combat aircraft

‘AMPLE STRIKE’ IN CZECH REPUBLIC

THE ARMED FORCES of the Czech

Republic trained with international

partners from NATO allies and

Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries

during Exercise ‘Ample Strike 2018’.

The exercise was hosted for the

 fth consecutive year by the Czech

Republic and involved around

1,000 Czech soldiers and some 200

participants from other countries.

The maneuvers took place in a

large training area spread over the

country in six di erent zones.

Air-land integration was the main

theme and realistic training for joint

terminal attack controllers (JTAC)

was a primary goal. The soldiers on

the ground could count upon 38

aircraft, helicopters and unmanned

aerial vehicles including Czech

Mi-24/35, Mi-171Sh, Gripen, L-

and L-159 ALCA aircraft operating

from their home bases of Námĕšť

(helicopters) and Čáslav ( ghters).

Aircraft from other countries were

deployed primarily to Námĕšť

and included six F-16Cs from the

162nd Wing, Arizona Air National

Guard, one Slovenian PC-9M, two

Lithuanian L-39s and a KC-135R

from the 155th Air Refueling Wing,

Nebraska ANG.

Meanwhile, two Royal Air Force

Hawk T1s deployed to Čáslav for

Exercise ‘Central Hawk’ to perform

aggressor training against Czech

Gripens and L-159 ALCAs, while

a USAF B-52H  ew from RAF

Fairford, Gloucestershire. A new

participant was the Luftwa e

Euro ghter EF2000.

A full report on ‘Ample Strike’ will

appear in the December issue.

Kees Otten and Wim Das

Czech Mi-35s joined Arizona ANG

F-16Cs to fl y low-level passes during

close air support scenarios. CzAF

FIRST F-35A FOR RAAF FRONT LINE

THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Air Force

(RAAF) accepted its  rst F-35A

Lightning II to be operated by No

3 Squadron in early September.

Serial A35-009 was handed over

to the unit at Luke Air Force Base,

Arizona. It will be the  rst RAAF

Joint Strike Fighter operator to be

based in Australia.

RAAF pilots and maintenance

personnel from No 3 Squadron

are embedded within US Air

Force units and partnering with

Lockheed Martin to prepare for the

introduction of the Lightning II.

They plan to bring home Australia’s

 rst two F-35As in December.

No 3 Squadron will operate from

RAAF Base Williamtown, New

South Wales.

Australia now has a total of nine

aircraft. Under the F-35 aircrew and

maintenance training program,

the  rst eight jets are under the

command of the international Pilot

Training Centre at Luke AFB.

RAAF F-35A Lightning II A35-009 taking off from

Luke AFB, Arizona. USAF/Alexander H. Groves

MORE COUGARS FOR THAILAND

THE ROYAL THAI Air Force (RTAF)

has placed an order for additional

Airbus Helicopters H225M multi-

role utility helicopters, bringing

its  eet of the type to a total of

12 by 2021.

Airbus announced the new order

for four H225Ms (previously known

as the EC725) on September 20, as

part of the RTAF  eet expansion

programme.

The new Cougars will be

equipped with a range of special

mission equipment including

emergency  otation gear,

fast-roping equipment, cargo

sling, searchlight and electro-

optical systems.

The four new H225Ms will join

the RTAF’s existing  eet of six

H225Ms for combat search and

rescue (CSAR) missions, search and

rescue (SAR) and troop transport

operations. The air force will also

receive two H225Ms (the seventh

and eighth examples) from

its earlier orders by the end of

this year.

MD530Fs DELIVERED IN KANDAHAR

THE FIRST FIVE MD530F Cayuse

Warrior attack helicopters to be

equipped with ‘glass’ cockpits

were delivered to the Afghan Air

Force on August 8. The Cayuse

Warriors are the  rst of 30 being

produced by MD Helicopters at

its Mesa, Arizona, facility. They

were delivered to Kandahar

aboard a US Air Force C-17A. The

remaining helicopters will be

delivered by September 2019.

The MD530F is equipped with a

digital cockpit that includes an

electronic engine instruments

and crew alert system (EICAS),

Garmin G500(H) TXi electronic

 ight instruments, Garmin GTN

touch-screen nav/com/GPS

and ESI500 electronic stand-by

instrument systems. Additionally,

it features a ballistically tolerant,

crashworthy fuel system, and a

38-gallon auxiliary fuel tank. The

contractor previously delivered 27

earlier variants of the light attack

helicopter to Afghanistan between

2011 and 2014. Tom Kaminski

The H225M entered RTAF service in May 2015 and is operated by 203

Squadron based at Lop Buri AB. Airbus/Anthony Pecchi

An Afghan Air Force MD530F pilot signals to Afghan National Army

commandos taking part in mobility training near Kabul, Afghanistan,

earlier this year. US Army/Spc Austin Boucher

[NEWS] WORLD

20 November 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net