UK DEFENCE Secretary Sir Michael Fallon confirmed on November 1, that the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows aerobatic team is to re-equip with new aircraft. He said that the team’s current Hawk T1s are in need of replacement and a…

NEWLY ACQUIRED Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130T Hercules 5040 (c/n 5040, ex USMC/163022) completed its delivery flight on October 9, when it landed safely at Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, Cebu, in the Philippines. It had left Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.…

RUSSIAN NAVY aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov (063) transited southwards through the English Channel on October 21, along with a Task Group of seven other Russian naval vessels en route to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where its aircraft will participate in…

A THIRD C-27J Spartan has entered Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) service. The aircraft, A34-003 (c/n 4182, USAF/12-27050), arrived at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, on October 18 at the end of its ferry flight from prime contractor L-3…

AN ADDITIONAL AW139 has joined the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Air Wing, supplementing two already in service. The new helicopter, AS1630 (c/n 31625, ex I-PTFT), was delivered on September 22. As previously reported within AirForces Monthly, an order for…

US STATE Department approval has been granted for a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq of two Cessna AC-208B Combat Caravan aircraft and related equipment, training, and support. The proposed order, worth an estimated $65.3 million, was announced today, October…

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS has begun the flight test campaign for the public services variant of the H175 medium twin-engine helicopter. The company announced on October 12, at Helitech in Amsterdam that an initial flight-test campaign had been successfully concluded after 12…

BANGLADESH HAS become the latest nation to acquire the Airbus C295W medium airlifter with an order for a single aircraft for Bangladesh Army Aviation. Airbus Defence and Space announced the contract for the aircraft on October 11. In transport configuration,…

FINLAND’S DEFENCE Ministry announced on October 10, that Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto has authorised the acquisition of 28 second-hand Grob G115E elementary and basic flying training aircraft from Babcock International in the UK. In addition to the aircraft, the purchase…

TWO ADDITIONAL EC725 Caracals have been ordered by the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) as part of the continuation of its fleet strengthening programme agreement, which was launched in 2012. Airbus Helicopters announced the contract on October 4. The mission-ready…