All news – Page 6611
-
News
Tu-134 re-engining offered
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW A Tupolev-led consortium is proposing a cost-effective re-engining and refurbishment programme for the Tupolev Tu-134 twinjet, dubbed the "Tu-134M", to improve performance, efficiency and environmental compliance. Interavia, formed by a group of Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian companies, hopes to secure contracts to refurbish around half the ...
-
News
Virgin Express heals Belgian CAA squabble
Herman De Wulf/BRUSSELS Brussels-based low-fare airline Virgin Express has had its air operator's certificate (AOC) extended for four months after resolving differences with the Belgian Civil Aviation Administration (BCAA) over changes in its senior management and the transfer of aircraft from the Belgian to the Irish register. Days after ...
-
News
Airbus overtakes Boeing
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Airbus Industrie has seized number one position in the over 100-seat airliner market, overtaking its US rival Boeing for the first time in order backlog numbers. At the end of October, 1,456 Airbuses remained for delivery, compared to 1,423 Boeings. The consortium's achievement is the first time ...
-
News
US regulators approve BAe merger with Marconi
The planned merger of British Aerospace and GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) division has cleared the last US regulatory hurdle. The US defence and justice departments have signed off on the proposed deal on the condition that BAe erect so-called "firewalls" preventing the flow of competitive and sensitive information on ...
-
News
Seating giant B/E faces bumpy ride
Chris Jasper/LONDON Aircraft interiors specialist B/E Aerospace has issued a profits warning for its current fiscal year and the next after experiencing major difficulties in its seating products group, the largest single element of B/E's business. Florida-based B/E, the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft seats, blames production problems ...
-
News
China conducts further tests in preparation for manned flight
Tim Furniss/LONDON China conducted the first unmanned test of its Shenzhou spacecraft on 20 November. The launch from Jiuquan was also the first to use the Long March 2F (LM2F) booster. China is planning further unmanned test flights of the Shenzhou before launching with a two-man crew on board. The ...
-
News
Cluster II enters testing
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Dornier Satellitensysteme (DSS)has completed the fourth and final satellite for the European Space Agency's (ESA)c300 million ($309 million) Cluster II mission and handed the spacecraft over to Munich-based Industrieanlagen Betriebsgesellschaftfor testing. The satellites are to be orbited in pairs by Russian Soyuz boosters next June and ...
-
News
Hubble service trip delayed for repairs
NASA has delayed the launch of STS103 Discovery on the Hubble Servicing Mission 3A to 9 December. The delay is to allow time for repairs to be made to minor damage on cables between the orbiter and the external tank. During preparations for orbiter Endeavour's mission in January, NASA ...
-
News
NASA awaits Mars attempt
NASA's Mars Polar Lander (MPL) is due to touch down on the Red Planet's south pole on 3 December. NASA is anxious for a successful landing after the failure of the sister ship - the Mars Climate Orbiter - on 23 September. The 1.06m (3ft 6in) tall, 580kg (1,270lb) ...
-
News
Battery lost
The International Space Station's (ISS) Russian Zarya control module is operating on two-thirds of normal battery power after battery number two, one of five, failed to discharge. Battery number one, which failed earlier, is due to be replaced by the STS101 Atlantis crew in March. A second battery change could ...
-
News
Atlas launches US Navy UFO
International Launch Services launched an Atlas IIA from Cape Canaveral on 22 November, carrying the tenth ultra high frequency follow on (UFO) US Navy communications satellite supplied by Hughes Space and Communications. It was the fourth Atlas launch from the Cape this year and the 45th consecutive successful Atlas ...
-
News
Private Arabsat
The 22-Arab nation Arabsat satellite communications consortium plans to become a joint stock company and seek Arab and foreign investment next year. Source: Flight International
-
News
Starsem completes sixth Globalstar satellite launch
Starsem launched another four Globalstar mobile communications satellites on a Soyuz Ikar booster from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 22 November. There are 48 Globalstar satellites in space and a final launch of four by a Delta II in January will complete the constellation, with four in-orbit spares available. Replacements will ...
-
News
Colombia takes more gunships
Colombia is to increase its fleet of police-operated armed helicopters with 14 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks and associated armaments in a $221 million deal, say defence industry sources. The USA is to supply the UH-60s with GAU-19A and GAU-17 machine guns and M265 70mm (2.75in) rocket pods. Colombia's paramilitary police ...
-
News
Raytheon launches ASTOR on to the international market
Stewart Penney/LONDON Raytheon has begun marketing an export version of the UK's Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) system. The unit is being offered internationally as the Ground Surveillance Airborne Radar System (GSARS). The UK Government selected Raytheon earlier this year as the preferred bidder to supply the Royal Air Force ...
-
News
USA allows JASSM to fly in RAAF weapons contest
Lockheed Martin has been given clearance by the US Government to offer the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) in Australia's stand-off weapon competition. The move comes shortly after a first powered test flight for the weapon. Australian officials had pressured the Clinton Administration to allow Lockheed Martin to ...
-
News
German dithering delays NH90
Julian Moxon/PARISThe four-nation NH Industries (NHI) NH90 transport helicopter programme is facing further delay because of German budget uncertainties. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for industrialisation and initial production of the NH90 was originally due to be signed at the Paris air show in June. Now it seems the signature ...
-
News
Navy modernisation
Consortia led by British Aerospace Land &Sea Systems and Thomson-CSFNCS have been awarded contracts to access options for the UK Royal Navy's future aircraft carrier. This stage is the first towards building two aircraft carriers about twice the size of the three Invincible-class carriers they will replace. The ships are ...
-
News
Striker team
Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS), Hunting Engineering and Boeing have formed the Striker team to compete for the UK Ministry of Defence's Bomb Enhancement Programme. This seeks a low-cost means to improve unguided-bomb accuracy. Striker brings together Boeing's Joint Direct Attack Munition technology and Hunting's weapon experience. AMS will be prime ...
-
News
Chechnya focuses Russian interest in night attack
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW Russia's assault on Chechnya is focusing the Russian army's attention on more night-attack capable helicopters. In a separate move, Russia has agreed with the Ukrainian Government on the numbers of Antonov An-70s to be acquired. The Chechnya conflict has resulted in the army doubling to 20 its ...