Asia-Pacific Military Aviation News roundup: 20 Aug 2013

The aerobatic team of the Chinese People's Liberation Air Force, August 1st, will make their overseas debut when they perform at Russia's MAKS 2013 International Air Show at Ramenskoye Airport from Aug 27 to Sept 1. The team flies the Chengdu J-10 fighter jet.

Meanwhile, Taiwan has sorted out with Lockheed-Martin the details of the Republic of China Air Force's F-16 fleet upgrade. The US$1.85 billion Foreign Military Sales contract will be centred around an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar, expected to be Northrop Grumman's Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR).

A few days ago, the first Republic of Korea Air Force Lockheed-Martin C-130J-30 transport made its first flight. Its painted in a pretty nice camo too. Makes for a nice change for the usual grey. Anyway, here's a pic.

Singapore re-forms Black Knights, to perform at 2014 airshow

Click on thumbnail for high-res (© Singapore Ministry of Defence)

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has re-formed the Black Knights aerobatics team in a ceremony at Tengah Airbase today. The Black Knights will feature six RSAF F-16C Fighting Falcons, with the aircraft to be painted in a new paint scheme featuring the traditional red and white colours and incorporate Singapore's national symbols of the crescent moon and five stars. The team will be preparing for the Singapore Airshow 2014 from July onwards and training is expected to intensify nearer the event, which will be held in February 2014.

The first Black Knights team was formed with Hawker Hunters in 1973, making this the 40th Anniversary of the team. Unlike other air forces, the Black Knights are not a full-time display team, and pilots are not full-time performers and continue to hold operational appointments. The team's last appearance was at the 2008 Singapore Airshow.

Frankly, the scheme looks awesome. Just sayin'...

Taiwanese F-16 crashes into sea; pilot rescued

RoCAF (Taiwan) F-16B of the 455th TFW. Photo © unknown

A Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force F-16A crashed into waters southwest of Chiayi in southern Taiwan on Wednesday, but its pilot ejected to safety, according to the RoCAF. The pilot, Lieutenant Wu Yen-ting, reported an unspecified problem soon after takeoff and ejected shortly after. He was rescued by a RoCAF S-70 Search and Rescue helicopter.

Chiayi (嘉義) is home to the 455th Tactical Fighter Wing of the RoCAF, which operates three squadrons (Tactical Fighter Groups in RoCAF parlance) of F-16A/B Block 20s.

Taiwan wants more than F-16s to replace F-5s, but who's selling?

Photo © Reuters

Taiwan's Defence Minister Kao Hua-chu has said that even if the United States were to soften its stance, Taiwan may not necessarily agree to buy 66 F-16C/Ds from the United States as the island looks for more advanced fighters for the future. Taiwan has been lobbying to acquire the F-16C/Ds for some time, however the United States has baulked at the sale for fear of antagonising China and offered to upgrade Taiwan's current fleet of 145 F-16A/Bs instead.

Which is well and good, but for the fact that with China continuing to successfully isolate Taiwan diplomatically, it is questionable that any of the countries who currently have advanced fighter programs will be willing to sell and risk China's ire. There aren't all that many 4th Gen fighter types available on that market now, and that already small pool shrinks even further once one takes into consideration the political/diplomatic minefield selling weapons to Taiwan currently is.

With the recent announcement that the survivors of the Republic of China Air Force's F-5E/F Tiger IIs are due to be retired in 2019, Taiwan's fighter needs in the face of a strengthening China will become more pressing, yet without a radical change in how the United States and other nations view their relationship with China vis-a-vis Taiwan, the latter will find it extremely difficult to find willing seller of arms.

PHOTO: USAF Aggressor F-16 air-to-air with RAAF Hornet

As has been reported previously, the USAF Aggressor F-16s of Eielson AFB (Alaska) have been in Australia supporting the RAAF's ongoing Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course by providing adversary support. They have since left, but not before going for a photoshoot with the RAAF's Hornets, resulting in this spectacular Photo Gallery.

