Fixed-wing – Page 1219
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News
Critical decision looms for the FLA as An-70 waits in the wings
Douglas Barrie/LONDON Andrea Spinelli/GENOA The Airbus-led European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) programme faces a key go-ahead decision early in February, against a background of increasing political pressure to use the Antonov An-70 as the baseline for the project. The FLA Policy Group is scheduled to meet in the ...
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UK considers Jaguar engine re-build
Douglas Barrie/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence is in the final phase of studying a complete re-build of the Rolls-Royce Turboméca engines powering the Royal Air Force's Sepecat Jaguar fleet, aimed at providing additional thrust while also reducing maintenance demands. The upgraded powerplant, likely to be referred to ...
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Kuwait moves ahead with AH-64D purchase
Boeing can expect to sell Kuwait 16 AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopters, worth an estimated $800 million, but it remains unclear whether the foreign-military-sales deal will include the APG-78 Longbow fire-control radar (FCR), say government officials. At issue since late 1997 is whether the Kuwaiti Government would be cleared ...
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Taiwan narrows its utility helicopter choice
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE The Taiwan army has narrowed down the selection of a replacement utility helicopter to either the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk or the Bell 412, in what promises to be one of the few remaining lucrative arms deals still being actively contested in Asia. Taiwan has a requirement ...
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US Navy promotes low-cost Tomahawk
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Navy is to seek Congressional approval to shift funds from production of the Tomahawk cruise missile to development of a new low-cost version. The Navy wants to take fiscal-year 1998 money earmarked for the last batch of Tomahawk Block 3 missiles and put it ...
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Cash crunch
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE The Asian economic bubble has burst and the perceived regional "arms race" has, for now, come to a grinding halt. With local currencies and stock markets in freefall and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) administering fiscal first aid, most South-East Asian defence-procurement provisions are rapidly drying up. Despite ...
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Singapore solutions
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE At a glance, aircraft, armoured vehicles, automated taxi-dispatchers and container ships would appear to have little in common. Not so, says Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero), which has just merged with its ST sister companies, Automotive, Marine and Electronics, to form a single S$3.5 billion ($2 billion) listed ...
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USA and France plan joint UCAV testing
Bids are being sought for a 48-month US/French programme to demonstrate flight-control and flight-management technologies enabling combined strike operations by manned aircraft and unmanned combat air-vehicles (UCAVs). The Integrated Tactical Aircraft Control research programme will flight-test two concepts for the control of UCAVs: by aircrew in manned strike aircraft ...
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Fibre replacement
Alliant Techsystems is to demonstrate manufacture of composite engine-inlet-duct skins for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 using automated fibre-placement, to reduce production costs, following the success of the process in producing ducts for Lockheed Martin's X-35 Joint Strike Fighter concept-demonstrator aircraft. Source: Flight International
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Cormorant flies ahead in Canada
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Douglas Barrie/LONDON Canada is expected to issue a statement of requirement for its shipborne helicopter during 1998, after its decision to procure the EH Industries EH101 Cormorant for its 15-aircraft search-and-rescue (SAR) requirement. The AW520 commercial version of the EH101 was chosen over Boeing's CH-47 Chinook, Eurocopter's ...
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News
IAI and Kamov join for Turkish order
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Russian helicopter manufacturer Kamov are teaming to offer an upgraded Ka-50/52 Hokum helicopter to the Turkish air force to meet its attack-helicopter requirement. The upgrade may include the Rafael NT-D anti-tank missile as an alternative to the Russian KBP 9M120 Vikhr family of anti-tank ...
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Moscow offers Poland Su-39 licence production
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Talks are under way between Russia and Poland on possible licensed production of the Sukhoi Su-39 strike aircraft by Polish manufacturer PZL-Mielec. Moscow is pushing the project as a means of settling its state debt to Poland, according to Russian media reports. Meetings have been held with defence ...
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USAF lists ten changes required for grounded Firefly T-3 trainers
The US Air Force believes that ten modifications, costing an estimated $6.2 million, will be required before its 110 Slingsby T-3A Firefly flight-screener aircraft can be returned to flight status by the the middle of 1998. The single-engined, two-seat light aircraft made by the UK's Slingsby Aviation, which replaced ...
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Muscling to the market lead
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC AAR has just announced its third acquisition in less than nine months, a convincing illustration of what vision and financial muscle can achieve in the fragmented business of airline aftermarket support. In December, the company reported a 33% increase in second-quarter sales, after a jump of 26% ...
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Marketplace
++ Air Macau has placed its first direct aircraft-purchase order with the signature of a contract with Airbus Industrie for one International Aero Engines V2500-powered A321-200, which will be delivered in November. ++ Olympic Airways has signed a contract for two additional Airbus A340-300s, plus two options, to add to ...
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FAA and NTSB tackle 747 fuel-tank safety
The US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have begun efforts to make Boeing 747 fuel tanks safer. Officials are seeking an early meeting with the American Petroleum Institute to discuss converting commercial aircraft from Jet-A fuel to military JP-5 fuel, which has a higher flashpoint. ...
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Boeing set for $6 billion C-17 award
Boeing could earn up to $6 billion over the next eight years by sustaining the 120 C-17 Globemaster III military transports which the US Air Force intends to buy. The USAF has awarded Boeing an initial maintenance and support contract, worth $161 million in the first year, with an ...
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France takes first Mirage 2000-5Fs
The French air force has taken delivery of the first of 37 Dassault Mirage 2000-5Fs. Entry into operation is set for January 2000, with Dijon-based EC-2/2 Cote d'Or squadron. The aircraft are being converted from earlier French Air Force Mirage 2000Cs. The upgrade includes the fitting of the new ...
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Boeing uses simulations to advance JSF programme
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing has completed the first full-mission simulation demonstrations for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) design and has transferred assembly of a major airframe module to the former McDonnell Douglas (MDC) fighter plant in St Louis, Missouri. The company is "on target" for roll-out of the first ...