AFM receives third King Air aircraft, and new bomb disposal equipment

The Armed Forces of Malta today formally took delivery of a King Air maritime patrol aircraft and an explosive ordnance disposal robot. The €16 million investment was co-financed by the EU. The King Air is the third to be operated by the AFM. The other two were commissioned in 2011 and 2012 respectively,  when a new hangar was also built for fixed wing aircraft. Today's commissioning ceremony was presided by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela, who said that in the past four years alone, the AFM received €70 million in investment co-financed by EU funds, transforming the Air Wing, Maritime Squadron, and the land component into a modern force.  The Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi said that the new King Air aircraft has improved situational awareness with the ability to have a maritime domain awareness picture and advanced navigational capabilities. The investment in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit has included two explosive ordnance disposal robots, two protective bomb suits, x-ray systems, as well as other bomb disposal equipment.