Sea Kings Return
for Training
The Ministry of Defence is returning two
Sea King Mk5 aircraft to service. The two
helicopters in their distinctive red and grey
paint scheme were once a familiar site over
Cornwall as they were operated by 771
Naval Air Squadron in rescue missions up
until their retirement in April 2016. They
will be leased to Heli Operations UK so
the organisation can train aircrew in the
German Navy in search and rescue skills.
The retired Sea Kings will be retained as
UK military aircraft, but will be operated
from Heli Operation’s training base at
Portland, Dorset, up until September 2018.IN BRIEF
The rst YCH-53K KING STALLION arrived at
NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, from Sikorsky's
Development Flight Center in West Palm
Beach, Florida, for continued testing on June- The King Stallion is the rst of seven
CH-53Ks expected to arrive at the Naval Air
Warfare Center Aircraft Division over the next
12 months.
Australia is moving forward with plans to
upgrade its Boeing E-7A WEDGETAIL airborne
early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
Boeing will add new sensors, communications
systems and computer hardware to the Royal
Australian Air Force’s eet of six Wedgetails
and the project is due for completion by 2022.
Rockwell Collins has completed the
installation of new avionics on the United
States Air Force’s eet of 59 McDonnell
Douglas KC-10 EXTENDER air-to-air refuelling
aircraft. The installation of the Flight
avionics suite provides the Extender's ight
crew with enhanced situational awareness,
communications improvements and more
direct ight routing, which contributes to
reduced fuel consumption. The modi cations
were carried out by Field Aviation at its facility
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE will add eight
additional Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)
T-50TH advanced jet trainers to its eet.
The contract was signed on July 11 and
is estimated to be valued at $259 million.
Thailand purchased four T-50TH aircraft in
September 2015.Slovakia has taken delivery of the rst two of a
planned eet of nine UH-60M BLACK HAWKS.
The helicopters were delivered to Prešov
airport on June 26 and an official handover
ceremony followed on July 6.
The rst upgraded Royal Australian Air Force
HAWK MK127 trainers have achieved initial
operational capability (IOC) and students
have begun training on the modernised jets
with No 79 Squadron at RAAF Base Pearce,
Western Australia. The service has 12 of these
aircraft and all them will be upgraded by 2019
to a standard that is nearly identical to the UK
Royal Air Force’s Hawk T2 (Mk128) aircraft.Testing of the MBDA AIM-132 Advanced Short
Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) is now
complete and the AIM-132 can be utilised by
the UK’s F-35Bs. The F-35 Integrated Test
Team (ITT) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland,
completed the nal System Development
and Demonstration (SDD) ight science
test having red eight missiles to clear the
envelope.
Meanwhile, the US Marine Corps plans
to follow the USAF’s lead and will equip
its F-35Bs with the dual-mode GBU-
Enhanced Paveway II Lot 5. This weapon
provides the capability to accurately strike
moving targets that are traveling at speeds up
to 70mph (113km/h).
The 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th FighterSquadron received its nal pair of F-35As
when the aircraft were delivered to Hill AFB,
Utah, on June 21. The squadron received its
rst F-35A in November 2015 and it now has
a full complement of 24 Lightning IIs. The 4th
Fighter Squadron is now being equipped with
the F-35 and 78 ghters will be assigned to
the wing by the end of 2019.
Elsewhere, F-35As operated by the USAF’s
33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, and
F-35Bs own by VMFA-211 from Marine Corps
Air Station Yuma, Arizona, participated in
exercise Red Flag 17-3, which began Nellis
AFB, Nevada, on July 10. The exercise, which
ran until July 28, marked the rst time that
both variants of the Joint Strike Fighter were
simultaneously involved in the exercise.ASRAAM Tested on F-35B
MILITARY NEWS
8 Aviation News Incorporating Jets September 2017An AIM-132 ASRAAM missile
is launched from F-35B BF-
during testing on May 17.
Lockheed Martin/Andy WolfeA recent test at the US Army White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico included a
demonstration of a fully integrated laser
system successfully engaging and ring
on a target from a rotary-wing aircraft. The
exercise took place on April 7 and included
a wide variety of ight regimes, altitudes and
air speeds while the high-energy laser (HEL)
on board an AH-64D Apache tracked and
directed energy on several targets. The design
of future HEL systems will be driven by thedata collected from the helicopter including the
impact of vibration, dust and rotor downwash
on the laser’s beam control and steering.
Raytheon conducted the ight test in
conjunction with the US Army Apache Attack
Helicopter Project Management Office (PMO)
and US Special Operations Command
(USSOCOM).This US Army AH-64D tested a high-energy
laser at the White Sands missile range on
April 7. US ArmyHigh-energy Laser on Apache
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