Spanish Army Aviation to the rescue!
A Spanish Army BHELEME II EC135 flies away on its next mission. Notice the Hueys in the background. (Image © Dirk Jan de Ridder) The Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) is the youngest branch of the...
View ArticleAntonov offers aircraft for military use
The Antonov AN-32P Firekiller during a training flight for the Ukrainian Ministry of Emergency Situations on 15 April 2009 (Image ©/CC Oleg V. Belyakov / AirTeamImages) Ukrainian aircraft...
View ArticleTurkish air ambulance service now numbers 17 EC135s
The EC135 in EMS version (Image © Charles Abarr / Airbus Helicopters) Airbus Helicopters has finalised delivery of THK Gökçen Aviation order for the EC135 helicopter in the emergency medical service...
View ArticleAHF↑Inside: All Transall
Truly inside. The view from a C-160 Transall, looking towards another Transall at the French airbase of Evreux. (Image © Dennis Spronk) All is nice and peaceful in Evreux, a French airbase 90...
View ArticleSpain joins European Air Transport Command
Spanish visitors for EATC at Eindhoven. (Image © Dennis Spronk) Spain formally joined European Air Transport Command (EATC) on Thursday 3 July 2014 during a ceremony in Eindhoven, the Netherlands....
View ArticleBehold: the German Vomit Bomber
The German Vomit Airbus A310 in her earlier career: serving as 10+21 Konrad Adenauer with the 1. Luftwaffendivision of the German Air Force (Image © Elmer van Hest) Once the pride of the German...
View ArticleAlenia Aermacchi M-345 up in Frecce colours
When visiting the Alenia Aermacchi plant last May, Airheadsfly.com already previewed the new M-345 HET in Frecce Tricolori colours. (Image © Dennis Spronk) The Alenia AerMacchi M-345 HET (High...
View ArticleThe new King Air of the Mexican Navy
The Beechcraft King Air 350ER of the Mexican Navy (Image © Textron Aviation) The Armada de México – or actually the whole Mexican Navy Secretaría de Marina (SEMAR) – received the first of four ordered...
View ArticleAnd the 500th 737NG goes to: the US Navy
This Boeing 737 – alias C-40A – is the 5000th 737 produced. (Image © Boeing) The U.S. Navy will be the happy receiver of the 5000th Next-Generation Boeing 737. Boeing rolled out the celebratory...
View ArticleFresh French AWACS
In flight: a French Boeing E-3F AWACS aircraft. (Image © Elmer van Hest) The French Air Force last week received the first of four upgraded E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft...
View ArticleItalian & French “water bombers” scramble to Sweden
One of two Bombardier CL-415 SuperCoopers of the French Sécurité Civile in 2006. This machine was deployed to Sweden in August 2014. (Image (CC) Gerard Joyon) LATEST UPDATE 13 AUGUST 2014 | The three...
View ArticleThree Airbus C295 SAR to Brazil
A Força Aérea Brasileira C295 in flight (Image © Sgt. Johnson / Agencia Força Aérea / FAB) Just before the end of July Brazil signed a deal with Airbus Defence and Space for the purchase of three...
View ArticleUS Navy Poseidon fleet now up to 15
The 15th P-8A Poseidon, seen here at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. (Image © Boeing) The US Navy’s Boeing P-8A Poseidon is now 15 aircraft strong, following the delivery by Boeing of the newest P-8A...
View ArticleVietnamese Navy Twin Otters are go
The two most sold versions of the Viking Air Guardian Twin Otter 400, with wheels and with amphibious floats (Image © Viking Air) The Vietnamese People’s Navy (VPN) is almost done with reaching full...
View ArticleIndia: 5th Boeing P-8i arrives home
The fifth Indian P-8I laves Boeing Field in Seattle for India. (Image © Boeing) Boeing keeps delivering military variants of the Boeing 737 to various air arms at a quick pace. Only days after...
View ArticleFirst SAR S-92 for Bristow’s new UK ops
The first SAR S-92 for the UK’s new Coast Guard services flown by Bristow (Image © Sikorsky) The Bristow Group accepted its first Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, configured for search and rescue service, at...
