Luftwaffe Pulling Out of Holloman
The German presence at Holloman
AFB, New Mexico, will cease by the end
of 2019 after the Luftwaffe announced it
was relocating its flight training. The US
base has been home to the Fliegerisches
Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe (Flight
Training Centre/FlgAusbZLw) since 1992,with crews learning on the F-4 and more
recently the Tornado. However, the logistics
of operating the ageing Tornado in the US
are proving increasingly difficult and costly,
and it has been decided to transfer the 14
jets used by the FlgAusbZLw to Taktisches
Luftwaffengeschwader 51 ‘Immelmann’ atJagel, Schleswig-Holstein, which will take on
the responsibility for training.
The agreement with the US will be
terminated this year, and the final flight training
course will take place next year. Maintenance
activities at the base will continue into 2018
with the FlgAusbZLw closing in “late 2019”.UK Selects
Predator B
Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials have
confirmed that the UK’s new Protector
unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will be the
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA
ASI) Certifiable Predator B (CPB), which is
currently under development.
A notification published by the MOD on
April 24 announced that, after a thorough
assessment phase, it had been concluded
that the type is the only system capable of
achieving UK Military Type Certification and
delivering the Protector requirement within the
required timescales.
The MOD notice values the contract at
£415m, with a start date of September 30,
2016, and completion on October 31, 2023.
The acquisition will be through a government-
to-government Foreign Military Sales contract
with the US Department of Defense.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron had
announced on October 3 that more than 20
Protectors will replace the RAF’s current fleet
of ten MQ-9A Reaper UAVs. At the time it
was revealed that the new UAV would be an
upgraded derivative of the Reaper, but the
exact variant and configuration had not been
finalised.
The CPB is a derivative of the Predator
B/Reaper that will be certified for flight in
accordance with the NATO Airworthiness
Standard for unmanned aircraft. A prototype is
scheduled to begin test flying this year, leading
to first flight of a certifiable production aircraft in- GA ASI has already retrofitted and flight-
tested an existing company-owned Predator
B test aircraft with the CPB’s larger 79ft-span
(24m) wing and redesigned tails. The new
variant has increased fuel capacity, extending
endurance from 27 hours to more than 40
hours, plus additional hardpoints and provision
for wing de-icing, together with integrated low-
and high-band radio frequency antennas.
The 173rd Fighter Wing has painted F-15C 79-0041 in this stunning livery to mark the Oregon
ANG’s 75th anniversary. The unit is based at Kingsley Field ANGB. USAFThe Eagle Has Landed
Last RCAF CC-130E Retired
Lockheed CC-130E 130307 made its final
flight on April 5 when it flew from CFB
Trenton to its new home at the Canada
Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.
The two-hour flight concluded more than
50 years of service for the aircraft which was
the last E-model Hercules still operational
with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).Aircraft ’307 was the third of 24 CC-
130Es delivered to the RCAF between
December 1964 and August 1968. It was
used as a transport aircraft, for navigation
training, and for search and rescue missions.
Prior to its retirement, the aircraft was flying
with 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron.
It will now become part of the museum’spermanent exhibition.
“I am delighted that Hercules No.- the last of our E-model Hercules – has
found a permanent home with the Canada
Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa,
where it will showcase the RCAF’s air
mobility role for years to come,” said Lt Gen
Michael Hood, Commander of the RCAF.
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 11Kiowa Bows Out in Style
A spectacular mass formation marked the final flight of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter in
the continental US. The entire complement of the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd
Combat Aviation Brigade, comprising 32 OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, got airborne from Simmons
Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on April 15 for the farewell flight, led by the squadron
commander, Lt Col Adam Frederick. The unit was the last operating the type in the continental
US and will shortly deploy to South Korea for a nine-month rotation before returning home to
convert to Apaches and UAVs. US DOD/Kenneth KassensF-35s for Alaska
Two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
squadrons will be based at Eielson AFB,
Alaska.
Air Force officials chose Eielson after a
lengthy analysis of the location’s operational
considerations, installation attributes,
environmental factors and cost.
“Alaska combines a strategically
important location with a world-class training
environment. Basing the F-35s at Eielson
AFB will allow the Air Force the capability ofusing the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex
(JPARC) for large force exercises using a
multitude of ranges and manoeuvre areas
in Alaska,” said Secretary of the Air Force
Deborah Lee James.
The two squadrons will join the F-16 Fighting
Falcon aggressor squadron currently assigned
to Eielson AFB. Construction to facilitate the
arrival of the F-35s is expected to begin in fiscal
year 2017. The first Lightning IIs should start
arriving in 2020.10-12_military.JRMFDCMFDC.indd 11 05/05/2016 17: