22 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// DECEMBER 2018 #369Asia Pacifi c
A line-up of eight of the PAF’s FA-50PHs, fl anked at each end by an S.211, during formal celebrations marking the arrival of
the FA-50PHs at the newly reopened Basa AB. PAFPhilippine Air Force re-forms 5th
Fighter Wing at Basa AB
FIGHTER OPERATIONS have
finally resumed at the newly
reopened Basa Air Base,
Pampanga, with the formal
return of the Philippine Air
Force’s (PAF’s) 5th Fighter
Wing (FW). A ceremony
was held at the base on
October 24 to mark the
arrival of the 12 FA-50PHs
of the 5th FW’s 7th Tactical
Fighter Squadron ‘Bulldogs’,
which had previously been
operating from Clark ABwhile awaiting completion of
new infrastructure at Basa.
The 5th FW also includes
the three surviving S.211s
of the 105th Combat Crew
Training Squadron (CCTS).
The 5th FW had not
existed as such since 2005,
when it was downgraded
following retirement of the
PAF’s F-5 Freedom Fighters.
Subsequently known as
the Air Defence Wing, it
became the 5th FighterGroup and then officially
regained its old title as the
5th FW on July 20 last year,
when Basa was formally
recommissioned as an active
air base. Initially, however, it
only housed the 105th CCTS
S.211s, while the FA-50PHs
remained at Clark. A newly
constructed four-bay hangar
for the wing, along with a
refurbished runway, have
now enabled the 7th TFS to
also move in. Dave AllportFirst locally upgraded F-16V
delivered to Taiwan
Above: The ROCAF is the world’s fi rst F-16V operator; most of the upgraded F-16s will equip the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing
(TFW) at Chiayi AFB and the Hualien-based 5th TFW. Formosa Military Press
THE FIRST F-16V to be
locally modified by the
Aerospace Industrial
Development Corporation
(AIDC) and Lockheed
Martin in Taichung has
been delivered. The jet,
single-seater serial 6626,
flew to Chiayi Air Force
Base on the afternoon
of October 19 where it
was handed over to the
Republic of China Air
Force (ROCAF). Under
the Phoenix Rising
deal, Lockheed Martin
provides assistance
and oversees the whole
upgrade process.
Lockheed modified two
F-16s (an F-16A and an
F-16B) in the US to serve
as prototypes for the
Taiwane se F-16V, and
the remainder are being
retrofitted by AIDC inTaiwan. On January 16 last
year the first four F-16s
to be upgraded locally
flew to AIDC in Taichung.
AIDC had completed
work on the first four
jets by last December.
Owing to delays in
software testing in the
US, these were the only
F-16s retrofitted in 2 017,
instead of a planned ten.
From this year, AIDC willupgrade 24 F-16s annually
until the conclusion of the
Phoenix Rising project in
2023, when the last of 141
F-16Vs will be redelivered- a quantity reduced by
attrition from the original
145 upgrades planned.
Ta xi tests of a first locally
modified jet began in
June this year and a first
flight test was carried out
at the end of August.
Six Thunders
reportedly
delivered
to Myanmar
AN INITIAL six Chengdu
JF-17Ms have reportedly
been delivered to the
Myanmar Air Force.
Precise details are
unconfirmed but
reports on social media
emerging on October 21
showed images of the
first aircraft operating
from Pathein (formerly
Bassein) air base. The
station comes under
control of the Western
Sector Operations Centre,
headquartered at Sittwe.
The aircraft, which
were shipped over in a
dismantled condition,
were ordered under
a contract signed in
November 2016. The
number of aircraft
involved was not made
public but is believed to
be 16. Dave AllportRoyal
Malaysian AirForce relief
efforts to Palu
A400M AND C-130
transports of the Royal
Malaysian Air Force
(RMAF) both supported
international relief efforts
to Palu following the
devastating earthquake
and subsequent tsunami
on September 28.
The RMAF undertook
humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief
missions to the stricken
city of Palu in central
Sulawesi, Indonesia. The
week-long operation
from October 4-10
involved a single A400M
and three C-130s.
Flying from its base
at Kuala Lumpur-
Subang, the No 22
Skuadron A400M landed
at Jakarta’s Halim
Perdanakusuma air base
on October 4, from where
it commenced the first
of two flights to Mutiara
SIS Al-Jufrie Airport
in Palu. The aircraft’s
short-field capability and
capacity to transport
heavy, outsize cargo
proved especially useful
in delivering a variety of
loads which included an
excavator and fuel trucks,
as well as food, drink
and medical supplies.
Also involved in the
relief efforts were two
C-130s from No 14
Skuadron at Labuan,
off Sabah, Borneo, and
another example from
No 20 Skuadron, also
based at Subang.
These aircraft staged
out of Balikpapan in
Kalimantan from where
they ferried Indonesian
police personnel to Palu
and evacuated tsunami
victims to Balikpapan,
in addition to delivering
essential relief supplies
and equipment.
Suresh Abraham