Fixed-wing – Page 1160
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UK operator Brintel tests EH101 Heliliner
British International Helicopters (Brintel) has completed a week-long trial of the three-engined EH Industries EH101 Heliliner at its Penzance, Cornwall base. The evaluation forms part of the operator's long-term strategy to replace its two Sikorsky S-62Ns. "The trials were successful and the local community responded well, but we are ...
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Socata seeks new assembler for Tangara
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Socata has halted development of its four-seat, twin-engined Tangara because of soaring demand for its piston-single aircraft line and growing subcontract work. "Our workload has increased so much that we are now not in a position to launch the Tangara," says Socata commercial director Christophe Van ...
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Boeing outlines refinements to JSF programme budget
Paul Lewis/Washington DC Boeing has outlined a range of refinements to its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Programme that it claims will eliminate a projected 5% budget overspend and ensure full Preferred Weapons System Concept (PWSC) compliance with the final joint operational requirements document (JORD). "Rebaselining the programme involves ...
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Contracts
Lockheed Martin Sanders, electronic warfare prime contractor for its parent company's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) proposal, has selected Litton Amecom to lead development of the electronic support measures (ESM)system, if Lockheed Martin wins the JSF contest. Israel's Rafael will supply its vertically launched Barak-1 point defence missile to Signaal of ...
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Nordic nations move ahead with agreement on joint helicopter buy
Stewart Penney/LONDON Defence ministers have agreed to proceed with the Nordic Standard Helicopter Programme (NSHP)to replace transport and naval helicopters in service in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden with a common type. A ministerial deal is expected to be signed in June and a request for quotations (RFQ) ...
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Czechs issue request for 36 fighter deal
The Czech Government has issued a request for information (RFI) for the acquisition of up to 36 Western fighters. The governments of France, Germany, Sweden, the UK and the USA have received the request. Against expectations the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon will also be considered. Other candidates for a purchase ...
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Slovakia shops for new aircraft and Mi-24 Hind upgrades
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Slovakia PLANS to acquire up to 60 advanced trainer and light attack aircraft and upgrade its Mil Mi-24 Hind battlefield helicopters with Western avionics. Tenders could be issued in June. The country, which has ambitions to join NATO, plans to evaluate the Aermacchi MB339, Aero Vodochody ...
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Lockheed Martin sees focus of UCAV shifting to surveillance
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The US Air Force's proposed unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) may see its first operational applications in surveillance and reconnaissance roles rather than strike missions, according to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics president, "Micky" Blackwell. The shift in focus, Blackwell says, is likely to be driven by competing ...
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BAe/Dasa hold cargo aircraft merger talks
Andrew Doyle/DRESDEN Airbus Industrie partners Aerospatiale, British Aerospace and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) are in talks to form a joint venture to take over sales and marketing of their A300 and A310 cargo conversion and maintenance businesses. The move could be the first step towards the establishment of a "European ...
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US DoD orders JDAM production ramp-up
Ramon Lopez/EGLIN AFB The US Department of Defense has ordered Boeing to accelerate production of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits for the US Air Force and navy because of a shortage created by its successful use in the air campaign over Yugoslavia, says Oscar Soler, JDAM programme manager. ...
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Space at premium as NATO builds air fleet
NATO plans to increase the number of aircraft taking part in Operation Allied Force to nearly 1,300 is driving the alliance to establish more bases in Hungary, while also shifting assets so that they are closer to the battlefield. NATO says that deployment of additional aircraft is a question of ...
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Kosovo notes
NATO drops 10 bombs on the Kosovo village of Korisa, possibly killing up to 100 ethnic Albanian refugees. US defence secretary William Cohen says there is a "very distinct possibility" that the refugees were being used as human shields to protect a Serbian police/army command post. Six days later ...
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Alertness training
The problem of fatigue is being tackled by a US company that is teaching corporate pilots how to stay awake on long trips Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCOA scientific consulting firm that specialises in developing strategies to combat crew fatigue has come up with training programmes specifically for corporate aircraft flightcrews who ...
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Russian delays 'cost $1.2 billion'
Contingency planning for Russia's participation in the International Space Station (ISS) will add $1.2 billion to the project's cost, says the US General Accounting Office (GAO). Delays in completing the Russian Service Module for the ISS have contributed to a two-year hold-up in the programme. In addition, NASA concedes ...
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Warning revolution
The UK Royal Navy is set to make a quantum leap in its airborne early warning capability Tim Ripley/BOSCOMBE DOWNThe UK's Royal Navy is on course to field a revolutionary airborne early warning (AEW) helicopter early in the next century. It will allow the RN to fight in the so-called ...
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MD Helicopters plans to double output after order bonanza
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON MD Helicopters, the new owner of the former Boeing light civil helicopter line, plans to double production by 2001, following an escalation in orders for the MD500 series, MD600N and Explorer helicopters. "Sales have gone up vertically. The flood gates have opened since we took over the ...
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BFGoodrich goes for growth
Guy Norris/SAN DIEGOBFGoodrich's newly enlarged Aerospace business is forecasting continuous growth from this year, thanks largely to sustained high volumes, fresh acquisitions and special diversification initiatives at its California-based Aerostructures Group, formerly known as Rohr. The growth strategy hinges on staying closely allied to Boeing and its future airliner programmes. ...
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Australian defence budget gives priority to missiles
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Australia's 1999 defence budget gives the go-ahead for the purchase of warstock quantities of advanced short range and medium range air to air missiles (ASRAAMs and AMRAAMs) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ...
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Cannon decision
Joint Strike Fighter rivals Lockheed Martin and Boeing have picked Germany's Mauser 27mm cannon to arm the next-generation tactical aircraft. Boeing's ordnance division will build the gun under licence at Mesa, Arizona. The same business unit has won a 2.5-year, $5 million contract from the US Army to develop an ...
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Older E-2Cs may be sold
Paul Lewis/BETHPAGE Northrop Grumman and the US Navy are discussing offering older Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft for sale on the international market, while also negotiating to place retired A-6E Intruders with at least one potential operator. The US Navy is starting to phase ...