Fixed-wing – Page 1311
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News
DarkStar flight tests will be resumed in mid-year
Flight testing of the stealthy Lockheed Martin/ Boeing DarkStar long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will resume in the second or third quarter of 1997, once the second prototype is completed. Two further DarkStar systems, including two UAVs and associated payloads, are also being built. They will be delivered ...
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F-18E/F sea trials ready to begin
INITIAL SEATRIALS of the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/F are scheduled to begin on 17 January. The trials will take place on the Navy's latest aircraft carrier, the USS Stennis, and will involve a series of arrested landings and catapult take-offs with the first two-seat development aircraft, the F1. ...
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German air force will update its Tornados
The German air force is to upgrade the navigation capabilities of its Panavia Tornado fleet with the installation of a Litef integrated global-positioning system and laser inertial-navigation system (GPS/LINS). The parliamentary defence approvals committee has cleared the procurement, and according to the defence ministry, a contract should be ...
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Portuguese PMAWS
The Northrop Grumman AAR-54 imaging ultra-violet Passive Missile Approach Warning System (PMAWS) is to be installed on Portuguese air force Lockheed Martin C-130Hs. The terms of the contract have not been disclosed. This contract covers the C-130Hs being used in air operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Deliveries are planned for the third ...
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Indian AF crash
All 22 people on board were killed when an Indian air force Hindustan Aeronautics 748 twin turboprop transport crashed on 24 December, 1996. Initial reports suggest that the aircraft may have suffered an engine failure before hitting a hill near Nellore, 240km (130nm) from Madras, according to Airclaims. ...
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STAe will expand leasing business
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe) plans to acquire a leasing fleet of up to 20 aircraft over the next five years as part of a wider effort to expand the commercial side of its business. STAe, together with its parent holding company Singapore Technologies, has already established a joint-venture ...
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Pentagon approves US Marine Corps UH-1N upgrade
The US Marine Corps has awarded Bell Helicopter Textron a $134 million contract to initiate a UH-1N light-utility-helicopter modernisation programme in preference to buying the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. The project was held up by the Department of Defense (DoD) in October 1996, when further military-helicopter commonality studies ...
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France nears final Aerospatiale/Dassault decision
The French government, anxious to kick-start the restructuring of its aerospace industry, is on the verge of finalising the details of the merger between Aerospatiale and Dassault Aviation. It also plans to move quickly towards privatisation of the resulting group. Approval for the merger, by a newly created ...
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Rada orders
Rada Electronic Industries has secured orders worth $5.4 million for its CATS, ACE and maintenance simulator products. The CATS orders came from the UK and China, while a weapons-system trainer has been ordered by the Israeli ministry of defence. Source: Flight International
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Donald Lang
Donald Lang, engineer, business executive and pilot, who retired a year ago as president of Pratt & Whitney China, died on 31 December at the age of 54, following heart surgery. Lang joined P&W in 1965 as an experimental test engineer. He helped develop the F100 engine, which powers the ...
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Battle for survival
When the Belgian Air force deployed Lockheed Martin F-16A Fighting Falcons to Vicenza airbase in Italy as part of the "post-IFOR" NATO presence over Bosnia, it demonstrated a change in Belgian Government policy, which, until then, had seen only ground troops committed to the peacekeeping campaign. It has taken the ...
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Philippine air force considers twin-engined fighter solution
The Philippine air force is leaning towards a twin-engine solution to its fighter requirement, following flight evaluations of a McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18C/D and Mikoyan MiG-29. According to local sources, the Philippines' new armed forces chief-of-staff and former air force commander, General Arnulfo Acedera, has come out in ...
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US Army keeps tabs on Starstreak
The US Army has released funding to continue evaluation of the Shorts Missile Systems Starstreak as a self-protection weapon for the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) AH-64 Apache gunship. In late December, Shorts was awarded a $2 million increment as part of a $13 million contract to continue ...
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Fighting the accountant
CRITICS OF THE McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/F argue that the aircraft does not represent enough of an advance over the current F-18C/D to justify the $63 billion programme cost. The US Navy , however, believes that the E/F structural upgrade restarts the growth cycle and prepares the aircraft to replace ...
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China's first local helicopter makes its maiden flight
China's first locally designed and produced helicopter, the Jingdezhen Z-11, had its maiden flight at the end of December. The six- to seven-seat machine has been developed as a general-purpose helicopter for use by civil and military operators. Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) plans call for local airworthiness ...
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Kfir talks
Ecuador is negotiating the purchase of additional Kfir fighters from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). Ecuador is already operating one squadron of Kfir C-2 fighters. IAI has already asked for US approval for the deal. This is needed because the aircraft is powered by a US engine. The fighters are offered ...
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An-70 rolls out again
Antonov rolled out its second An-70 on 23 December - the first aircraft crashed. The military transport is due to fly in the first half of this year. The Ukrainian aircraft builder also rolled out its first An-140 twin-turboprop airliner. Iran has already signed a deal to build the 52-seater. ...
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PATS fuel tanks extend 767 range
JET AVIATION HAS completed modification of the first Boeing 767 to be fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks. The 15,000litre auxiliary fuel-system, produced by PATS, was installed in a corporate-configured 767-200ER completed at Jet Aviation's Basle, Switzerland, modification centre. The aircraft's owner has not been identified, but is believed ...
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Cegelec lights Bosnia
The Airports division of France's Cegelec Projects has supplied 236 airfield light fittings to Banju Luka Airport in Bosnia. The equipment was ordered by a UK Government agency, and delivered using Royal Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130 transport aircraft based at RAF Lyneham in the UK. Source: ...
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Concurrent inks Lockheed Martin computer deal
CONCURRENT Computer has allied with Lockheed Martin to produce rugged versions of its PowerMAXION real-time computer for military applications. Lockheed Martin plans to use the PowerMAXION in systems for sensor fusion, situational awareness, route replanning and battle management. An early application will be the US Army's Rotorcraft Pilot's ...