All Helicopters articles – Page 442
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Dutch plan air force cuts
The Netherlands armed forces face significant cuts, including the retirement of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and Fokker F-27 transports, but will gain new helicopters and a theatre missile defence capability. The changes stem from a memorandum published on 25 January by the Dutch Ministry of ...
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707 re-engining programme gears up for May flight tests
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Omega-led Seven Q Seven will begin proof-of-concept flight-testing of its Boeing 707-300 re-engining programme in May, with certification expected by early next year. The Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 re-engining programme for the 707, first revealed by Flight International in 1997, is being developed by Irish leasing specialist Omega ...
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Global races
A new form of arms race has begun in earnest: the race for global domination in aerospace and defence production. America's Boeing and Lockheed Martin were already ahead of the pack if you combine their respective sales in commercial and military aerospace, electronics, defence systems, missiles and space. Take away ...
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Eurocopter offers Turkey higher-powered Tiger
Julian Moxon/BORDES Eurocopter has offered Turkey a version of the Tiger anti-tank helicopter powered by the USLHTEC T800 turboshaft in response to a demand for more power for hot and high operations. Turkey has a requirement for 145 anti-tank helicopters and has asked contenders to offer a choice ...
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Czechs extend Polish link with trainer offer
The Czech Republic is offering Poland major industrial participation in Aero Vodochody's light attack and jet trainer aircraft programmes as part of a wider move to increase political and economic co-operation between the two countries. Prague is proposing the transfer of wing manufacture for Aero's L-159 light combat aircraft ...
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UK helicopter command poised to take control
Tim Ripley/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence is set to announce the formation of a new Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) by the end of January. It will be responsible for control of the peacetime operations of British Army Air Corps, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy battlefield helicopters. The ...
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Cash shortage threatens more procurement delays in S Korea
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The timetable for key South Korean defence procurement programmes looks likely to slip further as cash shortages continue, say senior defence and industry sources in Seoul. The delays are likely to hit programmes such as South Korea's F-X fighter programme and the E-X airborne early warning ...
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All-UK merger sends European defence into disarray
Dee Dee Doke/LONDON Paul Lewis and Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS A rancorous reception from Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) greeted British Aerospace and GEC's announcement last week that a £7.7 billion ($12.3 billion) deal had been struck to create a monolithic defence entity based in the UK. ...
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Airbus Military gets ready in time for FLA decision day
Julian Moxon/PARIS Formation of the Airbus Military Company (AMC) is imminent as the 29 January deadline nears for submission of a definitive bid to the seven partner governments involved in the programme. AMC is charged with developing and marketing the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) airlifter. The offer, ...
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F/A-18E/F :Transition issues
Introducing an improved product while sustaining demand for its predecessor is a difficult task for any manufacturer. It is particularly so for fighter producers, dealing with protracted procurement processes, long production lead times and intense international competition. Introduction of the E/F has led inevitably to questions about Boeing's approach ...
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USAF searches for KC-135 navigation/communications upgrade
The US Air Force has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a further upgrade of its entire fleet of Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft with a new global air traffic management (GATM) capability. The RFP comes as it nears a final decision on a similar modernisation of the avionics in ...
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Taiwan LANTIRN
Taiwan has awarded Lockheed Martin a $106 million contract for 20 Sharpshooter targeting pods and 20 Pathfinder navigation pods to equip its fighter aircraft in a US Air Force foreign military sales deal. The pods are to be integrated with Taiwan's Lockheed Martin F-16s by 2001. The systems are a ...
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Mercenary intentions
Alan Venter/LUSAKA The shooting down of three Angolan air force Mikoyan MiG-23s in the first week of January by Unita forces fielding hand-held surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) has introduced a new dimension to the Angolan war. The MiGs were engaged in ground support operations against Dr Jonas Savimbi's rebel army. ...
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RAF Nimrod upgrade falls behind schedule
The Royal Air Force is unlikely to receive its first upgraded Nimrod MR4 maritime patrol aircraft until 2002, as a result of delays to the £2 billion ($3.3 billion) modification programme. The programme is thought to be up to eight months behind schedule, the first aircraft having been delivered ...
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Australia plans biological weapons buster
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Australian concerns at the potential for proliferation of chemical and biological weapons within the Asia-Pacific region have lead to plans for the development of what is being termed a "Special Weapons" capability by 2005. Key decisions on whether to proceed with the project are to be ...
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RAH-66 Comanche team sticks with Longbow radar
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Boeing Sikorsky, the prime integrator for the US Army's RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance/attack helicopter, is to retain the Lockheed Martin/ Northrop Grumman Longbow millimetre-wave radar after failing to find a viable alternative. The search for another fire control radar solution for the RAH-66 was directed ...
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ACE in the hole for AH-64 and UH-60
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Army plans to procure an Advanced Common Engine (ACE) in the 2,240kW (3,000shp) class for retrofit into in-service Boeing AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky Aircraft UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. US Army officials say the as-yet unfunded Common Engine Programme (CEP) is required for the ...
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F/A-18E/F: Changing Roles
What the F/A-18E/F is - and what it is not - is best understood within the context of the programme's history, as the Super Hornet is the survivor of one of the most confused periods in US naval aviation planning. A decade ago, the carrier air wing envisaged for ...
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F119 powers up for F-22 production standard
Pratt & Whitney plans to deliver its first full production standard F119 engine for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 fighter test programme in November. The powerplant, the 18th of 26 flight test engines the company will deliver by the end of 2000, will form P&W's production endurance demonstration engine. "It ...
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RAF considers SAR radar pod for Tornado and Eurofighter
Howard Gethin/LONDON The Royal Air Force is considering the possibility of giving its Eurofighter EF2000 and Panavia Tornado fleets a new all-weather day and night penetrating reconnaissance role early in the next century. The UK Defence Research Agency (DERA) has been tasked with conducting a technology demonstrator programme ...