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Scramble 469
All three helicopters were seen at MCAS Cherry Point (NC)
in the store/scrap compound in the south/south-west part
of the base and all are rotorless and missing the tail beyond
the hinge.
SH-60J
8270 24 Kokutai ex IRAN, ex 25Kok 1070 may18
SH-60K
8444 21 Kokutai unit confirmed 5044 may18
P-1
5515 3 Kokutai ex nmks 15 apr18
5517 KawasakiHI f/n, test at Gifu 17 may18
P-3C
5046 203 ATS? nmks, ex 1 Kokutai 9043 apr18
5065? Kokutai nmks, with Nippi? 9062 may18
5066 o/h Nippi? ex 203 ATS 9063 apr18
5070 5 Kokutai ex nmks 9067 may18
5075 o/h Nippi? nmks, ex 1 Kokutai 9072 may18
Orion 5046 was seen operating from Shimofusa
Kaijō Ho’an-chō (CG)
Bell 505/Cessna 172S
A correction on the names (in Hiragana) carried by these hel-
icopters/aircraft, the Bell 505 have ‘Ooruri’ and the Cessna
172S ‘Amatsubame’. It looks like the helicopters are based at
Sendai.
Falcon 2000MSA
N33FJ for JCG at L3 for mission mods 332
Pakistan
Pakistan Fiza’ya (AF)
AW139
... Leonardo full c/s, CSX81930 31791 apr18
... Leonardo full c/s, CSX81931 31796 may18
The first of the new order, see Scramble 468 - Page 83.
K-8P
10-05-830 1(FCU)sq f/n 2016
F-86F
55-4998 pres Faisalabad ex Risawala AB 227-231 may18
New erected on 19 May, but a rediscovery nonetheless. It
came from nearby Risawala air base and has probably been
sitting derelict in one of the old shelters. Nothing is visible
on Google Earth. It is now in town in Hijri park, along Jaran-
wala road. But that is a long road, so you had better use the
following coordinates, 31.414699°, 73.111924°. Also, it has 988
on one side of the nose.
Pakistan Fauj (AR)
Just before we went to press, the Turkish Undersecretary
of Defence stated that the deal for 30 T129 Atak helicopters
would be signed by Pakistan imminently. The actual signing
had not taken place yet. Also, the USD1.5 billion involved is
not exactly pocket money, so a favourable credit line should
also be negotiated. Still, with the AH-1Z programme for Paki-
stan seemingly dead in the water, this could be a viable option.
The T129 has been tested in Pakistan and has the required hot
and high performance. And the AH-1F are getting long in the
tooth as well.
Beech B350
... (765?) h/o may18 ex N8145M FL-765 may18
Although it was cancelled 21 May 2013 as being exported
to Pakistan, it was operated by USAF Material Command in
theatre; call sign Safire20. Recently it was transferred to the
Pakistan Armed Forces, presumably the army, and presum-
ably with 765 used as serial. If anyone can confirm or refute
the presumptions, please do!
MFI-17 Mushshak
90-5304 nm f/n 15.304 apr18This used to be a possible candidate for delivery to Iran.
Mi-17-VM
59602 ELINT mods may18It was seen at Gujranwala with various antennae under its
belly and boom as well as a row of four box-like knob-anten-
nae along the upper fuselage.
Thailand
Royal Thai Navy (NY)
The Navy has issued a RFI (Request for Information) from
the US Navy (NAVAIR) about the options to be included in an
upgrade of the seven Do228-212 aircraft. Most importantly
the sensors and mission systems should be upgraded. By
requesting an update for seven aircraft the navy en-passent
also confirms all Do228’s (1109-1115) are still in use as Mari-
time Patrol aircraft.
SSJ100-95LR
60319 603sq t/f 18may18 o/o 95132On 18 May the third Sukhoi was noted at Zhukovsky on a pre-
delivery test-flight, with its squadron code in the tail. The
serial is expected to be L18-3/61, although for the last part
the aircraft first has to be delivered this year.
Middle East
Jordan
Jordan is disposing of its older Bell Cobra helicopters. After
Pakistan has received some, now the Philippines and Kenya
have confirmed they are to receive used Cobra helicopter
gunships. The helicopters are Bell AH-1F Cobra gunships cur-
rently used by 10 and 12 squadron of the Royal Jordanian Air
Force and were offered to the Philippines sometime in 2017.
Jordan had initially offered to donate four helicopters to the
southeast Asian country, although this was later reduced to
two. Jordan had earlier donated at least three Cobra helicop-
ter gunships to Kenya from its fleet of almost fifty Cobras,
which include former US Army helicopters acquired in 2001
and fifteen more from Israel in 2015. In the meantime, the
first former USMC AH-1W destined for Jordan have been seen
at Huntsville (AL). Twelve are destined for Jordan.
Kuwait
al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya (AF)
Boeing was awarded a USD 1.16 billion contract for the 22
F/A-18E and six F/A-18F Super Hornet for the Kuwait Air
Force (KAF) on 30 March 2018. The long-anticipated contract
was already announced in November 2016 (it was then said
that Kuwait was planning to buy forty Super Hornets) but
is now officially inked. The KAF will most probably receive
Block III variants and are set to replace Kuwait’s legacy Hornet
fleet. The Middle East country will become only the second
international user of the Super Hornet, after Australia. No
timeline was given but most probably, the KAF Super Hornets
will be produced in between the upcoming USN Block IIIs, so
deliveries are anticipated to start from 2020 and is set to run
until September 2022.
Lebanon
al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniya (AF)
A-29B
(L-713) 7sq d/d as 15-2023 31400224 may18
(L-714) 7sq d/d as 15-2024 31400225 may18
(L-715) 7sq d/d as 15-2025 31400226 may18
(L-716) 7sq d/d as 15-5026 31400227 may18