Defence Helicopters news – Page 118
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NewsUSAF backs off sixth-gen 'fighter' in quest for air supremacy
The US Air Force will begin an extensive campaign of prototyping and experimentation relating to new air superiority technologies, including new aircraft types, after completing a wide-ranging examination of future air battle concepts and weaponry.
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NewsITEP engine is top pick to power US Army's FVL Light
One of the competing 3,000shp (2,240kW)-class engines being developed by leading propulsion specialists could eventually power a next-generation light assault rotorcraft being considered by the US Army, despite being procured specifically to re-engine the Boeing AH-64E and Sikorsky UH-60M in the late 2020s.
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NewsNASA floats stratospheric airship prize
NASA is again considering whether to launch a public competition to develop large stratospheric airships, a capability that has eluded the US military despite several costly attempts.
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NewsCanada’s defence policy review won't delay CF-18 replacement comp
The Trudeau government in Canada has launched the country's largest defence policy review in “over 20 years” as it considers if and when to exit the $379 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme.
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NewsOverall US military aircraft exports strong in 2015
Despite trouble securing combat jet sales in 2015, concerns about an erosion in US military exports because its government’s burdensome and often sluggish approvals process might be overstated.
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NewsAirbus Helicopters begins tests of fire-detection system for Germany
Airbus Helicopters has begun test flights for its German armed forces customer as part of a research and technology programme to develop a hostile fire indication (HFI) system.
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NewsPakistan orders nine more Bell AH-1Z gunships
Bell Helicopter has been put on contract to build nine more AH-1Z Viper gunship helicopters for Pakistan, as part of a larger foreign military sales package for up to 15 helicopters and 1,000 Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire-series missiles that was approved last April.
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News
Alaska base selected to house F-35 squadrons
The US Air Force will station two operational F-35A squadrons on America’s northwestern flank in Alaska, nearby where F-22s typically intercept long-range Russian TU-95 “Bear” bombers.
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NewsBoeing's KC-46 test run complicated by C-17 refuelling issue
The Boeing C-17 heavy cargo aircraft has become the sticking point in an otherwise speedy KC-46A aerial refuelling demonstration phase, with officials confirming that “higher-than-expected boom axial loads” have delayed trials with that aircraft and the A-10 attack airplane.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Italy's swing-role Typhoons fly high at Red Flag
In early February, an Italian air force test pilot made history by becoming the first aviator to cross the Atlantic at the controls of a Lockheed Martin F-35. Identified by the service as Maj Gianmarco, he delivered the service’s first of the fifth-generation type – built at a national final ...
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NewsBell-Boeing begins designing CMV-22B with $151 million contract
A $151 million contract awarded to V-22 tiltrotor manufacturer Bell-Boeing this week allows engineers to get started designing the US Navy’s future Osprey variant, the CMV-22B, which is replacing the Northrop Grumman C-2 Greyhound twin turboprop in the aircraft carrier logistics role at sea.
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News
VIDEO: F-35 begins Raytheon JSOW qualification flights
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II will soon count Raytheon's AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) among its list internally carried munitions after “cleanly” releasing the 475kg (1,050lb) inert glide bomb during a trial off the coast of Maryland.
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NewsCH-53K's entry into low-rate production delayed eight months
The Sikorsky CH-53K’s entry into low-rate production has been delayed again, this time by eight months to February 2017, because of gearbox failures last year and the late delivery of parts from suppliers, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports in its annual assessment of Pentagon weapon projects.
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NewsUS Army explores 'Block III' engine upgrade for RQ-7B Shadow UAV
The US Army has begun its search for a new “Block III” engine to power its enhanced Textron Systems RQ-7B Shadow UAV that is paired with the Boeing AH-64 Apache gunship in the scout role.
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NewsBAE's APKWS rockets go to war on AV-8B Harrier
BAE Systems’ laser-guided rocket has been rushed into combat on the AV-8B Harrier, seven months after it was requested by the top brass of the US Marine Corps.
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NewsPhilippine navy orders two AW159 Wildcats
Finmeccanica has announced the Philippine navy will acquire two AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare rotorcraft under a contract valued at €100 million ($114 million).
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NewsLockheed venture lifts off with LOI for 12 hybrid airships
Lockheed Martin has bested its British rival, the Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10, by signing a launch customer for its LMH-1 airship: Straightline Aviation (SLA).
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NewsPentagon touts "Loyal Wingman" for combat jets
US Air Force plans to insert a “brain” into current-generation fighter jets to create autonomous flying wingmen paired with the Lockheed Martin F-35 were given a bump today, with the Pentagon’s second-in-charge saying he expects to see “unmanned wingman in the air” before convoys of driverless Humvees.
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NewsSlimmed-down F-35 Gen III helmet to be introduced sooner
The Pentagon is bullish about resolving issues with the F-35 Lightning II’s escape system that has restricted lightweight pilots of from flying the fifth-generation combat jet, with the joint programme office (JPO) now expecting delivery of a slimmed-down “Gen III” helmet from Rockwell Collins by November for rollout in 2017.
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NewsLockheed advancing Dual Mode Plus and Scalpel bombs
The performance and accuracy of Lockheed Martin’s proposed alternative to the Boeing laser-guided joint direct attack munition are being validated on a US Navy F/A-18 at the China Lake complex in California's Mojave Desert and the weapons maker is also pushing for trials with an Air Force F-16.