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THE GREAT PRETENDERS
-
AFM
FLIES WITH THE RAF's 100 SQN
APRIL 2016
ISSUE #337
Officially the World's NUMBER ONE Authority on Military Aviation | www.airforcesmonthly.com
Bleak
Street
UK's Military
Aerospace
Industry
Home to
Roost
EXCLUSIVE
Fresno's new Eagle Unit
Plane
Sailing
Red 'Roos at
Red Flag
RAAF Hornets in the US
UK £4.80
www.airforcesmonthly.com
Boeing's P-8A
Poseidon
Farewell to
the King
848 NAS Stands
Down
Pakistan's JF-17
on Display
Thunder
in Qatar
Cameroon
Air Force
FORCE
REPORT
An African Force Fighting Terrorists
THE CONFLICT THAT CHANGED THE SHAPE OF WARFARE
Gulf War
looks back on the air war over the Gulf
25 years ago, as a US-led Coalition ousted Iraqi
forces from Kuwait. Extensively illustrated with
photographs from the conflict, including many
from private collections, it tells the story of the air
war in the Gulf from August 1990 to today.
With a history of Operation Desert Storm, including
pilot accounts, and details of the aircraft and air
forces involved, this 100-page publication is a must-
have for those seeking to understand the conflict
that changed the shape of warfare.
FEATURING:
The Campaign
Operation Desert Shield and the build up of Coalition
forces, the air-to-air combats and daring attacks of the
initial stages of Desert Storm, and the brief ground war
are described, before the story of Coalition involvement
in the country is brought up to date
Air Power
Examining the Coalition contributions of the UK, US,
France and the Arab coalition, plus the Iraqi Air Force
GULF WAR
£5.99!
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Aircraft
Desert Storm provided the operational swansong for
some types, including the A-6, A-7, F-4 and F-111, while
enabling others, among them the A-10 and Tornado, to
prove themselves in combat for the first time
And much more!
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CONTENTS
April Issue 337
34
AIRCRAFT PROFILE -
Boeing P-8A Poseidon
News
All the world’s military
aviation news, by region.
4-5
Headlines
6-7
United Kingdom
8-11 Continental Europe
12-18 North America
F-35 News
19
Latin America
20
Africa
21-24 Middle East
25
Russia
26-28 Asia Pacific
29
Australasia/ Contracts
30
The Jungle King
AFM’s
Glenn Sands visited
RNAS Yeovilton as 848 NAS
prepares to retire its war
weary Sea King HC4s.
another milestone of Pakistan’s
indigenous JF-17 Thunder – as it
makes a week-long visit to Qatar.
78
EXERCISE REPORT
TLP 2015 - Review
64
Red ’Roos at Red Flag
34
AIRCRAFT PROFILE
Boeing P-8A Poseidon
Rick Burgess charts the entry
into US Navy service of the
P-8A Poseidon MPA along
with the planned upgrades.
For the RAAF, the first Red Flag
exercise of 2016 was the debut
of their F/A-18Fs but, the new jets
flew alongside legacy F/A-18As
as well. Dylan Eklund was there
to witness this unique event.
Salvador Mafé Huertas reports on
the final two Tactical Leadership
Programmes of 2015.
82
FORCE REPORT
Cameroon Air Force
42
RAF 100 Squadron
FREE DVD
Alan Warnes went behind the
scenes with the RAF’s aggressor
squadron in January and flew
in a multi-mission sortie.
70
EXERCISE REPORT
Virgo
Sam Pilcher reports from
Salisbury Plain, where
Cougars were on the prowl
for Exercise Virgo
Cameroon’s air force has had
to galvanise a diverse range
of capabilities in the war
against terrorism, as Erwan
de Cherisey finds out.
90 Attrition
AFM’s
Dave Allport reports on the
world’s latest military accidents.
Claim your FREE Airbus A400M
First Years DVD when you take
out a 2-year or Direct Debit sub-
scription to AirForces Monthly.
See pages 22 and 23 for details.
50
The Newest Eagle Unit
Lt Col ‘Cricket’ Renner USAF
(Ret’d) visits the Fresno ANG’s
194th Fighter Squadron
‘Griffins’, newly converted from
the F-16 to the F-15C Eagle.
72
EXERCISE REPORT
Velayat-94
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
Aviation demonstrated its
expanded capabilities dur-
ing Exercise Velayat-94
late in January, as Babak
Taghvaee reports.
94 Debrief
Reviews of recently published
books on military aviation.
96 Base Watch
58
Bleak Street
A snapshot of recent military
visitors to air bases around
the UK and abroad.
