Fixed-wing – Page 1296
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African Hercules
The South African Air Force is to acquire two Lockheed C-130Bs and three C-130Fs from excess US Air Force and Navy stocks. All five aircraft are in storage at the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. Source: Flight International
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ACTIVE goes active in first F-15 vectored-thrust flight test
THE thrust-vectoring system developed for the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) programme was activated on the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-15 research aircraft in flight for the first time at NASA's Dryden Research Center, Edwards AFB, California, on 27 March. The Pratt & Whitney pitch-yaw balance-beam nozzle ...
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Russian helicopter army in decline...
CONCERN OVER the state of combat readiness and morale of the Russian army's aviation corps has been made public in a letter sent by senior officers to Gennady Seleznev, chairman of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament. The letter says that the bulk of the helicopter fleet ...
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ITEC turns down BAe on RAAF
Guy Norris/LOSANGELES INTERNATIONAL Turbine Engine (ITEC) has refused British Aerospace permission to offer the US engine maker's new F124 turbofan as a power plant option on the Hawk trainer in its bid to secure a $1 billion Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) lead-in fighter-trainer contract. ...
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Four qualify for JPATS ground systems
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT has selected FlightSafety, Hughes, Loral and McDonnell Douglas as qualified bidders for the ground element of the US Air Force/ Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS). Bidders will receive a draft request for proposals (RFP) and initial data on Raytheon's Beech MkII JPATS trainer. ...
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Palestinian plans in peril
The demise of the Middle East peace process is reflected in events surrounding the Palestinian drive to establish its own air transport infrastructure, which illustrate clearly the problems Israelis and Palestinians are facing as they attempt to coexist. On the surface plans for a Palestinian airline are progressing, ...
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Mig-AT makes maiden flight
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW The MAPO-MiG MiG-AT advanced trainer had its maiden flight at Zhukovsky airfield, near Moscow, on 16 March. The manufacturer is competing with Yakovlev, fielding its Yak-130, to replace hundreds of Czech Aero L-39s in service with the Russian air force and other CIS republics. ...
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TUAV competition draws big entry
A LARGE FIELD OF competitors has turned out for the US Department of Defense's Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) competition. The Pentagon will pick the contractor for a two-year advanced concept-technology demonstration before the end of April. Full production calls for 73 systems for the US Army, Marine ...
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The frog prince
Sukhoi spawns another variant of its Su-25 Frogfoot, despite its near-demise following the collapse of the USSR Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW WHEN the SUKHOI DESIGN bureau's project to upgrade its Su-25 Frogfoot design stopped, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the programme appeared to be going the same ...
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A brief history of Fokker
FOKKER'S BANKRUPTCY may seem like a thoroughly modern phenomenon, but a glance through the company's 80-year history shows that this was not the first time the Dutch manufacturer had sailed close to collapse. THE EARLY DAYS 1912 Dutchman Anthony Fokker registers a company in Germany ...
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Turkey and Israel conclude F-4 Phantom Popeye deal
TURKEY IS TO BUY the Rafael Popeye air-to-surface missile as part of its proposed McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom upgrade to be carried out by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The television-guided Popeye is understood to have been on the Turkish air force's shopping list from the outset of the ...
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Sukhoi starts work on building canard Su-30
Douglas Barrie/LONDON A PROTOTYPE fore-plane-equipped aircraft, based on a Sukhoi Su-30 airframe, is under construction at the Irkutsk production plant in southern Russia. The canard-configured Su-30 airframe may carry the designation of either the Su-301, or the Su-30I (Istribitel/fighter). Details of the programme ...
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MDC and NASA unveil X-36
Guy Norris/St Louis McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) and NASA unveiled the once-classified X-36 tailless fighter-agility research aircraft at St Louis, Missouri, on 19 March, revealing a canard-configured design. The sub-scale remotely piloted X-36 is said to be the first fighter-type aircraft to be designed from the ...
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Elta wins Indian air force EW deal
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries (IAI) subsidiary Elta is to supply electronic-warfare (EW) systems to the Indian air force for the Mikoyan MiG-21 upgrade being undertaken by the Russian and Indian aerospace industries. The $80 million IAI contract was signed as part of a wider agreement, finally sealed earlier ...
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Fallout from Fokker
What does Fokker's bankruptcy hold in its wake for regional-aircraft markets and airlines? Kevin O'Toole/LONDON FOKKER MAY NOT BE the first aircraft manufacturer forced to quit the market, but it is hard to recall a more abrupt and final exit. It has left airlines and ...
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DoD JAST mistake triggers Lockheed Martin protest
LOCKHEED MARTIN HAS protested to the US Department of Defense (DoD) after cost data provided to the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme office were inadvertently sent to rivals Boeing and McDonnell Douglas (MDC). The protest has delayed release of the request for proposals (RFP) for the JAST concept-demonstrator phase, ...
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Eritrea orders six MB-339 trainers
ERITREA HAS ordered six Aermacchi MB-339C advanced fighter lead-in trainer/light attack aircraft. Deliveries start late this year and continue through 1997. The Eritrean air force already has eight Valmet Redigo turboprop trainers and, following Aermacchi's purchase of that programme (Flight International, 7-13 February), the Italian manufacturer will be ...
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Biting into false alarms
Despite modern diagnostics, "no fault found" is frequently the mechanics' verdict after avionics fault alerts. Terence Hardeman/SINGAPORE FAULT INDICATIONS on avionics line-replaceable units (LRUs) are costing airlines millions of dollars, and engineering executives around the world have called for action by component manufacturers to combat ...
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French companies to refurbish Lebanese aircraft
FRENCH DEFENCE companies are to refurbish fighters and helicopters belonging to the Lebanese air force, say Middle East sources. Agreement for the upgrade, was reached during a visit by French defence minister, Charles Millon to Beirut, in late February. Under the terms of the agreement, French companies - ...
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Singapore studies tanker options
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SINGAPORE IS considering an offer from the US Air Force to sell it up to four surplus Boeing KC-135s, as a more cost-effective solution to its requirement for a boom-equipped aerial-refueling tanker. A Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) team is understood recently ...