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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #359 FEBRUARY 2018 // 21
Peru plans
SIGINT
modifi cation
for Fokker 50
PERU’S AGENCIA de
Compras de las Fuerzas
Armadas (ACFFAA,
Agency for Procurement
Purchases of the Armed
Forces) has relaunched
its programme to install
signals intelligence
(SIGINT) equipment
on two of the navy’s
Fokker 50 aircraft. Elta
Systems was selected
for the tender after a
bidding process that
closed on December- The contract is
valued at $23.4m. A
previous effort to acquire
SIGINT equipment
was abandoned after
irregularities were
discovered in the
bidding process.
The Aviación Naval
(Peruvian Naval Aviation)
acquired two second-
hand Fokker 50s – U-05
Fons Aler and U-06
Robbie Wijting – from
the Royal Netherlands
Air Force (RNLAF) in
November 2014. Four
ex-RNLAF Fokker 60s
had already been sold
to the Aviación Naval in - The operating unit
is Escuadrón Aeronaval
11 at Lima-Callao.
SEMAN
ends KT-1P
production
PERU HAS concluded
local production of the
KT-1P Torito turboprop
trainer, due to a lack of
interest for follow-on
orders. SEMAN Perú, the
maintenance service arm
of the FAP, manufactured
the aircraft in conjunction
with Korea Aerospace
Industries (KAI). A $209m
contract for co-production
of the 20 aircraft was
signed between Peru and
South Korea in November
2012, and included
technology transfer, a
parts manufacturing plant
and a flight simulator. The
first four aircraft were built
at KAI’s facilities in South
Korea, while the remaining
16 were co-produced
by KAI and SEMAN.
The final aircraft for the
Fuerza Aérea del Perú
(FAP, Peruvian Air Force)
was delivered on April 7
last year (see Final KT-1P
delivered to Peru, June
2017, p21). SEMAN Perú
will continue to provide
maintenance for the 20
units acquired by the FAP.
Juan Carlos CicalesiFour more Bell 412EPs delivered
to Argentine Air Force
BELL HELICOPTER
announced the delivery
of four Bell 412EP
helicopters to the Fuerza
Aérea Argentina (FAA,
Argentine Air Force) from its
production line at Mirabel,
Canada on December 11.
The Bell 412EPs are actually
unsold aircraft built in 2014.Two have been identified
to date: H-103 (c/n 36682,
ex N519WP) and H-106
(c/n 36686, ex N682BS).
The aircraft join two
previously delivered
examples: H-101 and
H-102 which entered
service in November 2013.
In a separate arrangement,the US State Department
announced the planned
sale of another four Bell
412EPs to Argentina under
the Foreign Military Sales
programme on December
7, 2017. The contract is
valued at $27.2m. The
estimated completion
date is June 20 this year.New Gendarmerie Argentina helicopters
THE AVIATION service of
the National Gendarmerie
Argentina (GNA) will soon
receive a new Leonardo
AW169 helicopter, GN-934,
for general utility and
border patrol missions.The service is also due to
receive three new Leonardo
AW119 Koala helicopters,
as part of an equipment
exchange. The GNA
was reportedly unhappy
with the standard ofmodernisation carried out
on two Bell UH-1H Huey IIs,
which are now grounded.
The Argentine state will
provide the three new
AW119s as compensation.
Juan Carlos CicalesiNew SR-22T trainers delivered to FACh
TWO CIRRUS Aircraft
SR-22T aircraft have been
delivered to the Grupo de
Aviación No 8 (Aviation
Group No 8) of the Fuerza
Aérea de Chile (FACh,
Chilean Air Force). The
aircraft will provide a new
training capability for the
pilots of the light transport
units assigned to the parent
V Brigada Aérea (5th Air
Brigade) at Antofagasta.
The aircraft, FACh 241
and FACh 242, arrived at
Andrés Sabella Gálvez
International Airport,
Antofagasta on November- They will be used to
provide pilot currency for
V Brigada Aérea aircrew
without assigned air units.
A first pair of SR-22Ts
arrived in Chile in May
2013, followed by a
second pair in September2015 and a third pair
in August 2016. These
aircraft are operated by abasic training squadron
at El Bosque, Santiago.
Juan Carlos CicalesiAW169 GN-934 (69056, ex I-PTFQ) for the National Gendarmerie Argentina is equipped with night-vision goggles capability,
cargo hook, rescue crane, search beacon and forward-looking infrared sensor. GNAFAChIsrael
to repair
Honduran
combat
jets
ISRAELI TECHNICIANS
have completed an
analysis for the repair
of several Fuerza
Aérea Hondureña
(FAH, Honduran Air
Force) combat aircraft,
specifying which can be
returned to service. It
has been decided to
refurbish seven F-5Es and
two F-5Fs, transferred
to Honduras by the US
in the 1980s. Two of
the single-seat F-5Es
will receive new digital
communications and
navigation systems from
Elbit Systems. In addition,
five A-37Bs will also be
completely overhauled
by Israeli industry.
Juan Carlos Cicalesi