Fixed-wing – Page 1339
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A new Fulcrum for Russian industry
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW IT IS EITHER a confederation of cripples, or the creation of a group which mirrors the scale advantages enjoyed by US aerospace goliath Lockheed Martin: only time will tell which is true of VPK MAPO. The creation of VPK MAPO (Military Industrial Complex - ...
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US Air Force looks at hand-held GPS sets
THE US MILITARY is considering requiring the use of hand-held global-positioning-system (GPS) sets in both fixed-and rotary-wing military passenger-aircraft, following the US Air Force Boeing CT-43 crash near Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 3 April. The hand-held GPS equipment would fill the gap until an integrated GPS is fitted to ...
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F-2 talks reach impasse
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE NEGOTIATIONS between the Japanese and US Governments on production workshare for the Mitsubishi F-2A/B support fighter are in danger of stalling, threatening to delay delivery of the first aircraft. For production to start on time, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) needs to be agreed ...
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Israel plans fighter-replacement contest
THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE plans to launch a competition within the next 12 months to select a fighter to replace its remaining McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs. The replacement aircraft, due to enter service early in the first decade of the next century, will replace ...
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R-R reveals Adour boost
Guy Norris/DERBY ROLLS-ROYCE has unveiled improvements to the US Navy's McDonnell Douglas (MDC) T-45A Adour powerplant, as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) nears a final choice of engine for its $1 billion lead-in fighter-trainer contract. The initiative follows the discovery of cracks and other evidence ...
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FLA fate hangs in the balance
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE FATE OF the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) programme will be determined shortly, with a final French decision on a funding compromise due to be made in the middle of June. French defence minister Charles Millon and Aerospatiale chairman Louis Gallois are understood ...
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Turks revive F-5 upgrade plan
Tony Gill/VIRGINIA TURKEY IS PREPARING to issue yet another request for proposals (RFP) to upgrade its Northrop F-5A/Bs, following unsuccessful attempts to begin a modernisation programme. An RFP could be issued as early as June for a cockpit update to convert 34 F-5A/Bs into lead-in trainers ...
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USA and Indonesia resolve F-16 spat
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE INDONESIA HAS reached agreement with the USA on improvements to be made to nine Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs, originally earmarked for Pakistan, clearing the way for Indonesia's planned purchase of the fighters to proceed. The $25 million modification work is needed to meet Indonesian ...
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Vacu-Blast to equip RAF centre joint
VACU-BLAST of the UK, part of BTR Industries, has been awarded the contract to equip the Royal Air Force's first "whole-aircraft" plastic-media paint-stripping (PMS) centre, which is being built by prime contractor Birse Construction at RAF St Athan in South Wales, UK. The centre, which is due for ...
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New bite for Cobras
The US Marine Corps is to upgrade its Bell AH-1Ws and UH-1Ns with a new four-blade rotor. Graham Warwick/ATLANTA BELL'S UH-1 HUEY HAS a distinguished history, and its AH-1 Cobra derivative defined the attack helicopter. Now US Marine Corps plans to upgrade its Hueys and Cobras promise ...
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Malays say 'no' to F-5 upgrade
THE MALAYSIAN Government has rejected as too expensive a local-industry initiative to upgrade its air force's remaining Northrop F-5E/F fighters. Malaysian defence minister Syed Hamid Albar has ruled out as too expensive a M$500 million ($200 million) plan to modify the F-5E/F as a lead-in fighter trainer. Funding ...
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Australia unveils aerial-surveillance project
THE AUSTRALIAN Defence Forces is pulling together its broad-area aerial-surveillance and unmanned-air-vehicle (UAV) requirements into a single project, known as Joint 129. The project, established at the end of April, will result in the acquisition of either a combination of manned surveillance aircraft, supporting a synthetic-aperture-radar system, and tactical ...
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Fifth-generation Russian combat aircraft go ahead
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW RUSSIA PLANS to press ahead and procure a fifth-generation fighter and a long-range strike aircraft to replace the Tupolev Tu-22M Backfire, according to Col Gen Piotr Deinekin, commander-in chief of the Russian air force. Deinekin also confirms that a reconnaissance variant of the ...
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Summit holds key to Tiger
A FRANCO-GERMAN summit between French president Jacques Chirac and German chancellor Helmut Kohl on 5 June holds the key to the future of the Eurocopter Tiger and NH90 joint helicopter projects. Confusion remains over France's commitment to both programmes following the Government's recent defence plan. Sources predict that ...
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German defence cuts fall on air force
GERMANY'S DEFENCE ministry has been hit by a cut of more than DM1 billion ($660 million) in its 1996 budget, which is likely to delay three air force transport programmes. Although no formal decision has been taken, the ministry says that the most likely air force procurements to be struck ...
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A novel Phantom experience
Sir - Ray Pilley is absolutely right in saying that there is no substitute for the final check (Letters, Flight International, 24-30 April, P43). This applies equally to engineering staff and aircrew, but it was his comments about the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom which really caught my eye. ...
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NATO waits for flight-training commitment
THE FIRST STUDENTS for the proposed NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme could be enrolled in 1999, if commitments for 60-70 places are received "within the next nine to ten months", according to Brig Gen Ed McGillivray, chief of staff personnel and training, the Canadian Air Force. ...
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First things first
France's recently appointed air force Chief of Staff,Gen Jean Rannou, is sorting out his priorities. Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS FOR A MAN WHO has just seen procurement of his air force's fourth-generation fighter delayed for five years, and its next-generation pre-production transport teeter on the brink of collapse, Gen ...
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New software tested
A re-useable navigation-software module running on a commercial off-the-shelf processor has been successfully flight tested on a McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-15. The re-useable software test was part of a wider three-flight programme in support of an MDC affordability project for the Joint Strike Fighter and current MDC production-aircraft programmes. In ...
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First Taiwanese Mirage delivered
Taiwan has taken delivery of the first of 60 Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft. The Taiwanese Government has also purchased 1,200 Matra Mica air-to-air missiles, as well as other weaponry. Source: Flight International