Click on thumbnail for full size image

USAF F-22, F-16 and C-17 flying displays confirmed for Avalon Airshow

F-22 at 2011's Avalon Airshow. The F-22s were static only the last time they swung by the neighbourhood.

From Avalon Airshow's Facebook page:

The United States Air Force has just confirmed that its top-of-the-line fighter, the F-22 Raptor will return to Avalon for the first flying display ever seen in Australia.

Two F-22 Raptors and their teams will be attending the 2013 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition, with one of the aircraft on static display.

Major Henry 'Schadow' Schantz is the United States Air Force F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team Chief and will be showcasing the aircraft's amazing maneuverability for the Airshow crowds.

The United States Air Force is once again showing its long standing support for the Avalon event and is also bringing an F-16 demonstration team (Ed: Almost certainly the PACAF F-16 display team from the 35th Fighter Wing based at Misawa, Japan) for the flying display along with a C-17 demonstration team.

Alaskan Aggressor F-16s, Oregon F-15s headed Down Under

U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald

173rd Fighter Wing, 114 Fighter Sqn, Oregon Air National Guard Photo

Click on thumbnails to view high-res images

There will be some interesting visitors Down Under in late February/early March. We've just gotten word that the United States Air Force (USAF) will be supporting the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) ongoing Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course by providing adversary support. This year would see the colourful Aggressor F-16s of the USAF's 18th Aggressor Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing and the F-15s from the 114th Fighter Squadron, 173rd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard at RAAF Base Williamtown from 25 February to 22 March 2013.

If previous years are a guide, the two USAF squadrons will take turns training with the RAAF, with one squadron spending the first two weeks of the above dates at Williamtown before the second squadron takes over for the next two weeks. This will be the first time the 18th AGRS is coming to Australia, while the 114th FS had previously supported the 2008 iteration of the RAAF's FCI course.

The 18th AGRS is normally based at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska while the 114th FS hails from Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Interesting reads: Rivals vie for F-16 upgrades; Japan's airpower issues

A couple of articles worth a read, if Asian military aviation is your thing:

Lockheed Martin hopes to cash in by upgrading F-16s by Bob Cox over at The Star Telegram

China crisis adds urgency to Japanese air force modernisation by Greg Waldron at Flightglobal.

A common denominator of both stories is the troubled development of the Lockheed-Martin F-35, along with (to a smaller extent) the rise of China's military power. Most critics are worried about how the F-35's issues will affect the dominance of the United States, but have focused less on its effect on American's allies, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

Singapore's F-15s, F-16s to take part in Red Flag - Alaska 13-1

RSAF F-15SG from the 428th Fighter Squadron (© Commonwealth of Australia)

RSAF F-16D Block 52 from the 425th Fighter Squadron.(© Neil Pearson)

F-15s and F-16s from the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) two overseas-based fighter training detachments will be heading to Alaska for Exercise Red Flag 13-1, to be held from the 4th to the 19th of October.

Eight RSAF Boeing F-15SG Strike Eagles from the Mountain Home, Idaho-based 366th Fighter Wing's 428th Fighter Squadron (Buccaneers), a joint USAF-RSAF training squadron will be joined by ten RSAF F-16C/D Block 52s from the 56th Fighter Wing's 425th Fighter Squadron (Black Widows), which is also a joint USAF-RSAF training unit, from Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It is believed (unconfirmed at the moment) they will be joined by a Singapore-based RSAF KC-135R from 112 Sqn.

Other air combat participants at Red Flag 13-1 include the USAF's F-22 Raptors and F-16C/Ds. EA-6B Prowlers are slated to provide Electronic Warfare support while there will also be Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) missions undertaken by HH-60 Pave Hawks from the USAF. The Royal Thai Air Force will also take part with a single C-130 Hercules transport. "Red" aggressor missions will, as usual, be flown by the USAF's 18th Aggressor Squadron with it's colourful F-16s.

