combat aircraft

TURKISH LIGHTNING II TAKES TO THE AIR

SENATORS THREATEN CONTROVERSIAL DEAL

T

HE FIRST F35A for

the Turkish Air Force

(Türk Hava Kuvvetleri)

undertook its maiden

 ight at Lockheed

Martin’s Fort Worth

facility, Texas, on May 10. The

Lightning II was  own by US Navy

test pilot CDR Tony Wilson. Aircraft

serial 18-0001 (AT-01) took o at

14.47hrs and landed at 16.00hrs.

Turkey is expected to take

delivery of its  rst F-35A during

an o cial handover event in the

US on June 21. The  rst pair of

Lightning IIs is scheduled to arrive

in Turkey in September 2019.

Former F-4E units 171 Filo ‘Korsan’

and 172 Filo ‘Sahin’ at Erhac are

expected to become the initial

Turkish Lightning II squadrons.

Two Turkish Air Force pilots are

training on the  fth-generation

 ghter at Luke Air Force Base,

Arizona. Turkey has an eventual

requirement for 100 F-35s and is

one of six prime Joint Strike Fighter

partner nations.

Meanwhile, two US senators have

drafted a bill that seeks to prevent

the transfer of F-35s to Turkey.

The move has been prompted by

‘rapidly deteriorating’ relations

between Washington and Ankara

and comes amid concerns from

the senators that Turkey may

share sensitive information about

the F-35 with Russia. As well as

procuring F-35s, Turkey is buying

S-400 (SA-21 ‘Growler’) long-range

surface-to-air missile systems

from Moscow.

leading NATO’s Baltic Air Policing

mission at Šiauliai air base, Lithuania,

with another detachment of

four F-16AMs.

F-16AMs from the Portuguese

Air Force assumed responsibility

for the 47th rotation in support

of Baltic Air Policing at Šiauliai

on May 2. The  ghters, which

deployed from Monte Real, took

over the mission from the Royal

Danish Air Force on May 2. Under

NATO’s enhanced air policing

(eAP) framework, four French

Air Force Mirage 2000-5s and six

Spanish Air Force Euro ghters will

augment the mission. The French

detachment from Escadron de

Chasse 1/2 ‘Cigognes’ replaced

Italian Air Force Euro ghters at

Ämari air base, Estonia. The Spanish

 ghters, which are from Ala 11, will

operate from Šiauliai alongside the

Portuguese F-16s.

A detachment of Typhoon FGR4s

from the Royal Air Force’s No II (Army

Co-operation) Squadron assumed

the lead role in support of the eAP

at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base,

near Constanta in south-eastern

Romania, following certi cation on

April 27. Tom Kaminski

VIPERS APPROVED

FOR BAHRAIN

THE POTENTIAL SALE of AH-1Z

attack helicopters to Bahrain

was recently approved by the US

State Department. The Foreign

Military Sale includes 12 Vipers,

engines, AGM-114 Hell re

missiles and Advanced Precision

Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II

laser-guided rockets, and related

equipment and training. It could

be worth as much as $911.

million. The Royal Bahraini Air

Force is considering several new

attack helicopters, including

the Bell AH-1Z and Turkish

Aerospace Industries (TAI) T129,

as replacements for its current

 eet of single-engine AH-

HueyCobras. Tom Kaminski

NATO AIR POLICING

HANDOVERS

FOUR ROYAL DANISH Air Force

F-16AM  ghters conducted air

policing missions over Iceland for

a two-week period that began

on April 14 after the detachment

was certi ed by NATO’s Combined

Air Operations Center in Uedem,

Germany. The  ghters arrived at

Ke avík International Airport on

April 11. The Icelandic deployment

marked the fourth time that

Denmark had been tasked with

the mission. While deployed,

the Danish personnel worked in

conjunction with the Icelandic Coast

Guard, which is responsible for

four radar sites that are integrated

into the NATO Air Surveillance and

Control System. NATO’s Icelandic

mission started in May 2008. Over

the 10 years that followed nine

allies — comprising Canada, the

Czech Republic, Denmark, France,

Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and

the US — have deployed  ghters on

a rotational basis.

At the time of the deployment

the Royal Danish Air Force was also

A Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 and a

Romanian Air Force MiG-21 LanceR share

the ramp at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base,

Romania, on April 27. Crown Copyright

A Royal Danish Air Force F-16AM from the detachment

based at Šiauliai for the 46th rotation in support of the

NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. RDAF/Dawid Kamizela

WORLD [NEWS]

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

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