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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 11

Belgium

selects

MQ-9B

THE BELGIAN defence

ministry has chosen the

General Atomics MQ-9B

SkyGuardian variant of

the Predator B to meet the

Belgian Air Component’s

requirement for a

medium-altitude, long-

endurance unmanned

aerial vehicle (UAV). The

plan to acquire up to six

examples of the drone

was confirmed to media

by Belgian Defence

Minister Steven Vandeput.

The planned

procurement is expected

to cost at least $278m and

the US drone was chosen

ahead of the Israeli Heron

TP. The first two systems

would replace 13 IAI

B-Hunter UAVs that were

acquired from Israel in

2002 and are planned to

arrive in Belgium by the

end of 2021. A further

four systems could be

purchased before 2030.

The MQ-9Bs would

be optionally armed.

The MQ-9B purchase is

still subject to approval

by the Belgian Council of

Ministers and is likely to

face political opposition.

Six Lasta trainers

delivered to Serbia

Above: One of the new Serbian V-54 Lastas during the

induction ceremony at Batajnica. Serbian Ministry of Defence

SIX NEW UTVA V-54 Lasta 95

training aircraft have entered

Ratno vazduhoplovstvo

i protivvazduhoplovna

odbrana (RV i PVO, Serbian

Air Force and Air Defence)

service. They were

formally inducted during

a ceremony at Batajnica

air base on March 19.

The aircraft will be

operated by 252. školsko

trenažna avijacijska

eskadrila (252nd Education

and Training Aviation

Squadron) at Batajnica.

The RV i VPO announced

an order for 15 V-54s in

December 2010. Only

four months after the initial

delivery, the first production

aircraft was lost in a crash in

September 2012, which killed

one crew member and injured

the other. After ongoing

problems, the type has finally

begun operational service.

The remaining eight aircraft

on order will be introduced

in mid-2018. Dave Allport

The Super Hercules involved in the debut Barkhane mission was C-130J-30 serial 5836 (c/n

5836) ‘61-PO’, the fi rst to be delivered. Eric Dubois/Armée de l’Air

French C-130J fl ies Opération

Barkhane mission

Italian F-35A Lightning II

enters service

THE AERONAUTICA

Militare (AM, Italian

Air Force) has

formally introduced

the F-35A within the

country’s national air

defence network.

From March 1, Lightning

IIs of the 32° Stormo at

Amendola air base have

been a fully operational

component of the

Servizio di Sorveglianza

dello Spazio Aereo

(SSSA, Airspace

Surveillance Service).

The 32° Stormo is the

first unit in Europe to

acquire the Joint Strike

Fighter. As well as AM

F-35A operations, the unit

carries out operational,

training and technical

activities for the air arm’s

Predator remotely piloted

aircraft fleet and trains

RPA pilots in the MB339.

Below: A 32° Stormo F-35A

is prepared to scramble

during an exercise at

Amendola air base in

southern Italy. AM

Marco Rossi

Final Slovak Spartan

takes to the air

THE SECOND and last

C -27J Spartan for the

Vzdušných síl Ozbrojené

sily Slovenskej Republiky

(VVzS OS SR, Air Arm

of the Armed Forces

of the Slovak Republic)

completed its maiden flight

on February 26 at Turin-

Caselle Airport, home of

Leonardo’s final assembly

line for the Spartan. Serial

1962 – which wears the

temporary experimental

registration CSX62306 –

landed soon after suffering

a technical issue while

climbing out of the airfield.

Following the completion

of tests, delivery of the

airlifter is expected in

the first half of the year.

Slovakia ordered two

Spartans on October

29, 2014, as part of a

deal including initial

logistic support and

training for crews and

maintenance personnel.

They will replace the

An-26s (retired in 2016)

and complement the

L- 410 s operated by the

General Milana Rastislava

Štefánika Transport

Wing at Kuchyňa.

The first C -27J, serial

1931, first flew last August

7 and was delivered in

October. Marco Rossi

THE NEW C -130J

airlifter of the Armée de

l’Air (French Air Force)

has completed a first

logistics mission outside

metropolitan France. The

aircraft departed Base

Aérienne 123 Orléans-

Bricy on March 20 and

arrived at N’Djamena in

Chad, before heading to

Niamey, Niger to support

the French military effort

in sub-Saharan Africa –

Opération Barkhane.

The trials mission was

to validate the aircraft’s

bility to transport freight

and passengers and was

conducted jointly by the

Centre d’Expériences

Aériennes Militaires

(CEAM) flight-test centre,

Escadron de Transport

2/61 ‘Franche-Comté’

and the C -130 Escadron

de Soutien Technique

Aéronautique (ESTA ,

aeronautical technical

support squadron).

On all stages of the

mission in the sub-Saharan

region, the C -130J was

close to its maximum

load of 18.7 tonnes.

France will receive a total

of four Super Hercules

aircraft – two C-130J-

airlifters and two KC -130J

tankers – via Foreign

Military Sales channels.

The first C-130J-30 was

delivered to BA 123 on

December 22 last year (see

First French C-130J-

delivered, February,

p10). Final deliveries are

expected next year.