All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1372
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Vympel launches R-77 ramjet from Su-27
Douglas Barrie/LONDON RUSSIAN MISSILE manufacturer Vympel says that it has carried out air-launch tests of a ramjet-powered variant of the R-77 (AA-12 Adder). The tests were performed from the air force's Ahktubinsk test centre using a Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker as the launch aircraft, according to Vympel. ...
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UK forced to modify RAF Tornado ADVs
Andrew Doyle/LONDON THE ROYAL AIR FORCE has been forced to introduce engine modifications on its fleet of Panavia Tornado F3 ADVs (air-defence variants) following the crash in 1994 of an aircraft over the North Sea. Speed restrictions placed on the aircraft after the accident have been ...
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Suppliers
LSG Lufthansa Service, the Lufthansa catering division, has acquired US-based Caterair Holdings through Sky Chefs, the company's US partner. Pratt & Whitney, China Airlines and Singapore Airlines Engineering Company formed a joint venture to repair parts for the PW4000 engine. The repair facility will be located near Chiang ...
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Stretch revives Il-76 prospects
Ilyushin has rolled out a stretched, re-engine, version of its successful Il-76 Candid freighter. Paul Duffy/MOSCOW It is almost a quarter of a century since the Ilyushin Il-76 freighter (NATO codename Candid) made its first appearance in the West at the 1971 Paris air show. Although a ...
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Global ambitions
Lockheed Martin's ambitions will force Europeans to look to their laurels. Douglas Barrie/PARIS Talk of "mission statements" is normally enough to induce something akin to nausea among cynical European industrialists. In the case of US giant Lockheed Martin, however, they have to sit up and ...
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Rotary researches
Eurocopter believes that helicopter technology could develop dramatically over the next decade. Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Although ancient toys and drawings show that the basic principle of rotary-wing aircraft dates back centuries, the history of the helicopter as a useful flying machine is generally thought to have ...
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BAe strengthens Eurocopter link
Andrew Chuter/LONDON BRITISH AEROSPACE Defence is deepening its involvement with Eurocopter on military helicopters, announcing a tie-up to bid for a UK tri-service training contract using Eurocopter products, and confirming its intention to collaborate on an NH90 support-helicopter bid to meet UK requirements. BAe believes ...
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French premier backs key military projects
Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS NEW FRENCH PRIME minister Alain Jupp, has pledged his support for the Dassault Rafale multi-role combat aircraft and the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter. His position on the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport is somewhat more reserved. In his first public statement on the ...
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Turning heads
The X-31 captured the imaginations of those who saw it flown at Paris, but does it have a future? Graham Warwick/PARIS A spectacular flying-display performance by the Rockwell/Daimler-Benz Aerospace X-31A Enhanced Fighter Manoeuvrability (EFM) demonstrator has rekindled debate over the combat benefits of thrust vectoring. Few watching ...
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Indian navy considers Harrier options
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE INDIAN NAVY plans to decide by next February whether to procure either refurbished British Aerospace TAV-8As offered by the USA or rebuilt or new two-seat Harrier trainers from the UK. Driving the aircraft-replacement decision are believed to be serviceability issues as to ...
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Lockheed Martin pushes delta 'Falcon 2000' for US Air Force
LOCKHEED MARTIN Tactical Aircraft Systems is positioning itself to offer a re-winged F-16 "Falcon 2000" to the US Air Force if the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme is delayed or cancelled. "We are ready to start cutting metal on this aircraft," says programme manager John Bean, who ...
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Just a sideshow?
The recent Paris air show provided yet again, for its supporters, the disappointment of not seeing the Eurofighter displayed in its element - in the air. Eurofighter the organisation remains cool to the idea that the continued non-displaying of the aircraft is in any way harmful to its prospects. In ...
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Raytheon wins the JPATS sweepstakes
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT has been selected to develop and deliver the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) for the US Air Force and Navy. The company's Beech MkII turboprop trainer, a variant of the Swiss Pilatus PC-9, has been selected to meet a requirement for up to 711 primary trainers, 372 ...
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Lockheed Martin targets RAF and USN for F-117
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES LOCKHEED Martin is expected to brief the UK Ministry of Defence in July on a proposed derivative of the F-117B, now under study for the US Air Force. The aircraft is being pushed as a deep-strike stealthy replacement for the Panavia Tornado GR4. ...
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MoU talks boost Saudi EH101 sales prospects
THE UK AND SAUDI Arabia are negotiating a memorandum of understanding, covering the potential sale of the Westland/ Agusta EH101 helicopter, outside the British Aerospace Al Yamamah arms agreement. The Saudis are primarily interested in the anti-submarine-warfare (ASW) variant of the EH101, known as the Merlin, for the ...
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Hughes develops improved FLIR pods for F-18 Hornet
HUGHES AIRCRAFT IS developing improved navigation and targeting pods for the McDonnell Douglas F-18 which will incorporate a "third-generation" forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) sensor. The US company says that the FLIR, which operates in the visible and mid-wavelength IR bands, will provide four times the range of the first-generation, ...
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Japan seeks Harriers for support role
JAPAN'S RENEWED interest in acquiring a vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is focused primarily on an unarmed variant of the British Aerospace/McDonnell Douglas Harrier T.10 for offshore navy support and training. According to Japanese defence sources, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) is pushing for funding in ...
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Saab puts improved Gripen control software to the test
SAAB MILITARY Aircraft has completed initial flight trials of its latest flight-control software for the JAS39 Gripen fighter. The latest P11 software incorporates a filter function, which prevents the onset of pilot-induced oscillations (PIO) which have led to the loss of two aircraft to date. In ...
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Snecma teams up for engine upgrades
FRENCH ENGINE manufacturer Snecma has signed a co-operation agreement with Denel of South Africa and Spain's ITP covering modifications to the Atar 8K50 and 9K50 military turbojets. The team is to perform improvements to the core and controls, "taking into account the threat of new-generation infra-red missiles". ...
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B-2 programme cuts rejected
THE US HOUSE of Representatives turned down an amendment that would have stripped the $553 million in B-2 funding added by the House National Security Committee, but not requested by the Pentagon. US defence secretary William Perry opposes building more than 20 B-2 bombers, but the House voted ...