All news – Page 6530
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Mars test
NASA engineers at Houston's Johnson Space Center in Texas have tested equipment capable of extracting oxygen from the carbon-dioxide Martian atmosphere in preparation for the Mars In-Situ Propellant Production Precursor flight on the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander. Source: Flight International
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New launches
Arianespace launched an Ariane 42P booster from Kourou on 2 April, carrying India's Insat 2E communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. It was the 44th successful consecutive flight of an Ariane 4. Arianespace has 38 satellites and one constellation launch on its orderbook and a further 11 flights planned for ...
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Iridium boost
Motorola's Iridium mobile communications satellite project has received a boost by winning a $219 million contract to supply satellite telephones, pagers, accessories and telephone services for the US Department of Defense. Source: Flight International
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EH101 joins the Tokyo Metropolitan Police
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police (TMP) force has taken delivery of an Agusta/GKN Westland EH101. The medium-lift, multirole helicopter, which is fitted to carry 30 passengers in a standard central aisle cabin configuration, replaces a Kawasaki KV-107. The EH101, which has a rear ramp, will be used to patrol ...
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Kosovo air campaign intensifies
Howard Gethin/RAF MILDENHALL NATO has sharply stepped up its air campaign against Yugoslavia, with over 80 separate targets attacked in the four days from 3 April, of 190 made since the outbreak of hostilities. NATO aircraft flew 438 sorties against 28 targets on 5 April alone. "We've increased the ...
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Looking forward
Chile's economic downturn has not derailed plans to grow the country's aerospace industry Alfonso Tobar/SANTIAGO Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCSantiago's bi-annual FIDAE airshow is as much a showcase for Chile's aviation industry as it is a marketplace for the world's manufacturers. A year ago, the centrepiece of FIDAE '98 was a display ...
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Sole A340-8000 may be put up for sale
The one and only Airbus Industrie A340-8000, completed in the middle of last year, faces an uncertain future because of the financial crisis surrounding controversial Brunei Prince Jefri, who placed the launch order. The four-engined jet, an ultra-long-range derivative of the A340-200, has been parked at Berlin's Schönefeld Airfield ...
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Viggen display
Ericsson Saab Avionics has won a contract from Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to supply colour cockpit displays for two Saab JA 37 Viggen squadrons of the Swedish air force. The new display replaces an existing monochrome unit as part of the Viggen Mod D upgrade programme. Deliveries will begin ...
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Apache market
Boeing is forecasting an international market for at least 600 AH-64D Apache Longbows, plus 518 more for the US Army, over the next 15 years. The company delivered the 1,000th AH-64 on 30 March. The former McDonnell Douglas plant at Mesa, Arizona, produced 937 AH-64As and is under contract to ...
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Sanders JSF EW
Lockheed Martin has selected a team led by its subsidiary Sanders to supply the electronic warfare system for its proposed JointStrike Fighter. As system integrator, Sanders will design affordable low-observable apertures and advanced infrared and radio-frequency countermeasures, while teammate Litton Amecom will supply low-cost electronic support measures. Source: Flight ...
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Russia tests
The Russian armed forces carried out air-drop exercises on 14-18 March, with over 1,000 paratroopers dropped from Antonov An-22s and Ilyushin Il-76s. S-300 surface-to-air missiles were also taken from Moscow to Astrakhan for test firing. Source: Flight International
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Danish harpoon
Denmark's Naval Material Command is to purchase Boeing's Advanced Harpoon Weapons Control System and is to upgrade its Harpoon Block 1C missiles to Block II configuration. The system will be deployed on Denmark's Fliege Fissken-class ships. The Block II missile includes new guidance technology from other systems, including the inertial ...
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Observer first
Observer first The first flight of the Cranfield A3 Observer unmanned air vehicle took place at DERA's Shoeburyness establishment on 11 March, validating the drone's control system performance. The Observer, which is dynamically unstable in all axes, uses a development of the Gust Insensitive control system. The flight-test programme ...
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British mid-atlantic
The UK civil aviation authority has granted British Midland route licences for new transatlantic services from London Heathrow. The approval, covering flights to New York, Washington, Miami and Boston, is subject to a resolution of UK/US bilateral negotiations. Source: Flight International
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Lockheed job cuts
Lockheed Martin Astronautics will cut its workforce by 1,200 or 10% this year, with management positions slashed by 30%. The move is linked to Astronautics' drive to make the business more competitive. Source: Flight International
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Maintenance drive
Max Kingsley-Jones/ABU DHABI GAMCO is offering customers more capacity and more choices as it strives to be a major maintenance force Gulf Aircraft Maintenance (GAMCO) is driving ahead to become a major force in the world aircraft maintenance market as it begins to expand capacity and offer more ...
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Eurocontrol monitors Europe's ACAS progress
Emma Kelly/LONDON Eurocontrol is sending questionnaires to all users of European airspace to determine operators' ability to meet Europe's airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS II) mandate, which takes effect from 1 January, 2000. The European ACAS mandate calls for all civil fixed-wing turbine-engined aircraft with a maximum take-off ...
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Ansett Australia ponders fleet rationalisation
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Ansett Australia is aiming to define its fleet development plan by the end of this year. It will decide on a new widebody type to serve domestic trunk and Asian routes and on the rationalisation of the carrier's domestic narrowbody fleet. Executive chairman Rod Eddington says: ...
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Yugoslav conflict forces airspace rethink
The conflict in Yugoslavia has forced Eurocontrol to conduct a major re-organisation of airspace in the region, with large areas of Balkan airspace closed to civil air traffic. On 24 March, Eurocontrol's Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU), which monitors traffic flows and airspace use in Europe, closed the airspace ...
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Irish commuter carrier takes 146s
Aer Lingus Commuter's British Aerospace 146 fleet has been expanded to eight with the delivery of an ex-Thai International -300 leased from BAe Asset Management. The regional division of Aer Lingus operates two 146-200s and six -300s, alongside six Fokker 50 turboprops, with lease commitments extending to 2007. Source: Flight ...