AirForces Monthly 2016-05.pdf

(27445 KB) Pobierz
EE
MENT
DISASTER RELIEF - UK HELICOPTERS TO THE
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
RESCUE
R
SU
F
PPLE
GLOBAL STRIKE COMMAND
MAY 2016 ISSUE #338
Officially the World's
NUMBER ONE
Authority on Military Aviation www.airforcesmonthly.com
Drones
in Syria
From Hobby
UAVs to Death
Star ops
Russia's
Revenge
Su-30
Flanker
Brothers
in Arms
European Fighter Fleets - Part One
Hi-tech on a
Budget
Italian
Air Force
EXCLUSIVE
FORCE
REPORT
Exercise
Falcon Strike
Thai and Chinese
fighters face off
Brits at
Beaufort
UK £4.80
www.airforcesmonthly.com
UK F-35 Operations
T-6C TEXAN II
How do you ready the air defense of your entire combined armed forces? One trainer. The Beechcraft
T-6, with over 2.7 million hours of proof, is the internationally preferred trainer of choice. Its
established pedigree, advanced capabilities and value make it the only choice to train your next
generation of aviation warriors.
Visit us at BeechcraftDefense.com.
For more info, contact:
+1.844.44.TXTAV
| International
+1.316.517.8270
©2016 Beechcraft Corporation. All rights reserved. Beechcraft is a registered trademark of the Beechcraft Corporation.
CONTENTS
May Issue 338
40
FORCE
REPORT
Italian Air
Force
News
All the world’s military
aviation news, by region.
4-5
Headlines
6-9
United Kingdom
10-12
Continental Europe
13-19
North America
20
Africa
21-25
Latin America
26-27
Middle East
28-30
Asia Pacific
31
Australasia/
Contracts
32
Brits at Beaufort
Lon Nordeen looks at the
increased tempo of training for
UK aircrews as they work up on
the F-35B JSF alongside the US
Marine Corps in South Carolina.
56
AIRCRAFT PROFILE
Su-30: Multi-role
Flanker
Comes of Age
Alexander Mladenov provides
a profile of the vastly improved
two-seat Sukhoi Su-30,
which looks set to remain in
production well into the 2020s.
84
Going Great Guns
at Gando
38
EXERCISE REPORT
Forging Sabre 2015
Kees Otten and Wim Das provide
a photo report on two combat
exercises that took place at
the Spanish Air Force Base of
Gando on Gran Canaria.
Chen Chuanren reports on the
Republic of Singapore Air Force’s
firepower demonstration in Arizona.
64
European Fighter
Fleets 2016 – Part One
88
Feedback
90
Attrition
Readers’ views and comments.
40
FORCE REPORT
Italian Air Force
FREE DVD
Claim your FREE Airbus A400M
First Years DVD when you take
out a 2-year or Direct Debit
subscription to
AirForces Monthly.
See pages 22 and 23 for details.
Riccardo Niccoli finds out how
Italy’s Aeronautica Militare
performs a precarious balancing
act between high-end capability
and diminishing funds.
In this, the first of a three-part
series, Alan Warnes looks at
which countries are doing their
bit for international operations
and, along with many of
AFM’s
correspondents, reviews their fleets.
AFM’s
Dave Allport reports on the
world’s latest military accidents.
94
Debrief
76
Spreading the Word
Reviews of recently published
books on military aviation.
48
Fusing Fighters
for the Future
Alexander Mladenov reports on the
recently completed deployment
of US Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt
IIs to Graf Ignatievo in Bulgaria.
96
Base Watch
A snapshot of recent military
visitors to air bases around
the UK and abroad.
Joe Copalman examines how
the USMC is evolving its Legacy
Hornet fleet to operate alongside
the incoming F-35B Lightning II.
80
Syria – The Drone
Wars
98
Comment
AFM’s
view on military aviation.
Cover: A Rafale C from EC 2/30
‘Normandie-Niemen’. It is armed
with two Mica IR missiles on its
wingtips, and a single Scalp cruise
missile under the centreline pylon.
For more on Europe’s fighters
see part one of
AFM’s
survey on
page 64.
