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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 2327.PDF
A J Si rUSOJBij UP f lB VJUSiLD service in 1998. Grob 115s used for flying grading are contractor owned, as are the Falcons used for target towing and E\V simulation. RAF Jaguars are being upgraded to remain in service alongside the Harrier GR7 (foreground) Germany, but due to redeploy to the UK in 2002. Nol Group also has four Harrier GR7 squadrons. Two of them, 3 and 4 Sqn, arc based at RAF Laarbruch, Germany, arc due to return to RAF' Cottesmore in 1999. Each squadron also flies Harrier Tl 0 trainers. The Jaguar force is based at RAF Coltishall with 6 and 54 Sqn, and the 41 Sqn reconnaissance unit. The Jaguar Operational Conversion Unit, 16 (Reserve) Sqn, is based at Lossiemouth, but is expected to move to Coltishall. The Group's support-helicopter force is being restruc tured. All three Chinook squadrons, 7 and 18 returned from Laarbruch, and 27(Reserve), are now based at RAF Odiham. Pumas equip 33 Sqn at RAF Benson, 230 Sqn at RAF Alclergrove, Northern Ireland, and are in the process of replacing some of the Wessex helicopters of 72 Sqn, also at Aldergrove. The Merlin 1IC3 will eventually equip 28 Sqn at Benson, and replace the remaining Wessexes of 72 Sqn. UK air-defence, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search and rescue (SAR) are the responsibility of 11/18 Group. The air-defence element consists of two squadrons of'Ibrnado F3s at RAF Leuchars, RAF Leeming and RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, plus the F3 Operational Conversion Unit, 56 Sqn, also at Coningsby. The ASW/maritime-patrol function is performed by three squadrons of Nimrods at RAF Kinloss, which also hosts the Nimrod Operational Conversion Unit, 42 Sqn. The SAR function is carried out by detachments of die Sea King FIAR3s and HA3As from 22 and 202 Sqn. HQ 38 Group operates the RAF's transport and tanker aircraft. Fourteen VC10 K2, K3 and K4 three-point tankers serve with 101 Sqn at RAF Brizc Norton alongside the 13 two-point VC10 ClKs of 10 Sqn, which perform tanking and long-distance transport operations. Nine TriStars fufil the strategic tanker/transport role. Five squadrons continue to fly Hercules tactical transports from RAF Lyneham. At RAF Northolt, 32 (Fhe Royal) Sqn absorbed the aircraft and duties of The Queen's Flight at Benson during 1995 and now flies three BAe 146s and two Wessex HCC4s previously with the Royal Flight, plus eight BAe 125s and two Twin Squirrel helicopters, the latter leased from a commercial operator since 1996 to replace Gazelle HCC4s. The permanent overseas deployment to the Falkland Islands comes under the control of Strike Command, with 1435 Fit Tornado F3s, 78 Sqn Chinook HC2s, Sea King HAR3s and 1312 Fit VC10 tankers and Hercules CIPs. Type Tornado GR1/IA/1B Tornado F3 Jaguar GR1A/B/T2A/B Harrier GR7/T10 Nimrod R1P/MR2P No Role 164 strike 120 int 52 strike/recon/trng 68 attack 28 MR/ASW Sentry AEW1 7 AEW Canberra PR9/T4/E15 9 PR/ECM/trng TriStarCKl/KCl/K2/C2/2A 9 tanker/trans VC10 K2/K3/K4 14 tanker VC10 C1/C1K 3 trans/tanker Hercules C1P/W2/C3P 58 trans Hercules C4/C5 25* trans BAe 146 C2 3 Queen's fit HS125 CC2/CC3 8 VIP/comms Chinook HC2 35 trans Chinook HC2/3 14* trans Merline HC3 22* trans Twin Squirrel 2 trans PumaHCl 37 41 trans Sea King HAR3/3A 25 SAR Wessex HC2 15 trans/SAR Griffin HT1 (Bell 412) 9* * trng Squirrel HT1/HT2 38** trng Gazelle HT2/HT3 35 trng/VIP Firefly Mkll 18 trng Hawk T1/T1A 92 trng Dominie Tl 11 trng Jetstream Tl 0 trng Tucano Tl 66 trng *on order c under conversion ROYAL NAVY - FLEET AIR ARM (FAA) The Royal Navy consists of 18 Naval Air Squadrons. The current Invincible class of multi-role aircraft carriers (CVS) consists of HiVIS Invincible, Illustrious and Ark Royal. Two CVS are kept operational at all times. A typical CVS air group consists of eight Sea Harriers and 12 Sea Kings - nine ASW and three AEW variants. British Aerospace is produc ing 18 new Sea I farrier FA2s, while the first Sea Harrier FRS1 upgraded to FA2 standard was handed over to the Royal