Helicopters – Page 476
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Bell/Boeing discuss helicopter merger
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES BOEING AND Textron are believed to be studying a merger of the two companies' respective military-helicopter businesses. The proposed teaming, which would herald the long-awaited restructuring of the US helicopter industry, would be based largely on the structure developed for the development and ...
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New uses planned for F-22 CIP
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES HUGHES AIRCRAFT, Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force are studying new applications for the common integrated processor (CIP), developed for the F-22 fighter. These include proposed variants of the F-22, several upgrade programmes and the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) aircraft project. ...
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DoD re-assures helicopter makers
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has concluded that there is sufficient business to ensure a future for the four main US military helicopter manufacturers, although industry consolidation remains a possibility. The Pentagon recognises the problems of declining US military procurement, over-capacity and strong foreign competition, but argues ...
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The Emperor's new clothes
Are future combat aircraft being priced out of the market? Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE NEXT GENERATION OF combat aircraft is now in the process of being developed, but the costs of such projects are becoming so astronomical that the limited numbers procured will leave their operating air forces effectively ...
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Honeywell reveals 737 digital gyro
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES HONEYWELL HAS released details of its new digital-gyro ADIRS (air-data/inertial-reference system) which forms the core of the inertial packages selected for the Boeing 737-600/-700/-800 family. "The digital gyro is also base-lined in our VIA [versatile integrated avionics] 2000 package and is the central ...
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USN details Asia-Pacific aircraft order prospects
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA THE US NAVY HAS detailed prospective aircraft deliveries to Asia-Pacific nations under the US Department of Defense's foreign military sales programme. The list, produced by the Navy's International Programmes Office (IPO), includes the potential sale of McDonnell Douglas F-18D strike aircraft to Thailand. Topping ...
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Black Hawk officers disciplined
SEVEN US AIR Force officers involved in the 14 April, 1994, shooting down of two US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters over northern Iraq have been disciplined. Both McDonnell Douglas F-15 pilots have been given non-flying jobs and three members of the Boeing E-3 AWACS crew are ...
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CASA plans to develop new transport variants
Julian Moxon/MADRID CASA IS PLANNING developments to each of its military transports as part of a new strategy aimed at further strengthening its position in the sector. A new version of the C.212, the C.212-400, has effectively been launched, equipped with electronic flight-instrumentation system improvements ...
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Fire-proof seals for EMB-145
A SPECIAL fire-proof radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding seal to help protect the engine nacelles of the new Embraer EMB-145 regional jet against lightning strikes has been developed by Dunlop Precision Rubber of Shepshed, UK. The seal is a "J-section" design and fits around the cowl doors. The ...
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Pentagon threat puts Heliwing UAV on hold
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC US DEPARTMENT of Defense moves to kill the Boeing Heliwing project have led to plans for a second unmanned-air- vehicle (UAV) demonstrator being at least put on hold by the manufacturer. Boeing had decided to build a second demonstrator, but says that its ...
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General Electric
The first General Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777 resumed certification flight-testing on 20 July, following rectification of a fan problem discovered during ground-based bird-strike tests earlier this year. New fan-platform spacers have been fitted to existing test and production engines, following validation tests in early July. Compressor surge problems, ...
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Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines, the first to be certificated at 400kN, will power the Boeing 777-300s recently ordered by Cathay Pacific Airways and Thai Airways International. R-R has defined a thrust level of 423kN for the initial -300 A-market stretch, saying that this can be achieved with adjustments to the ...
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A clash of cultures
French ire and English sang froid characterise the European- defence debate after the UK chose a US helicopter. Douglas Barrie/LONDON JACQUES CHIRAC, the French President, "deplores" the UK's choice of the Westland/McDonnell Douglas WAH-64D Apache Longbow as its next attack helicopter, while his head of ...
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Renaissance transport
Is the choice of military transport now between, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules or the Future Large Aircraft? Or can a fleet of small transports, integrated with larger ones, provide an alternative approach? Harry Hopkins/NAPLES THE ALENIA G222 is among the few 5-10t-payload loading-ramp-equipped transports, which are still ...
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Hughes reveals Tier II Plus suite
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES DETAILS OF THE reconnaissance suite, on the US Department of Defense's, Tier II Plus high altitude endurance unmanned air vehicle, (UAV) have been revealed by Hughes Aircraft. The UAV, which is being developed by a Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical-led team for the Advanced Research ...
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Sights on expansion
Israeli company EL-OP is one manufacturer content to remain in the defence market. Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV WHEN THE FIRST photographs from the Offeq 3, Israel's intelligence satellite, were transmitted to the ground in April, the experts were more than surprised. The small, lightweight, satellite offers only a limited ...
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US Congress backs Comanche
THE US CONGRESS favours increased funding for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, with the House National Security Committee (NSC) boosting the fiscal year 1996 Comanche budget by $100 million, and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) adding $174 million to the Pentagon request. The US Army wants ...
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F-22 derivatives study under way
LOCKHEED MARTIN AND BOEING have begun studying derivatives of the F-22 air-superiority fighter under a 24-month, $9.5 million, US Air Force contract (Flight International, 15-21 March). Missions under study are strategic attack/interdiction; lethal and non-lethal suppression of enemy air-defences; reconnaissance; and surveillance. The study is in two phases. The first, ...
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Bidders line up vertrep deal
KAMAN AEROSPACE, Sikorsky Aircraft and a McDonnell Douglas/Westland team are among those bidding for the US Navy's two-month demonstration of commercially operated helicopters for vertical replenishment (vertrep) of naval vessels. A request for proposals (RFP) was issued by the US Military Sealift Command in May. The USN is ...
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Long hot summer
The McDonnell Douglas C-17 is facing its toughest test so far. Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES It is make-or-break time for the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) C-17. The future of the military transport, and that of the US Air Force's global heavy-lift capability, hinges on the outcome of two ...