Tim Ripley examines the
prospects for the UK’s military
aerospace industry in the wake
of the latest Strategic Defence
and Security Review.
76
Myanmar Magic
98 Comment
62
Thunder in Qatar
Alan Warnes reports on
During a visit to Yangon-
Mingaladon Air Base in late
January,
AFM
correspondent
Vincent Martens photographed
some rarely seen aircraft of
the Myanmar Air Force.
AFM’s
view on military aviation.
Cover: An F-15C Eagle of the
Fresno's Air National Guard’s
194th Fighter Squadron 'Griffins'.
John Dibbs/Plane Picture Co
64
Red ’Roos at Red Flag
www.airforcesdaily.com
#337 APRIL 2016
3
NEWS
HEADLINES
S
LRS-B Becomes B-21 as Protest
Denied
The first artist’s impression of the USAF’s new Northrop Grumman B-21 Long
Range Strike Bomber, which was released on February 26.
USAF
ECRETARY OF the US Air
Force Deborah Lee James
has revealed that the new Long
Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B)
will be known as the B-21. The
designation is intended to reflect
the fact that this is the first new
bomber of the 21st century.
Announcing the designation
during a speech at the Air
Force Association Air Warfare
Symposium in Orlando, Florida,
on February 26, she also said
that a name for the B-21 has
yet to be decided and asked
for airmen to make suitable
suggestions. The airman who
submits the selected name will
then be invited to announce
it at the Air Force Association
conference in the autumn.
James also revealed the first
artist’s impression of the new
bomber. The design, by winning
contender Northrop Grumman,
looks remarkably similar to the
company’s earlier B-2A Spirit
which is currently in USAF service.
Earlier, on February 16, the
US Government Accountability
Office (GAO) announced that it
has denied a protest by Boeing
against the award of the LRS-B
contract to Northrop Grumman.
Award of the engineering and
manufacturing development
(EMD) phase contract, together
with early production, for the
LRS-B, had been made on
October 27 last year – see
Northrop Grumman to Build
USAF’s New Bomber,
December,
p4. A protest was lodged by
Boeing and partner Lockheed
Martin on November 6. Boeing
argued that the USAF’s evaluation
was fundamentally flawed with
respect to the assessment of
the offeror’s proposed costs
and the technical evaluation
of Northrop’s proposal.
The contract for LRS-B
comprises two parts – the
EMD phase and options for the
production of the first 21 aircraft.
As initially announced by the
USAF, the EMD phase has an
estimated value of $21.4 billion
in 2010 dollars. The USAF has
not provided a public figure for
the production cost of the first
21 aircraft and the total cost
is classified. The USAF has
challenges, and GAO’s decision
resolving them, remain classified
and are covered by the terms
of a protective order issued
for the protest. Accordingly,
this decision must undergo
a security classification
review by the USAF and is not
available for public release.
Responding to the decision, the
USAF said it was confident the
source selection team followed
a deliberate, disciplined and
impartial process to determine
the best value. Secretary of
the Air Force Deborah Lee
James said: “We look forward to
proceeding with the development
and fielding of this critical weapon
“the fixed price production award
supports the average per unit cost
of $511 million per aircraft”
explained that “the fixed price
production award supports the
average per unit cost of $511
million per aircraft (stated in
2010 dollars with a production
purchase of 100 aircraft).”
The GAO says it reviewed the
challenges to the selection
decision raised by Boeing and
found no basis to sustain or
uphold the protest. In denying
Boeing’s protest, it concluded
the technical evaluation, plus
the evaluation of costs, was
reasonable, consistent with the
terms of the solicitation and in
accordance with procurement
laws and regulations.
The details of Boeing’s
system. It is important to ensure
affordability in this programme
and the ability to leverage existing
technology as we proceed.”
Northrop Grumman welcomed
the decision, the company’s
vice president of strategic
communications, Randy Belote,
saying: "This confirms that the
US Air Force conducted an
extraordinarily thorough selection
process and selected the most
capable and affordable solution…
we are delighted to be resuming
work on the next-generation
Long Range Strike Bomber.”
Boeing said after the decision:
“We continue to believe our
offering represents the best
solution for the Air Force and the
nation, and the government’s
selection process was
fundamentally and irreparably
flawed. We will carefully review
the GAO’s decision and decide
on our next steps with regard to
the protest in the coming days.”
Subsequently, on February 26,
Boeing and partner Lockheed
Martin announced that they
will not make any further
challenges to the award. In
an announcement, Boeing
said: “While we remain firmly
convinced of the validity of the
issues raised in our protest to
the Government Accountability
Office…the Boeing-Lockheed
Martin team has decided not to
pursue further challenges to that
award, either through the GAO
or in federal court. The decision
was taken, as always, with the
best interests of our customer
and the warfighter in mind.”