Red Flag-Alaska is a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored joint/coalition, tactical air combat employment exercise designed to replicate the stresses that warfighters must face in combat. The exercise takes place in the Joint Pacific Range Complex over Alaska as well as a portion of Western Canadian airspace. The entire airspace is made up of extensive Military Operations Areas, Special Use Airspace, and ranges, for a total airspace of more than 67,000 square miles. All Red Flag-Alaska flying takes place from the two main USAF bases on Alaska, namely Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Indonesia offered 10 more F-16s; wants AGM-65K2 Mavericks

Indonesia's Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has revealed that a second offer of F-16s to Indonesia consists of 10 additional aircraft. He had previously been coy about revealing the number. Indonesia has already been offered 24 refurbished ex-USAF F-16C/Ds, and is currently operating a fleet of 10 F-16A/Bs.

Meanwhile the Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified the U.S Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Indonesia for 18 AGM-65K2 Maverick Air-to-Surface missiles. The AGM-65K is an updated derivative of AGM-65G with an improved 480x480 pixels CCD-TV sensor.

Taiwan denies it has reduced F-16C/D request from 66 to 24 aircraft

Contrary to reports in the Taiwanese media last week, a military spokesman has said that Taiwan has not reduced its request for F-16C/D fighters from its original requirement of 66 to 24 aircraft. Taiwan had been hoping to obtain 66 F-16C/Ds since 2006, despite China's vociferous opposition to any forms of arms sales to Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province.

Indonesia says no more Sukhois; offered more F-16s from US

Air Marshal Eris Herryanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Defense Ministry, has said the SouthEast Asian nation will not buy any more Sukhoi Su-27/30s from Russia on top of the ten aircraft already on inventory and a further six already on order. Meanwhile, Indonesia has also revealed that the United States has offered more F-16s on top of the 24 refurbished aircraft already being delivered. The number being offered this time round has not been revealed, although it was said to be enough to form another squadron of aircraft.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is also close to acquiring six more C-130H Hercules transports from the Royal Australian Air Force. The RAAF is due to retire its C-130H fleet at the end of this year.

BAE Confirms South Korea F-16 Upgrade Deal

Confirming press reports, BAE Systems has said that South Korea has selected the company to perform an upgrade to the avionics and electronics systems for its fleet of 130 KF-16 Block 52 fighters.

The upgrade will cover systems engineering and integration, software and electronics engineering, obsolescence management, and logistics support.

Wolfpack in Singapore for Commando Sling

F-16s from the United States Air Force's 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Wing (the Wolfpack) have been flying out of Paya Lebar Airbase in Singapore, taking part in Exercise Commando Sling (12-3?) with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

It is unclear when the exercise began or when it is scheduled to end, but the Wolfpack's F-16s have been sighted operating out of Paya Lebar since early last week.

The Pantons of the 35th Fighter Squadron are normally based out of Kunsan, South Korea.

Brunei AF Bell 212, USAF F-16 crash in seperate incidents

A bad weekend in our neighbourhood for military aviation with a Royal Brunei Air Force Bell 212 helicopter crashing while carrying 11 military cadets and three crew home after training in the jungle, tragically killing 12 on board.

Meanwhile on Sunday morning, a USAF F-16C crashed into the sea 200 miles (320km) off northern Japan whilst on a ferry flight from Misawa Air Base in Japan to the mainland United States. The pilot, from the USAF's 35th Fighter Wing based at Misawa, ejected from the stricken aircaft and was rescued by civilian vessels.

Taiwan to sign for F-16 AESA radar upgrade in July?

Looks like Taiwan may be the first Asian nation to select an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar for it's F-16s. Taiwan's United Evening News has said that Taiwan will sign a US$600m deal with the United States to retrofit the Republic of China Air Force's 145 F-16A/B Block 20s with AESA radars as part of a previously reported US$5.3b project to upgrade the RoCAF's F-16s.

As reported here a while back, Taiwan is among 3 Asian nations looking to upgrade their F-16 fleets with AESA radars, with Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) and the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) being the contenders. It is expected the winner of the RoCAF's AESA competition will be the favourite for the other 2 AESA upgrades, along with the USAF's own F-16 AESA upgrade, if the latter goes ahead with the plan.

