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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #358 JANUARY 2018 // 25
First
Lebanese
Super
Tucanos
delivered
LEBANON HAS taken
delivery of its first two
A-29Bs. The light attack
aircraft were handed
over during a ceremony
at Hamat Air Base,
Lebanon, on October- They had arrived
wearing US military serials
15-2021 and 15-2022,
using callsigns ‘Panther
11’ and ‘Panther 12’,
passing through Glasgow-
Prestwick Airport,
Scotland, on October 5
on their delivery flight.
The support aircraft was
Pilatus PC-12/47 N254DF
‘Panther 23’. They left
on the same date for
Munich, Germany for an
overnight stop, before
continuing to Venice,
Italy. The aircraft had
been scheduled to arrive
in Lebanon on October
6, but were delayed while
making a further stop at
Souda Bay, Crete, from
where they completed
the final leg of their
journey on October 9.
Six of the type are on
order for the Lebanese Air
Force (LAF) through Sierra
Nevada Corporation,
which was awarded a
$172.5m USAF Foreign
Military Sales (FMS)
contract to supply the
aircraft on October 30, - The acquisition is
also expected to include
two spare engines, eight
ALE-47 countermeasures
dispensing systems,
2,000 Advanced
Precision Kill Weapon
Systems (APKWS),
eight AN/AAR-60(V)2
missile launch detection
systems and embedded
GPS/INS (EGIs).
The LAF commander
said at the ceremony
that Lebanon is looking
to double this capability
with planned acquisition
of a further six A-29Bs.
The first two had been
delivered to Moody Air
Force Base, Georgia, by
March 2017 to commence
LAF aircrew training with
the USAF’s 81st Fighter
Squadron, the A-29 Light
Air Support training unit.
The remaining four are
all scheduled to arrive in
the country by the end
of 2018. Dave Allport
Ralph BlokQatar buys
Typhoon and
adds Rafales
Above: RAF Typhoon FGR4 ZK311 and Qatari Emiri Air Force Mirage 2000-5EDA QA91 take part in a joint exercise from Al
Udeid Air Base in November 2017. Four Typhoons fl own by pilots from No 29 (Reserve) Squadron, from RAF Coningsby,
Lincolnshire, were involved. MOD/Crown Copyright
BAE SYSTEMS and Qatar
have signed a deal for
24 Typhoon fighters with
deliveries expected to
commence in late 2022.
The contract, valued
at approximately £6bn,
includes support,
training and weapons.
The contract is subject to
financing conditions and
receipt by the company of
first payment, which are
expected to be fulfilled
no later than mid-2018.BAE Systems is the prime
contractor for both the
provision of the aircraft and
the agreed arrangements
for the in-service support
and initial training.
Charles Woodburn, BAE
Systems Chief Executive
said: “We are delighted to
begin a new chapter in the
development of a long-
term relationship with the
State of Qatar and the
Qatar armed forces, and
we look forward to workingalongside our customer as
they continue to develop
their military capability”.
The then UK Defence
Secretary Sir Michael
Fallon and his Qatari
counterpart, Khalid bin
Mohammed al Attiyah,
signed a statement of intent
(SOI) concerning Qatar’s
proposed purchase of 24
Typhoons and six Hawk
Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT)
from BAE Systems in Doha
on September 17, 2017(see Qatar signs statement
of intent for Typhoon,
November 2017, p6).
Meanwhile, Dassault
announced on December
7 that Qatar had exercised
its options for another 12
Rafales. Qatar ordered
24 Rafales (18 single-
seat Rafale EQs and six
two-seat DQs) under a
$7.6bn deal signed in
May 2015. Deliveries
of the original batch are
due to begin in 2018.AMSTERDAM SCHIPHOL
Airport received some
unusual visitors over the
weekend of November 4-5,- The two C-17As of
the Qatar Emiri Air Force
made a weekend stop to
pick up some Dutch horses.
A7-MAA (50209, F208,
QA1) arrived on November4 in very poor weather,
while the pictured A7-MAM
(50275/F274/QA5) arrived
the following morning after
a heavy rainstorm. Bothaircraft left Schiphol on
the evening of November- The operating unit is
12 Transport Squadron
at Al Udeid/Dohar AB.
Qatari Globemaster IIIs
visit Amsterdam