DASH DEBUT
Israeli sources are claiming the first successful combat engagement of an aircraft using an air-to-air missile slaved to a pilot's helmet-mounted cueing system, following the destruction of a Hezbollah-operated Ababil unmanned air vehicle (Flight International, 15-21 August). One of two vehicles Hezbollah attempted to send into Israel, the UAV was shot down by an Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16D pilot using Elbit Systems' display sight helmet.
YAK BACK
Russia's Yakovlev design bureau will resume flight tests of the Yak-130 advanced jet trainer in October, after investigators confirmed the cause of a 26 July crash involving the type (Flight International, 1-7 August). "A failure in the power supply system of the KSU-130 [flight] control system was the most likely cause of the Yak-130 crash," says Yakovlev director general Oleg Demchenko.
AUSTRALIA REVIEW
Australia has established a Defence Management Review (DMR) and a Defence Business Improvement Board (DBIB) to improve the organisational efficiency of its Department of Defence. The DMR will run for six months and report to defence minister Brendan Nelson, while the permanent DBIB will meet three or four times this year, then more frequently from next year.
Source: Flight International