It was reported in May that Taiwan has been pressured to pay for non-recurring integration costs of the AESA sets onto the F-16, which it was loathe to do due to budget constraints. However, unlike the other nations looking to upgrade their F-16s, Taiwan has no avenue to acquire more modern combat aircraft, with both South Korea and Singapore operating advanced F-15s alongside their F-16s. It looks like Taiwan has had to cave in, at least partially, on this.

Philippines may buy other fighter jets instead of F-16s

Amid a maritime standoff with China over disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Filipino president has said that the Philippines may purchase fighter jets from a source other than United States. The country had asked for second-hand F-16s from the United States, but the jets’ maintenance costs could end up being too high because of their age.

While I won't rule out that this story is true and the Philippines are looking at fighters (or maybe an advanced combat capable LIFT) from somewhere other than the united States, I would think the Philippines' defence ties with (or reliance on) the United States may mean the President is angling for a better deal for the F-16s in this case. We'll see.

Taiwanese officers urge government to dump F-16s; go for F-35Bs

Taiwanese newspaper Taipei Times, quoting a Chinese language report in the China Times, has said that "senior military officers" believe that Taiwan should abandon it's bid to buy F-16C/Ds from the United States and instead turn to the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. This is due to rising costs associated with both the F-16C/D purchase and the planned upgrade for the Republic of China Air Force's current fleet of 145 F-16A/Bs.

This piece of news has stirred up a few opinions on our Twitter feed, with Kyle Mizokami from Japan Security Watch pointing out that "if Taiwan didn't like the price of the F-16A upgrades, wait till they get the F-35 quote" (latest news is that Japan's order for 42 F-35s will come to US$238 million per aircraft, and the Japanese are buying the cheaper F-35A variant) while Greg Waldron over at Flightglobal's Singapore bureau reckons F-35s for Taiwan would be a nothing but a pipe dream, suggesting the mainland "would happily bribe a Taiwan pilot to pop over (in an RoCAF F-35)..."

Good points, above, although we would like to add that expecting the RoCAF's current F-16A/Bs (upgraded or not) to soldier on until Taiwan gets it's hands on F-35s (assuming export approval to is given in the first place) without an interim solution in the face of China's growing economic and military clout is a tad optimistic. Remember, China a) views Taiwan as a renegade province b) has not formally ended a state of war with the island, and c) has not ruled out taking back the island by force.

US considering selling Taiwan new fighters, or are they?

Reports have emerged over the weekend that members of the Obama Administration have stated that they are considering selling new fighters to Taiwan. This, despite the same Administration rejecting Taiwanese requests for 66 new F-16C/Ds in 2011, instead opting for an upgrade of Taiwan's current F-16 fleet.

However, Craig Scanlan over at Asian Security Watch is skeptical of it all, believing that the whole thing is nothing but America communicating it's displeasure at what it sees as recent Chinese saber-rattling. Given the past history of Taiwanese "arms sales" from the United States, we're with Craig on this one in that we'll believe it when we see new American-made fighters landing at Ching Chuan Kang (or Hualien, or Hsinchu, for that matter)

Royal Thai AF F-16As in 100th Anniversary special scheme

To mark 100 years of military aviation in Thailand, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has painted two of it's F-16A Fighting Falcons in a special scheme to mark the occasion. The aircraft (10311 and 10324), both from 103 Sqn based at RTAFB Korat, are now in the dazzling scheme, named "Century Falcon" that you see in the photos above.

An interesting note on the scheme is that there is a Nieuport painted on the underside of the F-16s. The backstory is that on 28 February 1912 the Thai Government dispatched three officers to learn to fly in France, thus marking the birth of Thai military aviation. The three officers (Major Luang Sakdi Sanlayawut (Sunee Suwanprateep), Captain Luang Arwut Sikikorn (Long Sinsuk) and First Lieutenant Tip Ketuthat learned to fly and on 2 November 1913 returned to Thailand with eight aircraft (four Breguets and four Nieuports). They are today regarded as the forefathers of the Royal Thai Air Force.

More photos at ThaiArmedForce.com