aviation - the past, present and future of flight

Nebraska Army National Guard UH-72A

Lakotas have been deployed to Europe

to carry out medevac missions from

Hohenfels, Germany. The four Lakotas,

from C Company of the 1st Battalion, 376th

Aviation Regiment (Security and Support), at

Frankfort-Capital City Airport Army Aviation

Support Facility, were brought in to support

Charlie Company of the 1-214th General

Support Aviation Battalion, 12th Combat

Aviation Brigade, so that the latter unit could

focus on participation in Exercise Saber

Strike 2018.

The four Lakotas (11-72189, 11-72190,

11-72191 and 11-72192) arrived by sea at the

port of Bremerhaven, Germany, on May 21.

The following day they were flown to their

temporary base at Hohenfels, from where

they were expected to operate until August.

Dave Allport

Lakota 11-72191 from 1-376th AVN (S&S)/Nebraska Army National Guard assists with medical

evacuation and transport of simulated casualties during the Strong Europe Tank Challenge

at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on June 6.

US Army/Lacey Justinger

French Air Force Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet

E33/705-FJ received a spectacular new livery

in June. The 100th anniversary scheme was

applied to the Alpha Jet solo display team

aircraft by the Escadron de Soutien Technique

et Aéronautique at Base Aérienne, near Tours.

Alpha Jet E33 at the Nancy-Ochey airshow on June 29. Marco Rossi

Special Livery for Alpha Jet

Nebraska Guard Lakotas in Germany

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 13

Iraqi Deployment for Spanish Helicopters

The Spanish Army has deployed a pair of

Eurocopter AS532UL Cougars and three

Boeing CH-47D Chinooks to Iraq. The

helicopters had been transported to the

region by sea on board the Spanish Navy’s

amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I.

The move is part of Spain’s Operation TF

Toro, which is tactically controlled by the US

Army’s 449th CAB and will provide intra-

theatre aviation support with its Cougars

and Chinooks for Combined Joint Task

Force-Inherent Resolve. The mission was

agreed to following a request from the US

for more transport helicopters to support

operations in Iraq.

More RAAF

Hornets for

Canada

Canada is to buy additional second-hand

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornets

from Australia as it seeks to boost its

fighter force. The original plan was to

purchase 18 aircraft from the RAAF,

but this is set to rise to 25. The extra

machines will be used for spare parts

but it’s unclear whether they will be flown

to Canada or shipped. The Canadian

Department of National Defence also

announced the first used F/A-18As are

expected to be delivered next summer,

some six months later than previously

thought. The entire deal requires US

State Department approval.

Macedonia Clear to Join NATO?

The neighbouring Balkan nations of

Greece and Macedonia signed an

agreement on June 17 that aims to end a

decades-long dispute over Macedonia’s

name, and open the door for its NATO

membership. The deal could overcome

Athens’ long-standing blockade of

Macedonia’s integration into NATO

and the EU. This is based on Greek

assertions that the name ‘Macedonia’

implies a claim on the northern Greek

province also called Macedonia. The

nation’s air arm will be renamed the North

Macedonia Air Force and is expected to

become NATO’s 30th member in 2019.

Igor Bozinovski

New Hercules

Order Expected

Indonesia has disclosed plans to buy five new

Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transports

to supplement its current fleet of 24. The

new examples are likely to replace the older

Bravo models in the fleet, which are coming

up to 60 years old. Indonesia had expressed

an interest in acquiring A400Ms from Airbus

before the surprise C-130 announcement.

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