Fixed-wing – Page 1259

  • News

    P-3 training contract

    1997-02-05T14:12:00Z

    Hughes Training, a unit of Hughes Electronics, has won a $9 million contract from the US Navy to design and build simulation equipment which will be used to train Lockheed Martin P-3C aircraft crews for anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare missions.   Source: Flight International

  • News

    France completes DGA plan

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    France's ministry of defence has completed planning for a fundamental restructuring of its armaments directorate, the DGA, in a move aimed at meeting a targeted 30% cut in programme costs over the next six years, coupled with changes in management aimed at reducing the time taken for new programmes to ...

  • News

    Aerospatiale teams with Renault on fuel-saving diesel engine

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    AEROSPATIALE has formed a new enterprise with car and truck maker Renault to offer through its general-aviation subsidiary, Socata, a range of all-new horizontally opposed four-cylinder diesel engines for light aircraft. A new company, Société des Moteurs Aeronautique, has been created to develop and produce the engines, which ...

  • News

    RAAFspells out tactical needs

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has detailed its light tactical aircraft (LTA) requirement in an invitation to register interest (ITR) issued at the end of January. Alenia, ATR, CASA, and IPTN are all expected to respond. The intention is to replace 14 de Havilland Caribou transport aircraft now in ...

  • News

    Lockheed Martin pushes on with tailless-fighter controls

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    LOCKHEED MARTINIS studying flight controls for advanced tailless fighters under two USAir Force contracts. Under the RESTORE reconfigurable-controls programme, the company is developing control algorithms for a stealthy, yet agile, tailless-fighter designed under the earlier Improved Control Effectiveness (ICE) programme. The ICE effort is aimed at developing new ...

  • News

    Singapore revamps Taiwanese reconnaissance F-5E Tigereye

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe) has begun work at its Peya Lebar plant to convert the first of eight Taiwanese Northrop Grumman F-5Es to Tigereye reconnaissance aircraft. According to Taiwanese sources, the unannounced deal has seen at least three aircraft already delivered to Singapore for conversion to RF-5Es. Work ...

  • News

    Russian air-defence force faces an uncertain future

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    The future of Russia's air- defence force is being seriously questioned with the Council of National Defence, with a presidential consultative body proposing that it be merged into the air force. The air-defence force, unlike its Western counterparts, is an independent body providing air defence for Russia. The ...

  • News

    Eastern Promise

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    ONE OF THE MOST important promises of the so-called "peace dividend" for Western aircraft manufacturers was to be their ability to sell their products to the old Warsaw Pact countries in Eastern Europe. In fact, one of their greatest burdens may turn out to be the need to purchase most ...

  • News

    El Al chief eyes turnaround

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    Joel Feldschuh's experience as a fighter pilot in the Israeli air force and head of its intelligence should prove useful in his new job as the president of El Al, the Israeli national airline. He is aware, however, that these skills alone will not be enough to improve ...

  • News

    Czech Government confronted by pressure to relieve air industry

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    The Czech Republic is facing mounting pressure to resolve chronic funding problems for its air force and aerospace industry following the publication of an open letter to President Vaclav Havel from several hundred Czech air force personnel claiming that the service is disintegrating because of a lack of spares and ...

  • News

    NHI finalises NH90 equipment selection

    1997-02-05T00:00:00Z

    NHIndustries expects to complete equipment selection for the maritime and utility variants of the NH90 helicopter by mid-1997. The second prototype, a naval variant and the first fly-by-wire machine, is scheduled to be flown by the end of February. According to NH Industries, some 90% of the equipment list has ...

  • News

    Northropp Grumman and rafael upgrade Litening for F-18 bid

    1997-01-29T17:55:00Z

    Northrop Grumman and Rafael of Israel are working to upgrade the Litening airborne laser designator and navigation pod in anticipation of a US Navy competition to equip McDonnell Douglas F-18E/Fs and refit F-18C/Ds. The upgraded Litening is being fitted with a third-generation forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) system and advanced ...

  • News

    Eurocopter turns round business

    1997-01-29T17:27:00Z

    After four years of heavy losses, Franco-German helicopter group Eurocopter has reported a turnaround in its fortunes in 1996, with Fr12.24 billion ($2.21 billion)-worth of orders for the year - an increase of 75% over 1995, with 228 civil and military helicopters (along with 80 used machines) sold. ...

  • News

    Westland flies mission Merlin

    1997-01-29T17:27:00Z

    GKN Westland flew the first fully mission-equipped Westland/Agusta EH101 Merlin anti-submarine-warfare helicopter, RN02, on 14 January, providing a welcome fillip to the considerably delayed project. The flight-test programme has been severely curtailed over the past six months because of an incident with prototype number seven (PP07) in August 1996. Westland ...

  • News

    Hungary extends JAS39 Gripen agreement

    1997-01-29T10:35:00Z

    The Hungarian Government has extended its 1995 industrial offset protocol with Saab of Sweden, confirming the JAS39 Gripen as a candidate for the Central European country's fighter requirement. The extension was signed on 22 January at the end of a visit to Sweden by a delegation from the ...

  • News

    Cambodian deliveries

    1997-01-29T10:32:00Z

    Cambodia has taken delivery of its first two ex-Czech air force Aero Vodochody L-39 trainers from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). An additional four jet trainers will be delivered by early April, as part of wider deal with IAI to upgrade Cambodian Mikoyan Mig-21bis fighters.   Source: Flight ...

  • News

    F-22 restructuring freezes cost growth

    1997-01-29T10:28:00Z

    A SPECIAL US Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meeting on 29 January will decide whether to endorse a memorandum of agreement signed by the US Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney on restructuring the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 programme. The agreement is based on recommendations from the ...

  • News

    Moving on up

    1997-01-29T00:00:00Z

    The word "rebuilding" is likely to crop up frequently in conversations at the Helicopter Association International's Heli-Expo '97 (2-4 February, Anaheim, California). Manufacturers will be talking about rebuilding business post-recession, while the HAI itself will be addressing the problem of "phoenix", or rebuilt, aircraft. According to HAI president ...

  • News

    Nimrod updates: political gain?

    1997-01-29T00:00:00Z

    Sir - I read that "-[Royal Air Force] British Aerospace Nimrod submarine hunters are being stripped down-[to] be transformed into Nimrod 2000s" (The Times, London, 27 December, 1996). Fuselages which are a quarter of a century old are being refurbished, allegedly to save a couple of million pounds ...

  • News

    Winning number

    1997-01-29T00:00:00Z

    WITH 95 AIRCRAFT delivered in the first year, production running at 10-12 a month and the orderbook full for the next year, Bell Helicopter Textron has a success on its hands, the scale of which the helicopter industry has not seen for some years. By offering a ...