Combat aircraft

C

ANADA HAS CHOSEN

to buy 18 former Royal

Australian Air Force (RAAF)

F/A-18 Hornets to  ll its

 ghter capability gap.

Ottawa announced on

December 13 that it would acquire

the F/A-18A/Bs, plus a package of

spares, for an undisclosed sum.

Australian Defence Minister

Marise Payne con rmed that the

 rst two ‘classic’ Hornets will be

delivered to Canada in 2019, as the

RAAF transitions to the Lockheed

Martin F-35A.

‘Australia greatly values our long-

standing and broad bilateral defense

relationship with Canada, and this

decision is another example of our

close and strong partnership’, said

Payne. ‘The aircraft will supplement

Canada’s existing  eet as it develops

and implements its plan to replace

the Royal Canadian Air Force [RCAF]

 ghter jet  eet.’

The used F/A-18A/Bs from

Australia were selected in preference

to buying new Super Hornets from

Boeing. Acquisition of the aircraft

will allow Canada to retain its

‘legacy’ Hornets until a new  ghter

is selected and  elded. Canada had

been considering the $5.2-billion

purchase of up to 18 new F/A-18E/F

Super Hornets to bridge the gap

between its aging Hornet  eet

and a new  ghter. The decision to

cancel those plans was triggered by

an ongoing legal dispute between

Boeing and the Canadian aerospace

 rm Bombardier over government

subsidies associated with the latter’s

commercial airliners.

The former RAAF Hornets will

 ll a capability gap during the

ongoing process to acquire 88 new

combat aircraft that will replace

the RCAF’s 85 CF-188A/Bs. A

request for proposals is expected

in the spring of 2019, followed by a

decision by 2022.

An RAAF F/A-18B Hornet

refuels from a KC-30A Multi-

Role Tanker Transport during

Exercise ‘Diamond Shield

2017’. CPL Brenton Kwaterski/

Commonwealth of Australia

THIRD RAAF LIGHTNING II TAKES SHAPE

THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Air

Force’s third F-35A Lightning II

completed its  rst  ight from

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’

production facility adjacent to

Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint

Reserve Base, Texas on December

1. Serial A35-003 wears No 3

Squadron markings, which were

applied in early November. The jet

will be delivered to Luke Air Force

Base, Arizona, in early 2018, before

being permanently relocated to

Australia in 2020. The squadron is

due to become the  rst RAAF F-

operational unit. Tom Kaminski

PROGRESS FOR DANISH F-35A PROGRAM

THE DANISH GOVERNMENT is

moving forward with its F-35A

acquisition plans and its defense

ministry has requested $2.62 billion

to purchase 27 Lightning IIs and

associated equipment and services

up until 2026. Purchases will begin

in 2018 with an initial batch of 10

F-35As. The initial  ghters will be

delivered to Luke Air Force Base,

Arizona, to support training but

operations will be centered at

Skrydstrup air base from 2022.

The F-35A will completely replace

Denmark’s  eet of F-16s by 2025.

Tom Kaminski

FRENCH HERCULES FLIES

LOCKHEED MARTIN CARRIED

out the maiden  ight of the  rst

C-130J-30 for France’s Armée de

l’Air at its Marietta, Georgia, facility

on November 22. The aircraft

was rolled out of the factory

on October 20 and had been

undergoing systems check-out

and testing. France ordered a pair

of stretched C-130J-30 airlifters

and two KC-130J airlifters/tankers

under a Foreign Military Sales

contract in December 2016. The

 rst aircraft was expected to be

delivered by the end of 2017 with

the second C-130J-30 following

in 2018. Both KC-130Js will be

delivered in 2019. This Hercules

will eventually be operated by

Escadron de Transport 2/

‘Franche-Comté’, at Base Aérienne

123 Orléans-Bricy. Tom Kaminski

The fi rst of two C-130J-30s for

the French Air Force takes off for

its maiden fl ight on November 22.

Lockheed Martin/

Todd R. McQueen

Australia’s third F-35A Lightning II after rolling off the Fort Worth line.

Lockheed Martin/Angel DelCueto

CANADA OPTS FOR AUSTRALIAN F/A-18S

FORMER RAAF JETS WILL BECOME ‘INTERIM FIGHTERS’

ITALIAN ATLANTIC RETIRED

THE BREGUET ATLANTIC completed

its  nal  ight in service with the

Italian Air Force on November 22. A

retirement ceremony had been held

at Sigonella air base on September

21, during which the 88° Gruppo

(88th Squadron) of the 41° Stormo

(41st Wing) unveiled the  nal special

color scheme for the Atlantic. The

last aircraft departed Sigonella for

Pratica di Mare, near Rome. It will be

transported to Vigna di Valle, where

it will be preserved at the Museo

Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare.

The markings on Atlantic MM40118/41-

celebrate the type’s 45 years of service

with the Italian Air Force. Alessio Libera

[NEWS] WORLD

16 February 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

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