Defence Helicopters news – Page 441
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UK invites private sector interest in RAF tanker replacement
RAF VC10s may be retired by 2004 if the economics are right The UK Ministry of Defence has issued a request for information to industry for a replacement tanker aircraft for the Royal Air Force. The move could lead to the private sector providing an air-to-air ...
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FSI's first Level D helicopter simulator wins US approval
FlightSafety International (FSI) has received the first Level D certification for a helicopter simulator to be awarded by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Approval was won for the FlightSafety-built Bell 412EP simulator installed at the training company's Bell centre, adjacent to the helicopter manufacturer's Fort Worth, Texas, plant. Level ...
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Lockheed Martin stays number one with Pentagon
Lockheed Martin has maintained its position as number one contractor to the US Department of Defense (DoD), newly released Pentagon figures reveal. The Maryland-based manufacturer saw the value of DoD contracts climb by $1.3 billion, to $12.3 billion, last year, with second-placed Boeing closing the gap, but still $1.4 billion ...
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F-16 and C-17 are big winners in Pentagon's FY2000 budget plan
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense (DoD) fiscal year 2000 budget plan contains several unexpected procurement decisions for the US forces. They include additional Lockheed MartinF-16C/Ds, Boeing C-17 transports and one Northrop Grumman Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft that were not planned for ...
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Aviation Industries of China poised for break up
Chinese state-run aerospace giant Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) is to split itself into two separate companies. According to the official newspaper China Daily, the organisation has submitted a draft plan to the State Council for final clearance. The proposal would see the formation of two companies, both involved ...
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Turkey invites heavylift bids
Turkey is moving ahead with its longstanding requirement for new military heavylift helicopters with the issue of an open invitation to potential bidders to submit proposals. The army is initially looking for eight helicopters and has given competing companies until 10 February to respond. The Turkish Army's technical ...
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Global Hawk looks to a wider role as DarkStar burns out
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system has demonstrated the ability to collect and transmit synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) imagery in near real time, in a flight which marked the first use of all three sensors on the same mission. ...
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First production V-22s to roll off line
Bell is preparing to begin final assembly of the initial two production V-22 Osprey tiltrotors at its new Amarillo plant, for delivery to the US Marine Corps. It marks the end of the programme's engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. Final assembly of the V-22 will switch to Amarillo ...
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Deep range vision
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Toward the end of last year, the Royal Australian Air Force undertook a low-key but highly significant restructuring of its operational Air Command, to bring into being what is now designated the Surveillance and Control Group. Planned as the home of Australia's future airborne early warning and ...
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Dutch plan air force cuts
The Netherlands armed forces face significant cuts, including the retirement of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and Fokker F-27 transports, but will gain new helicopters and a theatre missile defence capability. The changes stem from a memorandum published on 25 January by the Dutch Ministry of ...
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UK carrier concept awaits fighter decision
Howard Gethin/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence has opened a contest for the contract worth up to £1.48 billion ($2.44 billion) to build two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. Invitations to tender have been issued to six potential prime contractors: British Aerospace Defence Systems, Marconi Electronic Systems, Boeing, Lockheed ...
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Single minded
Julian Moxon/BORDES As Europe's principal manufacturer of helicopter turboshafts and light military trainer engines, Turboméca clearly has strategic value. In the climate of mega-mergers, it is perhaps surprising to find that this company, nestling in the lee of the French Pyrennees, has no plans to offer itself as part of ...
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707 re-engining programme gears up for May flight tests
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Omega-led Seven Q Seven will begin proof-of-concept flight-testing of its Boeing 707-300 re-engining programme in May, with certification expected by early next year. The Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 re-engining programme for the 707, first revealed by Flight International in 1997, is being developed by Irish leasing specialist Omega ...
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All-UK merger sends European defence into disarray
Dee Dee Doke/LONDON Paul Lewis and Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS A rancorous reception from Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) greeted British Aerospace and GEC's announcement last week that a £7.7 billion ($12.3 billion) deal had been struck to create a monolithic defence entity based in the UK. ...
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Global races
A new form of arms race has begun in earnest: the race for global domination in aerospace and defence production. America's Boeing and Lockheed Martin were already ahead of the pack if you combine their respective sales in commercial and military aerospace, electronics, defence systems, missiles and space. Take away ...
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Airbus Military gets ready in time for FLA decision day
Julian Moxon/PARIS Formation of the Airbus Military Company (AMC) is imminent as the 29 January deadline nears for submission of a definitive bid to the seven partner governments involved in the programme. AMC is charged with developing and marketing the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) airlifter. The offer, ...
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UK helicopter command poised to take control
Tim Ripley/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence is set to announce the formation of a new Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) by the end of January. It will be responsible for control of the peacetime operations of British Army Air Corps, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy battlefield helicopters. The ...
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USAF searches for KC-135 navigation/communications upgrade
The US Air Force has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a further upgrade of its entire fleet of Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft with a new global air traffic management (GATM) capability. The RFP comes as it nears a final decision on a similar modernisation of the avionics in ...
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Cash shortage threatens more procurement delays in S Korea
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The timetable for key South Korean defence procurement programmes looks likely to slip further as cash shortages continue, say senior defence and industry sources in Seoul. The delays are likely to hit programmes such as South Korea's F-X fighter programme and the E-X airborne early warning ...
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Eurocopter offers Turkey higher-powered Tiger
Julian Moxon/BORDES Eurocopter has offered Turkey a version of the Tiger anti-tank helicopter powered by the USLHTEC T800 turboshaft in response to a demand for more power for hot and high operations. Turkey has a requirement for 145 anti-tank helicopters and has asked contenders to offer a choice ...