additional AH-64E Apache Guardian fullrate production Lot 5 helicopters. The $14.58m deal, which was awarded on January 22, is a modification to the original Lot 5 contract. The latter deal, awarded on April 24, 2014, funded advanced procurement
of long-lead items required for the Guardians’ manufacture. It also funds long-lead items for the extra helicopters – the numbers of which were not specified. Estimated contract completion date is March 20, 2015. The US Army has requested 64 more AH-64Es in FY16 - see p12.
USAF Order for 24 MQ-9A Reapers GENERAL ATOMICS Aeronautical Systems has secured a contract to produce 24 MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 UAVs for the US Air Force. The $279,144,933 deal, awarded on February 5, includes associated spare parts and support equipment. Work is expected to be completed by September 30, 2017.
USAF to Return Stored AMARG B-52H to Service
Above: Work under way at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on January 16 to prepare B-52H 61-0007 ‘MT’ for its flight to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, prior to return to service after six years in storage. USAF/309th AMARG/Teresa Pittman
IN A historic first, a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress is to return to service after six years in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Until now, the only B-52s to leave the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) facility at the base departed as scrap metal. A statement from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, on January 16 says the idea came about following a mishap at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, on January 28 last
year, which severely damaged a B-52H (see Attrition, p92-94). After extensive inspections and engineering analysis, B-52H 61-0007 ‘MT’/‘Ghost Rider’ was selected as the most suitable for return to service. It had previously been operated by the 5th Bomb Wing’s 23rd Bomb Squadron ‘Bomber Barons’ at Minot AFB, North Dakota, but was retired to AMARG on November 13, 2008. The aircraft was in Type 1000 storage, which meant it was in
‘near flyaway’ condition, and has fewer hours than others. After the B-52 arrives at Barksdale, 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group personnel will salvage modifications from the damaged aircraft and install them on 61-0007 while maintainers conduct routine inspections and repairs. Tinker will then accept the aircraft in late 2015 for a full programmed depot maintenance (PDM) before it rejoins the active fleet in the summer of 2016.
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10/02/2015 11:47
NEWS
NORTH AMERICA USAF Reactivates 81st FS to Train Afghan Pilots A HISTORIC US Air Force unit has formally been reactivated at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, to train Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft pilots for the Afghan Air Force (AAF) on the Embraer A-29B Super Tucano. At a ceremony at the base on January 15, Col John Nichols, the 14th Flying Training Wing’s CO, issued the reactivation order for the 81st Fighter Squadron ‘Panthers’ before passing the squadron guidon to Lt Col Jeffrey Hogan, who then officially assumed command of the unit. The squadron will comprise 20 A-29s for training 30 Afghan pilots and 90 maintainers at Moody until 2018. Eight of the ten Afghan students in the first training class at Moody earlier earned their wings through US Air Force pilot training. Once training is complete, all 20 aircraft will be provided to the AAF for air-to-ground and aerial reconnaissance missions. They will support Afghanistan’s counterinsurgency and airborne self-defence operations. The A-29s will replace the AAF’s Mi-35 attack helicopters, which are due to reach the end of their service lives in January 2016. The first A-29B for the 81st FS, 14-2001, was delivered to Moody on September 26, 2014 from Jacksonville, Florida, where the LAS examples are being assembled (see First Afghan Light Air support A-29B Arrives at Moody AFB, November, p30). The squadron then stood up on October 1, prior to its formal activation on January 15, a date of particular significance for the unit as it was first activated on that day in 1942, at Meridian-Key Field, Mississippi. It was reactivated again on the same date in 1973 at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, operating the A-10 Thunderbolt II – which it flew until being deactivated on June 18, 2013. The 81st FS is a geographically separate unit assigned to the 14th Operations Group and 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB, Mississippi.
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First Osprey for Marine ‘Purple Foxes’
Above: The first MV-22B Osprey for VMM-364 ‘Purple Foxes’ arrives at Camp Pendleton. USMC/Cpt Rick Hurtado
ANOTHER US Marine Corps unit has received its first MV-22B Osprey. It was delivered on January 15 to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 364 (VMM-364) ‘Purple Foxes’ at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California. The Osprey
was previously flown by VMM-166 ‘Sea Elks’ at MCAS Miramar, California, the first of the type based on the West Coast. It is the first for a Camp Pendleton unit. The squadron had previously flown the CH-46E Sea Knight as Marine Medium Helicopter
Arizona ANG F-16 in 75th Anniversary Colours
Above: US Air Force/Arizona Air National Guard F-16C 88-0417 from the 162nd Fighter Wing's 152nd Fighter Squadron 'Tigers' at its base at Tucson IAP, Arizona, on February 3. The aircraft wears special 'El Tigre' tail colours to mark the unit's 75th anniversary. It was formed on October 13, 1939. Dietmar Fenners
First F-35A For US Weapons School LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35A Lightning II 12-5049 ‘WA’/‘16 WPS’ (AF-60) is the latest addition to the US Air Force Weapons School (USAFWS) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The aircraft arrived at the base on January 15 direct from the factory in Fort Worth, Texas, becoming the first of the type with the school’s 16th Weapons Squadron ‘Tomahawks’, working in conjunction with the US Air Force Warfare Center and 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron. Col Adrian Spain, USAFWS commandant, said the Weapons School’s first F-35 will be used
for approximately a year to drive tactics development. The immediate goal is to create the curriculum for the first F-35 course. The first and subsequent USAFWS-assigned F-35s will operate at first under the umbrella of the 16th Weapons Squadron, the school’s F-16 squadron, said Lt Col David Epperson, 16th WPS commander. A second F-35A for the unit, 12-5051 ‘WA’/‘USAFWS’ (AF-62), also began flight-testing at Fort Worth in January. The first F-35A USAFWS student course is tentatively scheduled for January 2018.
Squadron 364 (HMM-364), but ended operations with the type last year. It was formally re-designated as VMM-364 in a ceremony on October 9, 2014 (see Last Operational CH-46E Squadron Transitions to MV-22B, December, p15).
New Contract Confirms E-11As will Remain in Afghanistan NORTHROP GRUMMAN Systems Corporation has won an additional contract to support operations of the US Air Force’s Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) Bombardier E-11A platform. The $50m deal, awarded on January 20, is a modification to a November 1, 2011, contract for similar work and exercises the option it included. The company will provide comprehensive tasks, personnel, facilities, aircraft subsystems and support equipment. Work will be carried out at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, and Wichita, Kansas, and is expected to be complete by January 23, 2016. There are four BACN E-11As in the USAF inventory (serials 11-9001, 11-9355, 11-9358 and 11-9506), all operated by the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron and based at Kandahar. Despite the recent end of US combat operations in Afghanistan, the new contract confirms the type will remain active in theatre for now.
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10/02/2015 11:47
NEWS
LATIN AMERICA Air Ambulance Cessna 550 and 208Bs for Argentine Army CESSNA AIRCRAFT is supplying Argentina’s Comando de Aviación de Ejército (Army Aviation Command) with three aircraft in air ambulance configuration. Under a $10.87 million US Foreign Military Sales contract awarded on January 26, the company will provide a used Cessna 550 Citation Bravo and two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EXs. All three aircraft will be modified for aeromedical evacuation. A two-year sustainment package, consisting of spares, tooling and support equipment, will be included for each aircraft. Pilot and maintenance crew training will also be provided for Argentine Army personnel. Work is expected to be complete by June 30, 2015.
Chilean Navy Seeks O-2A Replacement A TENDER has been opened to seek the purchase of seven twinengined aircraft to replace the Armada de Chile's Aviación Naval Cessna O-2A Skymaster fleet. The contest was launched with publication of the requirements in one of the country's national newspapers on Janaury 16. A budget of $4.4 million has been allocated for the purchase, for which bids are to be submitted by 1100hrs on March 27. The offers will be opened on April 1 and a preferred bidder selected on May 4. Delivery of the first two is required in 2016, followed by the remainder in 2017. The new aircraft are required for coastal search and rescue, patrol and maritime policing missions, as the Cessna O-2As currently in use are reaching the end of their service lives. They are operated by VC-1 at Base Aeronaval Concón-Viña del Mar. The O-2As are former USAF aircraft, built in 1968-9 and acquired second-hand by Chile in 1997. Options for their replacement has been under consideration for several years. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
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First Argentine Gendarmería Huey II
Above: The first of four Bell UH-1H Huey IIs for the Gendarmería Nacional Argentina awaiting delivery on January 26. APHA
AFTER YEARS of delay, the first Bell UH-1H Huey II for the Gendarmería Nacional Argentina (GNA, Argentine National Gendarmerie) is now ready for delivery. It is painted in Gendarmería colours and being prepared to join the Servicio de Aviación of the GNA. A tender for supply and local modification of two Huey IIs
had been issued by the GNA in 2009, with deliveries originally planned for the fourth quarter of 2011. By October that year, the contract had been increased to cover four helicopters, purchased in the US for $15 million. By that time the delivery schedule had already slipped and they were then expected
in the first quarter of 2012. Contractual issues saw the delivery date put back again to October 2012 and then May 2013. With these problems now resolved, the project is finally moving ahead. The eventual GNA requirement is reported to be for a total fleet of six to eight Huey IIs. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
Peruvian Army Inducts Citation XLS
Above: The new Peruvian Army Aviation Cessna 560 Citation Excel XLS EP-861at Lima-Callao. Peruvian Army
A NEW Cessna 560XLS has been acquired by the Aviación del Ejército Peruano (Peruvian Army Aviation). At a ceremony on December 31 it was formally inducted into service with the 1ra Brigada de Aviación del Ejército’s Battalón de Aviones 811, based at Lima-Callao, Jorge Chavez International Airport.
The aircraft, EP-861 (c/n 560-5679, ex N679CF), is a 2007-built model acquired in the US from Airparts of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It had amassed 1,305 flight hours before being acquired by Peru. The aircraft is configured for two pilots and nine passengers, and the cabin can also be adapted
Brazilian Air Force Tanker Replacement AFTER SOME delay, the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB - Brazialian Air Force), is now moving ahead with its KC-X2 tanker-transport programme. Under a deal agreed with IAI's Bedek division last year, the FAB is to acquire three Boeing 767-300ERs.
These are to be acquired second-hand on the commercial market and converted to tankers. However, the precise terms of the deal were never finalised and negotiations are now under way to complete the deal. The first aircraft will be converted
for medevac missions. It will reinforce the existing capacity of Battalón 811, which operates a very varied fleet including an Antonov An-28, three An-32Bs, a Beech 1900D, King Air B300, Cessna 208 Caravan I, Cessna T303 Crusader, PA-31T-620 Cheyenne II and a PA-34-220T Seneca III.
by Bedek, while the remaining two will be modified locally by TAP subsidiary Manutenção e Engenharia Brasil (Maintenance and Engineering Brazil). They will replace the FAB's now retired Boeing KC-137 tankers. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
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NEWS
LATIN AMERICA New Argentine AF COMINT/ ELINT Learjet A LEARJET 35A, acquired by the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA – Argentine Air Force) in July 2013, is being converted for the electronic intelligence (ELINT) role. The aircraft, VR-24 (c/n 35A-395, ex C-GVGH), will incorporate three work stations for communications intelligence (COMINT), ELINT and command and control. Equipment fit will include a Thales Systèmes Aéroportés Vigile 200 ELINT system. The external wingtip fuel tanks will be modified with an extension at the front to house additional ELINT sensors. The tail section will be modified to accommodate new antennas and receivers. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
New Honduran Air Force VVIP Bell 412EP
Above: New Fuerza Aérea Hondureña (FAH – Honduran Air Force) Bell 412EP FAH-980/N446BH was delivered during December and will operate as a Presidential VVIP helicopter. via Mario Theresin
AN ADDITION to the inventory of the Fuerza Aérea Hondureña (FAH – Honduran Air Force) is new production Bell 412EP FAH-980 (c/n 36672, ex N446BH, C-GAEP). The helicopter was cancelled from the US register on December 23 on transfer to
Honduras and will be used as a VVIP Presidential transport. The precise delivery date for the helicopter is unconfirmed, but it was still operating from Bell’s facility at Alliance Airport, Texas, up to around December 12. Additionally, two of the FAH’s
existing Bell 412SPs, FAH-971 and FAH-972, which had been stored for some time, have been shipped to Fort Worth, Texas, for refurbishment. On completion, they will join the five other Bell 412SPs still operational with the FAH.
Peru Orders Two More C-27J Spartans
One of the first two Peruvian Air Force C-27J Spartans, FAP-328, outside the factory at Turin-Caselle, Italy, on January 14. Alenia Aermacchi
A FURTHER two C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters have been ordered by the Peruvian defence ministry. Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi, which announced
the contract on January 15, said the deal, valued at around 100 million euros, was signed on December 31. Also included is an integrated logistics support
package and technical assistance. The aircraft will enter service with the Fuerza Aérea del Peru (FAP – Peruvian Air Force), which already has two on order under a December
2013 contract. These are now being prepared for delivery. The second pair will be delivered in 2016 and 2017. All four will be operated by Grupo Aéreo 8 at Lima-Callao.
Peruvian Army Resurrects A109K2s
Above: Peruvian Army Aviation Agusta A109K2s EP-344 (c/n 7503) and EP-346 (c/n 7505) at the reinduction ceremony on December 9 at Las Palmas, following 12 years in storage. Peruvian Army
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TWO AGUSTA A109K2s have recently been returned to service with the Aviación del Ejército Peruano (Peruvian Army Aviation) after being grounded for 12
years. The helicopters, EP-344 (c/n 7503) and EP-346 (c/n 7505), have re-joined Batallón de Reconocimiento y Ataque 811 at Las Palmas/Chorrillos. Their
re-entry into service was marked with a ceremony on December 9. The army hopes to return a third example to service later this year. The Peruvian Army took delivery of five A109K2s during 1990-1991. In addition, Peru’s Ejército has recently ordered two new Enstrom 280FX Shark training helicopters, at a cost of $1.3 million. Deliveries are scheduled to take place within the next six months. They will join another Model 280FX, seven Enstrom F28Fs and one Robinson R44 Raven II already being used by the Escuela de Aviación del Ejército at Moquegua/Cesar Torque Podesta Airport. Juan Carlos Cicalesi and Agustin Puetz
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Brazilian AF Medevac Caravans TWO CESSNA C-98 A Caravans have been adapted by the Fuerza Aérea Brasileira (FAB - Brazilian Air Force) for operations as airborne intensive care units. The FAB announced completion of the modifications to the aircraft on January 7. One has been delivered to 8˚ Grupo de Aviacão's 1˚ Esquadrao (1˚/8˚ GAv) at Belém and the other to 7˚/8˚ GAv at Manaus. A further two conversions are also planned to equip two more Esquadraos. Conversion, by Parque de Material Aeronautico de Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, was completed in December.
Two More Bell 412EPs Join Argentine Air Force
Above: Newly delivered Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA – Argentine Air Force) Bell 412EPs H-101 and H-102 seen during their formal hand-over ceremony on January 8 at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
TWO ADDITIONAL Bell 412EPs have entered service with the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA – Argentine Air Force), having been purchased with United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Joint Equipment Plan funding. The helicopters, H-101 (c/n 36224, ex N136PD) and H-102 (c/n 36621,
ex N496FB), were formally handed over in a ceremony on January 8 in the military enclave at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires. Built in 1999, H-101 was previously operated by the Puerto Rico Police Department and has accumulated 1,800 flight hours. After a long ferry flight
from the US, it arrived at Jorge Newbery on December 11. The other, H-102 has been acquired new from the manufacturer. Both will be operated by VII Brigada Aérea, supplementing the unit’s Bell 212s, based at Buenos Aires-Mariano Moreno Airport. Juan Carlos Cicalesi
Honduran AF Acquires Let L-410UVP A SECOND-HAND LET L-410-UVP Turbolet has recently been added to the Fuerza Aérea Hondureña (FAH – Honduran Air Force) inventory. The aircraft, which is believed to only be on lease, was noted recently being Left: New Honduran Air Force L-410UVP FAH-322 being prepared for service at La Ceiba - Goloson International Airport, Honduras, on January 8. Mario Theresin
re-sprayed in an overall grey military colour scheme at Base Aérea Coronel Héctor Caraccoili Moncada, La Ceiba - Goloson International Airport, Honduras. By January 8, the aircraft had gained FAH markings and serial FAH-322. At that time, however, it was still being worked on at La Ceiba and did not appear to have entered service. It will be flown by the Esquadrilla de Transport.
Four More Mi-171Sh-Ps Delivered to Peruvian Army ANOTHER FOUR Mi-171Sh-P helicopters have been delivered to the Aviación del Ejército Peruano (Peruvian Army Aviation), joining four others delivered from a new batch of 24 for the Peruvian Armed Forces. Russian Helicopters announced the arrival of the first four on December 3.
Both batches were flown in from Russia on board Antonov An-124 heavy cargo aircraft. The first four arrived on November 27, followed on December 3 by the next four. All eight were formally handed over during a ceremony in Peru on December 12. The helicopters have the
serials EP-667 to EP-674. It is planned to split the 24 on order between the Ejército, Fuerza Aérea del Perú (Peruvian Air Force) and Aviación Naval (Peruvian Naval Aviation), but the numbers for each of the services have not been divulged. They will be built at the Ulan Ude
Aviation Plant and the remainder should arrive before the end of this year. A Russian Helicopters’ maintenance centre will also be established in Peru, to keep the country’s fleet in a constant state of operational readiness for use in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations.
Newly delivered Aviación del Ejército Peruano (Peruvian Army Aviation) Mi-171Sh-P EP-671, in an attractive digital camouflage scheme, on the ramp at LimaCallao, Jorge Chavez International Airport in January. John Taylor
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NEWS
HEADLINES AFRICA
Operation Barkhane Jean-Marc Tanguy provides a snapshot of aircraft participating in Operation Barkhane in Mali.
F
rance’s operation Barkhane has been under way since August 1, 2014, supporting missions against Islamist groups in Africa’s Sahel-Saharan Band. French military personnel are operating in partnership with five countries in the region – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Mali. Named after a crescentshaped dune in the Sahara desert, Barkhane replaces the previous Operations Serval in Mali and Epervier in Chad. Presented here is a selection of photographs of the aircraft and helicopters currently involved in the mission.
Below: French Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre (ALAT, Army Aviation Corps) NH90 TTH Caiman 1294 ‘EAI’ – from 1 Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combate (RHC) at Phalsbourg – seen at Gao, Mali, on January 2. Although only two NH90s are currently deployed for Operation Barkhane, a third is due to join them. All are from 1 RHC. All photos, Jean-Marc Tanguy
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Above: French ALAT Pilatus PC-6/ B2-H2 Turbo Porter 891 ‘MCE’ at Gao, Mali, on January 2. Five are operated by the Peleton Pilatus of the Escadrille de Transport et de Convoyage du Matériel, normally based at Montauban; but one has been based in Mali since the beginning of Operation Serval and has continued to fly missions as part of Operation Barkhane. It flies between Gao and the northern forward operating base at Tessalit, near the Algerian border and can be used for spare parts delivery or to transport parajumpers or injured soldiers. Its superb STOL capability enables it to land almost anywhere. Left: Crews pose in front of one of the three ALAT Tigre HAP helicopters assigned to Operation Barkhane at Gao, Mali, on January 2.
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Right: Each Caïman has an FN MAG-58 machine gun in the cabin doorway, integrated onto a new dedicated carrier developed by Atelier industriel de l’Aéronautique (AIA) at Cuers, near Toulon, and first adapted for Lynx helicopters on counter-drug missions. The carrier can accommodate either the MAG58 or a 0.50 precision rifle. Below: SA342M Gazelle Viviane, 3849 ‘GAH’, seen at Gao on January 2. It’s used for ISR missions to protect the Gao forward operating base against rocket fire and has used HOT missiles against Islamic positions in mountainous hotspots in the north. Below right: Armée de l’Air Harfang UAV 1021 ‘709-AU’, operated by Escadron de Drone 1/33 ‘Belfort’, on January 1 at Niamey, Niger, where three of the type were first deployed two years earlier. They also operated in Afghanistan (from February 2009), during the Libya War in 2011 and most recently in their first counterterrorism exercise – on the Brittany coast – last December.
A French EC725 Cougar frames Spanish Air Force C-130H Hercules T.10-09 ‘31-06’ from Ala 31 on the ramp at Gao on January 2 .
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AFRICA Zambian AF Expansion Plans A MAJOR re-equipment programme for the Zambian Air Force (ZAF) is currently under way and will involve new trainers, transports, fighter aircraft and helicopters. Speaking at the ZAF headquarters officers’ annual ball in Lusaka on December 26, ZAF commander Brigadier General Jabes Zulu said they would include additional SF260TW trainers, C-27J transports, L-15 fighters and Mi-17 helicopters. The new acquisitions will assist with training and enhance airlift capacity for external deployments, such as that planned to assist the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. It is not yet clear whether orders for these aircraft have already been placed. It was not revealed how many of each type are being acquired.
Egypt Close to Rafale Order
EGYPT IS reported to be close to signing a contract for the purchase of 24 Dassault Rafale fighters. In an interview published in French newspaper Le Figaro on February 7, Dassault CEO Eric Trappier declined to specifically identify the prospective first customer as Egypt, but said "We have several prospects in the Middle East that are very active." Commenting on Egypt, he did, however, say that there were "still several steps to cross" before a contract could be signed. Qatar is another country that is in discussions with the French manufacturer regarding a potential order. The country is seeking a deal for 36 Rafales, which would comprise a firm order for 24, plus 12 options. India had long been expected to sign the first export order for Rafale, after selected the type to meet its requirement for 126 new fighters on January 31, 2012 (see Dassault Rafale Selected for Indian MMRCA Requirement, April 2012, p5). Three years on from that decision, the Indian deal is still under negotiation, with disagreements over costs and work-share having slowed down talks. India's weakening economy has also stretched the defence budget, further exacerbating the problem.
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Nigeria Operating Armed Chinese UAVs THE CRASH of an unmanned air vehicle in Nigeria during January has revealed that its military forces appear to be operating Chinese-built CASC Rainbow CH-3, or CH-3A, UAVs. Photos which began circulating on the internet on January 27 showed one of them upside down, with a precision-guided weapon on each underwing pylon, following its accident. The crash was said to have taken place at Dumge village in the Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. One wing appeared to be carrying an AR-1 air-to-ground missile and the other what was possibly a 55lb (25kg) FT-5 light guided bomb. The photos also showed a sensor turret payload which had broken away in the crash. It is
believed the incident occurred on January 25. Nigeria was not previously known to have purchased any Chinese UAVs.
Above: The wreckage of what appears to be a Chinese CH-3 UAV following its crash in Nigeria on January 25. Note the weapons carried under the wings.
Tanzania Operating Seabird Seekers AN ADDITION to the inventory of the Jeshi la Wananchi la Tanzania (JWTZ – Tanzanian People’s Defence Force Air Wing) is the Seabird SB7L-360 Seeker, configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The type had not previously been known to be in JWTZ service, but was recently seen in a music video by local artist Jay Moe which has
been posted on the internet. The video uses the Seeker, serial number JW-9704, along with other military equipment, as a backdrop for the musician. Although the video has only just emerged, it was released on March 27, 2014, indicating that the type must now have been in Tanzanian service for some time. The serial also implies that at least four of the type are likely
to be in service, as the JWTZ serial sequence for each type normally begins at JW-xx01. The Seeker is the first known ISR aircraft acquired by the JWTZ, which largely operates transport types, trainers and a handful of fighters. Equipment fit on the aircraft is unconfirmed, but the video shows an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret under the fuselage.
Above: Local musician Jay Moe stands in front of ISR-configured Tanzanian People’s Defence Force Air Wing Seabird SB7L-360 Seeker JW-9704 at Dar-es-Salam. Williamz Visions
Botswana Police Order Three More Ecureuils BOTSWANA’S POLICE Service has ordered three new AS350B3e Ecureuil helicopters for operation by its Police Air Support Unit. The contract for them was signed on January 26. They will be customised to the Botswana Police Service’s specification,
including the installation of night vision systems and other law enforcement equipment. The first delivery is scheduled for later this year. In addition, Airbus Helicopters will also train Botswana Police Air Support Unit pilots and mechanics.
The extra helicopters with their enhanced capability will fulfil Botswana’s requirement for an expanded airborne law enforcement and crime prevention force. Botswana’s police force already operates three AS350B3s that were delivered in 2009.
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RUSSIA & CIS
Upgraded Tu-95MSM Delivered to Russian Air Force
Above: Upgraded Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95MSM Bear-H strategic bomber ‘53 Red’ during the handover ceremony. Tupolev
TUPOLEV redelivered another upgraded Tu-95MSM Bear-H strategic bomber, ‘53 Red’, to the Russian defence ministry on January 27. Following the work, the type is expected to
remain in service until 2025. The modernisation primarily involves replacement of the avionics system, to improve the efficiency of the aircraft’s weapon aiming equipment, and adding
the GLONASS navigation system – making the aircraft capable of launching the new Raduga Kh-101 long-range cruise missile, which has a conventional warhead, and its Kh-102 nuclear variant.
JSC Tupolev says its specialists are constantly working on maintaining the combat capability of the Russian Air Force’s Tu-95MS, including incorporation of new aircraft systems and improving reliability.
Antonov An-70 Adopted by Ukraine Air Force ANTONOV’S AN-70 military transport aircraft has been adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, more than two decades after the prototype’s maiden flight. A ceremony was held on January 22 to formally accept the aircraft for service in the Povitryani Syly Zbroynykh Syl Ukrayiny (PS ZSU, Ukraine Air Force) fleet. However, as the sole surviving prototype is the only aircraft currently flying, it will be some
time before the type enters PS ZSU service. Antonov noted that formal adoption of the aircraft will allow series production to begin and further development to continue. The decision was based on the results of Joint State Tests, which Antonov announced the successful conclusion of on April 11, 2014. These involved a total of 82 flights in the final stage, with a flight crew and engineering
team from the Ukraine Armed Forces state scientific test centre and specialists from Antonov. The tests followed extensive modifications to the aircraft completed in September 2012. Between then and March 31, 2014, the aircraft carried out 122 flights, amassing 220 hours. Total flight time by then had reached 930hrs 48mins in 753 flights. Despite the latest announcement, the future of the type remains
unclear. Although Russia had been involved in its development from the outset, the current tension with Ukraine means it is highly unlikely the An-70 will be ordered for the Russian Air Force, as had previously been planned. Earlier reports suggested that Ukraine is only planning to order an initial two or three aircraft, while no other serious customers currently appear to be on the horizon.
Chirok UAV Nearly Ready for Flight Test RUSSIA’S UNITED Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, a Rostec subsidiary, has completed two prototypes of the Chirok (Teal) reconnaissance and strike UAV, and is preparing them for tests later this year. Announcing progress on the programme on January 23, Rostec said the Chirok will be put into service by the Russian defence ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB). The Chirok was first revealed in July last year when a one-fifth scale model was unveiled at the Innoprom Expo in Yekaterinburg. It is being promoted as a UAV that can land on almost any terrain,
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as long as it is relatively flat. The wingspan of the Chirok is more than 32ft (10m). Maximum take-off weight is 1,543lbs (700kg) while maximum payload weight is 660lbs (300kg). The UAV is capable of operating at altitudes of up to 19,600ft (6,000m) and has a range of up to 1,550 miles (2,500km) and has an internal weapons bay, improving aerodynamics and stealth characteristics. One of the full-size prototypes will be displayed at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon 2015 at Zhukovsky in August. Gert Kromhout
Above: The one-fifth scale Chirok stealthy UAV mock-up on display last year at the Innoprom Expo in Yekaterinburg. Rostec
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MIDDLE EAST
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More Iraqi Mi-28NE and Bell 407 Deliveries
Iraqi Bell 407 Deliveries US Regn Con No N512GC
US regn cancellation date
Above: One of the new batch of Iraqi Army Aviation Corps Mi-28NEs being unloaded from a Volga-Dnepr An-124 in Iraq on February 1. Iraqi MOD Below: Workers prepare to unload some of the new Iraqi Army Aviation Corps Bell 407s from an An-124. Iraqi MOD
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Armed US U-28As Operating in Iraq AMERICAN SOURCES indicate that US Air Force Pilatus U-28A aircraft are conducting missions over Iraq armed with the Raytheon AGM-176 Griffin missile. If confirmed, this is the first time that the US has used an armed version of the type. The U-28A is a modified Pilatus PC-12 that was originally acquired by the USAF to provide a manned fixed-wing, on-call/surge capability for improved tactical airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in support of special operations forces. The U-28 has added this new mission despite being slated for retirement in 2016 and succeeded by the MC-12Ws transferred from the USAF’s 9th Reconnaissance Wing. Gert Kromhout
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UAE Seeking 24 Super Tucanos TENIENTE GENERAL Juniti Saito, commander of the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB – Brazilian Air Force), has revealed that the United Emirates Air Force and Air Defence (UAEAF&AD) is looking to buy 24 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft. Details of the negotiations were revealed by Saito in a newspaper interview on January 2. The talks are still at the very early stages, but if a deal can be finalised, the UAE has requested accelerated delivery of the first six. This may involve leasing those first six, which would be taken from existing FAB stocks. A UAE technical delegation arrived in Brazil in mid-January to further assess aircraft availability. If concluded, this will be the second recent order for turboprop light attack aircraft from the UAE. Although not officially made public, a contract was
signed at the end of September 2014 to purchase 24 IOMAX Archangel Border Patrol Aircraft (BPA) for the UAEAF&AD. These are intended to replace the 24 previously delivered UAEAF&AD IOMAX Air Tractor AT-802U BPAs, which comprised six Block 1 and 18 Block 2 variants. The six Block 1 aircraft were later transferred to the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Following on from the AT-802U BPA, IOMAX developed the Archangel based on the similar Thrush S2R-600 (Model 710). An advertisement for armament instructors to work on the type in the UAE has provided some information on the likely weapons fit for the UAEAF&AD Archangels. It specifies that applicants should have experience with training on Raytheon GBU-58/12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, AGM-114K Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and GAU-19 gun systems.
