All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1306
-
News
UK slashes FLA numbers
The Royal Air Force is planning to cut its European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military-transport requirement to only 25 aircraft - half the initial Ministry of Defence (MoD) commitment that up to 50 aircraft could be ordered. The proposed cut, confirmed by the MoD, is the result of ...
-
News
Israel suffers worst-ever military-helicopter crash
Two Israeli air force Sikorsky CH-53 2000 transport helicopters collided on 4 February while flying at night from northern Israel to the security zone in south Lebanon. All the 73 soldiers and aircrew on board both helicopters were killed. The two CH-53s took off at about 18.45 local ...
-
News
Pentagon reveals its budget plans for 1998
THE US Department of Defense is seeking to spend $250.7 billion during fiscal year 1998 - a 2.3% drop from the budget approved by the US Congress for the previous year. The Pentagon budget request is $2.8 billion above what the Clinton Administration planned to request, but it ...
-
News
Turkish air force F-5 upgrade field narrows
Fewer companies than expected have responded to the Turkish Government's request for proposals (RFP) for the Avionics Modernisation Program for its Northrop F-5s, say Turkish officials close to the project. The RFP was issued to 19 international companies in October, and the response date, originally 16 December, 1996, ...
-
News
Hawk's wings clipped by crack
The Royal Air Force has temporarily grounded all its British Aerospace Hawk jet-trainer aircraft for inspection after a fault was discovered during "routine maintenance". After checks which take about 4h per aircraft, inspected aircraft are already flying again, the UK Ministry of Defence said on 6 February. The fault, says ...
-
News
Dynamic Avalon
A series of notable current Australasian civil- and military-aviation competitions virtually guarantees that the Australian International Airshows DownUnder at Avalon Airport, near Melbourne, will be a dynamic event in industry terms. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has recently named Kaman as its preferred bidder for medium shipboard helicopters, ...
-
News
Kaman develops external seat for K-MAX
Kaman Helicopter has developed an external passenger seat for the single-seat K-MAX helicopter. Dubbed the "Class A" seat, it weighs less than 9kg, can be fitted to either side of the aircraft and is readily detachable. Kaman says that the seat has been produced as a result of ...
-
News
P-3 training contract
Hughes Training, a unit of Hughes Electronics, has won a $9 million contract from the US Navy to design and build simulation equipment which will be used to train Lockheed Martin P-3C aircraft crews for anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare missions. Source: Flight International
-
News
France completes DGA plan
France's ministry of defence has completed planning for a fundamental restructuring of its armaments directorate, the DGA, in a move aimed at meeting a targeted 30% cut in programme costs over the next six years, coupled with changes in management aimed at reducing the time taken for new programmes to ...
-
News
Aerospatiale teams with Renault on fuel-saving diesel engine
AEROSPATIALE has formed a new enterprise with car and truck maker Renault to offer through its general-aviation subsidiary, Socata, a range of all-new horizontally opposed four-cylinder diesel engines for light aircraft. A new company, Société des Moteurs Aeronautique, has been created to develop and produce the engines, which ...
-
News
RAAFspells out tactical needs
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has detailed its light tactical aircraft (LTA) requirement in an invitation to register interest (ITR) issued at the end of January. Alenia, ATR, CASA, and IPTN are all expected to respond. The intention is to replace 14 de Havilland Caribou transport aircraft now in ...
-
News
Lockheed Martin pushes on with tailless-fighter controls
LOCKHEED MARTINIS studying flight controls for advanced tailless fighters under two USAir Force contracts. Under the RESTORE reconfigurable-controls programme, the company is developing control algorithms for a stealthy, yet agile, tailless-fighter designed under the earlier Improved Control Effectiveness (ICE) programme. The ICE effort is aimed at developing new ...
-
News
Singapore revamps Taiwanese reconnaissance F-5E Tigereye
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe) has begun work at its Peya Lebar plant to convert the first of eight Taiwanese Northrop Grumman F-5Es to Tigereye reconnaissance aircraft. According to Taiwanese sources, the unannounced deal has seen at least three aircraft already delivered to Singapore for conversion to RF-5Es. Work ...
-
News
Russian air-defence force faces an uncertain future
The future of Russia's air- defence force is being seriously questioned with the Council of National Defence, with a presidential consultative body proposing that it be merged into the air force. The air-defence force, unlike its Western counterparts, is an independent body providing air defence for Russia. The ...
-
News
Eastern Promise
ONE OF THE MOST important promises of the so-called "peace dividend" for Western aircraft manufacturers was to be their ability to sell their products to the old Warsaw Pact countries in Eastern Europe. In fact, one of their greatest burdens may turn out to be the need to purchase most ...
-
News
El Al chief eyes turnaround
Joel Feldschuh's experience as a fighter pilot in the Israeli air force and head of its intelligence should prove useful in his new job as the president of El Al, the Israeli national airline. He is aware, however, that these skills alone will not be enough to improve ...
-
News
Czech Government confronted by pressure to relieve air industry
The Czech Republic is facing mounting pressure to resolve chronic funding problems for its air force and aerospace industry following the publication of an open letter to President Vaclav Havel from several hundred Czech air force personnel claiming that the service is disintegrating because of a lack of spares and ...
-
News
NHI finalises NH90 equipment selection
NHIndustries expects to complete equipment selection for the maritime and utility variants of the NH90 helicopter by mid-1997. The second prototype, a naval variant and the first fly-by-wire machine, is scheduled to be flown by the end of February. According to NH Industries, some 90% of the equipment list has ...
-
News
Northropp Grumman and rafael upgrade Litening for F-18 bid
Northrop Grumman and Rafael of Israel are working to upgrade the Litening airborne laser designator and navigation pod in anticipation of a US Navy competition to equip McDonnell Douglas F-18E/Fs and refit F-18C/Ds. The upgraded Litening is being fitted with a third-generation forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) system and advanced ...
-
News
Eurocopter turns round business
After four years of heavy losses, Franco-German helicopter group Eurocopter has reported a turnaround in its fortunes in 1996, with Fr12.24 billion ($2.21 billion)-worth of orders for the year - an increase of 75% over 1995, with 228 civil and military helicopters (along with 80 used machines) sold. ...