Germany's naval aviation arm had a high-profile presence at this year's Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), with 2013 marking its centenary of aviation activity.
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All images: Craig Hoyle/Flightglobal |
The static display at the 20-21 July event, which was staged at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, included all current types flown by the German navy. These included a Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (above), a Westland Lynx 88 maritime helicopter and a Westland Sea King 41 transport helicopter. A Ruag Dornier 228NG also flown by navy personnel as a pollution control asset for Germany's Ministry of Transport also flew in for the show on 19 July.
Sporting special centenary markings, the P-3C is one of eight operated from Nordholz air base in northern Germany. Acquired secondhand from the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the fleet is expected to remain in operational use with the navy's MFG-3 unit until 2035.
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The navy's current inventory includes 22 Lynx and 20 Sea Kings, says Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets database. Both types are to be replaced in use by the NH Industries NH90, with the navy expected to receive 18 examples in the NFH configuration, under a contract modification agreed by Berlin earlier this year.
One of two NG-standard Dornier 228s flown from Nordholz, the pollution control aircraft on show at RIAT arrived in the UK following a planned navigation training flight which involved the type making stops in Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland before touching down at RAF Fairford. Each operated by two navy pilots and with one onboard mission controller, the aircraft typically fly a combined two or three missions per day, lasting up to 4h each.
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Ruag Aviation in June 2013 also delivered two Dornier 228NGs to the Bangladesh navy, with the aircraft to be used "for maritime air patrol and rescue missions".
Meanwhile, the German air force exhibited a stunningly-liveried Panavia Tornado ECR reconnaissance aircraft at RIAT. The type was accompanied by a Tornado IDS strike aircraft and a Luftwaffe Airbus A310 tanker.
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Source: Flight International
