All news – Page 6373
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Link 16 and SATCOM For RAAF F-111s
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is planning to fit all its General Dynamics F-111 strike fighter fleet with the Link 16 tactical datalink. This will take place under a proposed sixth phase to the ongoing Block Upgrade Program for the aircraft. The upgrade is the subject of ...
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Arrowhead sensor seeks more targets
Lockheed Martin is soliciting international support for its proposed Arrowhead targeting and navigation sensor for the Boeing AH-64. This takes place as competition with Raytheon intensifies, ahead of an expected request for proposals (RFP) to upgrade the US Army's fleet of attack helicopters. Arrowhead is being offered to ...
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Congress gives go-ahead for multi-year aircraft orders
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Congress has given the US Navy and US Air Force a green light to negotiate multi-year procurement contracts for 222 Boeing F/A-18E/F fighters and a follow-on batch of 60 Boeing C-17 ster transports, respectively. The go-ahead comes as part of an agreed $17.3 billion increase in defence ...
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Israeli support for EW sale to Greece marks policy shift
The Israeli Ministry of Defence is supporting an Elisra bid to supply the Greek air force with electronic warfare equipment for its latest batch of Lockheed Martin F-16s. The move marks a shift in Israeli Government policy. Elisra has teamed with Greece's national aerospace company Hellenic Aerospace Industries (HAI) ...
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Gripen upgrades to design goal
Swedish air force test pilots and Saab/British Aerospace engineers are to complete tests of upgraded flight control software that will take the performance of the JAS 39 Gripen "up to its original design goals" early next year. Col Bjorn Johansson, Swedish air force Gripen chief test pilot, says tests also ...
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Aerostructure change
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems and Aerostructures sector has reorganised its aerostructures business to consolidate functions, enhance customer focus and streamline the organisation. "This restructuring will improve our near-term performance, cut costs and enhance our competitive position for future growth," says Paul Coco, vice-president aerostructures. Source: Flight International
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SilkAir captain claims he 'quit over crash pilot'
SilkAir denials that one of its former senior captains had warned it about the behaviour of the pilot of a Boeing 737-300 which crashed days later have been contradicted by the captain. The warning was said to have been given days before the accident on 19 December, 1997. Former ...
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Litening on target
Delivery is under way of the Rafael Litening targeting and navigation pod to the US National Guard. The first systems are under test at Edwards AFB. The system is scheduled to receive initial operational capability in February next year. The US Air National Guard (ANG) has ordered 61 Litening pods. ...
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Missile assembly
Shorts Missile Systems (SMS) has opened its Multiple Ordnance Assembly and Test facility. The factory will carry out final assembly of the company's Starburst and Starstreak short-range air defence missile systems, and caters for flexible manufacturing of a range of missiles, utilising advanced assembly techniques. As a direct result, ...
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Joint pressure
Togetherness is the byword for modern military operations as nations get round tight budgets by sharing resources Stewart Penney and DeeDee Doke/LONDON Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCThe Australian-led Operation Stabilise in East Timor has at least 11 nations involved and Operation Allied Force over Kosovo and Yugoslavia included contributions from 14 NATO ...
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Czech striker
Aero Vodochody earns an A for ambition with its L-159 light combat aircraft Michael Gerzanics/PRAGUE Based on its L-39 Albatros, Aero Vodochody's L-159 is the latest and most capable version of the world's most prolific jet training aircraft. Since 1968, Czech manufacturer Aero has delivered over 3,000 L-39s and variants ...
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Tailored to fit
Airbus has developed a flexible aircraft system, reducing lead times, cutting costs and trimming parts inventories Julian Moxon/TOULOUSE Until recently, the manufacture of aircraft was driven by forces that had little in common with the markets into which the resulting products were sold. Lead times were long and out of ...
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Pylons for all
Aerospatiale Matra's St Eloi factory in suburban Toulouse is notable for one thing - the manufacture of engine pylons for all aircraft models built by the consortium, today numbering 13, but soon to be 15. St Eloi is a good example of lean manufacturing: flexibility and ever-shorter production cycles. Airbus' ...
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Wiring snags delay ISS module
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Proton launch of the Russian Zvezda service module to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for 12 November, has been put back to between 26 December and 16 January, with more delays possible. Although Russian launch site testing of the module has been slower than intended, the ...
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Lockheed Martin poised for VentureStar review
A critical design review of the proposed VentureStar reusable launch vehicle, based on the Lockheed Martin X-33 advanced technology demonstrator, will take place this month. Work on the X-33 has convinced Lockheed Martin that the VentureStar will use an external payload bay, says Jerry Rising, Lockheed Martin's X-33 and ...
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Arianespace win
Arianespace, which leads the commercial launcher market, has increased its orderbook to 42 satellites with a contract from GE Americom to launch a new spacecraft. The undesignated GE satellite is scheduled to be launched on an Ariane 5 in 2001. Arianespace will also offer a quick-reaction launch in December for ...
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NASA panels to probe loss of Mars Orbiter
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA has established three investigation panels to look into the failure of the Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) on 23 September. NASA's $125 million craft was lost 5min after the firing of its orbital-insertion engine burn. The Orbiter was flying at up to 80-90km too low because the ...
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Telescope launch
Integral, the European Space Agency's (ESA) International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory will be launched on a Russian Proton booster in 2001. The spacecraft will be placed into a highly elliptical Earth orbit. Meanwhile, the ESA's X-Ray Multi Mirror telescope has arrived at Kourou in preparation for its launch aboard the ...
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Military weather satellite launch delayed
The launch of the first uprated series of the US Air Force's Defense Meteorological Satellite Programme (DMSP) weather satellite from Vandenberg AFB, California, has been postponed until December at the earliest. The launch, by Titan II, of the Block 5D-3 series spacecraft, was scheduled for later this month. It ...
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MD Helicopters will cut link with Boeing
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON MD Helicopters plans to sever its manufacturing ties with Boeing when the contract to build parts for the five-strong civil helicopter line is fulfilled in early 2001. "As part of the deal to buy Boeing civil helicopters, we signed a binding manufacturing agreement," says MD Helicopters chief executive ...