Airforces

Subscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

for breaking news stories. E-mail the news team

at [email protected]

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 11

Bulgarian

AF revamp

continues

THE LATEST

reorganisation

of the Bulgarski

Voennovozdushni Sili

(BV VS, Bulgarian Air

Force) saw the Ucebna

Aviaciona Grupa

(Training Aviation Group)

‘Georgi Benkovski’

separated from the

structure of the 3-ta

aviacionna baza (3rd Air

Base) at Graf Ignatievo

and transformed into

an Air Base-type unit.

The change came

into effect on July

1. Operating under
   the new name
   Voennovozdushna
   ucebna baza (Air Force
   Training Base) ‘Georgi
   Benkovski’, the training
   unit has recently been
   the most active within
   the V VS unit. It now
   reports directly to the
   Chief of the BV VS.
   Based at Dolna
   Mitropoliya, near Pleven
   in northern Bulgaria, it
   operates five PC-9Ms
   and six L-39ZAs.
   Igor Bozinovski

Luftwaff e takes on fi rst A400M with refuelling pods

AIRBUS DEFENCE and

Space has delivered

the first A400M in air-

to-air refuelling tanker

configuration.

The aircraft – the tenth

Luftwaffe example, 54+

(c/n 0048, ex A4M408,

EC-408) – is the first with

underwing refuelling

pods, and the 46th A400M

delivery overall. It arrived

in Germany on June 30.

The manufacturer

delivered the first German

A400M in ‘tactical’

configuration (including

an aerial refuelling

capability) on December

12 last year, but the

tanker pods were not

installed at the time (see

First Luftwaffe ‘Tactical’

A400M Delivered, February,

p10). Dave Allport

Paweł Bondaryk

Polish Air Force Gulfstream delivered

A NEW Gulfstream G

for the Siły Powietrzne

(SP, Polish Air Force) has

arrived in the country.

The Gulfstream, serial

‘0001’ (c/n 5547), was

officially handed over in

Appleton, Wisconsin on

June 18 and delivered

to Poland on June 21. It

was taken on strength

by the 1. Baza Lotnictwa

Transportowego (1 BLTr,

1st Air Transport Base) at

Warsaw-Okecie, where it

should achieve operational

capability in September.

Since disbanding the 36.

Specjalny Pułk Lotnictwa

Transportowego (36th

Special Air Transport

Regiment) at the end of

December 2011, Polish VIPs

have been flown using two

Embraer 175s chartered

from LOT Polish Airlines. 1

BLTr has also undertaken

VIP transport using W-

and Mi-8 helicopters.

Gulfstream G550 ‘0001’

is the first of two VIP

bizjets ordered by the

Polish Ministry of Defence

in November last year at

a cost of $107.7m. The

second example was to

be delivered in July.

This year the air force will

also receive the first of three

VIP-configured Boeing 737-

800s, ordered in March at a

cost of $523m. The first will

be delivered with 132 seats

(12 VIP and 120 economy

class). The two others are

due in 2020, and will likely

be to Boeing Business

Jet 2 (BBJ2) standard,

with 66 seats (including

48 economy class and a

crew rest compartment).

Paweł Bondaryk

New

Italian

Predator

squadron

A NEW Aeronautica

Militare (AM, Italian

Air Force) unit, 61°

Gruppo Volo (61st Flying

Squadron), has been

formed to operate the

MQ-1C Predator A+ UAV.

Reactivated as a

detachment of 32°

Stormo (32nd Wing)

during a ceremony

at Sigonella air base

on July 10, it joins the

wing’s 28° Gruppo,

which already flies the

Predator and MQ-

Reaper at Amendola.

Formed on April 5,

1924 as 61° Gruppo

Osservazione Aerea

(61st Air Observation

Squadron), the unit

had disbanded on

September 8, 1943.

Its UAV aircrew

will come from 28°

Gruppo and ground

support personnel

from Sigonella’s 41°

Gruppo. Dave Allport

Above: The fi rst Luftwaff e A400M to be fi tted with underwing refuelling pods for tanker

operations. Airbus Defence and Space

Rare Spanish Searcher MkIII on display

A FUERZAS Aeromóviles

del Ejército de Tierra

(FAMET, Spanish Army

Aviation) IAI Searcher

MkIII, serial UR01-06, on

display in the parking

area of the Academia

Básica del Aire (ABA)

at León air base.

The seldom-seen UAV

is operated by Grupo de

Obtención de Sistemas

Aéreos IV/1 (GROSA

IV/1). The Spanish Army

received its first four

multi-mission Searcher

MkII-J (later upgraded to

MkIII) drones in December

2007 for surveillance,

reconnaissance and target

acquisition missions in

Afghanistan. Although

not based at León, the

army has permanent

access to a hangar at

the Spanish Air Force

facility and can use

the main runway for

training. Roberto Yáñez

Roberto Yáñez