Saudi
An-178 Deal
Antonov has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with the Saudi
Arabia-based Taqnia Aeronautics
Company to deliver 30 An-178 multi-
purpose aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air
Force (RSAF).
The deal, which was signed on
December 17, further extends co-
operation between the two companies- Antonov announced on May 13 that it
was developing the new An-132 multi-
purpose transport aircraft in association
with Taqnia, which will build the type in
Saudi Arabia.
Under the new MOU, the two
companies will undertake joint marketing
of the An-178 to other Middle Eastern
countries and further promote special-
purpose variants of the An-148. Retired
Major General Ali Mohammed Al-Ghamdi,
President of Taqnia Aeronautics, said
the An-178 had been selected due to its
advantageous characteristics, price and
low operating costs, compared with other
types in its class.
MILITARY NEWS
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 11Eight RAF Typhoons from XI Sqn deployed
to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia in
December to take part in an anti-access/
area denial exercise alongside USAF F-22A
Raptors and six French Air Force Rafale Cs.
Running from December 2 to 18, the
inaugural trilateral exercise was hosted by
the USAF’s 1st Fighter Wing and followed
the re-signing of the Trilateral Strategic
Initiative by each of the three country’s most
senior air force officers last July.
It focused on procedures in a highly
contested operational environment througha variety of simulated adversary scenarios.
RAF Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal
Sir Andrew Pulford, said: “This is a fantastic
opportunity for the European air forces to get
alongside the United States Air Force to start
delivering true interoperability across Europe
and across NATO.”
While the initial stage of the exercise
pitted the aircraft against each other, the
jets were own collaboratively on most
of the training sorties. Exact details ofexercise sorties have been kept secret, but
they would typically start with a group of
RAF Typhoons or French Rafales pushing
ahead into ‘enemy territory’, supported
at a signi cant distance behind by half
their number of USAF Raptors. Red Air
duties were performed by USAF F-15E
Strike Eagles from the 4th Fighter Wing at
Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, and
T-38 Talons from the resident 71st Fighter
Training Squadron.A Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 and French Air Force Rafale ank a USAF F-22A Raptor
during the inaugural trilateral exercise. USAF/Senior Airman Kayla NewmanFighters in Trilateral Exercise
Bombardier has delivered the rst of two
specialised Challenger 605 aircraft ordered
by the Hong Kong Government Flying
Service (GFS). The Canadian manufacturer
announced that B-LVB (c/n 5898, ex C-GNVU)
had been handed over on December 3. The
second aircraft will be B-LVA.
This multi-role aircraft can be used for
search and rescue, VIP transportation,
medical evacuation, as well as other special
missions. The Challengers will replace the
existing Jetstream 41s currently operated bythe GFS for long-range search and rescue
operations, which have been in service since
1999.
The rst aircraft, C-GNVU, has spent
the last three years being out tted with its
specialist equipment at Montréal/Mirabel
International Airport, Quebec, where it
had arrived on September 28, 2012, from
Montréal-Pierre Trudeau International Airport.The Hong Kong Government Flying Service
took delivery of its rst Bombardier Challenger
605 on December 3. BombardierFirst Hong Kong
Challenger Delivered
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