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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 25

A CEREMONY was held

at Suizhong air base on

August 3 to mark the formal

induction into service

of the first 12 JL-10H

advanced jet trainers with

the People’s Liberation

Army Naval Air Force

(PLANAF) Naval Aviation

University. Hongdu Aircraft

Corporation delivered four

batches of three aircraft to

the PLANAF beginning at

the end of last December.

With the arrival of these

aircraft, the university is

now ready to begin its first

training course on the new

type, which is already in

People’s Liberation Army

Air Force (PLAAF) service.

The L-15 export version is

operated by the Zambian

Air Force. Dave Allport

Philippines

eyes Basler

gunships

THE PHILIPPINE Air

Force (PAF) may acquire

two BT-67 gunships to

increase its counter-

insurgency (COIN)

fleet. The aircraft are

being offered by Basler

Turbo Conversions and

would join four surplus

OV-10 Bronco ground

attack aircraft that are

being supplied by the

US (see Four OV-10s

donated to Philippines,

September, p29).

The Broncos will join

approximately eight

upgraded OV-10M

variants already in service

and complement six

A-29B Super Tucanos due

for delivery next year.

Basler is offering the

BT-67 gunships as part

of a larger package that

also includes a pair of

BT-67 maritime patrol

aircraft (MPA). The

company reportedly first

offered the aircraft to

the Philippines in 2016.

The PAF’s fixed-wing

COIN fleet is based at

Danilo Atienza, Cavite,

but is due to relocate to

Lumbia, Cagayan De Oro.

HAL

THE REPUBLIC of Singapore

Air Force’s (RSAF’s) training

detachment at Base

Aérienne 120 Cazaux,

France, has celebrated

its 20th anniversary.

The detachment began

when the RSAF sought

additional airspace for

pilot training. Eighteen

A-4 Skyhawks of 150

Squadron arrived by ship

in France in 1998 and

started to be replaced by

12 M-346 Masters in 2012.

The bond between

Singapore and France was

celebrated with several

events and an RSAF

M-346 from the Cazaux

unit took part in the annual

French military flypast on

July 14. The trainer was

flown by Captain Yeap

Wei Jiun, commanding

officer of 150 Squadron.

Singaporean officials and

French Secretary of State

to the Minister for the

Armed Forces, Geneviève

Darrieussecq, have agreed

to extend the training

detachment at Cazaux until

2035. Peter ten Berg

THE HINDUSTAN

Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

Tejas Light Combat Aircraft

(LCA) has begun carrier

compatibility trials. LCA

Naval Prototype 2 (NP-2),

piloted by Capt Shivnath

Dahiya, successfully

completed a first contact

of the arrestor hook system

with the arresting wire

at the Shore Based Test

Facility, INS Hansa, Goa,

on August 2. The fighter –

which first flew in 2015 –

was operating at “moderate

taxiing speeds”, according

to the manufacturer.

LCA NP-2 is equipped

with an Arrestor Hook

System (AHS) for shipboard

operations developed by

HAL’s Aircraft Research and

Design Centre (ARDC).

Prior to the dummy deck

trials, in-air operation of

the AHS was verified in

Bengaluru on July 23.

The Tejas arrived at INS

Hansa five days later.

Induction of Chinese Navy JL-10Hs

Tejas conducts dummy deck trials

Twenty years of RSAF training at Cazaux

Above: Two M-346s (324 and 327) and a maintenance crew deployed to BA 105 Évreux for the Paris fl ypast. Serial 324 fl ew

over the capital with one Belgian and four French Alpha Jets. Serial 327 remained at Évreux as a spare. Peter ten Berg

24-25 AsiaNews AFM Oct2018.indd 25 10/09/2018 14:05:26