Libya - UN no-fly zone - Coalition overview

[Hans Rolink]

Does anyone know about photo opportunities around Sigonella?

Hans.

[Piet Luijken]

Mr Starman went to see airplanes at Trapani and Sigonella.

Trapani: only Italian Tornadoes were seen.

Sigonella: seen were UAE F16s and Mirages, 2 danish f16s, swedish gripens departed but they have not returned yet. any info anyone?

[Stefan]

Does anyone know about photo opportunities around Sigonella?

Yep. If you like walking a lot and sitting in a field far away from your car, you could position yourself in the approach.

Regards,
Stefan

[Starman]

I like the Mr!

At Trapani were at least 11 AMI Tornados quite close to the road (I have not got anything resembling a log yet) and in 5 hours, 2 flew. A very patient man could spend a fun day there! Also present were 6 Canadian Hornets, all read from the dyke, and two ramps with a mix of AMI Vipers and Typhoons for which you might have some spotting success at dawn / dusk. None of these flew yesterday morning. Better news is that an RAF VC-10 and E-3 both flew, and a CAF CC150, taking off towards the sea, so from the dyke a better lens than I have would be OK. Take a good book to pass the time! War and Peace might be apt.

Later at Sigonella were the following (from the east) 4 Danes - two of which flew, returning after dark followed by what I assume was their C-130, 5 Atlantics - French? - and next to these a blue tarpaulin covering what I think might be the unfortunate UAE F-16 mentioned elsewhere in the forums (wait for it ...) as there is what looks like an F-16 tail sticking out of the shroud. On the main ramp working west 6 Turkish F-16s (two flew yesterday evening with their KC-135) then 8 Swedish JAS-39s, which didn´t fly - text lost in translation - 6 Mirages and 6 (yes six) F-16s with conformal tanks, all of which I assume are UAE (so either a replacement has arrived or my tarpaulin theory in bunkum and the crashed bird has recovered)! As you can see I went to the south side from where everything is nose on. If I had gone to the western end there is a lay-by with a side on view of some of the fighters, which would be excellent for landing shots, but it was almost dark before I found the spot. Again, something to pass the time is a must, perhaps Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall by S Milligan!

Again, log not yet fudged, sorry, finished!

[Starman]

Oh one more thing, do not leave your car unattended at either base, it will attract attention.

[MasterJet]

The UAE F-16 number '7' arrived in Deci the last week of their deployment in Deci...just a couple of days before they moved to Sigonella. So the total was 6 Mirage and 7 F-16 from UAE before the UAE jets crashed in Sigonella.

Cheers

Giovanni

[maurits]

Good afternoon,

Some FAF det. updates:
Since 6th May, 4 Mirage 2000Ns from EC02.004 La Fayette were added to the Armee de l'air Detachement at Souda,Greece
304/116-CA EC02.004mks.
306/116-BL EC02.004mks.
343/116-AH EC02.004mks.
349/116-BM EC02.004mks.
additions/changes Mirage 2000-5F/D Det.
Mirage 2000-5F
55/102-EU GC01.002 (ex BA104 mks) > still present
61/102-ME GC01.002 > added, arr?
63/102-EM GC01.002 > still present
68/102-ER GC01.002 > still present
Mirage 2000D
652/133-XN EC03.003mks > added, arr?
660/133-JF EC01.003mks> added, arr?
666/133-IQ EC01.003mks > still present
667/133-JZ EC02.003mks > still present
671/133-XK EC03.003mks > still present
680/133-XM EC03.003mks> added, arr?

Regards,

Maurits

[maurits]

Good morning,

Some more additions:
Deci
F-16AM J-644 322sq> arr around 11/5, ops 25/5 - sbs-1 logged (replacement for?)
---------------------
Souda
Mir 2000D 643/133-JD EC02.003 > ops around 18/4
---------------------
a/c logged on sbs-1 25/5 Malta-airspace
E-8C 96-0043 116ACW GA ANG
KC-135R 62-3563 101 Filo
KC-130J 165738/BH , 165809/BH VMGR-252
Tristar K1 ZE706 216sq
VC-10C1K XV104/U 101sq

regards,

Maurits

[roberto]

J-644 is not a replacement, but an addition, also J-872 should be there now (dep 17/5) and an extra unknown Volkel F16 (dep as NAF313 19/5).
My 2 cents, there are now 8 or 9 Dutch F16's at DECI

[maurits]

Hi,

A small search in the sbs-1 logs Dbase gives J-063 as NAF313 that departs to Deci.
(if this transponder/hexcode belongs to this a/c)
2011-05-19 18:08:53.018 2011-05-19 16:08:53 NAV313 R, IT
2011-05-19 17.55.47.265 2011-05-19 15:55:47 --- Rome - Italy
2011-05-19 17:35:59.376 2011-05-19 15:35:59 --- Alpes,FR
2011-05-19 17:29:00.670 2011-05-19 15:29:00 --- Murten, CH
2011-05-19 17:22:34.940 2011-05-19 15:22:34 --- Bern, CH
2011-05-19 17:01:19.612 2011-05-19 15:01:19 NAV313 Beaumont,BE
2011-05-19 17:00:40.594 2011-05-19 15:00:40 --- Naaldwijk, NL
2011-05-19 16:55:07.234 2011-05-19 14:55:07 --- Charleroi, BE
2011-05-19 16:47:12.980 2011-05-19 14:47:12 NAV313 Venlo, NL

