All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1347
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Poland to cut air force
Andrzej Jeziorski/WARSAW THE POLISH AIR FORCE is planning a massive re-organisation, cutting aircraft numbers by one-third and personnel by one-fifth over the next ten years. By the end of 2005, the air force will have 230 aircraft, compared with today's 352, and 41,500 personnel, compared ...
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THAAD shot down in $2 billion TMD programme revamp
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense plans to save more than $2 billion by reshaping its ballistic-missile-defence programme. The plan, which faces Congressional scrutiny, emphasises development of defences against short-range theatre-ballistic-missile (TBM) threats and pushes back production of weapons, designed to intercept ballistic missiles at greater distances. The Pentagon ...
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Too little too late
THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has finally declared that it is to consolidate its fragmented aerospace industry. The move is hardly surprising. Tough markets, falling defence budgets and the threat of emerging US giants, have raised the urgency of consolidation throughout Europe. Neither is it particularly revolutionary. The UK ...
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France shakes up aerospace
Julian Moxon and Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS THE FRENCH Government has taken its first steps towards pushing through sweeping changes in the structure of the aerospace and defence industries, including the merger of Aerospatiale and Dassault Aviation. The moves, many of them announced by President Jacques Chirac ...
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Poles freeze Iryda orders after crash
Andrzej Jeziorski/WARSAW THE POLISH AIR FORCE has grounded its PZL-Mielec I-22 and M-93 Irydas, following the accident-investigation report into a fatal crash on 24 January. It is refusing to place further Iryda orders until design improvements are implemented. Manufacturer PZL-Mielec says that it is complying ...
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French risk FLA coup de grace
FRANCE HAS PLUNGED the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) project into chaos by deciding not to provide funds for the project in its national draft defence budget for 1996. In a move which sources close to the FLA programme admit is "very dangerous", French defence minister Charles ...
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Weapon training
Hughes Training has received a $19.8 million US Air Force contract for a Lockheed Martin C-130H2 weapon-system trainer for use by the Air Force Reserves at Dobbins AFB, Georgia. Kohlman Systems Research is developing a Level D aircraft-data package for the simulator. Source: Flight International
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European debutante
This year sees the start of production of the first true Eurocopter product for the civil market: the EC 135. Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Cutaway by Giuseppe Picarella ALL EUROCOPTER AIRCRAFT to date, apart from the military Tiger, have been either French, from Aerospatiale's stable, or German, of former ...
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Slow rise to recovery
Although the helicopter industry continues to struggle, the HAI convention booms. Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS HELI-EXPO '96, THE Helicopter Association International (HAI) convention in Dallas, Texas, 22-24 February, comes as the industry continues to suffer depressed sales levels for new helicopters and is dogged by ...
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Turboprop triumph
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA SELECTION OF the Raytheon Aircraft Beech Pilatus PC-9 MkII for the US Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) surprised almost everyone - except, that is, the company itself. Throughout the competition, and the protests which followed, Raytheon remained steadfastly confident in the strength of its proposal. ...
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Boeing delivers F-22 power supplies
BOEING HAS DELIVERED the first flight-worthy power supplies for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 common integrated processors (CIPs), which form the heart of the fighter's avionics, sensors and display system. The power supply modules, convert aircraft-standard electrical power to a wattage of up to 400W, which is used to ...
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NH90 navigation
Sagem's Saphir inertial-navigation system has been selected for the NH Industries NH90 utility helicopter. The French company's embedded global-positioning/inertial-navigation system inertia device will provide navigation data and inertial references for the aircraft's quadruplex fly-by-wire control system. Source: Flight International
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SAAF considers used C-130 Hercules
The South African Air Force (SAAF), is considering acquiring secondhand Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transports, being offered by the US Government, to boost its future transport capability. The air force is studying the costs of upgrading early-model Hercules to extend airframe life. The aircraft on offer are now ...
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Russian programmes crippled by funding shortfall
THE RUSSIAN AIR force has admitted that Mikoyan's Object 1.42 fifth-generation-fighter programme has ground to a halt because of a lack of funding. A crisis meeting held this month with senior officers and design bureaux officials in attendance paints a grim picture of the air force's operational readiness and the ...
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Through the looking glass
The Israeli air force is testing a cockpit upgrade for its Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters. Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV OPERATIONAL evaluation of Israeli air force upgraded Sikorsky CH-53s has only just begun, but the pilots are already saying that the new avionics have stretched the capability of ...
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US Air Force wants F-16 TARS reconnaissance pod
THE US AIR FORCE IS seeking funds to equip Air National Guard (ANG) Lockheed Martin F-16Cs with a reconnaissance pod under the theatre airborne-reconnaissance system (TARS) programme. It wants 20 pods and five ground stations, with initial deployment of four pods and one ground station required within a year of ...
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US Navy examines rotary resupply
THE FEASIBILITY OF using commercially operated helicopters for vertical replenishment (Vertrep) of warships is to be further evaluated during a follow-on at-sea cargo-movement demonstration scheduled by the US Navy for later this year. In January, the US Military Sealift Command (MSC) issued a request, for proposals for a ...
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German air force updates VIP transport capabilities
Andrzej Jeziorski/BONN THE GERMAN AIR FORCE is buying four more Airbus A310s to replace its ageing Boeing 707-320s in the transport/cargo role. The air force is also pushing to acquire Canadair Challenger 601s and Eurocopter AS.332 Super Pumas in the VIP role. The air force ...
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Israel and Morocco hold F-5 upgrade discussions
MOROCCO AND ISRAEL are in secret negotiations over the latter country providing an upgrade of Moroccan air force Northrop F-5. The negotiations are believed to cover the upgrade of around 20 F-5s, which the air force uses in the fighter/ground-attack role. If successfully concluded, the deal would ...
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Light and easy
The new Bell 407 proves to be more than just an upgraded 206. Peter Gray/SINGAPORE Photography by Mark Wagner BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON introduced two new helicopters at Asian Aerospace '96 at Singapore - the intermediate-sized, twin-engined 430, with its advanced four-blade main rotor, and the manufacturer's ...