BAE Systems has delivered the first two of 44 Hawk Mk 165 trainers for the Royal Saudi
Air Force (RSAF). Hawks ZB101/2101 (c/n ST001) and ZB102/2102 (c/n ST002), left the
manufacturer’s Warton, Lancashire, facility on April 1 on their delivery flight. Gary Claridge-KingIndia Retires RSAF Hawk Delivery
Sea Harriers
India has retired its last remaining Sea
Harrier FRS51s ending the type’s 33-year
service with the Indian Navy.
Six Harriers departed from the aircraft
carrier INS Viraat (R 22) for the final time
on March 6 to return to their shore base
at INS Hansa, Dabolim in Goa, marking
the last operational flight by the type.
The 11 surviving aircraft have all
been placed in storage at INS Hansa
pending disposal. They are expected to be
distributed to various establishments for
preservation. The pilots from INAS 300
‘White Tigers’, which flew the type, will now
move on to career advancement courses
or conversion to the MiG-29K. It is planned
to re-form the squadron on the MiG-29K for
operation from the new indigenously built
carrier INS Vikrant, which is scheduled to
be ready for service around 2018-2019.
The 56-year-old INS Viraat, which is
the oldest operational carrier in the world,
will be decommissioned later this year. It
had been built for the Royal Navy, which
commissioned it into service in 1959 as
the Centaur-class carrier HMS Hermes
(R 12). The ship saw active service in the
Falklands War before being sold to the
Indian Navy, which put it into service on
May 12, 1987, after a refit and upgrade.Air Cadet Flying Changes
A vast overhaul of the UK Air Cadet
Organisation’s flying activities is being
launched. This will see the Volunteer
Gliding Squadrons (VGS) decimated, with
14 of the 25 squadrons being shut down
completely.
Earl Howe, Minister of State, Ministry
of Defence, and Deputy Leader of the
House of Lords, laid out the plans on
March 10, in Parliament, providing a
Written Ministerial Statement by Julian
Brazier, the Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State and Minister for
Reserves.
The changes come as a result of the
grounding of the entire Air Cadets fleet
in April 2014, due to concerns regarding
airworthiness of the VGS’ Grob Viking T
conventional gliders and Grob Vigilant T
motor gliders. Since then no flying has
taken place.According to the statement “a value for
money” solution to repair all 146 gliders
has failed to materialise and consequently
it has been decided to reduce the fleet
to at least 73 Vikings and up to 15
Vigilants. Extra Grob Tutor fixed-wing Air
Experience Flights (AEFs) will be created.
Some gliders have already been restored
to airworthiness and a limited amount of
cadet flying has resumed.
The statement also said: “The
reduced glider fleet will be operated by
significantly fewer, but larger, VGS, which
will have a regional focus and be better
integrated with synthetic training and
increased AEF locations. The number of
Grob Tutor aircraft beyond 2017 for AEF/
University Air Squadron (UAS) use will
go from 45 to 70 airframes, enabling the
enlargement of existing AEFs and the
formation of two new AEFs. RegionalVGS hubs, which have the facility to
provide overnight accommodation, will
also be created across the UK.”
The squadrons that are due to
be disbanded are: 611 VGS at RAF
Honington, Suffolk; 612 VGS at Dalton
Barracks (Abingdon), Oxfordshire; 613
VGS at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire;
616 VGS at RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire;
618 VGS at RAF Odiham, Hampshire; 624
VGS at RMB Chivenor, Devon; 633 VGS
at RAF Cosford, Shropshire; 634 VGS
at MOD St Athan, Wales; 635 VGS at
RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire; 636 VGS
at Swansea Airport, West Glamorgan,
Wales; 642 VGS at RAF Linton-on-
Ouse, North Yorkshire; 662 VGS at RMB
Arbroath, Angus, Scotland; 663 VGS at
Kinloss Barracks, Moray, Scotland; and
664 VGS at Newtownards, Northern
Ireland.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 11Approval for UK P-8 Purchase
The US State Department has approved
the UK’s planned purchase of up to nine
Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol
aircraft and associated major defenceequipment, training, and support.
The approval was confirmed in an
announcement on March 25, by the US
Defense Security Cooperation Agency(DSCA), which said it had delivered the
required certification notifying Congress
of this possible sale the previous day. The
DSCA quotes the estimated cost as $3.2bn.100 Years of La Fayette
Stunning markings have been applied to French Air Force Mirage 2000N 353/125-AM to
celebrate the centenary of Istres-based squadron, EC 2/4 La Fayette. The jet will also be the
lead aircraft in the Ramex Delta tactical display team this summer. Armée de l’Air/A Courtillat10-12_military.JR.mfDCJRDC.mfDC.mf.indd 11 08/04/2016 14: