http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 25Indian Rafale flies
Rafale DH serial RB001,
the first of 36 examples
for the Indian Air Force
(IAF), performed its
maiden flight at Bordeaux-
Mérignac in France on
July 17. The initial batch
of 18 Rafales are due
to be delivered to 17
Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’
at Ambala Air Force
Station from September.
New Dornier 228
squadron at Chennai
The Indian Navy’s
fifth Dornier maritime
surveillance unit, Indian
Naval Air Squadron (INAS)
313 ‘Sea Eagle’, was
commissioned at Naval Air
Enclave Meenambakkam,
co-located with
Chennai International
Airport, on July 22.
India’s initial
AH-64Es arrive
A first batch of four
AH-64E(I) Apaches for the
IAF were transported to
Hindon Air Force Station
on July 27, on board an
An-124. Another four
Apaches were expected
to be delivered in the
first week of August.
The full fleet of 22 will
ultimately be based at
Pathankot AFS in Punjab.
Indian Air Force seeks
more Su-30MKIs
Russia’s Federal
Service for Military-
Technical Cooperation
has confirmed Indian
plans to acquire another
18 Su-30MKI multi-role
fighters. The jets would
be purchased for the IAF
in kit form for assembly
in India and will join
272 examples already
on order. The IAF also
recently signed deals with
Moscow worth around
US$600m for about 300
R-27 (AA-10 Alamo), 300
R-73E (AA-12 Archer)
and 400 R-77 (AA-12
Adder) air-to-air missiles.Two more In Brief
F-35As
arrive in
South Korea
THE LATEST two F-35As
out of 40 examples on
order for the Republic of
Korea Air Force (ROKAF)
touched down at Cheongju
Air Base on July 15.
Lightning II serials 19-007
(AW-07, FMS 17-5314)
and 19-008 (AW-08, FMS
17-5315) arrived from Fort
Worth, Texas, after several
stopovers. Cheongju is
home to the ROKAF’s
17th Fighter Wing and the
stealth fighters will equip its
152nd Fighter Squadron.
In March 2014 it was
confirmed the F-35A had
been formally selected as
the ROKAF’s new fighter.
The first aircraft flew at Fort
Worth on March 19 last
year. As of last December,
six F-35As were being used
for crew training at Luke Air
Force Base, Arizona. The
first two jets were delivered
to Cheongju last March- Another six F-35As are
expected to arrive in South
Korea by the end of the year
and all 40 jets are scheduled
to be delivered by 2022.
THE LATEST AW189 for
the Royal Thai Police
(RTP) Aviation Division
seen at Venegono on a
test flight from Leonardo
Helicopters’ Vergiate facility
on May 22. The helicopter
wears temporary test
registration I-EASN.
Four RTP airframes have
been seen test flying from
Vergiate since January this
year: c/n 49056/I-RAIU,
c/n 49058/I-RAIP, c/n
49059/I-RAIW and c/n
49060/I-EASN. It’s unclearhow many AW189s have
been ordered by the RTP, and
there are no details about the
contract or delivery schedule.
The service is in the process
of modernising its helicopter
fleet and currently operates
a mix of Bell and Airbus
Helicopters designs. Latest
additions include two
Airbus H175s, introduced in
September 2017, and eight
Bell 429s. Deliveries of an
initial six 429s began in 2017,
while another two joined
the RTP in April this year.AW189 for Royal Thai Police
Bangladesh Air Force
C-130J rolled out in UK
MARSHALL AEROSPACE
and Defence has unveiled the
initial former Royal Air Force
C-130J Hercules C5 for the
Bangladesh Biman Bahini
(Bangladesh Air Force, BAF).
The ‘short-bodied’ Hercules,
serial 99-5497/S3-AGE
(c/n 382-5479, ex ZH881),
was rolled out at Marshall’s
Cambridge facility during an
official ceremony on July 22.The British firm is carrying
out comprehensive
depth maintenance and
modifications on five C-130Js
for the BAF. Enhancements
include avionics upgrades
and provision of medical
evacuation and passenger
transport capabilities.
Air Chief Marshal Serniabat,
the BAF chief of air staff,
said the first C-130J wouldbe delivered to Bangladesh
“soon”. Ordered in two
batches of two and three
aircraft in August 2017 and
June 2019, respectively, all
five aircraft are expected
to be delivered before the
end of the year. Acquiring
the new airlifters will enable
the BAF to retire the four
second-hand C-130Bs that
entered service in 2002.Above: BAF C-130J Hercules C5 serial 99-5479 during the handover ceremony in Cambridge.
ACM Serniabat is seen second left, with the Bangladesh High Commissioner to London Saida
Muna Tasneem (far right). Marshall Aerospace and DefenceRoyal Thai Air Force 737 in the UK
KONGTAP AGARD Thai
(Royal Thai Air Force, RTAF)
Boeing 737-8Z6 HS-HMK/
L11k.VPR-03/59 (c/n 62445)
departs Farnborough Airport,Hampshire on July 6. This is
the first of two such aircraft
on strength with the RTAF’s
602 Squadron as part of
6 Wing at Don Muang.The first 737-8Z6 entered
service in April 2007, while
a second aircraft (HS-MVS/
L11k.VPR-03/50, c/n 35478)
made its maiden flight inSeptember 2015 and arrived
at Woensdrecht in the
Netherlands the following
October for outfitting
with its VIP interior.Richard VandervordMarco MuntzSubscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com for breaking news
stories. Email the news team at [email protected]24-25 AsiaNews AFM Sep2019.indd 25 8/5/2019 12:47:00 PM