Fixed-wing – Page 1248
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STOVL promise lifts JSF
EMPHASIS ON THE short-take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of the US/UK Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is increasing. Progress with the JSF concept-demonstration phase is leading programme and service officials to speculate that the STOVL variant planned for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy could find applications with the US Air ...
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Paris '97: a preview
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL Flight International will provide full editorial coverage throughout the build-up and duration of the show, starting with a comprehensive guide to the show in the Paris Show Special issue (11-17 June). First News will be published in the 18-24 June issue, followed by a full Show Report (25 ...
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Philippines spells out maritime needs
The Philippine air force has begun drawing up its requirement for six new long-range maritime-patrol aircraft (MPAs), as part of a recently approved 15-year defence-modernisation programme. A replacement fleet of MPAs represents the air force's next procurement priority after the acquisition of new multi-role fighters and surveillance radars. ...
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Broad horizons
To many of the pilots who were trained by the UK armed services during the 1950s and 60s, the de Havilland Chipmunk is no more than a basic trainer with a tailwheel. To a team of senior Royal Air Force flyers in 1997, however, it is the vehicle for a ...
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Joint-mission E-6B is delivered to Pentagon
RAYTHEON E-SYSTEMS has delivered the first E-6B joint services command and control aircraft to the US military. The TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) aircraft, an extensively modified Boeing 707, combines the functions of the US Air Force's EC-135C Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) and the US Navy's E-6A ...
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P&W advances work on JSF turbine
PRATT&WHITNEYplans to run an advanced turbine for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) engine by the end of this month. The turbine, incorporating the company's Superblade/Supervane advanced cooling, will allow higher temperatures to increase thrust for the short-take-off/vertical-landing (STOVL)JSF, and will be tested in its CEASAR research engine. JSF ...
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Lynx faces Malaysian backlash
Growing Malaysian Government dissatisfaction with UK industry-supplied weapons is undermining efforts by GKN Westland to win a deal for Super Lynx naval helicopters. UK officials are becoming increasingly concerned that Malaysia might once again resort to a "buy-British-last" policy, unless problems with existing programmes are settled. Kuala Lumpur ...
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US Government resists Thai bid to buy Popeye
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) wants to purchase the Lockheed Martin/Rafael AGM-142 Popeye air-to-surface missile (ASM) for its Lockheed Martin F-16A/B and McDonnell Douglas F/18C/D fighters, but it is facing resistance from the US Government. According to US Government sources, Washington has asked Thailand to defer any ...
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French forces hit by Tiger delivery delays
Delivery of the last Franco-German Eurocopter Tiger anti-tank/support helicopter to the French armed forces is expected to suffer an 11-year delay, with delivery of the final helicopter not now expected until 2025, say programme managers. Signature of the production-investment contract, giving the go-ahead to gear up for production ...
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MDC tests plans to reduce cost of F-15
McDONNELLDOUGLAS (MDC) has taken delivery of an F-15E to use as a testbed to demonstrate new avionics technology for the F-15 and other MDC aircraft. The company plans to flight-test improvements to reduce the cost of new F-15s and to upgrade existing aircraft. The first project will be ...
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UAVs and air expeditionary force top USAF priorities
Increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the adoption of an Air Expeditionary Force Concept (AEFC) are among the priorities for the US Air Force for the millennium, according to Gen Ronald Fogelman, the United States Air Force Chief of Staff. Speaking at the USAF's 50th anniversary ...
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US Air Force support grows for STOVLJSF
THE US AIR FORCE and Navy are considering switching at least some of their planned orders for Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to the short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) variant intended for the US Marine Corps and UK Royal Navy. The move could result in around half of the almost-3,000 JSFs planned ...
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Bank loan allows Mil to resume Night Havoc testing
The Mil design bureau has been able to resume flight tests of its Mi-28N all-weather/ night-attack variant of the basic Mi-28 Havoc, with funding for the development being provided through a bank loan. The Mi-28N was flown for the first time in November 1995, but testing was halted ...
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Israelis impressed by MiG-29 combat trials
The Israeli air force has borrowed three MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft from an unidentified eastern European state. Israel test-flew the aircraft against its Lockheed Martin F-16 and McDonnell Doulgas F-15s. The aircraft , flown out from an Israeli air force base in the Negev desert, were evaluated over ...
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NH Industries gets plans ready for NH90 production
NH Industries (NHI) will meet armaments directors from partner countries of the four -nation NH90 transport-helicopter programme during the Paris air show in June to begin negotiations on tooling and production for up to 240 helicopters. "We're preparing our proposals now," says NHI president Jean-Pierre Barthelemy. "We have ...
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Hercules crash mystifies investigators
The crash of a US Air Force Reserve Lockheed Martin HC-130P into the Pacific Ocean on 22 November 1996 was caused by fuel starvation, but the official investigation could not determine why all four engines had shut down. One of 11 crew members survived when the aircraft crashed ...
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JPATS contract
Raytheon Aircraft has selected FlightSafety Services to develop the ground-based training system (GBTS) for the US Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS). The company cites "superior systems engineering and software management" as reasons for selecting FlightSafety over Hughes Training for the $500 million contract. The GBTS is to ...
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Philippines details fighter and weapons requirement
The Philippine air force has issued its first request for proposals (RFP) for 24 new multi-role fighter aircraft and six air-defence radars to manufacturers , initiating a 15-year, 164.5 billion peso ($6.23 billion) defence-modernisation programme. The RFP has been sent to six competing European, Israeli, Russian and US ...
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Yakovlev begins high angle-of-attack trials with Yak-130D
Yakovlev has begun high angle-of-attack (AoA) trials with the prototype of its Yak-130D advanced jet trainer, with the company confident that it has been able to resolve earlier problems with the aircraft's winglets. Andrei Sinitsin, chief test pilot at Yakovlev, says: "A big part of the test programme ...
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Gunships for peace
Camouflaged in the forest, looking down on the River Danube, is a Belgian army tactical air-control party (TACP) practising its skills at calling in air strikes. There are no NATO aircraft on this exercise, however. Instead, two white-painted Mil Mi-24 helicopters can be seen flying along a wood line into ...