22 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// JULY 2018 #364Middle East
Two-seat L-159T1 delivered to Iraq
Above: Iraqi Air Force L-159T1 serial 5902 at Balad AB. IQAF
IRAQ TOOK on its first two-
seat L-159T1 trainer with
the arrival of an Advanced
Light Combat Aircraft
(ALCA) at Balad Air Base
on May 20. The jet, serial
5902, brings the number
of the Czech-made aircraft
in service with the Iraqi
Air Force’s (IQAF’s) 115th
Attack Squadron to 11.
The Czech government
confirmed approval in March2015 for the $29.7m sale
of 15 L-159s (which may
include a small number of
twin-seat L-159Ts) to Iraq.
The actual contract covers
12 single-seaters – nine
from Aero Vodochody and
three from the active Czech
Republic inventory – and
two twin-seaters: one active
inventory and one new-build.
The first two L-159As
(5903 and 5904) arrivedin November 2015. The
following February, they
undertook a first sortie
with Iraqi pilots who had
completed training in the
Czech Republic. In April
2016, serial 5905 arrived
in Iraq, and in June the
aircraft carried out their
first air strikes, over
Fallujah. Four months
later, L-159A serials 5906
and 5908 were deliveredto Balad, followed by a
third single-seater, 5907,
in the following weeks.
In March last year, Iraq
received a new batch of
two L-159As – serials 5910
and 5911 – followed by
serials 5912 and 5909 a
week later. The third group
of IQAF pilots completed
L-159 conversion training
in the Czech Republic last
October. Arnaud DelalandeUS approves
AH-1Z sale
to Bahrain
THE US Department of
State has approved the
possible sale of 12 AH-1Z
attack helicopters to
Bahrain – the US Defense
Security Cooperation
Agency notifying
Congress of the order on
April 27. The proposed
Foreign Military Sales
deal is worth an estimated
$911m, including training
and support services.
The Bahraini government
has also requested 14
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles
and 56 Advanced
Precision Kill Weapon
System II (APKWS II)
laser-guided rockets plus
the Honeywell Embedded
Global Positioning
System/Inertial Navigation
System (EGI); Joint
Mission Planning
Systems; AN/AAQ-30
target sight systems;
optimised TopOwl helmet-
mounted displays; AN/
AAR-47 missile warning
systems; AN/ALE-
47 countermeasure
dispensers; and
APR-39C(V)2 radar
warning receivers.
The Royal Bahrain Air
Force (RBAF) currently
operates a mixed fleet
of ex-US Army AH-1E/
F/P Cobra helicopters- including some TAH-
1Ps – which serve
with the 8th and 9th
Squadrons at Riffa.
Last four Lebanese Super Tucanos delivered
Above: Lebanese Air Force A-29B L-715 (15-2025) arrives at Glasgow Prestwick on the evening of May 24. Tom Meikle
THE FINAL four Embraer
A-29Bs for the Lebanese
Air Force (LAF, al-Quwwat
al-Jawwiya al-Lubnania)
have been delivered. The
last from an order for
six, the quartet of SuperTucanos passed through
Glasgow Prestwick Airport
on May 24 en route to
Beirut, carrying serials
L-713 (15-2023), L-714
(15-2024), L-715 (15-2025)
and L-716 (15-2026).The US Congress was
notified in June 2015 of the
possible sale to Lebanon
of six A-29s and the
contract was completed
that October. The deal
also includes two spareengines, eight AN/ALE-
47 countermeasures
dispensers, 2,000
Advanced Precision Kill
Weapon System (APKWS)
laser-guided rockets and
eight AN/AAR-60(V)2 missilelaunch detection systems.
The first four aircraft had
started crew training at
Moody Air Force Base,
Georgia, by April last year
before the first two aircraft
were delivered last October.Israeli Air Force certifi ed to refuel USAF fi ghters
TWO ISRAELI Air Force
(IAF) KC-707 Re’em
tankers belonging to 120
Squadron (serials 272 and
275) refuelled US Air Force
fighters during Exercise
Red Flag – Alaska (RF-A)
2018 -1 at Eielson Air Force
Base, Alaska, in May. The
exercise was led by the
354th Fighter Wing. RF-A
18 -1 was the first in which
the IAF has participated
in and it was also the firsttime an Israeli 707 had
been qualified to refuel US
F-15 and F-16 aircraft..
The certification is a step
further in the co-operation
between the two air arms
and allows the IAF torefuel the USAF jets during
future exercises in Israel
and in America. It could
also pave the way for
IAF tankers to take part
in operations led by the
U S A F. Noam Menashe