A very rare visit by the Royal Thai Air Force was welcomed by all aviation enthusiasts at Malta, some even defining it as the movement of the month. The aircraft involved consisted in a B737-8Z6 ‘L11Kh2-1/50’ VIP Transport aircraft belonging to his Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The aircraft performed a brief one hour stop for familiarisation with Luqa aerodrome before continuing onwards on its destination. What a highlight!
The US Navy has been back in force in January 2019, with three visits by Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft each performing multiple touch and goes on MIA’s main runway. Serials involved included ‘168857’ and ‘169003’, the former being a boss bird aircraft whereas the latter wearing new markings (‘LK’) compared to previous visits to MLA (‘LA’). This was a much welcome return to Luqa as the US Navy are usually regular visitors for training.
2019 certainly started with a bang in relation to Military Aviation in Malta, with a pair of visits by the Kuwaiti Air Force.
On January 12th, a third KC-130J Hercules belonging to the Kuwait Air Force visited Malta, this time the aircraft with serial KAF327. The Kuwaiti Air Force operates three KC-130J Hercules, all of which have visited Malta on several occasions since they entered in service.
This third visit was also a highlight for myself as I had never captured this particular air frame before, thus with this visit I have managed to collect images of all three Kuwait Air Force KC-130J Hercules.
On the 13th of January, U.S. Navy’s San Antonio Class amphibious transport dock, USS Arlington visited Malta’s Grand Harbour for the very first time. It is currently in deployment and assigned to the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group. It is also interesting to note that USS Arlington is named for the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
What was spectacular about its visit was the presence of three UH-1Y Venoms and four AH-1W Super Cobras of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on its deck. The helicopters are assigned to the VMM-264 Black Knights squadron. This was the first time I have seen either a venom or a cobra so it was quite an event for all aviation enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and neither did the sailors aboard, as at most times they stood in front of the helicopters and parked the helicopters in a way that was difficult to photograph each helicopter.
Nonetheless, it was a truly spectacular event and will definitely be considered as one of the top highlights of 2019!
My 2019 aircraft photography portfolio initiated with a pair of Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules belonging to the Kuwait Air Force (serials KAF328 & KAF326). These Hercules visited Malta today during the golden hour in some stunning light conditions after a non stop flight from Kuwait International Airport.
This was not their first visit to Malta, as they had visited several times before, however with their stunning camouflage it is impossible not to enjoy taking pictures of them, especially in such amazing lighting conditions.
The pair of hercs should leave tomorrow morning at 0900 for Tunis, and they are should come back to Malta at midday for a night stop before departing Malta on Tuesday.
An Airbus ACJ319 belonging to the Turkish Government visited Malta this weekend and departed this morning in great light conditions via runway 31. It is reported that a minister from the Turkish Government might have visited the Island on state matters.
The aircraft, TC-ANA, previously served with the Italian Air Force and now sports a great livery in white and red depicting beautifully the Turkish Flag.
2018 has been a good year in terms of military aviation photography for myself. Please find below a selection of 100 photos that have made 2018 a truly memorable one.
Yesterday, Wednesday 20th December, two Israeli Air Force Gulfstream V Shavits (serials ‘684’ and ‘676’) performed a touch and go (684) and missed approach (676) on runway 31 while en route to their final destination in Israel following a training mission in the Mediterranean, performing several touch and go’s and approaches at several airports in the Mediterranean.
This is the second time in no less than 3 months that Israel has visited Luqa for training. More information about their previous visit can be found here.
I have recently uploaded some snaps from two aviation events that I attended back in June and August 2013 respectively. These belong to the Phantom Farewell in Wittmund, Germany and the Kecskemet Airshow in Hungary. Both were massive events with contrasting weather conditions that made it sometimes challenging for photography.
On the 26th August, I had the pleasure to capture some memorable moments from Anastasia’s Christening, held at the parish church of Hamrun. This was an extra special day for me primarily because Anastasia happens to be the daughter of my sister. It was a small intimate event, full of love as Anthea and Gabriel introduced their beautiful daughter to the Christian world.
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