Defence Helicopters news – Page 434
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Long sight for the UK
The UK's lengthy search for an airborne stand-off radar has resulted in a unique surveillance system Stewart Penney/LONDON Simultaneous announcements in London and Paris of the winner of the UK Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) competition ended a battle which has raged for the best part of this decade and concludes ...
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Kosovo Apaches come under US Army fire
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC US Army Boeing AH-64A Apache attack helicopter pilots were undertrained and ill-equipped to engage Serb forces in Kosovo, according to a report written by Brig Gen Richard Cody, who led Task Force Hawk in Albania. The internal memorandum that was sent to Gen Eric Shinseki, the US ...
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European split on competitor to V-22 tiltrotor
GKN Westland and Agusta are finalising a bid to the European Commission to fund a compound helicopter technology demonstrator. This signals the final break-up of the Eurofar consortium, which was created to develop a rival to Bell-Boeing's V-22 tiltrotor. The UK company is also in discussions with the Ministry ...
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A new way forward?
European consolidation took a lively turn on the eve of Le Bourget Chris Jasper/PARIS When French president Jacques Chirac opened the Paris air show on 12 June, it was on a wave of growing European optimism. The day before, the Spanish state holding company SEPI had announced its ...
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The future is smart
First came precision guidance: now all-weather missiles are set to join the US arsenal Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC NATO's dependence on precision guided munitions (PGMs) is expected to grow in the coming years, when current-generation laser-guided bombs will be complemented by all-weather weapons using global positioning/inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) guiding and ...
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Turkey waits for Australia on AEW&C aircraft order
Turkey is holding off on the final selection of a new airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft until after Australia's decision on a similar requirement. A verdict is expected to be made by Australia before the end of July. Australia and Turkey have been engaged in parallel evaluations ...
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Military rotorcraft market review
Major contracts are in the offing for an industry that is making slow progress towards consolidation Stewart Penney/LONDON The past year brought some consolidation to the rotorcraft industry and conclusions to notable competitions. Meanwhile, significant procurement battles loom over the next 12 months, particularly in Europe. Finmeccanica and ...
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Boeing tests transport model
Boeing's Phantom Works is planning flight tests of large scale models of its Blended Wing Body (BWB)transport aircraft and Super Frog tilt-wing, tail-less, short take-off tactical transport in 2001. Meanwhile, Boeing has conducted tethered flight trials of a smaller Super Frog model before free-flight tests scheduled for August. The 2.4m ...
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Contracts
CASA has won a five year, Ptas18,000 million ($113 million) contract to upgrade the tactical mission system of the Spanish air force's five Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Northrop Grumman has won a $15.8 million contract to supply 16 ALQ-131 Block II electronic countermeasures pods to the Norwegian ...
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Greece to fly Saab 340 in Erieye deal
Greece is to operate a Swedish air force Saab 340-based Argus equipped with Ericsson Erieye airborne early warning radar as part of a deal to buy four Erieye systems mounted on an Embraer regional jet. Ericsson won a SKr4.5 billion ($525 million) deal for four Erieye systems in December last ...
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Chile heads queue for export F/A-18E/F
Paul Lewis and Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Chile is expected to be the first country to request price and availability data on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, initiating moves to release the upgraded fighter for export. Boeing hopes to secure export release for the F/A-18E/F by year end, after ...
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Paris unity
Paris 99 might be remembered for the last-ditch efforts by Europe's aerospace and defence industry to find a clear path towards industrial consolidation in the face of ever-burgeoning US super-companies, but the last Paris air show of the century should also be a reminder of Europe's technological prowess. The four-nation ...
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Creditors reject KAI business plan
Andrzej Jeziorski/PARIS Creditors of the three South Korean aerospace companies planning to merge into a single operation this year have rejected a second business plan. According to Lim In-Taik, president of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) - the entity being formed by Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries and Hyundai ...
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Germany, Russia and Ukraine get ready to sign An-70 co-operation
A formal partnership agreement between the German, Russian and Ukrainian aerospace companies pushing the Antonov An-70 as a platform for a future European medium transport aircraft is expected to be signed this month. The deal would clear the way for an An-70 sales and marketing joint venture to be ...
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Lockheed Martin speeds up co-operative talks with Airbus
Lockheed Martin's protracted discussions with Airbus Industrie and its partner companies on co-operation are gathering pace. At Paris, the US company and Aerospatiale Matra announced an agreement to pursue a stake in the new Korean Aerospace Industries and confirmed they are still discussing partnerships on tanker/transport and large military aircraft ...
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Europe's tactical transports look for US success
European tactical turboprop transport manufacturers are eyeing a potential 45-aircraft US Army Common Airborne Sensor (CAS) programme to give their programmes a major boost. Prominent among the contenders displaying at Paris were CASA with its new C-295 and the CN-235 and a Royal Netherlands Air Force Fokker 60 supporting a ...
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Successful Delta II launch cheers Boeing
A Delta II booster lifted Boeing's morale on 10 June, when a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, placed four Globalstar satellites into orbit. It was the first launch since the Delta III mission failed in May. The Delta II is lined up for four more missions this summer, ...
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X-31 to fly again under tri-national MoU
Germany, Sweden and the USA are planning to launch the second phase of the X-31 experimental aircraft programme which will focus on using vectored thrust to improve take-off and landing performance. The German and US governments have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to start work on the thrust ...
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Record sales in Paris reflect health of industry
Mike Martin Readers of the runes might have read much into the weather at this year's show. A colossal electric storm lashed Le Bourget for hours, only to give way to gorgeous sunshine for the rest of the week. Would that the industry had seen a similar shifting ...
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MAJORs take first steps for Asian LINK
Aerospatiale Matra and Lockheed Martin have signed a memorandum of agreement to pursue a joint investment in the new Korean Aircraft Industries (KAI). This is the first step towards possible greater co-operation between the US defence and aerospace giant and Airbus Industrie. The agreement follows the South ...