Fixed-wing – Page 1140
-
News
'Fighter phonebox' studies expand
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON Lockheed Martin plans to widen its study into using commercial satellites for military telecommunications following the successful demonstration of a call from a supersonic F-16 fighter using the Iridium low-earth orbit constellation. Commercial off-the-shelf communication systems are being viewed as a low-cost alternative to increasingly oversubscribed military ...
-
News
Germany poised to seal Tiger helmet contract
Stewart Penney/LONDON Marconi Electronic Systems expects this week to complete negotiations with German procurement agency BWB for production investment and series production of the Knighthelm helmet-mounted display system for the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter. The system is also on offer from Boeing as part of an AH-64 Apache bid in ...
-
News
Marconi kits out Aero L-159 with Brimstone
Marconi Electronic Systems has carried out fit tests of its Brimstone anti-armour weapon, TIALD targeting pod and Apollo radar jammer on the Aero Vodochody light-attack L-159. The UK company, to be merged with British Aerospace this month, is competing for an expected Czech requirement to equip some of the 72 ...
-
News
Malaysia eyes Su-27s and Mi-17s
Stewart Penney/LONDON Malaysia is considering a purchase of Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighters and Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters. This follows a visit by Malaysian prime minister Mathatir Mohammad to Russia. Meanwhile, the Royal Malaysian Navy has signed a $100 million deal for six GKN Westland Super Lynx naval helicopters. ...
-
News
MiG-21-93 hits target with Vympel missile
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW A prototype MAPO/Sokol MiG-21-93 upgrade has shot down an aerial target with a beyond-visual-range Vympel RVV-AE missile (R-77/AA-12 Adder). The active radar-guided RVV-AE and Phazotron Kopyo (Spear) lightweight multimode radar are key elements of the MiG-21-93 upgrade being developed for Indian air force aircraft. A subsonic target ...
-
News
Trainer role for baby Bell
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCThe US Marine Corps is drafting a mission needs statement for a military trainer variant of the BA609 civil tiltrotor, in the first formal step towards an expected joint programme with the US Air Force. Following the USMC needs statement, the next step will be the drafting of ...
-
News
Maintenance support
Dynacorp Technical Services has won a seven-year maintenance deal to support US Air Force Northrop T-38A/Bs and German air force McDonnell Douglas F-4Fs at three bases in the USA. Source: Flight International
-
News
Australian ANVIS
The Australian Army has ordered Elbit ANVIS/HUD (Aviators Night Vision Imaging System/Head Up Display) helmet systems to equip 12 of its 36 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Raytheon Australia will install the electro-optical system that combines a night vision goggle image with computer generated graphics and digital symbology. Source: Flight ...
-
News
Force of the future - Flexible forces
The Netherlands air force's knowledge of the airspace over the former Yugoslavia was a tactical advantage Stewart Penney/THE HAGUE Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) commander in chief Lt Gen Ben Droste (left) says Operation Allied Force showed that his service is "ready and available" to be used as an ...
-
News
Force of the future - Dominant factor
Air power has come of age, says the recently retired head of the USAF's warfighting arm Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Gen Richard Hawley (left), commander of the US Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) during the recent conflicts in the Gulf and the Balkans, sees no technological development on ...
-
News
Lean stories
Boeing has chosen CATIA as its chief design tool and rival Lockheed Martin's production streamlining is paying off Graham Warwick/MARIETTA and FORT WORTH Guy Norris/SEATTLEThe aerospace industry is in the grip of a revolution. Its name is "lean" and its guiding principle is the elimination of waste from the ...
-
News
USAF ups F-22 fight with role expansion
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force is moving ahead with plans to expand the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22's air-to-ground capability, as it fights a surprise move in Congress to eliminate the aircraft's production funding. The contractor team will brief the USAF later this month on a proposed multi-stage ...
-
News
Embraer to develop armed RJ-145 jet
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Embraer plans to develop an armed maritime patrol (MPA) version of its RJ-145 regional jet on the back of an expected launch order from the Mexico for six aircraft. The proposed EMB-145 MPA would be closely modelled on the modified airframe of the remote sensing ...
-
News
Australia pledges Timor air bridge
The Australian Government has given the United Nations assurances that it will maintain an air bridge between Darwin and East Timor, to provide support for UN Assistance Mission (UNAMET) personnel remaining in the violence-torn territory. The assurances, given by Australian prime minister John Howard on 8 September, follow a ...
-
News
Force of the future - The first option
The RAF has adopted the role of an expeditionary air force Stewart Penney/LONDON Air power will nearly always be the first option for governments that want to apply pressure to truculent regimes. Recent experience, particularly over the Balkans, has underlined that, according to Royal Air Force Chief of the ...
-
News
Australia positions forces as East Timor violence rises
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Australian Army have positioned airborne surveillance and airlift forces for possible operations in East Timor as it emerges that Indonesia sought Australian assistance in April to monitor aircraft movements around the troubled island. Indonesia is also believed to be making ...
-
News
Odd one out
While Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung plan to merge their aerospace arms, Korean Air Aerospace is going its own way Andrzej Jeziorski/PUSAN As the rest of South Korea's aerospace industry pursues its imminent merger and the formation of Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), Korean Air's (KAL) Aerospace division is staying on ...
-
News
Life after USAF
Keeping hold of pilots for their full 20 years of service is proving a problem for the US Air Force DeeDee Doke/LONDON The promise of retirement pay and benefits is proving an insufficient lure to keep the US Air Force's pilots in the service for a full 20 years. In ...
-
News
Packing punch
Air power is the key to modern warfare, but it could be used differently, believes the US commander of the Kosovo air campaign DeeDee Doke/AVIANO AB As US Air Force Lt Gen Mike Short launched his command of the air campaign over Kosovo last March, he expected to ...
-
News
Merger Mania
The Top 100 aerospace ranking, compiled by Flight International and leading industry experts IPG Consulting, shows an industry in the grip of consolidation. But how long will merger-mania hold sway - and what comes next? Chris Jasper/LONDON The aerospace industry, conventional wisdom would have it, is in less than ...