AIRBUS RACKS UP HALF-CENTURY FOR A380
MILESTONE Singapore Airlines formally accepted its twelfth Airbus A380 on 16 June, bringing total deliveries for the double-deck aircraft to 50. The airframer has delivered nine of the type this year: three each to Lufthansa and Qantas and one apiece to Air France, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines.
INDIAN CONTRACT SAFEGUARDS C-17 LINE
PRODUCTION India has signed a $4.1 billion contract for 10 C-17 strategic transports, extending Boeing's backlog to 28 aircraft to be produced by mid-2014. With its annual production rate to drop from 15 to 10 by the third quarter of 2011, the programme's long-term future hinges on it selling at least 30 more within the next five years.
FOKKER HANDS OVER A320 VIP TRANSPORT
DELIVERY Fokker Aircraft Services has handed over a 26-seat VIP-configured Airbus A320 to French management company Masterjet. The aircraft will be based in Le Bourget and used for heads-of-state transport and other charter missions.
SAUDI ARABIA TARGETS SENSOR FUZED WEAPON
REQUEST Riyadh has requested the possible purchase of Textron Defense Systems' CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon. If approved, the roughly $355 million sale would deliver more than 400 weapons to the Royal Saudi Air Force, which could use the type against targets such as armoured vehicles, bunkers and maritime threats.
PIAGGIO BREAKS GROUND AT NEW SITE
MANUFACTURING Piaggio has broken ground on its new facility in Villanova d'Albenga. The 49,300m² (530,680ft²) plant will house parts, subassembly and engine manufacture, repair and overhaul for the P180 Avanti II business aircraft. To open in 2013, the facility will replace Piaggio's more than 90-year-old plant in Finale Ligure.
SEARCH ON FOR NEW NAVAL HELICOPTER
REQUIREMENT The Indian navy has issued a request for information about a new fleet of naval multi-role helicopters to complement its Westland Sea King 42 anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Candidates should have a maximum take-off weight of 9t to 12.5t and also be suitable for anti-surface warfare and special operations tasks. The Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky MH-60R and NH Industries NH90 are among possible competitors.
ACI EUROPE SENDS WAKE-UP CALL TO POLITICIANS
CAPACITY Airports Council International Europe president Ad Rutten has warned Europe's politicians that the continent's economy risks becoming isolated from the growth areas of the world unless they address the imminent capacity issue and liberalise bilateral aviation treaties. He said: "We must be in a condition to attract and develop air traffic flows to and from our external markets."
POGOSYAN MULLS SUPERJET 100 BUSINESS VARIANT
DEVELOPMENT United Aircraft is on the verge of deciding whether to launch a business jet version of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional airliner. "In the nearest future we will take a decision on the creation of the business jet version on the platform of the SJ100," said United Aircraft chairman Mikhail Pogosyan, noting that the new variant would fall "somewhere in between traditional business jets such as the Gulfstream and the Boeing Business Jet".
Source: Flight International
