Airforces phantoms at andravida

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS North America

16 // DECEMBER 2018 #

Above: The fuselage of the fi rst CC-295 for the RCAF on the

fi nal assembly line in Seville on September 25. Canadian Forces

AIRBUS DEFENCE and

Space is progressing

with manufacture of the

CC-295 (C295W) for the

Royal Canadian Air Force

(RCAF) Fixed-Wing Search

and Rescue (FWSAR)

programme. The fuselage

of the first aircraft, c/n

S -183, was delivered to

the final assembly line at

Seville-San Pablo Airport,

Spain, on September 25.

Acceptance of the initial

aircraft by the RCAF is

expected late next year.

Canada announced on

December 8, 2016 that the

C295W had been selected

to meet the FWSAR

requirement to replace the

C C -115 Buffalo and CC -

Hercules currently used for

fixed-wing SAR. The $2.4bn

contract covers purchase

of 16 aircraft. Canada’s

PAL Aerospace has formed

AirPro in partnership

with Airbus Defence

and Space to provide

through-life support for

the type. Dave Allport

First RCAF CC-

in fi nal assembly

THE USAF’s 48th Fighter

Wing (FW) recently staged

dissimilar air combat

training (DACT) at RAF

Lakenheath, Suffolk,

and at Kleine Brogel

air base in Belgium.

During a series of

large-force exercises,

Lakenheath’s Liberty Wing

hosted F-22As flown by

the 1st FW’s 27th Fighter

Squadron (FS) from Joint

Base Langley-Eustis,

Virginia, and F/A-18E/Fs

assigned to Carrier Air Wing

One (CVW-1), deployed

from the aircraft carrier

USS Harry S Truman (CVN

75). Other participating

aircraft included F-15Cs

and F-15Es of the resident

48th FW, KC-135s from

the 100th Air Refueling

Wing at RAF Mildenhall,

Suffolk, and a NATO E-3.

The six Raptors – 97th

FS jets flown by 27th FS

pilots – arrived in Europe

on October 5 under Raptor

Redeploy 19-1. The aircraft

comprised serials 08-4162,

09-4173, 09-4177, 09-4181,

09-4183 and 10-4194.

These jets had recently

completed a six-month

combat rotation supporting

Operation Inherent Resolve

in the Middle East, and

the squadron’s deployed

personnel arrived back at

Langley on October 9.

The 94th Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron flew

more combat sorties and

hours on a per aircraft

basis than any previously

deployed Raptor squadron.

The squadron completed

over 590 sorties and more

than 4,600 flight hours,

dropping 4,250lb (1,928kg)

of ordnance and ‘deterring’

587 enemy aircraft.

During their stay in

Europe, four Raptors visited

Kleine Brogel on October

17 to conduct local DACT

with F-16s from the Belgian

Air Component. These

comprised four Fighting

Falcons from 10 Wing at

Kleine Brogel using the

callsigns ‘Tiger 31-34’

and pair of 2 Wing jets

from Florennes (‘Sting

21/22’). All eight aircraft

returned to Kleine Brogel

after the training.

F-22A 09-

‘FF’ of the 97th

FS touches down

on Kleine Brogel’s

runway 23R for the

Raptor’s fi rst visit to

the base. Rolf Flinzner

US AIR Force Secretary

Heather Wilson confirmed

that Boeing will miss

the agreed delivery date

for its KC-46A Pegasus

aerial refuelling tanker.

The first Pegasus tankers

were due to be handed

over on October 2 7. Wilson

told reporters that air force

officials would meet the

company “to try to lay

down the path forward

for delivery and to make

sure the deficiencies that

have been identified are

taken care of in a way

that brings that aircraft

in as promised”.

The first 18 of 179

KC-46As on order were

originally to be delivered

in summer last year,

but this slipped to the

end of 2017 and then

to October this year.

While the Pegasus still

has unresolved problems

with its aerial refuelling

system, the delivery delay

was caused by the need

to wait for certification

from the Federal Aviation

Administration (FA A)

approving the aircraft’s

refuelling and mission

avionics system. Boeing

plans to deliver the first

aircraft in the fourth quarter

of the year. To date, four

aircraft have completed

FA A certification and are

now awaiting handover.

The Pegasus began

its first overseas trip

on October 23 when an

example flew from Edwards

Air Force Base, California,

to Yokota Air Base, Japan,

via an intermediate stop

at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

The mission was part

of an integrated system

evaluation, to test the

aircraft’s suitability for

worldwide operations.

The ten-day evaluation

examined equipment

interoperability,

supportability, defensive

capability and operational

capability of the Pegasus in

an operational environment.

The KC-46 test fleet

includes five ‘all-up’ aircraft

with refuelling gear and

one basic 767-2C without

this equipment installed.

KC-46 misses delivery deadline

Above: Test crew disembark KC-46A N462KC (c/n 41275) at Minot AFB, North Dakota, on September 17. The

tanker was conducting experimental fl ights with Minot’s fl eet of B-52Hs. USAF/Staff Sergeant Steven M Adkins

8th AF in

force for

Combat

Raider 19-

FOR THE first time, aircrew

from all 8th Air Force

bases – B-1B, B-2A and

B-52H bombers – flew

over the Powder River

Training Complex during

Combat Raider 19-

at Ellsworth Air Force

Base, South Dakota,

from October 16-18.

The exercise involved

simulated air strikes

co-ordinated with Joint

Tactical Air Controllers

(JTACs) from the Royal

Canadian Armed Forces

and from Joint Base Lewis-

McChord, Washington.

The Powder River

Training Complex is the

largest dedicated military

training space in the

continental US. Combat

Raider 19-1 also involved

tankers from McConnell

AFB, Kansas, and

Robbins AFB, Georgia;

E-8s from Tinker AFB,

Oklahoma; and HH-60Gs

from the South Dakota

Air National Guard.

Raptor DACT in Europe