combat aircraft

to-air, air/land and air/maritime
integration missions.
Five CF-188s from the RCAF’s
425 Tactical Fighter Squadron
that arrived at the Constanta base
were deployed from 3 Wing/CFB
Bagotville, Quebec, and will be
responsible for the mission through
December. The mission is part of
Operation ‘Reassurance’, Canada’s
contribution to NATO assurance and
deterrence measures in central and
eastern Europe.
A detachment of four Luftwa e
Euro ghter EF2000s replaced four
French Air Force Mirage 2000-5Fs
and assumed responsibility for
augmenting the NATO Baltic Air
Policing mission during a ceremony
at Ämari air base, Estonia, on
August 30. The Mirages, which
were detached by Escadron de
Chasse 1/2 ‘Cigognes’, returned to
BA116 Luxeuil. The Euro ghters,
which are assigned to Taktisches
Luftwa engeschwader 74 (74th
Tactical Air Force Wing) at Neuburg,
Germany, will support the mission

from the base in north-western

Estonia for two rotations through

April 2019. It marks Germany’s

fourth time as augmenting nation

and its ninth contribution to the

mission. The French Mirages had

been carrying out the mission

since May.

The lead role of the mission was

transferred from the Portuguese

Air Force’s Esquadra 301 to a

detachment from the Belgian Air

Component at Šiauliai air base,

Lithuania on August 31. The Belgian

F-16AM detachment is supported

by both 2 Tactical Wing at Florennes

and 10 Tactical Wing at Kleine

Brogel. This is the seventh time that

Belgian F-16s have deployed for the

NATO mission. A Spanish Air Force

Euro ghter Typhoon detachment of

six jets and personnel from Ala 11 at

Morón air base was also deployed

at Šiauliai.

The Baltic Air Policing mission was

established in 2004 when Lithuania,

Latvia and Estonia joined NATO.

A second detachment has been

augmenting the mission from Estonia

since 2014.

NATO Air Policing is a ‘24/7’

collective peacetime mission

overseen by Allied Air Command and

tactically controlled by two combined

air operations centers at Uedem,

Germany and Torrejón, Spain.

Four Italian Air Force F-2000A

Typhoons arrived at Iceland’s

Ke avík air base and assumed

responsibility for the Icelandic Air

Policing mission on September 4.

The deployment represents the

third time that the Italian Air Force

has taken on the tasking. For the

past 10 years, NATO air arms have

typically conducted around three

deployments annually to support

the peacetime defensive mission,

which is overseen by Allied Air

Command in Ramstein, Germany

and supported by the northern

combined air operations center. The

deployments normally last three to

four weeks. Tom Kaminski

Four Italian Air Force F-2000As have arrived at Kefl avík to begin help

ensure the safety of Iceland’s airspace from September 4. The Italian

pilots will provide intercept capabilities and train together with the

Icelandic Coast Guard and the NATO Control and Reporting Center.

Aeronautica Militare

CANADIAN HELICOPTERS

BEGIN OPERATIONS IN MALI

THE CANADIAN ARMED Forces

(CAF) joint task force aviation

detachment achieved full

operational capability (FOC) in

Mali on August 15. It conducted

its  rst mission the same day

when it ferried Dutch soldiers

to a village around 62 miles

(100km) north-east of its base in

Gao. The aviation detachment is

comprised of  ve CH-146 Gri on

and three CH-147F Chinook

helicopters from 450 and 408

Tactical Helicopter Squadrons.

It declared initial operational

capability in Mali on August

1 when one Chinook and two

Gri ons were placed on ‘24/7’

stand-by to respond to medical

evacuations. The last of the

Gri ons arrived in Mali on August

25. The deployment marks the
     rst time the CH-146 and CH-
    have deployed been together
    under a concept developed in


26. Tom Kaminski

SUPER TUCANO

CONTRACT AWARDED

SIERRA NEVADA CORPORATION

has received a  ve-year extension

to a foreign military sales contract

that covers the purchase and

sustainment of the A-29B light

attack aircraft for Afghanistan.

Work on the contract will be

carried out at Moody Air Force

Base, Georgia, and facilities at

Kabul, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-

Sharif in Afghanistan. The deal

could be worth $1.8 billion

through December 2024.

Tom Kaminski

FRANCE ADDS REAPERS

GENERAL ATOMICS

AERONAUTICAL Systems has

received a $123-million contract

from the Air Force Life Cycle

Management Center covering the

construction and delivery of two

MQ-9A Block 5 systems to France.

The foreign military sales contract

covers the third and fourth Reaper

systems for France. Tom Kaminski

An Afghan Air Force A-29 takes off for a mission from Kandahar

Airfi eld, Afghanistan, last December. USAF/SSgt Sean Martin

A CH-146 Griffon helicopter takes off from

Camp Castor in Gao, Mali during Operation

‘Presence’ on August 14. Cpl Ken Beliwicz

WORLD [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // November 2018 19