All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1294
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News
Airod award
The US Air Force has awarded Airod of Malaysia a six-year depot-maintenance contract for structural inspection and repair of Pacific Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130 transport aircraft. The contract covers the servicing of up to six aircraft a year and is the fourth successive USAF C-130 deal awarded to Airod. ...
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'Safer' B-2 paint stripper takes the stage
Northrop Grumman is introducing an "environmentally safe" method for stripping paint from B-2 stealth bombers, which uses wheat starch as the blast material. The US manufacturer says that the dry alternative eliminates vapour emissions and produces less-hazardous waste than that associated with conventional, solvent-based paint strippers. The process is also ...
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P&W plans demonstration of new JSF engine diagnostics
PRATT &WHITNEY plans to demonstrate pro-active diagnostic technologies planned for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) engine. "Prognostics" will be able to detect impending failures, increasing powerplant reliability in the single-engined fighter, the company says. "Single-engine safety is paramount in the JSF," says Frank Gillette, P&W director of advanced ...
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TTS upgrades KC-135s
Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS) is upgrading 19 Boeing KC-135R operational flight trainers and one C/KC-135E weapon- system trainer to represent the Pacer Crag avionics update, under way on 602 US Air Force aircraft. Source: Flight International
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Allison expects decision on C-27J engine in June
ENGINE SELECTION for the improved version of Alenia's G222 turboprop transport, dubbed the C-27J, is to be decided by the middle of June, according to Allison Engine. Italy is expected to commit to buying 18 four-engined Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports before the Paris air show in June, ...
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Il-76 deal raises Israeli hopes in bid for China AEW contract
Israeli attempts to win the battle to provide China with airborne-early-warning (AEW) aircraft have been boosted with the conclusion of a deal with Russia covering the release of a modified Ilyushin Il-76 Candid to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The details of the contract were finalised during two days ...
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GEaccelerates JSF test-
THE GENERAL Electric/ Allison/Rolls-Royce team plans to run its YF120-FX alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in 2002, two years ahead of the original schedule. Bringing the programme forward will allow competition between the YF120 and Pratt & Whitney's F119-based JSF engine to begin with the ...
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PZL-Mielec flight tests improved Iryda
PZL-Mielec is flight testing an aerodynamically improved version of its M-93 Iryda jet trainer, to be known as the M-96. The modifications include new leading-edge root extensions and vortex generators on the wings, and an extension to the tail fin to improve longitudinal stability. While Mielec is releasing ...
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-as Allison begins JSF lift-fan tests
LIFT-FAN HARDWARE for Lockheed Martin's short-take-off/vertical-landing Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) variant is arriving at Allison Advanced Development, which plans rig tests before delivering a complete lift fan to Pratt & Whitney in August 1998. P&W will integrate the shaft-driven lift fan with its F119-based SE611 engine for ground ...
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Taiwan navy aims for Seasprites
The Taiwan navy is reviving its long-standing interest in the Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter, and is once again seeking funding and approval to order up to 12 of the remanufactured aircraft. It is understood from local defence sources that the Taiwan navy is drawing up an operational ...
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Dasa offers Ranger 2000 jet-trainer to Turkish air force
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) is trying to breathe new life into its Ranger 2000 jet-trainer programme by offering the aircraft to meet an emerging requirement in Turkey. The Turkish air force is looking for a trainer to replace an ageing fleet of about 75 Lockheed T-33s. Sources close to ...
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Thoroughly modern airship
After a gap of several years, airship production is returning to the Cardington sheds - birthplace of the historic R101in the 1930s - near Bedford, 70km (45 miles) north of London in the UK. The airship under construction there today is a totally new design which will have a 14,200m3 ...
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MDC opens MD-17 'window' with two white tails
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has authorised production of two additional "white-tail" (unsold) C-17 transports in 1998, providing the first opportunity for the sale of a commercial MD-17 or foreign-military-sale C-17 versions. The US company says: "We think there's a good chance we are going to sell them commercially or ...
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US defence review cuts F-18E/F output by half
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) plans to halve production of the US Navy's McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/F, to slightly over 500 aircraft. The cut is the most dramatic recommendation of the DoD's Quadrenniel Defense Review (QDR), which also calls for production of the US Air Force's Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 ...
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Surveillance upgrade
California Microwave has received an additional $5 million from the US Army to modify two Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Multifunction (ARL-M) surveillance aircraft. The award is part of a wider modification to the original $219 million contract for the aircraft-upgrade work. Two of the US Army's three Bombardier de Havilland RC-7B ARL-M ...
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Israeli Astronaut
An Israeli air force colonel has been selected to train to fly as a payload specialist on a US NASA Space Shuttle mission in late 1998. The pilot, who is unidentified for security reasons, will conduct national science experiments provided by Israel, but the US space organisation will pay for ...
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Restructuringf or a European future
Just ten months after the scheme was launched by defence minister Charles Millon, France's ministry of defence has finished planning for a fundamental restructuring of the national armaments directorate, the Délégation Générale pour l'Armament (DGA). At the heart of what is a profound re-organisation of the way the ...
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Rafale relief
As the agility of the Dassault Rafale multi-role fighter is demonstrated in the skies above spectators at the Paris air show in June, the French aerospace industry will be breathing a sigh of relief following the signature of the first production contract. Unless there is a last-minute hitch, ...
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Israel focuses on new fighter acquisition
The Israeli air force could decide as early as mid-1998 on its next fighter purchase, according to senior air force sources. Deliveries could start early in the next century. Israeli studies into the requirements have effectively narrowed the field down to two or three US contenders. The sources ...
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Northrop Grumman joins Lockheed Martin on JSF
NORTHROP GRUMMAN has joined the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team. Lockheed Martin says that the deal does not preclude a teaming agreement with British Aerospace, also being courted by rival JSF contractor Boeing. Northrop Grumman will bring experience with low-observable and carrier-borne aircraft, as well as ...