Helicopters – Page 478
-
News
UK investigates ITT jammer for Army attack helicopter
THE UK MINISTRY of Defence has begun a preliminary investigation into the suitability of the ITT Advanced Threat Radar Jammer (ATRJ) for the British Army Air Corps' next-generation battlefield attack helicopter. The radar jammer is now under development for use on US Army McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack ...
-
News
Lockheed Martin promises to reduce price of F-16s
LOCKHEED MARTIN is guaranteeing a cost saving of 15% on the F-16 if the US Government allows the manufacturer to switch from military-procurement practices to commercial standards. Commercialisation of production would reduce the price of an F-16 fighter sold to, or through the US Government to below the ...
-
News
Raytheon to acquire E-Systems
RAYTHEON HAS signaled its intention to maintain a leading position in the consolidating US defence sector with an agreement to acquire defence-communications and intelligence specialist E-Systems for $2.3 billion. Raytheon's defence interests fell to 35% of overall turnover in 1994. The acquisition of E-Systems, announced on 3 April, ...
-
News
Malaysia shops for military equipment
MALAYSIA IS planning further major purchases of military equipment in its next five-year plan starting in 1996, says the country's defence minister, Najib Tun Razak. A list of proposed new programmes is being finalised by the Malaysian defence ministry and Joint Service Planning Committee for submission to the ...
-
News
USA gives green light for Army Comanche plan
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) has approved a US Army plan for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche scout/attack helicopter which calls for two prototypes, six "early operational capability" (EOC) aircraft, and entry into service in 2007. The restructured programme is the Army's response to the DoD's ...
-
News
Turkey to launch hunt for MPA
TURKEY IS ABOUT to release a request for proposals for a maritime-patrol aircraft (MPA), with Fokker, CASA and Dornier among the likely bidders. The requirement looked likely at one point to be satisfied by an ex-US Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion, but this deal appears to have fallen through. ...
-
News
Chile software demands halt Phalcon deliveries
THE CHILEAN air force has refused to accept its Phalcon airborne early-warning aircraft from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), demanding that the mission software be completely debugged before delivery. Phalcon test flights were completed earlier this month, but Chilean observers claimed that various problems, mainly software related, had not ...
-
News
Rolls-Royce completes its acquisition of Allison
ROLLS-ROYCE HAS completed its acquisition of Allison, after clearing the final US regulatory hurdles. Under a deal worked out with the US Government, R-R will be denied access to Allison's work on classified defence programmes. R-R is focusing on the commercial benefits of taking on Allison's existing ...
-
News
AWACS Design Authority
Boeing Defense & Space Group has selected Marshall Aerospace, of Cambridge, UK as a design authority for the UK E-3 airborne warning and control-system programme. Boeing will transfer the technical knowledge, training and data, needed to provide post-design services to the UK fleet. Source: Flight ...
-
News
Dassault plans Falcon 20 successor
Julian Moxon/BORDEAUX DASSAULT AVIATION has started preliminary studies into an advanced medium-sized business jet which the French manufacturer hopes will be around 30% cheaper to build than current aircraft manufactured by its rivals. Aimed as a replacement for its now out-of-production Falcon 20, the new ...
-
News
R-R signs S Korea deal
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE ROLLS-ROYCE HAS signed two aerospace-technology co-operation agreements with South Korea, as competition with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric intensifies for a Korean Air (KAL) order for engines to power its future fleet of Boeing 777s. The two agreements call for the establishment ...
-
News
Lockheed chooses CF6-80C2 for C-5D
LOCKHEED HAS selected General Electric's CF6-80C2 turbofan to power the C-5D, an improved version of the Galaxy which will be offered for the US Air Force's non-developmental airlift aircraft (NDAA) requirement. The NDAA is an alternative to the McDonnell Douglas C-17 and will only be purchased if the ...
-
News
An issue of stability
The RAAF's new Chief of Air Staff discusses future staff and equipment needs. Douglas Barrie/CANBERRA Instability is a concern for the recently appointed Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Les Fisher. His concern is with his personnel, however, not regional politics. ...
-
News
C-17 military transport is back on track, says MDC
McDONNELL DOUGLAS "...has dug itself out of a sizeable hole" and is now moving forward with the C-17 military-transport programme, says Donald Kozlowski, the firm's senior vice-president for the project. Kozlowski admits, however, that the once-troubled C-17 project must still overcome hurdles before the US Department of ...
-
News
Lockheed/Boeing evaluate F-22 mission derivatives
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA LOCKHEED AND Boeing will study derivatives of the F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter under a US Air Force contract to be awarded within the next two months. Missions to be studied include strike, defence-suppression and reconnaissance, says F-22 programme general-manager Gary Riley. The F-22 ...
-
News
Airline seats get off the ground
SIMULA SUBSIDIARY Airline Interiors has secured a launch customer for its 16G airline seats. California-based start-up carrier Trans-Orient Express has signed a letter of intent to install the seats in Boeing 747-200s to be used on services between Los Angeles and Vietnam, beginning in late 1995. Initial deliveries are worth ...
-
News
Bosnia C-130 suspected in covert flights row
Tim Ripley/LONDON US AIR FORCE denials that it is responsible for covert supply flights to the Bosnian armed forces have been re-inforced by UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) officials, who suspect that the Bosnian Government is operating its own Lockheed C-130 Hercules. UN observers have reported several ...
-
News
Shaky partnership
Despite the Discovery's triumph, joint US/CIS missions face an uncertain future. Tim Furniss/LONDON As James Weatherbee, commander of the US Space Shuttle Discovery, brought his orbiter close to the Russian Mir 1 space station on 6 February, he told the station's commander Alexander Viktorenko that he ...
-
News
Westland woos Canada on EH101
Jim Bagnall/OTTAWA WESTLAND is again attempting to persuade Canada to purchase the EH Industries EH101 as the helicopter programme is believed to be about to receive a considerable fillip with an UK Ministry of Defence order for around 25 aircraft. A procurement to meet the ...
-
News
IAI offers Phalcon technology to China
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES (IAI) is offering China airborne-early-warning (AEW) technology based on its Phalcon AEW aircraft to meet a Chinese air force requirement. The Chinese have an outstanding AEW requirement, with several companies pursuing the business. GEC-Marconi Avionics is believed to have supplied its Argus system, based on ...