20 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// AUGUST 2018 #Africa
India donates second
Do 228 to Seychelles
Above: Seychelles Air Force Do 228 SY-011 is handed over to the President of the Republic of
Seychelles, Danny Faure, by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, at Bengaluru on
June 26. HAL
INDIA’S HINDUSTAN
Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
has delivered a HAL Do
228 to the Republic of
Seychelles – ahead of
schedule. The aircraft
is intended for coastal
surveillance and policing
the Seychelles’ exclusive
economic zone (EEZ). HAL
has also provided training
for pilots and maintainers.
The Do 228 is equipped
with a surveillance
radar, forward-looking
infrared sensor, satellite
communication, traffic
collision and avoidance
system, enhanced ground
proximity warning system
and other sensors.
The then Indian defence
minister, A K Antony,
announced plans to donate
a single Do 228 to the
Seychelles as part of a $5m
military support package in
July 2010. An Indian CoastGuard aircraft was loaned
in February 2011 and
continued to operate until
a newly built replacement,
serial SY- 010, was handed
over on January 31, 2013
and ferried to Mahé on
April 27 of the same year.
Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced
supply of a second Do 228
in March 2015. Contracts
for its supply were signed
in March last year.Update on NAF Do 228 refurbishment
THE NIGERIAN Air Force
(NAF) has provided an
update on the status of three
Dornier 228s acquired from
the Nigerian Immigration
Service (NIS) Air Border
Patrol Unit. During a visit to
Kaduna on June 4, the Chief
of the Air Staff, Air Marshal
Sadique Abubakar, was
shown the extent of progress
on refurbishing these aircraft.
One of the ex-NIS aircraft
is heavily corroded and
has been declared beyond
economical repair. The other
two were deemed repairable
after preliminary inspections
by NAF engineers at 431
Engineering Group, NAF
Base Kaduna. One of the
pair had been at Kaduna
Civil Airport but has since
been ferried to the military
base at Kaduna after initial
maintenance. To minimise
corrosion, the faded paint
schemes on both aircraft
have been replaced and they
are now in NAF camouflage,
with new serials NAF
and NAF038, which follow
on from the last of the
current NAF Dornier 228s.
It is presumed that NAF
was originally allocated for
the third aircraft that is no
longer entering service.
The three aircraft comprise
Srs 100 5N-AUW (c/n 7018),
plus Srs 101s 5N-AUY
(c/n 7116) and 5N-AUZ
(c/n 7167), but tie-ups to
their new NAF serials are
unknown, nor is it confirmed
which of the three is the
badly corroded example.
The two being made
operational are awaiting
spares and other equipment
so mandatory outstanding
scheduled inspections can
be completed before they
enter service. Dave AllportBotswana acquires
replacement C
A SECOND-HAND CASA
212-400 is being acquired
by the Botswana Defence
Force-Air Wing (BDF-AW)
to replace a C212-
written-off on February 9
last year, shortly after take-
off from Thebephatshwa
Air Base, killing all three
crew – see Attrition, April- The replacement
aircraft, OC3/N761CA
(c/n 466), was noted
on June 16 at Lanseria
International Airport,
South Africa, during a pre-
delivery test flight. Fully
painted in BDF-AW colours
and markings, but with
its civil registration still
applied, it was expected
to be delivered a few days
later. The aircraft was
manufactured in 1998
and originally delivered
to the Suriname Air
Force as SAF-212 on
December 13, 1998. It was
eventually sold to Wake
Forest, North Carolina-
based US company
Fayard Enterprises, to
which it was registered
on December 12, 2014.
It was then stored at
Wake Forest while being
offered for sale with
only 472 flight hours in
its logbook. Following
sale to Botswana, it was
ferried to South Africa to
be prepared for service
and arrived at O R Tambo
International Airport,
Johannesburg, on February
16 this year. Dave AllportAngola
operating
ex-Swiss
Alouette III
A NUMBER of former
Swiss Air Force Alouette
IIIs are likely to have
entered service with the
Força Aérea Nacional de
Angola (FANA, Angolan Air
Force). One example now
operating with the FABA
is H-249. Its origin was
unknown when it was first
noted in service in March
2014, but it has recently
been identified as c/n
1329, which was formerly
with the Swiss Air Force
as V-218. Dave AllportMorocco
considers
T
purchase
MOROCCO IS looking
to purchase Turkish
Aerospace Industries (TAI)
T129 ATAK helicopters,
according to local
reports. It is reported
that a Moroccan military
delegation recently
visited TAI to begin
negotiations about the
possible acquisition.
It is as yet unknown
how many T129s
Morocco is planning to
purchase. Dave AllportEthiopian Hercules handover
THE US officially delivered
C -130E transport serial
1564 (62-1858) to the
Ethiopian Air Force on
June 7. According to
the local US Embassy,
the Hercules: “...
will further enhance
Ethiopia’s capacity to
play a vital role in regional
peacekeeping missions,enabling Ethiopia to move
humanitarian supplies
where they are needed
in a timely manner and
protect the lives of civilians
in conflict areas”.
The former US Air Force
C -130E was first seen
in Ethiopia in 2014, but
was likely operated on a
loan basis until its formalhandover in June. The
official delivery certificate
identified the aircraft
(erroneously) as ‘62-156 4’.
Above: US Ambassador
Michael Raynor during a
ceremony to deliver the
C-130E on behalf of the US
government to Ethiopian Air
Force chief General Adem
Mohammed. AFRICOMAbove: One of the former Immigration Service Dornier 228s,
repainted in Nigerian Air Force colours and with the new
serial NAF038. NAF