All news – Page 7122
-
News
Hornet heads for Malaysia...
McDonnell Douglas has begun deliveries of the first of eight F-18D Hornets to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The aircraft will be used in the strike and interdiction role by the RMAF, which received the first aircraft in March. Source: Flight International
-
News
Allied near to completing F-22...
AlliedSignal is in "the final throes" of high-altitude testing of the auxiliary-power generating system (APGS) for the Lockheed Martin F-22, in a bid to clear the full envelope before the fighter has its first flight, planned for the end of May. Revealing details of the integrated APGS on ...
-
News
Turkish F-4s arrive in Israel...
The first of 54 Turkish air force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms being upgraded by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) were flown to Tel Aviv in March. The upgrade includes the installation of a new Elta radar. They first few aircraft will be modified by IAI in Israel, with the rest going ...
-
News
Australia impounds Papua New Guinea-bound Mi-24s
Australia has intervened in a pending dispute between a UK military consultancy and the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government over ownership of an arms shipment, including four Russian military helicopters, now on Australian soil. Australian prime minister John Howard says that the diversion of the Antonov An-124, which ...
-
News
Pentagon approves...
LOW-RATE INITIAL production (LRIP) of the McDonnell Douglas F-18E/F was approved on 26 March after William Cohen, the new US defence chief, dropped objections to proceeding with production before completion of the Quadrennial Defence Review. Pentagon acquisition chief Paul Kaminski authorised the US Navy to begin LRIP of ...
-
News
Ukraine will power Chinese K-8...
China has concluded a deal with Ukraine to purchase powerplants for its Nan Chang K-8 jet trainers, replacing US-built AlliedSignal TFE731 engines. Ukraine's Ivchenko Progress ZMKB design bureau and the Motor-Sich production plant have sealed a contract for delivery of 30 AI-25TL engines for the K-8J jet trainer. ...
-
News
UK Royal Navy begins search for EH101 Merlin anti-ship missile
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has begun a procurement programme for a next-generation air-launched anti-ship missile to equip its EH Industries EH101 Merlin maritime helicopter. "We are in the early stages of looking at an anti-ship missile [for the Merlin] with several studies under way," confirms the ...
-
News
MiG prototype almost lost in test flight
A prototype MIG MAPO MiG-AT advanced jet trainer was almost lost during flight trials when the aircraft, piloted by the company's chief test pilot, Roman Taskayev, went into a violent spin. The incident occurred in August 1996 when Taskayev was flying the aircraft in an ascending spiral at ...
-
News
Textron SFW order...
Textron Systems has been awarded a $142 million US Air Force contract to build 542 additional Sensor Fuzed Weapons (SFW). The smart munitions will be of enhanced configuration, incorporating an integrated altimeter. Deliveries will start in 1998. Source: Flight International
-
News
DoT refuses pleas to delay American-BA consideration
THE US Department of Transportation (DoT) has begun to consider the American Airways-British Airways (American-BA) alliance, brushing aside requests by rival carriers to put the inquiry on hold pending the signing of a UK-US open skies bilateral agreement. Delta Air Lines and Trans World Airlines had both pressed ...
-
News
Air France re-activates Concorde from storage
Air France is boosting its operational BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde fleet to six, with the planned return to service in early July of an aircraft which has been in storage at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for the past five years. Despite plans for an expanded fleet, however, the French ...
-
News
Lufthansa finds partners for global alliance
Lufthansa is expected to host the signing of an informal agreement on "comprehensive co-operation" with Air Canada, SAS, Thai Airways and United Airlines, in Frankfurt on 14 May, as the next step in turning an existing partnership into a cohesive global alliance. According to Thai press reports, the ...
-
News
British Midland selects Airbus A320 family for fleet renewal
British Midland Airways (BM) expects to sign a $1 billion firm order with Airbus Industrie for A320s and A321s in May, having concluded an initial memorandum of understanding in early April for up to 20 aircraft. The airline, which selected the Airbus single-aisle family over Boeing's 737-800 and ...
-
News
Southwest's 737-700 enters flight-test...
The second Boeing 737-700 is now flying in the colours of launch customer Southwest Airlines. The aircraft, which was unpainted for its maiden 2h 4min flight from Renton on 27 February, achieved an altitude of 41,000ft (12,500m) on 15 March, setting a new record for the type (Flight International, 26 ...
-
News
Belgium's CityBird takes to the...
New Belgian low-cost airline CityBird (formed by the City Hotels Group, ex-owner of Euro Belgian Airlines) began operations on 27 March, when its first McDonnell Douglas MD-11 took off for Mexico. On 30 March, scheduled services to Miami and Orlando in Florida began, and from June more scheduled US routes ...
-
News
MDC talks up MD-80 freighter for China
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) remains optimistic that its MD-80 cargo conversion plan proposed to Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) earlier this year will receive the go-ahead before the end of 1997, despite uncertainty caused by the planned merger with Boeing. A key aspect of the plan is the supply ...
-
News
Euro liberalisation could still cause problems
The final stage of European air-transport liberalisation came into effect on 1 April, to the accompaniment of predictions that airlines will be unlikely to take full advantage of the increased market access contained within the legislation. "In most important respects, the European market has been fully liberalised since ...
-
News
Gulf Air reactivates TriStars following disposal of 767s
Gulf Air is planning to return up to three of its five stored L-1011 TriStar 200s to service, for operation on services within the Gulf, and to the Indian sub-continent. The move comes in the wake of the sale of six Boeing 767-300ERs to Delta Air Lines. One ...
-
News
Indian carriers receive aircraft import...
India's Civil Aviation Ministry has given the go-ahead for three domestic private airlines to increase their fleets by importing more aircraft. The approval, announced by the ministry's Aircraft Acquisition Committee (AAC), affects Skyline NEPC, JVG Group and Bengal Air. Bombay-based NEPC Skyline will add two Boeing 737-200s to ...
-
News
Egypt's AMC orders launch MD-90-30ER
AMC Aviation of Egypt has placed the launch order for the McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30ER (extended range), with a contract for two aircraft. The MD-90ER features increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and additional fuel tanks, to boost range to over 4,000km (2,200nm). Compared to the standard MD-90, ...