Latest Defence Helicopters news – Page 120
-
NewsVIDEO: Bell V-280 taking form in Amarillo
Bell Helicopter’s third-generation tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor, is literally coming together in Amarillo, Texas, as the company enters the final stages of mating the wing with the fuselage.
-
NewsSikorsky CH-53Es need readiness reset as USMC await King Stallion
The US Marine Corps is pressing forward with a fleet-wide maintenance reset of the Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion as it awaits delivery of the CH-53K King Stallion replacement, which has flown for the first time with an external load.
-
NewsUSAF basing revised bomber count on 'minimum' of 100 B-21s
US Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) expects to complete an analysis of its bomber force numbers by the end of this year calendar year, and says that number will be based around a “minimum” operational requirement for 100 Northrop Grumman B-21s.
-
NewsCongressional panel questions USAF's JSTARS radar plan
Members of Congress have cautioned the US Air Force against “pursuing multiple radar technologies concurrently” as it explores options for replacing the Northrop Grumman E-8C “JSTARS” surveillance, battle management and command and control platform.
-
NewsTextron braces for V-22 production cut after 2018
Textron is already bracing for further production rate cuts for the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor as the programme enters a proposed third multi-year contract period in 2018.
-
NewsUS lawmakers want cost data for building 194 more F-22s
The US House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces wants to know how much it would cost to resume production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter and it is even willing to consider export options and foreign partnerships as an offset.
-
News
Lockheed LM-100J taking form in Marietta
Construction of first the commercial derivative of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules in 24 years has begun in Marietta, Georgia, where fabricators are now assembling the first LM-100J wing.
-
NewsHow a pilot’s NVG case brought down a USAF C-130J in Afghanistan
A deadly US Air Force C-130J crash at Jalalabad Airfield in Afghanistan on 2 October 2015 that killed everyone onboard, plus three Afghani security personnel manning the guard tower it struck, was caused by a hard-shell night vision goggle case placed in front of the yoke.
-
NewsHelibras qualifies Fennec weapons mount
Helibras has successfully concluded a certification campaign for a new weapons mount for the AS550 Fennec light helicopters operated by the Brazilian army.
-
NewsP&W still pushing upgrade of B-52's original TF33 engine
Pratt & Whitney remains confident that a TF33 upgrade package it is developing would keep the fuel-guzzling Boeing B-52 bomber, an eight-engine goliath, flying into 2040 and beyond.
-
NewsAurora flies subscaled electric VTOL demonstrator
Aurora Flight Sciences has flown a 20%-scaled demonstrator of the unmanned LightningStrike, a uniquely electric-powered X-plane launched less than two months ago with a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
-
NewsGeneral Atomics 'Avenger' trials UTAS MS-177 sensor
The US Air Force’s next-generation multispectral camera, the UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) MS-177, has been successfully flown on the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems "Predator C" Avenger aircraft.
-
NewsUS Army finalises AH-64, CH-47 and UH-60 transactions
A $1.5 billion deal with Boeing for 117 remanufactured AH-64 Apache gunships tops the list of big-ticket helicopter contracts awarded by the US government in the past fortnight. Other deals include Boeing CH-47Fs for the Netherlands and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks for Mexico.
-
NewsRussia looks to develop advanced rotary-wing UAV test bed
Russia’s advanced research projects agency is launching a programme for the development of a rotary-winged unmanned air vehicle testbed, which will be used by government agencies to assess advanced robotic technologies for the military.
-
NewsP&W locks in $1 billion contract for F-35 engines
Pratt & Whitney secured a $1 billion contract this week to fund the first 66 of 167 F135 propulsion systems being purchased by the US government to power the growing domestic and international fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35s.
-
NewsNorthrop backs XS-1 spaceplane to join satellite launch market
Northrop Grumman might be "playing to win" the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's XS-1 programme, but the aerospace firm's interest in a reusable spaceplane for rapidly launching small satellites runs far deeper than any one project or contract.
-
News
Next generation jammer moves into $1bn development phase
Raytheon will supply 15 next generation jammer (NGJ) prototype pods over the next four years as the $7.4 billion US Navy programme transitions from the design into the engineering and manufacturing development phase.
-
NewsULA and SpaceX on different paths toward rocket reuse
When it comes to dramatically lowering the cost of access to space, industry titans agree that reusability is key. But that’s where the unity ends, as industry upstart SpaceX and long-time launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) take two very different approaches to reusability.
-
NewsSikorsky CH-53K programme puts gearbox issues behind it
US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) appears to be confident that the Sikorsky CH-53K programme has put the gearbox failures and parts delays experienced prior to first flight in October 2015 behind it, but the Lockheed Martin-owned helicopter manufacturer won’t receive bonus cheques for lateness.
-
NewsUSAF redesignates eight MQ-1 Predator units as attack squadrons
The US Air Force will redesignate eight General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1 Predator reconnaissance squadrons as "attack" units.