22 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comNEWS Middle East
Second batch of
Rafales arrives in Qatar
Five more Rafales have
been delivered to the Qatar
Emiri Air Force. Touching
down at Tamim Air Base
on July 3 were single-seat
Rafale EQ serials QA217,
QA219 and QA221, plus
two-seat Rafale DQ serials
QA202 and QA203. These
jets join five examples
previously delivered to
Tamim on June 5.
Kuwait ends talks on
possible Hawk purchase
The Kuwaiti government
has terminated talks over
the possibility of ordering
a reported 12 additional
Hawk Advanced Jet
Trainers from BAE Systems
to equip a new Air Training
College. The Kuwait Air
Force currently operates
six Hawk Mk64s, the
survivors of 12 delivered
in the mid-1980s.
Switzerland orders
Pilatus to cease activity
in Saudi Arabia and UAE
Switzerland’s Federal
Department of Foreign
Affairs has determined
that Pilatus must terminate
its activities in Saudi
Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates, since
they are deemed to be a
breach of “foreign policy
objectives”. On June 26
the Swiss company was
given a 90-day deadline to
wind up technical support,
parts management and
repair of PC-21s used
by the two countries.Latest Saudi Strike Eagles pass through UK In Brief
SIX MORE F-15SAs for the
Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF)
arrived at RAF Lakenheath,
Suffolk, on the evening of
July 29, on delivery to the
Middle East. In landing
sequence, the Strike Eagles
comprised serials 12-1078,
12-1077, 12-1076, 12-1052,
12-1051 and 12-1050, usingthe callsigns ‘Retro 61 to 66’.
In March 2012, Boeing
was awarded an US$11.4bn
Foreign Military Sales
contract to manufacture 84
new-build F-15SAs, plus
associated systems and
munitions. Deliveries got
under way in December 2016
when the first two aircraft(accompanied by two F-15S
conversions) were delivered
via Lakenheath. Subsequent
batches of new build aircraft
followed in February 2017
(three), March 2017 (five),
August 2017 (six), September
2017 (six) and December
2017 (six). Last year, four
more transited Lakenheathin March, four in May, five in
July, four in late September
and four in December. Prior
to the latest transfers, the
previous six aircraft were
flown to Nellis Air Force
Base, Nevada, to participate
in Red Flag 19-2 before
being delivered to Saudi
Arabia in March this year.End of the line for Sde Dov
THE ISRAELI Air Force’s
(IAF’s) first air base, Sde
Dov, near Tel Aviv, was
closed down on July 1 after
71 years of service. The
original runway at the facility
was inaugurated in 1938 and
when the 1948 Arab-Israeli
War broke out, six light
transport aircraft operated
by the Sherut Avir – the IAF’s
paramilitary predecessor- were evacuated there
from Lod. On their arrival,
the airfield was named
Tel Aviv Airport and a first
operational unit (the Tel Aviv
Squadron) was established.
All the site’s units and
aircraft have been relocated
to Hatzor Air Base. An
official decommissioning
event was held at Sde
Dov on June 30 and the
following day a ribbon-
cutting ceremony took place
at Hatzor to inaugurate 100
‘Flying Camel’ Squadron’s
new facilities there. The unit
operates Beech A36 Chofit
(Bonanza) and Beech 200
Zufit (King Air) aircraft.Above: Super King Air serial 844 – a B200T Zufi t 5 of
100 ‘Flying Camel’ Squadron – during the fi nal day of air
operations at Sde Dov. Anthony HershkoAbove: Qods Mohajer-6 serial P71A-030 was one of the three
joining the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation inventory
on July 17. It is the largest UAV to enter IRIAA service to date.
IRIAA
THREE INDIGENOUSLY
developed Qods Aviation
Industry Company
Mohajer-6 unmanned
aerial vehicles have been
inducted into the Islamic
Republic of Iran Army
Aviation (IRIAA) inventory.
They were officially handed
over during a ceremony
at Gonabad, in Razavi
Khorasan province,
northeast Iran, on July 17.
The UAVs will be used for
border patrol, along with
counter-terrorist operations.Production of the type
began in February last year,
with an initial ten being
produced for the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps
(IRGC) Ground Forces
and 40 are planned for
IRGC Naval Aviation. One
of those delivered to the
IRIAA carried serial P071A-
030 and as that numbering
system appears to run
consecutively from P71A-
001, this implies that at least
30 have been manufactured
to date. Dave Allport F-35I Adir 925 (AS-16) arrives at Nevatim. IAF/Amit AgronovAdditional F-35I Adirs for Israel
THE ISRAELI Air Force
(IAF) has received two
more F-35I Adir fighters,
which arrived at Nevatim
Air Base in the south of
the country on July 14.
The most recent deliveries,
serials 925 (AS-16) and
926 (AS-17), increase the
local inventory to 16 jets,
operated by 140 ‘GoldenEagle’ Squadron. The
latest aircraft made their
respective maiden flights
on April 26 and May 24 and
flew to Israel via a stopover
at Lajes Field in the Azores.
The Israeli government has
approved the purchase of
50 F-35Is and the first two
examples were delivered
to Nevatim in December- Three more followed
in April 2017, then came
further pairs in September
and November that year.
In June 2018 three aircraft
were handed over and
two in November.
Aircraft AS-15 hasn’t
been delivered yet and
is thought to have been
earmarked for trials work.
Iranian Army inducts
Mohajer-6 armed UAV
RSAF F-15SA serial 12-1051 touches down at RAF Lakenheath. Peter R Foster21-23 News AFM Sep2019.indd 22 8/5/2019 12:23:28 PM