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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #364 JULY 2018 // 23
IAF declares upgraded C-130H operational
THE ISRAELI Air Force
(IAF) has declared its first
upgraded C-130H Karnaf
operational. Serialled 522,
it belongs to 131 ‘Yellow
Bird’ Squadron and first
flew in modernised form in
2016 before a year-long test
and evaluation process.
The modification work
extends its lifespan by
adding advanced avionics
and strengthening the internal
structure. The aircraft is
due to be declared fully
operational next year and
officials expect the airframe
to serve with the IAF for
another 15 to 20 years.
The Israeli defence
ministry signed a contract
for the modernisation
programme in 2012
under the name Avionic
Karnaf, with Elbit Systems
as prime, and Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI)
as secondary, contractors.
IAI installed new engines
and reinforced the aircraft’s
structure, while Elbit worked
on the cockpit – where
the company’s C-Suite
includes a digital autopilot,
up to eight 6 × 8in (152
x 203mm) multifunction
colour displays (MFCDs)
for the crew and navigator
stations, dual embedded
GPS/INS and a dual flight
management system (FMS).
The flight crew also have
dual video-capable head-
up displays (HUDs), with
optional integration with
an Elbit helmet-mounted
display with line-of-sight
(HMD/LOS) and digital map.
The avionics can be
enhanced with a Mission
Equipment Package (MEP)
that includes additional
equipment for self-defence;
satellite communications
(SATCOM); terrain following/
terrain avoidance; high-
speed low-level airdropping
(HASSLAD); an enhanced
vision system (EVS);
multispectral observation
system; mission data link;
and cockpit modifications
for night-vision goggles
(NVGs). Noam MenasheSaudi Navy Panther trains
with US Navy
AS565MB PANTHER serial
5006 (c/n 6921, ex F-ZKCP),
assigned to the Royal Saudi
Naval Forces (RSNF), lands
on the flight deck of the
US Navy’s USS Oak Hill
(LSD 51) on May 7. The
helicopter was undergoing
deck landing qualifications
on the Harpers Ferry-class
dock landing ship which
- home-ported in Virginia
Beach, Virginia – was
deployed in the US Fifth
Fleet area of operations
in support of maritime
security operations.
The RSNF has six
Panthers configured
for search and rescue
(SAR), and deliveries are
believed to have been
completed by the end of- One was lost on
January 30 last year when
a terrorist boat exploded
alongside a Saudi frigate
off the Yemeni coast.
Above: F-15SA 12-1060 after landing at RAF Lakenheath as ‘Huron 61’. Peter R Foster
FOUR MORE F-15SA Strike
Eagles for the Royal Saudi
Air Force (RSAF, al-Quwwat
al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya as
Sa’udiya) have transited
through RAF Lakenheath,
Suffolk, where they arrived
on May 14. The aircraft –
serials 12-1021, 12-1060,
12-1063 and 12-1064 –
used the callsigns ‘Huron
61 to 64’. Tanker support
was provided by KC-10A
83-0079, callsign ‘Blue11’, of the US Air Force’s
305th Air Mobility Wing.
The US Congress was
notified in October 2010 of
the possible sale to Saudi
Arabia of 84 new-build
F-15SAs, plus the upgradeof 70 (later reduced to 68)
of the RSAF’s surviving
F-15S aircraft to the same
standard. Deliveries began
in December 2016, when the
first four jets were delivered,
also via Lakenheath.Deliveries last year
comprised three in February,
five in March and six each
in August, September and
December. Four more
transited through Lakenheath
in March this year.USN/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael H LehmanMore F-15SA deliveries via Lakenheath
IAF