combat aircraft

EUROFIGHTER PITCHED AS

LUFTWAFFE TORNADO SUCCESSOR

AIRBUS AND EUROFIGHTER

GmbH have submitted an o er

to the German Ministry of

Defense for the replacement of

the Luftwa e’s Tornado IDS/ECR

 eet. In a statement from Airbus

on the eve of the ILA Berlin Air

Show, the company described the

Euro ghter EF2000 as the ‘ideal

successor’ to the Tornado.

The Luftwa e plans to retire the

Tornado from 2025 onward and

‘transfer capabilities to another

weapon system’. Since the

Euro ghter is already operated by

Germany, the jet ‘could seamlessly

adopt the capabilities of the

Tornado aircraft’. Purchasing an

additional batch of EF2000s would

also yield considerable cost savings

in terms of support services and

training costs, Airbus contends.

This would be manifested in a

reduction in per-hour  ying costs.

‘The Euro ghter is already the

backbone of the German Air

Force and is therefore the logical

option to adopt the capabilities

of the Tornado in the medium

term’, said Bernhard Brenner,

head of marketing and sales at

Airbus Defence and Space. ‘We

have an excellent aircraft, its

production secures important

aircraft construction know-

how in Germany and, at the

same time, strongly supports

European sovereignty in defense.

The successful continuation of

Euro ghter production could also

lead to further co-operation with

other European nations such as

Switzerland, Belgium and Finland.’

Volker Paltzo, Euro ghter

Jagd ugzeug GmbH CEO, added,

‘I am con dent that Euro ghter

Typhoon can provide a cost-

e ective and attractive solution

for Germany, which will deliver

every capability and perform

every mission the German Air

Force needs.’

In the same statement, Airbus

indicated that Euro ghter would

provide the ‘technological basis for

the next generation of European

combat aircraft’ — the eventual

successor to the EF2000. In July last

year, France and Germany agreed

to collaborate on a new combat

aircraft, expected to enter service

around 2040.

The German armed forces

currently operate 130 Eurofi ghters

and around 90 Tornados.

Airbus/Dr Andreas Zeitler

TWIN HUEYS FOR COSTA RICA

THE US DEPARTMENT of State’s

Bureau of International Narcotics

and Law Enforcement A airs (INL)

recently formalized the donation

of four upgraded Bell UH-1N

helicopters to Costa Rica’s Ministry

of Public Security. The UH-1Ns will

be refurbished prior to delivery

and will be used by the ministry’s

Air Surveillance Agency (SVA) to

support multiple missions. The SVA

currently operates two MD600Ns

and a single MD500E. The INL has

acquired a large number of former

US Navy, US Marine Corps and US

Air Force HH/UH-1Ns as well as ex-

Royal Canadian Air Force CH-135s,

which are all based on Bell’s Model

212 Twin Huey.

Tom Kaminski

MEXICO CLEARED TO PURCHASE SEAHAWKS

THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT

has received the approval of the

US State Department for the

potential purchase of MH-60R

helicopters. The package includes

eight Seahawks and associated

systems and equipment as well

as weapons, spares, training and

support. It could be worth $1.2

billion. Tom Kaminski

DUTCH PILOT REACHES 4,000

FLIGHT HOURS ON F-16

LT COL JOOST ‘Niki’ Luijsterburg

of the Royal Netherlands Air

Force (RNLAF) has become the

 rst Dutch  ghter pilot to achieve

4,000  ight hours on the F-16

Fighting Falcon.

After serving for a year in the

Dutch Navy, Luijsterburg began

 ight training with the RNLAF

in 1989. Two years later he

graduated as the top of his pilot

class and earned his wings, as well

as the top formation pilot award.

Luijsterburg completed F-16

training with the 148th Fighter

Squadron at Tucson, Arizona in

1992. He moved to Leeuwarden
      Air Base, joining 323 Squadron, to
      begin his tuition with the Fighter
      Weapons School. He passed ‘cum
      laude’ and received further awards
      for best overall pilot and best air-
      to-air pilot.
      On becoming the  rst Dutch
      F-16 pilot to pass the 4,000
       ight hours landmark at Tucson,
      ‘Niki’ commented, ‘It’s also just
      a number — a number that
      wouldn’t be possible without all
      the people that work behind the
      scenes to make every  ight hour
      possible.’ Bob Fischer

Kees van der Mark

[NEWS] WORLD

22 July 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

18-23 World News C.indd 22 22/05/2018 15:23