“New” Lesotho-Registered Il-76 , 7P-HAR , Appears at South African Air Force Base
A previously unknown Ilyushin Il-76 carrying the Lesotho registration 7P-HAR unexpectedly appeared at South Africa’s Waterkloof Air Force Base on 29 June.
The aircraft departed Ras Al Khaimah at around 13:45 on 28 June for Abu Dhabi, operating as flight SXV9101. During the evening of 28 June, it departed Abu Dhabi for Nairobi, again using the callsign SXV9101. The aircraft was registered as 7P-HAR and used the ICAO hex code 04A017. The identity of the airline using the SXV designator remains unknown.
Photo used with permission. Made by Austin Ferreira via Jetphotos
From Nairobi, the aircraft flew to Waterkloof on 29 June. Waterkloof is a military air base located near Pretoria.
On 30 June, the aircraft departed Waterkloof for what was likely Goma Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On this flight it used the callsign LMG294, a flight number associated with the South African Air Force. After a short stop, the aircraft departed again and returned to Waterkloof.
The aircraft’s previous identity remains unclear. RZjets.net reports the construction number as 0083490693 and former UR-ZAR of Zet Avia. This aircraft was last active in June 2023. Like many IL76s the aircraft flew from United Arab Emirates airports to various destinations like Uganda and Somalia.
However the tail of UR-ZAR and 7P-ZAR are different. The is something on the tail of UR-ZAR missing on 7P-HAR.
Like many other Il-76 aircraft operating in Africa and the Middle East, the upper fuselage is painted entirely white, while the underside is grey. The aircraft carries no titles on the fuselage.
After the AOC of Fly Sky, New Way Cargo and Skyline were suspended around 10 IL76s became available for new operators. Likely 7P-HAR is one of the former IL-76’s operated by Kyrgyz airlines.
A source mentions two IL-76 were recently flown from Aqaba (Jordan) to Fujairah (UAE). One of them was 7P-HAR.
Invicta Air Cargo has previously operated several flights on behalf of the South African Air Force. However, the airline’s Il-76, TL-ATD, flew to Jordan on 28 June and therefore cannot be the same aircraft as 7P-HAR. Another Invicta Air Cargo Il-76, TL-ATB, is also an unlikely candidate. That aircraft flew from Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah on 28 June, arriving there at 21:55. By that time, 7P-HAR had already departed Ras Al Khaimah.
It seems the contract with Invicta Air Cargo ended and now a new operator is doing the work.
