Fixed-wing – Page 1144
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Anger as MoD scraps competition
Stewart Penney/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence's decision to abandon its Short Term Strategic Airlifter (STSA) competition has left bidders surprised and angry. The competition was dropped as the five bids did not offer an acceptable solution at an affordable price, according to the MoD (Flight International, 11-17 August). The ...
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Mergers
American Airlines - due to complete its $124 million merger with Reno Air on 31 August - is to meet a private mediator and negotiators from the Allied Pilots Association this week to resolve a dispute over the integration of Reno pilots. A tentative agreement struck in July proved unacceptable ...
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Logical thinking
A 1950s-vintage military jet engine sent to the USA for overhaul is impounded by Customs. A US company is barred from supplying its subsidiary with hardware for a civilian earth observation satellite. Delivery of US-built turboprop aircraft for a privately operated training programme is held up pending an export licence. ...
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USAF widens role for airborne laser weapon
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES The US Air Force and its Team ABL partners - Boeing, TRW and Lockheed Martin - are evaluating new roles for the 747-400-based AL-1A airborne laser (ABL) and will report this year to the head of Air Combat Command. Designed for theatre defence against ballistic ...
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North American C-27J assembly line hinges on US forces order
Paul Lewis/MARIETTA Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) is considering a full C-27J assembly line in North America if it can secure sufficient US Army and National Guard orders for the joint venture development. LMATTS plans to compete for the US Army's airborne common sensor (ACS) platform requirement with ...
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Taiwan shrinks Huey replacement programme
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence (MND) has slashed its utility helicopter procurement programme from 98 to 25 aircraft. Industry officials close to the programme say the reduction is due to budget concerns. Taiwan requires a new utility helicopter fleet to replace locally built Bell UH-1Hs, about 100 of ...
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Ready for work
Development problems overcome, the C-130J is being prepared for entry into service Michael Gerzanics/MARIETTAClaiming 50 world records over two days earlier this year was more than just a demonstration of the C-130J's superiority over previous Hercules; it was an effort by Lockheed Martin to demonstrate to the world that the ...
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Military Aircraft Directory Part 2
Front-line fighters and bombers continue to exploit leading-edge technologies and are becoming increasingly complex as more sophisticated systems and weapons are crammed into them Stewart Penney/LONDONAs recent events over the former Yugoslavia, Iraq and on the India-Pakistan border prove, combat aircraft are as necessary now as they have ever been. ...
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Single minded
Experienced Harrier test pilot John Farley evaluates control concepts being considered for STOVL variants of the JSF John Farley/DERA Boscombe Down Pilots from two Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) teams have been evaluating new pilot control concepts using a unique flying testbed. The trials are part of the UK's contribution to ...
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Weathering the storm
Taiwan's aerospace industry faces formidable hurdles on the road to privatisation Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The current tensions between mainland China and Taiwan threaten to make life increasingly difficult for Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), Taiwan's main aerospace manufacturer. AIDC does not publicly acknowledge that the situation is having any effect, ...
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Stealthy investigation
Australia's request for stealth data for its Wedgetail AEW project has triggered a USA investigation into possible technology leaks Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Graham Warwick and Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCAn Australian request to US defence companies for data relating to stealth technology as part of their bids to secure a major ...
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Collins plans 'smart' radio for US Air Force
Rockwell Collins is to demonstrate a software-programmable radio to the USAir Force. It is being offered as a solution for a USAF requirement to equip fighters to operate in the future civil communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system. The demonstration, planned for mid-2000, will involve Collins' miniature modular ...
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UK ends strategic airlift leasing competition
The UK Ministry of Defence has abandoned the Royal Air Force's Short Term Strategic Airlifter (STSA) competition. The Defence Procurement Agency says none of the five solutions offered an acceptable solution at the right price. The STSA was launched following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, which required "four Boeing ...
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Pentagon probes Boeing after alleged leak of stealth AEW data
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Paul Lewis and Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Boeing is being investigated by the US Government for alleged breaches of US restrictions on the release of stealth technology as part of its bid for Australia's Project Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) contract. Investigations by Flight ...
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USAF targets new pod
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC) has drawn up an operational requirement for an advanced targeting pod and will shortly be seeking industry proposals as a result of lessons learned during the Kosovo conflict. "We're looking to field the system in a 2003 timeframe, ...
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F-16s to be given new smart-bomb rack
M Technologies, DRS Technologies and EDO have been awarded a $26 million five-year production contract by the US Air Force to produce a new bomb rack that will double the amount of munitions USAF Lockheed Martin F-16s can carry. The contract calls for the production of 378 BRU-57 smart-bomb ...
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Delayed KTX-2 passes preliminary design review
The Samsung/Lockheed Martin KTX-2 trainer/light combat aircraft project has slipped six months. But it continues to progress with the completion of the preliminary design review, clearing the way for the start of detailed design and fabrication. KTX-2 formal drawings release will start in September, allowing sheet metal fabrication to commence. ...
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US Taiwan E-2T Hawkeye sale strains relations with Beijing
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The USA has sold $550 million-worth of airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, spare parts and equipment to Taiwan, aggravating the already strained relations between Washington and Beijing. The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 30 July that it is proposing a $400 million deal for ...
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DERA presents Racal with a radar lifeline
Stewart Penney/LONDON Racal Defence Electronics' work with the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA)to define a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology demonstrator for fast jet low level reconnaissance missions has handed the UK company a lifeline that will allow it to continue developing SAR technology. This is despite its ...
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US Army rethinks Apache refit
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES The US Army has cancelled an engineering and cost study contract to retrofit the Boeing AH64A/D Apache with a new second generation forward looking infrared (FLIR), but says it is committed to upgrading the attack helicopter with a new system by 2004. The study contract ...