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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3800.PDF
AL QUWWAT AL JAWWIYA AL JAMAHIRIYAH AT- TUNISIA (REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA AIR FORCE) Tunisia's modest air force is reliant on F-5E/F Tigers and a mixture of armed trainers for its combat needs. The Czech-built L-59Ts are the newest combat air craft, having been delivered in 1995. They have train ing and light attack roles. New aircraft have eased the burden on the elderly MB326s, the oldest of which were received in the mid-1960s. MB326Ks are single- seat and optimised for ground attack. The ex-USAF C-130Bs were acquired in 1995 as military aid from the USA, along with a dozen UH-1Hs and three HH-3s. The Let 410 light transports were also deliv ered in 1995. Italy donated five G222s in 2000. Type No Role F-5E/F Tiger 12/3 int/attack/trng MB326B/K/L C-130B/H Hercules S208A AB205A/UH-1H/N Iraq L410UVP Turbolet SA341 Gazelle SA3130Alouettell AS350B Ecureuil SA316Alouette III TURKEY 4/8/4 5/2 2 3 5 6 5 attack/COIN trans comms trans anti-tank/comms •B-^H comms comms TURK HAVA KUWETLERI (AIR FORCE) The collapse of the Turkish lira in March 2001 has severely hampered Turkey's defence acquisition pro grammes. The army will probably be the worst hit but a follow-on order for 32 F-16s could be abandoned and the number of 737AEW&C platforms could be cut to four. Production of 240 locally-built F-16s was con cluded in 2000, bringing to an end project Peace Oryx, a joint venture between the Turkish Government and Lockheed Martin. To support the F-16s in the frontline, Turkey has contracted IAI to upgrade 54 of its F-4E Phantoms, and, in a separate deal, 48 F-5s which are used as lead-in fighters/trainers. The first upgraded Phantom was re-delivered in March 1999; 34 aircraft will be upgraded in Israel with the rest modified in Turkey using lAI-supplied kits. RF-4ES are to be equipped with Elop LOROP systems which will allow the air force to retire wet-film reconnaissance systems. IAI is teamed with Elbit and Singapore Aerospace to upgrade 48 F-5A/BS, which includes cockpit display, navigation and weapon system changes. The work will be carried out in Turkey using kits supplied by the consortium. Turkey committed to 26 A400M transports in 2000, but reduced this to 10 when the order was announced in June 2001. It also issued an RFP to seven companies in May 2000 for an upgrade of seven C-130Es. KC-135Rs are receiv ing the Pacer Crag cockpit avionics upgrade. The air force selected Boeing's 737 equipped with the MESA radar in November 2000, negotiating initial ly for six aircraft and a single option. A contract could be signed in the early part of 2002. Turkey's air force ordered 20 Cougars as part of a joint army/air force order in 1997. The first two were built in France and delivered in 2000. TUSAS is building another 28 air craft. It also delivered its first Cougar in 2000. Turkey is seeking a replacement for the T-37B/C; any deal would include licenced production to fill the TUSAS' factory. An RFP for up to 50 trainers is expected in 2002, for deliveries beginning in 2005. Contenders include the KT-1, PC-9, Super Tucano and T-6. The T-38s are likely to receive the same upgrade as the USAF's aircraft. The paramilitary Gendarmerie, part of the Ministry of the Interior, operates 19 Mi-17Vs ordered by Turkey in 1994. It operates other helicopters including 15 Black Hawks from an army order, most of which are also used by the armed services. Turkey is expected to participate in the EMD phase of the JSF project. Ankara is expected to be a level three participant, providing up to 2% of the funding valued at up to $500 million. Type No Role OH-58B Kiowa 20 obs/scout F-16C/D (N)F-5A/F-5B C-130B/E Hercules CN235M AS532AL Couqar King Air 200 Citation VII SF260D T-38A Talon 164/30 109/30 7/7 45/2/2 6/14' 1 2 40 69 int/trnq attack/trnq trans trans/VIP/EW CSAR comms VIP tmo. tmo. TURK DONAMA HAVACILIGI (NAVAL AVIATION) The Turkish navy has started to order S-70 Seahawks to replace its AB212ASW helicopters. It wants a fleet of up to 30, having ordered the first machines in the late 1990s. The Turkish navy has been negotiating for a further eight and six CH-60S Knighthawk utility machines. The latest H-60s will have the same glass cockpit as the army's UH-60s and CH-53Es. The SH- 60s are equipped with Hellfire ASMs rather than the hoped for Norwegian-built Penguin. Norway has embargoed a deal because of concerns over the treatment of the Kurdish minority. Turkey's navy has ordered nine CN235 MPAs, which will be built under licence by TUSAS Aircraft Industries. They will feature EADS Casa or Thales ASW systems to replace S-2 Trackers grounded in 1993. The navy also requires 