http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 11New trainers for
Spanish Air Force
Spain’s Council of
Ministers has approved a
plan for a new integrated
training system for the air
force, valued at around
€225m between 2020
and 2022. Among others,
this calls for 24 new
basic trainers to enter
service before 2021,
when the current C-
is due to be retired.
‘Romeos’ approved
for Greece
The US State Department
has approved a proposed
Foreign Military Sale to
Greece of up to seven
MH-60R multi-mission
maritime helicopters.
Total cost of the package
is around US$600m,
including mission
avionics and weapons.
French Navy Lynx
retirement advanced
The French Navy has
revealed its intention to
retire its Lynx Mk4(FN)
helicopters two years
early, in 2020, due to
rising support costs.
A total of eight Lynx
Mk4(FN) aircraft remain
in service with Flottille
34F at Lanvéoc-Poulmic.
More F-35As for
the Netherlands
Dutch defence minister
Ank Bijleveld has outlined
plans to buy another
eight or nine F-35As for
the Royal Netherlands
Air Force, which will be
added to the fleet of
37 Lightning IIs it has
already committed to.
Flottille 36F to
become UAV operator
The French Navy’s
Flottille 36F, based at
Hyères, will become the
service’s first shipborne
unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) squadron. The
unit will operate the
S-100 Camcopter from
the navy’s Mistral-class
amphibious assault ships.Multinational MRTT Unit formally established In Brief
A CEREMONY was held
at Eindhoven Air Base in
the Netherlands on July
10 to mark the formal
establishment of the
Multinational Multi-Role
Tanker Transport Unit (MMU).
The first MMU commander
is Colonel Jurgen van der
Biezen and Eindhoven
will be the future main
operating base for the fleet.
The MMU is now
responsible for preparations
for the arrival of the first
MRTT aircraft next May 1.
The Multinational MRTT
Force (MMF) encompasses
eight A330 MRTT aircraft,
which will belong to NATO.
Five will be stationed atEindhoven and the other
three in Cologne, Germany.
The programme is still open
to interested partners, with
the contract holding the
potential for three additional
aircraft. The current delivery
schedule anticipates the
second aircraft arriving at
Eindhoven in June 2020,
while the third and fourth
will go to Cologne in
November 2020 and March
2021, followed by the fifth
to Eindhoven in September- The sixth will arrive
in Cologne in April 2022,
with the seventh and eighth
both going to Eindhoven
in September 2022 and
October 2024, respectively.
The MMF programme was
initiated with an agreement
between Luxembourg and
the Netherlands in November
2014, including planned
acquisition of the first two
aircraft. Germany and
Norway joined in June 2017,
resulting in five more aircraft
being added. Belgium
signed up on February
14 last year, boosting the
fleet to eight aircraft.
The first aircraft, A330-
243 F-WWKR (c/n 1830)
flew as a ‘green’ airframe
from Toulouse, France, on
November 15, 2017, and was
then ferried to Getafe, Spain,
as EC-340 on February
21, 2018 for conversionto MRTT standard. After
conversion was completed, it
flew to Manchester, marked
as MRTT054/M1, on July
16, to be painted in NATO
colours before returning
to Spain. It will take up
Royal Netherlands Air Force
(RNLAF) serial M-001 when
it enters service. The second
aircraft, F-WWCC (c/n 1911,
to be M-002) flew from
Toulouse on January 21. It is
also now under conversion
in Spain. The third, F-WWCS
(c/n 1919, to be M-003)
first flew at Toulouse
on June 26, following
which it was delivered to
Getafe for conversion on
July 25. Dave AllportAbove: The third A330-243 for the MMU, EC-331 (c/n 1919), at Getafe, Spain, on July 25, shortly after its ferry fl ight from
Toulouse, France, for conversion to MRTT confi guration. José Ramón ValeroLuftwaffe A400M
expands tanker
capabilities
A Luftwaffe A400M refuelled a pair of French Air Force Rafales for the fi rst time on July 17. The French jets are also operating
from Azraq, under Opération Chammal. French MoD
THE LUFTWAFFE has
begun using its A400M in
the aerial refuelling role in
the Middle East. As part of
Germany’s Operation Counter
Daesh, an aircraft fromLufttransportgeschwader
62 (LTG 62, Air Transport
Wing 62) has been refuelling
coalition aircraft from its
deployment base at Azraq,
Jordan. A400M 54+10 and acontingent of 21 personnel
have joined a Luftwaffe A
serving in the same role at
the base. Work to certify the
Luftwaffe A400M for tanker
operations began in Augustlast year. In this configuration,
the aircraft can refuel two
aircraft simultaneously and
deliver around 40 tonnes
of kerosene, refuelling up
to ten aircraft in an hour.Right: French Marine/Audrey
Agostinelli via Dave AllportFlottille 35F
celebrates 40th
anniversary
MARINE NATIONALE
(French Navy) Flottille 35F
SA365F1 Dauphin 318
prepares to take off from the
aircraft carrier Charles de
Gaulle (R 91). The helicopter
wears a newly applied
special colour scheme to
celebrate the unit’s 40thanniversary. The markings
include silhouettes of the
various types operated
by the unit over the years,
including the Alouette III,
Lynx, Super Frelon and
the current Dauphin.Subscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com for breaking news
stories. Email the news team at [email protected]10-13 EuropeNews AFM Sep2019.indd 11 8/5/2019 3:11:57 PM