Fixed-wing – Page 1136
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Joint pressure
Togetherness is the byword for modern military operations as nations get round tight budgets by sharing resources Stewart Penney and DeeDee Doke/LONDON Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCThe Australian-led Operation Stabilise in East Timor has at least 11 nations involved and Operation Allied Force over Kosovo and Yugoslavia included contributions from 14 NATO ...
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Czech striker
Aero Vodochody earns an A for ambition with its L-159 light combat aircraft Michael Gerzanics/PRAGUE Based on its L-39 Albatros, Aero Vodochody's L-159 is the latest and most capable version of the world's most prolific jet training aircraft. Since 1968, Czech manufacturer Aero has delivered over 3,000 L-39s and variants ...
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MD Helicopters will cut link with Boeing
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON MD Helicopters plans to sever its manufacturing ties with Boeing when the contract to build parts for the five-strong civil helicopter line is fulfilled in early 2001. "As part of the deal to buy Boeing civil helicopters, we signed a binding manufacturing agreement," says MD Helicopters chief executive ...
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Kaman clinches sale for external-seat K-MAX
Kaman Aerospace has clinched its first order for a K-MAX helicopter equipped with its external passenger seat. The sale to an unnamed European customer comes around three years after development the "Class A" seat began. The detachable metal seat, developed solely for the external lift helicopter, is designed to ...
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USAF must revamp F-22 plans for $1 billion reprieve
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force will be required to restructure its Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 development as the result of an agreed $1 billion reprieve. This leaves the programme largely intact for now, but subject to closer future Congressional scrutiny. Congressional negotiators have reached a consensus that preserves about ...
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India near to Russian AEW lease
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOWRussia and India are close to signing a deal for the lease of Beriev/MNIP A-50 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. The two are also near to concluding contracts for licence production of Sukhoi Su-30MK twin-seat multifunction fighters and equipment to update and equip a Russian aircraft carrier sold to ...
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US codeshares face FAA probe
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Foreign airlines wanting approval to codeshare with US carriers will soon face compulsory Federal Aviation Administration scrutiny for safety standards, the FAA warns. It admits, however, that there are issues of domestic and international law to resolve before it can draw up appropriate regulations governing its ...
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Workshare deal struck over JSF
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin has mapped out a 90-month engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) programme for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) contender that gives partners Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace a share of almost one-third of the work. Under a newly ratified three-way agreement, Northrop Grumman and BAe will ...
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Russians suffer Chechen air losses
A Russian air force Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft and a Sukhoi Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft were shot down by Chechen militants on 3 and 4 October. Three crewmembers are considered as missing in action. Unconfirmed reports suggest they all died. On 3 October, two Su-25s flew a reconnaissance mission in ...
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RN/RAF support helicopter programmes merge
The UK has merged Royal Navy and Royal Air Force future support helicopter programmes into a single requirement. The Ministry of Defence is now analysing operational requirements for a common joint medium lift rotorcraft with an in-service date of 2008. The result of marrying the RN's Future Amphibious Support Helicopter ...
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A321 'preferred' for Joint STARS bid
Paul Lewis/MELBOURNE, FLORIDA Northrop Grumman is recommending the Airbus Industrie A321 as its preferred Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) platform to compete for NATO's Airborne Ground Surveillance (AGS) requirement. The company has settled on the mid-size A320 series after studying and ruling out business jets as ...
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Pampa production revival possible
After a hiatus of more than a decade, a new FMA IA-63 Pampa jet trainer has been delivered to the Argentine air force as a precursor to a possible resumption of production. State-owned FMA designed the Pampa with assistance from Dornier of Germany and produced 19 aircraft in the 1980s. ...
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Turkey may be first Popeye Lite buyer
Turkey may become the launch customer for the Popeye Lite, the smaller, lighter version of the Rafael air launched stand-off weapon. The Turkish air force has acquired an initial batch of 50 standard Popeye TV-guided missiles for use on its McDonnell Douglas F-4s and is evaluating the possibility of ...
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US Army considers common airborne sensor platform
Ramon Lopez/HUNTSVILLE The US Army may soon be in the market for 50 fixed-wing surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, worth $2 billion, to be fielded between 2006 and 2010. It also wants to acquire replacement short and medium range transports. The Airborne Common Sensor (ACS) aircraft would replace 51 ageing Raytheon ...
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USAF thinks over new penetrator weapon
The US Air Force is determining whether to launch development of the Guided Direct Attack Penetrator (GDAP) weapon. It mates the J1000 blast fragmentation/penetrator warhead with a global positioning/inertial navigation system (GPS/INS), say service officials. The 450kg (1,000lb) J1000 arms the in-development Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile. ...
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IAI/TAI agree deal
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will submit joint bids for contracts in Turkey and in countries where an Israeli company cannot be a prime contractor. The deal stems from good relations between the companies and close defence links between Israel and Turkey. Co-operation is likely ...
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Mergers
Boeing has acquired Australia-based Preston Group, which provides the Total Airspace and Airport Modeller (TAAM) software product for "what if" modelling of air traffic management and airport terminal control. Preston, which has offices in Washington DC and London, also offers a terminal management system day-of-operation planning tool. Diversified technology company ...
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AVIC shake up leaves crucial questions unanswered
The Chinese Government's recent splitting of colossus Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) into two companies leaves question marks over how the country's huge aerospace industry is to overcome its problems. The companies were present in their new guise as China Aviation Industry I and II (known as AVIC I and ...
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US company snaps up Zlin manufacturer
A majority interest in Czech manufacturer Moravan, producer of the Zlin aerobatic, agricultural and training aircraft, has been sold to US company SDC International. SDC has agreed to pay $16 million for 55% of Ostrokovice-based Moravan as the first step in its strategy to acquire manufacturers of industrial and ...
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Thais omit Airbus from probe
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Airbus Industrie has been excluded from the "nearly complete" investigation into the December 1998 crash of a Thai Airways International Airbus A310, amid Thai press reports that a mechanical failure was the main cause of the accident. Airbus says that if there were a mechanical failure, the ...