Defence Helicopters news – Page 127
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News
Bell to test new blades for V-22 Osprey
Bell Helicopter will, in 2017, fly a V-22 tiltrotor equipped with new prop rotor blades designed to reduce manufacturing costs on the type.
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NewsUK eyes potential for in-flight refuelling of helicopters
The UK is exploring options for its transport rotorcraft, including in-flight refuelling, as it looks to extend the operational range of its fleet in line with commitments in a recent defence review.
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NewsNew Lithuanian SAR helicopters report for duty
Airbus Helicopters has completed deliveries under a three-unit deal to equip the Lithuanian armed forces with AS365 N3+ rotorcraft equipped for search and rescue (SAR).
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NewsF135 production to jump 110% as DOD and P&W reach agreement
The US defense department and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II engine supplier Pratt & Whitney have reached a “handshake agreement” in contract negotiations for production of 167 F135 turbofan engines, according to a joint statement released today.
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NewsBoeing B-52 evolves again with guided weapons launcher
On 16 January 1991, seven Boeing B-52Gs fully loaded with AGM-86C conventional air-launched cruise missiles took flight from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana on a top-secret mission to destroy targets inside Iraq.
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NewsPICTURES: Airbus to flight test new C295 aerial refuelling rig
Airbus Defence & Space's development of an air-to-air refuelling system for the C295 is moving ahead, with a “dry contract” flight test planned in 2016, ahead of a full fuel transfer trial.
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News
US Army forging ahead with OH-58D and TH-67 retirements
The US Army says it has divested all but two of its Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior squadrons under its sweeping aviation restructure initiative, which handed the armed aerial scout role to unmanned RQ-7 Shadow UAVs.
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NewsUS Army approves Block II Chinook plan
A top US Army acquisition executive has given the service approval to proceed with the Block II Chinook programme, a long-term effort aimed at replacing or rebuilding today’s tandem-rotor Boeing CH-47F and MH-47G fleets in the 2020s.
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NewsFleet-wide F-35 fix targets fuel tank over-pressurisation
The concurrency curse has struck the Lockheed Martin F-35 again, this time during lightning protection qualification, when it was discovered the jet’s fuel tanks could over-pressurise “beyond design limits” in certain flight profiles.
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NewsF-35 training at Luke AFB gathers pace with 34 jets
The multinational pilot training centre at Luke AFB in Arizona has grown exponentially since receiving its first Lockheed Martin F-35 in March 2014, and that pace won’t let up in 2016 as the 56th Fighter Wing zips past 3,000 Lightning II sorties.
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NewsBoeing tapped for P-8A upgrade as AAS and Harpoon move forward
Boeing will receive a work package from the US Navy to design and incorporate “Increment 3 Block 2” improvements into the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, according to a contracting announcement released on 12 January.
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NewsP&W delivers last C-17-powering F117 to US air force
Pratt & Whitney has delivered its 1,313th and final F117-100 high-bypass turbofan engine that powers the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 strategic airlifter, marking the end of an era for the PW2000 engine family.
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NewsNavy and Penn State sailplanes swarm in latest test
The US military could be edging closer to fielding swarms of lightweight sailplanes for gathering intelligence or relaying signals after validating autonomous soaring algorithms coded by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Pennsylvania State University.
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News
Afghan air force to get 12 more MD530Fs
MD Helicopters has received a firm order for 12 additional MD530F Cayuse Warrior armed scout helicopters for Afghanistan.
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NewsPICTURES: B-52 joins F-15s and F-16s in Korea after nuclear test
North Korea’s underground nuclear test last week might not have yielded the hydrogen bomb “supreme leader” Kim Jong-un claimed, but the seismic spectacle did produce a captivating aerial display south of the border.
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NewsSaudi deal sustains Sikorsky MH-60R production
Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 10 Sikorsky MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters “dovetails nicely” onto delivery of the last of 280 examples to the US Navy, according to the brand’s new parent Lockheed Martin, particularly as production of Australian and Danish “Romeos” concludes.
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NewsRomanian army receives four Phoenix 30 UAVs
Romania's army has a new quadrotor capability following the arrival of four UAV Solutions Phoenix 30 unmanned air vehicles.
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NewsHelibras performs first full in-country AS565 K2 upgrade
Brazil’s army in late 2015 received the first Airbus Helicopters AS565 to have been upgraded entirely in-country to the enhanced K2 standard.
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NewsLockheed’s ship-killing missile completes load testing on F/A-18
The US Navy has completed in-flight load testing of the Lockheed Martin-built long-range anti-ship missile, or LRASM, on the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and will now move to noise and vibration trials.
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NewsIraq approved for 5,000 Hellfire missiles as US boosts output
The Iraqi government could receive as many as 5,000 general-purpose AGM-114 Hellfire missiles under a foreign military sales deal approved by the US government this week.