All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1348
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News
Boeing turns to UK to bolster JAST bid
Karen Walker/ORLANDORamon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC BOEING IS PURSUING potential UK subcontractors as part of its bid for the US Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme in an attempt to position its aircraft as a contender for the UK's Future Offensive Aircraft (FOA) to replace the Panavia Tornado GR4. ...
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Thrust-vectoring F-15 first flight is curtailed
THE FIRST functional evaluation flight of the joint NASA, US Air Force, Pratt & Whitney and McDonnell Douglas F-15 thrust-vectoring research aircraft was cut short on 14 February when the pilot received indications of a problem with the landing gear. "It didn't complete the entire functional check-out, but the aircraft ...
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Germany may increase Eurofighter order again
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH THE GERMAN AIR FORCE is considering a possible order for an additional 20 Eurofighter 2000s, within weeks of persuading the German parliament to raise the country's production offtake from 140 to 180 aircraft. The issue has not been raised publicly for fear of stirring up renewed opposition to ...
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USAF
Col Wilbert Pearson has become vice-commander of the US Air Force's Electronic Systems Center (ESC), at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts. He is now Deputy for Rockwell B-1B programmes, Space and Strategic Systems in the office of the US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition. Brig Gen Michael Mushala becomes programme director for ...
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Hercules upgrade
The US Air Force has awarded Smiths Industries Aerospace a $5.6 million contract to upgrade self-contained navigation systems on 28 Special Forces Operations Improvement Lockheed Martin HC-130P/Ns, the search-and-rescue variant of the C-130 Hercules. The work includes installation of global-positioning systems, automatic communication systems and microwave-landing systems. Source: Flight ...
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Software snag delays EF2000 Eurofighter
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE FIRST FLIGHT of a two-seat Eurofighter EF2000, the CASA-built development aircraft (DA) 6, has been delayed by around six months because of a hitch in the completion of the next release of flight-control software. The latest release of the 2A software was due ...
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White House studies further B-2 orders
US PRESIDENT Bill Clinton has ordered "a fresh look" at the potential requirement for more than 20 Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers. He has ordered the National Security Council to examine options for providing the US Air Force with more B-2s. The policy re-evaluation follows action by US ...
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Pentagon reveals seven-year C-17 acquisition plan...
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) expects to shave $896 million from its $16.6 billion McDonnell Douglas C-17 programme through multi-year procurement . The C-17 acquisition decision memorandum (ADM), released by DoD procurement chief Paul Kaminski, seeks congressional approval to purchase the remaining ...
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...but Hunter is sacrificed to cheaper UAVs
PRODUCTION OF THE Hunter Joint Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (JTUAV) has been terminated, with the US Department of Defense (DoD) deciding to cut the overall number of UAVs and seek cheaper vehicles to meet mission requirements. The Hunter, developed by TRW/Israel Aircraft Industries, failed to meet the US ...
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MDC plans to test commercial computers in AV-8Bs and F-15s
Graham Warwick/ST LOUIS IN A BID TO halve the cost of combat-aircraft software upgrades, McDonnell Douglas (MDC) will flight-test commercial computers in its F-15 and AV-8B technology-demonstrators. MDC says that it plans to show that the same navigation-software module can be operated in two different computers, in two ...
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Russia/China close to clinching Su-27 deal
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW RUSSIA HAS VIRTUALLY concluded a $2 billion deal for the sale of Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers to China, which should lead to licence production of the aircraft. The new contract is being prepared in Moscow, ready for Russian president Boris Yeltsin to sign the final ...
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FLA partners reject Lockheed Martin approach
EUROPEAN NATIONS involved in the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) programme have rebuffed an offer from Lockheed Martin to merge their project into a joint effort to produce a turbofan-powered replacement for the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter. Lockheed Martin Aerospace boss Mickey Blackwell led a team to Europe late in ...
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E&S secures final piece in bid to be system supplier
EVANS & SUTHERLAND (E&S) has signed an agreement with SEOS Displays covering the supply of display equipment for the US company's visual systems. E&S says that the agreement with UK-based SEOS completes the company's strategic plan to establish itself as an independent supplier of visual systems, rather than remain just ...
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USAF upgrades KC-135 devices
MORE US AIR FORCE Boeing KC-135 training devices are to be upgraded. Motion systems have already been added to two fixed-based KC-135 operational flight trainers (OFTs), and two more are being upgraded. Now the computers will be replaced in all 19 OFTs, new instructor stations installed and the ...
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Alliant to build pivot shafts for F-22
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS has been awarded a $13 million contract to produce composite horizontal-stabiliser pivot shafts for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 fighter aircraft. The order follows a development effort under which Alliant (formerly Hercules Aerospace) demonstrated that it could produce the complex shaft using automated fibre-placement technology, for a ...
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Aerospace personality of the year
Joint winners: Dan Tellep and Norm Augustine Positions: Chairman and President Organisation: Lockheed Martin THE US DEFENCE industry has seen some spectacular consolidation over the past five years, but none more dramatic than the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta to form the giant Lockheed ...
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India chooses Litening
INDIA HAS PROVISIONALLY selected Rafael's Litening laser-designator pod to equip its fleet of Dassault Mirage 2000 and Sepecat Jaguar combat aircraft. The pod was chosen in preference to the Thomson-CSF Common Laser Designator Pod (CLDP) and the GEC-Marconi Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator (TIALD) pods. The ...
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Singapore delays tanker choice
SINGAPORE HAS pushed back selection of a new multi-role aerial-refuelling tanker/transport aircraft until April, allowing the air force more time to re-assess its programme requirements. Four competing bids have been submitted by Airbus Industrie, Boeing, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and McDonnell Douglas (MDC). A decision was planned for ...
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DoD close to releasing proposals for JAST
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) will release the formal request for proposals (RFPs) for its Joint Affordable Strike Technology (JAST) project at the end of February, kicking off a competition to produce an estimated 5,000 fighter aircraft. Three responses to the RFP are expected, from Lockheed-Martin, Boeing ...
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Singapore looks beyond F-16C/Ds
The REPUBLIC OF Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has begun to study its fighter requirement beyond the Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds now on order, with a tentative in-service date for its future combat aircraft planned for between 2005 and 2010. Several European and US manufacturers are keen to address the ...