All news – Page 6247
-
News
US Army opposes call to cut Comanche build numbers
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Army has ruled out cuts to the size of its planned Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche programme as part of its soon-to-be-released aviation modernisation plan. "Our programme is still good -it still goes on to 2023, with the first unit fielding Comanches in 2008. That programme ...
-
News
Contracts
Rohde &Schwarz has won a DM18.5 million ($9.15 million) contract to supply NATO-compatible radios to Saab for Batch 3 JAS39 Gripen fighters. An option is included to retrofit earlier aircraft. Denel of South Africa has signed a deal to become a strategic partner to BAE Systems following the agreement to ...
-
News
USN F-14 re-evaluation saves $268 million and extends life
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Navy has extended the fatigue life of its 220 Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcats by re-evaluating the original structural analysis and service life projections of the aircraft. This will ensure that the fighter has a substantial number of available flight hours left after the type ...
-
News
New Zealand says 'no' to F-16s
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC New Zealand has scrapped its controversial deal to lease 28 Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs from the USA and is to retain its elderly McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks until at least 2007. Following Wellington's decision, however, the 28 Block 15 OCU-standard F-16A/Bs are not ...
-
News
Italy orders back-up for communications...
Italy orders back-up for communications satellite bus The Italian ministry of defence has let a contract for a second SICRALmilitary communications satellite bus as a precaution against a possible launch failure of the first vehicle. The contract has been placed with Sitab, a consortium of Alenia Spazio (70%), Fiat ...
-
News
Teledyne JASSM win revives Tomahawk hopes
Teledyne Continental Motors is to power Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) with the J402-100, a new derivative of its J402-400 turbojet. The deal, which covers production of up to 3,700 units, follows the completion of a powered test flight at the White Sands missile range late last ...
-
News
F-111 load testing
Lockheed Martin is to build a Cold Proof Load Testing Facility for the Royal Australian Air Force. The $15 million facility allows for testing for production flaws in the steel structure of General Dynamics F-111s, allowing the RAAF to retain the aircraft in service until 2020. Building starts in June ...
-
News
F-22 advances
Assembly of the mid-fuselage for the first production-representative F-22 is ahead of schedule, says Lockheed Martin. It continues a trend of reduced work hours set by the previous 10 shipsets. Source: Flight International
-
News
Maintainers record mixed 1999 results
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Troubled US maintenance and parts specialist Aviation Sales will take a charge of $72 million against yet-to-be-announced 1999 results, relating to a reduction in the value of inventory in its parts redistribution operations, plus four Airbus A300s which it is trying to sell or lease. The ...
-
News
BAE and EADS enter final straight in race for Alenia
Chris Jasper/LONDON Andy Nativi/GENOA BAE Systems and European Aeronautic, Defense and Space (EADS) have submitted their final bids for a tie-up with Italy's Alenia Aeronautica. The Italian Government is expected to choose between the two as early as this week. The UK company has offered "a global alliance", taking ...
-
News
Iridium sinks under debts of $4.4 billion
Global satellite mobile communication system operator Iridium was declared bankrupt on 17 March, making it the biggest business failure in spaceflight history. Commercial service ceased on 18 March following the Motorola-led company's failure to secure a buyer ahead of a US bankruptcy court deadline. Iridium, which had debts of ...
-
News
Air France/Delta court Aeroflot
Julian Moxon/BUDAPEST Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW Air France and Aeroflot have agreed a deal that should see the Russian carrier join the former's global alliance with Delta Air Lines, while the French flag carrier is also emerging as the most likely partner for Hungary's Malev, with its Budapest Ferihegy hub. The ...
-
News
JAL stalls en route to oneworld commitment
Andrzej Jeziorski/TOKYO Japan Airlines (JAL) has failed to commit to the oneworld alliance amid concerns in Tokyo over systems compatibility and the strength of the British Airways/American Airlines partnership. JAL, which was expected to unveil a commitment to join oneworld as part of a new three-year corporate plan, says ...
-
News
People
Air Canada has appointed Calin Rovinescu executive vice-president (VP) corporate development and strategy. Rovinescu advised the airline on resisting a takeover bid by Onex, and on the acquisition of Canadian Airlines. BAE Systems has named Allan Cook as group managing director (MD), programmes and Eurofighter, replacing Steve Mogford, now one ...
-
News
Traffic fall defeats Russian airlines' restructuring plan
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW New figures on the state of the Russian airline industry make sobering reading - although the improved performance of a handful of carriers, achieved in a harsh economic climate, suggests there may be grounds for cautious optimism. Russian passenger traffic fell 3.7% last year compared with 1998, ...
-
News
Reality check
The ability of small air forces to define, develop and maintain a credible level of air combat capability has always been a challenge, but it may be becoming an impossibility if New Zealand's scrapping of its deal with the USA for 28 Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs is anything to go by. ...
-
News
Funding delay holds up Austrian medium helicopter choice
Selection by Austria of a medium-lift helicopter has slipped to the mid-year after funding was not included in the 2000 budget announced on 21 March. A decision had been expected in February. The Ministry of Defence will decide between the Eurocopter AS532UC Cougar and the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk. ...
-
News
US Navy considers hybrid UAV designs
Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) concepts based on the unconventional CarterCopter (CC), a hybrid autogyro and fixed-wing design, are believed to have been submitted to the US Navy for its Multi-Role Endurance (MRE) UAV contest. Contract bids were due to be submitted by 17 March. Although the bidders are not ...
-
News
NASA stands up to Mars critics
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON NASA is braced for further criticism of its "faster, better, cheaper" approach, with release of an independent review of recent Mars mission failures due this week. In response to the expected criticism, administrator Daniel Goldin has warned that "NASA will not change course." The Mars Programme ...
-
News
Bombardier improves
The aerospace activities of Bombardier saw income rise 33% before tax to C$904 million ($613 million) for the year ended 31 January, 2000. Sales were up 26%, to C$8.1 billion. Bombardier Aerospace sold its interests in Shorts Missiles and Specialist Aviation Services for C$111 million, and took a restructuring charge ...