Three ex-Egyptian
MiG-21MFs
(serials 18, 26 and
27) previously
transferred to Libya
are now joined by
MiG-21MF serial
22 and another
example that is yet
to receive its Libyan
roundel, ag and
serial number. All
MiG-21MFs continue
to operate in their
Egyptian-style
camou age pattern.
via Oryx BlogRAAF crews complete Growler training
The fi rst Royal Australian Air Force aircrew
have completed basic training on the
EA-18G Growler. The fi ve crew graduated
from basic training with Electronic Attack
Squadron 129 (VAQ-129), the US Navy’s
EA-18G Fleet Replacement Squadron,
during a ceremony at Naval Air StationWhidbey Island, Washington on February- They will be assigned to US Navy
expeditionary units for approximately two
years, deploying and operating the EA-18G
under the Personnel Exchange Program.
Delivery of the fi rst of 12 Growlers to the
RAAF is expected in 2017.
Hornets deploy for
Iraq mission
Six F/A-18A Hornets and personnel
assigned to No 75 Squadron departed
from RAAF Base Tindal en route to Al
Minhad Air Base in the United Arab
Emirates, where they replaced the
six F/A-18F Super Hornets that had
been fl ying combat missions over Iraq
under Operation ‘Okra’ since arriving
in September 2014. The Hornets
joined a KC-30A tanker transport
and E-7A Wedgetail airborne early
warning and control aircraft that are
operating from Al Minhad as part of
the Air Task Group. As of March 3, the
Super Hornets had fl own 179 missions
and delivered 221 precision-guided
weapons. Tom KaminskiUpgraded Nuri on show
S-61A-4 Nuri serial M23-31 is the second example of the Sikorsky helicopter to have been
transferred from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) to the Malaysian Army. It recently
completed depot maintenance at the AIROD maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) Center
and was exhibited at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) show in March.
The helicopter joined M23-01, which arrived at Langkawi on March 17. According to Army
commanders’ requests, the helicopters are painted in three-tone ‘digital’ camou age colors,
claimed to be more suitable for operations over Malaysian rainforest. M23-31 was previously in
service with the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s 5 Skn ‘Tiger’ at Labuan. Both examples transferred to
the Army are wired for a planned avionics upgrade program by AIROD, which will provide a full
‘glass’ cockpit. This is already installed on board the rst prototype for the project, M23-36, which
is still in RMAF service. Babak Taghvaeehttp://www.combataircraft.net May 2015 19Prague approves L-159 sale
According to Reuters, the Czech government
has approved the sale of 15 Aero Vodochody
L-159 advanced training and light attack aircraft
to Iraq. A previous e ort to sell 28 of the jets to
Baghdad ended in failure.
Last year Prague signed a deal to sell 14 L-159s
to US contractor Draken International. The Iraqi
contract is worth $29.89 million and will involve
four aircraft now in use with the Czech Air Force
and 11 aircraft currently in storage with the
manufacturer. It requires nal approval from the
US, which provided components for the L-159.Israel signs second F-35 order
In late February, Israel signed a contract to
purchase 14 additional F-35A ghters valued at
$2.82 billion. The move increases Israeli orders
for the Lightning II to 33 aircraft. The Israeli Air
Force had hoped to purchase a batch of 31
F-35As, but o cials limited this to 14 as a result
of nancial troubles and concerns over
technical problems with the jet. However, the
contract includes options for the 17 additional
aircraft.
Israel ordered an initial batch of 19 F-35As in
2010, and the rst two of these will be
delivered by the end of 2016. The Lightning IIs
will feature some Israeli-developed systems,
while Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will
complete wings for the F-35.ZDK-03 in squadron service
The Pakistan Air Force has o cially introduced
the Shaanxi ZDK-03 Karakorum Eagle airborne
early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to
service. Receiving the local designation KE-
(for Karakorum Eagle), the type now equips
4 Squadron at PAF Base Masroor, near Karachi,
where an induction ceremony took place on
February 26. Pakistani sources report that the
range of the aircraft’s Chinese-made active
electronically scanned array (AESA) radar
exceeds that of the PAF’s Saab 2000 Erieye
AEW&C aircraft.Airbus wins Korean helo contest
Airbus Helicopters has signed a $1.5-billion
contract to develop and build South Korea’s
future Light Armed Helicopter. The 5-ton-class
LAH will be a derivative of the H155 (formerly
EC155) Dauphin and will be developed in
collaboration with Korea Aerospace
Industries (KAI).
The LAH will be armed with a chin-mounted
gun turret and will carry weapons on
stub wings.
In total, Korea requires 214 LAHs. Final
assembly will take place in Sacheon. KAI will
also be able to export the LAH and a
commercial derivative, the Light Civil
Helicopter (LCH). Service introduction of the
LAH is targeted for 2022.IN BRIEF
16-19 World news C.indd 19 20/03/2015 11: