Aviation News - June 2016

MILITARY NEWS

10 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft June 2016

Four Armée de l’Air Rafales deployed to RAF

Leeming in April to take part in Exercise

Griffin Strike.

The Rafales were from Régiment de

Chasse 2/30 at Mont de Marsan and they

were joined by eight RAF Typhoon FGR4s

from XI Sqn at RAF Coningsby.

The exercise, which comprised land, sea

and air elements, was to validate the Anglo-

French Combined Joint Expeditionary Force

(CJEF) component of the bilateral Lancaster

House Treaty, signed in 2010. The CJEF is

now available for bilateral, NATO, EU, UN or

coalition operations.

Two Armée de l’Air Rafales  y in formation with a pair of XI Sqn Typhoons over RAF Leeming.

Crown copyright/SAC Mark Parkinson

Exercise Griffi n Strike

Anniversary Transall

Hohn-based Lufttransportgeschwader 63 (LTG 63) has painted C-160D Transall 50+95 in a

special scheme to mark the unit’s 55th anniversary. The aircraft is set to be the star at the

base’s open day on June 11. Rene Kohler

End of the

Line for

208(R) Sqn

Flying training by the RAF on the Hawk

T1 has  nally come to an end after the

last sorties were  own by 208 (Reserve)

Sqn from RAF Valley, Anglesey, on April

14. The  ights took off just after 1330hrs
    for a  nal tour.
    With all training courses now
    complete, 208(R) Sqn will formally
    disband on July 1. The unit had been
    established on October 25, 1916, as No
    8 (Naval) Sqn as part of the Royal Naval
    Air Service, becoming 208 Sqn when the
    RAF was formed on April 1, 1918. Its
    disbandment marks the end of 40 years
    of Hawk T1  ying training, with this task
    now being fully undertaken on the Hawk
    T2 by IV(R) Sqn at Valley.
    Although no longer used for training,
    the Hawk T1 remains in RAF service with
    100 Sqn at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
    and the Red Arrows, and with the Royal
    Navy’s 736 Sqn at RNAS Culdrose,
    Cornwall.

RNZAF SH-2G(NZ)s Phased Out

All  ve of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s

SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite helicopters

have been withdrawn from service, after

being replaced by eight newer SH-2G(I)

variants. The type’s retirement was marked

on April 14 as part of a change of command

ceremony held at RNZAF Base Auckland,

Whenuapai Air eld.

The  nal  ights by the last two remaining

helicopters, NZ3601 and NZ3602, took

place on April 21. They had been operating

in Fiji supporting recovery efforts in the

aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Winston,

completing a total of 72  ying hours during

these missions. After returning to HMNZS

Canterbury (L 421), the pair  ew in formation

back to Whenuapai, where the type was

operated by 6 Sqn.

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