Fixed-wing – Page 1150
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Slump needed
US airlines have always survived without having to make any provision for ab initio pilot training. But things have changed radically and almost all the airlines seem to be oblivious to the signs. Or perhaps they have noticed, and their immobility is that of rabbits caught in the glare of ...
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Boeing tests transport model
Boeing's Phantom Works is planning flight tests of large scale models of its Blended Wing Body (BWB)transport aircraft and Super Frog tilt-wing, tail-less, short take-off tactical transport in 2001. Meanwhile, Boeing has conducted tethered flight trials of a smaller Super Frog model before free-flight tests scheduled for August. The 2.4m ...
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China poised to seal contract for Su-30 multirole fighters
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW China is close to signing a contract for between 30 and 50 Sukhoi Su-30MK twin-seat multirole fighters. Preliminary agreement on the deal is understood to have been reached during the recent visit of a senior Chinese military delegation to Russia. In addition to the negotiations in ...
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Contracts
CASA has won a five year, Ptas18,000 million ($113 million) contract to upgrade the tactical mission system of the Spanish air force's five Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Northrop Grumman has won a $15.8 million contract to supply 16 ALQ-131 Block II electronic countermeasures pods to the Norwegian ...
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C-130 avionics upgrade gets another HUD option
Flight Visions has teamed with French-owned Pilkington Optronics to offer a head-up display (HUD) for the US Air Force's forthcoming C-130 avionics modernisation programme. The US low-cost HUD manufacturer has held talks with the three likely bidders for the contract to upgrade the USAF's Hercules fleet - Boeing, Lockheed Martin ...
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Greece to fly Saab 340 in Erieye deal
Greece is to operate a Swedish air force Saab 340-based Argus equipped with Ericsson Erieye airborne early warning radar as part of a deal to buy four Erieye systems mounted on an Embraer regional jet. Ericsson won a SKr4.5 billion ($525 million) deal for four Erieye systems in December last ...
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Chile heads queue for export F/A-18E/F
Paul Lewis and Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Chile is expected to be the first country to request price and availability data on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, initiating moves to release the upgraded fighter for export. Boeing hopes to secure export release for the F/A-18E/F by year end, after ...
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Tiger gets go-ahead while NH90 waits
Julian Moxon/PARIS The long-awaited contract for 160 Eurocopter Tiger anti-tank helicopters was signed by France and Germany on 18 June. Hopes that the four-nation memorandum of understanding (MoU)approving industrialisation and production of an initial 152 NH Industries NH90 transport and naval helicopters would be signed at around the same time ...
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Omniflight contract
Omniflight Helicopters has signed a 10-year contract extension to operate Indianapolis, Indiana's Life Line air medical programme and to refurbish its two Eurocopter BK117s. Omniflight has signed a similar deal with Billings, Montana-based Help Flight Services, which will upgrade to a Eurocopter EC135. Source: Flight International
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Heavy burden
Skopje Airport in Macedonia has been stretched to the limit by Kosovan refugee flights David Arminas/SKOPJE In less than a decade, Skopje Airport has changed from military airstrip to international airport to NATO air-movement centre - and in the past three months it has been stretched to the ...
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Combat ready
Flight International puts the Rafale BO1 two-seat prototype to the test in its heavy configuration Chris Yeo/ISTRES FLIGHT TEST CENTRE Prototype fighters are usually first seen by the public at air shows. They are presented in an optimum configuration without large, heavy, drag-producing external stores and with a reduced ...
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Rafale - the quest for performance
Aircraft such as the Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Saab/BAe Gripen and the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor are well ahead of the previous generation of fighters, both in terms of performance and as weapons-carrying and deploying systems. This improvement has come from advances in the technology of control systems ...
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Alenia and Lockheed Martin roll out first C-27J Spartan
Alenia and Lockheed Martin rolled out the first C-27J Spartan light tactical transport aircraft at Alenia's Turin Caselle plant on 14 June. The aircraft is a former Alenia/Aeritalia G222 demonstrator rebuilt to the new C-27J configuration, but the second prototype will be a new aircraft and the third a G222 ...
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RAAF dummy ASRAAMs
Matra BAe Dynamics has delivered two dummy ASRAAM advanced short-range air-to-air missiles to the Royal Australian Air Force to support flight qualification testing aboard Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fighters. Source: Flight International
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Marconi abandons FC-1 fighter bid
Marconi Electronic Systems has dropped out of the bidding to supply the radar and avionics for the Chengdu FC1/ Super 7, just days ahead of the expected signing by China and Pakistan of a deal to develop the new fighter jointly. The UK company confirms that it has not ...
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RAAF will retain C-130Es in operational service
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The Royal Australian Air Force is to retain its 12 C-130Es in operational service for at least another year, following the Australian Government's decision to double the size of forces held at short-term readiness. The RAAF had planned to withdraw the aircraft from service this year, ...
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UAE will repeat F-16 EW system contest
The united Arab Emirates (UAE) will delay signing an order for 80 advanced Lockheed Martin F-16s until December because of a decision to re-run the competition for the electronic warfare (EW) system. A request for proposals is expected to be issued later this month to ITT/Litton, Lockheed Martin Sanders, Northrop ...
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Accident delays vertical take-off SEAMOS tests
Ramon Lopez/PARIS Critical land-based flight trials of the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) SEAMOS vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV), due this September, have been delayed by at least four months because of a crash that severely damaged the only flight demonstrator. The flight demonstration, at the Meldorf North ...
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UK to reveal tactical UAV requirements
The UK Ministry of Defence will issue its tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) requirements to support land operations at an industry briefing this month. "The programme is aimed at companies that will have an interest in participating as prime or major subcontractors in any future competitive tendering exercises for ...
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Dasa considers options following CASA buy-out
Chris Jasper/PARIS DaimlerChrysler is considering the options for its subsidiary DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) - including partial flotation and a transatlantic deal - following the announcement of Dasa's merger with Spanish manufacturer CASA, say sources close to the company. Dasa chief executive Manfred Bischoff was called away from the Paris air ...