All Helicopters articles – Page 450
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News
Bidders cry foul on UK tender
Howard Gethin/LONDON BIDDERS for the Royal Air Forces' Short Term Strategic Airlifter Requirement are considering whether it is worth responding to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) invitation to tender, believing the requirement can only be met by one contender, the Boeing C-17. "We are examining the wording ...
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Japan ready to flight test attack helicopter
The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) is expected to begin flight evaluations in early 1999 of competing European and US attack helicopters, as it once again faces conflicting pressure to purchase either a foreign design or support the indigenous development of an enhanced version of the Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI) OH-1 ...
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Boeing wins C-130 support contract
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Boeing a $1.2 billion, 10-year contract to support variants of the Lockheed Martin C-130 operated by US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The Integrated Weapon System Support Programme (IWSSP) covers repair, maintenance, modification and upgrade of ...
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Erieye looks for ground surveillance role
Ericsson Microwave Systems plans to add a battlefield surveillance capability to its Erieye airborne early warning (AEW) phased array radar. "We are looking for launch customers," confirms the Swedish company. The Swedish air force, which operates four of a planned six Saab 340B AEW aircraft equipped with the Erieye, ...
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Budget troubles cast doubt on naval Taurus
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Doubts have been cast on the future of the naval derivative of the Taurus KEPD 350 stand-off missile, built by Swedish-German venture Taurus Systems, in the light of an unexpected German navy budget shortfall of some DM800 million ($473 million). According to the Bonn defence newsletter ...
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Boeing wins RAAF command and reporting deal
Boeing Australia has been selected as the prime contractor for the development of a new air defence command and reporting system for the Australian military, a move likely to boost its bid for the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) airborne early warning and control requirement. The project, Air 5333, ...
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E&S wins WAH-64D contract
Graham WARWICK/Washington DC Evans &Sutherland (E&S) has received a $32.2 million contract from Boeing to supply four visual systems for the BritishArmy's WAH-64D Apache attack helicopter training systems. Boeing is building the training systems for its Aviation Training International venture with GKN Westland, which will build and operate the Apache ...
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Boeing's tailless 'Super Frog' hops on to the drawing board
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Boeing has begun initial development of an advanced tailless, four-engined tiltwing short take-off and landing military transport using company funds. The company believes potential customers for the turboprop, which could be available within 10 to 12 years, include the US Air Force Special Operations Command, ...
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Singapore Pumas move to Australia
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has moved a squadron of 12 Eurocopter AS332L Super Puma transport helicopters to the Australian Army Aviation air base at Oakey, Queensland, under an overseas basing agreement with Canberra. Under the 15-year basing agreement, signed with Australia in October 1996, Singapore has ...
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Prices rise as high altitude
Costs of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing DarkStar and the Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Global Hawk unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), undergoing advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD), are soaring to $13 million a copy - $3 million more than the price set several years ago, say US Air Force officials. The Tier II ...
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Upgrade house Aerostar hunts for strategic partnerships
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Romanian fighter upgrade specialist Aerostar is looking for strategic partnerships in the civil and military sectors, possibly including the sale of equity in the Bacau-based company. On the military side, Aerostar is hoping to build on its experience in the $300 million MiG-21MF Lancer upgrade for ...
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DC-8-50/61 hushkit wins FAA certification
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Quiet Technology Venture (QTV), a unit of Fine Air Services, has become the first company to be awarded a supplemental type certificate by the US Federal Aviation Administration for a Stage 3 hushkit for the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-50/61. Martin Gardner, QTV's director of engineering, says ...
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V-22 fuselage shipped
The first production Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor fuselage was shipped from Boeing Helicopters to the Bell Helicopter Textron facility in Arlington, Texas, for final assembly. The aircraft, Osprey No 11, is the first of five Lot 1 low-rate initial production aircraft. Following operational testing, the aircraft will go to ...
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First Comanche radar bids go in
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have placed early bids for a new fire control radar (FCR) for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance/attack helicopter. Further bids are expected. According to Boeing, the US Army is proposing to include the radar in production Lot 1, rather than Lot 5 as ...
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RAF holds back on tanker programme
The UK Ministry of Defence has delayed releasing a request for information (RFI) for the Royal Air Force's future strategic tanker aircraft programme for six months as Airbus Industrie and Boeing prepare to square off with respective proposed new military derivatives of the A310-300 and 767-300ER twinjets. Manufacturers had ...
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Australia pins faith in Popeye as it revises stand-off plans
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Australia's Department of Defence has restructured its Air 5398 stand-off weapons project, with further stocks of AGM-142 Popeye missiles to be purchased to provide a capability against semi-hardened targets, while a new generation modular missile will be acquired to support strikes at distances of at least ...
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Canada aims to keep Hornets and Orions sharp with updates
Canada has launched studies into phased upgrades of its Boeing F-18 Hornet and Lockheed CP-140s. The work is aimed at keeping them operationally effective while staying within the country's limited defence budget. "It's important that these aircraft maintain their operational relevance, and their credibility with our allies," says Lt ...
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FMS upgrade
Boeing has selected the Smiths Industries Advanced Flight Management System (FMS) for the US Navy E-6 Mercury avionics upgrade. The E-6 cockpit modernisation will be performed under an $11 million contract. Delivery will begin in July 2000. Each FMS system will include two Flight Management Computers and two AMLCD multi-purpose ...
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Typhoon is the ultimate, says test pilot
Geoff Thomas It was a visit to an air display at RAF Wattisham in the late Fifties that whetted Eurofighter Typhoon test pilot John Turner's appetite for aviation. "I was only five or six, but Triple One Squadron's famous Royal Air Force display team - the Black Arrows ...
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Sextant, Lockheed pact opens new doors
Sextant Avionique and Lockheed Martin have announced an agreement that could give the French company a foothold in the important US military avionics and flight systems market. Sextant is one of only three major international companies capable of delivering complete avionics solutions, and already supplies systems for the C-160, ...