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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #361 APRIL 2018 // 13
Montenegro
buys three
Bell 412s
THE MONTENEGRIN
defence ministry signed
a contract for three Bell
412 helicopters with the
Canadian Commercial
Corporation (CCC)
on January 30.
One will be a 412EP
version and the other
pair 412EPIs with glass
cockpits and electronically
controlled engines.
The 412EP, with PT6T-3DF
engines, will be delivered
in the first quarter of this
year and the 412EPIs in
the fourth quarter. They
will be financed through
a €30m loan provided to
the government by CCC.
Montenegro currently
operates 13 SA341H/
SA342L Gazelles at
Golubovci air base.
Aleksandar Radić
A RARE visitor to RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, on January 31, this C-130E, 70-01610, transited
through the base for an overnight stop on its return to Turkey from the US. The Hercules
continued its journey with the callsign ‘TUAF402’. Its operator is 222 Filo of the Türk Hava
Kuvvetleri (THK, Turkish Air Force), based at Kayseri-Erkilet. Justin WardDenmark seeks sonar
for Seahawks
Spain to upgrade CH-47Ds to CH-47F standard
SPAIN IS planning to
proceed with a programme
to upgrade its 17 CH-47D
Chinook helicopters
to CH-47F standard.
Proposals were announced
in 2015, when it was stated
that the work would begin
in 2017, but delays in
approval have prevented
this from starting.However, the upgrade
is one of seven projects
for which the Ministry of
Defence is now seeking
approval from the Council
of Ministers. Once the
go-ahead is given, the
project can move forward
this year, giving these
elderly helicopters up to 30
more years’ operational life.Spain’s Fuerzas
Aeromóviles del Ejército
de Tierra (FAMET, Spanish
Army Airmobile Forces)
originally took delivery of
ten CH-47C models from
December 1972, adding
nine commercial BV
Chinooks to the fleet from
January 1982. Following
approval at the end of 1989,all nine BV414s and the nine
surviving CH-47Cs were
upgraded to CH-47Ds.
One CH-47D has since
been lost, leaving a fleet of- They are operated by
Batallón de Helicópteros
de Transporte V (BHELTRA
V, Transport Helicopter
Battalion 5) at Colmenar
Viejo. Dave Allport
Ted Carlson
DANISH MEDIA reports
suggest the Flyvevåbnet
(Royal Danish Air Force,
RDAF) will introduce sonar
on some of its MH-60Rhelicopters. Its Eskadrille
723 at Karup operates
seven Seahawks and is due
to receive its final two later
this year. The requirementfor an improved anti-
submarine capability has
been driven by a perceived
increased underwater threat
from Russia in the Balticand around Greenland.
Currently the Danish
MH-60R lacks a dipping
sonar, disposable weapons
or sonobuoy systems.Turkish Hercules at Mildenhall
Greece to
lease seven
Heron
UAVs
GREECE WILL lease
seven Israel Aerospace
Industry (IAI) Heron
medium-altitude long-
endurance (MALE)
unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) for
three years, to enhance
intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance
(ISR) capabilities in
the Aegean Sea.
The decision was
reported in the Greek
media after a session
of the Special Standing
Committee on Armament
Programmes and
Contracts on February 1.
The committee was
briefed on the planned
€35.5m lease agreement
between the Greek
defence ministry and
Israel, which will include
personnel training.
Reports also suggest the
ministry is seeking funds
for 15 to 20 MALE UAVs
through follow-on lease-
purchase agreements and
likely to be the larger and
more capable Heron TP.
A Heron UAV
demonstrated to the
Greek military at Aktion
air base in February 2012.
The Hellenic Air Force
currently relies on at least
four E1-79 Pegasus II
UAVs based at Larissa.
Igor Bozinovski