combat aircraft

T

HE REPUBLIC OF China

Army’s 601st Air Cavalry

Brigade became the  rst

Taiwanese air brigade to

be fully equipped with

AH-64E helicopters following a

ceremony that occurred on July

11. The 601st and the 602nd Air
    Cavalry Brigade — which currently
    operates older AH-1W attack
    helicopters — are components of
    the Army Aviation and Special Forces

Command. The former, which  ies

the service’s  eet of 29 Apaches,

has two combat aviation squadrons

and is responsible for the defense of

northern Taiwan.

Tom Kaminski

Formosa Military Image Press

PAKISTAN T129 ATAK ORDER CONFIRMED

TURKISH AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES

(TAI) has con rmed a deal to supply

the Pakistan Army with 30 T129 ATAK

attack helicopters. The deal had

previously been reported on May 24,

in a political manifesto from Turkey’s

ruling Justice and Development

Party, released ahead of the

general election.

The company said that ‘on-going

negotiations between Pakistan

Ministry of Defence Production

(MoDP) and Turkish Aerospace

have successfully been  nalized’,

and a contract signed. As well as

the helicopters, the deal includes

logistics, ammunition, spares, ground

support equipment and training.

To prove its e ciency in

demanding environmental and

geographical conditions, the

Pakistan Army has already tested

the twin-engine ATAK in Turkey and

Pakistan. According to a statement

from TAI, the twin-seat T

‘successfully passed all required

tests in order to meet the Pakistan

Army needs’.

Under an ongoing program to

procure new attack helicopters,

Pakistan evaluated the T129 in

June 2016 and reportedly began

contract negotiations for 30

examples in June last year. Earlier,

its Army Aviation Corps ordered

12 AH-1Z Vipers and conducted

trials with three Changhe WZ-10s in

2015. The service also acquired four
      Mi-35Ms, which were apparently
      delivered earlier this year.

TAI

LEONARDO AND ITALIAN AIR FORCE LAUNCH TRAINING SCHOOL

LEONARDO AND THE Italian Air

Force have announced collaboration

on the International Flight Training

School (IFTS) initiative to train

military pilots at the air force’s 61°

Stormo at Lecce-Galatina. The

joint project will subsequently add

rotary-wing and unmanned aerial

system tuition.

According to Leonardo, ‘The IFTS

will ensure the further growth and

internationalization of the Italian Air

Force’s training school while at the

same time increasing its capabilities

and the range of pilot training

solutions o ered to the customers.’

The IFTS will make use of existing

training assets in service with the

Italian Air Force in addition to

Leonardo supplying four additional

T-346 aircraft, new systems and

services starting from 2019.

Beginning in 2021, the Italian Air

Force’s entire advanced and pre-

operational training syllabus will be

moved to a new, dedicated facility.

The 61° Stormo already trains

pilots and instructors from Italy as

well as from the US, Spain, France,

Austria, the Netherlands, Poland,

Singapore, Argentina, Greece

and Kuwait.

TAIWAN APACHE BRIGADE DECLARED OPERATIONAL

ROC GUARDIANS ON DUTY

RCAF CYCLONE DEPLOYS

A ROYAL CANADIAN Air Force

(RCAF) CH-148 operated by 423

Maritime Helicopter Squadron

began the new helicopter’s initial

operational deployment aboard

the frigate HMCS Ville de Québec

(FFH 332), which departed from

Nova Scotia on July 18 in support of

Operation ‘Reassurance’. 423 MHS,

which is the  rst RCAF squadron to

have transitioned to the Cyclone,

is normally based at 12 Wing/

CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia.

Tom Kaminski

Leonardo

[NEWS] WORLD

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

18-22 World News C.indd 20 20/07/2018 11: