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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 11

Continental Europe

t

Serbia’s ex-Russian MiG-29s enter service

Above: Former Russian two-seat MiG-29UB serial 18351 (ex ‘101 Blue’, RF-29166) and single-seat MiG-29 serial 18151 (ex ‘

Blue’, RF-92185) over Batajnica. Serbian MoD

THE FIRST two MiG-29s

donated to Serbia by Russia

have entered service with

the Ratno vazduhoplovstvo

i protivvazduhoplovna

odbrana (RV i PVO, Serbian

Air Force and Air Defence).

The initial pair of Fulcrums

was introduced during

an official ceremony at

Batajnica air base on

August 21. Three Serbian

pilots demonstrated single-

seat 9.12 serial 18151 and

two-seat 9.51 serial 18351.

The aircraft arrived in

Serbia last October (see

Former Russian MiG-29s

arrive in Serbia, December

2 017, p11) after which

technicians from RSK MiG

installed new navigation

and communication

devices in line with

International Civil Aviation

Organization (ICAO)

standards at Batajnica’s

Moma Stanojlović works.

At the same time, avionics

have been modified,

including replacement

of the obsolete radar

screen with an MFI-

multifunction display.

Airframe maintenance

has also been switched

from the resource to

on-condition model.

Serial 18151 began post-

upgrade test flights on July

27, with RSK MiG pilot

Dmitry Selivanov at the

controls, and on August 1

MiG-29UB 18351 made its

first test flight. The aircraft

have now entered service

with the 101. lovačka

avijacijska eskadrila (101st

Fighter Aviation Squadron).

Modernisation work

continues on single-seat

9.13 serials 18202 and

18203 and two-seat 9.

serial 18152. On October

2 last year, the sixth aircraft

• 9.13 serial 18201 – was
  transported to Batajnica by

An-124, but was returned to

Russia three days later after

acceptance formalities. It’s

being overhauled at the 121

Aviatsionnyy Remontnyy

Zavod (ARZ, Aircraft

Repair Plant) in Kubinka.

Work is due for completion

in the first half of next year,

leaving the RV i PVO with

ten MiG-29s, including

four aircraft from the

original Yugoslavian order.

Another four Fulcrums are

expected to be donated by

Belarus after overhaul at

the Baranovichi-based 558

Aircraft Repair Plant (

ARZ). Aleksandar Radić

Baltic Air

Policing

change-

overs

THE LEAD role in the

Baltic Air Policing (BAP)

mission has been handed

over from the Portuguese

Air Force to the Belgian

Air Component.

Responsibility for air

defence over the Baltic

States was exchanged at

Šiauliai air base, Lithuania

on August 31. The 48th

rotation in the mission is

the seventh for Belgian

Air Component F-16s

deployed to the region.

The detachment from

Florennes and Kleine

Brogel air bases will

remain in Lithuania until

the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe

has taken over BAP

mission augmentation

from the French Air Force

in Estonia. The Armée

de l’Air Mirage 2000-

5Fs, which had been

conducting the mission

at Ämari air base since

May, were relieved by a

contingent of Eurofighter

EF2000s from Taktisches

Luftwaffengeschwader

74 (TaktLwG 74, Tactical

Air Force Wing 74) at

Neuburg on August

30. This is the German
    air arm’s fourth time as
    augmenting nation and
    its ninth contribution to
    the mission overall.
    As in its previous
    rotation at Ämari last
    year, the Luftwaffe will
    complete two rotations
    in succession, staying in
    Estonia with its EF2000s
    and approximately 160
    personnel until next April.

Dutch PC-7 anniversary

ROYAL NETHERLANDS

Air Force (RNLAF) PC-

Turbo Trainer serial L-13,

of 131 Elementaire Militaire

Vlieger Opleiding (EMVO,

Elementary Military Pilot

Training) Squadron, has

received special tail

markings to celebrate the

30th anniversary of the unit,

stationed at Woensdrecht

Air Base. The first EMVO

class began in August 1988,

initially teaching theory

lessons only, before the

unit’s first four 13 PC-7s

entered service on February

8 the following year. The

squadron is responsible for

elementary pilot training

of both RNLAF and

Royal Netherlands Navy

pilots. The PC-7 recently

underwent a modification

programme to keep it in

service until at least 2025.

Kees van der Mark

Above: PC-7 serial L-13 during its fi rst public appearance with its special markings during the airshow at Texel Airport on

August 4. Kees van der Mark

Slovakia

chooses

‘Viper’

THE SLOVAK Ministry of

Defence has announced

the country will buy 14

F-16V Block 70 fighters

to replace its MiG-29 fleet

under a government-to-

government deal. The

Slovak Security Council

and the cabinet adopted

the decision to procure

the F-16 on July 11. The

package is expected to

cost €1.6bn, including

training, ammunition and

logistics, which the MoD

says is 8% cheaper than

the rival Saab Gripen offer

across the entire life cycle.

Slovak Minister of Defence

Peter Gajdoš said: “Based

on detailed analyses we

have chosen the best

solution, because these jets

are state of the art. From

the perspective of price,

quality and capabilities and

what we can afford as a

country, they have no rival.”

See p34-38 for more.

11-14 EuropeNews AFM Oct2018.indd 11 9/10/2018 1:23:51 PM