All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1384
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A minister for Europe
Roger Freeman, the UK Minister for Defence Procurement, reveals his pragmatism on the European front. Douglas Barrie/LONDON When it comes to European policy, Roger Freeman, the UK Minister for Defence Procurement, marches to a different beat than that of many other senior Government ministers. ...
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Seeing double
Multi-spectral seekers, extended range and increased velocity are in vogue for the next generation of guided weapons. Douglas Barrie/LONDON Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Julian Moxon/PARIS Over the next decade, Western air forces will revamp their inventories of both within and beyond-visual-range (WVR/BVR) missiles. The operational requirements which ...
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UK unveils replacement for unique IMC rating
Kieran Daly/LONDON THE UK CIVIL AVIATION Authority is about to invite comments on a proposed "instrument weather rating [IWR]" to replace its current - and unique - instrument-meteorological- conditions (IMC) rating. An Air Accidents Investigation Board recommendation (92-32) following the 1992 crash into a mountain ...
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Lockheed/Boeing evaluate F-22 mission derivatives
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA LOCKHEED AND Boeing will study derivatives of the F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter under a US Air Force contract to be awarded within the next two months. Missions to be studied include strike, defence-suppression and reconnaissance, says F-22 programme general-manager Gary Riley. The F-22 ...
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MDC shuts down plants after Tomahawk loss
McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) is to close its missiles plant in Titusville, Florida, following the group's failure, to win the US Tomahawk cruise-missile competition. Another electrical-equipment plant is also to close at St Charles, Missouri, bringing group redundancies to 1,300. The Florida plant will deliver its last Tomahawk sea-launched ...
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Ramjet technology
Ramjet technology is neither new, nor difficult, at least on paper. Implementing such a power plant on a missile, however, poses considerable demands on propulsion designers. The attraction of ramjet propulsion is that it offers both extended range and increased mean velocity during missile flight, with an ...
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Dassault calls for defence reform as industry suffers
Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS, SERGE DASSAULT, speaking as president of French aerospace-industry association Gifas, warns of another bleak year for the country's embattled industry and renews calls for reform of the French military-procurement system. Presenting the association's year-end report, Dassault warns that 1995 is likely to bring ...
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IAI uprates Kfir fighter for new Philippines sales drive
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries has stepped up efforts to sell its Kfir fighter to the Philippines, with an upgraded variant of the aircraft, dubbed the Kfir 2000, now being proposed. The Israeli Company is offering the Kfir C-10, which is a post-production model with a revised avionics suite. It ...
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IAI proposes low-cost radar upgrade for MiG-21 Fishbed
ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries (IAI) is proposing a low-cost radar upgrade for the Mikoyan MiG-21bis Fishbed, based on modification of the aircraft's existing radar. One contract has already been signed. The radar package is based on modifying the MiG-21's existing radar, so that its video output is displayed either ...
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Belgian scandal results in 'suicide'
Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS A FORMER CHIEF of the Belgian air force has apparently committed suicide as a result of Belgian police investigations into the widening corruption scandal surrounding the Ministry of Defence's purchase of Agusta A.109 helicopters. Gen. Jacques Lefebvre, chief of staff of the ...
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UK restructuring pays dividend
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON TWO YEARS OF SEVERE cost-cutting is beginning to pay dividends for UK aerospace companies, with Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace leading a better round of financial results for the industry. Both groups also confirm that their programmes of plant closures and redundancies are now coming to ...
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Russian air force chief admits Chechnya combat loss
The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian air force has admitted that the service lost one Sukhoi Su-25 in combat operations in Chechnya, while 14 other aircraft have been damaged by ground fire, including one Ilyshin Il-76 transport. Col. Gen. Piotr Deinekin once again claimed, that the air force had ...
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Canada warned on research and development
CANADA'S AEROSPACE industry is warning that up to 75% of its 20,000 research-and-development (R&D) jobs may be in jeopardy if the Government goes ahead with plans to kill the Defence Industry Productivity Programme (DIPP). Industry minister John Manley revealed after the 27 February federal budget that DIPP ...
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Crash mars resumption of Hunter UAV tests
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC FLIGHT TESTING of the TRW/IAI Hunter short-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been marred by yet another crash. Meanwhile, the UAV project, which has been beset by a series of technical setbacks, faces an independent US Department of Defense review, which could affect future ...
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India appeals for Israeli help on LCA
INDIA HAS turned to Israel in an attempt to rescue its faltering Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. Talks between the two sides are under way about the Israelis providing electronic systems and know-how. The discussions are taking place between Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and India's state-owned Aeronautical Development ...
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Maintaining Balance
The UK Government's decision to buy a mix of EH Industries EH101s and Boeing Chinook helicopters for its armed forces, instead of opting for one or the other, might seem like a typical, British fudge. In the short term - it may be - in the long term - it ...
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Westland clinches UK EH101 deal for RAF
Douglas Barrie/LONDON WESTLAND HAS secured a £500 million ($780 million) UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) order for a support variant of the Westland/Agusta EH101, with the Government ignoring its avowed preference for open competition in the process. The UK helicopter maker will deliver the first ...
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Paris exhibitors line up
THE PARIS international air show at Le Bourget in June is likely to see the debuts of a variety of aircraft. The Eurofighter EF2000 combat aircraft, the Rockwell/Daimler-Benz Aerospace X-31 research aircraft, the Boeing 777 twin-engine wide-body, the Bell Boeing V-22 tilt-rotor and the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter are ...
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Boeing trails maintenance time saver
BOEING HAS designed and built a trailer aimed at reducing engine maintenance times and costs on the US Air Force's new Boeing/Lockheed F-22 fighter. Recent tests using mock-ups of the aircraft's Pratt & Whitney F119 engines and F-22 aft section are already said to have demonstrated the major ...
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Black Hawks for Israel
Israel is to procure an unspecified number of additional Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters. The air force already operates ten UH-60s which it received second-hand from the US Department of Defense Source: Flight International