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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 7

USAF lines

up second-

hand

747-8s for

new Air

Force One

THE US Air Force is

preparing to buy two

commercial Boeing

747-8 aircraft to replace

the VC-25As (747-200Bs)

currently flown as

Air Force One by the

Presidential Airlift

Group assigned to Air

Mobility Command’s

89th Airlift Wing at

Joint Base Andrews,

Maryland. Before taking

office, Donald Trump

criticised the projected

cost of the Presidential

Aircraft Recapitalization

programme.

The two 747-8s,

N894BA and N895BA,

were part of four

originally ordered in

2013 by Transaero,

Russia’s second-largest

airline until it went

bankrupt two years

later. Only two aircraft

were completed for

the Transaero contract.

USAF officials have

begun negotiations

with Boeing to

acquire the aircraft.

“We’re still working

toward a deal to provide

two 747-8s to the air

force – this deal is

focused on providing a

great value for the air

force and the best price

for the taxpayer,” said

Boeing spokeswoman

Caroline Hutcheson.

The 747-8s were

flown to the Southern

California Logistics

Airport in Victorville in

the Mojave Desert for

storage in February.

The Pentagon’s

2018 budget request,

submitted to Congress

in February, includes

a total of $3.2bn to

be spent on two new

Air Force One aircraft

between 2018 and 2022.

The air force is unlikely

to disclose the specific

value of the deal, but

the average price of a

new 747-8 is $386.8m.

They will receive a

new communications

system, defensive

countermeasures, and

measures to withstand

a nuclear explosion.

Above: One option for Croatia’s future fi ghter is the second-hand F-16A/B Netz, an example of which is seen in Israeli Air Force

service with 116 ‘Defenders of the South’ Squadron prior to the type’s retirement last December. IAF/Carmel Horowitz

FOLLOWING THE initial

evaluation process of the

potential contenders (see

Gripen presented in Croatia,

July, p7) the Ministarstvo

Obrane Republike

Hrvatske (MORH, Croatian

Ministry of Defence)

issued an official request

for proposals (RFP) for

the acquisition of a multi-

role fighter to replace its

MiG-21s on July 20. The

Fishbeds are operated by

the only combat aircraft

unit of the Hrvatsko

Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i

Protuzračna Obrana (HRZ

i PZO, Croatian Air Force),

the Eskadrila Borbenih

Aviona (EBA, Combat

Aircraft Squadron) based

at Zagreb International

Airport (commonly

referred to as Pleso).

The RFP has been

submitted to the

embassies of five

countries identified

by the MORH as

potential suppliers of

the ‘new’ aircraft.

These are Greece

(second-hand F-16C/

Ds), Israel (second-

hand F-16A/B Netz –

with the possibility to

upgrade them to F-

ACE standard offered

by Israel Aerospace

Industries), South Korea

(FA-50 offered by Korea

Aerospace Industries),

Sweden ( JAS 39C/D

Gripen offered by

Saab) and the US (used

and/or new F-16s).

It is understood that

the interested parties

will have 75 days (ie

by early October) to

submit their proposals

to MORH. The special

advisory team formed

late last year by the

current defence minister

will then review them.

Retired high-ranking

HRZ i PZO personnel are

predominant in this team,

including three of its

former commanders and

two highly experienced

MiG-21 pilots.

The team is expected

to present its decision

to the MORH by the

end of this year, after

which the MORH and

government will have

the final word. Flight

performance, technical

characteristics and final

price will be scrutinised,

along with potential

offset arrangements.

Even though the MiG-21s

are officially expected to

remain in use until as late

as 2024, it is highly likely

that the MORH would

insist on acquiring their

replacement by 2020,

enabling the MiG-21s

to retire well before

their scheduled end of

service life. Vladimir

Trendafilovski

Croatia issues fi ghter RFP

THE US Department

of Defense (DoD) has

unveiled plans to

purchase up to 120

MD530F light attack

and reconnaissance

helicopters to equip

allied armed forces. The

helicopters, which have

already been delivered

to Afghanistan and Saudi

Arabia, would be acquired

over a five-year period

by the US Army’s Non-

Standard Rotary-Wing

Aircraft Project Office

(NSRWA PO) for as-yet

unannounced operators.

The plan was disclosed

on the Federal Business

Opportunities website on

July 20. The helicopters

would be procured

under indefinite delivery/

indefinite quantity (IDIQ)

contracts and provided

with the Mission Equipment

Package (MEP), which

includes the FN Herstal

Heavy Machine Gun Pod

(HMP). The Enhanced-MEP

(E-MEP) is also requested,

this adding 70mm (2.75in)

M151 rockets and M

smoke rockets to the

weapons options. The

helicopters would also be

fitted with electro-optical/

infrared (EO/IR) sensors.

DoD plans MD530F buy

Above: An Afghan Air Force MD530F fi res its two FN HMP gun pods during a media demonstration

at a training range outside Kabul, Afghanistan, in April 2015. USAF/Staff Sgt Perry Aston