Henri-Pierre Grolleau
54
EXCLUSIVE
EXERCISE REPORT
Falcon Strike 2015
Thai and Chinese aircraft in a first
joint exercise – Analayo Korsakul
reports on a rare meeting of
Western and Eastern technologies.
Almost every faction in the
multi-sided Syrian civil war
appears to have an unmanned air
vehicle capability. The systems
range from the US-built MQ-9
Reaper equipped with missiles
and bombs, to mini quadcopters
that have been purchased
online. Tim Ripley reports.
FREE
54
EXERCISE
REPORT
Falcon Strike
2015
GLOBAL
STRIKE
SUPPLEMENT
www.airforcesdaily.com
#338 MAY 2016
3
NEWS
HEADLINES
KUWAIT SIGNS TYPHOON DEAL
K
Above:
An impression of a Eurofighter Typhoon in simplified Kuwait markings, with just the national flag on the fin.
Eurofighter
UWAIT HAS become the
eighth customer to order
the Eurofighter Typhoon after
its Ministry of Defence signed a
contract on April 5 with Italian
manufacturer Finmeccanica
– which led commercial
negotiations on behalf of the
Eurofighter consortium. The
order is for 22 single-seat
and six twin-seat aircraft.
Part of an inter-governmental
agreement between the
two countries, the order
incorporates logistics and
operational support, together
with training of aircrew and
ground personnel in co-operation
with the Italian Air Force.
Also included is an upgrade of
the ground-based infrastructure
in Kuwait that will be used
for Typhoon operations.
The Kuwait Air Force’s
Typhoons will be to the latest
Tranche 3 standard and the
first to be exported with the new
EuroRadar Captor E-Scan active
electronically scanned array
radar. They will be assembled
in Italy on Finmeccanica’s
Eurofighter production line
in Turin. First deliveries are
expected to take place in 2019.
Kuwait confirmed its intention
to purchase 28 Typhoons when a
memorandum of understanding
for the aircraft was signed in
Rome on September 11 last year
– see
Kuwait to Buy 28 Eurofighter
Typhoons,
November, p26.
The order is the first export
success for the type since
December 2012, when Oman
ordered 12. Kuwait becomes
the third Typhoon customer in
the Middle East, Saudi Arabia
having been the first.
US Approves RAF
P-8A Purchase
US STATE Department approval
has been granted for a possible
Foreign Military Sale to the
UK of up to nine Boeing P-8A
Poseidon maritime patrol
aircraft and associated major
defence equipment, training,
and support. The approval was
confirmed in an announcement
on March 25 by the US Defense
Security Cooperation Agency
(DSCA), which said it had
notified Congress of the possible
sale the previous day. The
DSCA quotes the estimated
overall cost as $3.2 billion.
Plans to acquire the aircraft
were officially revealed on
November 23 last year as part
of the UK’s Strategic Defence
and Security Review – see
P-8
MPA and F-35 Buys Confirmed,
January, p5. The acquisition
will enable the UK to finally
re-establish its maritime
surveillance aircraft (MSA)
capability, which it lost when
it cancelled the Nimrod MRA4
maritime patrol aircraft
(MPA) programme in 2010.
In the meantime, core
skills in maritime patrol and
reconnaissance following the
retirement of the Nimrod MR2
aircraft have been retained
through Personnel Exchange
Programmes (PEPs) under
Project Seedcorn. The MSA
had remained the UK’s highest
priority unfunded requirement,
which the P-8A will now fulfil.
Lakenheath F-15Es in Greece
US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle 98-0135 ‘LN’ from the 48th Fighter Wing’s 492nd Fighter Squadron ‘Mad Hatters’ at
RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, flies in formation over Greece with Israeli Air Force F-16D 027 and F-16C 392 on April 7
during Exercise Iniohos 16. The Hellenic Air Force hosted the training event at Andravida Air Base, enabling allied and
partner air forces to enhance their interoperability and capabilities.
Ioannis Lekkas via USAF
4
MAY 2016 #338
www.airforcesmonthly.com
Visit
www.airforcesdaily.com
for daily
news stories. E-mail the news team
at
milnews@keypublishing.com
Chinook in 28 Squadron 100th Anniversary Colours
A NEW colour scheme for
28 Squadron’s centenary was
unveiled on Chinook HC4 ZH777
at the unit’s base at RAF Benson,
Oxfordshire, on April 7 during a
parade reviewed by HRH Prince
Michael of Kent. The impressive
markings were applied over
just ten days by six specialists
from Serco in the paint bay
at RAF Odiham, Hampshire,
after months of planning.
The scheme was designed by Flt
Lt Andy Donovan, a recent graduate
of the Chinook conversion course.
The helicopter flew to Benson on
April 1. The squadron formed on
November 1, 1915, at Gosport,
Hampshire, but the unit was
too busy to celebrate its 100th
anniversary last November, as only
a month earlier it had re-formed
at Benson as the combined
Chinook and Puma OCU.
So a dual celebration was held
when the squadron’s new purpose-
built facility was opened. OC 28
Squadron, Wg Cdr Marty Lock, who
played a hands-on role in ensuring
the livery came to fruition, said:
"The team can be proud they are
now an integral part of shaping the
RAF’s Support Helicopter Force".
Above:
Chinook HC4 ZH777 arriving in the circuit at RAF Benson on April 1 in its 28 Squadron 100th anniversary colours.
RAF Odiham/Flt Lt Andy Donovan
USAF B-52Hs Join Fight Against Daesh
TWO US Air Force B-52H
Stratofortress strategic bombers
have arrived at Al Udeid Air
Base, Qatar, to support theatre
requirements and Operation
Inherent Resolve (OIR) – the
mission to eliminate Daesh
and the threat it poses to
Iraq, Syria and the wider
international community.
The aircraft, from the 2nd
Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air
Force Base, Louisiana, left on
April 8 and arrived in Qatar
the following day. They were
60-0025 ‘LA’ from the 20th
Bomb Squadron ‘Buccaneers’
and 60-0032 ‘LA’ from the 96th
BS ‘Red Devils.’ A second pair
had been en route on April 10,
but had to return to base due to
problems with tanker support.
Lt Gen Charles Q Brown Jr,
commander, US Air Forces
Central Command and Combined
Forces Air Component, said: “The
B-52 will provide the Coalition
continued precision and deliver
desired airpower effects.
“As a multi-role platform, the
B-52 offers diverse capabilities
including delivery of precision
weapons and the flexibility and
endurance needed to support
the combatant commander’s
priorities and strengthen
the Coalition team.”
Crews will be available to carry
out missions in Iraq or Syria as
needed, to support Air Tasking
Order requirements. The
deployment is the first by B-52s
in the US Central Command
area of responsibility in 26 years,
the type having flown missions
from Saudi Arabia supporting
Operation Desert Storm.
They were last flown
operationally in the region during
Operation Enduring Freedom in
May 2006 and during Exercise
Eager Lion – a US CENTCOM-led
multilateral exercise in Jordan
in May 2015 – but were not
based in the CENTCOM area.
To date, the coalition has
conducted more than 33,000
airpower missions in support
of OIR. Since the start of the
operation, the Coalition has
struck about 460 vehicle-borne
IEDs, 776 mortar systems, 1,933
logistics buildings housing such
weapons, 662 weapons caches
and 1,341 staging areas.
Secretary of the Air Force
Deborah Lee James confirmed
that plans were being made
to deploy the B-52Hs in
support of OIR during a
press briefing on March 7.
They have replaced B-1B
Lancers previously deployed
to Al Udeid to operate with the
379th Air Expeditionary Wing
(AEW), which returned home
in January for upgrades.
See
AFM’s
Global Strike
supplement for more on B-52H,
B-1B and B-2A operations.
US Air Force B-52Hs 60-0032 ‘LA’ from the 96th BS ‘Red Devils’ and 60-0025 ‘LA’ from the 20th BS ‘Buccaneers’ (behind) taxi in after arriving at Al Udeid Air
Base, Qatar, on April 9.
USAF/Staff Sgt Corey Hook
www.airforcesdaily.com
#338 MAY 2016
5

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin