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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 25

New Jordanian UH-60M deliveries

Above: One of the new UH-60Ms being unloaded from a USAF C-17A. US Embassy in Amman

TWO ADDITIONAL

UH-60Ms were received

by the Royal Jordanian

Air Force (RJAF) on July

23. Their arrival was
    announced on that date by
    the US Embassy in Amman,
    but it is unclear whether
    this was the arrival date
    or the official handover.
    They were airfreighted
    into the country on board
    US Air Force C-17As. It is
    apparent, however, that
    some of these helicopters
    had already been delivered

by July 12, when images

of one of them were

released by the US Army,

which reported that the

UH-60M variant had

‘recently’ arrived at an air

base outside Amman. The

report said the RJAF had

spent the previous week

undertaking both hands-

on and classroom training

on the new variant.

The helicopters are from

a batch of 12 UH-60Ms,

all of which will be

delivered by October. As

part of a subject matter

information exchange,

several US Army aviators

from Bravo Company,

449th Aviation Support

Battalion, Texas Army

National Guard, are

assisting RJAF personnel

in understanding the

complexities of the

UH-60M, with a focus on

maintenance structure,

production control and

quality control, along with

problem troubleshooting.

Dave Allport

AN INITIAL batch of PAC

Super Mushshak primary

training aircraft has been

delivered to the Qatar

Emiri Air Force (QEAF) from

Pakistan. A formal event

took place at the Al Zaeem

Mohammed Bin Abdullah

Al Atiyyah Air College at Al

Udeid Air Base on July 19

to welcome the type into

QEAF service. In addition

to local officials, a high-

level delegation from

Pakistan, which included

officers from the Pakistan

Air Force, several members

of the embassy and the

Pakistani military attaché,

also attended the event.

The contract for these

aircraft was signed on

June 23, 2016 (see Qatar

Super Mushshak Order,

August 2016, p32). It

remains unconfirmed

how many aircraft are

involved in the deal

and the number in

the first batch to be

delivered was also not

reported. Dave Allport

Above: Qatari personnel inspect one of the newly delivered

Super Mushshak primary trainers during the ceremony at Al

Udeid on July 19. QEAF

First Super Mushshaks

for Qatar

THE LATEST pair of

Hawk Mk165s for the

Royal Saudi Air Force

(RSAF) was delivered

recently. The aircraft

were spotted passing

through Heraklion Airport,

Greece, on their delivery

flight to the Kingdom.

The two aircraft, 7907

(ST016, ZB116) and

2111 (ST020, ZB120),

departed BAE Warton,

Lancashire, on June 14.

Saudi Arabia ordered 22

Hawk Mk165s as part of a

£1.6bn contract, officially

announced in May 2012.

The first aircraft made its

maiden flight at Warton

on September 16, 2015.

Deliveries began on April

1, 2016, when the first two

departed from the Warton

factory, subsequently

arriving at King Faisal

Air Base on April 6. In

February last year BAE

Systems announced that

a further order for 22

more aircraft had been

signed, bringing the total

of Mk165s on contract

for the RSAF to 44.

SAUDI ARABIA’S King

Abdulaziz City for

Science and Technology

(K ACST) has successfully

completed modification

of a manned aircraft

into an unmanned

air vehicle (UAV)

configuration. Prince

Dr Turki bin Saud bin

Mohammed, the K ACST

President, announced

the achievement on July

17. Using the Slovenian
    Pipistrel Virus light sport

and training aircraft as a

basis for the conversion,

K ACST has completed

three unmanned

prototypes of the UAV,

dubbed the Al-Nawras

(gull). These are equipped

with new flight control

systems enabling them

to be operated from

a ground station.

Each of the three is

configured for different

missions, one for jamming

electronic signals, another

for aerial surveillance,

and the third with wing

pylons to carry weapons.

They can also fly joint,

co-ordinated missions.

With an endurance

of 30 hours, the UAVs

can be equipped with

day and night cameras

for reconnaissance

operations. Dave Allport

Above: The three Al-Nawras UAV prototypes, converted from manned Pipistrel Virus light sport aircraft. KACST

RSAF Hawk Mk165 2111 (ST020, ZB120) on approach to Crete’s Heraklion Airport. Babak Taghvaee

Latest Saudi Hawk

deliveries

Saudi Arabian manned-to-unmanned conversion