Navy in April 1992. Every destroyer and frigate car ries a Lynx HAS3/TLV1A8 or a Sea King HAS 6: the ice- patrol ship ILV1S Endurance carries two Lynx HAS3s. A heli copter carrier, HMS Ocean, was ordered in 1993. RNAS Culdrose is the home base for six Sea King squadrons: 814, 849 and 820 Sqn are front-line units, 706 and 810 are training squadrons and 771 is the SAR squadron. RNAS Yeovilton is the home base for the Sea Harriers and the commando-assault Sea King HC4s. There are two front-line Sea Flarrier squadrons, 800 and 801, plus the training squadron, 899. Helicopter units at Yeovilton include 845, 846,847, 848 and 707 Sqn with the Sea King HC4s and Royal Marines Lynx and Gazelles. RNAS Pordand is the home base for the Lynx; 702 Sqn trains aircrew and maintainers; 815 Sqn is the sole front-line Lynx parent unit. RNAS Prestwick has one ASW Sea King squadron (819), which also performs SAR operations. The ASW variant of the EH 101, the Merlin HAS1, will enter Type Sea Harrier FA2 Harrier T4N/T8 Sea King HAS5/6 Sea King AEW2 Sea King HC4 Lynx HAS3/HMA8 Lynx AH 7 Gazelle AH1 Gazelle HT2/3 Jetstream T2/3 Hawk No Role 26 int/recon/strike 7 trng 60 ASW/SAR 9 AEW 33 assault/SAR 58 ASV/ASW 6 Royal Marine Ops 9 Royal Marine Ops 17 trng 9/3 obs tmg/comms 6 FRADU ARMY AIR CORPS (AAC) An autonomous force within the British Army, die \ \< operates some 300 helicopters and about 28 fixed-wing air craft. A modified AH-64D Longbow Apache, the Westland WAH-64, was selected to meet the army's requirment to replace the Lynx in the anti-armour role, although 67, rather than the hoped-for 91, helicopters will be purchased. Type Lynx AH1/7 WAH-64D Lynx AH9 Gazelle AH1 Scout AH 1 Islander AL1 Chipmunk T10 Agusta A109A No Role 100 anti-tank/utility 67** anti-tank 24* utility 160+ recon/liaison 30+ utility 5/2 comms/trng 21 trng 4 utility •delivery in progress * *on order Ukraine, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, has emerged as one of Europe's strongest air powers. It has a inventor)' (at least on paper) of around 2,800 aircraft. 1,500 of them of combat types, including 18 Tu-160s. 24 Tu-95s. 220 Su-24s, 120 MiG-29s and 90 Su-27s. Around 25 I1-7S Midas tankers are based in L'kraine, alongside six air regi ments (around 200 aircraft) of 11-76 Candid transports. The Ukrainian armed forces consists of three services: the land forces, the navy and the airspace-defence tone. The land forces include two to three brigades of army aviation. The air force is divided into three groups, under die con trol of operational commands (West, South and Central), and the fourth is the naval-aviation group. The CFE limits agreed for Ukraine are 1,090 combat aircraft and 330 com bat helicopters. This breaks down to 40 heavy and 110 medium bombers, 220 Fencers, 30 ground-attack aircraft and 500 tactical fighters. The defence ministry is preventing the withdrawal of over 20 Tu-22Ms from the Russian Black Sea Fleet Aviation regiments stationed in Ukraine. PT^l US AIR FORCE (USAF) The US Department of Defense's Quadrcnniel Defense Review (QDR), completed in mid-1997, proposes reducing the US Air Force to 12 active fighter wings, by transferring one wing to the reserve component, which would then have eight wings. This maintains the overall level of 20 fighter- wing equivalents established by the Bottom-L'p Review (BUR) in 1993. The BUR set in motion a post-Cold War slimming down of the USAF from 28 wings to 20 by the end of the century. Under the QDR, one of four wings of F-15C air-superior ity fighters will be disbanded. This has reduced the USAF's requirement for F-22 replacement air-superiority fighters by 99, to 339 aircraft. The F-22 is scheduled to become operational in 2004. The QDR directed that a strike-aircraft derivative of the F-22 be studied as a possible eventual replacement for two wings of F-15Es and half a wing of F-l 17s, after 2015. The USAF's planned purchase of Joint Strike Fighters to replace F-16s and A-10s, beginning FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 10 - 16 September 1997 67
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