Helicopters – Page 426
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Australia explores lasers to solve air defence problem
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA The Australian Defence Force is to explore the acquisition of a tactical laser as a "leap-ahead" solution for its longstanding Project 117 ground-based air-defence system requirement. The project is to be delayed by at least three more years, however, with acquisition funding approvals moved to 2004 ...
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GE/P&W team for US Army helicopter engine development
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney have linked to compete for a US programme to develop a new engine for growth versions of the Boeing Apache and Sikorsky Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a business venture to pursue the ...
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JSF contest nears final phase
The CLIMATIC final stage of the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) competition is to begin on 15 April, with the release of a request for information (RFI) to the Boeing and Lockheed Martin teams. The RFI is expected to outline a new acquisition strategy. A US Department of Defense ...
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UK implements Defence Review with joint service Harrier force
Stewart Penney/LONDON The final elements of the UK's 1998 Strategic Defence Review have been implemented by the Ministry of Defence with the formation of a combined joint service BAE Systems Harrier force and a single organisation responsible for supply and engineering throughout the three services. Joint Force Harrier (JFH) - ...
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Future shock
The latest gun technology is opening new dimensions in saturation bombing and ballistic missile defence Peter La Franchi/ADELAIDEImagine an airborne gunnery system capable of firing 40mm grenades millions of rounds a minute against ground targets. Australian stock exchange-listed Metal Storm has unveiled concepts for such a futuristic-sounding system. It has ...
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MDH explores Latin American territory
MD Helicopters (MDH) started a Latin American demonstration sales tour with the MD600 and MD902 Explorer at FIDAE, amid expectations of new civil, military and para-military sales throughout the region. Both types were demonstrated to Chilean naval and air force units and local law enforcement agencies to meet upcoming requirements ...
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767-400ER schedule set back
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing faces a delay to its 767-400ER certification and delivery schedule in the wake of its recently resolved engineering employees' strike. Before the 40-day strike by Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace members, Boeing was on target to certificate the -400ER in April and deliver ...
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BAE and EADS enter final straight in race for Alenia
Chris Jasper/LONDON Andy Nativi/GENOA BAE Systems and European Aeronautic, Defense and Space (EADS) have submitted their final bids for a tie-up with Italy's Alenia Aeronautica. The Italian Government is expected to choose between the two as early as this week. The UK company has offered "a global alliance", taking ...
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DoD aims to relax arms controls
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense (DoD) is pushing for controls to be waived on exports of weapons and technology to the UK and Australia, in an effort to enhance interoperability and encourage open defence markets. Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeline Albright ...
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AH-X bidders await end-of-year request
Manufacturers eyeing a potential contract to replace Japan's 84 Fuji/Bell AH-1S attack helicopters say they anticipate a fresh request for information to be issued by the end of the year. According to Boeing, which is proposing the AH-64D Apache Longbow, this could be followed by a contract in around ...
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Japanese fine tune military transport requirement
Andrzej Jeziorski/TOKYO The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) has begun to crystallise its requirement for a replacement military transport, according to JDA officials speaking at the Tokyo Aerospace 2000 show - held from 22-26 March at the Tokyo International Exhibition Centre. The C-X replacement for the air force's ageing ...
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Apache arrival
The British Army Air Corps sees the WAH-64 as part of a light, flexible force Stewart Penney/LONDON On 15 March, the UK Army Air Corps (AAC) took delivery of the first of 67 GKN Westland WAH-64 Apaches, heralding a change within the British Army that those responsible for service ...
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Mobile manoeuvres
Changes in the nature of the world's armed forces has increased the demand for attack helicopters Stewart Penney/LONDON Collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War led to a major change in the structure of NATO as its members moved away from heavily armed forces based ...
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A129 gets Stinger as helicopter...
A129 gets Stinger as helicopter anti-air missile moves on Raytheon has been awarded a contract by Italy to integrate the Stinger Block I air-to-air missile (AAM) with the Agusta A129 Mangusta attack helicopter, as the US company prepares to meet the Shorts Missile Systems (SMS) Starstreak in a competitive shoot-out ...
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Chile offered Advanced F-16s
Paul Lewis and Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin has revealed that its recently submitted F-16C/D proposal to Chile includes elements of the new advanced-capability version. The Chilean air force (FACh) has moved quickly to press the newly inaugurated government in Santiago for a decision on the fighter programme. ...
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Allied Force prompts Joint STARS upgrade
Last year's NATO air war against Yugoslavia has resulted in "quick reaction" modifications to the US Air Force's Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman expects to be under contract next month to begin engineering and manufacturing (EMD) of the Radar Technology ...
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Contracts
The Royal Danish Air Force has awarded Raytheon Systems in the UK a contract for three Condor monopulse secondary surveillance radars. Northrop Grumman has received a US Navy contract, potentially worth $18 million, to provide structural spares for the F/A-18 on demand, at predetermined prices and lead times. Raytheon has ...
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US Army embraces smart cockpit
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Army is to fit the Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA) cockpit management system in Boeing AH-64D Apaches being upgraded to Longbow standard. The system is also being considered for a command and control version of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and a variant has found a ...
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British Army Air Corps takes its first Apache Longbow
Stewart Penney/LONDONGKN Westland handed over the first WAH-64 Apache Longbow attack helicopter to the British Army Air Corps (AAC) on 15 March. The AAC has 67 Apaches on order, all equipped with the Northrop Grumman Longbow radar. AAC machines are powered by Rolls-Royce Turboméca RTM322s instead of the General Electric ...
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New Europeans
The last fortnight marked the end of an era in the European aviation industry, with British Aerospace, Aerospatiale Matra and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace publishing their last sets of results as independent entities. True, the UK manufacturer reported as BAE Systems, but the result was essentially that of the old BAe. ...