The Indian Air Force retired the Mil Mi-8 at
a ceremony at Air Force Station Yelahanka
on December 17. The last unit to y the
type was 112 Helicopter Unit. The rstexample was delivered to India in 1971
and 107 have served the air arm in ten
operational units. The Mil Mi-17 remain in
Indian service.Kazan Roll-Out of Tu-160M
A new Russian strategic bomber has been
rolled out at the Kazan Aviation Plant,
the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)
announced on November 16. The Tu-160M
is thought to have used the airframe of one
of two aircraft that were left uncompleted
after production of the original Tu-160 came
to an end in 1994.
These are serials 8-04 and 8-05, both of
which are expected to become test aircraftfor the Tu-160M2 version.
The Tu-160M2 incorporates the same
basic airframe as the existing Tu-
Blackjack, but includes all-new avionics,
electronics, cockpit, communications
and control systems, and will feature
new weapons. New NK-32 series 02
engines of increased thrust are also to be
incorporated.
The Tu-160M2 project was rst publiclyannounced in April 2015, during a visit
to the Kazan factory by the Russian
Minister of Defence Sergei Shoygu. In
February 2016, the Commander-in-Chief
of the Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev
declared the rst new Tu-160M2 would
y in 2019, after which series production
would begin.
However, according to Russian news
agency TASS, rst ight is now due in February.The 112th Fighter Squadron (FS) celebrated its 100th anniversary at the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing’s base in Swanton, Ohio.
The squadron’s heritage dates back to the 112th Aero Squadron formed in 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The Stingers of the 112th FS now y the
Block 42 F-16C Fighting Falcon. For its centenary, one F-16 was painted in a special scheme honouring this lineage. Jim HaseltineMILITARY NEWS
6F-16 Marks Squadron’s Centenary
The Indian Air
Force has retired
the Mil Mi-8.
Sanjay SimhaCuldrose in
‘Carrier’ Test
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose
hosted the rst Exercise Kernow Flag
during November. The Cornish air eld
was transformed into a simulated
aircraft carrier, HMS Seahawk, and
rotary and xed-wing elements from
the base formed part of a Carrier Task
Group (CTG).
More than 600 ying hours and
multiple taskings were planned during
the ten-day exercise.
The manoeuvres were designed
to ensure the Fleet Air Arm units at
Culdrose are fully ready to support and
integrate with future aircraft carriers.
During the ‘war phase’, the ctional
carrier faced multiple threats, all
intended to be intercepted by the
embarked CTG.
The exercise involved 736 Naval
Air Squadron (NAS) Hawk T1s,
Avenger T1s from 750 NAS, Merlin
HM2s and Sea King ASaC7s. Dutch
NH90s on detachment at Culdrose
also took part.Indian AF Mi-8 Farewell
No Scampton Airshow This Year
There will be no Scampton Airshow this year.
Organisers intend to learn lessons from the
rst event at the Lincolnshire air eld with the
“ambition” of staging a second in 2019.
In a statement, the organising company
said an aviation event on the scale ofthe Scampton Airshow involved many
stakeholders and signi cant planning.
They were proud of what was collectively
delivered, adding: “However, post-event,
there remains a lot to re ect on and areas
where we would like to improve.”Aviation News incorporating Jets February 201806-08_military_newsDC.mfDC.mf.indd 6 08/01/2018 15: