All Helicopters articles – Page 427
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Lockheed Martin tops DoD chart as Boeing closes in
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin again emerged as the largest US Department of Defense (DoD) contractor in 1999. Boeing is still second, but closing rapidly, thanks to a ramp-up in production of the new F/A-18E/F fighter and V-22 tiltrotor for the US Navy and Marine Corps. The DoD spent ...
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Bidders swoop on Pave Hawk RFI
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC A US Air Force request for information (RFI) to replace or upgrade its fleet of ageing Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopters has drawn a strong response from domestic and international suppliers. The RFI is part of a USAF analysis of alternatives for ...
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Beyond the blimp
The revived Zeppelin 'is using the tradition to shape the future' Ed Reavis/FRIEDRICHSHAFEN Sixty-two years after the giant Zeppelin airship was engulfed in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, the legendary manufacturer has been reborn. The modern version of this great silver whale is as big as a Boeing 747, ...
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Alpha process pioneers new co-operative approach to contracting
A new approach to contracting is helping to keep costs down on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme and could lead to a new way of working in the aerospace industry. "Alpha Acquisition," as the new process is called, began demonstrating its value last month when the US government, ...
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JSF TO dominate fighter/ attack aircraft market
Alan Dron The long-term future in the fighter/attack aircraft market belongs to the United States, providing the Joint Strike Fighter project (JSF) goes ahead, predicts a report issued at Asian Aerospace today. Europe's military aircraft manufacturers will enjoy an upturn over the coming decade, but if the JSF ...
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US report on Kosovo points out NATO shortcomings
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense's report to Congress on its performance in Kosovo's Operation Allied Force has identified the need for improvements in critical areas, including NATO alliance capabilities, command and control (C2), intelligence gathering, precision strike and air defence suppression. The report re-emphasises the ...
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Defence renaissance
The world's defence manufacturers are again identifying the Asia-Pacific as a major market Stewart Penney/LONDONBy common consensus, the worst effects of the Asian economic crisis have passed and the nations around the Pacific are again considering their defence needs. At the 1998 Asian Aerospace show, the economic crisis generated pessimistic ...
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Northrop Grumman wins USN UAV contest
Northrop Grumman's Ryan Aeronautical Center has been picked to supply the US Navy's next tactical vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle. The system will replace AAI/Israel Aircraft Industry Pioneer fixed-wing UAVs. The Programme Executive Office, Cruise Missiles and UAVs, has awarded Northrop Grumman a $94 million engineering and manufacturing ...
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Broader horizons
Singapore's air force is raising its international profile and cultivating relations with air forces around the world, says defence force chief Gen Bey Soo Khiang Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Former US President Theodore Roosevelt famously based his foreign policy on the principle that one should "speak softly and carry a big stick". ...
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Australia searches for refuelling finance
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRAThe Australian Department of Defence is to launch a formal industry survey process this week to determine whether the Royal Australian Air Force's Project Air 5402 air-to-air refuelling requirement can be met by private financing. The survey, set for release on 18 February, will call for a minimum ...
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AEW on the attack
After solving a sensitive technology transfer issue to clinch Australia's Wedgetail programme, Boeing/Northrop Grumman has Asia in sight Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC On Northrop Grumman's map of prospective customers for airborne warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, only one country is marked as conquered - Australia. Next to fall, the company ...
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Roman legion
If Rome's rule once galvanised the European continent and gave it a sense of purpose, culture and identity, the Italian capital's role in determining the futures of Europe's two emerging aerospace and defence empires is also likely to be a central one. For Rome is being courted by Europe's two ...
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RNZAF faces weapons stocks and readiness headaches
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The New Zealand Ministry of Defence has warned the newly elected Labour/Alliance coalition government that the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is in danger of failing to meet combat readiness targets. A shortfall in weapons stocks and reliability problems with the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk are the ...
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Ministers propose single sky for Europe
Julian Moxon/BRUSSELS A "single European sky" is on the political agenda after a 28 January meeting of transport ministers from the 38 European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) states. The ministers called for a high-level working group to study how to reduce air traffic delays in Europe. The International Air Transport ...
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Australian 'mega-merger' proposed
Australia's Defence, Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has proposed a domestic "mega-merger" of international defence and aerospace firms operating in the Australian defence market. The proposal has been put to Australian Defence Industries, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Systems, Tenix Defence Systems and Thomson-CSF. All six are being asked to respond ...
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Australia to benefit first as USA offers to change policy
Peter La Franchi/SYDNEY The USA is offering to lift restrictions on technology release to Australia as part of a Department of Defense (DoD) push to establish closer interoperability arrangements with key allies. The move comes at a time when a series of sales have been held up due to ...
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FY2001 US defence budget preview
The US Department of Defense's (DoD) Fiscal Year 2001 budget request was delivered to US lawmakers on 7 February. It includes significant funding for the proposed National Missile Defense (NMD) system, while sustaining production of the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). Other priorities ...
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Poland leans towards used F-16s
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Poland is preparing to issue a formal tender for its 60-fighter requirement amid strong indications that the government favours an offer of used Lockheed Martin F-16s from the USA. Industry sources say Poland's finance ministry has informally agreed to allocate $1.5 billion for the purchase. The ...
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US helicopters face growing threat
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Proliferation of anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and the integration of sensors and processors to low-altitude missile systems are increasing threats to military helicopters. Short-range, man-portable, air-defence missiles, however, remain the primary threat to US helicopters, according to US Army director of foreign intelligence Col Jan Karcz. ...
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JSF selection strategy in doubt
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC US defence acquisition undersecretary Jacques Gansler has ordered a potentially far-reaching review of the Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF) "winner-take-all" selection strategy as part of a wider push to ensure a continuing competitive industrial base. Gansler has given the review 90 days to identify JSF acquisition options and ...