All news – Page 7373
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UAVs and air expeditionary force top USAF priorities
Increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the adoption of an Air Expeditionary Force Concept (AEFC) are among the priorities for the US Air Force for the millennium, according to Gen Ronald Fogelman, the United States Air Force Chief of Staff. Speaking at the USAF's 50th anniversary ...
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US Air Force support grows for STOVLJSF
THE US AIR FORCE and Navy are considering switching at least some of their planned orders for Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to the short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) variant intended for the US Marine Corps and UK Royal Navy. The move could result in around half of the almost-3,000 JSFs planned ...
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Bank loan allows Mil to resume Night Havoc testing
The Mil design bureau has been able to resume flight tests of its Mi-28N all-weather/ night-attack variant of the basic Mi-28 Havoc, with funding for the development being provided through a bank loan. The Mi-28N was flown for the first time in November 1995, but testing was halted ...
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Israelis impressed by MiG-29 combat trials
The Israeli air force has borrowed three MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft from an unidentified eastern European state. Israel test-flew the aircraft against its Lockheed Martin F-16 and McDonnell Doulgas F-15s. The aircraft , flown out from an Israeli air force base in the Negev desert, were evaluated over ...
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NH Industries gets plans ready for NH90 production
NH Industries (NHI) will meet armaments directors from partner countries of the four -nation NH90 transport-helicopter programme during the Paris air show in June to begin negotiations on tooling and production for up to 240 helicopters. "We're preparing our proposals now," says NHI president Jean-Pierre Barthelemy. "We have ...
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Hercules crash mystifies investigators
The crash of a US Air Force Reserve Lockheed Martin HC-130P into the Pacific Ocean on 22 November 1996 was caused by fuel starvation, but the official investigation could not determine why all four engines had shut down. One of 11 crew members survived when the aircraft crashed ...
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JPATS contract
Raytheon Aircraft has selected FlightSafety Services to develop the ground-based training system (GBTS) for the US Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS). The company cites "superior systems engineering and software management" as reasons for selecting FlightSafety over Hughes Training for the $500 million contract. The GBTS is to ...
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Philippines details fighter and weapons requirement
The Philippine air force has issued its first request for proposals (RFP) for 24 new multi-role fighter aircraft and six air-defence radars to manufacturers , initiating a 15-year, 164.5 billion peso ($6.23 billion) defence-modernisation programme. The RFP has been sent to six competing European, Israeli, Russian and US ...
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RAAF shortlists Rafael Python 4 and ASRAAM
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has short-listed the Rafael Python 4 and the Matra BAe Dynamics Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) for its next-generation within-visual-range air-to-air missile requirement, ruling out consideration of the Hughes Evolved Sidewinder (AIM-9X) and the Bodensee Geratetechnik IRIS-T. The US Navy, which ...
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Yakovlev begins high angle-of-attack trials with Yak-130D
Yakovlev has begun high angle-of-attack (AoA) trials with the prototype of its Yak-130D advanced jet trainer, with the company confident that it has been able to resolve earlier problems with the aircraft's winglets. Andrei Sinitsin, chief test pilot at Yakovlev, says: "A big part of the test programme ...
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Regional realities
If industry forecasts are to be believed, air traffic in the Asia-Pacific region is set to triple over the next 20 years. Eager to cash in on this expected boom in aviation travel are several Asian start-up carriers. How many will be able to overcome the political, financial, regulatory and ...
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Breath of fresh AI(R)
When Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) was formed in January 1996 from the regional-aircraft businesses of Aerospatiale of France, Alenia of Italy and British Aerospace, its declared policy was to manufacture and market a family of complementary regional aircraft. That family now includes the Jetstream 41 turboprop (with 29-30 seats), the ...
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A return to business
With confidence in the UK economy on the rise, it seems fitting that the 1997 European Business Air Show (EBAS) should be hosted at London's Stansted Airport for the first time. The sixth annual EBAS will run from the 13-15 May, and will feature all aspects of business aviation. "EBAS ...
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Sharing the loads
The utilisation by major carriers of regional airlines with low cost bases to operate low-volume, short-haul feeder services is a concept that has been established in North America since the 1980s, but has only recently caught on in Europe. British Airways was the first European carrier to conclude a franchise ...
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France's revolution
The announcement on 18 February by French regional airline Brit Air that it was to place the launch order for the 70-seat Series 700 version of the highly successful 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) served only to confirm the revolution taking place in France's regional-airline industry. In ...
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Gunships for peace
Camouflaged in the forest, looking down on the River Danube, is a Belgian army tactical air-control party (TACP) practising its skills at calling in air strikes. There are no NATO aircraft on this exercise, however. Instead, two white-painted Mil Mi-24 helicopters can be seen flying along a wood line into ...
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Regional jets find a home
LABOUR TURMOIL and strike threats spawned by the introduction of new-generation "regional jets" have diverted attention away from an evolution that is taking place in both the airline and aircraft manufacturing industries. This is the opinion of aircraft manufacturers, airline-industry pundits and air-carrier officials who say that the ...
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Historic manufacturers return
Two famous names from German aviation history staged a comeback at the Aero '97 show, with the presentation of new prototypes from Zeppelin and Junkers. The general-aviation show, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from 23-27 April, featured the public debut of the Zeppelin New Technology (NT) airship, the LZ N07. ...
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Diamond reveals four-seat Katana
Austrian manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries has displayed a mock-up of a four-seat addition to its Katana aircraft family for the first time. The DA 40 Katana is set for its maiden flight by July, and Diamond hopes to certificate it to European JAR 23 standards by the end ...
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Wankel examines multi-fuel engine
German engine manufacturer Wankel Rotary is studying the development of a multi-fuel rotary engine for aircraft and helicopter applications. Wankel says that the variable installation position (VIP) engine will be able to run on avgas, kerosene, diesel, natural gas, methanol or hydrogen, and will offer substantial weight savings ...