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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 3230.PDF
result of demobilisation it is unlikely that much, if any, of the air force's equipment is serviceable. Type No Role Cessna 0-2/337 6 COIN Beech Baron 1 trans Cessna 402 1 comms DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 1 trans BN-2 Defender 1 trans C-47 Dakota 3 trans SF260TP 5 trng Cessna 150/172 3/1 trng Beech F33 Bonanza 1 trng Beech Twin Bonanza 1 trng • ——•— FUERZA AEREA HONDURENA (AIR FORCE) Lack of resources for new fighters meant the 1 londuran air force reactivated its fleet of stored Super Mystere tighter- bombers in 1997/8. The aircraft were received secondhand fn >m Israel in the 1970s and are armed with the Sha frir AAA 1. They are based at Le Ceiba on the Caribbean coast alongside A-37sandF-5 Tigers received from the USA in 1987/8. Some reports suggest that at least some of the Tigers have been added to Chile in return for the armed Halcons, which were built by Chile's FN.AKR under licence from C.ASA. Some liai son aircraft are also based at Le Ceiba, while transport units are located at San Pedro Sula on die Caribbean coast and near the capital, Tegucigalpa, at Tocontin. Training units are based at Palmerola in central Honduras. Typo Super Mystere B2 F-5E/F Tiger II C101BB Aviojet A-36 Halcon (C101CC) A-37B Dragonfly C-47 Dakota IAI-201 Arava IAI1124 Westwind C-130A Hercules L-188 Electra B55 Baron Commander 690/1000 Cessna 401 PA-31-235 Navajo Cessna 180/185 TH-55 Osage Bell 412EP Bell UH-1B/H MD500D Cessna T-41D Mescalero EMB-312 Tucano Number 11 10/2 4 4 13 5 1 1 4 1 1 1/1 1 3 2/2 5 9 6/7 3 5 11 role int attack trng attack FGA trans trans trans trans VIP/trans comms comms comms comms comms comms trans trans trans trng trng MAGYAR HONVEDSEG REPULO CSAPATAI (AIR FORCE) Hungary is likely to be one of the first NATO expansion members and 1 lungary's air force is one of several ex-Warsaw Pact a luxuries evaluating western fighters as replacements for ageing Soviet designs: the F-16, I7A-18 and the JAS39 Gripen are the candidates for a 30 aircraft order. The air force is split into two commands, one having responsibility for fly ing units and the other for SAA1 units. Five airbases each have a co-located wing. The wings specialise in a given role and can include two, three or four Squadrons.The .\1 i( J-21s are based at Papa in north-western 1 Iungary while the MiG-29s, and some L-39ZOs are at Kecskemet in eastern Hungary. The MiC-29s were taken as part repayment for a debt owed by Moscow following withdrawal of Soviet troops. In October 1998, die Russians offered between five and eight secondhand MiG-29s in return for wheat The Mi-24 and Mi-8/17 heli copters - which include one command post I lip-G and two F.W I lip-Ks - are grouped as a assault wing and based at S/entkiralys/.abadja. Hungary bought a batch of 16 Hinds from Germany, which had acquired the type through unifica - tion. The aircraft have not been flown but are being stripped for spares. Transport wings are based at Szolnok and Tbkol. The former includes both rotorcraft and fixed wing types and it also manages the VIP fleet. The air force academy is also at Szolnok. It operates Yak-52s and L-39ZOs. The latter were acquired from East Germany and five have been overhauled and upgraded by Danubian Aircraft. The first modified air craft was delivered in April 1998 with the remainder arriving by the end of the same year. The aircraft were delivered to the 3rd Squadron, 59 Fighter Wing at Kecskemet. Upgrades include the removal of the ranging radar and the replacement ofSoviet IFF with a Western equivalent. Type MiG-29A/UB Fulcrum MiG-21bis/MF Fishbed Mi-24D/V Hind Mi-8/Mi-17/P Hip L-39Z0 Albatros An-26 Curl Zlin 43 Yak-52 Mi-2 Hoplite ICELAND No 22/6 32/16 29/10 30/3/5 19 9 4 12 20 Role int/trng int/trng attack trans/cmt sup trng trans comms comms trng/liaison ICELANDIC COAST GUARD (ICG) The coastguard operates as a law enforcement, fisheries pro tection, SAR and F.MS force. Its fleet consists of an F27-200 Friendship, an AS332L1 Super Puma, an SA365N Dauphin 2 and an AS350B Fcureuil- All are based at Reykjavik International Airport. The helicopters also support the police. Iceland does not have armed forces. Its air defence is provided by the USA which rotates F-15 and F-16 Squadrons to the IS Navy base at Kcflavik along with supporting KC- 13 5 tankers. A permanent USAF presence is maintained by a HI I-60G Pave I lawk combat SAR helicopter supported by a Hercules tanker which operates on a rotational basis from