SERBIA SEEKS MORE MiGS AND HELICOPTERS
SERBIA’S DEFENSE BUDGET for
2018 will be increased by 19.7 per
cent to RSD70.5 billion. Of this, a
total of RSD13.2 billion is planned
for the modernization of the Serbian
Armed Forces, a signi cant increase
of RSD9 billion compared to the
2017 budget.
The 2018 defense budget
will focus on enhancing the
Serbian Air Force and Air Defense
(Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo i
Protivvazduhoplovna Odbrana,
RV i PVO) and will nance the
procurement of Airbus Helicopters
H145M helicopters as well as the
general overhaul and upgrade of 10
MiG-29 ghters.
Negotiations are underway with
Russia’s Rosoboronoexport defense
export/import organization for the
acquisition of six combat-con gured
Mi-17 helicopters to supplement
the RV i PVO’s pair of Mi-17V-
transports.
By the beginning of 2019 Airbus
Helicopters will deliver all nine
H145Ms on order. Six of these willjoin the RV i PVO and four of them
will be in an attack con guration
equipped with the HForce
Generic Weapon System (GWS).
The additional three H145Mswill join the Ministry of Interior
helicopter eet.
Serbia is in talks with Belarus
for the acquisition of at least six
surplus MiG-29s as well as generaloverhaul and modernization.
Moscow recently donated six
MiG-29s to Belgrade. Follow-on
Russian military donations are
expected to include at least one
An-26 turboprop transport.
Igor BozinovskiFINAL OMANI HAWKS DELIVERED
THE LAST TWO Hawk Mk
Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT) for the
Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO)
departed BAE Systems’ Warton
facility in the UK on December 4. The
two jets are part of a $3.28-billion
order for eight Hawks and 12
Euro ghter Typhoons placed in
December 2012. The next day the
last Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF)
Hawk Mk165 from the initial batch of22 also left Warton on delivery. The
last of these to be delivered was the
18th aircraft, ZB118 (ST018/1518),
which was also the last to y, making
its maiden ight on October 4. In
2015 Saudi Arabia ordered another
batch of 22 Hawk Mk165s that will
be assembled in-country. As of early
December, three had been delivered
to Saudi Arabia using chartered
Boeing 747 freighters.PHILIPPINES ORDER
SUPER TUCANOS
EMBRAER RECENTLY RECEIVED
an order for six A-29 light attack
and advanced training aircraft
from the Philippine Air Force
(PAF). The Super Tucanos will be
tasked with close air support,
light attack, surveillance, air-to-
air interception, and counter-
insurgency missions. When
deliveries begin in 2019 the
aircraft will be turned over to and
maintained by the 15th Strike
Wing. The contractor has also
con rmed that this order is not
associated with an earlier deal
for six A-29s from an undisclosed
customer that was announced
on October 16.
In related news, the PAF
has announced the planned
acquisition of up to 24 attack
helicopters beginning in 2018.
Although intended to improve
the air force’s ability to conduct
counter-insurgency capabilities
against insurgents in Marawi,
funding for the helicopter
purchase has not yet been
approved. Tom KaminskiHELLENIC CHINOOKS DELIVERED
THE HELLENIC ARMY added three
additional CH-47Ds to its eet
on November 22, when the fully
refurbished Chinooks arrived by
sea at the port of Piraeus. The Army
is receiving 10 surplus US Army
CH-47Ds under a $125.8-million
deal and six have already arrivedin Greece. The purchase of ve
additional Chinooks was approved by
the US Defense Security Co-operation
Agency in April 2017. They will all be
assigned to the 4th Army Aviation
Helicopter Battalion at Megara, which
already operates the army’s eet of
CH-47DG/SD models. Tom KaminskiThe last two Omani Hawks, serials 167 (ZB129/OM008) and 168 (ZB130/
OM009), prepare to depart Warton. Derek BowerAirbus Helicopters recently completed
its fi rst fi ring campaign with the HForce-
equipped H145M as ordered by Serbia.
Anthony Pecchi/Airbus HelicoptersWORLD [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // February 2018 19
16-20 World News C.indd 19 14/12/2017 15: