Three USAF C-130 Aircraft Have Been Transferred to Royal Jordanian Air Force.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), U.S. Air Force (USAF), and the U.S. Embassy in Jordan celebrated the transfer of three C-130 transport aircraft from USAF to RJAF.  

RJAF has received two of the C-130 aircraft since September, with the third scheduled for delivery in January. The C-130 Ramp-to-Ramp (R2R) transfer program is the first USAF program to transfer fully active and functional assets to key security partners.

The three aircraft have received recent equipment updates and upgraded interoperable avionics and are being integrated now into the RJAF fleet. 

RJAF has been flying C-130s for over 50 years. The C-130 fleet supports the Jordanian Armed Forces through airdropping equipment, paratroopers, and cargo, non-military roles including support for disaster relief, humanitarian missions, and medical evacuation missions.  Last year, within days of the tragic explosion in Beirut, Jordanian C-130s were in the air delivering essential supplies to assist the Lebanese people. The RJAF Airlift Wing often deploy C-130s and Jordanian troops in support of UN and coalition operations in Africa and other regions. In follow up to the C-130 transfer, the USAF Mobile Training Team will provide basic and advanced training of Jordanian aircrew and maintenance crews, in line with the U.S. vision to provide a total package approach to capacity building for key security partners. 

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MOROCCO WILL RECEIVE UP TO 68 ADVANCED MIRAGE 2000-9 FROM UAE AMID TENSIONES WITH SPAIN AND ALGERIA FOR SPANISH WESTERN SAHARA AND SPANISH TERRITORIES IN NORTH AFRICA

The UAE will transfers its fleet of 68 Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets to Morocco, after purchasing 80 Rafale fighter jets from France. The Mirage 2000-9 fleet which currently equips the United Arab Emirates air force will be transferred to Morocco. 

In 2017, the Emirates signed a contract with Dassault Aviation to modernize around sixty Mirage 2000s. The UAE signed an agreement to acquire 80 Rafale, the largest obtained internationally for the fighter to be delivered from 2027. In this way, Morocco, after signing military agreements with the US and with Israel will now benefit from the weaponry that the UAE withdraws from its military. In this way, UAE will transfer up to his fleet of 68 Mirage 2000-9 fighters to Morocco. “The United Arab Emirates will deliver a series of Mirage 2000 Dash 9 fighters to Morocco, in the framework of friendship and military cooperation between the two sister countries” 

Mirage 2000 Dash 9 fighters are the most powerful version of the Mirage aircraft. Also, it is a special version only for the United Arab Emirates. It is still very powerful, and it has very advanced military technology, with a multimodal RDY-2 radar, a digital terrain tracking camera, an IMEWS countermeasures system with a Thomrad secure radio system with advanced cryptography and frequency hopping, LCD display screens and a digital recording system for four simultaneous displays, night vision goggles ( NVG) and an inertial gyroscope of the laser navigation system. This version of Mirage allows the simultaneous use of MICA IR and EM BVR anti-aircraft missiles, which is capable of attacking at distances of 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers). It is equipped with a type II core system architecture, like a next-generation aircraft. A whole tactical electronic warfare system through the adoption of interferometry technology. 

Military cooperation between the two countries is governed by a 2006 agreement with mixed military meetings held alternately in Rabat and Abu Dhabi. In the first quarter of this year, an Emirati military delegation headed by the Major General and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Emiratis met with the heads of the Moroccan Armed Forces and the Royal Air Force in Rabat. For its part, a high-level delegation from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces and the Moroccan Defense Administration participated in the two Defense exhibitions this year in Emirates, They also allow participating countries to close contracts with large international companies specialized in Defense. Behind this transfer of arms there is a political background of mutual support. It must be taken into account that the United Arab Emirates leans towards Morocco in reference to the conflict it maintains with the Polisario Front, and in its intention to implement an autonomy plan that annexes Western Sahara as the southern provinces. In 2020, the United Arab Emirates was the first Arab country to open a consulate in Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara. Action thanked King Mohamed VI, which he considered political in nature and not only merely consular, with hardly any Emirati citizens in the non-autonomous territory. Although it always made it a condition that Morocco reestablish relations with Israel, as it finally did a month later, in December 2020. Morocco has been working on rearmament since breaking diplomatic relations with Algeria and tensions with Spain. Tension in North Africa in the wake of the rift between the threeo countries has escalated significantly in the last three months. 

Authority over Western Sahara was the main trigger for ties that were key, especially gas supplies for countries such as Spain. The arms race between Rabat and Algiers is now experiencing a new chapter with the dispatch of a military fleet by the United Arab Emirates to the Alawi kingdom. new.in-24.com militarywatchmagazine moroccolatestnews El Español

Austria signs deal for 18 AW169 helicopters

Italy and Austria have entered into an agreement for the sale and procurement of 18 Leonardo AW169 multirole helicopters for the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer). 

Signed on 2 December at the Italian Ministry of Defence in Rome, the implementation phase of the agreement paves the way for a formal contractual agreement by 20 December and acquisition signature in mid-January 2022. 

Austria has earmarked between EUR300 million (USD340 million) and EUR400 million for the programme. 

 According to ARMAERO, the contract will cover six helicopters in the AW169B configuration, as well as up to 12 potentially armed AW169MA helicopters. Spares, training, support, and other items will be included in the sale. 

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UAE SIGNS DEAL FOR 80 RAFALE

The United Arab Emirates and France have signed a $19bn arms deal that will see the Gulf state acquire 80 Rafale fighter jets and 12 military helicopters. The largest-ever overseas sale of Rafale jets was sealed on Friday as French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day trip to the Gulf, during which he will also visit Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

The deal will directly support 7,000 jobs in France and guarantee the supply chain of the Dassault Aviation-made aircraft until the end of 2031, a French official told journalists. 

The UAE is taking F4-standard jets, becoming the first user for the variant outside of France. The F4 model Rafales, currently under development, will be delivered from 2027. 

By snapping up the fighter craft, the UAE is following the lead of Gulf rival Qatar, which has bought 36 of the planes. The on-off negotiations for the Rafale fighter jets took more than 10 years with Abu Dhabi publicly rebuffing France’s offer to supply 60 Rafale jets in 2011 as “uncompetitive and unworkable”. Abu Dhabi already has French-built Mirage 2000 warplanes. 

Defence sources said the Rafale would replace the Mirage 2000 fleet but is unlikely to displace the American-built F-35 as the UAE continues to hedge its security with two main suppliers, France and the United States. 

 The deal could nonetheless be seen as a signal of impatience as the US Congress hesitates on approving an F-35 deal amid concerns about the UAE’s relationship with China, including the prevalence of Huawei 5G technology in the country. Abu Dhabi also ordered 12 Caracal helicopters. It is the French code name for the H225M, the multi-role military version of the Super Puma. 

flightglobal

 

SPAIN HAS OFFICIALLY REQUESTED INFORMATION TO BUY 50 F-35 WITH FIRST DELIVERIES IN 2027

Spanish Government has officially filed an RFI for 50 LM F-35s JSF jets, 25 F-35A for Ejército del Aire (Air Force), and 25 F-35B for Armada Española (Navy) to the US State Department. 

In Early August Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 Joint Program Executive Officer, and Adm. Santiago González Gómez, National Armament Director for Spain, talked during a meeting at the program headquarters in Arlington, Va. to discuss about this subject. 

Spanish Navy wants to replace their aged AV-8B+, scheduled in service until 2028-2030, that operates from 'Juan Carlos I'. The 25 F-35A will replace F-18 Hornet Ejército del Aire's fleet. The Spanish tender covers both the air force and the navy for 25 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35As to replace the former's Boeing F/A-18 (EF-18 in national service) Hornet, and 25 short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35Bs to replace the latter's McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II/II+ (VA.2 in national service). A type selection is planned for 2025, with deliveries to begin from about 2027. As the Spanish Navy currently operates the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II/II+ (VA.2 in national service) from its amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I , it has long been known that the service will need to procure the F-35B as the only other STOVL aircraft when it eventually retires the Harrier in the early 2030s. 

janes

BRITISH F-35 CONDUCTED FIRST REFUELLING IN FLIGHT FROM US NAVY'S F-18F SUPER HORNET

British Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft have for the first time undergone “buddy-buddy” refuelling behind a US Navy (USN) Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet. Conducted in the Asia-Pacific region during the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) ongoing Carrier Strike Group deployment, the activity involved jets from the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) 617 Sqn, operating from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. 

“The refuelling occurred during exercises with the US Navy aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson,” the RAF says. It involved RAF and RN pilots. “A Super Hornet configured with external fuel tanks and AAR [air-to-air refuelling] equipment provided a valuable opportunity to carry out this training and enhance interoperability between UK and US aircraft carriers and their respective carrier-borne aircraft,” the service adds. 

flightglobal

Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000H upgrade programme delayed

The contract for the upgrade of 51 Mirage 2000s was signed in 2011. Sources say only about 50% upgrade has been completed & the programme will take another 2-3 years to finish. The nearly USD 2.5 billion plan to upgrade India’s Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft by the end of 2021 is set to miss the deadline, with only half of them having completed the process till now. 

The mega contract for the upgrade of 51 Mirage 2000s, which were used during the Balakot air strikes, was signed in 2011, and the idea was to bring the aircraft, bought between 1982-1985, up to date and give them better firepower, new sensors, latest electronic warfare systems and a life-extension. As part of the plan, Dassault Aviation, the original French manufacturer of the Mirage, was to upgrade two aircraft in France and then two more in India, at the Bengaluru facility of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The rest were to be upgraded by the HAL under transfer of technology. The upgrade includes a new mission computer with higher memory, new radar, advanced navigation and electronic warfare systems, advanced communication and identification systems. 

The upgraded aircraft are also supposed to undergo a massive upgrade of the cockpit, with two lateral displays, glass cockpits, and helmet-mounted displays. As of today, only about 50 per cent of the upgrades have been completed, sources in the defence and security establishment said, adding that the programme will take another 2-3 years to finish. According to the plan, the first 16 aircraft, including the four manufactured by Dassault Aviation with help from Thales, were to be delivered with Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) status. The remaining 35 were to come with Final Operational Clearance (FOC) status. HAL sources said a fatal accident in February 2019 involving an upgraded Mirage during a test flight, and the subsequent Covid-19 pandemic led to the delay. 

The sources added the IAF delayed the delivery of overhauled engines and certain other systems, contributing to the delay. The IAF, meanwhile, says there were issues with the FOC variant, as they were not fully satisfied with certain integration of new systems. Incidentally, the maiden flight of the first upgraded Mirage 2000 was completed successfully by Dassault Aviation on 5 October 2013, following a two-year development phase. This phase included integration of new systems provided by Thales, including the radar, the electronic warfare suite and the mission computer. The IAF had formally accepted the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 I/TI in 2015. 

theprint

ITALY TO BUY 6 P-180 INSTEAD HAMMERHEAD UAV FROM PIAGGIO

Italy announced it will purchase six new Piaggio Aerospace aircraft to help relaunch the Italian firm, and indicated the government is dropping long-held plans to buy drones from the company, ending the ill-fated story of the Hammerhead UAV. 

The Italian Defence Ministry said it would spend €171 million (U.S. $198 million) to buy six P.180 Avanti Evo turboprop plane as well as a flight simulator and engine maintenance work. 

The aircraft, which add to the ministry’s existing fleet of P.180s, will likely be used for transport, reconnaissance and special missions. defensenews

The Iraqi Air Force’s F-16 fleet is on the brink of collapse

A total of 23 Iraqi Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16IQ Viper fighter jets took part in an impressive flyby to mark the centenary of the country’s army. 

This is despite recent reports that Baghdad’s fleet of F-16s, the pride of the country’s air force and arguably its most capable combat assets, is suffering from serious readiness problems. The Iraqi Air Force originally acquired 36 F-16C/D Block 52s. Two of the jets were lost in separate accidents during their initial period of training in the United States. The remaining 34 Vipers are assigned to the 9th Fighter Squadron at Balad Air Base and have previously flown combat operations against ISIS. 

