Right: A Lebanese A-29 student pilot and a US instructor from the 81st Fighter Squadron conduct a training sortie at Moody AFB last year. The Lebanese Air
Force has now received its full complement of Super Tucanos. USAF/TSgt Zachary WolfLEBANESE A-29 DELIVERIES
SNC AND EMBRAER COMPLETE ORDER
T
HE LEBANESE MILITARY
took delivery of a second
batch of four A-29B Super
Tucanos from the US at
Hamat air base on May 28
following a short ight
from Cyprus. The aircraft also made a
night stop in Glasgow, Scotland, en
route from the US. The delivery
comes two months ahead ofschedule and completes the original
order of six aircraft.
The Republic of Lebanon received
an initial pair of Super Tucanos that
arrived at the air base north of
Batroun in October 2017. They were
provided as part of a $462-million US
military aid package that included
two spare engines, MX-15 electro-
optical sensor systems, BAE SystemsAdvanced Precision Kill Weapon
System (APKWS) laser-guidance kits
for 70mm rockets, and defensive
electronics and countermeasures.
The acquisition was announced in
November 2015.
The aircraft were assembled by
Embraer Defense & Security in
Jacksonville, Florida, and modi ed
by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)in Centennial, Colorado. In addition
to providing the aircraft, the SNC/
Embraer team is contracted to
provide logistics support, training,
aircraft spares and associated
support equipment.
This latest aircraft delivery came
just days after the graduation of the
second Lebanese pilot training class
at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.DART-550 TRAINER FLIES
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES
conducted the rst ight of its
DART-550 aerobatic trainer in
Austria during May. The trainer
is powered by a single 550shp
General Electric H75-
turboprop engine that features an
electronic engine and propeller
control (EEPC) system, a ve-blade,
fully featherable MT propeller,Martin-Baker Mk16 ejection seats
and Garmin G3000 integrated
avionics systems. Equipped with a
carbon- ber airframe, the aircraft
has a maximum take-o weight
of 5,291lb (2,400kg). It is expected
to have a maximum speed of
247kt (457km/h) and a maximum
endurance at loiter speed of eight
hours plus reserve. Tom KaminskiDiamond Aircraft’s prototype DART-550 carried out its fi rst fl ight at
Wiener Neustadt East Airport in Austria, during May. The aerobatic
trainer carried the Austrian civil registration OE-VGE. Diamond AircraftSECOND FRENCH SUPER HERCULES DELIVERED
THE FRENCH AIR Force’s second
C-130J was delivered to Base
Aérienne 123 Orléans-Bricy on
June 7. The air force accepted
its rst C-130J in December
and it departed on its maidenoperational mission to support
a French base in Jordan on May- The aircraft are operated
by Escadron de Transport 2/
‘Franche-Comté’.
Tom Kaminski
The French Air Force’s second C-130J taxis at BA 123 Orléans on June 7
following its delivery fl ight from Marietta, Georgia. Armée de l’Air/Eric DuboisJAPANESE HAWKEYE ORDERED
JAPAN’S MINISTRY OF Defense
has ordered a third E-2D airborne
early warning and control (AEW&C)
aircraft under the terms of a
$153.2-million contract that was
revealed on June 5. The service
plans to procure four AdvancedHawkeyes. Japan previously
ordered single examples of the
E-2D at a cost of $780 million in
November 2015 and July 2016. The
E-2Ds will augment 13 E-2Cs and
four Boeing E-767s that are already
in service. Tom KaminskiNATO ASSUMES MISSION
OVER MONTENEGRO
THE ITALIAN AND Hellenic Air
Forces assumed responsibility
for the air policing mission over
the Balkan nation of Montenegro
on June 5. Montenegro, which
became the 29th member of the
NATO alliance in June 2017, is one
of several small member statesthat do not have their own ghter
aircraft. As a result, the alliance has
taken on the mission. Rather than
basing aircraft in Montenegro,
the two air forces will conduct
the task from bases in Italy and
Greece on an as-necessary basis.
Tom Kaminski[NEWS] WORLD
18 August 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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