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NEWS at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 19Middle East
ITALY’S LEONARDO says
a Qatari contract for NH
helicopters has become
effective following the receipt
of an advance payment.
The deal, signed in March,
is for 28 NH90s, with
Leonardo acting as overall
prime contractor responsible
for the management of the
programme – which is worth
more than €3bn to the NHI
manufacturing consortium.
The Ministry of Defence
of Qatar announced plans
to buy 28 NH90 and 16
H125 helicopters during
the Doha International
Maritime Defence Exhibitionand Conference (DIMDEX)
in Qatar in March. The
contract includes 16
NH90 Tactical Transport
Helicopters (TTH) and
12 NH90 NATO Frigate
Helicopters (NFH).
It also includes a support
and maintenance training
services package and related
infrastructure and there
are options for a further 12
units, evenly split between
TTH and NFH variants.
The NFHs will not be
equipped for anti-submarine
warfare but will have the
European Navy Radar (ENR)
maritime surveillance radar, aSafran electro-optical system
and an Elettronica DETE-
90 electronic intelligence/
support measures system.
As prime contractor,
Leonardo will be responsible
for final assembly and
delivery of the 12 NFHs at
its Venice-Tessera facility
plus an eight-year support
and training services
package for crews and
maintainers. Airbus will
be responsible for final
assembly of the 16 TTHs
at Marignane in France.
Deliveries are expected
to start before June 2022
and to continue until 2025.First Project Dolphin Global 6000 delivered
MARSHALL AEROSPACE
and Defence Group has
completed a second
heavily modified electronic
intelligence/signals
intelligence (ELINT/
SIGINT) Bombardier Global
6000 for the United Arab
Emirates Air Force and
Air Defence (UAEF&AD)
under Project Dolphin.Following extensive
ground testing, the
aircraft, 1325 (c/n 9494,
ex M-ABFQ, C-GNKW),
took its first flight after
conversion at Cambridge
on August 8 and a final
flight test on the 20th. It
then flew to Doncaster
Sheffield Airport, South
Yorkshire, on the 29thbefore its delivery flight to
Abu Dhabi two days later.
The first aircraft to be
converted, 1326 (c/n 9 517,
ex M-ABFR, C-GPZH),
continues its flight test
programme and has been
seen operating from MOD
Boscombe Down, Wiltshire,
as part of its trials –
but as of September 3it was test flying from
Cambridge again.
Unlike 1325, which
has been finished in
UAEAF&AD markings,
1326 remains unpainted,
even though it has been
extensively flown since
last year. Dave AllportGlobal 6000 1325 returns to Cambridge Airport following its fi rst post-conversion test fl ight. Ian HardingIsrael mulls
Eagle order
THE ISRAELI Air Force
(IAF) is considering
buying additional F-
strike fighters as part of
modernisation aimed at
countering the threats
from Iran and Syria. The
potential $11bn deal
with Boeing would also
likely include new CH-
transport helicopters,
V-22 tiltrotors and KC-46A
refuelling tankers.
Funds would come from
US defence aid to Israel.
A US Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) package
approved by Washington
in 2016 begins next
year and provides
$38bn over a decade.
Any deal would require
recommendation
from Israel’s defence
establishment and
cabinet. If approved,
the package would
be the biggest of its
kind between the two
countries to date.
Israel last purchased
25 F-15 Ra’am fighters in- They are now being
upgraded with structural
work and new systems
- planned to include an
AN/APG-82(V)1 active
electronically scanned
array (AESA) radar.
Should the deal go
through, the IAF would
adopt a new version of
the Eagle, provisionally
known as F-15IA (Israel
Advanced). A final decision
is expected towards
the end of the year.
Marco DijkshoornUpgraded Jordanian Cobra under test
UPGRADED AH-1F serial
1016 of the Royal Jordanian
Air Force (RJAF) undergoes
weapons and avionics
testing trials at King Abdullah
2 Air Base (KA2). It’s one of
a pair of modernised Cobras
shipped to Jordan for the
SOFEX 2018 exhibition in
the capital Amman in May.The RJAF operates two units
with AH-1Fs: 10 and 12
Squadrons are both based
at KA2, northeast of Amman.
Northrop and Science and
Engineering Services (SES)
is meanwhile modernising
12 RJAF Cobras to extend
their operational service
lives by at least 20 years;they will operate with
10 Squadron while 12
Squadron will continue with
the remaining non-upgraded
helicopters. The Cobras’
avionics are being converted
to Northrop’s Integrated
Mission Equipment
package (iMEP), which
includes a commerciallyavailable FlightPro Gen III
mission computer, a full
suite of LCD multifunction
displays, an embedded
software digital map and
navigation controls.
See p62-68 for a full
report on the RJAF’s
modernisation programme.
Marco DijkshoornQatar to
upgrade
air bases
THE DEPUTY commander
of the Qatar Emiri Air
Force (QEAF), Major
General Ahmed Ibrahim
Al Malki, has revealed
plans for a major
expansion of its air bases
at Al Udeid and Doha,
according to Qatar’s
official state news agency,
QNA, on August 27.
Al Udeid houses the
largest US military
facility in the Middle East
while Doha is currently
underused, but will now
be further developed.
A new facility, Tamim
Air Base, will also be
constructed – named
after Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani, under whose
rule Qatar has expanded
its air capabilities.
The expansion is
required to house new
QEAF fighters currently
on order, including
F-15QA Strike Eagles,
Rafale DQ/EQs and
Eurofighter Typhoons.
In related news, the
QEAF has confirmed
it’s on track to receive
its 24 recently ordered
AH-64E attack helicopters
from next year.
Deliveries will be
completed by the end of
May 2020. The Qatari
deal also includes
options for up to 24
additional Apache
Guardians. Dave AllportQatari NH90s under contract
19 MENews AFM Oct2018.indd 19 9/10/2018 1:25:47 PM