AirForces Monthly – June 2018

24 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS

// JUNE 2018 #363

Asia Pacifi c

Indonesian F-16s at Cope West 18

Above: TNI-AU F-16s taxi after landing at Sam Ratulangi International Airport, Indonesia, during CW18 on March 19. USAF/Tech

Sgt Richard Ebensberger

TENTARA NASIONAL

Indonesia – Angkatan

Udara (TNI-AU, Indonesian

Air Force) F-16Cs were

among participants in Cope

West 18 (CW18), a Pacific

Air Forces-sponsored,

bilateral, tactical fighter

exercise. The manoeuvres

involved US and Indonesian

aircraft and were designed

to increase interoperability

and enhance partnerships

between the air forces.

In total, the TNI-AU

received 24 Block 25

F-16Cs and F-16Ds,

formerly flown by US Air

Force and Air National

Guard units and taken

from storage at the 309th

Aerospace Maintenance

and Regeneration Group

(AMARG) at Davis-Monthan

AFB, Arizona. The final

six aircraft were delivered

to Indonesia between

December and Januar y.

Indonesian

Army

AH-64E

deliveries

complete

ALL EIGHT AH-64Es

ordered by the Tentara

Nasional Indonesia –

Angkatan Darat (TNI–AD,

Indonesian Army) have

been delivered. The final

five Apache Guardians

were shipped from the

US by sea to Tanjung and

unloaded on March 28.

After reassembly at the

port, they were flown out

on April 20 to join Skadron

Udara 11 at Achmad Yani

Airport, Semarang, Java.

As previously reported,

the first three TNI-

AD AH-64Es had

arrived in Indonesia on

December 18 last year,

being airfreighted into

Semarang on board US

Air Force C-17As – see

First AH-64Es arrive in

Indonesia, February, p28.

The US Defense

Security Cooperation

Agency (DSCA) notified

Congress of the possible

sale to Indonesia of eight

AH-64Es in September

2012. Boeing was
      awarded a Foreign Military
      Sales contract on January
      26, 2015, to manufacture
      and supply these
      aircraft. Dave Allport

India leaves

FGFA

project

INDIA HAS withdrawn

from the Fifth Generation

Fighter Aircraft (FGFA)

collaborative programme

with Russia, after 11

years. Led in India by

Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited (HAL), the

initiative was schemed

around a version of the

Su-57 (previously T-50),

known to the Indian

Ministry of Defence as

the Perspective Multi-

Role Fighter. However,

it had been mired in

disagreements over

development costs and

technological capabilities.

The Indian Air Force

may resurrect the FGFA

project in future and

could potentially acquire

a version of the Su-57

once it has entered

Russian service.

Final G 120TP-As delivered to Indonesia

Above: Personnel in front of Indonesian Air Force G 120TP-A LD-1230 at the factory in

Tussenhausen, after carrying out acceptance fl ight-testing before delivery. TNI-AD

INDONESIA HAS taken

delivery of a further six

Grob G 120TP-A basic

trainers, bringing the total

acquired by the Tentara

Nasional Indonesia –

Angkatan Udara (TNI-

AU, Indonesian Air

Force) to 26. The TNI-

AU confirmed on April

21 that it had completed

factory acceptance

tests of the final aircraft,

LD-1230, at the factory in

Tussenhausen, Germany.

After further testing, the

additional six aircraft will be

handed over to the TNI-AU.

On September 16, 2011

Grob stated that Indonesia

had selected the type as

its new elementary and

basic training aircraft and

the first four were formally

handed over in the factory

on May 22, 2013. They

arrived in Indonesia on

August 6 that year when

they were shipped by sea

to Yogyakarta. Although

the contracted number was

not officially announced, it

seems the initial order was

for 18, after which options

were exercised for a further

eight aircraft. Dave Allport

Indonesia retires T-34C Turbo Mentor

INDONESIA HAS retired the

T-34C-1 Turbo Mentor from

Tentara Nasional Indonesia

• Angkatan Udara (TNI-
  AU, Indonesian Air Force)
  service. The type was
  formally withdrawn on

April 5, when the last unit

• Skadron Pendidkan
  102 at Adisuxipto,
  Yogyakarta – stopped
  flying its final example.
  The Turbo Mentor had
  been in service with the

unit for 39 years. Originally,

25 aircraft were delivered,

but at least ten were lost

through attrition. The

KAI KT-1B Woongbi has

now taken over its training

role. Dave Allport

First two-

seat JF-17

handed over

to Pakistan

A HANDOVER ceremony

for the Pakistan Air

Force’s (PAF’s) first two-

seat JF-17B combat

trainer was held in

Pakistan on April 17. The

aircraft is the first of two

development prototypes

that will join the service

for evaluation. Currently

the only aircraft ordered

by the PAF, their suitability

as lead-in fighter trainers

for the single-seat JF-17

will be assessed.

An initial prototype

JF-17B made its maiden

flight at Chengdu on April

27 last year – see First

two-seat JF-17B flown in

China, June 2017, p6. The

aircraft delivered to the

PAF was transported to

Pakistan on February 3

this year and reassembly

was completed

on February 8. It

successfully made its first

flight in Pakistan, flown

by a Pakistani pilot, on

March 10 and delivery to

the PAF followed on April

3, prior to the handover.

In related news, the

Pakistan Aeronautical

Complex (PAC) is in

preliminary discussions

about the potential

export of the JF-17 to

Malaysia. Dave Allport