Defence Helicopters news – Page 427
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Northrop Grumman wins USN UAV contest
Northrop Grumman's Ryan Aeronautical Center has been picked to supply the US Navy's next tactical vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle. The system will replace AAI/Israel Aircraft Industry Pioneer fixed-wing UAVs. The Programme Executive Office, Cruise Missiles and UAVs, has awarded Northrop Grumman a $94 million engineering and manufacturing ...
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AEW on the attack
After solving a sensitive technology transfer issue to clinch Australia's Wedgetail programme, Boeing/Northrop Grumman has Asia in sight Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC On Northrop Grumman's map of prospective customers for airborne warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, only one country is marked as conquered - Australia. Next to fall, the company ...
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Defence renaissance
The world's defence manufacturers are again identifying the Asia-Pacific as a major market Stewart Penney/LONDONBy common consensus, the worst effects of the Asian economic crisis have passed and the nations around the Pacific are again considering their defence needs. At the 1998 Asian Aerospace show, the economic crisis generated pessimistic ...
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Ministers propose single sky for Europe
Julian Moxon/BRUSSELS A "single European sky" is on the political agenda after a 28 January meeting of transport ministers from the 38 European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) states. The ministers called for a high-level working group to study how to reduce air traffic delays in Europe. The International Air Transport ...
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FY2001 US defence budget preview
The US Department of Defense's (DoD) Fiscal Year 2001 budget request was delivered to US lawmakers on 7 February. It includes significant funding for the proposed National Missile Defense (NMD) system, while sustaining production of the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). Other priorities ...
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Australian 'mega-merger' proposed
Australia's Defence, Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has proposed a domestic "mega-merger" of international defence and aerospace firms operating in the Australian defence market. The proposal has been put to Australian Defence Industries, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Systems, Tenix Defence Systems and Thomson-CSF. All six are being asked to respond ...
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Roman legion
If Rome's rule once galvanised the European continent and gave it a sense of purpose, culture and identity, the Italian capital's role in determining the futures of Europe's two emerging aerospace and defence empires is also likely to be a central one. For Rome is being courted by Europe's two ...
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Australia to benefit first as USA offers to change policy
Peter La Franchi/SYDNEY The USA is offering to lift restrictions on technology release to Australia as part of a Department of Defense (DoD) push to establish closer interoperability arrangements with key allies. The move comes at a time when a series of sales have been held up due to ...
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RNZAF faces weapons stocks and readiness headaches
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The New Zealand Ministry of Defence has warned the newly elected Labour/Alliance coalition government that the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is in danger of failing to meet combat readiness targets. A shortfall in weapons stocks and reliability problems with the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk are the ...
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Poland leans towards used F-16s
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Poland is preparing to issue a formal tender for its 60-fighter requirement amid strong indications that the government favours an offer of used Lockheed Martin F-16s from the USA. Industry sources say Poland's finance ministry has informally agreed to allocate $1.5 billion for the purchase. The ...
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Northrop Grumman looks at ways to extend AWACS range
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Northrop Grumman plans to demonstrate bistatic-radar airborne early warning to extend the range of the Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Using the company's Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV) as a receive-only platform in a bistatic-radar application would "almost double the ...
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A400M powerplant rivals begin joint bid discussions
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Julian Moxon/PARIS Rolls-Royce, Snecma and MTU are talking about offering a joint powerplant for the Airbus Military Company (AMC) A400M. Political pressure is forcing the companies to find a way of merging their rival bids. AMC shelved its engine selection for the A400M last July, citing ...
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JSF selection strategy in doubt
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC US defence acquisition undersecretary Jacques Gansler has ordered a potentially far-reaching review of the Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF) "winner-take-all" selection strategy as part of a wider push to ensure a continuing competitive industrial base. Gansler has given the review 90 days to identify JSF acquisition options and ...
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US helicopters face growing threat
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Proliferation of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and the integration of sensors and processors to low-altitude missile systems are increasing threats to military helicopters. Short-range, man-portable, air-defence missiles, however, remain the primary threat to US helicopters, according to US Army director of foreign intelligence Col Jan Karcz. ...
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Work begins on US airborne laser
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Boeing Wichita has started the 18-month conversion of a 747-400 freighter into the YAL-1A Airborne Laser (ABL) prototype for the US Air Force. Tests will conclude with firings against simulated theatre ballistic missiles targets in 2003. Laser testing as well as lethality and vulnerability assessments ...
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C-130X close as C-5 engine is delayed
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCThe US Air Force is set finally to release a request for proposals (RFP) by March for the Lockheed Martin C-130X avionics upgrade, but selection of a new engine for the Lockheed C-5A/B Galaxy transport has been delayed. According to the USAF's Air Systems Command, a revised draft ...
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Australia drops EW project as prelude to defence cuts
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Australia has shelved its Project Echidna requirement for an integrated family of electronic warfare (EW) self-protection suites for Australian Defence Force aircraft. The move is included in a review of all defence acquisition projects worth more than A$50 million ($33.3 million). The review, established in mid-December ...
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USMC tests MV-22
US Marine Corps pilots have flown a Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor full-flight simulator developed by FlightSafety International. The flights took place ahead of an operational evaluation programme set for July at MCAS New River, North Carolina. The simulator features FlightSafety's improved ChromaView Plus visual system integrated with a SEOS ...
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Upsurge in military spending brings order boost to CAE
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC CAE Electronics has benefited from an upsurge in military flight simulation business in the closing months of 1999. As part of a Raytheon-led team that has taken over training of US Air Force Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircrew, the company is to ...
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Raytheon divests simulation business to fast-growing L-3
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Raytheon has agreed to sell its flight simulation business for $160 million to diversified electronics supplier L-3 Communications. The sale is part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at improving struggling US defence electronics giant Raytheon's financial performance. New York-based L-3 is also buying the Space ...