Fixed-wing – Page 1148
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AIM-9X launch
The US Navy has successfully completed the first guided launch of the new Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile at China Lake. The missile was fired from a Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fighter and intercepted a McDonnell Douglas QF-4 drone. The launch was the first of 40 guided test firings scheduled to ...
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USAF commissions F-16 trainer centres
Lockheed Martin has been selected to build and operate privately financed F-16 training centres for the US Air Force. The contract award is the latest under the USAF's Distributed Mission Training (DMT) programme. The first two of up to 18 F-16 mission training centres (MTCs) are to be operational ...
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Aerospatiale Matra tanker deal sparks Raytheon exclusivity row
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Aerospatiale Matra's partnership with Lockheed Martin on an air-to-air refuelling aircraft based on an Airbus Industrie aircraft violates an exclusive agreement between Raytheon and Airbus to develop and market a militarised Airbus A310-300, Raytheon officials claim. In April, Raytheon Systems and Airbus teamed on the ...
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USAF looks for F-16 upgrade funds
Combat missions over Kosovo have driven the US Air Force to seek supplemental funding to refurbish many of its of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters that would otherwise fall short of their projected lifespans. Lockheed Martin designed the single-engined fighter to last 8,000h within a specific flight profile based on ...
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French navy production Rafale flies
The first production naval Rafale fighter has flown from Dassault's Bordeaux plant on the same day that the prototype made its first landing on the nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle. The first Rafale M squadron of 12 aircraft will be formed in 2001. The French navy requires 60 Rafales, 25 ...
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New identity
Airbus is awaiting a decision on its bid to build Europe's Future Large Aircraft Julian Moxon/PARIS When the response to the formal request for proposals for the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport was delivered to Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK on 29 January, there was ...
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UK military flies with Thomson
Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS) has teamed with the UK's Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA) to market a low-cost simulation system designed for military flight training, mission rehearsal and systems evaluation. The Air Combat Evaluation System (ACES) combines manned simulators with computer-generated forces in a simulated battle environment. Uses ...
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CAE finds South African help for A109 simulator
CAE Electronics is to co-operate with a South African company to develop a mission simulator for the Agusta A109, selected by the South African Air Force to meet its light utility helicopter (LUH) requirement. The Canadian company has signed an agreement with Midrand-based African Defense Systems (ADS) to co-develop ...
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Australia aims to reduce training risks with Cubic aid
Cubic Defense Systems will provide an air combat training system (ACTS) for the Australian Defence Force. The US company will first complete a $3 million risk reduction study, with contract award expected next year. Cubic has teamed with British Aerospace Australia and Georgia Tech Research Institute to complete the ...
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Setback for Indonesia
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Indonesia's Sempati Air has been declared bankrupt as the world's fourth-largest country continues the struggle to revive its ailing airline industry. Domestic rival Merpati Nusantara Airlines is still searching for foreign funding as it also faces possible insolvency, while Garuda Indonesia has yet to finalise its new ...
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Turmoil strikes Australian AEW&C and airlifter projects
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Australia's airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) and new light tactical airlifter projects have been thrown into turmoil following the appearance of a A$2.4 billion ($1.6 billion) hole in forward defence expenditure plans. A top-level upheaval inside the Defence Acquisition Organisation (DAO) has excaberted the situation. ...
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French navy contract
The French ministry of defence has signed a contract with Sogitec and Thomson Training & Simulation to supply the French navy with two tactical trainers for the Dassault Rafale M carrierborne combat aircraft. Source: Flight International
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Proton failure puts question mark over ISS Zvezda launch
Tim Furniss/LONDON The failure of a domestic Russian launch of a four-stage Proton booster on 5 July has grounded International Launch Services (ILS) and casts doubts on a punctual launch of the International Space Station (ISS) Zvezda service module in November. The US-Russian ILS Atlas fleet is already ...
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Long sight for the UK
The UK's lengthy search for an airborne stand-off radar has resulted in a unique surveillance system Stewart Penney/LONDON Simultaneous announcements in London and Paris of the winner of the UK Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) competition ended a battle which has raged for the best part of this decade and concludes ...
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Brigade management
Italian air force operations are managed by brigades, controlled by the Comando Squadra Aerea. They are: Missile Systems, in Padova: 17th Missile Wing with three squadrons (58th, 72nd and 80th), equipped with the Nike Hercules missile system; Fighters/Interceptors, in Bari: 4th, 5th, 9th, 36th and 37th ...
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Kosovo Apaches come under US Army fire
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC US Army Boeing AH-64A Apache attack helicopter pilots were undertrained and ill-equipped to engage Serb forces in Kosovo, according to a report written by Brig Gen Richard Cody, who led Task Force Hawk in Albania. The internal memorandum that was sent to Gen Eric Shinseki, the US ...
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Allied forces
Things just don't seem to be getting any better when it comes to getting a cohesive European defence structure. Calls for a better equipped and more militarily capable Europe, by Adm Guido Venturoni, the chairman of NATO's military committee, and UK defence secretary George Robertson, merely echo pleas that have ...
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Sterling's strength saves UK costs
The strength of sterling against the US dollar will reduce the cost of the UK Ministry of Defence's 25 most significant procurement programmes by £185 million ($317 million), forecasts the National Audit Office (NAO) in its Major Projects Report for last year. Procurement of GKN Westland WAH-64DApache Longbow attack ...
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Turkey joins JSF programme and Denmark extends commitment
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Turkey has signed to join the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme during the concept demonstration phase and JSF partner Denmark has signalled its intention to extend its participation into the key follow-on engineering manufacturing development (EMD) phase. The JSF programme office (JPO) confirms that Turkey signed a ...
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Sweden's armed forces close purse strings on Meteor
The Swedish military has removed funding for the Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile in an effort to overcome a shortfall in the armed forces' budget. The missile is a collaborative project proposed by the industries of the four Eurofighter nations, Sweden and possibly France. The Swedish air force ...