10 over-the-horizon surveillance aircraft, which will share elements of the ASW system used in the CN235M. The surveillance aircraft is also likely to use the same CN235M platform. Three of the MPA CN235s will be delivered to the coast guard, which also operates JetRangers for coastal patrol. Five AB412s ordered in March 1999 will replace the JetRangers. Type No Role S-70B Seahawk 16" ASW CN235MPA 6/3" MR/cst guard AB204AS ASW/liaison TURK KARA KUWETLERI (ARMY AIR ARM) Turkey's long-standing plan to purchase up to 145 attack helicopters came nearer to reality in July 2000 when it selected the Bell AH-1Z King Cobra. Initial negotiations cover the participation of Turkish industry and a 50-machine order, with further batches of 50 and 45 aircraft planned. As a fall-back, the Turkish Government is maintaining contact with the Kamov/IAI team offering the Ka-50-2. Also in 2000, the army ordered eight CH-53Es to meet another long-standing requirement for heavy lift helicopters. The total requirement is for 20 helicopters. Both contracts are threatened by Turkey's financial problems, and in the case of the AH-1, the country's insistence on the use of local systems, particularly the mission computer. The CH-53ES will have a Rockwell Collins glass cockpit, similar to that selected by Turkey for 50 UH-60 Black Hawks ordered in 1999. The Turkish army plans to operate 200 Black Hawks. Earlier machines will be retrofitted with new cockpits. Plans for local UH-60 production seem to have collapsed and the 50 machines ordered in 1999 are to be built by Sikorsky. Fifteen were handed over almost immedi ately, while the remainder, with glass cockpits, will be delivered from 2001. The 10 Cougars on order are part of a joint army/air force order. A pair of Do-28D ELINT platforms is to be replaced by CN235Ms. Type No Role AH-1P/SCobra/AH-1W 36/9 anti-tank DQ-28D-2 ssBsaamsm AB205 UH-1H Iroquois S-70A Black Hawk ELINT 120 trans 95* King Air 200 T-41D Mescalero trans trans/VIP/CSAR comms Bellanca Citabria 30 trng AB204B 12 requirement 145 TURKMENISTAN TURKMENISTAN AIR FORCE Turkmenistan's economy has taken a series of hard knocks in recent years - it shrank by more than 25% in 1997 - and is little healthier than it was in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The air force was created in October 1993 by taking over air assets left in the country. Although it looks a large air force on paper, most of its aircraft are in storage. It is organ ised along the same lines as the Soviet air force, with a Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily (VVS) air force and Protivo-Vozdushnyye Oborony (PVO) air defence force. VVS has a composite regiment of MiG-29s and Su-17s based at Mary. This base was once the Soviet equivalent of Nellis AFB in the USA. Because of their small numbers and age it is possible that the Su-7s, MiG-21s and Yak-28s have been scrapped. PVO has two fighter regiments with MiG-23M Floggers and MiG-25 Foxbats. Only around 50 of the MiG-23s are in use - the others are stored. From August 1999, 46 Su-25s have been refurbished in Georgia as part repayment for a debt. These aircraft had all been in storage. Turkmenistan has tried to sell surplus aircraft but has had little or no success. Type MiG-23M/U Flogger MiG-25/U Foxbat MiG-21 Fishbed MiG-29/U Fulcrum Su-7B/Su-17M/UM Fitter Su-25 Frogfoot Mi-24 Hind An-12Cub An-24 Coke Mi-8 Hip L-39 Albatros No 220/10 24 3 22/2 3/65 46 10 3 1 10 2 Role int/trng int int/attack int/attack/trng attack/trng attack attack trans trans assault/trans trng ••• UGANDA PEOPLE'S DEFENCE FORCE Uganda's political unrest over the past two decades continues with insurgency in the north and an over spill from conflicts in the democratic republics of Congo and Rwanda in the south. The large Soviet- supplied combat fleet delivered in the 1970s has been destroyed or it disintegrated where it sat. Poland sold Uganda seven MiG-21s, which were upgraded by IAI. As the three ex-Libyan L-39ZAs are reported as grounded, the MiG-21 s could be the only combat capable aircraft in the inventory. Many of the heli copters and three of the SF260Ws are stored await ing maintenance. A Gill was replaced by a GIV-SP in 2001. Three Mi-24s bought in two batches in 1998-99 are the subject of a series of scandals, with two machines never having flown and the third grounded after only a few flights. The police air wing forms part of the Uganda People's Defence Force. Type MiG-21 MF/UM L-39ZA AS202 Bravo Mi-17Hip Mi-24 Gulfstream IV-SP L-39 Albatros SF260W No 5/2 3 1 7 3 1 3 4 Role int/attack COIN/trng trans/trng COIN/trans grounded trans trng trng/COIN 72 27 NOVEMBER - 3 DECEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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