All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1305
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News
Turkey signs up for further 30 Cougars
The Turkish Government has signed a contract for the purchase of 30 Eurocopter Cougar Mk1s, coupled with an agreement on local production. The contract, worth Fr2.5 billion ($434 million), covers ten AS532-ULs for the Turkish army, complementing the 20 ordered at the end of 1993, plus 20 AS532-ALs ...
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US DoD drives to enhance JDAM accuracy
The US Department of Defense(DoD) has re-instated an effort to enhance the performance of the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), despite test results showing that the weapon exceeds the required accuracy by one-third. The original JDAM product-improvement programme (PIP) to increase accuracy down to 3m ...
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Israel selects Elta
The Israeli defence forces will equip front-line units with the Elta EL/M-2129 movement-detection radar which is capable of identifying low-flying helicopters. According to Elta, the system is capable of detecting low-flying helicopters from a range of 11 km (6nm). Up to 60 targets can be tracked simultaneously. Source: ...
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Australia offers cash incentive to hang on to military aircrew
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has re-instated and boosted its pilot-retention bonus, to try to stem annual wastage of trained military pilots. Defence-industry, science and personnel minister Bronwyn Bishop says that the figure of 33 pilots who left the three services in 1991, when the previous scheme was ...
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Doubts surround Georgian Su-25 order
Reports that Georgia has ordered up to 50 Sukhoi Su-25T Frogfoot attack aircraft are being greeted with scepticism by senior Sukhoi officials, who question the country's ability to finance the aircraft which are priced at $16-17 million each. Newspaper reports quote Mikhail Tskhadaya, deputy director of the Tbilisi ...
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Omega Air to launch 707 re-engineing with JT8Ds
Omega Air has signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney about the re-engineing of its Boeing 707-320 fleet with P&W JT8D-200 engines. The Omega leasing company is the major partner in the US-based consortium "7Q7", which plans to certificate the JT8D-powered version in 1998. Omega, based in Dublin, ...
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USAF despatches 30-strong force to Qatar
A US Air Force detachment of 12 McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-15Es and 18 Lockheed Martin F-16s was due to be deployed to Qatar in mid-February to support Operation Southern Watch, the US-led effort to enforce the no-fly-zone over Iraq. The USAF's 4th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) includes Strike ...
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Netherlands deploys interim F-16 reconnaissance system
The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) has begun evaluation tests of the medium-altitude reconnaissance system (MARS), which it intends to deploy with its dedicated Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon reconnaissance squadron. The MARS pod is intended to provide an interim medium-level reconnaissance capability, supplanting the ageing Orpheus pod, ...
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Evergreen picks up USN demonstration
The US Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) has selected operator Evergreen Helicopters, rather than Kaman Aerospace, for further civil-helicopter demonstrations of commercially operated vertical replenishment (VERTREP) of warships. Kaman's K-MAX was used successfully to demonstrate the concept over the past two years, but the MSC says that it ...
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Pitching forward
A McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/F Super Hornet has undergone initial carrier-qualification tests on the nuclear-powered USS John Stennis, the US Navy's latest aircraft carrier. This significant milestone has been achieved in the wake of a grounding caused by an engine problem, and with political rough seas and a tactical-aircraft budget ...
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Strategic retreat
THE TROUBLE WITH collaborative projects is that, in order for them to succeed, people have to collaborate, whole-heartedly. Such commitment has rarely been a feature of European collaboration on defence projects, and it certainly appears to be absent in the case of the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) project. The tragedy ...
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India down to last carrier
There is growing concern in New Delhi that the operational readiness of the Indian navy's air arm will be seriously affected by the navy having to retire one of its two remaining aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant, without provision for a replacement. Following the retirement on 31 January of ...
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BAe is poised to make decision on JSF partner
British Aerospace, a loser in the initial Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) shortlist, will decide shortly whether to join forces with Boeing or Lockheed Martin, the US aerospace firms selected by the Pentagon to continue development of the next-generation tactical aircraft. BAe had been teamed with McDonnell Douglas (MDC) ...
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Norway favours F-16/EF2000
Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 60 and the Eurofighter EF2000 are understood to have been shortlisted by Norway to meet its KFA-96 fighter requirement. The decision is expected to be revealed shortly, following final ratification in Oslo. The Norwegian defence ministry maintains that it has yet to make the ...
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New Zealand keeps an open mind on naval helicopter choice
The New Zealand Government is still keeping its options open on the selection of a new naval helicopter, in spite of Australia's recent decision to opt for the Kaman SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite over the rival Westland Super Lynx. New Zealand's recently formed coalition Government is not now expected ...
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Singapore assesses attack helicopters round the world
The Singaporean defence ministry has begun evaluating rival European, Russian, South African and US attack-helicopter designs, with the aim of eventually acquiring a force of up to 30 aircraft. A team from the Republic of Singapore air force is understood already to have made a visit to France ...
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Indian Flanker deliveries begin
India will receive its first four Sukhoi Su-30 combat aircraft in March as part of a $1.5 billion deal for the purchase of 40 aircraft, dubbed the Su-30MKI. Alexei Fedorov, the recently appointed general director of AVPK Sukhoi, says that India will receive eight of its aircraft this ...
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US Army signs T800 deal for UH-1 Hueys
The US Army has agreed to re-engine 131 Air National Guard Bell UH-1 Hueys with the Allison-AlliedSignal LHTEC T800 turboshaft as part of a deal to provide production and in-service evaluation of the engine before it is needed for the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. The early production and fielding ...
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Yakovlev resumes its Yak-130 flight tests
Yakovlev has resumed flight testing of its Yak-130 advanced jet trainer following structural-load testing and modifications to the wing-tips. The Yak-130 was first flown in mid-1996, but was grounded shortly thereafter, following a problem with its winglets. The prototype was then flown with the winglets removed. ...
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CTW tests variable-speed refuelling drogues
A variable-speed drogue designed to allow air-to-air refuelling of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft from the same unit has undergone initial flight tests in California, USA. The Chico-based Conversion Tank Works (CTW) of Aero Union is developing the multi-role drogue for several applications, including a forthcoming requirement from Lockheed ...