Allright Austrian AlouetteThe sound is the familair sound that lets everybody in the area know there’s an Alouette III helicopter about. It just took off from nearby Aigen-im-Enstall airbase for a training flight including winch operations next to the waterfall. It’s a routine operation for the pilots of Mehrzweckhubschrauberstaffel (utility helicopter squadron), who know the Alouette and the scenery surrounding Aigen-im-Enstall like the back of their hands. However, they also operate in theaters where they are less familair, the ongoing mission in Bosnia being a prime example. During the May 2014 floods, Austrian Alouette and Blackhawk helicopters hoisted many dozens of trapped civilians to safety.“It was constant hard work for our colleagues. They flew 60 hours in three days”, says Thomas Schönauer, a Alouette pilot with 1.500 flight hours, 2.100 high mountain landings and 800 winch operations under his name. “Three of our 15 Alouette pilots are now in Bosnia, and in Austria we also always have an Alouette and pilot standing by in Schwarz and Klagenfurt. These operations take a big hit on or squadron, and while it seems a bit quiet here at Aigen-im-Enstall, we’ve actually been very busy for a long time.”
If it was up to the pilots at Aigen-im-Enstall, the Airbus Helicopters EC645 T2 is the helicopter to replace the ageing Alouette. “That is the helicopter that meets all our requirements. It operates in the spectrum that is required to keep up our experience. Unfortunately a decision has yet to be made on replacing the Alouette.”So, until at least 2020, the sound of an Alouette will regularly reverberate across the Alps, be it during training missions or during an all important, actual search and rescue mission. Of course Austrians don’t worry when hearing the high pitched screeching sound; they know it’ll be allright.
Slovakia is eager to lease eight to twelve SAAB JAS 39C/D Gripen aircraft for the coming 10 to 15 years. According to Radio Slovakia on 28 July 2014, the Defense Minister of the East-European country, Martin Glváč, confirmed that Slovak fighter pilots will fly the Swedish jets.Talks between Swedish authorities and Bratislava have been going on for some time now, with Slovakia aiming to have the new fighter enter service from 2016. The Slovaks are also cuddling up with the Czech, with whom they formed one country between 1918 and 1992. The Czech have been happily leasing Gripens since 2004.(...)The Slovakian Ministry of Defence has in the mean time knocked on the neighbours door. Plan is to first increase the co-operation between the Slovak Air Force’s (Vzdušné Sily Ozbrojených Síl Slovenskej Republiky) 1. Bojová letka at Sliač and the Czech Air Force’s (Vzdušné síly Armády České republiky) 211. Squadron at Čáslav already flying 14 SAAB Gripens.[continua]
Eles não modernizaram os MiG-29 recentemente ?
The state of Slovakia's MiG-29s is controversial, with Slovakian Defence Minister Martin Glvác stating on 4 September that past support contracts were not enforced by the previous ministry leadership, leading to widespread cannibalisation of aircraft in order to source spares. According to Glvác, Slovakia has lacked sufficient spare engines, landing gear, and other major components to maintain its full fleet due to past support arrangements not being enforced.In a statement, the Slovakian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said past support arrangements should have "ensured delivery of spare parts and repair" to damaged aircraft. However, this "never happened" as the past leadership "did not insist on the implementation of subscription agreement".According to the MoD statement, the "consequence [of the cannibalisation] has been less serviceable aircraft, reduced pilot flight hours, higher fighter failure rates and finally threats to the security of the country".Slovakia signed an upgrade contract in 2004 for 12 of its MiG-29s to be modernised and their service lives extended through to 2030-35. These aircraft were delivered back to Slovakia in 2008; however, IHS Jane's data has revealed that only four of these were believed to be fully operational by May 2011.
A Coreia do Norte suspendeu os seus exercícios de voo com aviões de combate soviéticos MiG-19 depois de três deles se terem despenhado este ano, afirmaram hoje autoridades militares sul-coreanas.«Despenharam-se em missões de treino pelo menos três dos MiG-19 norte-coreanos, um no início deste ano e outros dois no mês passado e início deste mês, respetivamente», disse uma força das Forças Armadas da Coreia do Sul à agência Yonhap.A fonte afirmou que a causa dos acidentes poderia ser a «avançada idade» dos aparelhos.Diário Digital / Lusa
WASHINGTON, September 19, 2013 - The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on September 18 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Tunisia of F-5 avionics upgrades and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $60 million.The Government of Tunisia has requested a possible sale of Block 1 Avionics Upgrades on Tunisia's fleet of 12 F-5 aircraft. The upgrade includes 12 LN-260 Standard Positioning System Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems (GPS/INS), Control Display Unit, Electrical Power, and Environmental Control System, repairs, Material Condition Inspection, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $60 million.This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country in North Africa.The proposed sale will improve Tunisia's capability to deter regional threats and strengthen its homeland defense, as well as support counter-terrorism operations. These systems will bolster Tunisia's ability to continue supporting its air and ground forces in counter-terrorism and border security operations. Tunisia, which already has F-5 aircraft in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing this service and support into its armed forces.The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.The principal contractor will be Northrop Grumman of St. Augustine, Florida. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of up to 23 U.S. contractor representatives to Tunisia for approximately two years.There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.
Nato aircraft in summit flypast over Newport and CardiffA display of 22 military aircraft from nine countries will fly over Newport and Cardiff during the Nato summit.The RAF's Red Arrows will be joined by fighters from the USA, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands.The flypast takes place over the summit at the Celtic Manor Resort on Friday 5 September at 09:00 BST.(continua)
Serbian Air Force Mig-29s returned to active service on Sept. 2, when a Fulcrum jet flew with accumulators provided by Russia.The jets were grounded four months ago because of battery isses that made them unfit to fly.According to the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic the donation, a gift by Russian President Vladimir Putin, enabled the Serbian Air Force to resume the air defense service after a long time.Here is a video showing the first Serbian Mig-29 Fulcrum flying again for the first time since last Spring.-Rattler-
Denmark To Head NATO Effort To Increase Munition AvailabilityDenmark will take the lead in a NATO project to develop ways to increase the availability of munitions between alliance members.The project will focus on multinational approaches toward air-to-ground precision-guided munitions and will establish an overall framework to strengthen international cooperation within the munitions sector, the alliance announced at the NATO summit taking place here Sept. 4-5.“The project addresses lessons learned from recent operations [Libya] where countries ran out of stocks of guided munitions and could not quickly or easily use the stocks of other air forces,” NATO said in a statement.The Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Portugal and Spain signed the agreement Sept. 4 on the sidelines of the summit being held at a golf resort here.[continua]
France to evaluate M-345 as possible Alpha Jet replacementFrance appears to have begun the process of seeking a replacement for its air force’s fleet of aged Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet trainers – and Alenia Aermacchi's M-345 is in the frame.Officials from nation’s DGA defence procurement agency and the air force will later this month travel to Alenia Aermacchi’s plant in Venegono, Italy, to evaluate the M-345 high-efficiency trainer.“There is very important interest in the M-345 in countries like France,” says the manufacturer. “During our discussions, France told us that they want the same number as the Italian air force – 35.”Within Europe, Alenia Aermacchi has already sold the M-346 lead-in/advanced jet trainer to its home nation and Poland, and sees a potential deal with France as key to establishing a network of training sites across the region that could offer services to other countries.[continua]
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