Airforces

12 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS

// OCTOBER 2018 #

Continental Europe

Israeli Air Force F-16s visit Croatia

Above: An image taken by the pilot of HRZ MiG-21bisD serial 116 shows the second MiG-21bisD serial 133 and the pair of IAF F-16Ds (serials 041 and 063) in

formation for the fl ypast over Knin on August 5. HRZ via author

THE ISRAELI Air Force

(IAF) recently sent three

F-16D Block 30 aircraft

to Croatia. The three

Baraks, which arrived in

Zagreb on August 2, were

serials 023, 041 and 063,

all from 109 ‘The Valley’

Squadron at Ramat David.

Later this year, the two

countries plan to sign

an official agreement to

transfer 12 IAF F-16C/

Ds to Croatia.

In March, Zagreb decided

to acquire 12 used F-16C/

Ds from Israel (see Israeli

F-16s for Croatia, May

2018, p6) to replace its

12 MiG-21s operated by

the Eskadrila Borbenih

Aviona (EBA, Combat

Aircraft Squadron) at

Zagreb International Airport

(Pleso) – this is the sole

fighter unit of the Hrvatsko

Ratno Zrakoplovstvo (HRZ,

Croatian Air Force).

In April, HRZ

representatives visited

Ramat David, where

Croatian personnel are

likely to train on the F-16.

During that visit, former

EBA commander Lt Col

Željko Ninić flew in the rear

cockpit of two-seat F-16D

serial 041 on April 9.

The Baraks flew non-

stop around 1,865 miles

(3,000km) to reach

Croatia, refuelling from

an IAF Boeing 707 Re’em

tanker. A C -130H Karnaf

from 131 ‘The Yellow

Bird’ Squadron previously

brought their ground crews

and support equipment.

The Ramat David base

commander that led the

visit flew aboard MiG-

21UMD serial 166 on

August 3 with current

EBA commander Lt

Col Christian Jagodić

in the front cockpit.

During their return trip

on August 5, two F-16Ds

flew in formation with

two MiG-21bisD jets for

a flypast over the city of

Knin in part of an official

celebration marking

the 23rd anniversary of

Croatia’s victory in the

Homeland War of 1991-95.

The HRZ is expected

to receive its first two

ex-Israeli F-16s by mid-

2020. The aircraft will
      probably receive new
      names in HRZ service – the
      F-16C is expected to be
      named Oluja (storm) while
      the F-16D will be Blijesak
      (flash) – codenames of
      two successful military
      operations in the
      Homeland War. Vladimir
      Trendafilovski

German Army receives fi nal Tiger UHT

THE 68TH and last Airbus

Helicopters EC665 Tiger

Unterstützungshub-

schrauber (UHT, support

helicopter) has been

delivered to the German

Heeresflieger (German

Army Aviation). The

helicopter was flown from

the factory in Donauwörth,

Germany, to Fritzlar airfield

to join Kampfhubschrauber

Regiment 36 (KHR

36, Attack Helicopter

Regiment 36) on July 25.

The German Tigers are

also flown by the joint

Franco-German Tiger

Flying Training Centre at Le

Luc, France. The type, in

German service since 2005,

has seen recent operational

use in Afghanistan and

Mali. Dave Allport

Latvia

seeks

UH-60M

Black

Hawks

THE US State Department

has approved a possible

Foreign Military Sale

(FMS) to Latvia of four

UH-60M Black Hawks

and related equipment

at an estimated price of

$200m. The Defense

Security Cooperation

Agency (DSCA) notified

Congress of the potential

transfer on August 3.

As well as the four

helicopters in standard

configuration, the

Latvian government has

requested ten T700-

GE-701D engines, ten

embedded GPS/inertial

navigation systems, five

Talon forward-looking

infrared (FLIR) sensors,

AN/ARC-201D/E, AN/

ARC-220 and AN/ARC-

231 radios, AN/APX-123A

identification friend or

foe (IFF) transponders

and AN/AVS-6 night-

vision devices.

Latvia plans to introduce

its first UH-60Ms to

service in 2021.

Last three Mirage 2000Ns fl own

to Châteaudun

Above: Mirage 2000NK3 257 ‘125-CO’ from Escadron de Chasse 2/4 ‘La Fayette’ lands at BA 279 Châteaudun after its fi nal

fl ight. Armée de l’Air/Alexandre Beuzeboc

THE ARMÉE de l’Air

(French Air Force) retired

its Mirage 2000N fleet after

delivery of the final three

aircraft to Base Aérienne

279 (BA 279) Châteaudun.

They arrived at the base

on August 30 from BA 125

Istres-Le Tube, where a

formal ceremony honouring

the type’s withdrawal from

service had been held on

June 21, ending 30 years of

service – see Mirage 2000N

retires, September, p11.

The final three aircraft

were Mirage 2000NK3s

257 ‘125-CO’, 335 ‘125-

CI’ and 348 ‘125-Al’ from

Escadron de Chasse 2/

‘La Fayette’. The first of

these was painted in a

special colour scheme to

mark its decommissioning.

All remaining operational

Mirage 2000Ns have been

delivered to Châteaudun,

where they will be

dismantled and stripped

for spares to support

the Mirage 2000C/D and

-5F variants remaining

in service. The last unit

with the type, EC 2/4,

is re-equipping with the

Rafale B. Dave Allport

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