aviation

The  rst two Pilatus PC-21s for the

Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) have

arrived at their new home of Base

Aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteuabernard.

The aircraft, 03/HB-HVC ‘709-FE’ (c/n

295) and 15/HB-HVO ‘709-FQ’ (c/n

307) were delivered from the factory at

Stans-Buochs, Switzerland, to Cognac on

August 30. The ‘709-xx’ codes were taped

over for the ferry  ight.

France signed a contract on December

30, 2016, with Babcock Mission Critical

Services France to provide 17 PC-21s for

pilot training, students then moving on to

the Alpha Jet and then Rafale. The aircraft

will replace the TB30 Epsilon with the

EPAA 315 at Cognac. Pilatus has already

manufactured most French PC-21s and

further deliveries are expected to follow

shortly, with all aircraft due to be in service

before the end of next year. Dave Allport

MILITARY NEWS

12

USAF Picks Huey Replacement

The USAF has chosen the Boeing-

Leonardo MH-139 to replace its aging

 eet of UH-1Ns. The $2.38bn contract,

announced on September 24, calls for a

new batch of a militarized version of the

commercial AW139 to be manufactured

by Leonardo subsidiary AgustaWestland

in Philadelphia. Lockheed Martin Sikorsky

and the Sierra Nevada Corporation had

both unsuccessfully offered versions of

the UH-60 Black Hawk for the competition.

The Boeing-Leonardo team has

received an initial $375m for the  rst four

helicopters and to integrate the military-

speci c items needed to bring the AW

up to the air force’s requirements.

Heather Wilson, who is the secretary

of the air force commented: “Strong

competition drove down costs for the

programme, resulting in $1.7bn in savings

to the taxpayer.”

Cognac

Welcomes

First Two

PC-21s

French Air Force PC-21 03/HB-HVC is seen

on the  nal part of its delivery  ight from

Stans to Cognac, escorted by EC 2/30 Rafale

B 331 ‘30-IF’. Armée de l’Air/Jean-Luc Brunet

As part of the ongoing co-operation

between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the

Azerbaijan Air Force deployed two MiG-

Fulcrums and three Su-25s to Konya Air

Base, Turkey, to participate in joint  ight

and tactical training exercises. The main

goal of Exercise TurAz Falcon 2018 was to

improve interaction between the air arms

of the two countries. A ceremony was held

at Konya on September 3 to mark the start

of this annual exercise, which ran until

September 14. The participating MiG-29s

comprised one single-seater (‘09 Blue’) and

one two-seat MiG-29UB (‘10 Blue’), while

the Frogfoot contingent included two single-

seat aircraft and one two-seat Su-25UB

(‘20 Blue’). Support was provided by an

Il-76. Local participation involved Turkish Air

Force F-16C/Ds.

The two Azerbaijan Air Force MiG-29s are

pictured, led by the two-seater, arriving at

Azeri Jets Train in Turkey Konya on September 3. Azerbaijan MoD

Aviation News incorporating Jets November 2018

Sudanese Antonovs Destroyed in Landing Accident

Two Sudanese Air Force transport aircraft;

an Antonov An-26 and an An-32 were

written off in a landing accident at Khartoum

International Airport on October 3. The

accident was recorded by the airport’s CCTV

cameras and footage shows the two aircraft

moving along Runway 18 in bright sunshine.

The second aircraft, the An-32, bounced

at least twice on its landing run before

striking the slower-moving An-26 ahead

of it. The An-32’s left wing and propeller

struck the tail of the aircraft in front leading

to an undercarriage collapse and the An-

32’s fuselage breaking behind the cockpit

section. No casualties have been reported.