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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 9Sea King
ASaC7s
head for
retirement
ALMOST 50 years of Fleet
Air Arm operations with the
Westland Sea King were
due to end in September,
with retirement of the
last remaining ASaC
airborne surveillance and
control (ASaC) variants
of the type. The out-of-
service date for the Sea
King was officially set for
March 2016, when the
final HC4s were withdrawn
from use (see Junglie
Sea Kings’ Final Flight,
May 2016, p6), but seven
ASaC7s (known in the navy
as ‘Baggers’) remained
in service until the third
quarter of 2018 to provide
ASaC coverage pending
introduction of Merlin
HM2s, modified with a roll-
on/roll-off ASaC package
under Project Crowsnest.
Latterly, the remaining
ASaC7s were flown by 849
Naval Air Squadron, based
at Royal Naval Air Station
Culdrose, Cornwall. Fifteen
ASaC7s had originally
been acquired, converted
from AEW2 (12) and HAS
(three) variants. Two were
lost in a mid-air collision in
the Persian Gulf on March
22, 2003, in which seven
personnel were killed.
All 30 Fleet Air Arm
Merlin HM2s are being
modified to use the
Crowsnest package.
Just ten Crowsnest roll-
on/roll-off packages will
be acquired, but can be
quickly installed in any of
the role-modified Merlins.
IOC with the new system,
to support the new Queen
Elizabeth-class aircraft
carriers, is anticipated by
spring 2020. Dave AllportTraining fi rst for RAF Typhoons and
Hungarian Gripens
Above: Typhoon FGR4 ZJ923 ‘923’, of No 1 (Fighter) Squadron, prepares to depart Kecskemét as a HUNAF JAS 39C Gripen
taxies past. Dr István Toperczer
TWO TYPHOONS from
the RAF’s No 1 (Fighter)
Squadron at RAF
Lossiemouth, Scotland,
participated in the Flying
Sword bilateral training
event with JAS 39 Gripens
flown by the Magyar
Légierő (Hungarian
Air Force, HUNAF) at
Kecskemét air base
between July 31 and
August 3. The Gripens areassigned to 1. harcászati
repülőszázad (1st Tactical
Fighter Squadron) ‘Pum a’.
It was the first time RAF
Typhoons and Hungarian
Gripens had trained
together and aimed to
strengthen the defence
relationship between
the UK and Hungary.
Sqn Ldr Ellis Williams,
leading the RAF
detachment, said: “Wehave two Typhoon jets
and there are quite a few
of the Gripens so every
day we are looking to do
a pair in the morning and
a pair in the afternoon,
both visual combat and
beyond-visual-range work.”
The Typhoons then
returned to Romania to
complete their NATO
enhanced Air Policing
(eAP) mission from MihailKogălniceanu air base
under Operation Biloxi.
They had deployed to
Romania from July to
August, as a part of NATO’s
Assurance Measures
introduced in 2014.
The RAF’s 135
Expeditionary Air Wing
handed responsibility for
the mission to the Royal
Canadian Air Force during
a ceremony on August 28.No 17 Test and Evaluation
Squadron F-35B ZM
(BK-02) taxies at Edwards
with an underwing
ASRAAM. Lockheed MartinUK Lightning fl ies with ASRAAM
THE UK Ministry of
Defence has announced
the first flight of a UK
F-35B carrying ASRAAM
(Advanced Short-Range
Air-to-Air Missiles). It was
the first time UK weapons
have flown on a British
Lightning and marked the
start of operational testingof indigenous weapons
planned as part of the
type’s Block 3F software
release. The jet, flown by
a British pilot from No 17
Squadron RAF, took to
the skies from Edwards
Air Force Base, California,
in August. Minister for
Defence ProcurementStuart Andrew, revealed the
development during a visit
to the Defence Electronics
and Components Agency
(DECA) in Wales later
the same month.
He said: “The F-
Lightning fleet has moved
another step closer to
defending the skies andsupporting our illustrious
aircraft carriers with this
landmark flight. Exceptional
engineering from the UK
is not only helping to
build what is the world’s
most advanced fighter
jet, but is also ensuring
that it is equipped with
the very best firepower.”08-10 UKNews AFM Oct2018.indd 9 9/10/2018 1:07:37 PM