Fixed-wing – Page 1133
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Raytheon wins unified combat simulator contract
Paul Derby/DUBAI The US Army has awarded Raytheon a $30-million contract to develop a virtual combat training simulator for helicopter pilots. The award for the unit, designed to give US Army and National Guard aviation units a realistic, high intensity training environment, was made by the Army's Simulation, Training and ...
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No sign of end to UAE F-16 order stalemate
Tim Ripley/DUBAI A $7 billion deal to supply the United Arab Emirates air force with 80 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft and hi-tech missiles is still in the balance almost 18 months after being announced. Lockheed Martin spokesman Joe Stout confirms that the contract has not yet ...
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Sikorsky comes to the aid of relief agencies
Paul Derby/DUBAI Relief supplies flown into Turkey by Sikorsky to help victims of this summer's earthquake took on a new significance when a second powerful quake hit the country on Friday. Sikorsky had offered to carry a consignment of tents along with four of its UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters being ...
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South Africans put Torgos on display
Tim Ripley/DUBAI South Africa guided weapons company Kentron has unveiled its 300km (180mi) range Torgos cruise missile for the first time at Dubai 2000. The new missile is a development of the existing family of precision guided weapons from Kentron, a division of the Denel Group. "Torgos has ...
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Lockheed Martin considers major closures to cut costs
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCLockheed Martin is considering major aircraft and spacecraft plant closures in a move to improve its poor financial performance. Falling earnings have already led to the departure of two top executives and the launch of a divestment programme. Consolidation of the aircraft factories at Fort Worth, Texas, and ...
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Beyond the Shuttle
NASA is looking to 2020 and beyond in its search for new space transport vehicles Tim Furniss/LONDON While it acknowledges that the Space Shuttle may still be flying in 2015, NASA is looking at vehicles to complement or supplement and, eventually, to replace its current reusable space transportation system. It ...
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Practice makes perfect
Helicopter flight simulators are at last improving and becoming more realistic Peter Gray/STOCKHOLM Until recently, civil aviation authorities allowed only limited training credit for using a helicopter full-flight simulator instead of the aircraft. This meant that operators had to carry out substantial pilot training and testing in the aircraft, with ...
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Triple indemnity
Sextant plans to boost military sales by building on established technologies Stewart Penney/BORDEAUX French avionics specialist Sextant intends to increase its military sales by implementing a three-pronged strategy. It wants to increase its presence in pan-European aircraft programmes, expand its mid-life update and retrofit market penetration and acquire a ...
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Italian Air Force is looking for a new airlift plan after pressures build
Andy Nativi/GENOA Political and industrial pressures in Italy are throwing the proposed Italian air force purchase of Airbus Military Company A400Ms into confusion. They are also causing a rethink of its long-term airlifter plans. Due to the manoeuvring, the air force is instead considering a further acquisition of Lockheed ...
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JSF changes revealed
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCLockheed Martin and Boeing have unveiled further changes to their respective planned Joint Fighter Aircraft (JSF) design submissions, as the two competing teams work to cut weight and incorporate evolving changes to operational requirements for the preferred weapon systems concept (PWSC). Among the more visible changes to the ...
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US rotorcraft plans emerge
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCThe US military and industry have begun to grapple with the definition of the future Joint Transport Rotorcraft (JTR) as they try to reconcile requirements for heavier lift capability with the promise of new technology and available funding. The US Army recently hosted its first JTR integrated concept ...
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Germany wants shared transports
Germany is urging its European partners to enter into discussions over pooling their transport aircraft fleet requirements. This is to cut costs as seven countries gear up for a decision on the possible joint procurement of up to 288 Airbus Military Company A400Ms. The idea was put forward by German ...
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UK nears decision on airlift programmes
Stewart Penney/LONDON A UK Ministry of Defence Equipment Approval Committee (EAC) meeting scheduled for 6 December is to consider options to meet the Royal Air Force's Short Term Strategic Airlift (STSA) requirement, the Future Transport Aircraft (FTA) competition and the beyond visual range air-to-air missile contest. The STSA and ...
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Programme focus is key to BAe merger plan
British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems (MES)have unveiled a radical programmes-led management restructuring as they prepare to merge by the end of this month. The overhaul will see BAe's Aerostructures and Military Aircraft divisions replaced by 11 programme-specific units, each with its own managing director. The aim is ...
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Germany is close to joining FOAS project
The German Government is negotiating with the UK and France to join the Future Offensive Air System (FOAS) project. It hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) early next year. The move will clear the way for DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) - to become part of the European Aeronautic, ...
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Mergers
Kaman Aircraft Products has been sold to Wesco Aircraft Hardware of California. The Kaman Industrial Technologies subsidiary distributes bearings to the airline industry. BF Goodrich has purchased the ACES II ejection seat product line from Boeing. The operation becomes part of BF Goodrich's Aerospace Safety Systems division. Hawker Pacific Aerospace ...
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France beefs up its Asian connections
A joint defence electronics venture is to be formed between Thomson-CSF and South Korea's Samsung Industries. This will extend the French company's reach into Asia and consolidate Samsung's leadership in the area. French landing gear specialist Messier Dowty is also moving into Asia with a joint venture in Singapore. ...
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Bell challenges Australian Army's helicopter shortlist
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The Australian Army's Air 87 armed reconnaissance helicopter project is being reviewed by the Australian Defence Inspector General following a Bell Helicopter Textron challenge to the shortlist process. The 88-point challenge, lodged with Australian defence minister John Moore at the beginning of October, alleges that the ...
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Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile passes test
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Israeli Aircraft Indus-tries and the Israeli air force successfully performed their first full system test of the Arrow 2 anti-tactical ballistic missile on 1 November. During the trial, an Arrow 2 launched from the Israeli air force Palmachim test site destroyed a missile launched from a ...
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Australia looks at splitting defence purchases
A draft paper being circulated within the Australian Department of Defence is proposing a shift to "block buys" for new major equipment orders. This is expected to directly affect the Project Air 6000 replacement for the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing F/A-18 Hornets. A separate issues-paper dealing with the ...