AirForces Monthly – September 2019

26 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Signifi cant expansion for Malagasy Air Force Cape

Verde

prepares

for C212s

TWO FORMER Força

Aérea Portuguesa (FAP,

Portuguese Air Force)

C212 Srs 100 Aviocars are

expected to be handed

over to the Guarda

Costeira de Cabo Verde

(Cape Verde Coast Guard)

shortly. Portuguese

company Sevenair, which

acquired six of the ex-FAP

aircraft, confirmed on May

25 that delivery had been

delayed, but anticipated

the aircraft could begin

operating in September.

Sevenair signed a

contract with Cape Verde

on July 4 last year to

exchange a Cape Verde

Coast Guard Dornier 228

for the two C212s, which

will be used, among other

missions, for transport

of medical patients

between the islands

of Cape Verde, along

with search and rescue,

maritime surveillance and

military cargo transport.

The company stated

that maintenance and

overhaul of the aircraft

had proceeded much

slower than anticipated,

due to problems with

official paperwork.

The work, which

includes installing

upgraded avionics, is

being undertaken at the

FAP’s Base Aérea 6 at

Montijo, where the aircraft

had been stored since

retirement. Training coast

guard pilots and ground

crew in Portugal has

proceeded in parallel so

the aircraft can quickly

become operational

once on strength.

As part of the agreement,

Sevenair has leased a

Jetstream 32 to the Cape

Verde Coast Guard to

carry out inter-island

patient transfers until the

CASAs enter service.

This has been flying

from the island of

Santiago since arriving

there on August 27 last

year. Dave Allport

Initial Nigerian C-130H Hercules PDM completed

NIGERIA HAS conducted

its first ever local periodic

depot maintenance (PDM)

on a Nigerian Air Force

(NAF) Hercules. On June 24,

an acceptance ceremony

for C-130H NAF-917 was

held at the 631 Aircraft

Maintenance Depot (631

ACMD) in Ikeja, Lagos.

Local reactivation of

NAF-917 was carried

out by Sabena technics

in conjunction with NAF

engineers and technicians.

Work involved extensive

disassembly of the aircraft,

as well as inspection, repair

and overhaul of components.

NAF personnel were involved

at every stage of the process

to prepare them for the work

to eventually be carried out

solely by local technicians.

PDM on a second

C-130H, NAF-913, has

also started, in association

with a Pakistan Air Force

technical assistance

group. Dave Allport

THE ARMÉE de l’Air

Malagache (Malagasy Air

Force) recently took delivery

of a CN235M-10, five Cessna

206 Stationairs and three

AS350B2 Écureuil helicopters

• all acquired second-hand.
  On June 24, the CN235,
  5R-MUQ (c/n C008), flew in
  to Base Aéronavale Ivato-
  Antananarivo International
  Airport for a formal handover.
  It will be used for roles
  including troop transport,
  dispatching emergency
  aid for natural disasters
  and medical evacuation.
  The aircraft was originally
  operated by the Botswana
  Defence Force-Air Wing
  as serial OG1. It was then
  sold to US company Fayard
  Enterprises, being registered
  as N820CA in February
  2011, before being flown
  to Lanseria, South Africa,

for storage with Paramount

Group pending a sale. A

sale to the Force Aérienne

Togolaise (Togolese Air

Force), as 5V-MBM, fell

through and it was instead

registered to another US

company, AvCorp, as

N124CL in August 2013.

This was cancelled in

August 2014, following

sale in South Africa as

ZS-SOO, prior to eventual

acquisition by Madagascar.

The June ceremony also

saw formal handover of three

AS350B2s, two of which

were ZT-RCC (c/n 7061)

which became 5R-MOO,

while ZS-RHW (c/n 1327)

became 5R-MON. The

third is ZS-RWC (c/n 3897),

which was received earlier in

May, see Madagascar Army

acquires AS350B2, July, p28.

Arrival of the Cessna 206s

was confirmed when all five

performed a flypast during a

parade at the Mahamasina

Municipal Stadium in

Antananarivo to celebrate

59 years of independence,

on June 26. Three of the

five Stationairs were fitted

with under-fuselage cargo

panniers. Dave Allport

Above: The ‘new’ Malagasy Air Force CN235M-10, 5R-MUQ, arrives at Antananarivo, Madagascar. Two of the new AS350B2s

are also visible in the background. Presidency of the Republic

Above: Independence Day festivities on June 26 also involved

the Malagasy Air Force BK117-850D2 ZS-HRK (c/n 7184).

This 1988-built helicopter is another new acquisition and was

previously operating in South Africa with Aeronautic Solutions

at Grand Central Airport, Midrand. Presidency of the Republic

Richard Vandervord

AN INTERESTING departure

from RAF Brize Norton,

Oxfordshire on July 4 was

Arab Republic of Egypt

Air Force C295M, serial

1193/SU-BRU. Egypt is

an enthusiastic C295M

operator, placing an initial

order for three aircraft in

October 2010, with deliveries

following in late 2011. A

follow-on order for three

more aircraft was signed

in March 2012 and they

arrived the following year. In

January 2013 Airbus Military

announced another Egyptian

order for six C295Ms. All 12

aircraft from the initial three

orders had been received

by the end of 2014 and

in July that year an order

for another eight aircraft

was announced, bringing

planned total acquisition

to 20. By mid-2016 it was

apparent a further four

transports had been ordered

in a fifth batch, all of which

were handed over by the

end of that year to make

a total of 24 examples.

Egyptian C295M at Brize

NEWS Africa

26-27 News AFM Sep2019.indd 26 8/5/2019 12:24:55 PM