Combat aircraft

S

IX F/A18F SUPER

Hornets operated by

the Royal Australian Air

Force’s No 1 Squadron

were scheduled to return

to RAAF Base Williamtown

in January after concluding operations

in Iraq and Syria on December 22.

The decision to return the aircraft and

personnel to Australia followed the

Iraqi Prime Minister’s announcement

that so-called Islamic State (IS) forces

had been driven out of the country.

Australian Hornets and Super Hornets

had been deployed in support of

the Iraqi Security Forces as part of

Operation ‘Okra’ since October 2014.

While forming part of Australia’s Air

Task Group, the strike aircraft from Nos

1, 3, 75 and 77 Squadrons conducted

more than 2,700 sorties against

targets in both Iraq and eastern

Syria. The RAAF’s E-7A airborne early

warning and control and KC-30A

refueling aircraft will continue to

support coalition operations in the

theater. Tom Kaminski

A KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and

an F/A-18F Super Hornets return to base following a

mission in support of Operation ‘Okra’ last November.

FLTLT Guy/Commonwealth of Australia

CANADIAN AIR TASK FORCE COMPLETES DEPLOYMENT

THE ROYAL CANADIAN Air Force’s

Air Task Force (ATF) concluded

operations in Romania on December

31. ATF-Romania’s four CF-188s and
    personnel had supported Operation
    ‘Reassurance’, NATO’s enhanced air
    policing (eAP), and other alliance
    initiatives. During the course of
    the four-month deployment the
    Hornets trained with numerous
    NATO aircraft including Romanian

MiG-21s and F-16AMs as well as

Portuguese F-16AMs. The CF-188s

also co-operated with French and

Romanian ships operating in the

Black Sea. Comprising personnel

from 2 Air Expeditionary Wing at

CFB Bagotville, Quebec, and 4 Wing

CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, ATF-Romania

returned to Canada in early January.

Tom Kaminski

CF-188 serial 188770 was one of the four ATF-Romania jets that passed

through Lajes in the Azores during their return to Canada on January 3.

André Inácio

AUSTRALIA’S SUPER HORNETS

WITHDRAWN FROM MIDDLE EAST

OPERATION ‘OKRA’ WINDS DOWN

SAUDIS ORDER

BLACK HAWKS

SIKORSKY HAS RECEIVED a

$193.9-million Foreign Military

Sales contract that provides for the

delivery of 17 UH-60M helicopters

to Saudi Arabia. The e ort includes

eight Black Hawks for the Saudi

Arabian National Guard and nine

for the Royal Saudi Land Forces

Airborne Special Security Forces.

Deliveries should be completed by

the end of 2022. Tom Kaminski

INDONESIAN AH-64Es DELIVERED

THE FIRST THREE AH-64E attack

helicopters for the Indonesian

Army’s 11 Squadron arrived at the

Army Air Base located at Ahmad Yani

International Airport in Semarang

on the main island of Java, aboard

a US Air Force C-17A, on December

18. Indonesia purchased eight
    Apache Guardians, AN/APG-
    Longbow  re-control radars and
    140 AGM-114R3 Hell re anti-tank
    missiles under the US Foreign
    Military Sales program in January


19. Tom Kaminski

QATARI

STRIKE EAGLE

CONTRACT

THE US AIR Force’s Life Cycle

Management Center has

awarded Boeing a $6.17-billion

Foreign Military Sales contract

to deliver 36 F-15QA  ghters to

the Qatar Emiri Air Force.

Deliveries will be completed

by December 2022.

Tom Kaminski

US CARRIER TO HOST FRENCH AIRCRAFT

FRENCH NAVY RAFALE M  ghters

and E-2C airborne early warning

aircraft will conduct operations from

the US Navy aircraft carrier USS

George H. W. Bush (CVN 77)

this spring.

Although the pilots will complete

their carrier quali cations aboard the

ship, the April to May deployment is

also intended to demonstrate the

French Navy’s ability to integrate

with US military services by

conducting maintenance and

loading weapons on their aircraft.

The aircraft will initially operate from

Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia

and conduct land-based carrier

training before shipboard operations

begins. Around 350 sailors and

aviators will deploy with the ship

during the training period. The

French Navy’s aircraft carrier Charles

de Gaulle (R91) is currently

undergoing a scheduled major

maintenance period that

began in late 2016. The nuclear-

powered carrier is expected to

complete the mid-life re t and

return to service during late 2018.

Tom Kaminski

[NEWS] WORLD

18 March 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

18-22 World News C.indd 18 19/01/2018 11: