All news – Page 6657
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F-22 testing focuses on weapon bay
The focus of flight tests of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor have been switched to acoustic and load tests of the weapon bays. This follows the initial expansion of the flight envelope to speeds above 560kt (1,040km/h) and altitudes "higher than 50,000ft [15,250m]" says Lockheed Martin F-22 chief test pilot ...
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Standard test
Raytheon tested its Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) on 24 September. The launch from the USS Shiloh was the first of a series of "at-sea firings" set for the next two years. The test demonstrated performance during launch, booster separation, second-stage guidance and control through second-stage separation. The SM-3 will be ...
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Australia extends airborne EW contest
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA An Australian Defence Force plan to develop a common family of electronic warfare (EW) self-protection systems for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft has taken a surprise turn, with four shortlisted consortia to perform funded design studies. The Australian Department of Defence says that study contracts worth an ...
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Westland proposes new Lynx bodies
GKN Westland is proposing to the UK Ministry of Defence a refuselage programme for about 100 British Army Lynx helicopters. The move is part of a wider programme to adapt the battlefield helicopter as a reconnaissance/observation machine to support army WAH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters when they enter service. Other ...
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Czech Republic gets answers to fighter RFI
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH The Czech Government is evaluating the responses to its request for information (RFI) on Western fighter aircraft ahead of the expected release of a formal request for proposals (RFP) next year. The country, which joined NATO earlier this year, requires up to 36 aircraft to replace its ...
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Australia watches East Timor with JORN
Peter La Franchi/MELBOURNEThe Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has demonstrated the ability of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) to monitor aircraft movements over East Timor, with surveillance of the INTERFET air bridge undertaken as part of initial capability verification trials. The Australian DoD reveals that the JORN BackScatter Sounder, ...
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Slovakia to open range to USAF
The Slovak Republic is to open a training range and airfield to the US Air Force, becoming the first former Warsaw Pact country to allow their routine use by Western air forces. The ranges could be in USAF use by April. A Slovak-US agreement, two years in development, gives ...
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Sony Trans Com sell-off near
Emma Kelly/SALT LAKE CITYAn unidentified avionics manufacturer, widely believed to be AlliedSignal, is conducting a due diligence review of Sony Trans Com with a view to buying the in-flight entertainment (IFE) supplier from Sony. Sony Trans Com declines to confirm the identity of the suitor, saying only that the company ...
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System 3000 launch
Matsushita is close to finalising a 40-aircraft launch order for its new System 3000 interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. The System 3000, to be available from the second or third quarter of next year, will be an upgraded version of the System 2000E, the leading interactive IFE system installed on ...
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Rockwell to join audio/video/on-demand club from next year
Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems will test audio/video/on-demand (A/VOD) capability on its Total Entertainment System (TES) with an unidentified airline in the first quarter of next year. Rockwell is the last of the major in-flight entertainment (IFE) hardware suppliers to offer A/VOD functionality, which provides passengers with control over their ...
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SkyTeam forced to shelve Spanish transport plan
German passenger and freight carrier SkyTeam has been forced at the last minute to shelve plans to acquire a CASA CN235 turboprop transport because the aircraft the Spanish manufacturer planned to supply does not comply with European Joint Airworthiness Requirements. The airline has instead concluded a deal with BAC ...
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Routes
Virginia-based Raytheon Beech 1900 operator Colgan Air is to drop its marketing pact with Continental Airlines to enable it to become a US Airways Express carrier in December. The new partnership adds six new cities to the US Airways route system, while expanding service at others. CityBird and the Congolese ...
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Marching towards orbit
Thirty years after putting its first satellite into orbit, China will test fly the vehicle that will perform its maiden manned flight Tim Furniss/LONDON The People's Republic of China may celebrate its 50th anniversary this month with the launch of an unpiloted orbital test flight of a manned launcher, 30 ...
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European low cost carriers fold as competition hots up
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Increasing competition between Europe's low fare airlines has forced two more independent carriers to cease operations. One-year-old Norwegian scheduled airline Color Air has been shut down by its parent company after failing to show signs of turning around its mounting losses, while the UK's ...
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Swissair crash: IFE system installation prompts FAA ban
The in-flight entertainment network (IFEN) system in the crashed Swissair flight 111 Boeing MD-11 was installed without consideration for the aircraft's electrical system design concept, an extensive examination by the US Federal Aviation Administration has revealed. Following the study, the FAA has issued an airworthiness directive (AD) designed "to prevent ...
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Embraer ties up risk sharing agreements
Julian Moxon/PARIS Embraer has concluded agreements with risk sharing partners for the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 regional jets, in addition to those with General Electric and Honeywell that cover engines and avionics, respectively. The company has also held an advisory board meeting with 20 airlines and risk sharing partners to ...
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Northrop leads Lockheed Martin queue
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Northrop Grumman is the leading candidate to acquire some of the eight non-core businesses that Lockheed Martin plans to sell as part of a major restructuring intended to improve its financial and operational performance. Analysts expect Northrop Grumman to lead US bidders for the businesses, ...
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Metric mix-up led to Mars Orbiter loss
Confusion over the use of imperial and metric units caused the loss of the $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft in late September. The NASA spacecraft was lost just minutes after its orbital insertion engine was fired to place it in orbit around the planet. The failure on 23 ...
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Global Hawk downed by rogue abort signal
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELESNorthrop Grumman says the crash on 29 March of a Ryan Aeronautical RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV) was caused by an abort signal from another remotely operated vehicle which was being tested more than 250km (140nm) away. The signal accidentally triggered the Ryan UAV's flight termination ...
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Balkan pull-out
Knafaim-Arkia, the holding company of Israeli airline Arkia, is to sell its 75% holding in Balkan Bulgarian just three months after agreeing the deal with the Bulgarian Government. The decision to sell to an Israeli company sparked Arab government protests. Arkia says the deal was abandoned because incorporating data from ...