Defence Helicopters news – Page 444
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US Air Force looks at UK refuelling alternative
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force may retrofit a wing-mounted hose-and-drogue aerial refuelling system, made by UK-based Flight Refuelling, on its 24 Lockheed Martin MC-130H Combat Talon II special operations aircraft. The US Department of Defense (DoD) says US special operations aviation forces do not have enough ...
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Delta II sends NASA's first New Millennium craft into space
Tim Furniss/LONDON A Boeing Delta II booster launched NASA's $152 million Deep Space 1 (DS1) technology demonstrator spacecraft from Pad 17 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 24 October. The DS1 is flying the first NASA New Millennium "faster, better, cheaper" technology development and demonstration mission. The Spectrum Astro-built DS1 ...
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Comanche radar decision due soon from US Army
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Army will decide within two months whether to pursue alternative fire control radar solutions for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance/attack helicopter, says programme manager Brig Gen Joe Bergantz. It had been assumed that a smaller version of the Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin ...
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New Zealand launches P-3 Sirius
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The New Zealand Ministry of Defence has released an invitation to register (ITR) for the Project Sirius tactical sensor suite upgrade for its six Lockheed P-3K maritime patrol aircraft, aimed at extending the P-3's life by at least 20 years. The ITR is expected to be followed ...
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Bell pitches adapted 609 to US services for V-22 training
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Bell Helicopter Textron is proposing to adapt the Model Bell UV-609 civil tiltrotor to fly combat missions for the US Army, and for use by the US Marine Corps as a trainer intended for V-22 pilots. The company believes that the proposed UV-609 can also ...
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Turkey boosts order for CN-235
Turkey has ordered an additional nine CASA CN-235MPAs to add to the 52 transport variants which it has already ordered. The order includes six for the Turkish navy and three for the Coast Guard, both of which are both new operators. The aircraft will be used in a maritime ...
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'Pilot's pal' system flies the Apache Longbow
Boeing has flight tested a talking cockpit management system, called the rotorcraft pilot's associate (RPA), in a modified AH-64 Longbow Apache attack helicopter, part of an $80 million advanced technology demonstration by the firm's Phantom Works. The system, which uses pilot-activated voice commands, includes new special cockpit controls and ...
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Mediterranean stand-off
Andrzej Jeziorski/ATHENS Early in September, Greece accused neighbouring Turkey of repeatedly violating its national airspace, and the Athens flight information region (FIR),with its military aircraft, in a series of incidents symptomatic of the tension between the two countries. The Greek air force claimed that a total of 26 ...
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Compromise and change
Paul Lewis/SEOUL and CHANGWON Two years is not generally considered a long time in the world of aerospace, but for South Korea's industry, it must have seemed like eternal purgatory. Once- bold visions of being a major international aerospace player have been shattered by the cold blast of fiscal reality ...
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Aiming for the stars
Tim Furniss/LONDON South Africa's first satellite, the Sunsat, will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II on 8 January, 1999. The 50kg spacecraft will be placed into a 400-800km polar orbit, and could be a precursor to a fleet providing remote sensing services for natural disaster and environmental monitoring. ...
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UCAVs head to sea
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Operating aircraft from ships has never been easy, and a whole branch of military aviation has grown up around carrier-based operations. With interest in unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) growing all the time, is was to be expected that the US Navy would have its unique concerns ...
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Bidders gather for Greek jet trainer
Jet trainer manufacturers worldwide have responded to a Greek request for information (RFI) covering a replacement for the Greek air force's ageing Rockwell T 2E Buckeye fleet. Respondents include Aermacchi with the MB339, Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody with the L-159T, British Aerospace with the Hawk and Alenia/Embraer with the new ...
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Ariane logs another success
Arianespace launched Eutelsat's W2 and the Swedish Sirius 3communications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit aboard the Ariane 44L/V111 from Kourou at 22:51 GMT on 5 October. The W2 was built by Alcatel (formerly Aerospatiale's satellite division) and the Sirius by Hughes Space and Communications. The launch came just 19 days ...
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Bidders cry foul on UK tender
Howard Gethin/LONDON BIDDERS for the Royal Air Forces' Short Term Strategic Airlifter Requirement are considering whether it is worth responding to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) invitation to tender, believing the requirement can only be met by one contender, the Boeing C-17. "We are examining the wording ...
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Boeing wins C-130 support contract
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Boeing a $1.2 billion, 10-year contract to support variants of the Lockheed Martin C-130 operated by US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The Integrated Weapon System Support Programme (IWSSP) covers repair, maintenance, modification and upgrade of ...
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Japan ready to flight test attack helicopter
The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) is expected to begin flight evaluations in early 1999 of competing European and US attack helicopters, as it once again faces conflicting pressure to purchase either a foreign design or support the indigenous development of an enhanced version of the Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI) OH-1 ...
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Longbow on target
Peter Gray/FARNBOROUGH Now a Boeing product following the merger with McDonnell Douglas, the AH-64D Apache Longbow is a substantially improved version of the widely used AH-64A attack helicopter. Changes include uprated engines, new digital avionics and the Longbow fire-control radar. This mast-mounted radar is associated withfire-and-forget Hellfire anti-armour ...
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Boeing wins RAAF command and reporting deal
Boeing Australia has been selected as the prime contractor for the development of a new air defence command and reporting system for the Australian military, a move likely to boost its bid for the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) airborne early warning and control requirement. The project, Air 5333, ...
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Erieye looks for ground surveillance role
Ericsson Microwave Systems plans to add a battlefield surveillance capability to its Erieye airborne early warning (AEW) phased array radar. "We are looking for launch customers," confirms the Swedish company. The Swedish air force, which operates four of a planned six Saab 340B AEW aircraft equipped with the Erieye, ...
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Budget troubles cast doubt on naval Taurus
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Doubts have been cast on the future of the naval derivative of the Taurus KEPD 350 stand-off missile, built by Swedish-German venture Taurus Systems, in the light of an unexpected German navy budget shortfall of some DM800 million ($473 million). According to the Bonn defence newsletter ...