Boeing 737-5H6 T-04 (c/n 26456) formerly served with Aerolíneas Argentinas as LV-AYE. After being withdrawn from use it was stored, without engines, at El Palomar. S Brimley/S Sagarna ARGENTINA’S AGRUPACIÓN Aérea Presidencial (Presidential Air Group) is returning Boeing 737-5H6 T-04 to service. The move comes ahead of the imminent retirement of Fokker F28 T-02 and […]
THE COMANDO Aéreo de Mantenimiento (CAMAN, Maintenance Air Command) of the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force) has brought a UH-1H helicopter up to Huey II standard. CAMAN is one of the only two companies certified by Bell Textron to perform the modification, together with the Dirección de Aviación (Aviation Management) of the Ejército […]
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has announced that the Aviación Naval (Chilean Naval Aviation) will modernise its HH-65 Dauphin helicopters. The contract has gone to Helibras in Brazil, which conducts similar work on AS350, AS550 and Panther K2 helicopters of the Brazilian Army. The Dauphin upgrades will be completed in stages to achieve a standard as close as […]
The FACh acquired five second-hand Bell 412s in 2000, one of which was lost in an accident. The Bell 412EP entered service in July 2009 and by mid- 2011 a total of 12 examples had been delivered. via Gonzalo Godoy THE COMMANDER-INCHIEF of the III Brigada Aérea (3rd Air Brigade) of the Fuerza Aérea de […]
THE FUERZA Aérea Mexicana (FAM, Mexican Air Force) has replaced its recently retired ex-Mexicana Boeing 727 transports with three factoryfresh Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The new jets are painted in a dark grey scheme with lowvisibility markings and have received the serials 3526, 3527 and 3528. Winglet-equipped Boeing 737-800 3526 is one of three such aircraft […]
COMBAT REPORT THE PETROCHEMICAL facilities, known as the ‘oil crescent’, located around the Libyan cities of Ras Lanuf and Sidra, are of key strategic value. They represent one of the few financial resources for the government of Tobruk and have been fought over by rival powers in Libya. In the east, these comprise the secular […]
THE FIRST two Mi-35M attack helicopters ordered by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) have been delivered. NAF559 and NAF560 were handed over in Abuja in January. Assembly of the helicopters took three months and the pilots were trained by Russian instructors. The helicopters were officially inducted during celebrations marking the 53rd anniversary of the NAF […]
Tim Ripley examines the secretive world of RAF and USAF spy flights around Russia’s western borders. A Royal Air Force RC-135W tops up from a KC-135 Stratotanker belonging to the US Air Force’s 100th Air Refueling Wing off the coast of England. This was the first time a tanker belonging to the Mildenhall-based 100th ARW […]
The US Air Force said it planned to make a first international operational deployment with its F -35A s in 2 017, and in April eight aircraf t from Hill AFB, Utah, arrived at R AF Lakenheath, UK, to make that a reality. AFM’s Thomas Newdick det ails this landmark overseas exercise. F-35 IN THE […]
Turkey celebrates its 30th anniversary as an F-16 ‘Viper’ operator later this year. Since its first aircraft were delivered in October 1987, the fleet has grown into the third largest after those of the United States and Israel, as AFM’s Alan Warnes reports. TURKISH F-16S TURKEY HAS built a strong military to keep safe its […]
Mexico is upgrading its helicopter fleet to a standard previously unknown in the region. Mariano García and Jose Quevedo visited Escuadrón Aéreo 108, the first Mexican Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk operator, to review the type’s status in military service. MEXICAN BLACK HAWKS THE BLACK Hawk is no stranger to Mexican skies, having made its […]
Ghedi air base, near Brescia in the province of Lombardy, is home to 6º Stormo ‘Alfredo Fusco’. Since the disbandment of 50º Stormo, and 15 5º Gruppo’s return to 6º Stormo, the base has become home to all of Italy’s Tornado squadrons. Niels Roman, Roy van Sonsbeek and Robin Coenders report. ITALIAN TORNADOS HARM-toting MM7070 […]
THE US Air Force’s F-35A has made its first overseas training deployment, and the first to Europe by the US Lightning II. Six F-35As from the 34th Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Rude Rams’, 388th Fighter Wing (FW) and the Air Force Reserve’s 466th FS, 419th F W, Hill Air Force Base, Utah arrived at RAF Lakenheath, […]
THE FIRST prototype of the twin-seat JF-17B Thunder multi-role fighter performed its maiden flight at Chengdu, China on April 27. This version was unveiled by CAC/CATIC at the 2013 Paris Air Show and since then some design details have evolved. Most obviously, the new aircraft has a second cockpit and a dorsal spine accommodating relocated […]
THE SECOND Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) of the year at Albacete air base in Spain saw the debut of F-16C/Ds from the US Air Force’s 388th Fighter Wing (FW) and the 419th FW, an Air Force Reserve Command unit attached to the 388th at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Eight F-16s were present for the […]