All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1280
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Dassault keeps low-key profile on Taiwan sales
Dassault has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the politically sensitive issue of possible further fighter sales to Taiwan, in spite of French Government assurances to China that no more arms will be sold to the island. "We've developed a relationship with Taiwan and we think we have a ...
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Antonov ascending
The An-38 marks the comeback of one of the oldest aircraft manufacturers in the CIS. Will it survive in the modern world? Paul Duffy/Novosibirsk As one of the major Soviet aviation design bureaux, and the only one based outside Russia, Antonov has developed two specialities in ...
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Circuit-card cloning beats avionics obsolescence
Lockheed Martin has "cloned" a circuit card in the F-16 stores-management system to demonstrate a method of solving the problem of out-of-production parts in military avionics. The technique involves developing a software model of the card's behaviour, then programming a current-technology replacement board. The US Air Force awarded ...
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Sukhoi starts radar tests with Flanker
Sukhoi is about to begin flight testing of an Su-27 Flanker fitted with a Phazotron multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar which could be fitted to future batches of Su-27s and, possibly, two-seat Su-30s for China. Phazotron says that it has already delivered the radar, effectively the Zhuk-27, to the Komsolosk-on-Amur ...
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Level playing field?
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Canada's quest for a new search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter has attracted the usual bidders - with a twist. One candidate helicopter used to be operated by Canada, until all examples were sold; two were considered in a previous competition, but rejected; and one was ordered by ...
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K-MAX TBO extension
Kaman Aerospace hopes to increase time between overhauls (TBOs) on the transmission and rotors of the K-MAX external-lift helicopter, following intensive analytical overhauls. Present 1,800h TBOs are planned to be increased to 2,500h by the end of the year. Source: Flight International
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Exportable IDF
Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development says that it is seeking US Government approval to offer a proposed advanced trainer variant - the Ching Kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF) - for export. It is keen to secure follow-on orders for the aircraft after the 130 ordered by the Taiwan air force. ...
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Sikorsky plays S-92 card in Canadian competition
SIkorsky is offering the S-92 as an option in its bid to supply Canada with 15 search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopters. Sikorsky's main bid is based on a version of the UH-60 Black Hawk called the Maplehawk, but it has also offered to lease the helicopters to Canada until the S-92 is ...
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Cost overruns hit Merlin
UK Government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), is raising concerns that the GKN Westland/ Agusta EH101 Merlin military helicopter faces further delays and additional price hikes. Its Major Projects Report 1996 reveals that the Merlin programme is "-likely to cost over £650 million [$1 billion] more ...
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Bidders on UK MoD's Hawk school narrowed to three
THREE COMPANIES are believed to have been shortlisted by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a contract to build and operate a simulator school for students undergoing advanced training on the Royal Air Force's British Aerospace Hawks. Canada's CAE Electronics has been eliminated from the competition, leaving ...
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Training for AH-64D
Boeing has begun training US rmy AH-64DLongbow Apache combat-helicopter pilots and maintainers at a new centre near the former McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems plant in Mesa, Arizona. Boeing is providing academic and simulator training, while the US Army handles flight training in the upgraded AH-64D. Source: Flight International
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AIDCF-5 upgrade will fly in 1998
Aerospace Industrial Development (AIDC) will complete the prototype of its upgraded Northrop Grumman F-5E/F Tiger 4 by the end of 1998.It is offering the aircraft to the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF). The upgraded avionics include hands-on-throttle-and-stick, a GEC-Marconi head-up display and a Northrop Grumman APG-66 multi-mode radar, says ...
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South Korea's air force considers buying additional ASPJs
The South Korean air force (RoKAF) is considering buying more Northrop Grumman/ITT ALQ-165 Airborne Self-Protection Jammers (ASPJs). It has already bought the jammer for some of its Lockheed Martin F-16s, and Northrop Grumman officials say that the firm is talking to South Korea about a follow-on purchase. The ...
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US Navy looks to refine CSA cofiguration
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON The US Navy (USN) is expected to release Common Support Aircraft (CSA) definition studies in early 1998. It is keen to bring forward the aircraft's initial operational capability (IOC) to between 2005 and 2008. The USN has a requirement for some 250 CSA aircraft, ...
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French Government warns of serious defence budget cuts
Julian Moxon/paris France's recently elected socialist Government has made it clear that there will have to be major cuts in the five-year defence plan approved by the previous Government, to pay for planned social programmes. Lionel Jospin, the French prime minister, has yet to identify which ...
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Aero Vodochody's L-159 gets airborne
Douglas Barrie/LONDON Aero Vodochody's L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) was flown for the first time on 2 August. A further three flights were made before the aircraft was returned for work on planned structural modifications and vibration testing. Flight testing of the aircraft is due ...
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US military considers civil helicopter lease
The US military is considering leasing civil helicopter services as a substitute for procuring new military rotorcraft. The US Navy's Military Sealift Command plans to launch a competition in fiscal year 1998 for commercially-operated vertical replenishment (VERTREP) of its warships. The contract is designed to meet a projected ...
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US Quadrennial Defense Review drives up THAAD costs
The estimated cost of completing the Lockheed Martin Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) missile programme for the US Army has risen by $1.4 billion, to $7.7 billion, because of a restructuring triggered by the US Department of Defense's (DoD) Quadrennial Defense Review . The programme was restructured ...
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Allison plans to build new hybrid AE2100 for Japan's amphibian
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Allison Engine is proposing a new hybrid version of its AE2100 turboprop to power the planned ShinMaywa Industries US-1A Kai upgraded search-and-rescue (SAR) amphibian for the Japan Defence Agency (JDA). The AE2100J being offered to Japan is a derivative of the AE2100A and D3 ...
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Cold climate Hornet
Finland's air force looks forward to operating the Boeing F-18 Hornet Rene van Woezik/Tampere-Pirkkala AB The motto of the Finnish air force is "Qualitas Potentia Nostra: In Quality Lies Our Power". In terms of its front-line hardware, however, this quality has recently teetered on the verge of ...