No VIP mission for Hungarian A319s
Above: A319 9H-AGN, soon after its arrival at Ostrava Airport last December and prior to the application of HUNAF
markings. Václav Kudela
The editor is grateful to the
Ministry of Defence of Hungary
for adding further information to
the news story in the February
2018 issue – Hungarian Air Force
A319s head for conversion, p12.
The two Airbus A319-112
aircraft for the Magyar Légierő
(Hungarian Air Force, HUNAF)
arrived at Ostrava Airport in
the Czech Republic between
December 16-17, after flying infrom Rome. Both are former
Air Berlin (later Eurowings)
aircraft and were then registered
to Privajet as 9H-AGM and
9H-AGN (formerly D-ABGM
and D-ABGS). They have since
received the Hungarian military
registrations 604 and 605.
The two aircraft were delivered
to the HUNAF earlier this year, but
neither will receive VIP interiors,
equipment or furnishings. Thetwo A319s will instead be
converted as multipurpose
military transports. They will be
capable of transporting troops
and military equipment as well as
performing medical evacuation
(medevac) operations and certain
medical interventions aboard.
The aircraft have been purchased
by the Hungarian Defence
Forces and will not be operated
under a leasing arrangement.Typhoon
testimonial
I really enjoyed Jamie Hunter’s
article in the latest issue about
No 29 Squadron’s operations at
Coningsby (Training a Typhoon
pilot, April, p68-73). It was
particularly well written and
informative, and as a former
member of the Ministry of
Defence Eurofighter project
team in the early 1990s, I
always enjoy reading stories
about ‘my’ aeroplane!
On another matter, in my Royal
Air Force days we always talked
about squadrons re-forming,
re-equipping, or disbanding.
Where on earth have these
awful expressions come from
in which squadrons ‘stand
up’ or ‘stand down’? Yuck!
Steve BondReading the article on the
Royal New Zealand Air Force’s
(RNZAF’s) maritime patrol
aircraft (MPA) fleet (Beyond the
Orion adventure, January, p92-
95), is a reminder that one can
get more ‘bang for the buck’
in military aviation by joining
a larger programme. I would
put forward the following
suggestions, using the NATO
E-3A Component and the
Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC)
at Pápa Air Base as examples.
* New Zealand should purchase
three identical P-8A airframes and
integrate into the Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) programme.
Essentially, New Zealand
would pay for one sixth of the
programme, base the RNZAF
airframes at RAAF Edinburgh
and use one sixth of the airframe
hours from the 18-aircraft fleet.
Five or six full aircrews would
be formed, and these would
participate side-by-side with the
RAAF in various international
operations. A detachment
would be established at an
appropriate base in New Zealand.
* To put the RNZAF back in the
fighter business at an affordable
cost, New Zealand could further
purchase four F/A-18F airframes,with RNZAF markings, and
buy into 10% of the resulting
40-aircraft RAAF/RNZAF Super
Hornet programme. Six to eight
aircrew should be sufficient for
New Zealand. Out of the 28 two-
seat F/A-18F models available, it
ought to be possible to maintain a
two-aircraft alert detachment at a
suitable location in New Zealand.
As a minor note on an
unrelated matter, the Alpha
Jet does not have an ‘internal’
gun (as reported in Last of the
Snails, March, p80-85). It has
options for carrying a centreline
conformal podded 27mm BK27
or 30mm DEFA cannon.
MSgt Chris Dierkes
New York Air National GuardOpinion: rebuilding the RNZAF
Above: The RAAF’s first P-8A, A47-001, in formation with the AP-3C Orion it
will replace. Buying into the RAAF Poseidon programme could provide the
RNZAF with a more cost-effective way of overhauling its MPA capabilities.
CPL Craig Barrett/Commonwealth of Australia
Below: A Portuguese Air Force Alpha Jet A fires its podded 27mm BK27
cannon on the Alcochete gunnery range. Paulo Matahttp://www.airforcesmonthly.com #363 JUNE 2018 // 79Feedback
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