Second F-35B for Italy
THE SECOND F-35B
for the Italian defence
ministry has made its first
flight. Still without unit
markings, M M74 52 ( B L-2) has undertaken test
flights from the Italian Final
Assembly and Checkout
(FACO) at Cameri, where it
was seen on October 24.Paolo Rollino12 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// DECEMBER 2018 #Continental Europe
Swiss Air Force PC-24 breaks cover
Above: Swiss Air Force PC-24 T-786 after rolling out of production hall 25 at the Stans-Buochs factory. Niek van der Zande
PHOTOS HAVE emerged
of the first Pilatus PC-
for the Swiss Air Force
after the brand new bizjet
rolled out at the Stans-Buochs factory in an
incomplete state before
entering production hall
9 for final assembly. The
Swiss Air Force is expectedto take on the aircraft by
the end of the year, when it
will enter service as a VIP
transport. PC-24 c/n 121
is due to receive the SwissAir Force serial T-786. The
order for the type came
to light in 2014 but it’s
not clear if any additional
aircraft will be acquired.Ramon WeninkRNLAF PC-7 upgrades continue
PILATUS PC-7 L-05 (c/n
542) is among the last
being upgraded for the
Royal Netherlands Air Force
(RNLAF) by Pilatus Aircraft in
Switzerland. The trainer was
seen at the manufacturer’s
Stans-Buochs plant on
October 10, a day before it
returned to 131 Elementaire
Militaire Vlieger Opleiding
(EMVO, Elementary Military
Pilot Training) Squadron
at Woensdrecht Air
Base, via Wiesbaden.
The PC-7 Obsolescence
Prevention Program (OPP)
and Structural Enhancement(SE) includes replacement
of analogue instruments
with digital equipment and
will increase the lifetime
of the RNLAF aircraft. The
work takes around three
months to complete. Air
force instructors have been
retrained and the trainingsyllabus adapted to the
aircraft’s new systems, and
the upgrade will enable the
13-strong fleet of Dutch
PC-7s to soldier on until
at least 2027 by fully using
their life expectancy of
12,000 flying hours or 24,
landings per airframe.France
begins
Tigre
Mk3 and
NH90 SOF
studies
FRANCE’S DIRECTION
générale de l’armement
(DGA), the government
defence procurement
agency, has launched
studies on two new
rotorcraft variants:
the Tigre Mk3 attack
helicopter and a special
operations forces (SOF)
version of the NH90.
The Organisation
for Joint Armament
Co-operation (OCCAR)
awarded study contracts
on September 26 to
Airbus Helicopters, Thales
and MDBA to prepare
French Tigres for upgrade
to the Mk3 version.
France originally
placed orders for 27
Tigre HAP variants and
40 Tigre HADs. The
HAPs are now being
upgraded to Block 2.
The Mk3 will have
improved network-centric
combat capabilities
within the army’s
Scorpion system and
be able to communicate
with unmanned aircraft
systems – and could
also receive navigation
updates from the
European Galileo
satellite positioning
system, in addition to
the current GPS.
The SOF version of
the NH90 is planned to
incorporate the Eurofl’eye
panoramic camera
developed by Safran,
which uses several
sensors instead of a single
camera and will improve
flight safety in extreme
environmental conditions,
providing the pilot and
co-pilot with independent
fields of view. Trials
will make use of DGA
simulators and helicopter
testbeds in Istres and will
involve the 4e Régiment
d’Hélicoptères des
Forces Spéciales (4e
RHFS, 4th Special Forces
Helicopter Regiment).
France’s 2019-25 military
funding programme plans
for ten SOF versions
of the NH90 Tactical
Transport Helicopter
(TTH), six of which will
be delivered by 2025.