All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1374
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GR7 upgraded for Bosnia
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE is carrying out electronic-warfare (EW) and reconnaissance upgrades to several British Aerospace Harrier GR7 strike aircraft before operational deployment to the Bosnian theatre, against the background of an increasing surface-to-air missile (SAM) threat. The aircraft are being upgraded by British Aerospace, at Dunsfold. The ...
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British court Germany and France on FMRAAM project
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK IS AIMING to include Germany and France as partners on a future medium-range air-to-air missile (FMRAAM) development, according to senior British Aerospace officials. Contacts, at an industrial and defence ministry level, are aiming at examining establishing both a common FMRAAM requirement ...
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US Border Patrol will introduce LHTEC T800
THE LONG-AWAITED entry into service of the LHTEC T800 turbo-shaft is expected in July, when the US Border Patrol is scheduled to take delivery of its first re-engine Bell UH-1H Huey. LHTEC, a joint venture between Allison Engine and AlliedSignal Engines, revealed at the Paris air show that ...
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Boeing reveals more of JAST idea
BOEING HAS revealed more details of its Joint Advanced Technology Strike (JAST) concept, including new configuration studies unveiled at the Paris air show. The more striking external-design features of Boeing's compact JAST design include a sharply swept-back delta planform, an elevated cockpit, twin outward-canted vertical tails and ...
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Texas Instruments concludes talks with Shorts for CASOM bid
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS (TI) and Shorts Missile Systems have successfully completed talks to mount a joint bid for the UK Staff Requirement (Air) 1236 Conventionally Armed Stand-Off Missile (CASOM) programme. A formal announcement could be made before the end of the show. The CASOM bids are due at the ...
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GIVs offered to replace US forces' Rivet Joints
GULFSTREAM Aerospace, is proposing that the Pentagon replace its' aging fleet of Rivet Joint RC-135 electronic-intelligence-gathering aircraft, with militarised Gulf- stream IV-SP business jets. Although Rivet Joint RC-135s (specially configured Boeing 707s) performed well during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 in Iraq, they are expensive to operate, ...
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NKC-135A icing tanker to continue flying for FAA tests
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration will have access to a key US Air Force test aircraft for at least six months, to enable it to complete turboprop-icing tests. The Boeing NKC-135A icing tanker based at Edwards AFB, California, which was used by the FAA in 1994, and again ...
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DASA and Denel to support Transall
GERMANY'S DAIMLER-Benz Aerospace (DASA) and South Africa's Denel are teaming to support the C.160 Transall military transport in response to the South African Air Force's decision not the sell the aircraft, but to use them for humanitarian missions. The C.160 support package has been identified as the first ...
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CAE Profits Rise
Canada's CAE reports that profits were up by one-third for its financial year to the end of March, helped by military-simulator sales which offset flat commercial markets. Profits grew to C$47 million ($33 million) as revenues climbed by 11% to the C$658 million mark. The CAE Aviation unit benefited from ...
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Transatlantic tussle
The US defence industry will be putting on a show of strength at Le Bourget Douglas Barrie/London Against the dark background of an aggressive US military marketing push, the debut of the Eurofighter 2000 combat aircraft at Le Bourget still hangs in the balance. The decision is ...
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Rotary rumble
Military machines may dominate at Le Bourget, with the imminent UK attack-helicopter decision occupying the thoughts of many Kieran Daly and Douglas Barrie/london The battle for the Netherlands is over - the battle for England is about to begin. Well, not quite - the battle for the ...
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Worth its stripes
The Eurocopter Tiger has been designed with versatility as a key asset. Julian Moxon/PARIS The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 meant that, almost overnight, instant obsolescence rather than Russian armed might became the threat to Western weapons systems. No longer, for example, will anti-tank helicopters ...
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USAF renews GPS approach tests
THE US AIR FORCE IS to conduct precision-approach tests using the global-positioning system (GPS). A Lockheed C-130 will be used to conduct 75 GPS-guided approaches at Hurlburt Field AFB, Florida, in June. For the trials, the C-130 has been equipped with a GPS landing-system supplied by Interstate Electronics ...
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F-22 starts to take shape at Boeing
CONSTRUCTION OF the first composite wing skin for the Lockheed/Boeing F-22 fighter has begun at Boeing, marking the start of major-component manufacturing at the Seattle-based Defense and Space Group. Boeing is charged with 32.5% of the F-22 work, with primary responsibility for the wing, aft fuselage, radar, 757 ...
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UK and USA study Starstreak project integration
THE UK AND US defence ministries are discussing a joint programme to integrate the Shorts Starstreak high-velocity missile on to their respective attack helicopters. The Starstreak is included as a "mandatory option" in the UK's attack-helicopter procurement requirement. Shorts and Lockheed Martin formally agreed on 25 May to ...
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Business partners
Corporate-aviation customers will be of intense interest to the avionics suppliers at Paris. Graham Warwick/Atlanta While public attention will be captured by the Paris debuts of the latest commercial airliners and military aircraft, including the Boeing 777, Northrop Grumman B-2 and Bell Boeing V-22, the avionics ...
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Back onparade
Exhibitors are returning to the air show scene after years of cost cutting. Forbes Mutch/LONDON It has been an up-hill struggle for air shows in recent years, with recession-hit manufacturers demonstrating a reluctance to exhibit in the numbers and opulent style familiar during the 1980s. Air-show exhibitors ...
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Table-top training
Low-cost competition is set to shake up the simulation market. Graham Warwick/Atlanta Consolidation has left the flight-simulation industry smaller, but possibly stronger, as the market shows signs of beginning to recover. The airline recession and defence-budget cuts have made customers more cost-conscious, however, and low-cost ...
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Making a noise
New power plants for new aircraft: there will be plenty to talk about in military-engine circles at Le Bourget Guy Norris/Los Angeles For a sector in the doldrums, the military- engine arena will be surprisingly busy at Paris, with many significant propulsion decisions on the near horizon. ...
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IAI to test fly maritime radar on Heron UAV
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries (IAI) is about to start test-flying a maritime-surveillance, radar-equipped, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV). Radar manufacturer Elta has developed a variant of its EL/M-2022A maritime-surveillance radar. The radar will be flown on the IAI Heron. Elta has redesigned the radar's antenna to allow ...