All news – Page 6400
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Germany doubles NH90 requirement
German procurement agency, BWB, has doubled its initial requirement for NH90 military transport helicopters and delayed entry into service by a year to 2004. While the increase still needs German parliamentary approval, the move is good news for NH Industries ahead of a major decision by the four NH90 nations ...
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Next NMD test will hit to kill says BMDO
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) says its objective for the next test of the National Missile Defence (NMD) system will be to demonstrate the "hit-to-kill" capability of the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV). Although ground-based radars for the NMD system will be on line ...
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First RAAF C-130J-30 delivery
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was due to take delivery of its first Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 transport on 7 September, 27 months after the original contract delivery date. The RAAF says a further five aircraft are expected before the end of this year, while the final six will arrive ...
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Talon clings on as US Air Force extends upgrade programme
The US Air Force is planning further life extension structural modifications to the Northrop T-38 Talon advanced trainer to complement on-going powerplant, wing and avionics upgrades. A request for proposals for the design and development of new air inlets and fuselage bulkheads is expected to be released before the ...
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Ready for action
The US Air Force aims to make itself light, lean and, most importantly, lethal DeeDee Doke/LONDON The impending transmutation of the US Air Force into a light, lean and lethal expeditionary aerospace force is akin to US-style football, says Maj Gen William Hinton (left). "We haven't changed what ...
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The training drain
The Kosovo conflict pushed the USAF's European forces to the limit - and created a training backlog DeeDee Doke/RAMSTEIN AB An air power victory in the Kosovo conflict did not come without cost to the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), which commands 26,000 active-duty airmen at 14 ...
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Financial turnaround
KAL has performed better than expected this year after its worst ever result in 1997 and despite its dubious safety record Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Shim Yi-taek, president of Korean Air, says the airline has outperformed financial expectations, with operating revenue hitting 2.2 trillion won ($1.9 billion). This is "112% of ...
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Safety first
Korean Air is making a concentrated effort to improve safety and save itself from isolation - and possible collapse Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Korean Air (KAL) executives speaking to the press these days face an unusual dilemma: how can an airline confirm, and simultaneously deny, that it has a problem with its ...
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Atlas restart scheduled after engine is cleared
Lockheed Martin is to resume Atlas launches on 10 September, but the maiden flight of its Atlas III booster has been pushed back into 2000. Atlas launches were halted in May following the loss of Boeing's first Delta III, caused by the failure of a Pratt & Whitney RL10 ...
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First Chandra X-ray images released
NASA has released the first two test images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, deployed into orbit by the STS93 in July. One of the images (left) shows a dramatic view of the leftovers of the Cassiopeia A supernova explosion, revealing debris, shock waves and the bright centre of the ...
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K-TV launch put off for system check
Intelsat's New Skies Satellite company has ordered the return of its K-TV satellite from Kourou, French Guiana to Matra Marconi Space, Toulouse, for a full systems check. The study is likely to include a replacement of the solar panels, which will delay its launch to June next year, 12 months ...
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Life comes to an end for Mir space station
The Mir space station has been abandoned after a career which began with the launch of the core module in February 1986. The final habitation crew landed safely in Kazakhstan on 28 August. Although another crew may be launched to prepare the space station for its de-orbiting early next ...
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Orbital Sciences wins licence to swap information with Canada
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Orbital Sciences (OSC) has received a US export licence to exchange technical information with Canadian subsidiary McDonald, Detwiler & Associates (MDA), raising hopes that the US company will be allowed to supply the spacecraft for Canada's Radarsat-2 earth observation satellite. Delays in granting the licence ...
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SeaStar captures Hurricane Dennis development
The development of Hurricane Dennis late last month was tracked by the Orbital Sciences-built SeaStar satellite. The satellite, launched in 1997, uses a Hughes-built instrument - the Sea-Viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) - which is providing multi-spectral ocean colour data to NASA under a five-year contract for the space agency's ...
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Wiring problems force Space Shuttle delays
Checks on wiring inside the payload bays of all Space Shuttle orbiters following the short circuits during the STS93 Columbia launch have revealed similar damage to all the spacecraft. The orbiter Endeavour has the most serious problems, with over 20 damaged areas of wiring, including some sections down to bare ...
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Boeing bases future designs on X-37
Boeing is looking at future launch vehicle designs which use a derivative of the X-37 experimental spaceplane as a reusable upper stage. "We are looking at expendable launch vehicle options under our contract [with NASA] and we are also looking at air-launched versions," says Boeing X-37 programme manager David ...
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NASA discusses X-33 upgrade
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA and Lockheed Martin are discussing follow-on flight testing of the X-33 to further reduce the risk attached to commercial development of the planned VentureStar reusable launch vehicle. The X-33 technology demonstrator has yet to fly, but talks are under way on an ...
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FAA selects Arinc to develop datalink
ARINC has been awarded a five-year contract by the US Federal Aviation Administration to support the development and initial operational capability of controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) in the US national airspace system (NAS). The aeronautical communications specialist will develop a prototype CPDLC system in conjunction with the FAA's William ...
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DC generator for Learjets approved
US parts distributor Corporate Rotable & Supply (CRS) has certificated a replacement DC generator for Bombardier Learjet 35, 36 and 55 series business jets. Manufactured by Auxilec, the generator offers a 3,000h time between overhauls, three times that of the current AlliedSignal unit, says Ft Lauderdale, Florida-based CRS. The ...
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Indian Falcon
India's Megapode Airlines is subleasing a Dassault Falcon 2000 from TATA finance. It will be available for charter from December. The nine-seat twinjet will join Mumbai-based Megapode's eight British Aerospace 125-700s. Dassault is negotiating with an unnamed Indian customer for the sale of a Falcon 900EX. Source: Flight International