FOUR MORE Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopters have been delivered to the Iraqi Army Aviation Corps. They arrived in the country on February 1 on board a Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124. A further delivery was expected by the end of the following week. An initial batch of three Mi-28NEs was delivered to Iraq at the end of August last year (see Iraqi Army’s First Mi-28NEs Arrive in the Country, October, p25). The Iraqi defence ministry announced on October 30 that the helicopters were ready to undertake combat missions against ISIL. A batch of 16 more Bell 407s has also arrived in the country. An Iraqi defence ministry video reporting on the Mi-28NE arrival on February 1 showed a number of the Bell 407s being worked on in a hangar. The helicopters are still only partially painted, with some sections still in primer. They carried their US civilian registrations taped onto the rear of the cabin and their construction numbers in large numerals down the side of the tail. The Iraqi Army Aviation Corps has previously taken delivery of three Bell T-407 training helicopters and 30 armed IA-407 variants. It is not immediately clear whether the new deliveries are armed or training versions. The 16 new Bell 407s, for which an order had not previously been announced, are listed in the adjacent table.
More AW139s for UAEAF&AD DELIVERY OF a new batch of AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence (UAEAF&AD) began during January. A UAEAF&AD C-17A Globemaster III made two visits to Milan-Malpensa Airport, Italy, taking away two AW139s on each occasion. The helicopters comprised I-RAIN (c/n 31568), I-RAIO (c/n 31577) and c/n 31580, all wearing a dark grey colour scheme and outfitted for search and rescue duties, plus I-PTFT (c/n 31585), which was all white with a red stripe and configured with a VIP interior. A fifth AW139 for the UAEAF&AD, I-EASS (c/n 31599), has also been noted at the factory but has not yet been delivered. Gert Kromhout
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ASIA PACIFIC AIROD Busy with C-130 Work MALAYSIA’S AIROD is confident of winning a contract to upgrade the entire Royal Malaysian Air Force’s C-130 Hercules fleet of 14 aircraft to meet its CNS-ATM requirements. The company previously carried out upgrades on two RMAF Beechcraft B200Ts for maritime patrol and is currently upgrading two more, for completion by the end of 2015. AIROD is also looking into working with Lockheed Martin on converting four RMAF C-130s for maritime patrol/maritime surveillance, due to the advantages of the aircraft’s endurance. Currently AIROD is on target to deliver Bangladesh Air Force C-130B 58-0754, which it recovered from Dhaka after being on the ground for ten years. It has also been successful in winning a second C-130B contract from the BAF, with 61-0962 expected to undergo a six -yearly structural and special Inspection in April 2015. AIROD has also been contracted by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to replace the centre wing box (CWB) of C-130B 3536, which is now over 50 years old, with the work expected to commence in June 2015. This will be the first time AIROD has performed work for the PAF and it will be the second CWB replacement it has carried out, with the first being for Safair L100-30 ZS-RSG in 2013. Airod is also expected to put Philippine Air Force C-130H 4726 through a six-yearly scheduled maintenance programme and receive three Kuwait Air Force aircraft for periodic depot maintenance and an avionics upgrade programme in 2015.
Indian Special Mission Global 5000 Operational
ELINT/SIGINT-configured Indian Air Force Global 5000 GB8002 on approach to Palam Air Force Station, New Delhi/Indira Ghandi International Airport on January 30 – the first time the aircraft has been noted in service. Aidan Curley
AT LEAST one of the two Bombardier Global 5000 business jets converted into special mission aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) is now in service. The aircraft, GB8002 (c/n 9431, ex C-GHYK), was seen on approach to its base at Palam Air Force Station, New Delhi/Indira Ghandi International Airport on January 30. Both have undergone extensive modifications by IAI subsidiary Elta
Systems in Tel Aviv, Israel, for their airborne intelligence-gathering (electronic intelligence/signals intelligence) mission. The first, GB8001 (c/n 9424, ex 4X-COF, C-GHVB), also briefly visited the UK in March 2014 as part of its flight trials programme (see First Indian Air Force Global 5000 Intelligence Aircraft Under Test in Scotland, April 2014, p21). It arrived in Tel Aviv on June 25,
2012 followed by the second, GB8002, on August 9, 2012. In mid-January, GB8001 was still at Tel Aviv, but expected to be delivered soon afterwards, and may now also be in service. The aircraft are operated by the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), part of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, under the control of the Cabinet Secretariat.
SABR Production Order for Taiwanese F-16s NORTHROP GRUMMAN has received the first production order for its APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) from Lockheed Martin. Announcing the deal on February 2, Northrop Grumman noted it comes less than four months after all design reviews were completed.
Under the contract, as part of the Republic of China Air Force F-16A/B upgrade programme, the company will provide 142 radars to Lockheed Martin. The first production system will be delivered in 2016. SABR is a multi-function, active electronically-scanned
array (AESA) fire control radar which brings fifth-generation air-to-air and air-to-ground radar capability to the F-16. The manufacturer says it will give F-16 pilots unprecedented situational awareness, targeting and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
Republic of Korea Navy’s First Wildcat Now Flying
Pakistan AF Combat Commanders’ School Inducts JF-17 A NEW aircraft type with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Combat Commanders’ School (CCS) is the JF-17 Thunder. It was formally inducted at a ceremony at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha, on January 26 when at least five JF-17s were delivered to the base. The CCS, which will use the aircraft for advanced combat training, already operates the F-7P, F-16A/B and Mirage IIIA.
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Above: The first Republic of Korea Navy AW159 Wildcat, 15-0601/ZZ541, test flying from the factory airfield in Yeovil, Somerset, on January 27. Paul Kyte
AGUSTAWESTLAND HAS begun flight testing the first AW159 Wildcat for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). The helicopter, 15-0601/ZZ541, was first noted flying from the factory airfield in
Yeovil, Somerset, on January 27. It is the first of eight on order for the RoKN. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) having announced selection of the type on January 15, 2013.
Sikorsky’s MH-60R Seahawk also competed for the contract. The RoKN’s Wildcats will be configured for anti-submarine warfare, antisurface warfare, search and rescue and maritime surveillance.
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ASIA PACIFIC Indonesian AH-64E Order BOEING has been awarded a contract to manufacture eight AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters for Indonesia. The $296m Foreign Military Sales deal, awarded by US Army Contracting Command on January 26, is estimated to be complete by February 28, 2018. During a visit to Jakarta on August 26, 2013, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had announced agreement on the sale – after plans were revealed on September 19, 2012 when the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the proposal. The DSCA said at the time the deal would be worth $1.42 billion, including all associated weapons, training and logistical support. The agency also said three spare T-700-GE-701D engines would be included, along with nine Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors, four AN/APG-78 fire control radars with radar electronics units (Longbow Component), four AN/APR-48A radar frequency interferometers, ten AAR-57(V) 3/5 common missile warning systems (CMWSs) with fifth sensor and improved countermeasure dispenser, ten AN/AVR-2B laser detecting sets and ten AN/APR-39A(V)4 radar signal detecting sets. Also included are 24 Integrated Helmet and Display Sight Systems (IHDSS-21s), 32 M299A1 Hellfire missile launchers and 140 Hellfire AGM-114R3 missiles. The helicopters will be used by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD, Indonesian Army) to defend territorial sovereignty, conduct counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations and ensure the free flow of shipping through the Strait of Malacca. The US military will train Indonesian pilots and help in developing tactics, techniques and procedures for operations in SE Asia. A delegation of top Indonesian defence ministry officials and TNI-AD officers recently visited Boeing’s production facility in Mesa, Arizona, to view the AH-64E.
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Yokota C-130Hs on Exercise in Bangladesh EXERCISE COPE South 15 – a US Pacific Air Forces-sponsored bilateral tactical airlift exercise involving USAF and Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) personnel – took place at BAF Base Bangabandhu, Dhaka-Kurmitola, Bangladesh, between January 24 and 30. Aircraft involved included three US Air Force C-130H Hercules from the 374th Airlift Wing’s 36th Airlift Squadron ‘Eagle Airlifters’ at Yokota Air Base, Japan, along with 80 airmen. They were integrated into operations with a BAF C-130B Hercules and around 200 Bangladeshi airmen for the duration of the exercise. Cope South 15 aimed to provide valuable training for US and Bangladeshi airmen in air-land and airdrop delivery for possible contingency and disaster response operations. The first day’s operations built on previous Cope South exercises. USAF crews safely airdropped Bangladeshi commandos using their host nation’s airdrop procedures. US and BAF airmen also conducted subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs) focused on aircraft generation and recovery, day and night low-level navigation, airdrop and air-land tactics, aircraft maintenance procedures
Above: Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Chengdu F-7BG Airguards F934 and F940 from the 5th Squadron ‘Defenders’ at BAF Base Bangabandhu escort USAF C-130H Hercules 74-1661 ‘YJ’ from the 374th Airlift Wing/36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, during Exercise Cope South 15 near Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, on January 28, 2015. USAF/1st Lt Jake Bailey
and rigging techniques. The Hercules did not fly on January 27, as airmen from both countries were conducting SMEEs all day. These included riggers and loadmasters from Yokota’s 374th AW demonstrating their patented low-cost, low-altitude (LCLA) airdrop bundle techniques to Bangladeshi airmen. LCLA uses minimal rigging supplies and decommissioned personnel parachutes that are still serviceable to deliver customised cargo – such as
humanitarian aid and disaster relief – in bundles of up to 600lbs (272kg). It can also be rigged in a ‘coastal’ configuration suitable for a shoreline drop zone. For demonstration, two LCLA bundles configured by Yokota and BAF Airmen were loaded on a BAF C-130B and delivered to a forward drop zone near Sylhet. The following day Bangladeshi airmen pushed the bundles from the ramp of their aircraft, each successfully landing in its designated drop area.
Korean Marine Surion’s Maiden Flight KOREA AEROSPACE Industries (KAI) has flown a new amphibious assault variant of its Surion helicopter, which has been developed for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (RoKMC). Its maiden flight was at Sacheon on January 19, when the company said it was confident of completing development of the new version on schedule, by the end of this year. KAI was selected to develop and supply the helicopters at a meeting of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration Steering Committee on April 17, 2013. The company then led the project from July 2013, investing 800 billion won ($713 million) in the new variant – which includes an integrated flotation system, auxiliary fuel tank and additional specialised communications equipment. Once testing is complete, KAI will deliver a planned total of 40 helicopters to the RoKMC, enhancing its ability to
Above: The new amphibious assault version of the KAI Surion, designed for South Korea’s marine corps, during its maiden flight on January 19 at Sacheon. KAI
undertake amphibious assault operations on outlying border islands. All 40 are scheduled to be in service by 2023 and are
expected to be operated from the ROK Navy’s Dodko-class amphibious assault ships, which can carry up to 15 helicopters.
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Philippine Air Force’s First C295M
The first Philippine Air Force C295M, ‘129’ (c/n S-129), landing at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, after a test flight on January 23. Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta
AIRBUS has begun flight testing the first Philippine Air Force (PAF) C295M. The aircraft, ‘129’ (c/n S-129), fully painted but with its nationality markings taped over, was noted at Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain, carrying out a test flight on January 23. The type was selected to meet the PAF requirement for three new medium-lift transport aircraft on
January 13 last year (see C295M Selected to Meet PAF Requirement, March 2014, p24). A competing bid from Indonesia's PTDI, offering the CN235, was eliminated because it failed to meet stipulated technical specifications. The C295M offer, valued at 5.288 billion pesos ($119m), was then left as the only contender. On March 28, 2014, the
manufacturer was issued with a ‘Notice to Proceed’ with the contract by Philippine National Defense Secretary Voltaire T Gazmin. The three C295Ms will replace three surviving PAF Fokker F27 Friendships operated by the 221st Airlift Squadron, based at Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, Manila-Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Brunei to Donate Black Hawks to Malaysia BRUNEI IS donating four Sikorsky S-70A-32 Black Hawks to Malaysia, it was announced by the Malaysian defence minister on January 23. The Royal Brunei Air Force (TUDB) has only four S-70As, which were delivered in 1997. They have now become surplus to requirements following acquisition of 12
replacement S-70i helicopters. They were flown by 4 Squadron and based at Brunei International Airport, the TUDB’s main base. Two S-70A-34s are currently in Royal Malaysian Air Force(TUDM) service, flown by 10 Skuadron at Sungai Besi. According to the Malaysian defence ministry, the TUDB
Black Hawks are expected to be transferred in September. Local media sources report they will be armed with 7.62mm M134D Gatling-type mini-guns. It was announced in the Malaysian Parliament on December 17 that ten of the guns were being acquired to arm the Malaysian Army’s fleet of ten AW109 LUH helicopters.
Maiden Flight of Malaysia’s First A400M The first Royal Malaysian Air Force A400M, M54-01 (c/n 0022), during its maiden flight on January 30 from Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain. RMAF
First Series Production Tejas LCA Handed Over THE FIRST series production Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) has finally been delivered. The HAL-built aircraft, LA-5001 (SP-01), was officially handed over on January 17 by defence minister Manohar Parrikar during a ceremony at HAL’s Bangalore complex, having made its maiden flight from Bangalore on September 30 (see HAL Flies Two More Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, December, p28). HAL’s Chairman, Dr R K Tyagi, noted: “We have achieved 60% indigenisation in this LCA project so far. We will produce six aircraft over the next year (201516) and subsequently scale it up to eight and 16 aircraft per year.” Despite the significance of the event, no media were allowed to attend the low-key ceremony, which took place 32 years after the much-delayed LCA project was launched. The aircraft is to initial operational clearance-II standard, as final operational clearance (FOC) is not expected until the end of this year or early next year. It lacks the latest electronic warfare suite, air-to-air refuelling and long-range missile capabilities that will be available in FOC-standard aircraft. In the most recent LCA development, the new, advanced electronic warfare suite was flown for the first time on January 10 at Bangalore after being integrated into prototype KH-2003 (PV-1). The system, developed by India’s Defence Avionics Research Establishment, includes a radar warning receiver and a jammer.
News Brief
AIRBUS DEFENCE and Space has flown the first A400M for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The aircraft, M54-01 (c/n 0022), made its maiden flight on January 30 from
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Seville-San Pablo Airport, Spain. It took off at 1730hrs local time for a 1hr 30min sortie. RMAF pilots, maintenance engineers and technicians are already undergoing training
at the Airbus Defence and Space International Training Centre in Seville. The RMAF has four A400Ms on order under a contract signed in December 2005.
ELBIT SYSTEMS' mini MUSIC infra-red MWS-based DIRCM system has been ordered to protect the Black Hawk helicopters of an unspecified Asian customer. The company announced the contract award on January 19 and said that the contract would be completed before the end of this year. MUSIC has already been selected by the Italian Air Force (C-27J, C-130J and CSAR AW101); Brazilian Air Force (KC-390) and German Air Force (A400M).
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NEWS
AUSTRALASIA & CONTRACTS Australia's Heron Det Back from Afghanistan AFTER A five-year commitment in Afghanistan, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Heron remotely piloted aircraft Detachment has returned home. The last contingent of RAAF, Navy and Army personnel that had been supporting the deployment returned to Australia on December 11. The RAAF Heron completed more than 27,000 mission hours during Operation Slipper at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. It provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to Australian forces and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners. The Heron's mission in southern Afghanistan began in August 2009 and ended with a final sortie from Kandahar on November 30, 2014. After Australia's mission in Uruzgan ended in December 2013, the Heron's mission was extended to support ISAF personnel in Regional Command-South. One Heron will return to RAAF Base Woomera, South Australia, where another is already based.
Australia’s First HATS EC135T2+ Flies
Above: The first EC135T2+ for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), D-HECG (c/n 1179) ‘841’, during a test flight on January 19 at Donauwörth, Germany. Airbus Helicopters/Charles Abarr
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has flown the first EC135T2+ for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Wearing test registration D-HECG (c/n 1179) ‘841’, it completed its maiden flight on January 16 at the factory in Donauwörth, Germany, taking off at 1437hrs local time and landing back 57 minutes later. Airbus Helicopters’ Flight Test Department reported the successful flight had validated the full performance of the aircraft’s systems and engines, and that future flights would test specific customer equipment.
The EC135T2+ is the first of 15 for the ADF’s new Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS). Approval to go ahead with the project was given on October 22 last year (see Australia To Use 15 EC135s for Joint Service Training, December, p34), with contract signature following in November. HATS is a joint training scheme for Australian Army Aviation Corps and Royal Australian Navy aircrew. It will use not only the 15 EC135T2+ training helicopters but also EC135 flight simulators and a new flight deck-equipped,
seagoing training vessel. Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) is the prime contractor for the new training system, partnered by Thales Australia, which will provide the flight simulators. Initial operating capability (IOC) is scheduled for late 2018, although students will begin arriving earlier to begin simulator training. When fully operational, HATS will accommodate up to 130 students a year, including pilots, aviation warfare officers, sensor operators and qualified aircrew returning for instructor training.
RAAF Wedgetail’s Record Mission over Iraq A ROYAL Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has made history during a combat mission over Iraq by undertaking the longest Australian command and control mission in a war zone. The Australian Department of Defence said when announcing the feat on January 16 that the sortie lasted for 16 hours and 18 minutes. The E-7A’s mission entailed the command and control of large numbers of coalition aircraft operating in Iraqi airspace as part of the multinational air campaign confronting ISIL. The commander of Australia’s Air Task Group, Air Commodore Steve Roberton, commented on what the endurance mission meant for his country’s airpower capability: “After already being ‘on station’ for a number of hours, the crew was advised the coalition aircraft due to relieve them was delayed. In response
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[they] quickly assessed their ability to co-ordinate additional air-to-air refuelling and agreed to substantially extend their mission. Try to imagine co-ordinating a short-notice mid-air refuel for a Boeing 737 in the middle of a combat zone. It’s no small task.” He noted that Australia’s ability
to “go above and beyond” is a clear demonstration of the nation’s important contribution to the coalition air campaign. The Wedgetail crew completed two airto-air refuels during the mission, enabling it to stay airborne and make the historic time. The crew first deployed
to the Middle East last September and were regularly undertaking lengthy missions of around 13 hours. Including planning and debriefing, the extension to more than 16 hours airborne resulted in the aircrew working towards their duty limits.
Above: The record-breaking RAAF/2 Squadron E-7A Wedgetail flies towards Iraq on December 23 for a mission against ISIL. For more details on the type, see Wedgetail Warriors on p76-80. Commonwealth of Australia/Sgt Andrew Eddie
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First Night Flight for RAAF F-35A
Above: A Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, callsign ‘Dingo 2’, is marshalled back to its parking spot after undertaking the first ever night flight by an RAAF example, flown by a US pilot, which took place in early February at Luke AFB, Arizona. The first Australian F-35 pilot, Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, began his flight training at Eglin AFB, Florida, on January 26, although it will be a few months before he actually flies an F-35. Lockheed Martin
Larger USMC Helicopter Rotation to Australia THE NEXT rotation of US Marines to deploy to Australia’s Northern Territory will include the largest aviation combat element to date, equipped with 22 helicopters. It will be the first time the US Marines Corps (USMC) has deployed to Darwin with attack and utility rotorcraft. Units will also have four more heavy lift helicopters. Under plans announced on January 24, the Marine Rotational Force Darwin will include four CH-53Es each from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 (HMM-462) at MCAS Miramar, California, and HMM-463 at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii – plus eight AH-1Ws from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) at Miramar and six UH-1Ys from HMLA-367 at MCAS Kaneohe Bay. Marine Rotational Force Darwin will begin deployment in early spring and end in the autumn as part of an effort to put a greater emphasis on Asia-Pacific operations. The deployment, now its fourth year, will include more than 1,400 marines. During the six-month period, they will conduct exercises and training with the Australian Defence Force. The future intent is to establish a rotational Marine Air Ground Task Force of up to 2,500 personnel. Gert Kromhout
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Two More T-6Cs En Route to RNZAF
Above: RNZAF T-6C Texan II NZ1409 ‘09’/N2770B departs Bournemouth Airport in the UK on February 4 during its delivery flight. Ian Harding
TWO MORE Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs are undertaking their long delivery flight from the US. The aircraft – NZ1408 ‘08’/ N2763B (callsign ‘HKB176’) and NZ1409 ‘09’/N2770B (callsign ‘HKB130’) – left Beech Field, Wichita, Kansas, on January 30. Routing via Des Moines, Iowa, to Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Canada, they continued the next day
via Iqaluit, Canada, to Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, for another night-stop. Flying on to Keflavik, Iceland, they then flew to Birmingham Airport in the UK on February 2. The next day they made the relatively short hop to Bournemouth-Hurn Airport, Dorset, and on February 4 routed via Rome-Ciampino Airport, Italy, to Chania, Crete. They departed from there on February 6 to contibue their journey..
They are the eighth and ninth Texan IIs to be delivered to the RNZAF and follow three aircraft that arrived at RNZAF Base Ohakea on November 28. The first two arrived at Ohakea on August 22 last year followed by the second pair on October 8. All four were officially accepted by the RNZAF in a ceremony at the base on October 31. The first pilot wings course on the T-6C will run during 2016.
New Contract Award Summary Air Force
Company
No and Type
Date
Delivery Date and Notes
Indonesian Army
Boeing
8 x AH-64E
January 26
By February 28, 2018
Israeli AF
Air Tractor
6 x AT-802F
January 6
Not announced
Peruvian AF
Alenia Aermacchi
2 x C-27J Spartan
December 31
2016 and 2017
Peruvian Army
Enstrom
2 x Enstrom 280FX Shark
Unknown
2015
Russian AF
Ilyushin
Il-96-400TZ
January 7
Not announced
US Air Force
General Atomics
24 x MQ-9 Block 5
February 5
By September 30, 2017
US Army
Boeing
? x AH-64E Guardian
January 22
By March 20, 2015. Long-lead items only.
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10/02/2015 11:09
RAF REAPERS
DRONE WAR IR The RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle force was committed to action over Iraq last October. Tim Ripley looks at their operations and contribution to the international campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Below: RAF MQ-9 Reapers have been operating against ISIL from an unidentified base in the Middle East since October. The RAF has issued no photographs of its MQ-9 Reaper operations over Iraq and Syria. These images date from recent operations in Afghanistan. All photos RAF/Crown Copyright unless stated
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O
n November 10 last year, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) posted a brief statement on its website announcing the first strike by a RAF General Atomic MQ-9 Reaper against a target in Iraq. “A series of coalition missions were conducted near Bayji, north of Baghdad, where Islamic State terrorists were laying improvised explosive devices,” said the statement. “The Reaper, using procedures identical to those of manned aircraft, successfully attacked the terrorists using a Hellfire missile.” The MoD has publicly acknowledged a further 25 strikes or operations by RAF Reapers against targets in Iraq. The statements briefly describe the targets attacked but give little away. The ministry and RAF have surrounded Reaper operations in Iraq and Syria with an unprecedented veil of secrecy. It is possible, however, to build a relatively detailed picture
of what the Reapers are doing over Iraq and Syria from information released by US sources, by looking back at previous operations, and using published data about the drone’s performance and capabilities.
Intelligence Picture
First, it is necessary to build a picture of how the RAF Reapers fit into the air campaign against ISIL. Since the US-led offensive began in August last year, the allies have been engaged in a sustained operation to first blunt the advance of ISIL in Iraq and Syria. This is to allow time for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to be re-built and then begin a ground offensive to drive Islamic State militants out of northern and western Iraq. Syrian rebels are also being recruited to take on the militants in its heartland around the city of Raqqa. US President Obama and
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04/02/2015 15:38
IRAQ
RAF REAPERS
‘The ministry and RAF have surrounded Reaper operations in Iraq and Syria with an unprecedented veil of secrecy.’
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04/02/2015 15:38
RAF REAPERS other Western leaders, including Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, have ordered that no ground troops will be committed to the battle. The war is to be fought from the air, at least as far as Western countries are concerned. Another complicating factor was the need for Western airpower to be deployed in support local Iraqi and Kurdish troops. Iraq is now an independent country and its government, along with the regional administration in Kurdistan, had to be consulted about and approve all military operations inside its country. This meant an unusual chain of command and concept of operations had to be developed by US and allied air commanders. Forward air controllers could not be deployed in front line areas to call in air strikes on ISIL positions, as that would breach the rule about “no boots on the ground”. To fill the gap, the US and British dispatched dozens of staff officers, air liaison officers and communications experts to set up joint operations rooms in the Iraqi and Kurdish ministries of defence buildings in Baghdad and Erbil, respectively. These air co-ordination experts run around-the-clock operations, working with local commanders to confirm the position of friendly troops and picking up intelligence on ISIL positions. Simultaneously, the air co-ordination teams have ground-to-air communications with allied aircraft flying over Iraq, as well as links to the main US air headquarters in the Middle East at Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar. These links play an important part in clearing aircraft to attack targets in Iraq, by confirming both to pilots and senior commanders that any potential targets were valid and not friendly troops or civilians. This co-ordination and deconfliction, however, only went so far in establishing ‘ground truth’ of what was happening on the battlefield of Iraq. US and British air commanders wanted ‘eyes in the skies’ monitoring in real time. Having trusted ‘eyes on target’ dramatically increases confidence that Western firepower is being unleashed on the right objective. The consequences of inadvertently bombing civilians or local allied fighters cannot be overstated. All US and allied fast jets operating over Iraq are equipped with advanced targeting pods, such as the Lockheed Martin Sniper or Rafael Litening III (See Think Smart...Destroy, p58-63), which give pilots an unprecedented view of what is happening on the ground. Fast jets are limited to only a few hours over Iraq before having to refuel at a base or from a tanker.
The RAF has ten MQ-9 Reapers but only half of them are believed to have been committed to fight against ISIL.
Above & below: Engineers dismantled the Reapers in Afghanistan, before boxing them up ready transport by air to their new base in the Middle East, where they were quickly re-assembled.
Forward Operating Base
To fill this persistent surveillance gap, air commanders requested the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones to patrol the front lines of Iraq. Geography and the distance from friendly air bases in the Gulf meant that to get the most endurance from their MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reapers a base had to be found closer to action. In September, the Pentagon announced that it was setting up what was described as an “intelligence, surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) base” at Erbil airport in Kurdistan, with 125 US Air Force personnel dispatched to run a launch and recovery element for Predators and Reapers. The team is responsible for the maintenance, repair and arming of the drones. A handful of pilots control the air vehicles during take-off and landings. A similar site was already in operation at Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait to monitor Iranian activity in the
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04/02/2015 15:38
RAF REAPERS UK Air Strikes - Operation Shader 2014-15 Ops Date
“Having trusted 'eyes on target' dramatically increases cobfidence that Western firepower is being unleashed on the right objective"
Above: RAF C-17 Globemaster strategic airlifters were used to transport the boxed up MQ-9 Reapers to their new base. The MQ-9 system is designed to be airportable to allow strategic mobility between different theatres of operation.
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Weapon
Target
1
05-Oct-14 Ramadi
Loctation Attack Platform Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
Fortified building
2
07-Oct-14 Ramadi
Tornado GR4
Brimstone/ Paveway IV
ISIL stronghold
3
07-Oct-14 ??
