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Scramble 469
including those relating to the Congress. The chief of staff
of the Moroccan aviation is doing the negotiates with the
highest military authorities of the Pentagon in person, to tip
the balance in his favor. Morocco is one of the United States
most loyal allies in North Africa, with several different types
of airplanes and helicopters designed and built in the United
States in its arsenal. Lets see if this loyalty will pays off and
allows Morocco to purchase the twelve F-16V Viper.
The F-16V was announced on the Singapore Air Show in 2012.
The first flight took place on 16 October 2015. Existing older
versions of the F-16 can be retrofitted to the Viper standard,
like Taiwan did. They started in 2017 to upgrade their fleet.
GMMX = Marrakech-Ménara
SNJ-4
27193/40 wfu ex USN 27193 88-12188
51387/25 dump GMMX code update 88-13769
Some old updates, thanks to some photos found by Peter
Weinert. The 27193 with code 40 was even a first note for our
database.
Nigeria
Nigerian Air Force [AF]
Mi-35M
NAF561 115th SOG d/d 30apr18 may18
NAF562 115th SOG d/d 30apr18 may18
These two new Mi-35s were delivered onboard an An-124 on
the 30th of April at Makurdi Air Base. During a celebration,
at Kaduna Air Base to mark the 54th Anniversary of the Air
Force, held on the 5th of May both helicopters were officially
handed-over by the President of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammadu
Buhari.
Nigerian Navy [NY]
A109LUH
232 101sq f/n DB, photo apr18
The sub-type needs confirmation. We suspect the serials are
the last three digits of the constructionnumber, but this also
needs confirmation.
Senegal
Armée de l’Air Sénégalaise (AF)
During the national celebration of the Independence Day (4th
of April), the Senegalese Government has announced plans
for the purchase of four Aero Vodochody L-39NG light attack/
training aircraft. The contract will also include the train-
ing, spare parts, ground support equipment and logistical
support. According to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly the Senegal
AF aircraft will be fitted with AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles for
air-to-air capability. These will be mounted on the wingtips
where the fuel tanks of previous L-39 versions were fitted.
The aircraft will also be fitted with the Elbit Systems Targo II
helmet-mounted system.
If the purchase continues, these four L-39NGs are the first jets
in Senegal Air Force inventory after the decommissioning of
the Fouga Magister back in the nineties. If Senegal really will
purchase the L-39 is the big question. In April 2013 Embraer
disclosed that Senegal had ordered three A-29 Super Tucanos
and in July 2016 Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) announced
they signed an agreement to supply four KT-1s. So far none
of the aircraft are delivered or even noted. Aero Vodochody
however is very confident about the deal and has send two
L-39s of the Baltic Bees demonstration team to Dakar, which
performed during the Independence Day celebration over
the capital.
In January, Aero has started the L-39NG aircraft pre-series
production line. The company is currently producing a total
of four L-39NGs. The first and the fourth aircraft will be used
for flight tests, the second one for static tests and the third
for fatigue tests. The first flight of the new pre-series L-39NG
is planned to happen at the end of this year. Aircraft deliver-
ies are expected to start in early 2020.
See Côte d’Ivoire for the information about the order of one
NC212-200 and one CN235-220M.
MS893-235G
6W-SAW pres BA Thiès ex stored 3381 mar18
SA341H
6W-SHC w/o 1983 status update 1025
TB-30
6W-SAY pres BA Thiès serial update 2 mar18
We reported this TB-30 already in Scramble 457, but now we
know the serial too. The TB-30 is preserved at 14°48’5.30”N,
16°57’0.37”W at Base Aérienne de Thiès.
Not often we receive photos made in Nigeria. This Il-76TD TN-AFS operated by the Presidential Flight of the Republic of the Congo, also known
as Congo-Brazzaville, was photographed at Lagos Murtala Muhammed airport on 11 April 2018 by Mick McNamara.
