Fixed-wing – Page 1341
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News
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) ...
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News
UK placatory on European workshare
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK GOVERNMENT is holding out an industrial olive branch to Germany in a move aimed at avoiding damaging disputes over workshare on the Eurofighter 2000 and the Future Large Aircraft (FLA). Senior Whitehall sources say that the UK will be relatively flexible over ...
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Boeing offers UK 200% offset
BOEING IS offering the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) a 200% offset deal if it purchases the CH-47 Chinook to meet the Royal Air Force's £1 billion support-helicopter requirement. The company hopes that the offset offer will counter what it perceives to be a growing political lobby in ...
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Hand-me-down hokum
The US Department of Defense (DoD) is doing, on the surface, what any responsible government department anywhere would do. It has thousands of helicopters (and parts for them) which have been paid for once by the taxpayer and are now surplus to requirements. Rather than scrapping or mothballing them, the ...
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MDHS to offer EH101 to US Navy
McDONNELL DOUGLAS plans to offer the EH Industries EH101 to meet a US Navy requirement for a fleet-support helicopter. Other likely competitors include Sikorsky, with a cargo version of the Navy's SH-60 Seahawk anti-submarine helicopter, and possibly Kaman, with a military derivative of the K-MAX external-lift helicopter. McDonnell ...
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All change in Japan
Japan is facing up to a major transformation in its aerospace industry. Paul Lewis/TOKYO Japanese defence spending over the last 40 years has been largely responsible for sustaining a small, but highly capable, local aircraft industry. This will change as a post-Cold War reduction in military spending ...
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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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US schools drop R22s 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 ...
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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 turbo-shaft 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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News
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) ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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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News
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 ...
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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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News
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) ...
-
News
UK placatory on European workshare
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK GOVERNMENT is holding out an industrial olive branch to Germany in a move aimed at avoiding damaging disputes over work-share on the Eurofighter 2000 and the Future Large Aircraft (FLA). Senior Whitehall sources say that the UK will be relatively flexible ...