Tornado GR4
??
??
4
19-Oct-14 Fallujah
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
2 x trucks
5
?? Oct
Tornado GR4
6
23-Oct-14 Jar Silah, Kirkuk Tornado GR4
Ramadi
7
2-Nov-14
8
03-Nov-14 ??
Al Qaim
Brimstone
Tank
Paveway IV
Logistic hub in former Iraqi army base
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
Armed vehicle
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
Heavily armed pick-up truck
9
04-Nov-14 Bayji
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
Armed pick-up truck
10
10-Nov-14 Al Anbar
2 x Tornado GR4
Brimstone
ISO container used as store
11
10-Nov-14 Bayji
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
IED team (first UK MQ-9 strike)
12
12-Nov-14 Kirkuk
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
3 positions
12-Nov-14 Kirkuk
MQ-9 Reaper
13
13-Nov-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
Vehicle moving at high speed
CP, bunker, OP & 2 armed trucks
14
13-Nov-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL checkpoint
15
13-Nov-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL machine gun position
16
15-Nov-14 Western Iraq
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
communications vehicle
17
15-Nov-14 Mosul
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
ISIL heavy weapon Bulldozer
18
19-Nov-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
19
19-Nov-14 Tunnel complex in Iraq
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
20
20-Nov-14 Bayji oil refinery Tornado GR4
3 x Paveway IV
ISIL fighters in 3 buildings
21
26-Nov-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL position on top building
22
27-Nov-14 Kurdistion
MQ-9 Reaper & Paveway IV, 9 APC/armed pick-up trucks Tornado GR4 Brimstone, Hellfire
23
27-Nov-14 Kurdistan
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
fighrting position
24
01-Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
1 x ISIL position
01-Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
25
01-Dec-14 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
3 x ISIL positions
2 x Postions+ 1 vehicle
26
01-Dec-14 Tikrit
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
2 x positions
27
01-Dec-14 Tal Afar
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
APCs in compound
28
02-Dec-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL vehicle
29
02-Dec-14 Fallujah
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV + Brimstone
Cluster armed pick-up trucks and lorries
30
05-Dec-14 Rawa, Anbar Province
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
Obs tower and equipment
31
06-Dec-14 Rawa, Anbar Province
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
APC
32
07-Dec-14 Bayji
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
Fighting position in built up area
33
08-Dec-14 Mount Sinjar
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
2 x APC
34
09-Dec-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
APC
35
09-Dec-14 Mount Sinjar
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
Obs tower and guard room
36
10-Dec-14 Rawah, Anbar Province
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
ISIL storage compound
37
12-Dec-14 Ramadi
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV & Brimstone
2 x APC, 1 x vehcile
38
12-Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
Armed pick-up truck
39
12-Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
2 x JCB
40
12-Dec-14 ??
Tornado GR4
41
17-Dec-14 Anbar Province/ Tornado GR4 Kurdistan
Paveway IV
Fortified ISIL compound
??
??
42
19-Dec-14 Iraqi Army AO
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
Enemy IED team
43
20-Dec-14 Ar Rutbah, Anbar Province
Tornado GR4
Brimstones
4 x APC
44
23-Dec-14 Al Qaim
Tornado GR4
Brimstone/ Paveway IV
4 x armed pick-ups in Quary
45
24-Dec-14 Kurdistan
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
ISIL armed vehicle
46
24-Dec
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
Pick-up truck used as road block
Kurdistan
47
25-Dec-14 Al Qaim
Tornado GR4
2 x Brimstone
ISO containers used as check point
48
25-Dec-14 Hadithah Dam region
Tornado GR4
Brimstones
2 x armed vehicles
49
28 Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
2 x Hellfire
ISIL fighting posisions
50
02-Jan-15 Ramadi
Tornado GR4
2 x Paveway IV
ISIL position in woods
Table continues on next page
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04/02/2015 15:38
RAF REAPERS northern Gulf and its drones were switched to operate against ISIL during the summer of 2014. Once the drones are in the air, control passes to one of several operations centres in continental USA for the remainder of the mission. Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, an hour’s drive from Las Vegas, is the best known but USAF has set up several more “outstations” at bases around the country where additional personnel work shifts to sustain the 60 or so drone orbits or patrols over war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and North Africa. Each orbit is controlled from a specific cabin or control room at one of the operations centre, which look like a combination of a flight simulator, graphic design studio and student computer lab crammed with huge screens to display and manipulate video imagery. At any one time, up to ten personnel will be working to run a drone orbit. Only two are the pilots or flight crew who take turns to actually ‘fly’ the drone during its ten to 12 hour-long patrol. One is the captain who has the job of co-ordinating all aspects of the mission and pulls the trigger to fire weapons. The rest of the crew are image analysts who study video imagery filmed by the drone’s camera, radar experts who monitor synthetic aperture radar product collected by the MQ-9 and intelligence analysts with real-time access to large data bases of information or who can tap into product in real-time from other platforms, such as the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint signals ntelligence gathering aircraft. This ‘back-end’ crew are the real engine of the MQ-1/MQ-9 force and turn it from being just a ‘soda-straw’ view of the battlefield into a real intelligence multiplier. Reports of US drone operations over Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan have shown how the back-end crew pull together multiple intelligence sources. Some sources suggest US Predators and Reapers have been fitted with signals intelligence collection systems to detect and access internet wi-fi and cell phone networks used by insurgents. This information can be compared with the video imagery from the drone’s cameras. The back-end crew can take this even further by reportedly searching through intelligence databases of pictures of insurgent leaders or even determining if the insurgents being watched on camera
An RAF MQ-9 Reaper with its full weapon load, but the drones often fly with less ordnance to enhance their performance and extend their time on station.
are using cell phones with sim cards that have been linked to known insurgents.
Joint Operations
Crucially, the endurance of the Predator and Reaper means they can orbit targets for hours at a time, giving operators plenty of opportunity to do their work, then present intelligence information to a senior commander for clearance to attack, and in the case of Iraq, co-ordinate with the joint operation centres in Baghdad and Erbil. If a crew are in the midst of prosecuting an important target and ‘their’ air vehicle starts to get low on fuel and needs to return to base, they can instantly ‘switch’ control to a new drone as it arrives on station to relieve the outgoing one. This ensures the back-end crew don’t need to hand over to another team; losing vital time as fleeting targets are being prosecuted. The RAF has been an integral part of the USAF’s ‘MQ-1/MQ-9 Enterprise’ – as the force is described by the service – since 2008. It
has a strong presence at Creech AFB in the shape of 39 Squadron, as well as having its own ‘outstation’ at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, run by 13 Squadron. RAF Reaper operations are configured to be interchangeable with their American counterparts, with both air forces being able to swop over each other’s air vehicles mid missions or fly co-ordinated operations with multiple aircraft operating in close proximity against the same target. When the British government offered to re-locate its Reaper Force from Afghanistan to Iraq last September, USAF was keen to get them and the RAF into the fight. As well as broadening the alliance in the war against ISIL, the USAF’s MQ-1/MQ-9 squadrons have been continuously at war since 2001 and suffer from personnel retention problems. The addition of two RAF Reaper squadrons enhanced the sustainability of the MQ-1/MQ-9 Enterprise.
RAF Missions
The RAF involvement in the Iraq campaign, or
RAF MQ-9 Reapers operate around the clock to maintain continuous surveillance of ISIL positions in Iraq and Syria.
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RAF REAPERS Operation Shader as it’s known in the UK, got under way in late August when the US began offensive air operations. The RAF Reaper Force was then fully committed to covering the final withdrawal of UK troops from Afghanistan that would be complete by mid-November. Contingency plans were made to re-locate a small UK force to join the US launch and recovery element being set up at Erbil or in Kuwait. This small self-contained force replicated the US-UK Reaper operation that had been running at Kandahar since 2008, although they have to work in rather more austere conditions. Liaison officers and intelligence experts were also sent to the joint operations centres in Iraq and Erbil to get up to speed on the new scenario and theatre specific procedures, including the rules of engagement (ROE). Satellite and data network communications links to the new theatre were also established and tested. The first RAF personnel began arriving at their new LRE base in early October and boxed-up air vehicles were flown in later in the month to be re-assembled and tested. Planners at the US combined air operations centre (CAOC) at Al Udeid began putting the RAF Reaper on the daily air tasking order (ATO) at the beginning of November and they were then cleared to fly over Iraq. The first live attack mission took place on November 10 when a RAF Reaper patrolling over the large Bayji oil refinery successfully attacked a team of ISIL militants planting an improvised explosive device with a single AGM-114 Hellfire missile. RAF Reapers were launched on a daily basis to patrol or orbit over what were dubbed ‘engagement zones’ or ‘kill boxes’ set up at strategic points along the 1,000km (620 miles) of front line in Iraq. Once in position, the Reaper crew would fly around monitoring the situation on the ground, looking for specific targets or just watching areas of interest to see if any ISIL fighters broke cover to move or engage friendly forces. The drones were also in a good position to respond to calls for help from ground troops who were under attack. If a target appeared, the Reaper crews would pass a warning to the joint operations centres so the troops could be warned. At the same time, the back-end crew would begin the process of identifying the target and validating it for attack. Once commanders were happy the target was indeed Islamic State forces, then the Reaper itself would be cleared to attack with its own weapons or an allied fast jet would be called up. Media reports from Iraqi and Kurdish front lines have filmed several Predators and Reapers flying high above. The presence overhead is a major boost to the morale of local forces and has a distinct threatening effect on ISIL fighters, who appear reluctant to break cover when one of the large distinctive drones can be seen and heard in the skies above. From published details of the RAF Reaper strikes in Iraq, it appears they are operating throughout much of the country and have struck in Kurdistan, as well in the centre of Iraq near the capital, Baghdad. Targets attacked in the 30 publicly acknowledged Reaper missions up to the middle of January include fighting positions, bulldozers building bunkers, machine gun posts, armoured vehicles, armed pick-up trucks, supply vehicles and individual fighters on the roofs of buildings. The RAF Reapers have also taken part in several complex air operations, including
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Table continues from previous page. 51
02-Jan-15 Al Qaim
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
ISIL APC
52
04-Jan-15 ?? Near above
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL position
53
04-Jan-15 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL vehicle
54
05-Jan-15 Al Qaim
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL fighting positiom
55
05-Jan-15 Al Qaim
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
Low Loader carrying above AFV
56
05-Jan-15 Al Qaim
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
AFV on Low Loader
Brimstone
JCB
57
05-Jan-15 Al Qaim
Tornado GR4
58
06-Jan-15 ??
???
59
08-Jan-15 Anbar Province
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL position
60
08-Jan-15 Kurdistan
Tornado GR4
4 x Paveway
ISIL troops attacking Kurdish fighters
61
13-Jan-15 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL vehicles
62
20-Jan-15 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL fighters
62
16-Jan-15 Bayji
Tornado GR4
4 x Paveway IV
ISIL position
63
21-Jan-15 Kurdistan
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
ISIL truck
63
16-Jan-15 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
2 x Hellfire
ISIL fighters attacking Iraqi troops
64
21-Jan-15 Kurdistan
Tornado GR4
Paveway IV
ISIL observation post
64
18-Jan-15 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
Hellfire
ISIL machine gun position
65
21-Jan-15 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
multiple Hellfire
mutlple ISIL positions
65
18-Jan-15 ??
MQ-9 Reaper
3 x Hellfire
ISIL fighters attacking Iraqi troops
66
19-Jan-15 Al Qaim
Tornado GR4
Brimstone
ISIL APC
01-Dec-14 Kurdistan
MQ-9 Reaper
2 x Postions+ 1 vehicle
12-Nov-14 Kirkuk
MQ-9 Reaper
CP, bunker, OP and 2 armed pickup trucks
providing over watch during RAF and coalition fast jet strikes. They monitor the reaction of enemy ground troops to air strikes before tracking and engaging any ISIL fighters who might try to flee. By early January, the RAF Reaper force was engaging targets three or four times a week. To date the RAF has only confirmed the employment of Hellfire missiles, suggesting the ROE requirements are high to prevent collateral damage.
Future Roles
This tempo of operations seems sustainable by the RAF for the foreseeable future, given the small forward deployed footprint required and the ability of the UK drone force to draw on support from its American counterparts. The RAF and USAF have revealed details about their drone strikes inside Iraq, almost nothing has been revealed about operations over Syria. UK Ministry of Defence sources
have confirmed in background briefings that unarmed Reapers have flown missions over Syria in co-operation with the RAF’s sole RC-135W Rivet Joint Signals Intelligence aircraft. These missions are highly sensitive and involve the collection of intelligence on the leadership of in the infamous jihad group. UK government ministers say a new Parliamentary vote would be needed for Reapers to employ weapons inside Syria, although some ministers claim the RAF has the right to attack targets in Syria in “emergency situations”. Exactly what this means has not been spelt out but it is thought to mean offensive air support could be used during a rescue mission to extract Western hostages held by Islamic State militants or a downed pilot. The fact that the small RAF Reaper force had carried out some 30 of the 64 British air strikes in Iraq by mid-January illustrates its importance to the UK afm contribution to the fight against ISIL.
Above: RAF personnel control MQ-9 Reaper operations over Iraq and Syria from centres at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire and Creech AFB, Nevada, via a satellite communications links.
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FORCE REPORT Russia's Long-Range Aviation (LRA)
Strength The Bear gains
Alexander Mladenov examines the current state, operations and inventory of Russia’s Long-Range Aviation (LRA) force, which last year intensified its global ‘power projection’ patrols
Below: The 13-strong Tu-160 Blackjack fleet, currently operated by the RuAF, was taken on strength between 1986 and 2008, with eight examples delivered after 1990. Alexander Mladenov
R
ussia’s Air Force’s (LRA) arm is perhaps the most important and recognisable component of its strategic nuclear deterrence triad. The versatile bombers can conduct both nuclear and conventional precise missile strikes in a range of conflicts, at any point on the globe, from home bases in Russia. The LRA is equipped with worldclass and still little used strategic bombers, capable of employing long-range conventional and nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs). The fleet comprises
two strategic, nuclear-capable, four-engine bomber types that can be armed only with ALCMs. The first is the swing-wing, jet-powered, supersonic Tu-160 Blackjack, the second is the prop-driven, subsonic Tu-95MS Bear-H. A third type, the jetpowered, twin-engine, swing-wing, supersonic Tu-22M3 Backfire-C, is a long-range bomber used for anti-shipping missions, armed with supersonic cruise
missiles, equipped with either conventional or nuclear warheads. The Backfire-C fleet can also be deployed for conventional strikes against land targets using long-range missiles and free-fall bombs. The LRA is among the bestfunded arms within the Russian Air Force (RuAF) having secured all the funds needed to upgrade, overhaul and life-
‘During these missions they can improve their skills in the early detection of approaching NATO fighters’
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h
Branch: Russian Air Force (LRA) Role: Global Nuclear and conventional precise missile strikes
extend its ageing fleet. It also has a large number of new-generation ALCMs. Russia’s aviation industry is now looking at developing a new-generation, long-range bomber. Since the late 2000s, annual training budgets have been boosted. LRA aircrews continue to train hard, conducting long-range patrol flights through international airspace on a regular basis. This realistic combat training and global ‘power projection’ missions resumed in August 2007 by a decree issued by Russia’s
then – and now – president, Vladimir Putin. The global ‘power projection’ bomber patrols were formally renamed in 2013 “flights conducted in accordance with the strategic deterrence plan”. Last year their frequency was increased and global reach significantly expanded. Russian political leaders and military commanders refer to the
LRA’s much-publicised global patrol operations, combined with the mass introduction of new ALCMs and upgraded bombers. The revival of the LRA is Russia’s non-symmetrical response to the ambitious US initiative to establish an anti-ballistic missile defence system in Eastern Europe. Installations, including radars and missile sites, are being deployed to a number of countries, such as Poland and Romania, and will be made operational between 2015 and 2018.
Above: Russia’s Defence Ministry, Army Gen Sergey Shoigu, announced in November 2014 that the LRA is set to expand its regular ‘power projection’ missions deep into the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, including the waters of the Caribbean basin and the Gulf of Mexico. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
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FORCE REPORT Russia's Long-Range Aviation (LRA) Intensified operations
Heightened tensions between Russia and the West, which resulted from the Ukrainian crisis of February 2014, could be described as a return to the days of the Cold War, which supposedly ended with the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1992. LRA bombers became more evident and were used more frequently after Russia faced political and economic isolation from the West after annexing the Crimean peninsula in mid-2014 and supporting ongoing conflict in western Ukraine. Last year was the busiest for LRA’s global operations, with 40-plus patrol flights logging more than 600 flight hours. The total flight time amassed last year by all LRA units, including the bombers and the auxiliary types, amounted to around 29,000 hours, which is 5,000 hours more than the figure released for 2013. Russia’s defence minister, Sergey Shoigu, announced on November 12, 2014 the LRA arm had recently been tasked to expand the scope of patrols to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Extended strategic bomber operations should become an integral component of service’s combat training plans. “In this specific situation we need to ensure military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, including the waters of the Caribbean basin and the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. Another reason behind the expansion of expensive global patrol operations is to give aircrews plenty of opportunities to improve their mission training. To make it happen, the LRA receives all the resources it needs for conducting these complex missions. Now, almost nine years after resumption of regular global ‘power projection’ patrols, Blackjack and Bear-H crews are reported to have attained mission readiness levels equal or better than those maintained during Soviet times. RuAF command authorities have claimed on many occasions all LRA flight operations outside Russia are conducted in international airspace and in full compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules and procedures, without violating other countries’ sovereignty. They also tended to note frequent NATO intercepts on Russian bombers during sorties over neutral waters represented realistic training opportunities; prized by aircrews. During these missions they can improve their skills in the early detection of approaching NATO fighters by using information derived from the radar homing
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and warning receivers, allowing them to be ready for prompt evasive action whenever needed, by manoeuvring or activating the aircraft’s self-protection suites. In addition to pre-planned, longrange patrol operations, bomber aircrews are being scrambled several times a year to perform simulated missile strikes during so-called ‘sudden combat readiness inspections’. They are tasked with ‘real-world’ ALCM firings against practice targets at a variety of firing ranges in remote locations in Russia’s extreme northern or far eastern territories. In 2013, as many as 15 ALCMs were reported to have been launched by LRA bombers during training missions. Last year the figure is rumoured to have been equal or higher.
Mission specifics
As a rule, all long-range patrols flights are flown in pairs for mutual support in case of an emergency. On rare occasions four-ship formations have been launched on ‘power projection’ missions. All flights are conducted over neutral waters, at no less than 11nm (23km) from the coastlines of sovereign states. During the first year of long-range patrols the bomber force is claimed to have amassed some 70 such flights, between August and December 2007. In following years the operations tempo slowed. Only 35 were reported in 2013 before a moderate increase in 2014, when 40-plus such flights were recorded. The Engels-based Tu-95MS and Tu-160s have conducted a significant proportion of their long-range patrols over the Arctic, including territories around the North Pole and northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean and occasionally to the northern Pacific,
reaching the Alaskan coast. On one occasion they continued further southwards, reaching a point off the coast of California. First patrols in the Mediterranean and South China Sea were conducted last year, supported by Il-78 Midas air tankers, which were forward deployed to airfields in Egypt and Vietnam. The Tu-95MS force, stationed at Ukrainka airfield in Russia’s Far East, has a somewhat restricted patrol area in the Pacific and over remote Arctic regions. The Tu-22M3 force from Shaikovka, southwest of Moscow, has been deployed for patrol and ‘power projection’ operations over the Baltic and Black seas, although the Backfires have ventured to the North Atlantic. During patrols, the Russian bombers fly at around 32,800ft (10,000m), maintaining a cruise speed of 485kt (900km/h) for the Tu-160 and Tu-22M3, and 397kt (735km/h) for the Tu-95MS. Air refuelling support is essential. The fuel-thirsty Bears and Blackjacks take between 30 and 50 tonnes during each air-to-air refuelling session with Il-78 or Il-78M Midas tankers. In addition to the long-range patrols conducted from their home bases at Engels and Ukrainka, the Bear-Hs occasionally use forward operating locations beyond the Polar circle such as Vorkuta, Tiksi-3, Olenya, Monchegorsk and Anadir, while Il-78 tankers routinely deploy to these far northern airfields to support operations in the Arctic.
AB at Engels airfield, situated on the Volga riverside some 378nm (700km) southeast of Moscow, follow what aircrews call the ‘around-the-corner’ route; in use since Soviet times. It begins with an initial leg in a north-westerly direction in home airspace, towards Kola Peninsula. The bombers continue over neutral waters in the Barents and Norwegian seas, while remaining off the Norwegian coast until turning on to a southerly heading to reach the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The Blackjacks and Bears then continue towards the North Sea or pass between Greenland and Iceland with the aim of reaching the Canadian coast. While over Kola Peninsula and Barents Sea, they are escorted by pairs of MiG-31s and Su-27s. In the North Sea basin or off the Canadian coast, the bombers simulate ALCM launches and then return home. On rare occasions, the Bears continue southwards
Busy ‘around-thecorner’ route
Typical long-range patrols of the RuAF Bear-H and Blackjack force from the 6950th Guards Air Base
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Branch: Russian Air Force (LRA) Role: Global Nuclear and conventional precise missile strikes
Left: The Bear-H’s extensive upgrade effort to the Tu-95MSM standard includes adding new propeller units in addition to an all-new navigation/attack suite in order to further increase the combat capabilities. Chris Lofting Below: The LRA bomber force has been advertised as the most viable and wellvisible tool available to Russia’s political leadership to project military power around the globe, alongside its primary role of strategic nuclear deterrence. Chris Lofting
fighters to escort the Russians. The fighter escort’s main task is to avoid conflicts with civilian air traffic which, as a rule, uses the same cruise flight levels as those occupied by the bombers.
LRA current structure and fleet
to Gibraltar before turning back. One such mission was reported on October 29 last year when two Bear-Hs suddenly appeared off the coast of Portugal. Typical mission duration, with one in-flight refuelling, is 16 hours and distance travelled exceeds 6,470nm (12,000km). A proportion of long-range patrol flights have been flown on an ad-hoc basis, relatively close to the US and Canadian east and west coasts. Russia has claimed on several occasions the Blackjack and Bear-H crews have not been provocative in their actions. USAF and NATO officials tend to comment the Russian bomber patrols represent “aggressive probing”, aimed at checking reaction times of air defence systems needed to detect the bombers and how fast QRA fighters are scrambled to intercept and shadow them. The Tu-22M3 force at Shaikovka regularly conduct five-hour patrol
missions over the Baltic and Black seas, escorted by Su-27s. The Russian MOD claims the missions are over neutral waters only, without violating the borders of other countries, and with full adherence to established international rules and procedures. Flying in international airspace without a transponder or a flight plan is not illegal but creates potentially dangerous situations. It is a major concern for civilian air traffic control authorities in regions where the Russian bombers patrol. When Russian military aircraft cross busy civilian airways, controllers are forced to quickly clear civil traffic from vast chunks of the airspace ahead of the bombers to give the needed degree of de-confliction and avoid near misses. In addition, NATO’s combined air operations centres, responsible for the air policing mission in countries bordering the Baltic and Black seas, tend to scramble QRA
In April 2009, the 37th Air Army of the Supreme Command (Strategic Purpose) was reformed into the Long-Range Aviation Command (LRA). It still has its primary mission of nuclear and non-nuclear strategic deterrence with ALCMs able to strike targets well beyond Russian borders. In the event of war, its Backfires, Bear-Hs and Backfire-Cs would be tasked to attack enemy military and economic targets by destroying defence installations and disrupting government and military command-andcontrol communications. Post-2009, the LRA structure comprised a headquarters, a training centre, four component air bases (Engels, Shaykovka, Ukrainka and Belaya) and auxiliary units. Current arrangements, established between December 2010 and April 2011, now includes a headquarters, a training centre, two so-called first rank air bases and their component air groups plus a plethora of auxiliary units. The 6950th Red Banner Donbass Guards Air Base is headquartered at Engels in southern Russia and has three bomber-equipped component air groups stationed at Engels, Shaykovka and Olenya airfields. Support air groups are stationed at Anadir and Vorkuta. The 6952nd Air Base has it HQ is stationed at Ukrainka in Russia’s Far East and controls two bomber air groups, one at Ukrainka itself and the other
PAK-DA in construction The long-term future of LRA’s strategic bomber force is dependent on the development success of the PAK-DA, a new-generation four-engine, lowobservable bomber. It is a strategic deterrent system, currently developed by Tupolev, a company controlled by Russia’s United Aircraft Corp, under a classified programme. According to Lt Gen Zhikharev, it has a subsonic flying wing aerodynamic configuration. The PAK DA will be powered by a non-afterburning derivative of the Tu-160’s Kuznetsov NK-32 engine. The new bomber will be capable of carrying a higher weapon load than the Tu-160. It will feature all-new EW and communication suites as well as a state-of-the art navigation/attack suite. The principal weapon will be a stealthy and ‘smart’ nuclear-tipped ALCM with subsonic flight profile, currently under development. RuAF’s Commander in Chief, Col Gen Viktor Bondarev, said the new missile for the PAK-DA, was capable of flying at ultra-low level and will be optimised for penetration of advanced air defences. Equipped with a sensitive radar homing and warning receiver, the smart ALCM will be able to detect and plot all radar threats alongside its pre-programmed route and, based on this, the missile’s artificial intelligence will decide how to avoid these threats, following a route of best survival and varying its altitude and speed. The bomber is in development under a contract signed between the Russian MOD and the United Aircraft Co. in 2013. According to Lt Gen Zhikharev, it should make its maiden flight in 2019. Then it will undergo extensive joint state testing and evaluation (undertaken by the RuAF’s State Flight Testing Centre at Akhtubinsk) in 2021. Deliveries to the frontline squadrons would be in 2025.
As Lt Gen Anatoliy Zhikharev announced in January 2014, LRA’s Tu-160- and Tu-95MS-equipped units have attained the readiness to commence long-range patrols by using airfields outside Russian territory but declined to provide any further details. Chris Lofting
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FORCE REPORT Russia's Long-Range Aviation (LRA) at Belaya, along with auxiliary units stationed at Temp and Tiksi-3 airfields in the country’s extreme northern territories. According to Lt Gen Anatoliy Zhikharev, LRA Commanding Officer, the organisation is to undergo another series of reforms in the middle part of this year. The 2009 structure will be re-established with bomber divisions and regiments. He claimed the 2009 system, together with a package of measures to reduce the command-andcontrol structures, had proved cumbersome and overly complex, compared with the regimentaldivisional one, and that was why the LRA would switch to its past organisational structure this year. In December last year, the LRA fielded a fleet of 13 Tu-160 Blackjacks and 63 Tu-95MS BearHs in two air groups, with a total of two Tu-160 and six Tu-95MS squadrons. The LRA also controls three air groups with a total of eight squadrons flying Tu-22M3 Backfire-C long-range bombers; a total of around 100 examples. The Backfire-C fleet lacks an air-to-air capability and has no strategic significance but can be used for delivering heavy bombs in local conflicts and attacking carrier battle groups using supersonic air-to-surface missiles. In 2011, the LRA inherited the long-range strike forces of the Russian Naval Aviation (RNA) branch, represented by two Tu-22M3-equipped squadrons. One, originally within the structure of the 7051th Air Base at Olenya, was assigned to the Northern Fleet and one, within the 7061st Air Base at Kamenniy Ruchey, assigned to the Pacific Fleet. The
Above:The upgrade and life-extension effort of Tu-95MS fleet enable the giant turboprop bomber to be capable of soldiering on in the nuclear deterrence role until 2040, while the upgraded Tu-160M could continue until the late 2040s and even early 2050s. Alexander Mladenov
latter’s aircraft and crews have been incorporated within the structure of the LRA’s existing air group stationed at Belaya in the Far East, while the former unit has been re-organised as a newlyestablished air group of the 6950th Air Base that remains based at Olenya on the Kola Peninsula. Operating alongside the bombers are Il-78/78M tankers, An-12 and An-26 transports and rescue aircraft, Tu-134UBL/UBSh training and liaison aircraft, Mi-8 transport helicopters and An-30 photo-survey aircraft. The fixed and rotary-wing rescue aircraft are deployed on regular basis to Russia’s extreme northern territories, at Tiksi-3, Anadir and Vorkuta airfields, to provide search-and-rescue coverage in areas used by the strategic bombers during long-range patrol flights over the Arctic. Last year, the LRA took delivery
of three new Mi-26 Halo heavy-lift helicopters for logistical support for its airfields beyond the Polar circle, and the new unit at Temp airfield. The tanker fleet operated by the LRA is grouped within the 203rd Tanker Aircraft regiment at RyazanDyagilevo, comprising a fleet of 19 Il-78 and Il-78Ms. These are to be supplemented by 31 improved Il-78M2-90As, the first of which is currently in production, with the last example slated for delivery in 2020. Additionally, two Il-96400TZ strategic tankers/transports, capable of offloading up to 100 tonnes of fuel per sortie, were ordered in December 2014 and will join the LRA fleet in early 2016 .