With no further obstacles in its
way, Northrop Grumman will
resume work on LRS-B. The
USAF plans to procure 100 of
the new bombers to replace
its ageing fleet of B-1B Lancers
and B-52H Stratofortresses.
During a 'State of the Air Force'
briefing at the Pentagon on
March 7, AF Secretary James
revealed the names of the seven
top-tier suppliers for the B-21
programme. The engines will
come from Pratt & Whitney, while
BAE Systems, Spirit Aerosystems,
Orbital ATK, GKN Aerospace
and Janicki Industries will also
be major sub-contractors.
4
APRIL 2016 #337
www.airforcesmonthly.com
Visit
www.airforcesdaily.com
for daily
news stories. E-mail the news team
at
milnews@keypublishing.com
First Israeli M-346 with
Unit Marks
US Approves
F-16 Sale to
Pakistan
Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Lavi 149/CSX.55200, the 25th for the Israeli Air Force, taxies out at Venegono, Italy, on the
morning of March 1. The aircraft left on delivery that afternoon. Of note is the large winged tiger on the tail, which is
the squadron emblem of 102 ‘Flying Tiger’ Squadron at Hatzerim, which flies the type in the training role. This is the
first M-346 to be seen with these unit markings applied.
Fulvio Pavesi
Hungary Celebrates Ten
Years of Gripen Ops
Above:
Ten Hungarian Air Force JAS39 Gripens form a figure ten for a formation flypast over a ceremony at Kecskemét
Air Base, Hungary, to celebrate ten years of Gripen operations. The first five of a total of 14 Gripens for Hungary had ar-
rived in the country on March 21, 2006.
Dr Istvan Toperczer
China Deploys Fighters to Paracel Islands Again
CHINA’S MILITARY posturing
in the South China Sea
has continued with further
deployments of People’s
Liberation Army Naval Air Force
(PLANAF) fighters to Woody
Island in Paracel Islands. The
deployment of PLANAF Shenyang
J-11BHs and Xian JH-7s came
just before China’s Foreign
A Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army
Naval Air Force J-11BH landing on
Woody Island.
via Chinese internet
Minister arrived in Washington
DC on February 23. This followed
earlier posturing when PLA HQ-9
surface-to-air missile systems
were deployed on the island to
coincide with the Association
of Seatheast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) summit in Sunnylands,
California, on February 15-16.
US intelligence sources
confirmed on February 23
that the J-11BH and JH-7
fighter deployments to Woody
Island had been seen within
the previous few days.
The PLANAF has also previously
deployed Shenyang J-8IIs to the
island. Although China occupies
Woody Island, it is also claimed
by Taiwan and Vietnam.
A CONTROVERSIAL proposed
US Foreign Military Sale to
Pakistan of eight F-16 Block 52
aircraft has been approved by
the US State Department and
by Congress. The US Defense
Security Co-operation Agency
(DSCA) notified Congress on
February 11 of this planned
sale and announced the next
day that the State Department
had already agreed to it.
Subsequently, on March 4,
US Congress also formally
approved the sale, with almost
no opposition to the sale from
both Houses, clearing the final
hurdle for the deal to go ahead.
The potential order is valued at
an estimated $699.04 million,
including equipment, training
and logistics support, according
to the DSCA. Major Defense
Equipment (MDE) included in
the contract will be two F-16C
Block 52 and six F-16D Block 52
aircraft with the F100-PW-229
increased performance engine
and 14 Joint Helmet Mounted
Cueing Systems (JHMCS). The
estimated cost of the MDE
element is $564.68 million.
Eight AN/APG-68(V)9
radars, and eight ALQ-211(V)9
Advanced Integrated
Defensive Electronic Warfare
Suites (AIDEWS) are among
non-MDE items and spares,
support, training and logistics
support are also included.
Pakistan has previously taken
delivery of 12 F-16C Block
52s and six F-16D Block 52s
in addition to earlier F-16A/B
models. A mid-life upgrade
(MLU) of all 41 of the surviving
F-16A/Bs was carried out by
Turkish Aerospace Industries
(TAI). This commenced in 2011
and was completed in 2015.
Commenting on the
announcement, Indian
Foreign Ministry spokesman
Vikas Swarup, said: “We are
disappointed at the decision of
the Obama administration to
notify the sale of F-16 aircraft
to Pakistan. We disagree
with their rationale that
such arms transfers help to
combat terrorism.” He said
India planned to summon the
US ambassador to convey
Pakistan’s displeasure at
the proposed sale.
www.airforcesdaily.com
#337 APRIL 2016
5

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