Fixed-wing – Page 1195
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Turkish team wins control of Piaggio
A team led by the Tushav Turkish state-holding company has emerged as the winning bidder to take control of struggling Italian aerospace company Piaggio, with the promise of new overhaul work and aircraft orders from Turkey. Tushav, which co-ordinates Turkey's aerospace and defence industry, will emerge with a 51% ...
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New tools give Grid-Lock the edge
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Boeing has started to produce F-15 ailerons based on a new structural design concept which was pioneered by BFGoodrich's Tolo division. The Grid-Lock process reduces such assemblies down to two machined parts bonded together. The design replaces the multi-piece, honeycomb panel construction on the fighter, which ...
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US dollar strength helps lift ST Aero profits
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) has announced a larger than anticipated 66% jump in half year profits, helped by the strength of the US dollar. The aerospace arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering turned in a net profit of S$46 million ($27 million) for the first six months of the year, ...
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Turkey and Greece scan AEW requirements
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Manufacturers of airborne early warning aircraft are competing in Greece and Turkey for contracts worth at least $1.4 billion. The bidding involves a wide range of surveillance aircraft, from the Boeing 737 and 767 to a militarised Embraer EMB-145. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Turkey and Australia ...
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Alenia allies with Australia's Tenix
Alenia Aerospazio and Australia's leading defence group, Tenix, have agreed to form an alliance "-initially focused on single source manufacture of Alenia assemblies "for the C-27J transport aircraft. The company is developing the C-27J, an upgraded version of the Alenia G222, with Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is shortlisted for ...
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Alenia seeks bid for AMX flight controls
Alenia Aerospazio has issued a request for proposals for a new flight control system for the AMX International AMX trainer/light attack aircraft. The company confirms that a tender has been launched for a fully digital flight control computer to replace the aircraft's ageing computer, which is reaching the limits ...
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IAI holds discussions with USA on Arrow missile production
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Lockheed Martin are discussing the possibility of producing a special version of the Arrow tactical anti-ballistic missile system in the USA for possible use by the US Army and for export customers. The talks, which began recently, have concentrated on defining the US Army's ...
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Six queue for Australian helicopter requirement
At least six contenders are to bid for an Australian Defence Force project to replace its fleet of Bell 206 Kiowa utility helicopters with up to 30 armed reconnaissance machines. A request for proposals (RFP) will be issued on 6 August for the A$1 billion ($613 million) programme, which ...
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Comanche is restructured for use on 'digitised' battlefield
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche scout/ attack helicopter programme has been restructured once again, this time to align development with US Army plans to demonstrate "digitisation" of the battlefield. The team had planned to deliver six early operational capability (EOC) Comanches for field tests in ...
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Lockheed Martin offers Israel F-16 tie-up
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin is offering to work with Israeli industry on F-16 upgrades as part of an industrial offset package tied to its bid to sell more aircraft to the Israeli air force. "We are working towards a joint approach [to F-16 upgrades], but we have ...
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Indonesia pulls out of Flanker deal
Indonesia has finally scrapped moribund plans to order 12 Sukhoi Su-30K Flanker fighters and eight Mil Mi-17-IV helicopters from Russia, following the recent appointment of a new air force chief of staff. Negotiations with Rosvoorouzhenie have been in limbo since the start of the year as a result of ...
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Flutter and crack discoveries put F-2 tests behind schedule
Completion of Japan Defence Agency (JDA) flight testing of the MitsubishiF-2A/B has slipped by nine months, following the discovery of excessive flutter and structural cracking of the fighter's composite wing. A three-year, four-phase flight test programme by the JDA's Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) and Japan Air Self-Defence ...
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JSF gun tie-up
Boeing's ordnance operation in Mesa, Arizona, and German gun manufacturer Mauser have confirmed their teaming for an advanced 27mm weapon for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The collaboration disclosed last year also includes ammunition supplier Primex Technologies. Source: Flight International
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UK thinks about An-124 and Beluga for strategic role
Howard Gethin/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence may consider the Airbus Industrie Beluga and the Antonov An-124 as alternatives to the Boeing C-17 to meet the near-term Royal Air Force need for a strategic airlifter. The requirement was confirmed by the Government's recent defence review. "Although there has ...
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Ka-60 to make first flight in August
Kamov's Ka-60 medium battlefield utility helicopter is to make its first flight this month, according to Sergey Mikheyev, Kamov general designer. Both the Ka-60 and civil Ka-62 development and flight test programmes are being partly funded by the Russian ministries of defence and economy. The Ka-60 has had ...
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September farewell
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON The 1998 Farnborough International air show not only marks the exhibition's 50th anniversary at the Hampshire site, but draws to an end the traditional September date for the air show stalwart. Future exhibitions will be held in July (Farnborough 2000 takes place on 24-30 July). "We ...
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Greece orders stand-off missile from Dasa
The Greek Ministry of National Defence has ordered the Autonomous Freeflight Dispenser System (AFDS) stand-off weapon from Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) missile subsidiary LFK. The weapon will equip Greek Vought A-7 Corsairs, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Lockheed Martin F-16s. The AFDS is a development of the German/Swedish DWS 39 ...
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Northrop Grumman sets sights on GTE as shareholders attack
As angry shareholders launched a lawsuit against Northrop Grumman executives in the wake of the failed merger with Lockheed Martin, speculation is growing that the group is preparing to bid for the defence arm of GTE if it comes on the market as part of the US telecommunications giant's own ...
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Lockheed Martin drives down costs
Lockheed Martin has completed evaluation of a new production process under its Advanced Affordability Initiative. The process replaces airframe subassemblies with aluminium investment castings, which do not require finishing (sawing, forming, machining or drilling). Although the technique has been developed for the Joint Strike Fighter, it has been demonstrated on ...
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Lucas launches 'power by wire' work
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lucas Aerospace has launched development of an electric actuation system suitable for combat aircraft and large commercial transports, following successful completion of a 1,000h in-service test of "power by wire" on a US Air Force Lockheed C-141 Starlifter transport. The so-called Electric Starlifter has Lucas-developed integrated ...