Bears and Blackjacks soldier on
The prop-driven Tu-95MS is the LRA’s backbone, responsible for the vast
majority of long-range patrols. The modern, costly, faster and heavier Tu-160 is used rarely for routine patrols and only despatched when a high-profile political impact is required. This was exactly the case with a highly publicised Tu-160 visit to Venezuela and Nicaragua, conducted between October 27 and November 5, 2013. The mission was ordered personally by President Putin and witnessed a pair of Blackjacks logging 76 hours and 10 minutes total flying time. The strategic deterrence of such ‘power projection’ flights over the Caribbean, the south western coast of North America and the central and northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean was not lost to the West. The mission’s crews are said to have accumulated valuable experience in operating from foreign airfields and honed their skills in the early warning and detection of approaching NATO fighters, which were scrambled to intercept
The Engels-based Bear-H force includes 13 Tu-95MS-16s, capable of carrying a total of 16 ALCMs plus five more Tu-95MS-6s, outfitted for use of six nuclear-tipped ALCMs. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
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the Blackjacks within international airspace. The previous Tu-160 visit to Venezuela in September 2008 saw a similar pattern of conducting ‘power projection’ long-range patrol operations. Tu-160 pilots boast their supersonic, swing-wing aircraft is able to break free from fighter escorts by simply hitting the afterburners and setting the wings in the fully aft position. In this low-drag configuration, the Blackjack can out-accelerate the shadowing fighters or avoid being intercepted by approaching NATO fighters. Lt Col Andrey Malishev, a Tu-160 commander-pilot said, during a long-range patrol mission his pair had been intercepted and shadowed by NATO fighters from an undisclosed country while flying over neutral waters in the Atlantic Ocean. “At this particular time, by coincidence, the mission profile for the Tu-160 flight called for a short supersonic high-speed dash. I selected full afterburner rating for the four NK-32 engines and extended the wings fully aft at their maximum sweep. The Backfire accelerated swiftly, broke the sonic barrier and then we easily pulled away from the fighter escort which was unable to catch up,” he said.
Fleet upgrades
Russia’s Defence Mister, Sergey Shoigu, approved a package of measures in June last year to improve the fleet’s availability rate to 80% by 2017. At present, it is believed to be hovering at about 50% due to the lack of spare parts and delayed overhauls and upgrade. This significant increase announced by Shoigu will require vast investment in improving overhaul activities, spare parts procurement, life extension and proposed upgrade initiatives. Lt Gen Zhikharev said 15 overhauled bombers were received last year, in addition to eight upgraded machines: two Tu-160s, five Tu-95MS and one Tu-22M3. Currently, the LRA has a mature bomber fleet with an average age of 25 years. In 2009, the service began a series of upgrades to make the Bear-H and Blackjack fleets capable of employing newgeneration ALCMs, while the latter is also set to add guided bombs to its arsenal. A proportion of the Backfire-C fleet is being equipped with the capability to deploy newgeneration long-range missiles and conventional free-fall bombs, which will be integrated with an improved navigation/attack suite. Lt Gen Zhikharev announced in December 2012 the three
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Above: LRA’s huge Bear-H fleet was taken on strength in the period between 1983 and 1991 and is still regarded as being in a fairly good technical condition in terms of fatigue and corrosion damage. Chris Lofting
bomber types would undergo upgrades in two phases. The first will modernise the aircraft’s navigation/attack suites in an effort to replace all obsolete avionics components and other equipment, which is now out of production. This package of so-called interim measures would allow the bombers to continue operations with increased long-term availability rates. The second phase will be a much more comprehensive upgrade of all three bomber types, covering integration of all-new navigation/
attack, communication and EW suites, combined with service life extension programmes. The Blackjack plan foresees delivery of as many as ten upgraded Tu-160Ms by 2020. The overall combat capability of the definitive upgrade standard is stated as being twice that of the original Blackjack, which features a 1980s-vintage mission suite and weapons. In 2013, the LRA is reported to have received two life-extended Tu-160s plus one first-phase upgraded example, capable of using new weapons
– presumably the Kh-555 and Kh-101/-102 ALCMs. The first Blackjack to the enhanced Tu-160M standard, (believed to have covered the package of improvements, conceived for the second upgrade phase), flew for the first time on November 19 last year and was taken on strength by the LRA on December 19. Named Andrey Tupolev, this is the first upgraded Tu-160 in an initiative for upgrading and life-extending ten Tu-160s. They will be capable of using the new conventional-warhead
Russian Long-Range Aviation Command Order of Battle, December 2014* * Compiled using publicly-available sources only. No official information has been released on ORBAT of the LRA after the radical reform, launched in December 2009 and follow-on rounds of changes undertaken in 2010 and the first half of 2011. Unit
Base
Headquarters
Moscow
Types
43rd Combat and Conversion Training Centre (LongRange Aviation Personnel)
Ryazan-Dyagilevo
203rd Tanker Aircraft Regt. (two component sqns)
Ryazan-Dyagilevo
Il-78, Il-78M
27th Composite Transport Regiment
Tambov
An-12, An-26, An-30, An-2, Tu134UBL, Tu-134SH, Mi-8T/MT, Mi-26
Aviation Operative Group
Temp - Kotelny Island
6950th Donbass Guards Air Base
Engels
1st Air Group (four component bomber sqns)
Engels
Tu-160, Tu-95MS
2nd Air Group (three component bomber sqns)
Shaikovka
Tu-22M3, Tu-22M3M
3rd Air Group (one component bomber sqn)
Olenya
Tu-22M3
Aviation Storage/Support Facility
Soltzy
Aviation Storage/Support Facility
Vorkuta
Aviation Storage/Support Facility
Anadir
6952nd Air Base
Ukrainka
1st Air Group (four component bomber sqns)
Ukrainka
Tu-95MS
2nd Air Group (four component bomber sqns)
Belaya
Tu-22M3
Aviation Storage/Support Facility
Tiksi-3
Aviation Storage/Support Facility
Temp - Kotelny Island
Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3M, Tu-22M3, An-26
Notes: LRA CO, Lt Gen Anatoliy Zikharev has stated it is planned that during this year the command will return to the proven regimental-divisional organisational structure used until December 2009. The two heavy bomber divisions, re-established on the base of the existing two air bases, headquartered at Engels and Ukrainka, will restore their pre-2009 ‘number plates’ and regalia, while their component air groups will be re-established as component heavy bomber aviation regiments. According to information exchanged under the START treaty, the nuclear-capable bomber force based at Engles comprises 13 Tu-95MS-16 and five Tu-95MS-6 in addition to 13 Tu-160s. The Ukrainka-based Bear-Hs nuclear-capable force includes 15 Tu-95MS-16s and 25 Tu-95MS-6s. Three more Tu-95MS are listed as stationed at Ryazan for use in the training role, but one of these was written off due to a fire onboard in February 2013.
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The Shaikovka-based Tu-22M3 heavy bombers are routinely used to fly five hour-long patrols over the Black Sea and the Baltics, escorted by Su-27s and Su-30M2s. Chris Lofting
Raduga Kh-555 and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles, the KAB-1500 guided bomb and the Kh-102 nuclear-tipped missile. In December 2013, Lt Gen Zhikharev told a Russian newspaper, the small Tu-160 fleet was set to continue in service for between 30 and 40 more years. This means the last Blackjacks will reach retirement time somewhere between 2043 and 2053. The Tu-160s in RuAF service were built between 1986 and 2008, with only eight examples handed over after 1990. The Tu-95MS fleet is also set to continue in active service until about 2040. For this to happen, the Bear-H will need engine and mission suite upgrades combined with rolling service life extensions for the airframe and the systems. This costly effort will render the prop-driven bomber adequate for use in both nuclear deterrence and conventional strike roles for two or three more decades. The Tu-95MS fleet, which dates from between 1983 and 1991, is little-used and is in a good technical condition in terms of fatigue and corrosion damage. According to Lt Gen Zhikharev, the Bear-H is currently undergoing a life-extension and upgrade programme. The second-phase upgrade to the so-called Tu-95MSM standard is to add improved NK-12MPM engines, fitted with an all-new AV-60T propeller system, in addition to all-new nav/attack and EW suites allowing the ability to deploy weapons such as the Kh-555 and Kh-101/102 ALCMs.
with planned avionics suite. It is expected the Tu-95MSM prototype, with the new mission avionics suite, will take to the air for the first time in late 2015. Most, if not all, of the Tu-22M3s remaining in service were produced in the late 1980s, with the last Backfire-C taken on strength in 1997. Lt Gen Zhikharev said the improved Tu-22M3 was to remain in service until nearly 2040. In the late 2000s, the RuAF chose an unorthodox and affordable way of upgrading a proportion of its Backfire-C fleet to increase overall combat employment effectiveness. It received the SVP-24-22 modular digital upgrade package developed by a small high-tech Russian company named ZAO Gefest & T, initially intended for the Su-24M Fencer-E. This upgrade package is built around a new SV-24 digital mission computer integrated with a combined GPS/GLONASS satellite navigation receiver, new hardware interface units and software for processing navigation data received by different sources as well as three new displays in the navigator/operator’s cockpit. It achieves precise positional
information, reportedly within 100-160ft (30-50m), regardless of the mission duration, which, in turn, allows very accurate drops of unguided bombs. The first Tu-22M3 was upgraded with the SVP-24-22 in 2009 in an initiative self-funded by Gefest & T, and four more Backfire-Cs were programmed for upgrade in 2012. No further information on the progress of this small but affordable and effective upgrade has been released. The mass upgrade of the Backfire-C fleet to the vastly enhanced Tu-22M3M standard, by adding an improved mission avionics suite, was initiated under a contract covering 30 aircraft, which dated to 2012, but still lags behind schedule. The project combines airframe/ general systems overhauls, which are carried out at the KAPO plant in Kazan, which also oversees modernisation of the Tu-160s. The Tu-22M3M’s new mission avionics package makes the Backfire-C able to use new air-to-surface missiles such as the Kh-32. A prototype aircraft was brought up to the Tu-22M3M standard in 2012 and handed over for evaluation at the
LRA’s training centre at RyazanDyagilevo. It is still unknown whether the Tu-22M3M upgrade standard also incorporates the SVP-24-22 package. As many as ten aircraft were expected to be handed over last year, (the first two examples were taken on strength in June), followed by 12 more this year and the rest in 2016. The plans were not completed with only one improved Backfire joining the LRA in 2014. The first fullyupgraded Tu-22M3M, from the so-called second upgrade phase, incorporating all-new mission avionics and EW suites, is set to be test-flown at KAPO in 2017.
LRA commander speaks out
Asked by Russian newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda to compare the Russian and US strategic bomber forces, Lt Gen Zhikharev considered the overall operating capabilities were similar. While talking about combat training specifics he noted, however, the USAF’s strategic bomber aircrews tended to use simulations to a much greater extent than their
A Tu-95MS Bear-H seen approaching to take fuel from an Il-78M Midas tanker. The global ‘power projection’ missions are performed with one or two air refuellings, while the record-breaking flight of 42 hours and 20 minutes in July 2010 took as many as four air-to-air refuelling sessions. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
Old Dog New Tricks
The Tu-95MSM upgrade was awarded to Tupolev as the main contractor and the agreement with the Russian defence ministry was signed December 2009. This upgrade, however, proved to be a protracted development process and as of December last year, the prototype aircraft had not been declared for flight-testing
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Branch: Russian Air Force (LRA) Role: Global Nuclear and conventional precise missile strikes
Recordbreaking flights On June 9 and 10, 2010 two Tu160s conducted a long-range patrol mission with two air-to-air refuelling contacts, a first for the Blackjack fleet, with an endurance of 24 hours and 24 minutes. The distance flown was 9,709nm (18,000km). The bombers took off from their home base at Engels carrying the maximum fuel load of 148 tonnes, reached Russia’s Polar territories and made their first contact with the Il-78 tanker over Tiksi, with each of the two Tu-160s taking 55 tonnes of kerosene (the time necessary to complete the refuelling session was nearly 30 minutes). The pair crossed the Laptev Sea, reached the coast of Alaska (no intercepts by USAF fighters have been reported) and then turned towards Japan, accelerating to supersonic speed and maintaining this flight regime for ten minutes. While flying around Japan, initially off the eastern coast and then off the western coast, the Tu-160s were intercepted and shadowed by JASDF fighters. The Blackjacks continued their mission toward the Russian far eastern territories and refuelled again over the Komsomolsk on Amur area before flying west to Engels. A notable ultra-long power projection mission was flown by two Tu-95MS between July 28 and 30, 2010 with the chief aim of evaluating the reliability performance of the aircraft, powerplant and mission systems. It saw a pair of Engels-based Bear-Hs undertake an ultra-long-range patrol flight with a total duration of 42 hours and 20 minutes which involved four air-to-air refuellings.
Above: The Il-78/M Midas is the main tanker type in the RuAF service, heavily utilised to support the long-range missions of the Bear and Blackjack forces. A total of 19 Il-78s and improved Il-78Ms are currently on strength with the 203rd Tanker Aircraft Regiment at Ryazan-Dyagilevo. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
Russian counterparts. In turn, the LRA aircrews, as Maj Gen Zhikharev claimed, were tasked to conduct a much wider range of missions. Since 2010, the flight training of the LRA units has been intensified and Lt Gen Zhikharev noted all Tu-160 commander pilots log in excess of 100 flight hours a year, (the minimum figure set for the LRA branch is 80 flight hours). Colleagues flying the Tu-95MS amass no fewer than 200 flight hours and those on the Tu-22M3 exceed 300 flight hours. The two new ALCM types operational with the LRA in the early 2010s included the MKB Raduga Kh-555 and the Kh-101/102 and are advertised as long-ranged, precise weapons, able to hit terrorist bases abroad. The former is a vastly improved derivative of the 1980s-vintage nuclear-tipped Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent), currently the principal Tu-160 and Tu-95MS weapon. The latter is a new-generation stealthy ALCM, much larger and heavier
than the Kh-55 and Kh-555. Designed as a Kh-55 scaled-up derivative, it has been presented as an ultra-long-range weapon that comes in two versions. The Kh-101 is a conventional derivative while the Kh-102 is a nucleartipped one. Powered by a turbofan on retractable mount, it can fly at up to 2,967nm (5,500km) and weighs 5,400lb (2,500kg). Flying at up to 523kt (970km/h) at between 100ft-19,680ft (30m-6,000m), it uses a terraincontour matching (TERCOM) guidance, enhanced with INS/ satellite en-route correction (using a combined GLONASS/GPS receiver) and TV scene matching in the terminal phase of flight. This combined guidance method is said to provide a claimed circular error probable (CEP) of 40-66ft (12-20m). The Kh-101/102 was tested for the first time in 2004 and was reportedly commissioned in 2013. The upgraded Tu-160 can carry up to 12 missiles internally on two rotary launch units. The missiles have to be
carried externally by the Tu-95MS because its bomb bay is too small. The smaller and lighter Kh-555, which was tested for the first time in 1999, has a range of up to 1,078nm (2,000km) and a conventional warhead weighing 800lb (364kg). There are two types of conventional warheads on offer – penetrating and cluster ones; the latter is equipped with fragmentation/high explosive and armour-piercing sub-munitions. Compared to the Kh-55, this derivative boasts reduced radar-cross section (RCS) and a much more modern combined guidance system with TERCOM with INS/satellite en-route correction. The stated CEP for the Kh-555 is within 66ft (20m). In June 2014, as many as six new-generation ALCMs (believed to be Kh-555s) were fired by an Engels-based Tu-95MS, deployed for an exercise to Ukrainka airfield in Russia’s Far East. All six targets situated at Kura range in the Kamchatka Peninsula afm were reported destroyed.
Right: The Tu-160 fleet is reported to have amassed 1,130 flight hours in 2013, and in 2014 the figure was approximately the same, with between six and 10 aircraft believed to have been maintained in airworthy condition at any time. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
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GIGN RESPONSE
SNIPERS Jean-Marc Tanguy lifts the veil on the air assets supporting French domestic counter terrorist officers who were called into action after the massacre at the Parisian offices of Charlie Hebdo in January.
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IN THE SKY
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GIGN RESPONSE
F
Main image: A police RAID gunner aims his HK417 and fires from a Gendarmerie EC145. All photos author
rench anti-terrorist police immediately sprang into action after two Islamic gunmen burst into the offices of satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and shot dead 12 people on January 7. There followed an extensive manhunt for the two brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi who were suspected of carrying out the massacre and the murder of a policeman outside the office. At approximately 9am on January 9 police started to close in on the suspects, who were holed up in a printworks not far from Charles de Gaulle airport. After a tense eight-hour stand-off the brothers were shot dead by snipers. Meanwhile, at around 1pm, another siege was taking place in the capital. An accomplice of the Hebdo killers, Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to have shot dead a policewoman outside the French metro the day before, took hostages at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris and demanded that Kouachi brothers be allowed to go free. Minutes after the printworks siege had come to an end, elite commandos stormed the supermarket and killed Coulibaly. Fifteen hostages were freed but the bodies of four murdered men were discovered by police officers.
Invaluable Helicopters
While much of the media attention has been focused on the thousands of officers involved in the apprehension of the killers, police helicopters also played an invaluable role (though sadly they were prevented from helping on January 7 by poor visibility). But where did the helicopters come from and who operated them? France has two counter-terrorist teams. The famous Groupe d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) was created during 1974 and the Police RAID (Recherche, Assistance,
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Intervention, Dissuasion) founded in 1985. GIGN is now a 400-strong unit tasked with overseas protection missions (in places such as Iraq in 2003) but its core business remains in France, with a wider counter-terrorism responsibility. It is charged with protecting France’s 75 nuclear power plants and the two houses of Parliament. The ‘Group’, as GIGN is called by its members, is also called upon to deal with any hostage situations on French soil. GIGN has been supported by a special helicopter squadron, Groupe Interarmées d’Hélicoptères (GIH, Joint Helicopters Group) since 2006 to help meet an increased workload. GIH was formed after a desperate lack of helicopters was highlighted in September 2005 during the recovery of a car ferry hijacked by Corsican nationalists in the Mediterranean. It took hours to get a few Pumas to the scene, so the government decided GIGN should get its own helicopters. The Gendarmerie had a fleet of AS355 Squirrels and EC145s (now reinforced with EC135s) but they were too light to operate with a full squad of armed troops. These helicopters have a support duty role, to quickly deploy a negotiator, a pair of snipers, or to provide real-time imagery intelligence (IMINT). The EC135 has a powerful Wescam MX-15 turret, with a data link that can be downloaded to officers via a dedicated kit called ‘Handy View’. Because of its role in protecting nuclear power plants, and the need for the GIGN to transport heavy loads of support equipment the French Joint HQ provided the unit with seven Pumas, all based near Paris, on Base Aérienne (Air Base) 107 in Villacoublay, close to the GIGN camp. From this fleet, the unit had at least three Pumas on alert, ready to take off in only a few minutes. During 2012, this quick reaction alert (QRA) was reduced from three to two Pumas,
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An EC145 from the Villacoublay-based ‘Section Aérienne de Gendarmerie’ provides support, carrying a pair of GIGN snipers. This compact quadcopter mini-UAV’s ability to fly in both open and confined spaces makes it a great asset for the police’s RAID intervention team.
but still with seven helicopters. The Puma needed more maintenance hours so it was decided to cut the number standing on QRA. At the outset, GIH was integrated into the French special operations Army Aviation Regiment, 4th RHFS (Regiment d’Hélicoptères des Forces Spéciales), based at Pau, in the south-western Pyrénées. The 4th RHFS belongs to the Brigade des Forces Spéciales Terre (an army brigade dedicated to special operations) which is controlled by the Commandement des Operations Speciales or COS (Special Operations Command, a 3,200-strong force) The French Air Force contributed two Pumas (of a total of 28 Pumas in service), as well as ground mechanics. The French Army’s Light Aviation (or Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre, ALAT) donated five Pumas, and the commanding group. Several helicopters have been fitted with armour to protect the flying team and some have an electronic warfare suite, which warns of missile approach and has a jammer. Some can also carry chaff and flares dispensers and a 7.62mm machine gun at one door. The first training sorties were flown in 2006 with teams from the 4th RHFS or the French Air Force specialised squad (Escadrille Spéciale d’Hélicoptères, ESH) because they had the necessary operational skills. Many of the personnel, who didn’t have a specialist ops background, had to learn helicopter rappelling techniques and more importantly, the commandos’ tactics. There have also been innovations. An experienced GIGN officer developed a ‘nacelle’, designed to carry a 3,300lb (1,500kg) load – freight or human. It is directly connected to the main transmission box and has a special
‘Many of the personnel, who didn’t have a specialist ops background, had to learn helicopter rappelling techniques and more importantly, the commandos’ tactics.’
COS and DGSE assets In France, all recent counter-terrorist operations have been led by DGSE (French Foreign Secret Service, equivalent of the British MI6) and Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (Special Operations Command). DGSE has its own squadron, GAM-56 ‘Vaucluse’ housed at base aérienne 105 in Evreux, west of Paris. GAM-56 flies a mix of DHC-6 Twin Otters, Transall, Hercules and three Caracal. The 4e Régiment d’Hélicoptères des Forces Spéciales (4e RHFS) has almost 40 helicopters: seven support GIGN and RAID in the Groupe interarmées d’hélicoptères (GIH), but the core operations are led by a mix of Cougars, Caracals, Tigers and Gazelles.
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GIGN RESPONSE
UAVs
Counter-Terrorist Assets Units
GIGN is the UAV operator that has the most experience in France. A solar-powered mini-UAV was tested at the beginning of the 2000s but was not put into service. GIGN bought a CARD mini UAV, an evolution of the Army DRAC (Drone de Reconnaissance au Contact) mini-UAV and the Copter Xe, both from the Surveycopter range of products. Surveycopter was then bought by EADS. CARD is a fixed wing mini-UAV that can fly for more than two hours and is used primarily for VIP escort missions. Copter Xe is a rotary wing UAV that hovers in confined areas, such as a warehouse. GIGN is now focusing on lighter UAVs and already operates the quieter electric-powered quadcopter. A mini UAV will be the next step. RAID has less experience on UAVs than the GIGN, but also owns a quadcopter.
Assets (numbers)
Location
Direct Use GIH
Puma (7)
Villacoublay
SAG78
EC135 (2), EC145 (2)
Villacoublay
ETEC
Falcon 7X (2), 900 (2), 2000Dx (2)
Villacoublay
Support
EH3/67 Fennec (10+)
Above: GIGN flies these two UAVs. The fixed-wing Surveycopter UAV CARD (upper) is derived from the DRAC UAV in service with the French Army. The Surveycopter Copter Xe was bought later to fly inside buildings.
security harness for 15 people. Even a child (but not a baby) can be safely lifted. It is invaluable for airlifting hostages and troops away from a hostile environment. Initially the ‘nacelle’ was qualified on the Puma for the G8 summit in 2003, then it was extended to the French Special Ops Force (SOF) EC 725 Caracal in 2010. Cyclope, a special communications kit, was another advance made by GIGN research and development experts. Aircrews can now hear the helicopter’s intercom, the GIGN tactical encrypted network and the air-to-ground communications.
Threats
GIH was primarily formed to counter the threat of nuclear terrorism but has only been used once for this role – to halt an ecologist who had broken into a nuclear power plant. The unit has been in regular action against drug smugglers and has flown several maritime counter terrorism (MCT) training operations. Each year, GIGN and commandos from the navy train for critical MCT scenarios. The most recent was in December at St Nazaire when the exercise centred on a ferry boat being hijacked by terrorists. It led to around ten helicopters (mainly Caïman from Flottille 33F based in Lanvéoc-Poulmic and GIH Pumas, with two Gendarmerie assets: a Squirrel and an EC135) flying in. A Harfang UAV from the Escadron de Drones 1/33 Belfort, based in Cognac, also participated despite the awful weather. It was the first time a MALE UAV had been used during MCT training in France.
Villacoublay
EH5/67 Fennec (10+)
Orange
ET 68
Fennec (4)
French Guyana
31F
Caïman Marine (6)
Hyères
32F
EC225 (2)
Lanvéoc-Poulmic
33F
Caïman (7)
Lanvéoc-Poulmic
34F
Lynx
LanvéocPoulmic, Hyères
36F
Panther (15)
Hyères
In June last year, GIH flew GIGN squads over the beaches of Normandy (with a Harfang UAV), to secure the 70th anniversary commemorations of D-Day. Three of its seven Pumas were engaged during those critical hours. It was the GIGN Pumas that helped track the two gunmen at the time believed to be responsible for the Charlie Hebdo killings. Three helicopters flew northwest of Paris on January 8 and 9 delivering the elite commandos to a printworks near Dammartinen-Goële, where the killers were holed up. Seven gendarmerie light helicopters (four EC135s equipped with MX-15s, three Squirrels with Hesis optronic turrets and an EC145 for the sharpshooters) also flew in to provide real-time imagery and sniper support. The Pumas are getting old (see Puma – The Survivors, February, p62-69), and the French missions in Africa need them too (four are deployed in Mali, two in Niger, four in the Central African Republic and four in Djibouti). As a result, a replacement is now being urgently sought and the Joint HQ and Gendarmerie are trying to find a solution. Current options are the three Super Pumas (currently based in Corsica), operated by the French Air Force which it will retire soon, or the two EC225s currently operated by Flottille 32F for SAR duties, one based in Cherbourg and the other near Brest. When the navy has enough NH90 Caïmans, the EC225s will be replaced, but ongoing issues with the helicopter over deliveries and maintenance, means this will not happen for a while. Another solution could be a lighter helicopter. Pumas will be replaced in the mid-2020s by a light joint utility helicopter, known as the
Above: French navy commandos, similar to the British Special Boat Service, rappel from a Marine NH90 Caïman to a high-speed RIB. Right: Two GIGN gendarmes in front of an EC145 from SAG Villacoublay. It was equipped with special fast roping equipment to train the elite gendarmes.
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GIGN RESPONSE HIL in France, and some current plans are focused on a speedier acquisition to meet special force needs. HIL could be an EC645T2, which has a wide variety of capabilities.
The Gendarmerie fleet
When the Gendarmerie bought its first eight EC145s, two were to be dedicated to support GIGN missions. Before, the elite unit only had the AS350Ba Squirrel, acquired by Section Aérienne de Gendarmerie (SAG, Gendarmerie air section) for shorter-range needs. However, the Squirrel is not well suited to rope technique training because it can only take two gendarmes at a time. An EC145 cabin could load up to eight unequipped operators but on real missions a gendarme would be equipped with an armoured helmet, bulletproof vest, ammunition, a HK416 assault rifle, a Glock automatic gun and a revolver – this extra weight makes it impossible to carry eight heavy laden troopers. Two bar attachments, used for roping, were specially developed by Airbus Helicopters. It allows commandos to descend on two lines, one each side of the chopper. The EC145 is also a good platform for airborne snipers. The two shooters can sit at the door and use their HK417s (7.62mm) with holographic sights. The EC135 brings real-time intelligence support with its Wescam MX-15 optronics turret. This system has a wide screen in the aft and can transmit imagery to an isolated group in the middle of nowhere. A ground receiver with an antenna mast can receive the imagery flow at long distances. This capability is useful when escorting VIPs or tracking terrorists. The excellent performance of the MX-15 sensors means the EC135 can fly without being seen. Its Spectrolab SX-16 Nightsun can light an area equivalent to a football pitch, during night missions. It has an ultraviolet filter allowing only the pilots to see the lit zone. Initially just one EC145, based in Villacoublay, will be able to carry the MX-15.
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Above: GIGN operators walk to a waiting GIH Puma on June 5, 2014 during the 70th anniversary celebrations of the D-Day landings. These Pumas look like normal ones, but their value lies with the experienced pilots. Below: A marine commando shows off his 0.50 precision rifle, used for maritime counter-terrorism (MCT) missions, at the door of a Panther. Bottom: French marine commandos exit their highly configured EC725 on the Normandy coast during May 2008, 64 years after the original D-Day landings. The Caracal helicopter is flown by Escadrille Spéciale d’Hélicoptères (ESH), part of Escadron d’Hélicoptères 1/67 ‘Pyrénées’ of the French Air Force.
MCT training Each year, the French Navy and Gendarmerie stage a maritime counter-terrorism (MCT) exercise at sea in the Channel or Atlantic Ocean (known as ‘Armor’ exercises). This year it is expected to take place in the Mediterranean (under the title ‘Esterel’). This exercise can engage more than 400 GIGN and navy commandos, ten helicopters and an Atlantique maritime patrol aircraft. Air assets are the best way to gain intelligence at sea and to get commandos as quickly as possible aboard a hijacked ship or a petroleum platform. In the 1980s, the navy special forces trained for parachute landings at sea, and put the skill to operational use in the 2000s to counter drug smugglers, and Somali pirates (three times during 2007-2008) Helicopters are used to insert the commandos and to bring fire support on the deck of a hijacked ship. Traditionally, high-speed ‘RIBs’ are used to enable commandos to deploy a co-ordinated assault. The commanding officer of Flottille 33F (now flying the Caïman Marine) is in charge of the helicopter’s MCT squad (OK). Each Armor and Esterel follows technical training on secure rope techniques. Exercises last three or four days.
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GIGN RESPONSE
Above: Over the Provence coast in August 2014, this EC145 shows why the Gendarmerie think it’s the best airborne point-and-shoot platform. The French celebrated the D-Day landings in southern France by setting up a security cordon to counter any potential terrorists as part of Operation Dragoon. Left: A GIH Puma flies above Paris during a public exhibition on homeland security. The ‘nacelle’ under the Puma can carry up to 3,300lbs (1,500kg), which can include troops or hostages if the need arises.
‘An experienced GIGN officer developed a ‘nacelle’, designed to carry a 3,300lb (1,500kg) load – freight or human. It is directly connected to the main transmission box and has a special security harness for 15 people.’
Four will have this capability in the longer term. While GIH and the Gendarmerie helicopters fly regularly with the GIGN inside their helos, it was decided to open up its services to other counter-terrorist teams, such as RAID. This police unit is 170 strong and is based in Bièvres, next door to the Villacoublay Air Base. Within a few months, RAID snipers had become familiar with the EC145. During their first participation in the air-to-ground sniper challenge, organised by special forces in 2013, the RAID team came second. The Gendarmerie has 56 choppers: 15 EC135s, 15 EC145s (deployed to mountainous areas and overseas), and 26 Squirrels (17 are 350 Ba and nine are 350 B2 variants).
Marine Nationale
In the 1980s the French Navy participated in MCT missions. Commandos from the navy worked in teams with two flottilles, 32F at Lanvéoc-Poulmic and 33F at Toulon-Hyères. At that time, they used the Super Frelon, while snipers flew in the Lynx. The EC225, and now the Caïman (13 have been delivered) have since taken on the role, along with the AS565 Panther Mk2. These assets can also be used for counter-drug missions (one usually takes place most months in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean) and overseas counter-terrorist missions. An operation in Somalia during April 2008 saw a Panther, two Alouette III and two army Gazelles work together to catch Somalian pirates and retrieved the ransom.
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Most famous operations GIGN has been involved in many operations in France and some overseas such as Djibouti (1976), La Mecque (1979). It is known worldwide for the ‘Marseilles-Marignane affair’ (December 1994) when it resolved the hijack of an Air France Airbus A300 with 220 passengers on board. The four terrorists were killed and ten GIGN commandos injured. Hundreds of rounds were fired and at least one grenade exploded inside the aircraft.RAID was involved in a terrorist incident at a primary school (1994) west of Paris and tracked Islamic terrorists during the 1995 bombings that left eight people dead. Its work has helped to secure peace in the capital for nearly 20 years. In 2012, it was also involved in tracking down Mohamed Merah, a terrorist who had killed three unarmed French soldiers, a Rabbi and three small children in Montauban and Toulouse. He was killed after a 30-hour gun siege.
Air Force
The French Air Force (FAF) has a special QRA among its transport squadrons to support GIGN and RAID missions. Transall and Hercules aircraft can both easily be loaded with their special vehicles, such as the latest Sherpa APC made by Renault Trucks Defense, and quickly flown to any part of France and its overseas territories when necessary. The Sherpa has ladders to access the high entry doors of an Airbus A380 (but it can also be used as a lifting platform for troops, as it was on January 9 during the anti-terror siege of the printworks). This QRA was used mainly for covert missions in Corsica, where internal terrorism began to ravage this beautiful island in the mid-1970s. FAF also has a QRA fed with VIP jets from ETEC65 based in Villacoublay: two Falcon 7Xs, two Falcon 900s and two Falcon 2000DXs. These are primarily used as government transports but also serve as MEDEVAC assets, and support French Secret Service (DGSE), RAID and GIGN. In 1995, the FAF developed a unique unit to counter possible attacks by low-speed aircraft. This role was allocated to Escadron d’Hélicoptères (helicopter squadron) 3/67 ‘Parisis’, based in Villacoublay. At that time it used an Alouette III for night missions with a Thales Chlio optronic turret, and some single turboshaft Squirrels. I t then gained a more efficient two turboshaft Fennec equipped with the Chlio. A new
configuration appeared with a lighter FLIR Systems Ultra 7000 but the FAF felt it lacked performance. The Fennec is also equipped with either a 20mm gun or a pair of snipers from Commando Parachutiste de l’air (CPA) 20 (similar to the British RAF Regiment) based in Villacoublay. In 2012, the CPA20 taught the RAF Regiment the art of airborne sniping before the Olympic Games in London. They called upon 17 years’ operational experience. CPA20 and its Fennecs worked to secure the Football World Cup in Paris (1998), the G8 Summit (2003), the 60th and the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings (2004 and 2014), and the Rugby World Cup (2007). Some Fennecs were involved in providing security for the London Olympics but operated from French soil. Three Fennecs were operational during the post-Charlie Hebdo march in Paris on January 11, 2015. A Gendarmerie EC135 and an EC145 from Sécurité Civile (belonging to Ministry of Interior) also flew to help protect the marchers. The ‘Parisis’ also taught its techniques to sister unit, EH 5/67 ‘Alpilles’, based at Orange in southeastern France. These armed Fennecs fly each day from four locations to secure highly sensitive areas, such as nuclear power plants. Four Fennecs are also used in French Guyana (South America) to secure the Ariane launcher during sensitive afm phases, before and during space flights.
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Manhunt! I
n the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris on January 7, Gendarmerie helicopters were heavily involved in the manhunt for the two Islamic gunmen. Seven EC135 and EC145s from three different bases took part in the operation, clocking up 52 flying hours over a two-day period, including 13 hours at night. The attack against the Paris office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo took place just before midday – 11 people were killed and a police officer was murdered a short while later. It was quickly determined the attackers, two brothers, had hijacked a car in Paris and were heading north. On January 8 at 9.30am, they robbed a petrol station in the Aisne region, 46 miles (75km) northeast of Paris. Hundreds of Gendarmerie immediately converged on the area, cordoning off several hundred square metres. The manhunt continued until the morning of the 9th. It seems the killers may
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Frédéric Lert details the GIGN helicopter response to the Charlie Hebdo attack. His photos depict an aerial demonstration by the GIH in central Paris last July.
have thought they would be able to escape detection more easily in a city and tried to drive back to Paris, but en route crossed the path of a Gendarmerie patrol, exchanged fire and took refuge in a printworks on a small industrial estate in the town of Dammartinen-Goële where they were cornered.
Helicopters close in
Traditionally, the largest cities are under police control while the smaller towns and cities, as well as rural areas, are covered by the Gendarmerie. When it was determined the terrorists were heading north, seven Gendarmerie helicopters, two each from their bases at Amiens and Reims, three from Villacoublay, were put on alert. The Gendarmerie owns 19 air sections and 11 detachments in France and overseas territories, with a total force of 56 helicopters. Most of the bases operate two helicopters and their goal is to be able to reach any point of the territory within 30 minutes. However, poor weather on January 7 prevented the helicopters from flying the search mission. They finally took off on
Above: In response to the recent terror attacks in Paris, three Pumas were used to fast-rope commandos around the printworks where two terror suspects were hiding. They were shot dead by snipers after an eight-hour stand-off.
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GIGN RESPONSE the morning of the 8th, although the weather was still marginal, and started their search pattern, supporting ground forces which were combing woods and rural areas. There is little doubt the constant presence of helicopters over a large area restricted the attackers’ movements. EC135s fitted with Wescam MX15i turrets can broadcast live video to the main players supervising the op. The crews also used stabilised binoculars and their Spectrolab searchlights. “We first used our helicopters to search the most difficult terrain for the ground forces,”
said a pilot who took part. “For this kind of operation the helicopter is a great force multiplier, saving manpower and redeploying ground forces where they are most needed.” EC135s were flying with a crew of four: two pilots, a flight engineer/observer and a Gendarmerie sharpshooter. EC145s were also kept on standby, ready to transport assault forces from the police and the Gendarmerie. Meanwhile three Pumas from the GIH (Groupement Interarmes Hélicoptères) were mobilised. As soon as the suspected killers were
located, GIGN (Groupement d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) teams were inserted around the printworks after fastroping down from the three Pumas. An orbiting EC135 provided image coverage, feeding live video to an operator inside a Puma, working on a Handyview, a 4th Generation Remote Viewing terminal. An EC145 with a sniper team provided fire cover. During the stand-off, four Gendarmerie helicopters were quickly reconfigured to serve in an emergency medical service afm (EMS) role with a Sécurité Civile EC145.
Above: Gazelles from the 4 Régiment d’Hélicoptères des Forces Spéciales often fly without doors to facilitate quick entry/exit. In this configuration, the helicopter can be used as a sharpshooter platform. Above right: Since 2006, the Armée de l’Air and the ALAT have been contributing to anti-terrorist ops. Two Pumas are kept on alert 24/7 in Villacoublay, ready for use by police and Gendarmerie assault teams. Left: Training plays a big part in preparing for live operations. The Gendarmerie’s GIGN practises over the River Seine in the heart of Paris. An assault team fast-ropes down to a tourist boat, while another EC145 provides fire support with a team of sharpshooters. Below: A sniper takes aim from a GIGN (Groupe d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) EC145 during a training operation in Paris. All photos author
The Ponant Affair: Gazelles with sharpshooters Back in 2008 the GIGN (Groupement d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) was involved in another high-profile anti-terrorist operation. Two fast boats loaded with a dozen pirates attacked the French cruise ship le Ponant off the Gulf of Aden on April 4. Its water hoses were no match for the attackers’ AK47s, and the 30 crew quickly surrendered. Fortunately, there were no passengers aboard. The pirates took charge of the vessel and set a direct course for the Somali coast. The next day, 18 Commando Marines (navy special forces) and a dozen GIGN operators (Groupe d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) parachuted in to join the French Navy ships on station in the Arabian Sea. Among them was the Jeanne d’Arc helicopter carrier which was transiting the area during her traditional around the world training cruise for young naval sea cadets. The Jeanne d’Arc carried four helicopters (two Alouette IIIs and two ALAT Gazelles) and was used as the command ship and staging post for
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this counter-terrorist operation. On April 10, the Ponant anchored off the Somali coast, and up to 35 pirates boarded the vessel to ‘enjoy’ the ship’s facilities and steal its contents. At 0800 on April 11 a ransom was paid and at 1100 the pirates left the ship and its crew unharmed, making their getaway across the desert in a pick-up truck. Less than two hours later, the vehicle was intercepted. A Gazelle sliced across its path with two sharpshooters hanging out its rear cabin doors. A quick burst of gunfire and smoke quickly poured from underneath the bonnet as it skidded to a halt. The helicopter hovered on station as the vehicle’s occupants are held in the snipers’ sights. Meanwhile, four other helicopters (two Alouette IIIs, a Gazelle Viviane and a Panther) landed a short distance away with commandos on board. It was a dramatic end to a ship hijacking that had started four days earlier. Some of the pirates were captured and most of the ransom was recovered.
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION
D
uring the past four decades significant advances in technology have improved the way the enemy can be attacked from the air. It has led to fighters, sensors, data links, weapons, and other systems which are interconnected, dramatically enhancing capabilities of tactical aircraft in the strike and reconnaissance roles. During the Vietnam War strikes against heavily defended positions had an average circular error probable (CEP) of nearly 400ft (122m). The CEP is the radius of a circle within which half of a ballistic bomb load is expected to fall and is an indicator of the delivery accuracy of a weapon system. In the 1980s, even in clear weather, a flight of four fighters were generally required to ensure the destruction of a single target. A single fighter now can be counted on to destroy multiple targets.
Detect and Verify
Due to Rules of Engagement (ROE) pilots must detect and identify the target before delivering a weapon. This task can be performed via eyesight, radar, an electro-optical (EO) sensor or Forward Looking IR (FLIR) by the pilot or WSO (weapons systems operator) in the fighter. Also, the pilot or WSO in another aircraft, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
working with forward air controllers on the ground, can provide identification (ID) and verification. Visual ID requires the pilot to fly close to the position they want to strike, unless the fighter is equipped with a sighting system, usually a targeting pod which has TV/ EO and FLIR magnification capability with resolution to ‘see’ the intended end-game from high altitude and stand-off range, day or night. During the 1970-90s systems such as the Westinghouse AN/ASQ-153 Pave Spike (F-4, Buccaneer), Hughes Target Recognition and Multi-recognition (TRAM) sensor (A-6E), Lockheed Martin AN/AAS-38 Nighthawk pod (F/A-18), and Ferranti (now Selex ES) TIALD (Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) pod (Tornado) were tested and deployed on a variety of fighters to provide improved detection, identification and illumination for the delivery of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). Fighter air-to-ground weapons delivery accuracy has evolved in a series of steps over time. From 1912 to 1970 a fighter pilot diving towards or overflying a target used a gun sight and manually released a free-fall weapon. By late in the Vietnam War, the pilots of F-4s were delivering Paveway I LGBs with an average accuracy of 23ft (7m). From the
Above: A USAF F-4E Phantom releases 18 Mark 82 500lb iron bombs in a classic case of carpet bombing. USAF Below: USAF armourers prepare to load JDAMs (Joint Direct Air Munitions) into the bomb bay of a 7 Wg B-1B at Dyess AFB. The jacket and tail section contain the guidance system. Two JASSMs (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles) sit on a trolley waiting their turn to be loaded. Jim Haseltine
‘Airpower is usually employed as a lever to achieve military goals to support top-level political objectives.’
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION
Think Smart... Lon Nordeen looks at the evolution of strike warfare
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Destroy
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION 1970s, the fielding of the A-7E, A-4N, F-16, F/A-18 and similar era fighters were equipped with computer-controlled Head Up Display (HUD) sights and ranging, which significantly improved CEP for free-fall weapons. Stand-off weapons such as the USN AGM-62 Walleye, AGM-84 SLAM and USAF AGM-130 were developed and deployed which were accurate but each was expensive and had its own limitations. The Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), introduced in 1998, flies unaided to hit a point in space using INS and satellite GPS updates. Today, networked sensors and systems allow for tracking of the weapon and targets even when they are mobile.
Gulf War 1990-91
During the Gulf War it was common to send several flights of strike aircraft, with more than 16 weapons, to ensure the destruction of a single point target in clear daylight. Coalition aircraft flew 45,000 attack sorties and delivered 162,000 unguided bombs (91%). Due to many challenges, the estimated hit ratio of free-fall, unguided munitions was less than
25%. Coalition losses due to Iraqi air defences totalled 38 aircraft and 48 more were damaged. During the Gulf War about 9,500 precision guided munitions (PGMs) were delivered against Iraqi targets. Half were short-range missiles such as the AGM-65 Maverick fired by A-10s and AS-30Ls fired by French Jaguar pilots. LGBs delivered by F-111, F-15E, A-6E, F-117s and RAF Tornados made up most of the rest of the guided weapons used in the conflict. Only a small number of medium and longrange stand-off weapons such USAF GBU-15, AGM-86 Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM), USN Walleye II and stand-off land attack missiles (SLAM) were used. Airpower clearly played a significant role in disrupting Iraqi command and control, suppression air defences and battering the Iraqi Army in and around Kuwait to allow for a rapid ground advance. After the war, General A M Gray, the former USMC Commandant, remarked: “One real weakness highlighted during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, was the lack of timely aerial imagery to satisfy the needs of battlefield commanders.”
Post Gulf War Strike Aircraft Updates
Following the Gulf War, the US, NATO and many other air arms introduced targeting systems and PGMs to improve fighter attack capabilities. The US Navy retired the A-6E but F-14A/B/Ds were equipped with the Lockheed AN/ALQ-14 LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) pod. The USN/USMC F/A-18A/B/C/D fleet was equipped with night vision goggles (NVGs) and the Lockheed AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk pod for LGB and Laser Maverick delivery. The USMC equipped its fleet of AV-8B aircraft with the Northrop Litening II FLIR/LST (Laser Spot Tracker) pod and NVGs for the pilot. The USAF retired its F-111s and the F-15E Strike Eagle, equipped with the Lockheed AN/AAS-13 Navigation and AN/AAS-14 LANTIRN pods, took over the strike role; supplemented by F-16C/Ds. The RAF added the TIALD pod to its upgraded GR4/A Tornado fleet for better detection and LGB delivery. The RAF Jaguar fleet was also upgraded to the GR3 standard with the TIALD pod which provided LGB capability. French Air Force Jaguars, Mirage F1s and Mirage 2000s incorporated the Thomson Atlas II and PDL-TV
Affecting The Fight
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Andrew L Lewis, CO US Navy Strike Warfare Center, commented: “From my perspective as a naval aviator flying the A-7 during Desert Storm, Sea Harriers over Bosnia, and the Hornet and Super Hornet on multiple deployments to the Middle East; there is no question that aircraft systems and weapons have given us increased capability to affect the fight on the ground with air power. However, the game changers are not the aircraft, systems, and weapons. The game changers continue to be our people and the training they go through. That is why we will maintain air superiority in the future and will be able to use that sanctuary to affect the fight on the ground or in the maritime.”
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION FLIR laser pods to allow for the delivery of PGMs, including the AS-30L missile and LGBs. Many NATO F-16s and F/A-18s were also equipped with FLIR/LST for detection, tracking and LGB delivery. Advanced systems deployed in 2000 and beyond, such as the-Northrop Litening SE (Sensor Enhancement), Lockheed Sniper ATP (Advanced Targeting Pod), Raytheon AT-FLIR (Advanced Targeting – FLIR) and Damocles, provided the pilot and WSO with even better detection, tracking, range and resolution. Most of these improved pods were also equipped with a video data link so imagery seen by the pilot or WSO could be transmitted to a FAC or battle commander on the ground. Several of the pods can also create quality coordinates for advanced weapons such as the JDAM. Many new generation strike fighters (such as the F/A-18F Block II) combine advanced targeting pods with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (HCMS), data links, large displays monitored by a dedicated weapons systems officer and accurate PGMs, providing superior strike flexibility. The new generation fighters
such as the F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, AV-8Bs and later Rafale, JAS-39 Gripen, Typhoon, F-22 and F-35 include software intensive systems and operational flight programmes. These allow for regular updates of the aircraft and associated weapons systems and sensors to add new technology to match threat advancements.
Munitions Advancements
There are many types of air-to-ground PGMs in service, ranging from free-fall LGBs and glide bombs, to tactical missiles and cruise missiles capable of flying more than 500 miles (800km). Paveway II/III LGBs had more capabilities than the Paveway 1 and a variety of warhead options from 250 to 2,000lb (115-909kg), with reduced blast versions to minimise collateral damage. Later, a GPS/INS system was added so these weapons could be used in both laser and GPS modes to provide the pilot/WSO and battle commander greater flexibility. International counterparts included the Russian KAB-500L and KAB-155, French Matra/BAE BGL (Bombe Guidée Laser) and Israeli IAI Guillotine. Other similar glide bombs, using different guidance
4 One: With its wings open, a small-diameter bomb (SDB) heads into its target – a hardened aircraft shelter housing an A-7 at Eglin range. Inset: after impact. USAF Two: Strikes on Gaddafi tanks. A Typhoon patrolling with a Tornado, which buddy-lased for it, engages and destroys two main battle tanks with Enhanced Paveway II precision-guided bombs. RAF Three: The Sniper targeting pod specialises in long-range target detection/identification and continuous surveillance for missions including close air support of ground forces. It is currently operational on the F-15, F-16, F-18, B-1B, B-52 and A-10 – and was operational on UK Harriers in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. Alan Warnes Four: A German Air Force Eurofighter loaded with two KEPD 350 Taurus stand-off weapons during flight tests. Smart munitions like this and Storm Shadow enable the pilot to release the bomb beyond harm’s way. Airbus Five: The Dassault Rafale’s SBU-54 Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM, air-to-ground modular weapon) uses an INS/GPS seeker with an infrared imager for terminal guidance. Imagery of the target and surrounding area is first uploaded to the weapon. The imager enables the AASM to recalculate its trajectory during the last few seconds prior to impact, using image recognition algorithms. It entered service with France’s air force and navy in October 2011. Frederic Lert Six: An F-15E Strike Eagle drops an AGM-130, a weapon in regular use during 1999’s Operation Allied Force. It was one of the earliest ‘fire and forget’ weapons, freeing the hands and minds of the aircrew to concentrate on other tasks in a high-threat environment. USAF
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concepts, include the TV-guided GBU-15, Walleye II and the Rafael Spice IR guided bomb. Short-range tactical guided missiles included the AGM-65 Maverick with TV/IR and laser guided capabilities, the similar Russian Kh-25 missile family and the French laser-seeking AS-30L. The Boeing JDAM mated a tail kit fitted with an inertial navigation sensor (INS) and GPS receiver, plus moving tail fins and a set of strakes, to various 500lb (227kg), 1,000lb (454kg) and 2,000lb (908kg) warheads. The near precision weapon initially had a CEP of about 33ft (10m) but this has improved over time. The advantage of JDAM is it can be used at night and in nearly any weather, is fire and forget and guides autonomously to the location programmed into the system. Even the basic weapon has a considerable range, 10+ miles with a high-speed and altitude release. The pilot can immediately fly away and perform other tasks. The CBU-105 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) mated a similar INS/GPS kit to a variety of cluster bomb warheads. The GBU-49/B LGB with GPS/INS and GBU-54 (a 500lb GBU-38 JDAM
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Classy Evolution Colonel Ben Hancock USMC (ret) commented: “My own perspective as a tactical jet pilot during 30 years (I served on active duty in the USMC from 1983 to 2013) is that the evolution of the tactical aircraft systems, both in the cockpit and via external systems, coupled with the remarkable improvement in precision weapons has certainly changed how we fight and how we employ air power to achieve political means and more importantly to support our troops on the ground. For example, the AV-8B Harrier that I first flew in the late 1980s and in Desert Storm is not the same AV-8B Harrier II+ that our Marine Harrier pilots are flying now. The latest jet is far more capable in delivering a precision weapon on a point target, day or night, and in providing real-time ISR support to ground troops and commanders. It has been a tremendous evolution. In Desert Storm we essentially were still doing World War Two dive bombing tactics, but with computer aiming systems via a HUD, while over Afghanistan, for example, a Harrier pilot delivered a bomb from high-altitude and put in right into the cab of a moving Toyota pick-up truck every time. We could not do that in Desert Storm. It is more effective and safer for our pilots. I never saw a UAV in Desert Storm. My last combat sorties in Afghanistan I was in a holding stack over potential insurgent targets and would have Predators or Reapers flying 1,000ft [305m] below or above me and was comfortable doing that. UAS are doing things that we didn’t dream of in 1991”.
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION to monitor activities on the ground and share it via data links such as Link 16 and other similar systems has become known as nontraditional ISR. Since 2000 a variety of manned (P-3, Liberty, Sentinel, etc and unmanned ISR systems have been in use to enhance battlefield awareness and command and control capabilities. This included Predator/Reaper drones with both ISR and strike capabilities using their multiple sensors and laser designator for attacks with Hellfire missiles and LGBs.
Conclusion
Above: A Typhoon from 1(F) Sqn drops a Paveway IV INS/GPS dual mode and laser guided bomb. The weapon is cockpit programmable, the aircrew selecting weapon impact angle, attack direction and fuzing mode to detonate in airburst, impact or post-impact delay modes. The jet used the Litening III advanced targeting pod to carry out the precision strike. UK MoD Below: The Tornado GR4 remains the RAF’s most versatile bomb truck. Operating over Afghanistan GR4s were regularly armed with Dual Mode Brimstone for moving targets and Paveway IV to cover all eventualities. It also has a Litening III advanced targeting pod. These same configurations will be used in anti-ISIL ops. Neil Dundridge.
equipped with a laser seeker) and AGM-65E laser Maverick became the ‘go to weapons’ for close air support in Iraq and Afghanistan. Longer range precision guided munitions were developed for attacks against well defended targets such as SAMs, guns, radars, airfields and special types of objectives like command centres, SCUD missiles and ships. The USAF introduced the Rockwell AGM-130, AGM-142, the USN, the Boeing AGM-84L SLAM ER (Stand-off Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) and AGM-154 JSOW (Joint StandOff Weapon), all of which had versions with ‘man-in-the-loop capability’. Development of longer range and more advanced Lockheed AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile) and MBDA Storm Shadow began in
the late 1990s and both are now fielded. The GPS/INS GBU-38 Small Diameter Bomb combines light weight, excellent range of 60 miles (96km) accuracy and is proven in combat. Net enabled weapons now entering service, such as the AGM-154C2 JSOW and GBU-53/B SDB II (Small Diameter Bomb II), can hit mobile targets, adjust their aim point in-flight via data link and even abort if required. It once took many days to collect information, detect, identify a target, and put this data into the hands of mission planners and the pilot for an air strike. Today this process can now be done in seconds via computer networks and data links. Fighters provide 24-hour intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and on-call strike. The use of tactical aircraft systems
Airpower can now plug into new connected networks which enable battle commanders to find, fix, track, ID, and engage fixed and mobile targets and assess results in near real time. Net enabled weapons can be fired, seek out areas of interest, re-tasked if required and provide battle damage confirmation, supporting this new way of war. The challenge of this information revolution is that with so much data coming in, how can it be analysed quickly, put into useable form and provided to those who need it? Included in this chain are trained teams to process the data, systems to transmit it, commanders to review it and then deliver it to the pilots/WSOs, army/special forces or naval commanders who can act on the information. Airpower is usually employed as a lever to achieve military goals to support top-level political objectives. During the past four decades, the US and its close allies have created a system that tied together ISR, C3I systems, airpower and PGMs and fielded an unequalled precision strike capability. These systems have proven their worth over relatively low air defence threat battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other areas. During this same period, in the West, acceptance of serious losses of manpower and military systems has diminished. It has brought about the shift to using armed drones to collect intelligence, surveillance and strike as a way to take the fight to the enemy and lower risks to allied forces. However, the adversary continues to change its tactics regularly and hide possible targets underground, use camouflage or operate among civilians. This puts further pressure on ISR and precision strike. Other adversaries have boosted air defences and are armed with weapons to counter US advancements. As seen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and other recent conflict areas, airpower can be highly effective but if it also causes excessive destruction of infrastructure and civilian casualties, afm success can also become a political failure.
Above: The Popeye – another stand-off weapon designed for precision attack against large targets – under a Turkish Air Force F-4E Phantom. In the US the weapon is known as the AGM-142 Have Nap and was used by B-52s during 1999’s Allied Force. Chris Lofting
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STRIKE WARFARE EVOLUTION Recent Ops Deliberate Force This was a NATO air campaign flown from August 30 to September 20, 1995 by 400 NATO aircraft intended to encourage the Bosnian Serbs to return to peace talks. A total of 3,515 sorties were completed of which 2,000 were strike and Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD), flown against a medium threat air defence environment. In all, 1,026 weapons were delivered on 338 targets, 67% of which were PGMs. One French Mirage 2000 was lost to a SAM but the air operations supported a return to the Dayton Peace accords. Allied Force A second NATO air operation was flown March 23 to June 10, 1999 to halt Serbian atrocities and allow deployment of peace keeping forces. More than 1,000 NATO aircraft flew 38,000 sorties, including 10,484 strike missions and hit 990 positions. Some 14,000 weapons were dropped, often in poor weather, 29% of which were PGMs. A major SEAD effort was required to suppress the medium threat air defences. However, an F-117 and F-16 were lost to SAMs and the air defences were still firing back. This conflict saw the first use of JDAM, JSOW, AGM-130 and wide employment of UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance. Iraq – Operation Northern/Southern Watch More than 100,000 sorties were flown from 1992 to 2003 by US, UK, French and other NATO forces to enforce the UN mandated no-fly zones. This operation evolved into a duel between US and UK airpower and Iraq air defences, and it became a virtual testing ground for strike and SEAD operations. Afghanistan – Operation Enduring Freedom Less than a month after 9/11, US and coalition airpower was striking at the Taliban government in Afghanistan. More than 20,000 weapons, 51% of which were PGMs were delivered during this 176day campaign. Air surveillance and precision air attacks assisted Northern Alliance, other Afghan militias and special operations forces in pushing out the Taliban and opening the way for coalition forces. Lessons showed the importance of naval airpower, bombers, refuelling tankers, airlift, networked operations, ISR, special forces, and PGMs. Phase II involved ongoing air support for the coalition operation running from 2001 to 2015. Air forces gained experience flying together over Afghanistan and became familiar with the NATO standard systems and most were equipped with critical connective systems such as Link-16, secure radios, targeting pods and ROVER computer terminals and PGMs.
