Defence company QinetiQ is receiving eight
new aircraft for its Empire Test Pilots’ School
(ETPS) work at MoD Boscombe Down,
Wiltshire.
The new eet will include a pair of Pilatus
PC-21s, which are expected to be delivered
from the factory at Stans, Switzerland,
within the next few months. The PC-21s
are replacing QinetiQ’s Hawk T1s and
Alpha Jets. The nal examples of the latter
retired in January, but QinetiQ’s Operations
Director, Nick Lay, commented: “It is not
the end for the aircraft, as we will seek new
owners over the next few months and there
is every chance they will y again. It’s the
end of an era, but equally the start of a new
and very exciting one for [the] ETPS and its
customers.”
The latest delivery, announced on March
23, was G-ETPG, the rst of four Airbus
Helicopters H125s (previously designated
AS350 B3e). Already in full ETPS
colours, it entered service under the newlyestablished QinetiQ Civil Flying Organisation
(QCFO), which for the rst time allows the
company to operate civil-registered aircraft
independently of other agencies. Previously
all QinetiQ aircraft ew with military serials.The remaining three H125s are set to be
delivered in 2018-2019. Other new aircraft
include a pair of Grob G 120TP-As, which
arrived from the factory in Germany wearing
full ETPS colours late in 2017. Dave AllportQinetiQ’s rst H125, G-ETPG at Boscombe Down on February 25. Its arrival with the unit was
officially announced a month later. QinetiQNew Aircraft
Fleet for
QinetiQ
MILITARY NEWS
8 Aviation News incorporating Jets May 2018Display Jet Crashes
Claim Two Lives
Two separate fatal accidents involving
military demonstration team aircraft have
occurred during the run-up to the new
airshow season. Corporal Jonathan
Bayliss an engineer with the RAF’s Red
Arrows was killed when the Hawk T
(XX204) he was ying in crashed at RAF
Valley at approximately 13:30hrs on March- The aircraft’s pilot ejected before the
crash and survived.
Across the Atlantic, a F-16C Fighting
Falcon of the USAF’s Thunderbirds team
crashed on April 4 during a routine aerial
demonstration training ight over the
Nevada Test and Training Range from
Nellis AFB, where the team is based. The
pilot, Major Stephen Del Bagno, was killed
in the incident. A statement from the USAF
issued the following day said: “The team’s
participation at the March Air Reserve
Base ‘The March Field Air & Space Expo’
has been cancelled. It is unknown how
this accident will impact the remainder of
the 2018 Thunderbirds Season.”
Investigations into both crashes are
ongoing.The Chilean Air Force has received the rst
two of an additional six EMB-314 Super
Tucanos from Embraer. Although theiracquisition has not been officially announced,
the pair was seen at the company’s São
José dos Campos facility, São Paulo state,on March 6 and again during a technical
stopover two days later at Foz do Iguaçu
International Airport in Brazil’s Paraná state.
The two – FACh 463 and FACh 464 –
were accompanied by Lockheed KC-130R
Hercules FACh 990. After the stopover
in Paraná, the aircraft continued to Los
Cóndores air base in Iquique, home of
Grupo de Aviación No.1 (1st Aviation Group).
Embraer announced three rm orders for
18 Super Tucanos last year; Afghanistan and
the Philippines were con rmed as customers
for six aircraft each, but the client for the
remaining six was not disclosed.
The FACh took on 12 similar EMB-314s in
2008, and the remaining four from the latest
order will be delivered this year.Although this Embraer Super Tucano is wearing the Brazilian civil registration, it is one of the six
examples ordered by the Chilean Government in 2017. Roberto Antenore via Juan Carlos CicalesiSuper Tucanos Delivered to Chile
Atlas Arrives for
Falklands Duty
Airbus A400M Atlas C1 ZM415 from 70
Squadron, based at RAF Brize Norton
in Oxfordshire, arrived at RAF Mount
Pleasant in the Falkland Islands on March
27, to replace the Hercules as the RAF’s
tactical airlift capability in the South
Atlantic. The C-130 has been operational
in the Falklands since the station opened
in 1985. RAF A400Ms are not currently
able to receive fuel in ight, and aircraft
deploying to the Falklands need to stop
for replenishment in South America.06-08_military_newsDC.mfDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 8 09/04/2018 12: