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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 3212.PDF
WORLD Aju pomttm • M III —I^M Afghanistan has been wracked by war for decades. The Islamic Taliban controls about two-thirds of the land locked mountainous country. Areas in the north are held by an alliance between troops loyal to former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, led by his former defence minister General Ahmad Shah Masoud, and the National Islamic Alliance. Fierce fighting frequently breaks out in and around Kabul, in the north-eastern provinces of Takhar, Kunduz and Baghlan antl in the north-western provinces of Faryab and Badghis. Alleged terrorist camps in the south were targeted by L'S cruise missile strikes in summer 1998 in response to bomb attacks on US embassies in East Africa. Around 10-12 other groups exist aside from the Taliban and the Masoud-led alliance; however, only the lat ter two are thought to have aircraft, some of which remain from the Russian occupation of the 1980s. Both sides appear to have limited numbers of \liG-21s, Su-17/2.0/22 Fitters and Masoud's army also claims a handful of L-39s. Both sides certainly have helicopters, mainly Mi-8/17s, but also possibly Mi-24/25/35 Hinds. Casualties continue to be high due to poor access to spares and a plentiful supply of nonportable SAMs such as SA-7 Grail (Strela 2/2M). SA- 14 Gremlin (Strela 3) and Stingers, as well as a prevalence of heavy machine guns. ALBANIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY - AIR FORCE Albania, one of I' urope s poorest countries, has had an in flax of refugees from Kosovo, an Albanian region within Serbia which is struggling for full independence from Yugoslavia. The painful change to a more open economy caused consid erable civil unrest in 1997. Given this, the readiness and oper ational availability of much of the air force's inventor)- is questionable. However, following NATO manoeuvres over Albania and neighbouring.Vlacedonia injune 1998 related to the Kosovo situation, live Albanian fighters took off from Albania's main bases at Rinas, Gajdar and Kucova. Administered by the army, most of the air force's fixed and rotary winged aircraft are Chinese copies of Russian designs. Type Shenyang F-2 (MiG-15bis) No 13 Shenyang FT-2 (MIG-15UTI) 11 Shenyang F-4 (MiG-17F) Shenyang F-5 (MiG-17PF) Shenyang FT-5 Shenyang F-6 (MiG-19) Shenyang FT-6 (MiG-19) Shenyang F-7A (MiG-21) SA316/319 Alouette III AS350B Ecureuil Bell 222UT Harbin Z-5 (Mi-4) Nanchang CJ-6 Nanchang Y-5 (An-2) 2 11 3 32 1 22 4 3 1 21 6 4 Role FGA trng FGA FGA trng int trng int liaison trans trans trans trng trans AL OUWWAT AL IAWWIYA AL JAZA'ERIYA (AIR FORCE) Algeria was a client state of the former Sovici Union. The latter's dissolution and the withdrawal of technical person nel by Russia have undoubtedly affected the air force's combat capability. The country has also suffered from severe internal unrest after cancellation of elections. The country is one of the select few to operate the MiG-25, having both interceptor and reconnaissance versions in service. Other air defence aircraft include the AliCi-21, while the MiG-23, Su-20 and Su-25 provide the ground attack capability. The USA and France have supplied transports and helicopters. It was reported in September 1998 that Belarus is offering 36 MiG-29s to Algeria in exchange for its MiG-2 Is. Type MiG-25/R/U Foxbat MiG-23N/B/U Flogger Su-24 Fencer Su-25 Frogfoot MiG-21MF/U Fishbed L-39ZA/CAIbatros C-130H/H-30 Hercules 11-76 Candid An-12 Cub King Air B200T F27-400M Friendship Falcon 900 Gulfstream III T-34C Turbo Mentor Zlin 142 Mi-24 Hind Mi-8/17 Hip Mi-4 Hound Mi-6Hook AS355F Ecureuil 2 No 10/4/3 40/30/5 10 10 96/3 32/7 10/6 5 6 2 2 2 3 6 30 35 30 2 5 10 Role int/recon/trng FGA/int/trng strike strike int/tmg armed trng trans trans trans coast patrol VIP/trans VIP VIP trng trng attack trans trans trans trans