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Above: An RAF Typhoon departs Gioia del Colle in southern Italy during Operation Unified Protector in March 2011. It is armed with four Enhanced Paveway IIs and a Litening pod on the centreline station. UK MoD Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom Phase 1 lasted from March 19 to May 1, 2003 with the strategic air campaign focused on an effects-based operations designed to disrupt Iraq’s command and control and shape the battlefield for a ground assault. The US achieved a high level of awareness with satellites, 80 ISR aircraft; ten types of UAVs and ‘tacair’ with FLIR pods all providing good connectivity. The coalition deployed 1,800 aircraft and flew 41,404 sorties, delivering 19,948 PGMs and 9,251 unguided weapons (68% PGMs to pave the way for the ground assault. Seven aircraft were lost in combat including one A-10 and six attack helicopters and 13 due to accidents. Weapons firsts included B-2s delivering Mk-82s, B-52 self lasing for LGBs, F-14Ds delivering JDAM, Tornado firing the Storm Shadow, the use of the CBU-105 sensor fused weapon and AGM-86D CALCM hard target penetrator. Phase II lasted from late 2003-2010, with hundreds of thousands of sorties flown by a wide variety of platforms from B-52s, B-1s, F-15Es, F-16s, F/A-18s, AC130s, and other platforms with a primary emphasis on providing battlefield awareness and close air support. Operation Unified Protector When Libya erupted into civil war, the UN passed Resolution 1970. The air campaign that followed ran March 19 to October 31, 2011. NATO air units supported by jets from Sweden, United Arab Emirates and Qatar flew 26,320 missions of which 9,653 were strike sorties. A wide range of munitions, ranging from cannon fire to LGBs and
Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used. Most fighters were equipped with some form of FLIR/ laser targeting pod and PGMs including LGBs, JDAMs, Maverick, Brimstone and the French Sagem SBU-38 Hammer AASM (Armement Air-Sol Modulaire). Shortfalls identified included a need for improved ISR data plus smaller, longer range munitions to hit selective targets with reduced danger of collateral damage. Operation Inherent Resolve In response to the dramatic success of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria and Iraq during mid-2014, a coalition of nations was formed to ‘disrupt and destroy’ this expanding threat. Air units from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, the US, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have been flying strike sorties over Syria and Iraq. From August 8, 2014 airpower has been hitting ISIL targets but the sortie build up was slow. While many positions in Syria and Iraq have been destroyed and some ground assaults disrupted, results have been mixed. With no Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) on the front line, they must rely on UAVs, data and ‘friendly forces’ for intelligence and damage assessments. The full range of tactical PGMs have been employed with a noted emphasis on laser Mavericks and Brimstone which are useful against mobile targets. Below: A Tornado equipped with a TIALD pod taxies out at Ali al Salem during the second Gulf War in 2002. The system was inadequate for close air support in Afghanistan and was eventually replaced by the Litening pod around five years later. UK MoD
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PLAN SHIPS
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n late January the seaport of Rotterdam hosted a trio of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships, which was a first for The Netherlands. The 18th Chinese Navy Escort Squadron comprised the amphibious dock landing ship CNS Chang Bai Shan, guided missile frigate CNS Yuncheng and supply ship
CNS Chaohu. Known as the 18th Chinese Escort Squadron, the flotilla had recently completed a four-month counter-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden as an international effort to counter Somali hijackers in the area.
Above: Only one Z-9C, 9317, was carried aboard the guided missile frigate CNS Yuncheng. Known to NATO as Haitun (Chinese for dolphin). Insert: The patch worn by the helicopter crews of the Z-8s and Z-9.
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As part of a goodwill gesture and to improve relations with Western navies, several port calls were scheduled in at the end of the deployment, including Salalah, Oman; Portsmouth, England and Rotterdam. The vessels were to go on to France, Greece and lastly Hamburg, Germany before returning home. The PLAN has been supporting anti-piracy operations since December 2008 and to date 19 flotillas have safely escorted more than 6,000 Chinese and foreign vessels through these dangerous waters and rescued or assisted more than 60 other ships in trouble within the region. Accompanying the flotilla were three helicopters that were used to support the 100man special forces team. There was a single Harbin Z-9C (9317), a licence-built variant of the Eurocopter AS565 Panther and two Z-8Js (9517, 9557) based on the French Super Frelon but built locally in China. During the voyage the helicopters performed anti-submarine afm warfare and search and rescue duties.
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PLAN SHIPS
Main image: Both Z-8Js were from the 9th Division/26th Air Regiment, which are shore-based at Sanya/ Yaxian. All photos by authors
The amphibious dock landing ship CNS Chang Bai Shan at the port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands, next stop… France.
Chinese Task Force A rare visit to European shores by the Chinese Navy allowed Carlo Kuit and Paul Kievit of Bronco Aviation to get aboard the ships and look at the Task Force’s helicopter air assets.
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AIRCRAFT PROFILE JSF PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
On Your Marks.
Get Set. Go? D
espite escalting costs and more than its fair share of problems, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) looks set to finally achieve initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Marine Corps in July this year. IOC is
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defined by the USMC as “a squadron of ten F-35Bs capable of executing close air support, limited offensive and defensive counter air, air interdiction, air support escort, armed reconnaissance and limited suppression of enemy air defences”. The USMC’s F-35B will be the first variant to achieve this milestone, followed by the US Air Force F-35A towards the end of 2016 and the US Navy’s F-35C in late 2018 or early 2019. During 2014 the manufacturer delivered 36 JSFs, meeting the
programme production goal despite a well-publicised engine fire in a US Air Force F-35A at Eglin AFB, Florida, on June 23 last year – which resulted in grounding of the type for many weeks and the cancellation of three Lightning IIs due to fly to the UK the following month. The total number of operational F-35s delivered by the end of 2014 reached 109; they were preceded by 14 prototype and development aircraft. The 36 aircraft delivered in 2014 comprised 23
F-35As for the US Air Force; the first two F-35As for the Royal Australian Air Force; four F-35Bs and one F-35C for the USMC; plus six F-35Cs for the US Navy. Presented here is an overview of the programme, outlining its current status, detailing deliveries to date, current customers, units and bases now equipped with the type.
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Alan Warnes, assisted by Dave Allport, reviews the current status of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Below: US Marine Corps/Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’ commander Lt Col Joseph Bachmann taxies F-35B Lightning II 168057 ‘VM-01’ into a shelter at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, on July 17, 2014 after delivering the aircraft from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was the first of the unit’s F-35Bs to move to its new permanent base at Beaufort. USMC/Cpl Aneshea Yee
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AIRCRAFT PROFILE JSF PROGRAMME OVERVIEW Variants
Designed as a highly-common family of next-generation strike aircraft for the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps and allied countries, JSF comes in three variants. The F-35A conventional take-off and landing version is a stealthy, multi-role aircraft designed to replace the USAF’s F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II – while complementing the F-22 Raptor. The F-35B is in a short take-off and vertical landing configuration and designed as a multi-role strike fighter to replace the USMC’s AV-8B Harrier IIs and F/A-18A/C/D Hornets. The F-35C is the carrier variant, a multi-role, stealthy strike fighter that will replace the legacy model F/A-18 Hornet and complement the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
CONFIRMED CUSTOMERS
Ten countries have to date committed to purchase the
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F-35 – the UK, Australia, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey and the US. Canada had also selected the type, with plans to acquire 65 aircraft, but following a political outcry about the lack of an open competition, its government announced in December 2012 it would evaluate all fighter options. Various other countries have expressed interest in the type, but none has yet selected the F-35 as its preferred option.
Royal Air Force/ Fleet Air Arm
The UK is unlikely to purchase its previously planned full complement of JSFs. Officially it is still committed to 138 F-35Bs, but the most recently announced plans indicate that only 48 will be purchased, for operation from the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. A final decision on the number to be acquired is
Above: The Patuxent River F-35 Integrated Test Force in Maryland recently ferried F-35B BF-05 to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, for climatic testing at the 96th Test Wing’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory. During the six-month test, it will be exposed to extreme wind, solar radiation, fog, humidity, rain intrusion/ingestion, freezing rain, icing cloud, icing build-up, vortex icing and snow. Here, the jet is undergoing ice evaluation testing in the chamber on January 25. F-35 ITF/Michael D Jackson
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expected in the next three years. On February 1, 2014, it was announced an initial order for 14 production aircraft would be placed “shortly”. The first four of these were ordered on November 21 as part of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 8. and the main purchase, known as Main Gate 5, should be confirmed in 2017. Three Main Gates (1-3) have already been passed, covering the overall programme strategy and acquisition of the initial operational test and evaluation (OT&E) aircraft. Main Gate 4, for the procurement of the first 14 operational aircraft, is set to be approved “very soon”. So far the UK has received two operational test and evaluation (OT&E) aircraft (BK-1 and BK-2) and one training aircraft (BK3) – the first two were ordered as part of LRIP Lot 3 production
Below: The 36th F-35 Lightning II delivered in 2014 – 169031 ‘NJ-114’ (CF-19), the US Marine Corps’ first F-35C carrier variant, which was handed over on December 22 at Fort Worth, Texas. The jet will be assigned to the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA-101) ‘Grim Reapers’ at the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where it arrived on January 13, 2015. Lockheed Martin
and the third in LRIP Lot 4. They were delivered to Eglin on July 23, 2012, October 19, 2012 and June 26, 2013 respectively. Another OT&E aircraft (BK-4) is expected to be signed for in the coming months after it was announced on November 11, 2013 that a fourth aircraft had been ordered as part of LRIP Lot 7. Once all have been delivered, BK-1, BK-2, and BK-4 will transfer from Eglin AFB to Edwards AFB, California, where they will fly with 17 (Reserve) Squadron for OT&E duties. The other aircraft, BK-3, will remain at Eglin as part of the training fleet. The 14 aircraft to be procured
under Main Gate 4 are expected to be delivered in 2016 to 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron when it stands up at Beaufort MCAS, South Carolina, as part of the Beaufort Pilot Training Center. The squadron will transfer its aircraft and personnel back to RAF Marham in Norfolk, UK, in April 2018, and in December 2018 the UK’s F-35B force should be declared initial operating capability – land (IOC – Land). Both 617 Sqn and 809 'Immortals' NAS will be operated as combined units, with a mix of service personnel and pilots from both services. An operational
Prototype & Development Aircraft F-35A
AA-1, plus AF-1 to AF-4 (AF-5 cancelled and not built)
F-35B
BF-01 to BF-05
F-35C
CF-01 to CF-03, CF-05 (CF-04 cancelled and not built)
conversion unit is expected to be stood up at RAF Marham in 2019. In 2018, the first of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers is expected to see the first JSF operations, with a full operating capability (land and maritime) for the F-35B to be declared in 2023. For more on UK JSFs, see July 2014, p30-34.
Royal Australian Air Force
The Australian Government announced plans to procure an initial 14 F-35As on November 25, 2009 at a cost of $AUS3.2 billion. The first two were ordered as part of LRIP Lot 6. On April 23, 2014, the government in Canberra announced it had approved acquisition of an additional 58 F-35As. The eventual requirement is for 100. The maiden flight of the first
Above: US Navy F-35C Lightning II CF-05 ‘SD-75’ from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) ‘The Salty Dogs’ prepares to land on the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) on November 3, 2014, when two of the unit’s F-35Cs made the type’s first-ever arrested landings on an aircraft carrier. Lockheed Martin/Andy Wolfe Left: An F-35A at Edwards AFB, California, with the Systems Development and Demonstration weapons suite it is designed to carry. The F-35 can carry more than 3,500lb (1,588kg) of ordnance internally in low-observable (stealth) mode and more than 18,000lb (8,165kg) if all its external hard points are also used. Lockheed Martin
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AIRCRAFT PROFILE JSF PROGRAMME OVERVIEW Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A took place at Fort Worth, Texas, on September 29, 2014. The second jet followed two days later, and was then delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, for training on December 18, followed by the first aircraft on December 22. The first Australian F-35 pilot, Sqn Ldr Andrew Jackson, began his training on January 26 at Eglin AFB. The F-35A will replace the RAAF’s ageing F/A-18A/B Hornets at RAAF Bases Williamtown, New South Wales, and Tindal, Northern Territory, and will be assigned to three operational squadrons and one training squadron. The first RAAF F-35A will arrive in Australia at the end of 2018 and the first operational unit, 3 Squadron, is to be established by 2020.
Israeli Air Force
Israel’s defence minister announced on August 15, 2010 that an initial batch of 20 F-35Is (Israelispecific variants of the F-35A) are to be acquired – at a cost of $2.75 billion – through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. A letter of offer and acceptance for 19 F-35Is was signed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense on October 7, 2010, making Israel the first FMS customer to sign up for the type. A contract for long-lead items for the first two Israeli aircraft awarded to Lockheed Martin on May 2, 2013 was followed by a full production contract on November 21, 2014. The pair are being built as part of
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Above: The UK’s third F-35B Lightning II, ZM137 (BK-03), arriving at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on June 25, 2013, after its delivery flight from Fort Worth, Texas; a fourth aircraft is on order for trials and testing. The first four operational aircraft were ordered on November 21, 2014 as part of LRIP Lot 8. Lockheed Martin/John Wilson
LRIP Lot 8. A further long-lead contract on November 30, 2014 covered seven more F-35Is. Israeli Cabinet approval was granted on November 30, 2014 for the purchase of 14 more aircraft, together with options for a further 17. Of the 14, one will be a dedicated trials and test aircraft to develop Israeli-
specific equipment, and will not enter operational service. Israeli pilots’ training is expected to begin at Eglin in early 2016, with the first F-35I due for handover to the Israeli Air Force towards the end of that year – followed by the type’s arrival in Israeli in 2017. Initial operational capability is envisaged in 2018.
Italian Air Force
A contract to procure long-lead items for the first three aircraft for Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI, Italian Air Force) F-35A was awarded to Lockheed Martin on September 21, 2011. A similar long-lead contract for the next three followed on June 15, 2012. The first three aircraft are part of LRIP Lot 6; the
Above: US Air Force F-35A Lightning II 11-5030 ‘LF’, the first for Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, on its delivery flight from the factory on March 10, 2014. The aircraft is assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing’s 61st Fighter Squadron ‘Top Dogs’. Lockheed Martin Below: Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A Lightning II F-001, now wearing an ‘OT’ tail code, arriving at Edwards AFB, California, on January 16 after a five-hour ferry flight from Eglin AFB, Florida, to begin operational test and evaluation with the RNLAF’s 323 Squadron. USAF/Jet Fabara
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next three will be part of LRIP Lot 7. Italy originally planned to buy a total of 131 aircraft, but in 2012 cut this to 90 – split between 60 F-35As and 30 F-35Bs. Of these, 60 F-35As and 15 F-35Bs will go to the AMI, while the Marina Militare Italiana (Italian Navy) will receive 15 F-35Bs for operation from the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour. However, political controversy over the acquisition continues and, with defence budgets tight, it is likely the number will be cut further. Despite opposition to the purchase, Italy has gone ahead with construction of a new final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base, near Milan, which will produce F-35s for Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. The FACO opened on July 18, 2013 without ceremony, due to the political controversy.
Japan Air SelfDefense Force
Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced on December 19, 2011 it had selected the F-35A as the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF’s) next-generation fighter. Signature of a letter of offer
Above: Trials Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II BF-02, flown by company test pilot Billie Flynn on its 345th flight, operating from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, on November 13, 2014, carrying two ASRAAMs and four Paveway IVs for flutter trials as part of initial integration testing of the weapons. BAE Systems
and acceptance for an initial four aircraft was announced on June 29, 2012. Lockheed Martin was awarded a long-lead items contract for these aircraft on March 25, 2013 as part of LRIP Lot 8 and a contract providing for their full funding was
signed on November 21, 2014. A further long-lead contract for the next four JASDF F-35As, as part of LRIP Lot 9 was awarded on September 22, 2014. The total JASDF requirement is for 42 aircraft.
Total Planned Acquisitions (February 2, 2014) Service
Variant
Planned
Contracted
Flying
USAF
F-35A
1,763
103
67
US Navy
F-35C
260
18
18
USMC
F-35B
340
50
45
F-35C
80
Australia
F-35A
100
2
2
Canada
F-35A
65
Denmark
F-35A
30
Israel
F-35A
33
Italy
F-35A
60
2
F-35B
30
8
Japan
F-35A
42
4
Netherlands
F-35A
37
2
Norway
F-35A
52
4
South Korea
F-35A
40
Turkey
F-35A
100
RAF/FAA
F-35B
138
8
3
3,170
201
137
Total
2
Republic of Korea Air Force
South Korea had originally planned to acquire 60 F-35As after selecting the type as its preferred option for its FX-III fighter requirement. However, due to its high cost, it was decided to purchase only 40 aircraft initially, with a decision on the remaining 20 left for a later date. It is also possible that an alternative type might be selected for the latter 20. Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration confirmed on March 24, 2014 it had formally selected the F-35A and would start negotiations for purchase of 40 aircraft. On September 24, 2014 it was announced that the terms of the $7 billion contract had been finalised, including technology transfer for development of the country’s own future fighter. Deliveries to the Republic of Korea Air Force are expected to begin in 2018, with the last aircraft arriving in 2025.
Royal Netherlands Air Force
Plans by the Netherlands to acquire 85 F-35As to replace the Royal
Above: US Air Force F-35A 12-5053 ‘WA’/‘57 WG’ (AF-64) takes off for its first flight at Fort Worth, Texas, on January 20 – the first maiden flight of an F-35 in 2015. It will be delivered as the flagship of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, later this year. Lockheed Martin/Carl Richards
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AIRCRAFT PROFILE JSF PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
Netherlands Air Force’s (RNLAF’s) F-16AM/BM fleet have had to be curtailed owing to defence budget limitations and the rising costs of the JSF. An order for a single F-35A for test purposes was awarded to Lockheed Martin on June 2, 2009 as part of LRIP Lot 3 production. An option for a second aircraft was taken up with signature of a contract on November 19, 2010. The first aircraft made its maiden flight on August 6, 2012, followed by the second on June 27, 2013. Continuing uncertainty and political opposition to the purchase led to the announcement on April 4, 2013 that both aircraft would be placed in temporary storage pending a decision on whether to go ahead with the programme. Both aircraft then remained grounded at Eglin. Finally, on November 6, 2013, approval was given by the Dutch Parliament to buy 35 more aircraft. Additional purchases could be made later, subject to the stipulation that the total cost does not exceed a 4.5 billion euro procurement budget ceiling. Deliveries are to begin in 2019 and continue at a rate of
Above: US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning IIs 168719 ‘VK-01’ (BF-21), 168720 ‘VK-02’ (BF-22), 168721 ‘VK-03’ (BF-23) and 168722 ‘VK-04’ (BF-24) from VMFA-121 ‘Green Knights’ at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, lined up on the VX-23 ramp at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, after arriving there on June 27, 2014. They had flown in prior to making a planned transatlantic crossing to appear at the Fairford and Farnborough Air Shows in the UK, which would have been the type’s international debut. But the well-publicised grounding of the type at the time thwarted the plans as authorisation to fly was not granted until it was too late for the show appearances. US Navy Top: The second F-35A for the US Air Force Weapons School’s (USAFWS’s) 16th Weapons Squadron, 12-5051 ‘WA’/‘USAFWS’ (AF-62), on a test flight at Fort Worth on January 15; it has yet to be delivered to the USAFWS, which received its first F-35A the same day. Scott Fischer
eight aircraft a year until 2022, the final three following in 2023. The Dutch Parliament announced on December 15, 2014 that the first eight of these operational aircraft are due to be ordered shortly. The two test aircraft, which had been at Eglin, were both flown to Edwards on January 16, 2015 to begin operational test and evaluation. They are operated by 323 Squadron, which was formed on November 4 last year at Eglin
as the RNLAF F-35A OT&E unit. The first six Dutch aircraft will be built at Fort Worth and stay in the US for training at Luke AFB, Arizona. Remaining RNLAF F-35As will be built in the final assembly and checkout facility at Cameri, Italy, and delivered to squadrons at Leeuwarden and Volkel Air Bases.
Royal Norwegian Air Force
Norway selected the F-35A as
its future fighter in 2008 and gave an order for long-lead funding for the first two aircraft to Lockheed Martin on June 15, 2012. This was finalised with a further contract on September 27, 2013 as part of LRIP Lot 7. The Norwegian Parliament approved funding on December 11, 2013 for a further six F-35As, which are expected to be part of LRIP Lot 9. Norway plans to acquire a total of 52. The centre fuselage for the first Norwegian F-35A, AM-1, was completed by Northrop Grumman on December 9, 2014.
Turkish Air Force
Above: The second Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A Lightning II to be delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, A35001 (AU-1), arrives at the base on December 22, 2014 after its delivery flight from Fort Worth, Texas. The first RAAF F-35A to be delivered to Luke, A35-002 (AU-2), arrived on December 18. The two are the first international partner F-35s to arrive at Luke for training. USAF
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Turkey’s requirement is for 100 F-35As. Its first two aircraft were to be included in LRIP Lot 7, but the country’s Savunma Sanayii Müstes¸ arlı˘gı (SSM, Defence Industries Undersecretariat) announced on January 12, 2013 it was postponing acquisition due to increases in unit cost of the type and delays in development. However, Turkey says it remains committed to the programme and still intends to acquire all 100 aircraft. On February 27, 2014, the SSM revealed the first two
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F-35C Lightning II 168733 (CF-06) ‘NJ-101’ on its delivery flight to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on June 22, 2013 to become the first of the type for the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘Grim Reapers’ – the US Navy’s F-35C Fleet Replacement Squadron, which formally stood up in a ceremony at Eglin on October 1, 2013. Twelve F-35Cs have now been delivered to the unit. Lockheed Martin
aircraft are now likely to be ordered this year, for delivery in 2017/2018 – and subsequently approved the purchase of four more aircraft on January 7.
USAF
The US Air Force took delivery of the first prototype F-35A, AA-1, on October 1, 2008 when it arrived at Edwards AFB for testing. It was joined by four more development aircraft: AF-01 and AF-02, both on May 17, 2010; AF-03 on December 10, 2010; and AF-04 on January 22, 2011. The first two production aircraft, AF-06 and AF-07, were delivered on May 13, 2011 and May 6, 2011 respectively. Both were flown to Edwards to join the test fleet. The first production aircraft to be used for training, AF-09, was delivered to Eglin AFB on July 14, 2011 to join the 33rd Fighter Wing’s 58th Fighter Squadron ‘Mighty Gorillas’. The second operational unit to equip with the type was the 56th Fighter Wing’s 61st Fighter Squadron ‘Top Dogs’ at Luke AFB, Arizona, which received
its first F-35A, AF-41, on March 10, 2014. Additional production aircraft have also been delivered to the trials units at Nellis AFB, Nevada – the 31st and 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadrons. The most recent unit to take delivery of the type has been the USAF Weapons School’s 16th Weapons Squadron ‘Tomahawks’, which received AF-60 on January 15. More than 50 production aircraft have now been delivered to the USAF, which anticipates achieving initial operational capability with the type between August and December 2016. On January 8, the Pentagon announced plans for the first permanent basing of USAF F-35As in Europe. Two squadrons, each with 24 aircraft, will join the 48th Fighter Wing in the UK at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, with deliveries beginning in 2020.
US Marine Corps
The first development aircraft for the US Marine Corps’ F-35B variant, BF-01, took its maiden flight at Fort Worth, Texas, on June 11, 2009. It was delivered to
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, on November 16, 2009 for testing. Four more development aircraft followed before the first two production aircraft to be delivered, BF-06 and BF-08, arrived at Eglin on January 11, 2012 to join Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) ‘Warlords’. The total USMC requirement is for 420 aircraft. Originally, they were all to be F-35Bs, but it was later decided to acquire the F-35C carrier variant too. The overall total will remain unchanged, but will now comprise 340 F-35Bs and 80 F-35Cs. The first USMC F-35C, 169031 ‘NJ-114’ (CF-19), was handed over at Fort Worth on December 22, 2014. It was then flown to Eglin on January 13 to join Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101) ‘Grim Reapers’, the US Navy’s only F-35 fleet replacement squadron. The USMC is still hoping to achieve initial operational capability with the F-35B by July this year. The USMC plans to base 94 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina; 60 at MCAS Miramar, California;
70 at MCAS Yuma, Arizona; ten (which will also be used by the US Navy) at Eglin AFB and 70 at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. In 2017, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) ‘Green Knights’ will permanently relocate from MCAS Yuma to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, with 16 aircraft.
US Navy
Lockheed Martin rolled out the first pre-production F-35C, CF-01, at Fort Worth on July 28, 2009 and it made its first flight on June 6, 2010. The aircraft was then delivered on November 6, 2010 to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Three more development aircraft followed before the first production F-35C, 168733 (CF-06), took to the air on February 14, 2013. It was delivered on June 22, 2013, to Eglin to join VFA-101. The total US Navy requirement is for 260 F-35Cs. Initial operational capability is expected between August afm 2018 and February 2019. Part Two of this aircraft profile next month will cover the current F-35 bases and their units.
Above: US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II 168717 ‘MV-05’ arriving at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 9, 2014 to become the first of the type with Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 22 (VMX-22) ‘Argonauts’. The unit will have its full complement of four F-35Bs within the next few months. US Marine Corps/Cpl Owen Kimbrel
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EXERCISE REPORT Operation Thunderstorm
My Enemy's Enemy is My Friend Yissachar Ruas reports from Israel’s Ovda AFB where a short-notice air exercise took place between Greek and Israeli squadrons.
T
he Hellenic Air Force (HAF) sent its 330 ‘Aegean Falcons’ Squadron from Nea Anchialos Air Base to Ovda Air Base, Israel, on December 7 as guests of Lieutenant Colonel Tomer, the commander of the ‘Knights of the Orange Tail’ Squadron at Hatzerim AFB. The Israelis have deployed to Greece on many occasions, but this was the first time the Hellenic AF has flown to Israel for an exercise with minimum notice. This was the third deployment, the HAF having previously conducted air exercises with F-15 squadrons in 2011 and participated in Exercise Blue Flag in 2013. Although conducted at Ovda AFB, home of the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF)’s famous ‘Flying Dragons’ aggressor unit, the squadron did not participate in the exercise due to prior commitments with other IAF units.
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During a press conference held at the base, Major Dovev, deputy squadron commander of the ‘Knights of the Orange Tail’ Squadron, expressed the significant difference between this and previous deployments undertaken by the IAF: “This
exercise was co-ordinated between just one HAF squadron and one IAF squadron. The planning commenced only two weeks prior, and in this short period of time we were able to bring this deployment to fruition with excellent results.
Above: Major Dimitrios Stefanidis, deputy commander of 330 Squadron congratulates Lieutenant Colonel Tomer, the commander of the ‘Knights of the Orange Tail’ Squadron, at the end of the exercise.
“Although our countries are very different at first sight, when it comes to threats that we each face there are many common scenarios mutual to both when practising our combat tactics.” Since Greece is a NATO member, there is a ‘common language’ between the two air forces. This enables joint exercises to be conducted, improving the overall squadron’s capabilities by way of flying mixed sorties; this practice was stressed by both deputy squadron commanders, with the Israelis and Greeks alternating the ‘point man’ who’d be leading the practice missions. Major Dovev continued: “The advantage in deploying in such a manner is the intimacy in which the squadrons can work creating a ‘mutual language’ that helps us raise our levels of training. It’s very different from the regular NATO exercises we
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Location: Airbase and country Participants: List of participants involved
Right: With its afterburner aglow, F-16I Sufa 874 from the ‘Knights of the Orange Tail’ Squadron departs for an early morning sortie during the exercise in December.
have participated in, giving us a different and more intimate perspective when training. We at the squadron level gain a valuable amount of experience working with a foreign air force as it helps us improve our abilities at all levels within the squadron.” Major Dimitrios Stefanidis, deputy commander of 330 Squadron, said: “We are very excited to be here. We have learnt a lot in a short period of time and hope to continue this as a regular joint exercise at squadron level between both air forces,” adding: “We are planning on inviting the Israeli squadron to Greece in the future.” This year the exercise concentrated on aerial combat, which differed from Israel’s past joint air exercises with the Italian and Polish Air Forces which focussed on air-to-ground scenarios. Some ground attack
profiles were flown supported by an Israeli Boeing KC707 tanker operating out of Nevatim AFB. With reports of Russian S-300 and SA-17 missiles now in Syria and Iran, it was said there was also a tactical scenario practised to combat these within
the exercise, although exact details were not released. Israel has been looking to build relations with many nations within the Mediterranean over the past decade. It once conducted numerous joint military exercises with Turkey
but now that relations between the two countries are strained it is looking for an alternative. There have recently been some quite successful alliances built with Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, as well as Poland and Romania afm on a smaller scale.
Above: A Boeing KC-707 belonging to 120 ‘Desert Giants’ Squadron provided tanker support during the exercise. The KC-707, wearing an overall black scheme, operated out of Nevatim AFB.
Above: Israel’s only aggressor unit, 115 ‘The Flying Dragon’ Squadron is based at Ovda AFB, but did not take part in the exercise. One of its F-16As is pictured taking off for a local air combat training sortie. Left: The Aegean Sea camouflage offers little protection for this Greek F-16D 149 against Israel’s desert landscape. The Hellenic Air Force brought a mixed fleet of single and two-seat F-16s to the exercise. All photos by author
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WEDGETAIL WARRIORS
I
n late September an RAAF Boeing E-7A Wedgetail control aircraft deployed to the Middle East to provide support for any Australian involvement in operations against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) forces. This was the aircraft’s combat debut, serving alongside the coalition air forces and later supporting RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet strike missions, which began on October 1, 2014. The confidence Australia places in operating a single aircraft thousands of miles from its home base within minimum logistical support is testament to the
regard Wedgetail now enjoys within the Australian Defence Force and its coalition partners. This confidence was important because when it entered service in November 2012, Wedgetail was a far less mature platform than had been hoped. This was due to significant technical deficiencies in terms of radar performance. A great deal of work by the prime industry contractors, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems to remediate the shortcomings, and its use on combat operations over Iraq is testimony to this progress. Although some limitations remain, largely at the margins of performance, the service the E-7A provides has earned the respect of international partners and it is now the AEW&C of choice at major multi-lateral exercises.
Wedgetail Project History
Australia first started to look at the possibility of having an airborne warning and control (AWACS) system back in the 1970s when several studies were carried out of the various assets other countries were using for this role around the world. However no real progress was made until the release of the Air 5077 Project Definition study in 1994. The project soon became known as Wedgetail, after an Australian eagle species known for its sharp eyesight. At the time of the studies, Western AEW systems comprised the US Boeing E-3 Sentry and Grumman E-2C Hawkeye, both of which were representative of the first generation of capability, with mechanically scanned radars. Israel Aircraft Industries was also developing its Phalcon electronically scanned array radar in the ’90s and as this technology promised to revolutionise AEW&C an active
The RAAF’s six Boeing E-7A Wedgetails are now deployed on combat missions in Iraq and have become the AEW&C asset of choice, due to their performance and level of serviceability. Australian Department of Defence
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WEDGETAIL WARRIORS
WEDGETAIL WARRIORS
Australia’s AEW&C Goes To War Nigel Pittaway examines how the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has become one of the world’s leading operators of airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platforms.
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WEDGETAIL WARRIORS electronically scanned array (AESA) capability became part of the Wedgetail specification. Coincidentally about this time Boeing was developing the E-767, based on the 767-200 but with the E-3’s APY-2 radar for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. The manufacturer tried to interest Australia in the 767 option during a visit to Seattle by then-Prime Minister Paul Keating. By the late 1990s, the choice had narrowed to three airframe/radar combinations that moved to the tender process. The competitors were Boeing with a platform based on the 737-BBJ and a Northrop Grumman multi-role electronically scanned array (MESA) radar; Lockheed Martin with a C-130J Hercules/APS145 combination, and Raytheon E-Systems with an Airbus A310 and IAI Elta radar. Boeing was announced the winner of Air 5077 in July 1999, against an initial requirement for four aircraft and options on a further three. An AUS$3 billion contract was formally signed in December 2000 with an in-service date of 2003. A subsequent Critical Design Review conducted in 2004 amended the contract to six firm orders, but allowed the option on the seventh to lapse.
Wedgetail Technical Description The E-7A airframe is based on that of the initial 737 Boeing Business Jet and is a 737-700IGW (increased gross weight). As such it has the heavier wing structure and landing gear of the 737-800. The relatively small sales potential of the E-7A does not render it economical to set up a
Above: A Wedgetail crew prepares for another sortie against ISIL forces as part of the ADF’s Operation Okra. The longest mission to date has been 16 hours and 18 minutes, a record for RAAF AEW&C operations. Australian Department of Defence
dedicated production line in Seattle, as Boeing did for the P-8A Poseidon. The E-7As therefore come off the Boeing Commercial Airplane assembly line at Renton as ‘green’ 737700IGWs, before being flown to a conversion facility for extensive AEW&C modifications. The first two Wedgetails were modified at Boeing Field and the final four were completed The first aircraft to be converted to Wedgetail configuration in Australia (N359BJ, c/n 33476) arrives at Amberley on January 16, 2006. It made its first flight after conversion in January 2008 and today flies as A30-003. Nigel Pittaway
Below: On its way home from a Red Flag exercise in the United States A30-005 became the fi rst Wedgetail to visit the United Kingdom when it participated in the static display at RAF Waddington in June 2012. Alan Warnes
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at Boeing Defence Australia’s facility at RAAF Base Amberley, south west of Brisbane. Structural modification to support the MESA radar support is extensive and requires the (brand new) fuselage upper lobe aft of the wing (Section 46) to be removed and replaced with a strengthened (and windowless) structure. Other modifications from the baseline 737 include electronic support measures (ESM) installed in the wingtips, a smaller dorsal fin to accommodate the MESA support, two ventral fins which also house additional HF radio antennae and a Universal Aerial Slipway aft of the flight deck to enable the E-7A to be refuelled in flight. The primary sensor is the MESA radar, which is mounted on a tall support aft of the wing (‘a surfboard on the roof’ as one Boeing test pilot has described it) and integrated into the airborne mission system with the Elta ALR-2001 ESM System. Wedgetail is capable of passing data voice (HF, VHF, UHF and SATCOM) or data link (Link 11 and Link 16) using a Rockwell Collins Joint Tactical Distribution System. As such it is one of the few airborne platforms today that can receive data from one link and convert it to the other message set before passing it on to a third party.
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WEDGETAIL WARRIORS
“Australia now has one of the most advanced air battle space management capabilities in the world.”
Wedgetails Around the World Once the Wedgetail entered RAAF service in May 2010, little time was wasted in despatching aircraft and crews around the world to join in international exercises. In Australia, Wedgetails have taken part in Pitch Black, (see Top End Air Combat Down Under, November, p64), a biennial air defence exercise and the largest in the country, in 2012 and 2014, as well as the Talisman Sabre series that is run with the US, in 2011 and 2013. They have also been very active in other home-based exercises, such as Arnhem Thunder in the Northern Territory and High Sierra, but they are also a familiar sight throughout the Asia-Pacific region and in the United States. The first international participation was in Bersama Lima, a Five Power Defence Arrangement exercise, held in Malaysia in November 2011 and the aircraft have also participated in Cope North on Guam (2012), RIMPAC (2012) Red Flag in Nevada (2013) and Red Flag Alaska (2012, 2014). Wedgetail made its UK debut on its way home from a Red Flag in late June 2012 when A30-005 put in an appearance in the static display at the Waddington Air Show.
Above: Four F/A-18F Super Hornets fly in formation with an E-7A as they head towards Iraq on another AntiISIL sortie. The Wedgetail completed a record 16 hour 18 min mission over Iraq during January. RAAF Below: Parked in its purpose-built shelter at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory, A30-001 awaits another sortie during Exercise Pitch Black in August 2014. Nigel Pittaway
The Electronic Warfare Self Protection system consists of a Northrop Grumman AAQ-24(v) Nemesis Directional Infra-Red Counter Measures in a turret under the tail cone, Northrop Grumman AAR-54(v) missile warning detectors and two BAE Systems ALE-47 countermeasures dispensers, one on each side of the forward fuselage. There are ten common workstations in the forward section of the main cabin and each can be configured for any of the roles.
Flight Testing Challenges
Australia was the launch customer for the E-7A (then simply known as B737AEW&C), so the first Wedgetail was the first platform on which all the mission systems and sensors had operated together – even the MESA radar had never been airborne before the first aircraft flew in May 2004. After an initial period of aerodynamic testing to confirm performance of the modified shape, radar trials began at Victorville in California in December 2004. It soon became clear, however, that the radar had significant technical shortcomings – it couldn’t achieve full power. Some of these early problems were resolved by increasing the height of the ‘surfboard’; however, radar performance is still not up
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to the initial specifications and remains the subject ongoing remedial work. Other technical difficulties included integration issues with both the Electronic Warfare Self Protection and ESM suites and by 2008 the Wedgetail project was significantly late. By this time something of a ‘Catch 22’ situation had developed, whereby sidelobe clutter and system stability shortfalls meant that technical milestones could not be achieved and the platform could not be accepted by the Commonwealth because the contract with Boeing stipulated that service entry would not take place while development and testing work continued. During 2008, a work-around agreement was signed to allow limited service entry while further development work was undertaken. The Lincoln Laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was engaged to carry out an independent review of the MESA radar, and this work confirmed the basic soundness of the design and suggested a roadmap forward. As a result, a coalition comprising Australia’s Defence Science & Technology Organisation, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lincoln Labs and other US Government agencies, including the USAF, began work to remediate what was estimated to be the last 5% of radar performance. This allowed two aircraft to be delivered
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WEDGETAIL WARRIORS to 2 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown, (though retaining their Boeing civil registrations and commanded by a pilot from Boeing), so that operational test and evaluation could finally begin. Sufficient progress had been made by May 2010 to allow formal acceptance of the initial pair of aircraft and cleared the way for further deliveries. The sixth and final Wedgetail was handed over to the RAAF at Williamtown on May 2, 2010 with the project by now four years behind schedule. MESA is now very close to specification, but operational test and evaluation has revealed additional capabilities in areas not envisaged when the specifications were drawn up in the 1990s. Australia’s, then Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announced Initial Operating Capability (IOC) on November 19, 2012. “I particularly want to thank the team at Boeing for their commitment to this project. This is a very complex piece of military hardware. The project faced a lot of challenges. We have met these challenges by working together,” Clare said at the IOC ceremony. “Australia now has one of the most advanced air battle space management capabilities in the world.” Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown also paid tribute to the effort expended to bring Wedgetail into service. “I doubt many people really understood the complexity of this project,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say that ourselves, Boeing, Northrop Grumman (and) BAE probably didn’t understand the timelines involved in the development of this project when we started.”
Into Service
Australia’s Wedgetails are operated by 2 Squadron, at RAAF Base Williamtown north of Sydney as part of the RAAF’s 42 Surveillance and Response Group. Williamtown is the main operating base by virtue of it also being the home of the bulk of the RAAF’s F/A-18A/B Hornet force and also close to the navy’s main base on the east coast. However purpose-built facilities have been constructed at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory and one or two aircraft are often forward deployed there to work with the Hornets of 75 Squadron. Despite radar performance shortcomings at the very margins, Wedgetail has quickly established a reputation during international exercises, including Red Flag in the US. One senior RAAF officer closely involved with the
Above: During Exercise Pitch Black 2012, A30-004 taxies out at Tindal for another daytime mission. Normally based at Williamtown, north of Sydney, the Wedgetails of 2 Squadron regularly deploy to Tindal for exercises. Australian Department of Defence
capability, says that whenever the F-22A Raptor squadrons are tasked as exercise lead, crews invariably ask for Wedgetail as deputy lead. “You know you have a world-beating capability when you have the respect of the Raptor community,” the officer said. Being an electronically scanned radar, MESA can search and track air and surface targets simultaneously. An example of this utility occurred early on in service when a Wedgetail off the coast of Williamtown operating with a navy guided missile destroyer, was tracking 747s departing Melbourne Airport (443 nautical miles away) and passing tracking information to the warship’s operations centre via Link 11. Speaking at the IOC ceremony in 2012, Air Marshal Geoff Brown provided insight into how the RAAF stood up an AEW&C capability for the first time in its history. “We started back in the 1990s, in fact with the US Air Force, the US Navy and the Royal Air Force in understanding this capability. The USAF, particularly at Tinker AFB [Oklahoma] were incredibly helpful in allowing us to embed crews, the same as the US Navy and RAF did, to understand this capability and to work up the operational aspects of it.
RAAF Boeing E-7A (737-7Es) Wedgetail Serial
C/n
Line No
FAA Regn
A30-001
33474
1245
N378BC
A30-002
33542
1232
N358BJ
A30-003
33476
1810
N359BJ
A30-004
33477
1885
N361BJ
A30-005
33986
1934
N363BJ
A30-006
33987
1991
N364BJ
“In fact one of the little known facts is by about 2003 we had about 20,000 hours of operator experience in AWACS, indeed there was one E-3 that took off from Tinker AFB with an all-Australian crew, so that’s how embedded we were.” The standard Wedgetail crew consists of two pilots, five Air Battle Managers, an Airborne Electronics Analyst and a Navy Fighter Controller. The inclusion of at least one navy member in each crew is testimony to the close co-operation between the Wedgetail and Royal Australian Navy warships in the air defence role. A further example of Wedgetail’s utility was provided in late 2013, when a two-aircraft detachment provided support to the large numbers of aircraft searching the Indian and Southern Oceans for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370. The Wedgetail essentially provided overwatch of the operation, including traffic deconfliction and search and rescue co-ordination.
Wedgetail To War
Although Wedgetail is yet to achieve Final Operating Capability (FOC) in RAAF service, system performance and maturity is such that when Australia put together an Air Task Group to deploy to the Middle East there was no hesitation in including one platform. The aircraft (A30-002) departed Williamtown on September 21, and arrived at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates three days later, after providing support for the RAAF Super Hornet Deployment. Wedgetail operations began over central Iraq on October 1, in support of coalition aircraft conducting strikes within that country, but support of Australian Super Hornet sorties did not begin until October 3, following the government’s approval for strike missions afm against ISIL forces in Northern Iraq.
The Wedgetail was first shown to the Australian public at the Avalon Airshow in February 2005, when the aircraft (N378BC, c/n 33474) was flown in especially from Seattle, Washington by the manufacturer. Nigel Pittaway
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ZSU MODERNISATION
Ukrainian Air Force
Modernisation Vladimir Trendalovski reviews recent deliveries of new and upgraded aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force
Below: Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko, at the controls of Su-27P ‘37 Blue’ (c/n 36911035714) of the local 39 oaeTA at Ozerne air base on January 5. The aircraft is the unit’s former ‘04 Blue’ (originally Bel’bek-based) which had been stored at Ozerne since the mid-2000s. It was recently overhauled at the ZDARZ MiGremont repair plant in Zaporizhzhya. Press Office of the President of Ukraine via Vladimir Trendafilovski.
I
n three separate ceremonies in December 2014 and January 2015, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, formally handed over hundreds of items of military equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ZSU). All were produced, repaired, overhauled or modernised by the enterprises of Ukraine’s defence-industrial complex as part of the government’s effort to re-equip the long-neglected ZSU, a large part of which is still engaged in a stand-off with pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbas region in the east of the country.
Helicopters
During the first ceremony, held on December 6 at Chuguyiv Air Base, the ZSU received four overhauled Mi-2 utility helicopters and three modernised Mi-8MSB-Vs delivered by the Zaporizhzhya-based Motor Sich engine manufacturing plant. The Mi-8MSB-Vs were the first to be handed over as part of a 2014 contract. An additional ten are to be delivered this year – seven for the ZSU and three for the Ukrainian National Guard (NGU). The type is based on an overhauled Mi-8T airframe,
The three Mi-8MSB-Vs and four Mi-2s delivered to the ZSU on December 6, 2014 at Chuguyiv air base. All four Mi-2s still carry the civilian registrations and paint schemes given to them while operated by Motor Sich. Below: Ukrainian Air Force Su-27S ‘33 Blue’ (c/n 36911015921) of 831 brTA during the handover ceremony at Ozerne air base on January 5. Behind it is Su-27P ‘37 Blue’ (c/n 36911035714, ex-‘04 Blue’) of the local 39 oaeTA. Both had been stored with their units since the mid-2000s. All photos, Yuriy Biryukov via Vladimir Trendafilovski, unless stated otherwise.
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ZSU MODERNISATION
Above: One of the three Mi-8MSB-V transports delivered to the ZSU on December 6, 2014 at the Chuguyiv air base. Note the absence of serials, as is currently common on AA SV helicopters.
fitted with a pair of new TV3-117VMASBM1V-4E engines produced by Motor Sich, and includes minor avionics updates. Although it is not yet clear which units have received the helicopters, the local (Chuguyivbased) 203 navchal’na aviatsiyna brihada (navbr – training aviation brigade) of the Kharkivs’kyy Universytet Povitryanykh Syl
(KhU PS – Kharkiv Air Force University), which trains pilot cadets, is thought to have taken at least some of the Mi-2s, with AA SV (Army Aviation of the Ground Forces) units being the most likely candidates for the remainder. At the second ceremony, on December 30 at the Yavoriv military training range, the ZSU took on two overhauled Mi-8MTV-1
Above: MiG-29 type 9-13 ‘57 White’ of 114 brTA during the official handover ceremony at Ozerne air base on January 5. This is most probably one of the unit’s previously stored aircraft (originally ‘44 White’ and ‘59 White’) which arrived for overhaul at the LDARZ repair plant in Lviv in the spring of 2014.
transport helicopters, transferred from the Boryspil’-based State Aviation Enterprise ‘Ukrayina’ – which is in charge of operating Ukraine’s government aviation assets. They were complemented by a pair of overhauled Mi-2 utility helicopters from Motor Sich. Again, it is not yet clear which units received the helicopters, but the most likely candidates are local AA SV units – the 7 opAA at Kalyniv and 16 obrAA at Brody. During the third ceremony, on January 5 at Ozerne air base, the ZSU received four fixed-wing combat aircraft fresh from overhaul – two MiG-29s and two Su-27s, comprising a single-seat MiG-29 type 9-13 ‘57 White’ (for 114 brTA at Ivano-Frankivs’k); MiG-29UB two-seat trainer ‘86 Blue’ (for 204 brTA at Kul’bakino); single-seat Su-27S ‘33 Blue’ (for 831 brTA at Myrhorod); and single-seat Su-27P ‘37 Blue’ (for the local 39 oaeTA). In addition, other overhauled fixedwing aircraft noted include at least one Su-24M bomber (‘41 White’ of 7 brTA), two An-26 transports (‘09 Yellow’ of the naval 10 mabr and ‘44 Yellow’ of 456 brTrA), one An-30B photo-reconnaissance aircraft (‘87 Blue’ of 15 brTrA) and on An-72V transport ('02 Blue' of NGU). All of Ukraine’s repair plants are currently working on ZSU aircraft and helicopters, and additional overhauled aircraft are expected to be delivered early this year. Motor Sich is also expected to supply the modernised Mi-2MSB (also known as the MSB-2) utility helicopter as soon as its certification is completed by the DNVT ZSU (Derzhavnyy Naukovo-Vyprobuval’nyy Tsentr Zbroynikh Syl Ukrayiny – State Scientific Test Centre of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, formerly based in the Crimea and now relocated to Chernigiv). Similar to the Mi-8MSB-V, the Mi-2MSB is an Mi-2 airframe with improved powerplants – a pair of afm AI-450M engines, built by Motor Sich.
New army aviation units announced
At the start of 2015 the ZSU has essentially kept the existing aviation units in all its services, with only minor changes in subordinate units. However, at a press conference held on Janu ary 8, 2015, Ukrainian defence minister Colon el-General Stepan Poltorak announced plans to incre ase service personnel numbers to 250,000 this year and create, among others, two new AA SV briga des.
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BRIEFINGS CARRIER AIR WING FIVE Carrier Air Wing Five
VF-161 F-4N Phantom II BuNo 150491/'NF100' of VF-161, USS Midway (CVA-41), South China Sea, December 1973.
VF-151
F-4N Phantom II BuNo 150634/'NF207'of VF-151, USS Midway (CVA-41), Okinawa Exercise Area, October 1973.
VA-115
KA-6D Intruder BuNo 151826/'NF524' of VA-115, USS Midway (CVA-41), eastern Pacific, September 1973. All artwork Jim Laurier
tour with the Seventh Fleet. “The home-porting at Yokosuka represents an effort by the navy to cover current commitments in a time of fewer active ships, and permits the men of the carrier and air wing to spend more time with their families. About 1,000 Midway and CVW-5 families are expected to move to Japan.” In the ‘1973 and Naval Aviation’ review in the February 1974 issue of NAN, the entry for October 5 read: “Midway (CVA-41) with embarked CVW-5 put into Yokosuka, Japan, marking the first home-porting of a complete carrier task group in a Japanese port. It also inaugurated the concept of an air wing being completely supported by and based continually on a carrier, which
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will apply in the future at other ports of call and even in the US. “In addition to the morale factor of dependents housed at a foreign home port, the development has strategic significance in that it will facilitate continuous positioning of three carriers in the Far East at a time when the economic situation demands the reduction of total US carriers.” Although the permanent forward deployment of a carrier and its air wing made good strategic sense to the US Navy’s hierarchy, it was not universally welcomed by the locals. Indeed, according to the executive officer (XO) of VF-161, MiG killer Cdr T R Swartz, “we were met by 10,000 demonstrators outside the gate at Yokosuka”.
CVW-5 (NF tail code) NAF Atsugi, Japan. USS Midway (CVA-41). Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan (October 1973 – May 1974) Modex
Squadron
Aircraft
100
VF-161 ‘Chargers’
F-4N
200
VF-151 ‘Vigilantes’
F-4N
300
VA-93 ‘Blue Blazers’
A-7A
400
VA-56 ‘Champions’
A-7A
500
VA-115 ‘Arabs’
A-6A/KA-6D
600
VFP-63 Det 3 ‘Eyes of the Fleet’
RF-8G
600
VMCJ-1 Det 101 ‘Golden Hawks’
RF-4B*
610
VMCJ-1 Det 101 ‘Golden Hawks’
EA-6A
010
VAW-115 ‘Liberty Bells’
E-2B
003-007
HC-1 Det 2 ‘Pacific Fleet Angels’
SH-3G
* first embarked in April 1974 in place of RF-8Gs
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And some of the rank and file who received orders to Japan in 1973 were not overly enthusiastic either, Rear Admiral Robert C Mandeville, Commander Light Attack Wing Pacific, making this point in the article ‘Home-Port Midway Style’, published in the March 1980 issue of NAN: “When Midway was first based in Japan in 1973, duty there was thought of as undesirable, both from an operational and home-basing viewpoint. That perception soon changed, however, with the majority of Midway people being sincerely pleased with their assignments, living in Japan and operating from the busiest carrier in the navy. “The flying is far and away the best available in the navy today. Pilots and aircrews are getting more flight hours, more traps and more operational experience than their counterparts on other carriers.” Cdr Clayton noted that “by operating from Japan as a forwarddeployed carrier, Midway allowed the op tempo and deployment cycles of her sister Pacific Fleet carriers to be significantly reduced. The move also had strategic significance because it facilitated continuous deployment of three carriers in the Western Pacific. It was nearly the equivalent of adding two carriers to the Pacific Fleet in that respect because supporting an 18-month maintenance/
Above: Japan-bound, USS Midway (CVA-41) heads for the open waters of the Pacific Ocean after passing under the Golden Gate Bridge following its departure from NAS Alameda on September 11, 1973. via Cdr Rick Burgess
training/deployment cycle requires three vessels. “This in turn enabled a COMNAVAIRPAC [Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific] maintenance schedule that allowed each of the three large-deck carriers then in service with the Pacific Fleet to complete an extended complex overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, in Washington state, during the mid-1970s to correct the cumulative deterioration incurred during the Vietnam War. Home-port time and training cycles were similarly extended for CONUS [Continental United States] carriers and air wings.”
‘Liberty Bells’
Among the squadrons to experience the ‘hardships’ associated with the early years in Japan was E-2B Hawkeyeequipped VAW-115 ‘Liberty Bells’, the only unit to have continuously served with CVW-5 since its move to Japan –it had originally joined the air wing in late 1970. The squadron’s command report for 1973 gives an insight into how it prepared itself for the move overseas, and the problems encountered along the way – which were endured by all the units assigned to CVW-5 at the time: “September 11 [1973]
commenced an entirely new adventure for an attack carrier – permanent assignment to an overseas home port. The OFRP, as the new operation was labelled, precipitated unique problems for VAW-115. Because of the volunteer nature of OFRP, a major turnover in personnel was experienced. The squadron reflected a 22% loss of qualified/ experienced personnel and a 14% gain of qualified but inexperienced personnel during the four-month North Island turnaround period. This change in personnel required an extensive training programme, which was Below: VF-161 F-4N BuNo 151015/'NF110' idles on the flightdeck shortly after recovering back onboard CVA-41. A second jet from the unit is on short finals in the background. via Capt J R Davis
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BRIEFINGS CARRIER AIR WING FIVE ‘Nuggets’ Aircrews
Above: US Navy aircraft were colourful in the 1970s, and VAW-115’s CAG E-2B (BuNo 150539/'NF010') was no exception. The Hawkeye was photographed on approach to NAF Atsugi on September 23, 1974. via Angelo Romano
developed during the turnaround and continued throughout the home-porting in Japan. “Another major problem was the relocation of families to accommodate the navy’s desire for less family separation. Through co-ordination and co-operation between COMNAVFORJAPAN [Commander, US Naval Forces Japan], USS Midway, CVW-5 and the Twelfth Naval District Transportation Office, all families were adequately situated. “Upon arrival in Japan, the squadron encountered additional difficulties operationally. The central location for CVW-5
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operations was established at NAF [Naval Air Facility] Atsugi. However, operating restrictions initially precluded using the field for training purposes. The only available alternative was Misawa Air Force Base, 350 miles to the north. With materials and personnel transported from Yokosuka Naval Base, via Atsugi, to Misawa, many logistic problems
were created. Eventually, due to decreased Atsugi restrictions, the field was utilised for a majority of VAW-115 sorties. “Additional operating restrictions at sea forced USS Midway and CVW-5 to proceed south to the Okinawa and Subic operating areas to ensure sufficient aircrew training. Very few carrier sorties were flown in the Japanese operating area.”
A large number of naval aviators enduring the early privations of CVW-5 in Japan were lieutenant ‘jaygees’ [Junior Grades] experiencing their first frontline tours. One such individual was Lt(jg) J R Davis, who had joined the F-4N-equipped VF-151 ‘Vigilantes’ in April 1973. “In the beginning, most of us students learning to fly the F-4 Phantom II were motivated to study and fly, and none of us knew anything about the plan for Midway and the OFRP,” he said. “We learned about our next three years in CVW-5, and Japan, from the flight schedule at VF-121 [the Pacific Fleet F-4 Readiness Squadron]. The schedule was posted in the BOQ [Bachelor Officer Quarters] late in the evening, and a ground school event was listed for my class and one other. It was unusual for two classes to have the same lecture. “We arrived and waited for the instructor, but instead a tall, handsome commander walked in and took the podium. Cdr Denny Schwaab was destined to start as XO of a Midway fighter squadron as soon as he had finished a refresher course with VF-121. “Cdr Schwaab began by stating that Midway and the OFRP needed
“For me personally, the decision to volunteer for service overseas was an easy one to make. I looked forward to arriving in the fleet, and the squadron assignment didn’t mean that much. We were all ‘nuggets’ [novices], and we needed direction.”
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Devoid of any weaponry, but again carrying a centreline tank, F-4N BuNo 151424/'NF211'of VF-151 also has a blivet tank attached to the inner port wing pylon. A standard store for a jet operating away from home for a few days, the blivet tank would contain overnight bags for the crew and, on occasion, golf clubs. via Angelo Romano
13 volunteers from our two classes. Volunteers would spend two years in Japan, and they could bring their families – non-volunteers would spend two years in Japan, but could not bring their families! I did a quick head count, and there were only 11 of us in the room. A motivational brief followed, and that was our welcome to CVW-5, Midway and Japan. “For me personally, the decision to volunteer for service overseas was an easy one to make. I looked forward to arriving in the fleet, and the squadron assignment didn’t mean that much. We were all ‘nuggets’ [novices], and we needed
direction. VF-151 and VF-161 manning reached full strength in mid-April 1973 when our classes finished carrier qualification [CQ] on the east coast aboard USS Independence (CVA-62).” Fellow 'nugget' Ens George Zolla, who would become a radar intercept officer (RIO) with VF-161, recalled the voluntary aspect of selection for service overseas rather less favourably. “We had our flight class broken up in two sections, with one comprising seven RIOs that were all designated to fill slots with VF-151 and VF-161. We called ourselves the ‘Magnificent Seven’. Most of us weren’t volunteers.”
At just 24 years of age, Zolla was destined to be both the junior RIO in CVW-5 and the youngest officer aboard Midway.
‘New’ Phantom IIs
Another plus point for naval aviators considering joining either of CVW-5’s fighter squadrons was the replacement of their war-weary F-4Bs with 24 Project Bee Line F-4Ns fresh off the production line at the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) at NAS North Island, San Diego. The US Navy had developed the Bee Line in 1970 due to the age and condition of the F-4Bs then serving in the fleet. Many
examples had already seen a decade of frontline service by then, and most were combat veterans from Southeast Asia. A programme was duly instigated to refurbish and modernise the surviving F-4Bs, with those selected for upgrading (jets in the best overall condition and with fewest flying hours) being sent to the NARF, NAS North Island. Here they were stripped and inspected for any signs of fatigue or damage and then rebuilt using new parts wherever this would extend service life (and extension of between 3,500 and 5,000 flying hours was planned for). They were also
Above: A Landing Signal Officer from VA-93 keeps a watchful eye on VF-151’s F-4N BuNo 150634/'NF207' as it approaches the stern of CVA-41 and prepares to recover back onboard the carrier. via Capt J R Davis Left: Armed with live missiles, F-4N BuNo 150472/'NF114' of VF-161 taxis out at the start of a training mission from NAF Atsugi on June 2, 1974. CVW-5 Phantom IIs were rarely seen without a belly tank plumbed in on the centreline stores station. via Angelo Romano
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BRIEFINGS CARRIER AIR WING FIVE VF-151’s CAG jet was also a riot of colour during the unit’s early years in Japan, its tail fin being adorned with the ‘rainbow’ markings of CVW-5. F-4N BuNo 151400/'NF200' was photographed on short finals to NAF Atsugi in early 1974. via Angelo Romano Below: Lt(jg) John “JR” Davis joined VF-151 from the F-4 RAG just prior to the unit’s deployment to Japan. He has been Executive Director of The Tailhook Association for many years. via Capt J R Davis
Most of the A-7A Corsair IIs assigned to VA-56 and VA-93 were veterans of the conflict in Vietnam, including this aircraft, BuNo 153162/'NF314', which had previously served with VA-82. Sold to the Portuguese air force in April 1983 following six years of storage at AMARC, it is currently preserved as a gate guard at Monte Real air base, near the Portuguese city of Leiria. via Angelo Romano
totally rewired and had new or refurbished avionics installed. By 1971 many surviving F-4Bs had been fitted with F-4J-style slotted stabilators, which improved the jet’s handling (eradicating the infamous ‘Mach tuck’, for example) when decelerating from supersonic speed and reduced approach speeds for landing – critically important when operating from the smaller flightdecks of Midwayclass carriers. All F-4Ns received the new stabilators, which were in effect miniature inverted slatted wings that provided tremendous downforce at low speeds. The F-4J also featured locked-up inboard leading-edge flaps, which improved the effectiveness of the new stabilators, and the modification was subsequently incorporated into the N-model. New equipment included Sanders AN/ALQ-126 or -126B deceptive electronic countermeasures equipment, with intake-mounted
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antennas fitted to all but the first 30 F-4Ns. Radar-homing and warning antennas for the AN/ALQ-126 were fitted to the undersides of the intakes and wings and tied into the antennas on the trailing edge of the tail fin. Other additions included Honeywell’s AN/AVG-8 Visual Target Acquisition System helmet sight which enabled the pilot to track targets visually and use the aircraft’s radar to guide AIM-7 Sparrow missiles towards them by ‘sighting’ them through his slaved helmet optics. The F-4N was also made compatible with the expanded acquisition mode AIM-9G missile, which could acquire targets from an off-boresight flank position as well as from the rear. There was also a new mission computer, improved IFF and a one-way datalink. F-4Ns started to reach the fleet from February 1973 and seven months later, when Midway sailed for Japan, CVW-5 was
undertaking the model’s first operational deployment. There were no F-4Ns available for VF-121 at NAS Miramar when nugget aviators destined for CVW-5 were completing their flying training in the spring of 1973, as VF-161’s Ens George Zolla recalled: “There were some important differences, especially in the back seat, between the F-4Js we trained on with VF-121 and the F-4Bs and ’Ns that VF-161 was flying when I joined the unit. This did not bother us too much, however, and we simply learned the new systems as we went along. There were still a number of F-4Bs on the squadron during the summer of 1973, and these jets really were in bad shape after two combat deployments in two years.” Fortunately, the F-4J and the F-4N shared similar slow-speed handling characteristics around the boat, which meant CVW-5’s
new crop of pilots would have valuable training during their eventful CQ period aboard Independence in early April 1973. “While flying from CV-62, one of the refresher pilots [Lt P T Arenskov] destined for CVW-5, who had plenty of F-8 experience but little time in the F-4, took his cat shot [in F-4J BuNo 153834] without cycling the controls or holding the stick back”, J R Davis recalled. “The aeroplane reached the end of the catapult stroke and nosed over into the water. The radar intercept officer [D S Nimmer] ejected them both, and they got good parachutes. They duly floated by the starboard side of the ship, bobbing next to their deflated parachutes and assorted baggage. “The F-4 they were flying had the blivet [underwing tank] filled with CQ crews’ overnight bags, uniforms and civilian clothes, and it had broken open on impact with the water. I was standing just outside flightdeck control with another pilot
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as we waited our turn in the CQ aeroplanes. He was a commander headed for another squadron not in CVW-5. He shouted down to the RIO in the water: “Grab the red bag – my clothes are in the red bag.” The RIO returned a hand gesture and waited for the planeguard helicopter to pick him up! “When I joined VF-151 at Miramar, about half its aircrew had made the previous combat cruise to Vietnam with the unit. CVW-5 and Midway had only returned from Southeast Asia on March 3, and they were destined for an April to September 1973 turnaround training cycle and then deployment to Japan. The training cycle for the air wing was therefore short by necessity. VF-151 chose to concentrate on air-to-air intercept and air combat manoeuvring engagements, navigation and bombing. “Late in the training cycle we joined up with the rest of CVW-5 for concentrated operations at NAS Fallon, Nevada. It brought the
air wing together for the first time since the last cruise, and it allowed us to hone our aviation skills. “We then flew aboard Midway for continued air wing operations and conducted large simulated strikes against targets in the China Lake and El Centro bombing range complexes. There was an emphasis placed on night simulated blue water recoveries aboard Midway during this period. These evolutions proved to be more than worthwhile, however, once we got to Japan and the Orient, as we routinely operated with limited divert options. “We sailed from San Francisco on September 11, 1973 and cruised in the Hawaiian operating area for a week. From there we transited to the Japanese operating area, arriving in Yokosuka on October 5, 1973. Our reception was mixed, with Japanese demonstrations both for and against the new Midway homeport.” Much of CVW-5 had flown off CVA-41 into NAF Atsugi prior to the carrier reaching Tokyo Bay,
with VF-161 XO Cdr T R Swartz leading the air wing to its new home. His RIO on this historic occasion was Ens George Zolla – who knew he had his work cut out for him due to the navigational limitations of his aircraft. “The F-4 really only had a single navigation aid [the Stewart-Warner AN/ARN-86 TACAN UHF system for use in areas were TACAN was indeed available], and it was not functioning in our jet,” recalled Zolla. “Nevertheless, the XO still wanted to lead the air wing. I basically used dead reckoning until I found a small island near the coast on my radar. From there we called ‘Tokyo Centre’ [Japanese air traffic control] and got a vector to Yokota approach control and finally to Atsugi. When we landed we saw crowds of Japanese aeroplane photo afm buffs taking our pictures.” In part two of Rolling Back The Years, CVW-5 heads to the Vietnam War for the very last time.
Above: HC-1 Det 2 provided CVW-5 with its SAR capability for more than a decade, initially embarking five SH-3Gs for CVA-41’s Vietnam cruise in 1972-73. The “Pacific Fleet Angels” were finally replaced by HS-12, equipped with SH-3Hs, in 1984. via Angelo Romano
A VF-161 two-jet section departs Misawa AFB in close formation during a cross-country exercise in the spring of 1974. RIO Lt(jg) George Zolla took this photograph of F-4N BuNo 150491/'NF100' just as its pilot was cycling away the jet’s undercarriage. Capt George Zolla
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ATTRITION REPORT Accident Reports D: Jan 28, 2014 N: US Air Force/49th TES T: B-52H Stratofortress S: 60-0049 ‘OT’
A fire on board the aircraft caused significant damage to the upper forward crew compartment. Although the aircraft was not destroyed, the damage incurred was such that it was deemed too costly to repair. A Safety Investigation Board and a Commander Directed Investigation were launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. The fire was found to have been caused by an un-bled O2 line, which became detached, leaking pure oxygen into the crew compartment, which then ignited. It has not been possible to determine why the line became detached or what caused the ignition. The damaged airframe still remained at Barksdale in January 2015. Although it will not be repaired, several options are being considered regarding the future of the aircraft. D: Jun 2, 2014 N: QinetiQ/ETPS T: Gazelle HT3 S: XZ936
A final report was released on January 21, 2015, of the Service Inquiry into a previously unreported accident involving this helicopter at MOD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. The Military Aviation Authority report said the main rotor blade struck the tail and severed the fenestron because the collective had been fully lowered, full cyclic had been applied and there was a lower than normal rotor speed. One of the contributory factors was confusion over which pilot had control of the helicopter. The accident occurred on the airfield at 1157hrs, while the Gazelle, callsign ‘Tester 73’, was being flown by an Empire Test Pilots’ School crew of two, who were practising engine-off landings (EOLs). On the last EOL,
Above: ETPS Gazelle HT3 XZ936 following its landing accident on June 2, 2014, at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. MAA
the helicopter landed on the rear of the skids and rocked backwards and forwards with significant control deflections. The rear of the tail boom assembly then detached when it was impacted by the main rotor blades. The two crew were unharmed. After assessment, the helicopter was classed as having CAT 3(SER) damage, meaning it could be repaired on site, but is beyond the capabilities of on-site personnel. The estimated cost of returning the Gazelle to service is £480,000. It was noted that the helicopter’s additional flight test instrumentation for its ETPS role made it considerably more valuable to QinetiQ and the MOD than a standard Gazelle. The helicopter has not been repaired and is believed to have been declared a write-off. D: Jul 14, 2014 N: US Air Force/432nd Wing T: MQ-1B Predator
An accident investigation board report released on January 26, 2015, revealed details of this previously unreported Predator loss in Afghanistan. It said that engine failure led to the crash near Kandahar Air Base. The aircraft was being flown by an 178th Reconnaissance Squadron crew from Fargo, North Dakota.
D: Jan 7, 2015 N: US Air Force/445th Airlift Wing/89th Airlift Squadron T: C-17A Globemaster III S: 99-0165
A tailpipe exhaust fire erupted in the No 3, starboard inner engine at around 1730hrs during start-up for a local training flight from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The crew immediately cut fuel to the engine and the fire was quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported to the 11 crew members on board. Approximately $180,000-worth of damage had been caused but repairs to the engine and adjacent fire-damaged wing area were completed within two weeks. The aircraft returned to operational missions on January 27. D: Jan 8 N: Army Air Corps/25 Flight T: Bell 212HP AH1 S: ZK067 ‘B’
After mechanical problems during a training flight, this helicopter force landed in the Mount Kenya Forest, Guthiuru area of Kieni, Kenya. Four British service personnel were injured, but there did not appear to be any serious damage to the helicopter. Technicians were due to arrive at the scene two days later to make repairs and fly it out again.
Above: US Air Force/US Embassy Tegucigalpa Flight C-12C Huron 76-0165 seen seconds after its emergency landing on January 9 at Palmerola Air Base with the starboard main undercarriage still retracted. Mario Theresin
D: Jan 9 N: US Air Force/US Embassy Tegucigalpa T: C-12C Huron S: 76-0165
While on approach to its base at Tegucigalpa-Toncontín International Airport, the crew was unable to lower the starboard main undercarriage. Instead, the pilot elected to land at Coronel José Enrique Soto Cano-Palmerola Air Base. He kept the starboard wing in the air as long as possible after touching down on the port main and nose undercarriage before the aircraft finally settled onto the runway. There appeared to be little damage to the aircraft and all those on board exited safely. D: Jan 13 N: Ecuador Air Force T: HAL Dhruv
While undertaking a training mission, this helicopter crashed at approximately 1645hrs into the waters of the Chongón dam, southwest of Guayaquil. No injuries were reported to the unspecified number of crew on board but the helicopter appeared to be a write-off. D: Jan 14 N: US Air Force/3rd Wing T: F-22A Raptor S: Possibly 06-4122 ‘AK’ or 07-4142 ‘AK’
While landing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, the left main brake overheated and caught fire, causing a failure of the undercarriage leg on that side of the aircraft. The Raptor then came to rest on its port side, still on the runway. The fighter was deployed to Hickam for exercise Sentry Aloha. It is expected to take at least a month to determine whether the aircraft is repairable.
Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials
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D: Jan 15 N: Libyan rebel forces T: Schiebel Camcopter S-100
D: Jan 26 N: French Air Force/ETO.1.8 T: 2 x Alpha Jet S: E47 ‘120-AC’ and E96 ‘120-TC’
While being operated by Libyan militants, this UAV was shot down by Libyan Army personnel. The Camcopter was originally donated to Libya by the European Union to monitor shallow waters along the coast but appears to have fallen into rebel hands.
These aircraft were destroyed while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story. D: Jan 26 N: French Air Force/EC.1.91 T: 2 x Rafale B S: 333 ‘113-IH’ and 335 ‘113-IJ’
These aircraft were damaged while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story.
D: Jan 17 N: Syrian Air Force T: Antonov An-26 S: YK-AND (c/n 3008)
On a night approach to Abu al-Duhur Air Base in Idlib province in thick fog the aircraft struck power lines and crashed, killing all 37 personnel on board. It was carrying troops, food and ammunition. Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, claimed it had shot down the aircraft, but it seems more likely that bad weather was to blame. D: Pre-Jan 18 N: US Air Force/434th ARW/ 72nd ARS T: KC-135R Stratotanker S: 63-7996 ‘Spirit of Freedom’
This damaged KC-135R passed through RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on January 18. There were clear signs of patch repairs to impact damage on the forward fuselage, presumably incurred at a forward deployed location. There was one large patch by the crew door and a smaller one close to the front of the receiver refuelling light strip. The receiver indicating strip also appeared to have been removed and a prominent dent was clearly visible at the front of this strip, close to the smaller repair. It is presumed the aircraft was heading back to the US for depot level repairs. No details are known regarding when and where the incident happened.
Above: The Libyan rebel-operated Schiebel Camcopter S-100, still carrying ‘Libyan ‘Coast Guard Administration’ tiitles, following its crash on January 15. D: January 21 N: Angolan Air Force T: Alouette III
This helicopter was badly damaged in a crash during a display at Saurimo Air Base, Lunda Sul province, after the main rotor struck the tail boom, causing the tail rotor and rear section to detach. The accident occurred during celebrations to mark the 39th anniversary of the Air Force. Despite a very heavy landing, the pilot and co-pilot escaped with only minor injuries. D: January 23 N: Italian Air Force/72° Stormo Type: TH-500B (NH500E)
While hover taxiing in at its home base at Frosinone at 1152hrs after a basic training mission the helicopter suddenly plunged to the ground, for unknown reasons. The two crew members, an AMI pilot instructor and an Italian Army student, escaped unhurt. They were taken to hospital for observation as a precaution. The extent of damage to the helicopter was not reported.
D: Jan 23 N: US Marine Corps/HMLA-169 T: UH-1Y Venom S: 168402
Two US Marines were killed when this helicopter crashed during a training flight in southern California. The accident occurred at 1639hrs when the crew was attempting an emergency landing short of the runway at the Expeditionary Landing Field at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. D: Jan 23 N: US Air Force/ 6th Reconnaissance Squadron T: MQ-1B Predator
This UAV crashed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, at around 0800hrs. D: Jan 25 N: Nigerian Air Force? T: CASC Rainbow CH-3 UAV
This armed Chinese-built unmanned air vehicle is said to have crashed at Dumge village in the Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. See Africa news, p26, for more details on the incident.
D: Jan 26 N: French Air Force/EC.3 T: Mirage 2000D S: 651 ‘133-LG’
This aircraft was destroyed while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story. D: Jan 26 N: French Air Force/EC.3 T: Mirage 2000D S: 669 ‘133-AL’
This aircraft was damaged while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story. D: Jan 26 N: Hellenic Air Force/341 Mira T: F-16D S: 084
This aircraft was destroyed when it crashed on take-off at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story. D: Jan 26 N: Italian Air Force/51° Stormo T: 2 x AMX S: MM7192 ‘51-70’ and MM7193 ‘51-54’
At least one of these aircraft was destroyed and the other damaged while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story.
D: Jan 20 N: US Army/California Army National Guard/1-140th Avn T: UH-60A Black Hawk S: 81-23560
During a routine training mission this helicopter was significantly damaged when it force-landed and rolled over onto its starboard side at around 1700hrs at the end of the runway at Ramona Airport, San Diego County. The pilot and co-pilot exited the helicopter without assistance and were treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital.
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USAF/72nd ARS KC-135R 63-7996 on approach to RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on January 18 with patchedover damage visible on the forward fuselage. Kevin Bell
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ATTRITION REPORT Accident Reports D: Jan 26 N: US Air Force/492nd FS T: F-15E Strike Eagle S: 91-0303 ‘LN’
D: Feb 2 N: Indian Army T: HAL Cheetah S: Z3155
This aircraft was damaged while parked at Albacete Air Base, Spain – see headline story.
While taking off at 0930hrs for a routine sortie from the Rangapahar helipad in Nagaland’s Dimapur district, the helicopter reached a height of only 10-12ft (3-3.6m) before plunging nose down and rolling over. The two pilots and an army official on board escaped injury.
D: Jan 26-27 N: Ukraine Separatist Air Force T: One L-39, two An-2s, one Yak-52, two Yak-50s and four Mi-24s
Ukraine Ministry of Defence officials claim that the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed these aircraft during fighting around the village of Verbovaya Balka, southeast of Donetsk, using BM-27 Uragan multiple launch rocket systems. They are thought to have been at the grass airstrip at DonezkMospyne, northeast of the village. D: Jan 27 N: Ecuadorian Air Force/Esc 2211 T: HAL Dhruv S: FAE-605
While taking off from the Centro de Operaciones Sectorial No 2 heliport at Tena, Napo province, the helicopter crashed and caught fire at around 1145hrs. The two pilots and two technicians on board were all injured. The crash came only two weeks after another FAE Dhruv was lost on January 13. The latest accident is the fourth Dhruv loss since the type entered service in 2009. D: Jan 27 N: Indian Air Force T: MiG-27MU S: TU-645
While on a routine training sortie from Jodhpur Air Force Station to Uttarlai AFS, the aircraft crashed at around 1510hrs near Mahabar village in the Barmer district of Rajasthan. Although the pilot ejected safely and was taken to hospital with minor injuries, the aircraft hit a motorbike on a road, though the rider only suffered minor injuries.
Above: Indian Air Force MiG-27MU TU-645 following its crash on January 27. D: Jan 28 N: Vietnam Peoples’ Air Force T: UH-1H Iroquois S: 7912
After taking off at 0715hrs, from Tan Son Nhat Air Base, Ho Chi Minh City, this helicopter disappeared from radar about eight minutes later. The pilot had reported engine failure and said he was trying to reach an open area on the outskirts of the city. The wreckage was found at Pham Van Hai commune in the Binh Chanh district of Ho Chi Minh City. All four on board were killed. D: Jan 29 N: Syrian Air Force T: MiG-23 Flogger
This aircraft is reported to have been shot down by insurgents, killing the pilot. It was downed near Bir Qasab, a village held by ISIL. Insurgents said they had used anti-aircraft weapons to prevent it from bombing opposition-held areas in Daraa province, south of Damascus. D: Jan 30 N: Libyan Air Force T: Il-76T S: 5A-DNK (c/n 0013430882)
This aircraft was destroyed by fire while parked on the apron at TripoliMitiga Air Base. It is thought to have been deliberately set ablaze.
D: Jan 31 N: Indian Air Force T: MiG-21
This aircraft crashed in Gujarat, near Bed village in the Rassolnagar area, 12 miles (20km) from Jamnagar city. The pilot, ejected safely but was injured. The loss was the second IAF crash within four days, following the MiG-27U accident on January 27. D: Jan 31 N: Philippine Air Force T: SF260FH
While flying as part of a three-ship formation carrying out a practice display at Barangay Bucana, Nasugbu, Batangas, the aircraft crashed into the sea, killing both crew members. Having taken off from Fernando Air Base, Lipa City, at 0907hrs along with the other two, the aircraft came down at around 0940hrs, roughly 1,000ft (300m) from the shoreline. D: Jan 31 N: US military T: Unidentified UAV
This unidentified US military UAV was reported to have crashed in a remote area of Dhamar province, South Sanaa, Yemen, following a technical failure. The loss has not been officially confirmed by the US and no further details are known.
D: Jan 27 N: Royal Thai AF/461 Squadron T: Basler BT-67 S: B.L2k-05/42
After a flight from Don Muang to Lop Buri Air Base, the aircraft ran off the runway, extensively damaging the undercarriage. An assessment is now being made as to whether the aircraft can be repaired, either using existing spares, or buying new parts.
Above: The tail section of Vietnamese Peoples’ Air Force UH-1H 7912 following its crash on January 28.
D: Feb 3 N: Ukrainian Air Force T: 2 x Su-25 Frogfoot
Ukrainian separatists claimed to have shot down both aircraft in the Donetsk region. The Ukraine Government has denied the loss. Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the unrecognised, self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, announced the shoot-down of one aircraft, saying the pilot had ejected and the militia was searching for him. Later, a spokesman for the Donetsk People’s Republic Ministry of Defence, Eduard Basurin, said both Su-25s had been shot down at 1425hrs while bombing militia positions in the northern and northeastern outskirts of Donetsk. D: Feb 3 N: Ukrainian Air Force T: Tu-143 Reys UAV
This UAV was said to have crashed near Irmino, 34 miles (55km) from Lugansk, after being shot down. A video showing wreckage of a Tu-143 appeared to back up the claim. D: Feb 4 N: Philippine Air Force T: UH-1H Iroquois S: ‘518’
At about 1530hrs, this helicopter crashed at a military camp in Cagayan de Oro City, injuring two crew members. Also on board were 4th Infantry Division commander Major Oscar Lactao and information officer Major Christian Uy. Neither were injured. The accident occurred at the 4th Infantry Diamond Division’s Camp Evangelista. The helicopter was taking off to return to nearby Lumbia Airport but only reached 3-5ft (1-1.5m) before it crashed and rolled inverted. Additional material from: Kevin Bell, Scramble/Dutch Aviation Society, Chris Sullivan, Mario Theresin and Asagiri Yohko.
Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials
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DEBRIEF Book reviews Blue Diamonds The Exploits of 14 Squadron RAF 1945-2015 Michael Napier Pen and Sword £25.00 ISBN: 9781473823273 Squadron history books fall into two categories. On the one hand they can be highly detailed – but very ‘dry’ – and tend to be more like a reference book to be looked at when working on a project. On the other hand they can be a brilliant collection of personal exploits detailing what life was really like on an operational squadron. How changes in roles and aircraft affect the daily lives of aircrew will be related through humorous
A-3 Skywarrior Units of the Vietnam War Combat Aircraft 108 Rick Morgan Osprey Publishing £13.99 ISBN: 978-1-47280564-5 This is the story of the ungainly looking Douglas A-3D Skywarrior that, during the Vietnam War, became the backbone of the US Navy carrier fleets operating in the Gulf of Tonkin. The former nuclear bomber fulfilled a multitude of roles, from aerial tanking, photo reconnaissance and electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering to acting as a lead radar bomber for strike aircraft during bad weather.
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tales, life-threatening incidents, NATO exercises and ‘real world’ combat missions mingled with detailed facts and historical references where appropriate. This latest book from Pen & Sword definitely falls into the latter category and can only be described as an outstanding tribute to 14 Squadron, nicknamed the ‘Blue Diamonds’. Beginning at the end of World War Two, when the squadron was still flying the de Havilland Mosquito, the author follows the changes in aircraft and has broken them down into chapters. It’s a clever way to compile accounts of flying the Venom, Vampire, Hunter and Canberra through to the Cold War era of the Phantom, Jaguar and the Tornado. Highlights abound throughout the book but for many readers I expect one particular will be Operating these huge Skywarriors from carrier decks, makes for some interesting reading. The crews nickname for it was ‘all three dead’, based on the Skywarrior’s designation. In the event of an accident when landing aboard the ship, there was little chance of escape if the aircraft ended up in the ocean. The losses of aircraft and their aircrews are detailed throughout the text and make for a sobering read. The chapters are broken down into the early years of the combat service, during which the US Navy attempted to find suitable missions for the cumbersome A-3D. To their surprise crews quickly found the type could perform many missions within the combat zone. There are chapters on tanking operations, early bomber strikes over North Vietnam before the skies were full of SAMs and MiGs, and chapters on several of the most interesting ELINT missions – some details of which remain classified to this day. It is illustrated with 30 superb profile artworks although it was a shame there were no four-view drawings within this section to illustrate the markings and camouflage in plan form. The tales of aircrews’ war stories are supported by with colour photographs throughout – many of which are from private collections and have not been published before. This is a great book that deserves a place in the collection of US Navy aviation fans. Glenn Sands
the period when 14 Squadron found itself on the front line as part of RAF Germany pitted against nations aligned within the Warsaw Pact. Memories of flying the mighty F-4 Phantom at low-level, in what was then a far less restricted European airspace, are recalled by pilots and navigators along with stories of very close near-misses and the excitement of flying in large formations during NATO exercises. An unusual squadron exchange between 14’s Jaguars and some A-7 Corsairs of the Hellenic Air Force is recalled, though it seems the Greek pilots were more interested in shopping than flying. And the Greek tradition of smashing plates after a meal resulted in some of the RAF’s finest china meeting an unhappy end during the arrival party in the officer’s mess. The book may be short on
The Israeli AF in the Yom Kippur War – Facts and Figures Ra’anan Weiss IsraDecal Publications/ Wingman Models £35.00 ISBN: 9783935686997 Writing a book on the Israeli Air Force is always going to be challenging. Obtaining information directly from official Israeli sources, which by their nature are secretive, can be a time consuming and frustrating business. Even events that occurred more than 30 years ago can still be difficult to unravel either because details remain classified or information is contradictory. But such problems did not deter Ra’anan Weiss. The author spent ten years putting this book together, but it is likely to be regarded as the definitive reference source on the Yom Kippur War. After securing some early victories, the Israeli Air Force began to struggle as it lost more and more aircraft – though eventually these were replaced by a covert supply
images, though there are colour profiles at the back illustrating the aircraft flown by the squadron, but it’s the personal accounts that make this book stand out from similar titles out there. A brilliant read. Glenn Sands
chain that stretched all the way back to the United States. Focusing on facts and figures, rather than personal accounts, the author gives a brief overview of events prior to the outbreak of fighting then separates the information into specific days in October 1973. Surprisingly, there’s a wealth of images accompanying the daily reports that were not censored, allowing aircraft details and weapons loads to be seen. Chapters listing the ‘kills’ obtained by the Israeli squadrons are cross-referenced with sortie numbers flown. Finally there is a section of colour side profiles accompanied by detailed captions. A great reference resource. 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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An MV-22B Osprey, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), hovers over the flight deck of the USS New York, at sea on January 5. The 24th MEU and Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group were conducting naval ops in the US 6th Fleet area of operations in support of US national security interests in Europe. USMC photo by Cpl Todd F Michalek
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