Fixed-wing – Page 1340
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Tiger contracts date advanced
Julian Moxon/MARSEILLES IN A LAST-DITCH MOVE to convince the Netherlands to buy Eurocopter's Tiger anti-tank helicopter, the Franco-German group has brought forward by two years the date for the award of long-lead production contracts. France will receive some Tigers in 1999, to help Eurocopter meet the ...
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BAe and Saab sign
BRITISH AEROSPACE and Saab have signed an initial agreement which will lead to the joint marketing, support and manufacture of variants of the Saab JAS39 Gripen lightweight multi-role fighter. BAe confirms the signing, but adds that the final agreement, along with the approval of the two respective Governments, ...
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In defence of the Robinson R22
Sir - Much adverse material has been published recently about the Robinson R22 helicopter. In defence of the aircraft, may I point out that the company of which I am chief flying instructor has been operating R22s for training and commercial work for the past ten years and ...
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Cracks cured
The US Air Force's fleet of 244 Lockheed C-141B transports is now operational with no restrictions, following completion of wing-crack repairs. Aircraft requiring a wing lower-surface replacement to overcome weep-hole cracking were the last to be returned to service. Source: Flight International
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FLA in Japan
Sumitomo has agreed to market the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) in Japan. The country's Defence Agency has a requirement for a new long-range transport aircraft to support its overseas peace-keeping operations. The McDonnell Douglas C-17 and Kawasaki's proposed C-X will also be considered. Source: Flight ...
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JDAM for F-22
The US Air Force has awarded a $105 million contract to Lockheed to develop a capability for the F-22 combat aircraft to carry the Joint Direct Attack Munition weapon. The work is to be completed in March 2002, according to the USAF. Source: Flight ...
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Saudi F-15 maintenance
The US Air Force has awarded McDonnell Douglas a $257 million contract to assist Saudi Arabia's McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighter maintenance programme. It says that the work is to be performed at various sites in Saudi Arabia through to December 1996. Source: Flight International
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Bell launches Model 407
BELL HELICOPTER Textron has launched its Model 407, with orders for more than 40 of the new light-turbine helicopters. As expected, the single-turbine 407 and twin-turbine 407T are based on the current Model 206, with the four-blade-rotor dynamic system from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Launch customer is Niagara Helicopters. ...
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EC.120 assembly to start shortly
FINAL ASSEMBLY OF THE first Eurocopter EC.120 light single-turbine helicopter will begin soon at Marignagne, France. The first flight is scheduled for the second half of 1995 and initial deliveries for 1997. The 1.5t gross-weight EC.120 is being developed jointly by Eurocopter France, Singapore Aerospace and CATIC of ...
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...as Robinson turns on FAA and NTSB
FRANK ROBINSON, owner and founder of Robinson Helicopter, says that inadequate training is the cause of the recent spate of rotor-strike accidents affecting the company's R22 and R44 helicopters. "It's not a helicopter problem, it's a training problem," he says. The US Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation ...
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Allison unveils details of new turboshaft for Bell 407
Allison Engines has revealed details of a new variant of the 250 turboshaft for the Bell 407. The C47M is based largely on the C40, launched recently on the new Bell 430. The C47M's compressor incorporates a new high-flow impeller, which increases airflow by 7%, and a brush ...
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Hueys destined for US drug work
THE US BORDER Patrol is expected to begin using five LHTEC T800-powered Bell UH-1H Hueys in April 1995 for drug interdiction and patrols. The last of the five UH-1Hs is being fitted with its T800 engine at the US Army's Fort Rucker Aviation Technical Test Center in Alabama. ...
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Preparing for combat
Much of the Russian air force's tactical doctrine is developed at a base near Moscow. Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW The Combat Training and Flight Crew Conversion Centre (CTFCCC) at Lipetsk is one of the most important institutions of the Russian air force. Located some 400km (250 miles) south ...
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UK must renegotiate ASTOVL MoU
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK IS BEING forced to renegotiate a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering its involvement in the US Advanced Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) programme as a result of the programme being merged with the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) project. The ...
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Russia and Ukraine talk over return of Blackjack
A HIGH-LEVEL delegation from the Russian air force has visited Ukraine to negotiate the return of Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear long-range bombers. The aircraft were retained by Ukraine following the break-up of the Soviet Union. The team was led by Lt Gen Anatoly Proskurin, the ...
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US DoD considers punishment for Lockheed over C-130 Egyptian bribe
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) is reviewing whether to bar Lockheed from receiving Pentagon contracts after the company pleaded guilty to paying an Egyptian politician $1 million for help in securing a $79 million contract for three C-130H Hercules transports. The US State Department has been reviewing ...
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B-1Bs pass operational readiness evaluation
THE US AIR FORCE'S Rockwell B-1B bomber fleet has passed a six-month, Congressionally mandated, readiness test intended to establish the aircraft's operational availability. Gen Mike Loh, commander of USAF Air Combat Command, says that the test showed that the aircraft can fulfil its potential if Congress provides sufficient ...
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Government veto blocks PC-9 sale to Mexico
The Swiss Government has banned the export of 48 Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainers to the Mexican air force, which in 1994 used armed PC-7s to quell a revolt in Mexico's Chiapas region. The manufacturer had sought export approval for the SFr300 million ($238 million) deal. "After carefully weighing ...
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Russia to re-start Hokum production
THE RUSSIAN Government has released funding to re-start series production of the much-delayed Kamov Ka-50 Hokum attack helicopter. Series production originally began in 1993 at the Progress plant in Arseneyv in the Russian Far East. Funding shortages, however, brought work on the helicopter to a halt. ...
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Russians reveal Su-24MP cockpit
THE FIRST photograph of the Sukhoi Su-24MP (Fencer F) electronic-warfare (EW) aircraft cockpit shows a considerably revised layout for the electronic-systems operator. The rarely seen aircraft is used by the Russian air force for EW combat training at the Lipetsk air base. Only a dozen Su-24MPs (pictured above) ...