[NEWS] HEADLINES
06 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
F-117 MYSTERY
DEEPENS
NEW CAMOUFLAGE ON NIGHTHAWK SUGGESTS ADDITIONAL ROLES.
This image: The
F-117 in question
is seen on July
11 alongside a
KC-135R having
completed in-fl ight
refueling.
Steve Lewis
Inset: A distant
topside view
seems to indicate
that the lighter
gray fi nish may be
carried onto the
upper surfaces of
the aircraft.
Steve LewisFIRST RAF POSEIDON TAKES TO THE AIR
THE FIRST ROYAL Air Force P-8A
Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft
(MPA) made its maiden ight
from Boeing’s Renton facility in
Seattle, Washington on July 12.
The UK is buying nine P-8s, to be
known as Poseidon MRA1s, and
the rst example is now at Boeing
Field where mission systems will
be installed. It is scheduled to be
delivered to the RAF, initially at NAS
Jacksonville, Florida, in October
2019 and will arrive in the UK in early
spring 2020.
P-8A program director Gp Capt
Shaun Gee said: ‘It has been fantastic
to meet with the Boeing team who
build the Poseidon aircraft and to
see our rst Poseidon aircraft, ZP801,take to the skies on its inaugural
ight.’ Air Cdre Richard Barrow,
Senior Responsible Owner for the
UK Poseidon program, said: ‘The
rst cadre of RAF engineers and
aircrew have been trained on the
P-8A Poseidon which marks the
resurgence of the RAF’s long-range
maritime patrol capability.’
The new RAF P-8s will be based
at RAF Lossiemouth from autumn
2020, assigned to Nos 120 and
201 Squadrons. Due to scheduled
runway works the P-8As will
temporarily operate from nearby
Kinloss during 2020. All nine aircraft
will be delivered by November
2021 with full operational capability
planned in 2024.NO 207 SQUADRON RETURNS TO RAF MARHAM
SIX F 35BS FROM the Royal Air
Force’s No 207 Squadron arrived
at RAF Marham on July 16 as the
UK Lightning Force consolidated
its assets back in the UK. The unit
has been working alongside the US
Marine Corps’ VMFAT-501 ‘Warlords’
at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina,
but it has now split o in order to
begin organic training in the UK
as the Operational Conversion
Unit (OCU).
Speaking upon arrival at Marham,
o cer commanding No 207
Squadron, Wg Cdr Scott Williams
said: ‘It’s great for everyone to come
back and reunite with their families rst and foremost. For me as o cer
commanding No 207 Squadron it’s a
huge privilege to have the challenge
of getting us up and running with
the training as soon as possible.
We are in a big period of growth,
which we’ll see over the next couple
of years.’
Five of the six aircraft that arrived
on July 16 carried new Lightning
Force tail markings, which are set to
be applied to each of the UK jets.
The British Lightning Force now has
15 F-35Bs at Marham, with three
aircraft set to remain in the US with
No 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron
(TES) at Edwards AFB, California.The fi rst RAF Poseidon MRA1, serial ZP801, gets
airborne for the fi rst time on July 12. BoeingLightning Force tail markings appeared on the jets that arrived at
Marham on July 16 from MCAS Beaufort. Jamie Hunter6-7 Headlines C.indd 6 18/07/2019 15: