All news – Page 6251
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News
First Terra satellite images released
NASA has released the first images from an array of instruments aboard its Earth Observing Systems flagship, Terra, which has reached its final 705km (440 miles) polar orbit following its launch on 18 December. They include the Mississippi Delta (shown above). The image was obtained by the polar-orbiting satellite's Moderate ...
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People
Gareth Kirkwood, managing director (MD) of British Airways subsidiary Brymon Airways, has been appointed MD of British Airways World Cargo. Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems sector has appointed four new vice-presidents (VPs): Donald Wilhelm - airspace management systems, George Perkins - space systems, James Armitage - engineering, Baltimore operations ...
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Smiths identifies purchases as way ahead for expansion
Chris Jasper/LONDON Smiths Industries says limited opportunities for mergers in the avionics sector mean the growth of its aerospace business is likely to be achieved by expanding its burgeoning control systems interests through more bolt-on acquisitions funded by a £750 million ($1.2 billion) war chest. The UK company says ...
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Thailand gives green light to Thai Airways offer
The Thai cabinet has approved the sale of a 23% stake in Thai Airways International, endorsing the sale of 100 million shares held by the Ministry of Finance and of 300 million new shares in the airline. Bangkok owns 93% of Thai, with the rest publicly held. The airline's ...
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Thomson-CSF order boom bucks French slowdown
Julian Moxon/PARISThomson-CSF achieved a record 13% rise in orders to €7.9 billion ($8.1 billion) last year. President Denis Ranque describes the 12 months as "exceptional" for the French defence electronics company. Figures revealed by French aerospace body Gifas showed, however, that the company's performance was not replicated nationally as orders ...
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Frequency wars
At last, the aviation industry has woken up to the fact that it no longer has a birthright to all of the radio frequencies it had assumed belonged to it forever. Radio frequencies are valuable commodities, especially to mobile satellite service (MSS) companies, keen to expand their services and profits ...
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Shadow boxing
Hushkitted airliners may be the cause of an imminent US/Europe trade war, but the chosen weaponry is more outlandish than the conflict itself. Europe wants to ban the import of any more hushkitted airliners, despite the fact that they comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) standards and ...
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A129 gets Stinger as helicopter...
A129 gets Stinger as helicopter anti-air missile moves on Raytheon has been awarded a contract by Italy to integrate the Stinger Block I air-to-air missile (AAM) with the Agusta A129 Mangusta attack helicopter, as the US company prepares to meet the Shorts Missile Systems (SMS) Starstreak in a competitive shoot-out ...
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First Arrow arrives for Israeli air force
The Israeli air force took delivery of its first Arrow anti-ballistic missile on 14 March. Prime contractor Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) will continue Arrow development work, says programme manager Dr Dani Peretz, with a further test planned for the middle of this year. The test will "enable IAI to ...
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Italy orders more C-130Js as A400M requirement falls
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The Italian air force plans to exercise additional options for the stretched Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules, further reducing its requirement for the Airbus Military Company A400M. Italy plans to deploy two Hercules squadrons equipped with 12 C-130Js and 12 C130J-30s. "We have 20 aircraft on contract and, ...
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Chile offered Advanced F-16s
Paul Lewis and Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin has revealed that its recently submitted F-16C/D proposal to Chile includes elements of the new advanced-capability version. The Chilean air force (FACh) has moved quickly to press the newly inaugurated government in Santiago for a decision on the fighter programme. ...
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F-22 flights halt for flaperon rib repairs
New flaperon ribs are being installed on Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptors at the US Air Force's Edwards AFB, California, flight-test centre. The action follows discovery of a damaged rib during static testing. Delamination of a composite rib in the left-hand flaperon was discovered late last month, during ultimate-load testing ...
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United Arab Emirates F110 choice powers derivative to new level
General Electric has formally launched development of the most powerful F110 derivative yet, a 32,500lb-thrust (145kN) version, after its selection to power 80 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 60 aircraft ordered earlier this month by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company hopes the $400 million UAE win, for the ...
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Thai requirement revives UH-1H upgrades
International interest in the potentially large Bell UH-1H upgrade market is being revived, thanks in part to an emerging Thai military requirement to extend the life of more than 100 helicopters. The Thai army is looking at options to upgrade its 96 UH-IHs, while the Thai air force has ...
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Allied Force prompts Joint STARS upgrade
Last year's NATO air war against Yugoslavia has resulted in "quick reaction" modifications to the US Air Force's Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman expects to be under contract next month to begin engineering and manufacturing (EMD) of the Radar Technology ...
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Contracts
The Royal Danish Air Force has awarded Raytheon Systems in the UK a contract for three Condor monopulse secondary surveillance radars. Northrop Grumman has received a US Navy contract, potentially worth $18 million, to provide structural spares for the F/A-18 on demand, at predetermined prices and lead times. Raytheon has ...
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Poland studies Mi-24 upgrade possibility
Poland is evaluating a plan to upgrade 20 Mil Mi-24s with new avionics and weapon systems to close the capability gap created by scrapping the PSL Swidnik Huzar attack helicopter programme in December 1998. The Polish Government dropped a contract with an Israeli Elbit-led consortium for the supply of ...
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US Army embraces smart cockpit
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Army is to fit the Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA) cockpit management system in Boeing AH-64D Apaches being upgraded to Longbow standard. The system is also being considered for a command and control version of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and a variant has found a ...
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SLAM-ER poised for production
The Boeing Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) has completed operational test and evaluation (OPEVAL), paving the way for full rate production in May. A US Navy test team conducted the critical evaluation at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, between last November and January this year. During ...
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British Army Air Corps takes its first Apache Longbow
Stewart Penney/LONDONGKN Westland handed over the first WAH-64 Apache Longbow attack helicopter to the British Army Air Corps (AAC) on 15 March. The AAC has 67 Apaches on order, all equipped with the Northrop Grumman Longbow radar. AAC machines are powered by Rolls-Royce Turboméca RTM322s instead of the General Electric ...