Peru to order Hercules

New production Typhoon FGR4s have recently been delivered from the factory in Warton, Lancashire to RAF Coningsbay, Lincolnshire. Eight were initially delivered to the Typhoon Maintenance Unit at Coningsby to be prepared for operational service. The RAF has recently confirmed that it will reduce its 16 two-seat Tranche 1 Typhoons “to spares” under a project to generate £50m worth of parts from the airframes. Meanwhile, RAF Typhoons have participated in Exercise Red Flag 18-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in mid-January, supported by a pair of Voyager tankers.

Asecond E-550A (based on the Gulfstream 550) was delivered to the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) on 22 January. The aircraft was modified to Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) configuration by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and its ELTA Systems subsidiary in co-operation with Leonardo. The pair of E-550As were earlier ordered as part of a military and industrial offset agreement signed between Italy and Israel in 2012 and worth around $1bn. The aircraft will be assigned to the 14° Stormo, 71° Gruppo, based at Pratica di Mare. The E-550A contract had followed Israel’s decision to purchase 30 M-346 trainers from Italy.

Peru is to acquire C-130J Hercules transports for the Fuerza Aérea del Perú (FAP, Peruvian Air Force). The FAP has a requirement for six units and is also interested in securing two KC-130J tankers. Currently, the Escuadrón de Transporte 842 at Lima-Callao operates three L-100-20 Hercules that entered service in 1972, while four exUS Air Force C-130As and two C-130Ds received in the mid1980s were withdrawn in 2001.