Fixed-wing – Page 1145
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Software glitches delay Hawkeye 2000 computer
Software problems will delay the production of a new mission computer for the US Navy's Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 2000 until at least March 2003, a year later than planned. In May, Northrop Grumman won a $1.3 billion five-year production contract for 22 Hawkeye 2000s - 21 for the ...
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Designer error
According to industry folklore, aircraft design was the product of engineers who cared passionately that their creations worked well, but did not give undue thought to those who would operate and maintain them. New equipment which brought operational advantage in some form tended to be accepted, not only for ...
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Resignation puts a damper on Russian merger
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW The anticipated merger of Russian carriers Vnukovo Airlines and Sibir is in doubt following the resignation of Vladislav Filiov as general director at Vnukovo. The Sibir chief executive had been running both carriers in what was expected to be the prelude to a tie-up. Filiov spent six ...
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Israel thinks again on F-16A/B upgrades after big purchase
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Israel's recent decision to buy 50 Lockheed Martin F-16Is and take options on another 60 has led to the air force reconsidering an upgrade programme for its large fleet of F-16A/Bs (Flight International, 28 July-3 August). Sources in Israel's Ministry of Defence say that, although the ...
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Thailand wants F-16s and shrinks Alpha Jet plan
The Thai and US Governments are discussing a deal for 18 used Lockheed Martin F-16s. Thailand could clinch their purchase by next month. A $74.5 million deposit for cancelled Boeing F/A-18s could be used as part payment for the F-16s. Meanwhile, the Thai Government has cleared plans to buy ...
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USA to review codeshare safety
US airlines which carry US Department of Defense (DoD) personnel will be required to assess the safety of their foreign codeshare partners under an agreement between the DoD and the US Air Transport Association (ATA). The memorandum of understanding commits the carriers to conduct within a year safety and ...
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UK invites tenders for offensive system
Major French and UK companies have received requests for proposals (RFPs) for technology demonstrator programmes (TDPs) for the Future Offensive Air System (FOAS). Manned aircraft, unmanned air vehicles and cruise missiles are being considered for the FOAS, which will replace Royal Air Force Panavia Tornados in the strike role from ...
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Israel plans to merge IAI subsidiary with private firms
Israel plans to merge Elta, the electronic warfare (EW) and radar subsidiary of state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), with privately held Koor group companies Elisra Electronic Systems, Tadiran Systems and Tadiran Spectralink. The Ministry of Defence approved the move on 25 July, with the boards of IAI and Koor assenting ...
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Lockheed Martin turns maintenance attention to civil sector
Lockheed Martin Aircraft and Logistics (LMALC) is planning to expand its US and Argentina-based military maintenance operations into the civil aerospace market. Turnover at the Greenville-based company has grown to $800 million from $200 million three years ago and should reach $1 billion by 2003. LMALC president Daniel Patterson says ...
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US Army pushes cockpit management technology
Guy Norris/YUMAThe US Army has begun demonstrations of the Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA), a cockpit management system for combat helicopters, amid mounting interest from potential non-rotary users, including the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programmes. A Boeing Phantom Works-led team developed the RPA over six ...
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Turkish F-4 delight
Israel Aircraft Industries Lahav division will deliver the initial McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom upgraded for the Turkish air force in the first quarter of next year. Two prototypes are flying. Under the $600 million deal, Lahav will complete 27 aircraft and the Turkish air force a similar number, using Israeli-supplied ...
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Stealth shackled
The US Air Force has raised the stakes in its battle with Congress overproduction funding for the advanced air superiority fighter, the Boeing/Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, by hitching its future fate to that of the Joint Strike Fighter. Without the F-22, USAF says, it would have to rethink its requirement ...
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USAF threatens JSF over F-22 funding
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC US Air Force chief of staff Gen Michael Ryan says the service will have to re-examine its requirement for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) if Congress eliminates funding required to begin production of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ryan ...
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BVRAAM fight sparks ramjet threat debate
Stewart Penney/LONDON The UK's beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) competition is turning into a dogfight between the ramjet-powered Matra BAe Dynamics Meteor and Raytheon's dual-pulse rocket motor-equipped Extended Range Air-to-Air Missile (ERAAM), say team sources. The BVRAAM is intended primarily to give Eurofighters air superiority over Sukhoi Su-27 ...
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Kosovo proves need for pilots
Stewart Penney/THE HAGUEThe Kosovo conflict proved the continued need for a man in the cockpit and the need for the highest possible level of technology, regardless of the sophistication of the threat, according to Lt Gen Ben Droste, commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). A man in ...
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JDAM tested with smaller munitions
Boeing and the US Air Force have tested the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit on a 227kg (500lb) Mk82 bomb in a manufacturer-funded development and flight test programme. The weapon is a candidate for a future US miniaturised munition and for foreign military sales. The weapon was launched ...
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P&W compensates S Korea for fighter crashes
Pratt & Whitney has agreed to compensate the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) for two engine-related Lockheed Martin F-16C losses during 1997. Both crashes were attributed to problems with the aircraft's single P&WF100-229 turbofan. The first accident was caused by an engine failure over Yosu on 6 August, ...
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Airports
The Dutch Government has postponed imposition of a curfew at Rotterdam Zestienhoven Airport planned for 5 August until 1 November. Dutch charter airline Transavia had threatened legal action. The government says the aim is to reduce aircraft noise around the airport. Barbados has begun a $70 million renovation of Bridgetown's ...
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Galaxy re-engining options opened up
Paul Lewis/MARIETTA Lockheed Martin has dissolved its C-5 Galaxy re-engining partnership with General Electric. It is soliciting competing proposals from Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce as the US Air Force leans towards making the airframer sole source contractor for C-5 re-engining. Draft requests for proposals (RFP) have been sent to ...
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DARPA plans robotic workhorse
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to demonstrate a robotic spacecraft capable of refuelling, repairing or reconfiguring satellites in orbit. If it is funded, the Advanced Space Transportation and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) technology demonstrator would be flown in late 2001. With ...