All Helicopters articles – Page 456
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Hornets nest
Paul Lewis/BANGKOK New jobs inevitably entail fresh challenges and the position of commander in chief of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is certainly no exception. Air Chief Marshal Tananit Niamtan reached the pinnacle of his 27 year air force career in October 1997, just as Thailand's economy was diving ...
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Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman respond
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have issued an official response to the US Government's anti-trust complaints against their proposed merger, arguing that the deal is necessary if they are to compete with Boeing in military aircraft and Raytheon in defence electronics. The complaint was filed with the court on ...
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German MoD pushes ambitious helicopter and missile wish list
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH The German defence ministry has prepared a lengthy procurement wish-list for the 1999 budget, including key helicopter and missile programmes, but it threatens to overload the parliamentary defence committee's ability to pass all the items this session. According to sources in Bonn, it seems likely that ...
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Partners re-arrange KTX-II schedule after budget cuts
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Samsung Aerospace and partner Lockheed Martin are examining ways of re-arranging KTX-II development work and funding schedules, in the wake of the South Korean Government's decision to slash the programme's first year budget. The new administration of recently inaugurated President Kim Dae Jung has halved the ...
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An-70 bid for FLA nears an end
Douglas Barrie/LONDON Julian Moxon/PARIS European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) partners are to meet early next month to discuss the outcome of a critical study into considering the Antonov An-70 as an FLA candidate. The study, which is widely expected to reject the An-70 as a serious contender, is almost ...
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Bell strikes at S America
Graham Warwick/SANTIAGO Bell has begun marketing a variant of the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter configured for reconnaissance and armed escort. The "multi-mission" MH-1W is aimed principally at Latin America, where there is growing demand for armed helicopters to support anti-drug and counter-insurgency operations. The US manufacturer argues that the MH-1W ...
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C-27J emerges as possible AEW platform
Lockheed Martin has looked at the feasibility of installing Ericsson's Erieye airborne early warning (AEW) radar on the upgraded C-27J transport, under development with Alenia. A version of the C-27J could be offered as a smaller alternative to the AEW variant of Lockheed Martin's C-130J Hercules 2. The C-130J ...
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V-22 award
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey joint venture has been awarded a $419 million contract from the US Navy to begin low rate initial production of five MV-22 tiltrotor transports for the US Marine Corps. The contractor team was also awarded $59 million to provide long-lead items for a further seven ...
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RAF tries to trade Tornados and Harriers to salvage Jaguar fleet
Douglas Barrie/London The Royal Air Force has told the UK Government that it will sacrifice Panavia Tornado GR1, Tornado F3, and British Aerospace Harrier GR7 aircraft to prevent the Sepecat Jaguar being axed. In arguing its corner within the ongoing Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the RAF is battling to keep ...
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In position at last?
A dose of reality does the global positioning system no harm in the long term Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Anyone observing events surrounding the global positioning system (GPS) over the past few months would be forgiven for believing that European scepticism about the system has been justified. But Europe's reluctance ...
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US Coast Guard starts replacement programme
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The USCoast Guard has launched a programme to replace its fleets of aircraft and surface vessels. A request for proposals for the Integrated Deepwater System programme was released in March, and up to three teams will be awarded concept development contracts in July. The Coast ...
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Egyptian Stinger
The US Department of Defense plans to sell Egypt more than 1,000 Stinger air defence missiles and 50 Avenger air defence systems, plus related equipment and training worth an estimated $304 million. The Pentagon says that the missiles will be configured only for firing from the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled ...
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Thais finalise F- 5 upgrade plan
Paul lewis/Singapore The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is to finalise a contract with Elbit Systems to upgrade its fleet of Northrop F-5E/Fs, in anticipation that funding for the programme will now become available following the recent cancellation of a planned Boeing F/A-18C/D purchase. Thailand selected the Israeli ...
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Cost explosion threatens plan to upgrade German Lynx fleet
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Germany's planned upgrade of its navy's fleet of 17 GKN Westland Sea Lynx Mk 88 helicopters is being threatened by soaring costs, with the price rising by 110% above original estimates. The defence ministry is refusing to accept the price rise, driven by an increase in ...
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USA launches advanced rotor systems research
Advanced helicopter rotor systems are to be developed for existing and future US military rotorcraft in the Helicopter Active Control Technology (HACT) programme launched by the US Army late last month. The US Army says that the overall objective of the project is to develop and demonstrate an active, digital, ...
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USAF tests new tactics in EFX '98
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force will explore new fighting concepts, including the use of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for tactical missions, during the Expeditionary Force Experiment '98 due to take place in September. The experiment will cost an estimated $40 million to conduct. While military exercises ...
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Bidders line up for competition to upgrade Brazil's F-5 fleet
Bids for Brazil's Northrop F-5 upgrade programme were submitted on 23 March. Embraer will act as prime contractor and system integrator for the structural and avionics upgrade programme, and will evaluate the bids, but the selection will be made by the Brazilian air force. Other aviation procurement programmes are also ...
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Boeing signs up for Israeli RADA stake
Boeing and Israeli avionics specialist RADA have signed a preliminary agreement covering the US aerospace giant taking a minority stake in the company. The $10 million investment in RADA will make Boeing its largest single shareholder, with about 40%. RADA manufactures civil and military equipment, including avionics test stations ...
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Boeing makes cuts
Boeing plans to cut 8,200 jobs and eliminate 15% of its facilities as a result of the merger with McDonnell Douglas. Most of the job cuts come from the previously announced decision to end MD-80/90 production: 6,200 jobs will go at Douglas Products division in Long Beach, California, and 800 ...
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Messier-Bugatti aims to double repair business
Messier-Bugatti aims to double its repair business to achieve annual sales of Fr1 billion ($165 million)over the next five years. This ambition follows the integration of the Dowty Aerospace landing gear maintenance unit into the French company. "We intend to become one of the five world leaders in this ...