Fixed-wing – Page 1127
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Custom eyes TriStar conversions
Custom Air Transport is confident it can find customers to allow 10 of the 16 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 200s it acquired from Saudi Arabian Airlines to be converted into either commercial freighters or military tankers. Custom Air believes it could place some aircraft with passenger airlines. The Fort Lauderdale-based ...
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Rolls-Royce plans expanded role for German powerplant subsidiary
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Rolls-Royce Deutschland, the engine manufacturer formerly known as BMW R-R which comes under full ownership of R-R in the new year, will take on an expanded role within the UK group as it targets new applications for its BR700 series turbofans. Meanwhile, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) has ...
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BFGoodrich sits in US ejection driver seat
BFGoodrich has detailed a new strategy for its ejection seat business after stringing together a succession of deals to make it the USA's sole domestic producer in the sector. The company bought Boeing's ACES II ejection seat product line in November, following its 1998 acquisition of United Propulsion's Stencil ...
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Boeing unveils X-32 demonstrators
Guy Norris/PALMDALEBoeing unexpectedly rolled out both its X-32 Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrators during a 14 December ceremony at its plant in Palmdale, California. The conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) X-32A had been expected to make an appearance, but the short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) X-32B's presence (above) was a ...
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NZ could dump F-16s to purchase C-130s
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says her new government is considering using funds allocated to acquire 28 Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft from the USA to instead buy Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transports. Clark said on 13 December that a review of the F-16 acquisition would be carried out ...
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Spain ready for VECTOR
Spain is bidding to join the second phase of the X-31 experimental aircraft programme after Sweden's failure to commit funding to the planned trinational project. Formal talks between Spanish and German Government officials are expected to start in February, say industry sources. The USA and Germany are preparing ...
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Forecasts for 2000 - Environment
Green issues pose biggest industrial challenge David Learmount/LONDON Glimpses of how environmental issues will be handled in the future are visible in the Euro-US row about hushkits. Ostensibly, environmental concerns embrace purely the control of noise, emissions, and safety for those who live near airports. However, this debate ...
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Brazil looks at aircraft carrier replacement
Brazil has begun talks with France over the replacement of the South American country's only aircraft carrier, the Minas Gerais. The discussions took place during meetings considering a wide range of co-operative projects. The French Direction General de l'Armements (DGA) proposed a $50 million deal to transfer the 32,000t ...
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F-18 to get USN life extension
Paul Lewis/PATUXENT RIVER The US Navy plans to extend the structural life of about one-quarter of its fleet of Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters until at least 2019 to make up for the shortfall in planned follow-on Super Hornet numbers. The navy plans a "destructive tear-down" of a Hornet in 2000 ...
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USAF to fit F-15Cs with secret active-array radar
The US Air Force is to equip a squadron of Boeing F-15Cs with a secretly developed active-array radar to gain operational experience with the technology before the Lockheed Martin/ Boeing F-22 Raptor enters service. "The number of aircraft to have the radar is limited by funding," says USAF F-15 ...
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JSF faces further delays
Release of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) final operational requirements documents (ORD) has slipped by up to four months, threatening further strain on an already tight concept demonstration phase schedule and budget. It was revealed during the roll-out of Boeing's two X-32 demonstrators that the ORD is not expected ...
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F-22 team sets crucial funding targets
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCThe Lockheed Martin/Boeing/Pratt &Whitney F-22 team has signed to milestones which must be met if production of the US Air Force fighter is to be approved at the end of 2000. The most challenging milestone, says programme general manager Bob Rearden, is to begin flight testing the Block ...
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USA offers AMRAAM to Taiwanese air force
Taiwan has won tentative agreement from the USA to sell Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles to arm the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF). According to the air force's Weaponry Acquisition Office, the USA has agreed to integrate AIM-120 software into Taiwan's Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fleet. This grants ...
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$4.6 billion USAF engine support deal for GE and P&W
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney have won engine improvement contracts from the US Air Force worth more than $4.6 billion over the next 15 years. The US Defense Department describes the unusual arrangement as an "indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract", and says it reflects increasing USAF awareness that more resources ...
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Forecasts for 2000 - Defence
Boeing and Lockheed Martin gird up for JSF fight Stewart Penney/LONDON Assuming funding difficulties do not kill the programme, or at least slow it to a snail's pace, the first flights of Boeing's X-32 and Lockheed Martin's X-35 will be the most significant events of 2000. The pair are ...
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Bell awaits Air87 decision
A review of the Australian Army's Project Air 87 armed-reconnaissance helicopters tendering process is to be handed to Australian defence minister John Moore. An announcement on the outcome is expected before the end of this month. The move follows a protest from Bell Helicopter Textron. Australia's new head ...
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Belgium will decide on JSF by year end
The Belgian Government is expected to decide on whether to join the international Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme by the end of this month. Although the Belgian air force's 90 Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters are not due to be replaced before 2010, an early decision is necessary if Belgian ...
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USA urged to review missile ban
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Government is likely to be forced shortly to review its ban on the sale of actively guided beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles to South America as French, Israeli, Russian and Taiwanese suppliers line up to fill emerging requirements in Chile, Brazil and Peru. ...
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New roles considered for Global Hawk
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Northrop Grumman is beginning to look at developments of its RQ-4A Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle that could include stealth features for the airframe and payloads that would allow it to perform nearly 20 more operational roles. Plans are also being developed to deploy Global Hawk ...
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MiG 1.42 fighter poised to take to the air
The MiG 1.42 multifunction lightweight fighter prototype could fly within two months if no further problems arise, according to the Russian combat aircraft developer. Meanwhile, MiG's parent organisation, VPK MAPO, has been transformed into the Russian Aircraft Building Corporation MIG (RSK MIG). MiG 1.42 chief constructor and director Yuri ...