View ArticleFinal US Coast Guard Guardian jet retired
The Dassault HU-25 Guardian of the US Coast Guard (Image © USCG) The US Coast Guard retired its last operational Dassault Falcon 20, designated HU-25 Guardian, on 23 September at Coast Guard Air...
View ArticleImpressive in an IMAX kinda way
So yeah, we know it says 6 November 2013 in the description of this YouTube clip whereas today is 6 November 2014, but it doesn’t matter. This clip, showing a first person view of the work of a...
View ArticleFirst Spartan for US Coast Guard
The first Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartan for the US Coast Guard arrived at the service’s HC-27J Asset Project Office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on 13 November. It will be used to train and...
View ArticleCroatia starts own fire-fighter training
The Croatian Air Force began their own fire-fighting training on 10 December 2014, at the 93. Air Force and Air Defence Base in Zemunik. The training is done on the country’s first Air Tractor AT-802...
View ArticleIndonesian Air Force chief: “We’ll buy Russian Berievs”
The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) will buy a yet unknown number of big Russian-made Beriev Be-200 (“Altair”) amphibious aircraft for anti-fishery patrols and maritime surveillance, according to chief...
View ArticleSearching for flight QZ8501
UPDATED 30 DECEMBER UTC 08:50 | Once again a catastrophe hit an Asian airliner. Air Asia’s Airbus A320-216 with flight number QZ8501 was officially declared missing on 28 December at 06:24 local time...
View ArticleBig fire-fighters at work in Australia
For the first time in history Australia uses big airtankers as part of its fire-fighting force. A Coulson C-130Q Hercules and a Conair RJ85AT have been dispatched in the beginning of December to Avalon...
View ArticleSolar Impulse deserves the attention
Search for ‘Solar Impulse’ here on Airheadsfly.com and nothing is to be found. That’s a Solar Insult of some sorts – right up until now. Which the massive and innovative undertaking of a solar powered...
View ArticleIsrael’s privatised fire-fighting squadron grows
The Israeli Ministry of Defence is increasing its privatised airborne Elad fire-fighting squadron. Elbit Systems got an order for about 100 million US dollars on 5 January 2015 to procure six...
View ArticlePresenting the new Air Force One
May we present to you: the new Air Force One. On Wednesday 28 January, the US Air Force said it has officially selected the Boeing 747-8 as the next presidential mode of air transport. A surprise the...
View ArticleSwedish Air Ambulance is growing to Gothenburg
A larger Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HMS) federation is slowly forming in Western Sweden. After the provinces of Värmland and Dalarna decided to work together in May 2014, Västra Götaland...
View ArticleSolar Impulse gets ready for world tour
In Abu Dhabi, Solar Impulse is getting ready for the long awaited round the world tour of their solar powered aiacraft. A succesful test flight was completed on Thursday 26 February, with pilot André...
View ArticleFirst civilian tilt-rotor entering production with AgustaWestland
The AgustaWestland AW609 tilt-rotor aircraft will enter production, the Italian-Anglo manufacturer announced on 3 March 2015. The company has expanded the AW609 program to include the AgustaWestland...
View ArticleNew Zealand Orion first to respond to Pam
UPDATED | A Royal New Zealand Air Force Lockheed P-3K2 Orion has been the first to respond to the devastating cyclone Pam that struck northeastern Oceania on Friday 13 March 2015, with wind speeds up...
View ArticleOrion upgrade for US Customs almost done
Lockheed Martin delivered a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) P-3 Orion aircraft 37 days ahead of schedule, the compnay announced on Thursday 18 March. This is the 12th of 14 aircraft in the...
View ArticleThree more Hercules aircraft for US Air Force
Lockheed Martin delivered three additional Hercules aircraft to the US Air Force last week, in three different configurations. First out on 19 March was a MC-130J Commando II Special Operations tanker...
View ArticleLets go to Kathmandu and Algiers
Lets go to Kathmandu and Algiers, literally. The Czech aircraft manufacturer delivered the 19th L410 UVP-E20 to Goma Air of Nepal. Equipped with jump seats, digital avionics, SATCOM and an enlarged...
View ArticleUruguayan Cessna 206 back on duty after years of recovery
It has taken some years, but the Cessna 206H with registration FAU 718 is fully back in service with the Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aéra Uruguaya). The aircraft was delivered to the Service...
View ArticleMeet the new Swiss Air Ambulance, take a 360 look in the Rega CL-604
Swiss Air-Ambulance Rega signed a firm order for three Bombardier Challenger 650 aircraft, to serve as air ambulances. The order is worth 130 million US dollars, including aircraft modifications such...
View ArticleRussia fields strategic water bombers in Siberia
With Winter turning into Spring many countries face the challenge of wildfires. Russia is no exception, where part of the emergency response is done by standard strategic airlifters: the Ilyushin...
View ArticleNATO retires first E-3A AWACS
NATO’s E-3A Component at Geilenkirchen airbase in Germany retired its first Boeing E-3A Sentry this week, a spokesperon confirmed on 15 May. The aircraft, registered LX-N90449, was taken on its final...
View ArticleSolar Impulse rises in Japan
Solar powered aircraft Solar Impulse is busy breaking records as these words are typed, in this case the record for longest solar powered flight ever. The aircraft took off from Nagoya, Japan, on...
View ArticleFirst Japanese Ospreys officially ordered
As expected the first batch of five Bell (/Boeing) V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft have been ordered by the US Navy on behalf of Japan on 14 July 2015. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is likely to...
View ArticleCroatian Air Tractors prevent worse
The Croatian Air Force and Air Defence (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzračna Obrana) is very happy with their Air Tractor AT-802 Fire Bosses. By enrolling them into active patrols of fire risky...
View ArticleCrash Slovakia: two L-410s with 38 on board
UPDATED | A sad day for the parajump and aviation communities of Slovakia. Two Let L-410s collided in mid-air and crashed on the ground on 20 August 2015, killing seven of those on board. According to...
View ArticleGrassHoppers in fatal airshow mid-air collission Switzerland
It’s a bad weekend for the aviation world. A day after the fatal crash of a Hawker Hunter in England, the GrassHoppers Display team from Germany got into a mid-air collission during the Dittinger...
View ArticlePerlan 2: First flight for a record breaker
The Perlan 2 glider, the world’s first engineless aircraft designed to reach the edge of space, achieved its successful first flight on Wednesday 23 September, flying at 5,000 feet above Roberts Field...
View ArticleGermany wants Open Skies Airbus A319
Germany is seeking to convert a used Airbus A319 corporate jet into an Open Skies aircraft, according to a tender issued this week. The jet should be ready in 2018 at a total cost of 60 million EUR and...
View ArticleCanada: one step closer to new fixed wing SAR
Canada is set to close a tender for a new Fix Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) aircraft on 11 January. Making a bid are FNV Aeronautics (formerly Alenia Aermacchi) with its C-27J Spartan, Airbus with...
View ArticleUS Navy finally retires the Viking
The US Navy finally retired the Lockheed S-3 Viking earlier this week, performing a final flight from Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, California. It’s operational career ended in 2009...
View ArticleFirst US Coast Guard Spartan gets colourful
The US Coast Guard (USCG) this week accepted its first HC-27J Spartan medium range surveillance aircraft in full USCG colours. The Asset Project Office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, accepted the...
View ArticleHellenic CL-215 fire-fighters escape death
The crew of a Hellenic Air Force Bombardier (Canadair) CL-215 are probably the luckiest men on earth at the moment, escaping with only minor injuries from the aircraft an emergency landing went bad....
View ArticleNew maritime patrol aircraft for Italy
The Italian Air Force on 13 December took delivery of the first two of a total four ATR 72MP maritime patriol aircraft to the Italian Air Force. Designated P-72A by the Italian Air Force, the aircraft...
View ArticlePoland orders three Boeing Business Jets
The Polish Ministry of Defense and Boeing on Friday 31 March signed a contract for the delivery of three Boeing Business Jets, otherwise known as 737-800. The aircraft are to be used by the Polish Air...
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