The same story quotes active and retired members of the Iraqi military who describe “poor jet maintenance and mismanagement” leading to the F-16s regularly failing to meet required maintenance standards. Officials confirmed to the Iraq Oil Report last December that only seven jets from the F-16 fleet were able to fly “without serious risk of crashing,” while the operational jets were being kept airworthy using spare parts cannibalized from the other aircraft. This is clearly a short-term solution that will eventually lead to all aircraft becoming non-airworthy in the long-term. The poor state of the jets may well have been the reason behind the decision to remove the F-16s from air tasking orders. logistical issues have affected aircraft availability, a knock-on effect of budget shortages due to the falling price of oil, together with the ongoing security situation in the country, which has led to a reduction in the Lockheed Martin-provided contractor support needed to properly maintain the jets. 

The lack of money to support the F-16s has led to Baghdad taking out a $2.7-billion loan from the United States to cover ammunition and maintenance for the jets. 

thedrive

Third Chinese Aircraft Carrier Nears Completion

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that the Jiangnan shipyard is beginning a three-year expansion that will include a new ship design and research center, additional workshops, fabrication facilities, quays, and other shipbuilding infrastructure. 

Some of the new shipyard will support the yard’s commercial vessel work but much appears to be focused on the aircraft carrier building program of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China’s first aircraft carrier, the Type 001 Liaoning, was rebuilt on a gutted, unfinished Ukrainian aircraft carrier hull and might be considered a modernized variant of the Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier. China built an improved version of the Liaoning, designated the Type 001A, which it named the Shandong. PLAN’s third and fourth carriers will be an entirely new design called the Type 002. 

They are expected to be much larger than the Liaoning and Shandong, and unlike those ships, which use ramps to assist planes in take-off, are reported to feature electromagnetic catapults. 

thediplomat

France conducts improved ASMPA nuclear missile test shot from Rafale

France has performed a first test firing of an updated MBDA ASMPA nuclear missile from a Dassault Rafale fighter. Conducted on 9 December 2020, the test activity involved the airframer and weapons provider, plus the flight-test organisation of France’s DGA defence procurement agency. 

Tracking of the unarmed medium-range missile was performed from facilities in Biscarrosse, Hourtin and Quimper. 

The French air force and navy have been equipped with supersonic ASMPA strategic weapons since 2009 and 2010, respectively, currently on F3-standard Rafales. Paris in December 2016 launched a mid-life modernisation activity for the weapon, intended to address obsolescence issues and “improve missile performance”. An MBDA fact sheet describes updates as including “significantly enhanced” range and penetration capabilities, along with the integration of a “new, medium energy thermonuclear charge”. 

flightglobal

India to sign $2.5-billion contract for 56 C-295 transport planes for IAF

Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with 56 C-295 transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector. 

India will sign a $2.5-billion contract his year for the supply of 56 medium transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force to replace its fleet of aging Avro-748 planes, officials familiar with the development said on Tuesday. 

Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with 56 C-295 transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector. Under the contract, Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by TASL. 

hindustantimes

Final design of South Korea’s light aircraft carrier

The carrier is based on the America-class and British Queen Elizabeth-class. It will not have a ski-jump or well deck like USS America. It will have two islands similiar to the British carrier. While one island is for navigating the ship and the other for flight deck control. The South Koreans are adopting two islands so that one island can still operate the ship if the other is damaged during an attack. 

The aircraft elevators are both on the starboard side. This approach was chosen in order to give more space to the flight deck. The carrier will not have an organic airborne early warning capability, the task force will rely on a destroyer with powerful radar to scan the skies while F-35Bs will provide additional air surveillance coverage if necessary. 

Concept mirrors the Italian approach that will be practice on ITS Cavour. For protection against airborne threats, the ship will be armed with a Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) and the Surface-to-Air Anti-Missile (SAAM) from LIG Nex1. 

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