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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #363 JUNE 2018 // 7
from RAF Waddington,
Lincolnshire on April
- An unconfirmed
participant at the time
of writing was an E -11A
Battlefield Airborne
Communications
Node (BACN) of the
430th Expeditionary
Electronic Combat
Squadron operating
from an undisclosed
base in the region.
The refuelling
requirement for the
operation was met by
eight KC -135Rs of the
100th Air Refueling Wing
operating from their home
base of RAF Mildenhall,
Suffolk, and from Aviano,
three KC -10As of the
60th Air Mobility Wing
forward deployed to
Souda Bay, six Armée
de l’Air C -135FRs from
Avord and a single RAF
Voyager at Akrotiri. Avord
also launched a pair of
E-3Fs that conducted
command and control
throughout the operation.
Previously, on April
9, the Israeli Air Force
(IAF) launched an attack
on Syrian objectives,
apparently targeting
Iranian-operated military
sites in the country using
F-15Is armed with Delilah
standoff missiles. The
Russian defence ministry
claimed then that Syrian
air defences shot down
five of the eight missiles
launched by Israeli
jets. Similar reports
followed the trilateral
strikes five days later,
the Russian defence
ministry announcing that
71 cruise missiles had
been intercepted by Syrian
air defence systems.
According to US officials,
all the missiles hit their
intended targets “without
interference” and the
operation was said to have
effectively eliminated the
Syrian Army’s chemical
weapon capability.
F-35 Lightning II completes SDD
Above: Test pilot Peter Wilson conducts the fi nal SDD test fl ight in F-35C CF-2 on April 11. The F-35C completed a mission
to collect loads data while carrying external 2,000lb GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and AIM-9X Sidewinder
missiles. Lockheed Martin
THE F-35 programme
completed the final
developmental flight test
as part of its System
Development and
Demonstration (SDD) phase
on April 11. Lockheed
Martin, which describes
the flight test programme
the “most comprehensive
in aviation histor y”,
concluded SDD with a
sortie by US Navy F-35C
CF-2 at Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Maryland.
The jet flew a mission to
collect loads data while
carrying external stores.
“Completing F-35 SDD
flight test is the culmination
of years of hard work and
dedication from the joint
government and industry
team,” said VADM Mat
Winter, F-35 Program
Executive Of ficer. “Since
the first flight of A A-1 in2006, the developmental
flight test programme has
operated for more than
11 years mishap-free,
conducting more than
9,200 sorties, accumulating
over 17,000 flight hours,
and executing more than
65,000 test points to verify
the design, durability,
software, sensors,
weapons capability
and performance for all
three F-35 variants.”
Work completed by F-
test teams cleared the way
for the Lightning II’s Block
3F software capability to
be delivered to operational
US Air Force units. The
test team conducted six
at-sea detachments and
performed more than 1,
vertical landing tests on the
F-35B. The developmental
flight test team completed
183 weapons separationtests, 46 weapons delivery
accuracy tests and 33
mission effectiveness tests,
which included a ‘capstone’
multi-ship mission of eight
F-35s in a large-force
exercise last October.
The SDD phase will
formally be completed
following Initial Operational
Te st and Evaluation (IOT&E)
and a Department of
Defense decision to launch
full-rate production. IOT&E
is scheduled to begin in
September. Meanwhile,
F-35 flight testing
continues in support
of the Joint Program
Office’s Continuous
Capability Development
and Delivery (C2D2)
improvement programme.
In related news, the US
Department of Defense
recently stopped accepting
most F-35 deliveries.Lockheed Martin confirmed
on April 11 that the delivery
pause was the result of
a contractual issue –
reportedly a dispute over
covering costs for fixing a
production error. It was not
clear when the suspension
of deliveries began or
if it had been lifted as
AFM went to press.Indian Air Force releases new fi ghter RFI
THE LATEST stage in
the saga to provide the
Indian Air Force (IAF)
with a new fighter saw a
request for information
(RFI) issued on April 6.
The 72-page document
calls for details of vendors’
willingness to provide
sensitive technologies,
documentation,
training facilities and
performance guarantees.
Previous RFIs were issued
in 2004 (for the abortive
126-aircraft Medium Multi-
Role Combat Aircraft)
and last October (at thattime seeking 100-
single-engine fighters).
The Indian Ministry
of Defence’s latest RFI
involves planned acquisition
of 110 multi-role combat
aircraft under the ‘Make in
India’ initiative. Responses
from original equipment
manufacturers are due by
July 6. This is scheduled
to be followed by a request
for proposals (RFP) to
vendors meeting the
MoD’s requirements. This
could be issued as early
as the end of the year.
Key requirements of theRFI include a capability for
air superiority missions at
20,000ft (6,096m), lo-lo-
lo ground strike (ingress,
strike and egress at 492ft
[150m]) and anti-shipping
strikes. The new document
does not exclude twin-
engined fighters.
The RFI was welcomed by
officials from Boeing and
Lockheed Martin, while Jan
Widerström, Chairman Saab
India, declared that the
Gripen E “will be the leading
contender for any fighter
programme being planned
by the Indian government”.Final Indian
C-17A under
contract
BOEING HAS been
awarded a $262m
Foreign Military Sales
contract to provide the
final unsold C-17A to
India. Announced by
the Pentagon on March
30, the not-to-exceed
undefinitised contract
action will bring the Indian
Air Force Globemaster
III fleet to 11 aircraft.
Work is expected to be
complete by August 2019.
India placed an initial
order for ten C-17As in
January 2010 and formal
contract signature was
announced in June 2011.
The last of these was
delivered in December- US State
Department approval
for India to purchase the
final ‘white tail’ C-17A
was granted on June
26 last year. Indian
Defence Ministry approval
for the purchase was
granted last December.