Subscribe to http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
for breaking news stories. E-mail the news team
at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 23
ROYAL JORDANIAN Air
Force (RJAF) M28-05
Skytruck serial 356, at
Southend Airport, Essex, on
June 2. The aircraft arrived
from Marseille Provence
Airport and was on a ferry
flight to Sierra Nevada
facilities in the US, where
it will undergo extensive
intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR)
modifications. The Skytruck
departed Southend for
Wick John O’Groats
Airport in Scotland.
This is the second RJAF
Skytruck to return to the US
for modifications, following
serial 355 which staged
through Southend on
August 19 last year during
its return to Jordan (see
First Jordanian Skytruck for
ISR conversion, October
2017, p21). The aircraft are
operated by 3 Squadron at
Colin Cooke Amman-Marka Air Base.Above: A Bahraini pilot completes his pre-fl ight checks in a C-130J at RAF Brize Norton. RAF/
No 24 Squadron
RBAF completes C-130J
training in the UK
CREWS FROM the Royal
Bahraini Air Force (RBAF)
have been converting
onto the C -130J with the
Royal Air Force’s No 24
Squadron at RAF Brize
Norton in Oxfordshire.
The four RBAF personnel,
including two pilots and
two loadmasters, began
their course at RAF
Cranwell, Lincolnshire,
where they spent six
months undergoing
multi-engine training
with No 45 Squadron.
This was followed by
another three months
of theoretical and
practical training with
No 24 Squadron.
The two pilots completed
their final three-hour
training sortie on May 9
under the guidance of
an RAF qualified flyinginstructor (QFI).The
RBAF personnel have
returned to Bahrain to
become the first trained
pilots for the C -130J,
ahead of the delivery of
their aircraft. A further
batch of RBAF pilots will
undergo co-pilot training
for approximately 11 weeks.
The bespoke Bahraini
Conversion Course was
provided by the RAF’s
Air Mobility Operational
Conversion Unit (AM OCU).
Last year it was revealed
that the RBAF is acquiring
at least two former RAF
Hercules C5s through a
government-to-government
contract. Marshall
Aerospace and Defence
Group is preparing RBAF
serials 701 (ZH880) and
702 (ZH886) for delivery at
its facility in Cambridge.Israel unveils Rampage missile
ISRAELI MILITARY Industries
Systems (IMI Systems) and
Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI) have unveiled a jointly
developed air-to-surface
missile known as Rampage.
Described by the companies
as a “long-range assault
missile”, the supersonic
weapon is an air-launched
derivative of the IMI Systems
ground-launched Extended
Range Artillery (EXTRA)
guided artillery rocket.
In a press release, IMI
noted that the GPS-
guided missile was:
“Developed in response to
a clear operational need
of the future battlefield,
as a ‘counter weapon’,
dropped from outside
the area protected by
anti-air [missiles].”
It is intended for use
against heavily defended
targets including command
centres, airfields,
maintenance centres,
infrastructure and high-
value field targets.
To date, the Rampage
has been tested to clear
it for air launch and,
while there are still more
operational employment
tests to be undertaken,
the weapon is considered
ready for production for an
undisclosed customer.Jordanian M28 heads to the US
Initial photos of the
Rampage show it being
launched from an Israeli
Air Force F-16I, but it’s
reported primary use is to
arm the F-35A Adir. IAI