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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 11

Above: ARM Mi-17 serial 303 from the Petrovec-based

Skvadron na transportni helikopteri (Transport Helicopters

Squadron) carries the fl ag of the Republic of Macedonia

while overfl ying Skopje in April as part of the Macedonian

Army Open Day. Igor Bozinovski

A NEW agreement

between Greece and

Macedonia could lead

to name changes for

institutions in Macedonia,

including the military. If

confirmed, the Army

of the Republic of

Macedonia (Armija na

Republika Makedonija,

ARM) will become the

Army of the Republic

of North Macedonia

(Armija na Republika

Severna Makedonija,

ARSM). At the same

time, the air support, air

defence and airspace

surveillance segment of

the ARM, currently known

as the Aviation Brigade

(Vozduhoplovna brigada,

vbr), will become the North

Macedonia Air Force

(Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo

na Severna Makedonija).

The agreement signed

on June 17 aims to end

a decades-long dispute

over Macedonia’s name.

Under the deal, the

Republic of Macedonia

(Republika Makedonija)

agreed to change its

name to the Republic

of North Macedonia

(Republika Severna

Makedonija). With this,

it hopes to overcome

Athens’ long-standing

blockade of Macedonia’s

integration into NATO and

the EU. This is based

on Greek assertions that

the name ‘Macedonia’

implies a claim on the

northern Greek province

also called Macedonia.

Before Macedonia

officially changes its

current constitutional

name, the agreement

will need to be signed

off by the Macedonian

and Greek parliaments

and may also require

approval in a referendum

that Macedonia plans

to organise later this

year. Igor Bozinovski

Macedonian

Air Force heads

for name change

Final Spanish Tigre HAD-E under test

Above: HA.28-24-10100 lands at Albacete after a test fl ight with Mistral missiles. Roberto Yáñez
THE LAST Spanish Tigre
HAD-E for the Fuerzas
Aeromóviles del Ejército
de Tierra (FAME T, Army
Airmobile Forces),
HA.28-24-10100 (E T-
724), began flight trials
at Airbus Helicopters’
Albacete facility in mid-
June. It will be handed
over to the Batallón de
Helicópteros de Ataque I

(BHELA I, Attack Helicopter

Battalion 1) based at

Almagro, Ciudad Real.

The last four helicopters

from the 18 brand-new

Tigre HAD-Es ordered by

the FAMET will be handed

over between now and the

end of next year, joining

14 HAD-E models already

in service and six HAPs

received directly from

Airbus Helicopters’ plant

at Marignane, France.

These final Spanish

Tigres include HA.28-23-

10073 (ET-723), which was

actually the last production

Tigre HAD-E assembled

in Albacete (E T-724 is

the HAD-E prototype). It

is scheduled to make

its maiden flight this

summer. Roberto Yáñez

German rotary training

fl eet complete

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

has handed over the fifth

and final H135 for the

Bundeswehr (German

Armed Forces), the company

announced on June 12. The

Bundesamt für Ausrüstung,

Informationstechnik und

Nutzung der Bundeswehr

(BAAINBw, German Federal

Office for Bundeswehr

Equipment, Information

Technology and In-Service

Support) is leasing the

helicopters for initial and

recurrent pilot training.

The five H135s join 14

EC135T1s, which have

been in service for training

with the Bundeswehr’s

Internationales

Hubschrauberausbildung-

szentrum (International

Helicopter Training Centre)

at Bückeburg since 2000,

in which time they’ve

accumulated more than

100,000 flight hours. An

EC135T1 attrition loss

occurred on March 3, 2005.

Above: Alongside the H135/EC135T1, the Bundeswehr makes use of Bell 206B-3 D-HMFC, one
of six operated under contract by Motorfl ug. They are used for autorotation training of future
German Armed Forces helicopter pilots at Bückeburg. Timm Ziegenthaler

Above: The tenth Italian Air Force F-35A completed its maiden fl ight on June 14. Aircraft
MM7360 ‘32-10’ (AL-10) took to the air at Cameri, chased by a 36° Stormo F-2000A. It will be
delivered to the 32° Stormo’s 13° Gruppo at Amendola. Paolo Rollino
FOUR F-35A fighters of
the Aeronautica Militare
(AM, Italian Air Force) have
made a first deployment
from their home base
at Amendola. The 13°
Gruppo/32° Stormo
Lightning IIs redeployed
to Rivolto air base, in
northern Italy, from where
they flew daily sorties
to the Polygon range in

Germany. The week-long

Operation Lightning began

when the fighters touched

down at Rivolto on June

8, after which they were

supported by the resident

2° Stormo and an advance

party from Amendola. The

fighters also operated

against Spada surface-

to-air missiles from

the resident wing. On

average, the jets flew six

sorties a day. Around 70

personnel from the two

AM wings were involved,

before the exercise

concluded on June 15.

The AM described

the deployment as an

“important step towards

initial operational

capability of the new

weapon system.”

Italian F-35A progresses towards IOC