FORCE AEREA POPULAIRE DE ANGOLA (AIR FORCE) Two decades of warfare followed independence from Portugal, but a fragile peace appears to be holding. The coun try's air force had been operational ly engaged throughout the 20 year conflict, initially with heavy support from Cuba. Guerrillas claimed they destroyed more than 200 aircraft, including some 90 MiG-21/23 fighters, since the beginning of 1985. The air force faces dramatic cuts, mainly to fighters and combat helicopters. I lowever, it did receive a handful of new aircraft from Russia and Ukraine in 1997/8 including MiG-23s,Mi-l7sandMi-24IIinds.TheMiG-21sandMiG- 23s are based at Kuito, I.iiena, Menongue and Mocamedes, while a single Squadron of Su-22s operates from Luanda. 1 Ielicopters, particularly gunships. are an important part of the inventory, having being been flown in intensive anti-guer- rilla operations. Lockheed Martin has signed a memorandum of understanding to sell eight ex-RAF C-130Ks to Angola. Typo MiG-23 Flogger Su-25 Frogfoot MiG-21MF Fishbed PC-7 Turbo-Trainer BN-2T Islander F-27MPA Embraer EMB-111A Boeing 707 An-2 Colt An-26 Curl No 20 19 20 9 4 1 2 2 5 9 L-100-20/C-130K Hercules 2/8** C-212 Aviocar PC-6B Cessna 172 Yak-11 Moose Mi-25/35 Hind SA365 Dauphin 2 8 4 3 6 12/14 5 Role int/attack attack/trng int/trng trans/attack Comms MR MR VIP trans trans trans trans trans/attack trng trng attack liaison/attack SA342L Gazelle 6 anti-armour Mi-8C/17 Hip 12/7 trans/attack AS565 Panther 8 trans/attack IAR316B Alouette III 30 trans/attack EZZnnSHHHBHII^HHHHBH FUERZA AEREA ARGENTINA (ARGENTINE AIR FORCE) Lockheed Martin delivered the first locally upgraded A-4\Ks in August 1998 to the air force, which put them in sen ice at the Villa Reynolds airbase. The A-4AR has had a major upgrade which includes a version ot i he Northrop Grumman APG-66 radar, a newcockpitand navigation equipment. The final aircraft is due to be delivered by the end of 1999. Air defence is provided by the air force's mixed fleet of Mirages and their Israeli developments, the Nesher and Dagger which are to be upgraded. The air force still has an advanced trainer requirement as funding for the indigenous IA63 Pampa ended after the 13th example rolled off the production line. Originally 100 were to be procured. As well as the aircraft list ed below the Argentine air force operates general aviation types for recreational flying. Type No Role COMMANDO DE AVIACION NAVAL ARGENTINA (NAVY) Latest type to join the Argentine navy is die P-3 B Orion. The first ex-L'SN aircraft was received in late 1997 with the remainder due to be transferred bv the end of 1998. Argentine navy Trackers are being converted to AlliedSignal TFE331 turboprop power, with all due to be modified by the end of 1998. New mission systems are also being fitted. The Xavantes were purchased to supplement the MB326S and MB339s and with an intention to replace them with a navalised version of the indigenous LA63 Painpa. Closure of A-4P Skyhawk A-4AR/TA-4AR Fightinghawk Nesher/DaggerA/B Mirage HIE/BE/DA Mirage 5P Canberra B62/T64 IA58 Pucara Aero Commander 500 C-130B/H/L-100-30 Hercules KC-130H Hercules 707 707-300 757-200 F27-400/600 Friendship F28-1000/1000C Fellowship DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 Sabreliner 75A Cessna 182 UH-1H Iroquois Bell 212/412 CH-47C Chinook Hughes 500/D/E Defender SA315B Lama S-70A Black Hawk EMB-312 Tucano IA63 Pampa Su-29 T-34C Turbo Mentor MS760 Paris IR IA50 Guarani II Learjet 35A PA-31-310 Navajo 15 32/4* 22/3 15/2/4 8 3/2 60 8 5/5/1 2 2 1/2/1 1 11 4 6 1 17 10 5/1 2 15 4 1 28 13 8 30 15 4 5 1 attack attack int/trng int/trng int bomber/trng COIN recon trans tanker tanker/trans ELINT/VIP VIP trans trans trans VIP comms trans trans/VIP trans A0P/C0IN trans VIP trng train trng tmg train survey recon calibration 50 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2 - 8 December 1998
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