combat aircraft

‘Flying Sabre 18’ ended on

July 20, with a formation fl ight

over Croatia’s capital Zagreb

performed by some of the

participants, including HRZ

MiG-21bisD serial 116 and RAF

Typhoon FGR4 ZJ924. This was

the fi rst such joint exercise

involving RAF and HRZ aircraft.

HRZ via author

INDIAN HELICOPTERS MAKE FIRST FLIGHTS

BOEING CARRIED OUT the

maiden  ights of the  rst AH-64E

and CH-47F for India on July 27.

The  ights respectively took place

at Boeing’s facilities in Mesa,

Arizona and near Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. India ordered

22 Apache Guardian combat

helicopters and 15 Chinook

transport helicopters in 2015 at a

cost of around $3 billion. In 2017,

the government of India agreed

to purchase a second batch of six

AH-64Es at a cost of $654.6 million.

Delivery of both types will begin in

2019. Tom Kaminski

ROULETTES

RECEIVE PC-21S

THE FIRST TWO Pilatus PC-21 aircraft

for the Royal Australian Air Force

(RAAF)’s Roulettes acrobatic display

team arrived in Australia on July 21.

The trainers arrived in Darwin from

Kupang, Indonesia at the conclusion

of a ferry  ight that began in Stans,

Switzerland. They were delivered

to their new home at RAAF Base

East Sale on July 23. The PC-21s are

replacing the team’s current Pilatus

PC-9/As, which have been in service

since 1989. The RAAF is acquiring

49 PC-21s as replacements for its

PC-9/A and CT-4B Airtrainer  eets

under its project AIR 5428 pilot

training system. The  rst group of

six PC-21s was accepted in August

2017. Tom Kaminski

FIRST FLIGHT FOR L-159T

THE FIRST L159T2 for the Czech

Air Force made its maiden  ight

on August 2 at Aero Vodochody’s

facilities outside Prague. In 2016

the Czech Air Force ordered

three twin-seat L-159T2 aircraft

with several upgrades to ful ll

operational missions and advanced

jet training. The L-159T2s are

expected to be delivered to the

21st Tactical Air Force Base at

Čáslav before the end of this year.

The successful  rst  ight of

L-159T2 serial 6028, piloted by Aero

test pilots Vladimír Kvarda and

David Jahoda, lasted 30 minutes.

These new T2 twin-seat aircraft

have newly built central and

forward fuselages, and several

signi cant improvements, mostly

in the cockpit and the fuel system.

They are fully NVG-compatible.

Each cockpit is equipped with

two multi-function displays

and upgraded versions of the

VS-20 ejection seat. The aircraft

is adapted to o er a pressure

refueling capability. The Grifo

radar, commonly used in the

single-seat version, is now

also integrated in the dual-

seat L-159T2.

TURKISH LIGHTNING II TRANSFERS BLOCKED

THE RECENTLY APPROVED National

Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for

Fiscal Year 2019 contains a provision

that blocks the transfer of Lockheed

Martin F-35A  ghters to Turkey. The

block will go into e ect 90 days after

the NDAA is enacted unless congress

the Secretary of Defense provides a

report that includes, among other

requirements, an assessment of the

potential counter-intelligence risks

that Turkey’s purchase of the Russian

S-400 surface-to-air missile system

will cause. Tom Kaminski

Aero Vodochody/Martin Mamula

Wearing the test registration N4801A (serial 15-4801) the fi rst AH-64E
for India carried out its fi rst fl ight on July 27 at Boeing’s Mesa, Arizona,
production and fl ight-test facility. Boeing

N4801A (c/n M2401), the fi rst CH-47F for India, carried out its initial fl ight
at Boeing’s Philadelphia facility on July 27. The Chinook will be delivered
during 2019. Boeing

WORLD [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 19