die USA. The L'SN rotates P-3 Orions through Keflavik while a single LP-3 A equips a station flight. BHARATIYA VAYU SENA (AIR FORCE) India's arms procurement and development programmes have been hampered by global condemnation and sanctions following India's first nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998. While US companies have withdrawn development support, the Russians are still delivering equipment already signed for and discussing further sales. The Indian air force is receiving 40 Su-30MKIsstrike aircraft from Russia. The first eight air craft delivered in 1997 arc effectively Su-30Ks which will be upgraded to the full MKI-capability, which will include thrust-vectoring nozzles and canards. 1 )eliveryofthe second batch of 10 aircraft has been delayed by at least a year to 1999 while the avionics configuration is finalised. A third batch, also of 10, is due to be delivered in 2000; India has started negotiations for 10 more aircraft VIAPO flew the first of 12 5 upgraded MiG-21s in early October 1998. Changes to the weapons system and avionics will make the aircraft compati ble with the Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer) infrared short range and R-77 (AA-12 Adder) active radar air-to-air missiles. Although the first two aircraft will be upgraded by AN'PK's Sokol plant, the others will be modified by Hindustan Aeronautics using Russian-supplied kits. First flight of the indigenous Light Combat .Aircraft (LCA) continues to l>e delayed. India's attempts to overcome problems with help from US companies has been hampered by sanctions following India's nuclear test in May 1998. GF was supporting engine work and Lockheed Martin was work ing on the digital flight control systems. The first aircraft was rolled out in 1996 and a second was due to appear in summer 1998. Neither had flown by October 1998. A requirement for 200 aircraft to be delivered from 2005 exists. India has a long standing trainer requirement which was appears tohave drift ed away from new, possibly licence- built Hawks or refur bished Alpha Jets, to Russian equipment. The Indian chief of the air staff flew the AliG-ATin 1997. I lindustan Aeronautics (I IAL) started to deliver licence- built MiG-27Ms in 1986 w'hich progressively replaced Sukhoi Su-7s and indigenous Ajeets. In April 1998 the Indian chief of the air staff revealed plans for HAL to upgrade the type's radar, avionics, weapons system and compatibility with precision guided missiles. The air force at some stage will take delivery of some of the 200-odd Advanced Light Helicopters (AL1 Is) required by the Indian armed forces. Organisational ly the air force is split into seven commands subordinate to die HQ in New Delhi. Five of the commands are geographical and two - training and maintenance com mands - are functional. Western air command is also based in New Delhi and controls die north western states including the disputed Kashmir. It has around nine permanent airbases and four forward airfields. Its air defence Squadrons operate AliG-2 Is, MiG-23 and MiG-29s while ground attack forces use the A'liG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27 and Jaguar. South Western Air Command, based in Jodhpur, covers western states such as Rajatasthan and xVlaharashtra. Its air defence units operate the Su-30s, as well as MiG-21s and AliG-29s. while its attack force includes MiG-2 Is, MiG-23s and mar itime strikejaguars. Central .Air Command at Allahabad controls the area between Delhi and Bengal. While it has MiG-21 and A1 i rage 2000 air defence units it also the controls the majority of the Indian air forces transports, both fixed and rotary wing. Based at Shillong, Fastern air command covers the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar; its air defence Squadrons operate MiG-21s while the strike units use MiC-27s. Southern air command at Trivandrum covers the south and is responsible for operations in the Bay of Bengal and around the Andaman and Nicobar islands. It controls no Squadrons, relying on sec ondment from other commands. Type No Role Su-30MKI Flanker 40' strike/int MiG-29A/UB Fulcrum 70/7 int/trng Jaguar IS/IB/IM 89/14/7 attack/trng Mirage 2000H/TH 38/7 int/trng MiG-27M Flogger 160 attack MiG-23BN/UM/MF 90/15/160 attack/trng/int MiG-21bis/M/FL/U 250""/60/74/40 int/attack/tmg MiG-25R/U 6/2 recon/trng Canberra B(I)/B(TT)58/PR57 5/10/6 attack/TT/recce HPT-32 Deepak 130 trng HJT-16 Kiran 1/2 170 tmg 68 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2 - 8 December 1998
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