All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1360
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Ready to roll
Lockheed Martin will roll out the C-130J Hercules amid signs that its private-venture gamble to upgrade the Hercules may yet pay off. Graham Warwick/MARIETTA LOCKHEED MARTIN'S first C-130J Hercules II transport is in "good shape" for the roll-out on 18 October, says programme director ...
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UK/Swedish design team promised backing
A UK-SWEDISH design team has won the promise of financial support from South Africa's Orange Free State Government to develop and manufacture a six-seat utility/executive aircraft featuring a rhombic tandem-wing design. Dubbed the TW-18, the pusher-propeller design includes a shoulder-mounted wing, swept back to join at the tips ...
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NHI considers helicopter cost-cutting alternatives
NH INDUSTRIES (NHI) is working on a menu of equipment options for the NH-90 transport helicopter in a bid to offer reduced unit costs to both domestic and export customers. While the Dutch, French, German and Italian governments involved in the NH-90 are fully committed to funding the ...
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Turks seek regional-aircraft partners
TURKISH AEROSPACE Industries (TAI) is looking for partners to help it develop a small commuter aircraft to open up regional routes within Turkey. The company is now putting forward the 19-seat HD-19 fly-by-wire widebody commuter to meet a market demand which it believes will be created by the ...
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USA may give F-16A/Bs to Poland
Douglas Barrie/LONDON POLAND MAY be given up to 30 Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs, according to a proposal now under consideration by the US Government. The scheme, if approved, would set a precedent for F-16 sales throughout Eastern Europe. The "no-cost-lease" approach being pushed by Lockheed Martin would ...
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Boeing plans commercial Chinook revival in China
BOEING IS negotiating with Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing (HAMC) to restart production of the 234 Commercial Chinook in China. According to local sources, Boeing has proposed establishing a full 234 production line in Harbin, northern China. The deal is understood to include providing plans for HAMC to build its ...
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GEC-Marconi plans test-flight for Super Skyranger
GEC-MARCONI PLANS to test-fly its improved multi-mode Super Skyranger radar by mid-1996, installed in a modified Chengdu F-7M Airguard fighter. The system is a further development of GEC-Marconi's Skyranger ranging radar, already in service on the Chinese F-7. The Super Skyranger is intended as a low-cost direct replacement ...
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Jordanian Air Force will receive ex-USAF F-16A/Bs
THE ROYAL JORDANIAN Air Force (RJAF) is to receive its first squadron of ex-US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters within the next 12 months. An announcement by US President Bill Clinton covering the agreement was expected early in October, but was delayed. Despite this, sources say the ...
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Pakistan nears FC-1 avionics decision
COMPETING WESTERN manufacturers expect Pakistan to select radar, an avionics suite and a systems integrator before the end of the year for its planned FC-1 (MiG-21) fighter now being developed by Chengdu Aircraft. The FC-1 is a successor to the now-defunct Super 7 project, and it is intended ...
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Boeing to add pods to KC-135 tanker
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US AIR FORCE HAS awarded Boeing Defense & Space Group a contract which could lead to as many as 96 of its Boeing KC-135 tankers being fitted with wing-mounted "hose-and-drogue" refuelling pods. The company has been awarded a $24 million engineering and ...
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McDonnell Douglas wins JDAM bomb competition
THE US AIR FORCE has selected McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA) to develop the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and produce guidance kits which convert free-fall bombs into precision-guided weapons. MDA had competed against Lockheed Martin to produce the global-positioning/inertial-navigation guidance kits for as many as 74,000 US Air ...
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Kamov fits Zvezda anti-radiation missile to single-seat Hokum
RUSSIAN HELICOPTER manufacturer Kamov is carrying out integration of the Zvezda Kh-25MP (AS-12 Kegler) anti-radiation missile (ARM) with its Ka-50 Hokum single-seat attack helicopter. A Ka-50 displayed during the MosAero show in August had its port inboard stub-wing pylon converted to carry the Kh-25MP, with the missile on ...
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Keep Eagle clears F-15E for higher plane
THE US AIR FORCE has lifted the 20¡ angle-of-attack (AoA) limit which was placed on McDonnell Douglas F-15Es with conformal fuel tanks after an Edwards AFB, California-based team successfully evaluated performance-handling improvements tested in the "Keep Eagle" programme. The USAF test team says that the improved F-15E ...
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B-1 conventional weapons plan remains on service target
THE US AIR FORCE Rockwell B-1B bomber is on schedule for clearance to carry cluster weapons from mid-1996 onwards, as the 419th flight-test squadron moves to complete Phase 1 of the three-part conventional mission upgrade programme. Two dedicated B-1Bs are operated from Edwards AFB, California, as part ...
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Northrop Grumman enters DoD UAV battle Pentagon contest
Northrop Grumman is to take part in the Pentagon's competition for a joint tactical manoeuvre unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Maneuver UAV will provide an intelligence-gathering capability at up to 32km (17nm) range with electro-optical and forward-looking infra-red sensors. The Pentagon could buy as many as 100 ...
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Slovakia in MiG-29 deal
RUSSIA AND SLOVAKIA have concluded an agreement covering the delivery of a further seven Mikoyan MiG-29 single-seat fighters and one MiG-29UB two-seat trainer as part of a debt write-off package. The aircraft will be ferried to Slovakian airfields by December. The Slovakian air force took delivery of five ...
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First flight of NH90 nears
NH INDUSTRIES plans to fly the first prototype NH90 before the end of 1995. The aircraft is the first of five test helicopters in the four-nation programme for a miltary-utility helicopter. The PT1 was assembled in Marignane, in southern France. Source: Flight International
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BAe aims Gripen at Saudi Arabia
Douglas Barrie/LINKOPING SAUDI ARABIA HAS emerged as a key target of the British Aerospace/Saab joint venture marketing the JAS-39 Gripen fighter. BAe has briefed Saudi Arabia on an export derivative of the Gripen to meet its Northrop F-5 replacement programme. BAe has teamed ...
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Pemco KC-135 order
The US Air Force has exercised its option to continue with the second year of its seven-year contract with Pemco Aeroplex for the Programmed Depot Maintenance of its Boeing KC-135. Source: Flight International
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RAF thinks again on Jaguar upgrade
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE IS re-examining an engine upgrade programme for its Sepecat Jaguar GR1A/1B strike aircraft, in response to continued delays to the Eurofighter 2000 programme.The Jaguar is destined to be replaced by the Eurofighter. The RAF had previously studied a Jaguar re-engining programme in 1992, under ...