[maurits]

Good morning,

A lot of changes last month, from several sources/logs etc. Please add your comment/additions.
Italy - Aviano
VAQ-138 arrived 23/5, but dep later to Sigonella
VAQ-132 still present

Italy/Sardinia - Decimomannu
KLu det.
additions/arrivals
J-006 F-16AM 311sq,NAF311? arr 6/5? ops 29/5
J-063 F-16AM 313sq NAF313 arr 19/5
J-644 F-16AM 322sq, arr 11/5?, ops 25/5
J-872 F-16AM 323sq, arr 17/5
depart
J-616 F-16AM 312sq/323mks, dep 28/4?

Italy - Gioia del Colle
RAF Det.
additions/arrivals
ZA472/031 Tornado GR4 2sq, arr early april
ZG727/126 Tornado GR4A 2sq > ops early apr
ZJ927/QO-M Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn, arr 6/5
+1 Typhoon FGR4 unknown
depart
ZJ917/QO-G Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn arr 20mar, dep 5/5
ZJ918/QO-L Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn arr 20mar, dep?
ZJ919/DC Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn arr 20mar, dep 4/4
ZJ924/DD Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn arr 20mar,dep 6/5
ZJ939/DXI Typhoon FGR4 3/11/29sqn arr 20mar, dep 4/4

Italy/Sicily - Sigonella
DanishAF det.
add/arrivals
E-006 F-16AM Esk727, f/n early may
E-007 F-16AM Esk727, f/n early may
E-598 F-16AM Esk730, noted early may
E-607 F-16AM Esk730, noted early may
E-611 F-16AM Esk730, noted early may
Swedish AF det.
39274/274 (F21) noted early may
39276/276 (F17) noted early may
39282/282 (F17) noted early may
UAE/AF det.
3009 F-16F Shaheen 1sq,UAE/AF f/n early may
3027 F-16E Shaheen 1sq,UAE/AF f/n early may
3056 F-16E Shaheen 1sq,UAE/AF f/n early may
3079 F-16E Shaheen 1sq,UAE/AF f/n early may
US Navy det.
arrived from Aviano, 26may
166934/NL-510 EA-18G VAQ-138,com f/c mks
166935/NL-511 EA-18G VAQ-138
166936/NL512 EA-18G VAQ-138
166937/NL513 EA-18G VAQ-138
166939/NL514 EA-18G VAQ-138
depart
E-011 F-16AM Esk727, noted 6apr,dep?
E-016 F-16AM Esk727, noted 6apr,dep?
E-075 F-16AM Esk727, dep?
E-596 F-16AM Esk730, noted 6apr
E-601 F-16AM Esk730, noted 6apr,dep?
E-608 F-16AM Esk730, dep?
39227/227 (F7), dep?
39255/255 (F21) dep?
39263/263 (F21) dep?
39270/270 (FMV?) dep?


Italy/Sicily - Trapani
CAF det.
add/arrivals
188746 CF-188 425sqn f/n 20apr
188763 CF-188 425sqn f/n 20apr
188780 CF-188 425sqn f/n early may
188786 CF-188 (425sqn) f/n 20apr
188797 CF-188 425sqn f/n early may
AMI det.
MM7284/36-10 EF2000 12°Gruppo, noted early may
MM7286/36-02 EF2000 12°Gruppo, noted early may
MM7270/4-1 EF2000 9°Gruppo CIO, noted early may
MM7273/4-10 EF2000 9°Gruppo CIO,noted early may
MM7022/6-23 Tornado IDS 6°Stormo,noted early may
MM7026/(6-35) Tornado IDS 6°Stormo, noted early may
MM7036/(6-41) Tornado IDS 6°Stormo, noted early may
MM7065/50-56 Tornado ECR 155Gr noted 18may
depart
188752 CF-188 425sqn c/s HUSKY, dep
188756 CF-188 425sqn c/s HUSKY, dep
188769 CF-188 425sqn c/s HUSKY, dep

Greece - Araxos
BAC det.
add/arrivals
FA72 F-16AM 10W > ops 10/5
FA127 F-16AM 10W > ops 1/5
depart
FA81 F-16AM 10W arr 21mar,dep 4/4
FA103 F-16AM 10W arr 21mar,dep 19/4
FA123 F-16AM 10W arr 21mar,dep 27/4


regards,

Maurits

[roberto]

31/5
J-877 ferry EHLW - LIED
J-362 ferry LIED - EHLW

[S&B extra]

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_75021.htm

what types/forces are used, French or Italian?

ah, just found it: UK Apache and French Gazelle!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13651736

[Glidepath]

TV showed a fr. Tigre, (which makes a little more sense than gazelles)

[Huub Roem]

J-Stars E-8C tail 02-9111 has arrived NAS Rota Spain last night
00-1934 EC-130J 193rd SOS went back to CONUS as RCH1025, 01-1935 EC-130J from CONUS as RCH1024, operational OUP as STEEL74 since Jun 5th