All news – Page 6853
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Initial Trent 8104 tests reveal new growth potential
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Rolls-Royce's Trent 8104 has exceeded 110,000lb (490kN) of thrust during initial test runs, proving the viability of a new swept fan blade design and other core enhancements and clearing the way for future growth, says the engine maker. The 8104, rated at 104,000lb thrust for ...
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All-UK merger sends European defence into disarray
Dee Dee Doke/LONDON Paul Lewis and Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS A rancorous reception from Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) greeted British Aerospace and GEC's announcement last week that a £7.7 billion ($12.3 billion) deal had been struck to create a monolithic defence entity based in the UK. ...
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Global races
A new form of arms race has begun in earnest: the race for global domination in aerospace and defence production. America's Boeing and Lockheed Martin were already ahead of the pack if you combine their respective sales in commercial and military aerospace, electronics, defence systems, missiles and space. Take away ...
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SIRFC testing
ITT Avionics has delivered the first ALQ-211 suite of integrated RF countermeasures (SIRFC) systems to Boeing for testing on the AH-64D Longbow Apache. Production is planned for late 2000. The SIRFC will be installed on US Army AH- 64Ds, Boeing MH-47Es and MH-60Ks, designated CH-47s and UH-60s and USAir Force ...
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P&W starts F100-299A fan blade tests
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Pratt & Whitney has begun tests of a new area-ruled fan blade on the F100-299A fighter engine as it closes in on the final configuration for design verification tests by the end of the year. The new blade design is derived from computational fluid dynamics ...
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Airbus Military gets ready in time for FLA decision day
Julian Moxon/PARIS Formation of the Airbus Military Company (AMC) is imminent as the 29 January deadline nears for submission of a definitive bid to the seven partner governments involved in the programme. AMC is charged with developing and marketing the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) airlifter. The offer, ...
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Indian air force calls for more upgrades
Howard Gethin/LONDON India's defence industry has been urged to place more emphasis on upgrading existing aircraft for the air force because of the rising procurement costs of new types, by Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Hussain Naqvi. Naqvi's comment, in a speech at the Advanced Systems ...
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UK helicopter command poised to take control
Tim Ripley/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence is set to announce the formation of a new Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) by the end of January. It will be responsible for control of the peacetime operations of British Army Air Corps, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy battlefield helicopters. The ...
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USAF searches for KC-135 navigation/communications upgrade
The US Air Force has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a further upgrade of its entire fleet of Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft with a new global air traffic management (GATM) capability. The RFP comes as it nears a final decision on a similar modernisation of the avionics in ...
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Cash shortage threatens more procurement delays in S Korea
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The timetable for key South Korean defence procurement programmes looks likely to slip further as cash shortages continue, say senior defence and industry sources in Seoul. The delays are likely to hit programmes such as South Korea's F-X fighter programme and the E-X airborne early warning ...
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Matra BAe cruises to test success
Matra BAe Dynamics has completed flight trials of the first Ibis imaging infrared sensor for the Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missile. The trials were part of a series of subsystem tests under way for the weapon which will be a key part of the French air force and Royal Air Force ...
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Eurocopter offers Turkey higher-powered Tiger
Julian Moxon/BORDES Eurocopter has offered Turkey a version of the Tiger anti-tank helicopter powered by the USLHTEC T800 turboshaft in response to a demand for more power for hot and high operations. Turkey has a requirement for 145 anti-tank helicopters and has asked contenders to offer a choice ...
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Bidders must offer new design
Bidders in the US Department of Defense's vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) competition will be required to submit new drone designs, since no existing models can meet the required operational requirements. Meanwhile, the US Navy UAV Programme Office is reviewing the concepts of operation for ...
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Czechs extend Polish link with trainer offer
The Czech Republic is offering Poland major industrial participation in Aero Vodochody's light attack and jet trainer aircraft programmes as part of a wider move to increase political and economic co-operation between the two countries. Prague is proposing the transfer of wing manufacture for Aero's L-159 light combat aircraft ...
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Testing times ahead
Guy Norris/WEST PALM BEACH A distant corner of the vast Florida everglades is reverberating to the sound of not just one, but four Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) engines on simultaneous test at Pratt & Whitney's extensive Large Military Engines site in West Palm Beach. While it may ...
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Maintenance Directory
Part 1: The AmericasGraham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCData Tables/Air Transport Intelligence Consolidation continues in the North American commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, and is likely to remain the trend as its customers - the region's airlines - brace for an anticipated recession. How deeply any downturn bites into the ...
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Rule change
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The aero engine service business has undergone a fundamental overhaul since 1995, when manufacturers began to recognise the untapped potential of the aftersales market to boost revenue. Airlines, struggling to cut costs, have been moving meanwhile to spin off their engineering divisions or to exit the ...
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World views
Tim Furniss/LONDON Orbital Sciences' (OSC) Orbimage division has acquired the worldwide sales and distribution rights for radar imagery to be returned by Canada's 1,650kg (3,600lb) Radarsat 2 satellite. The satellite, under construction by OSC's recently acquired MacDonald Dettwiler, will be launched in 2001 and is expected to be ...
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F-A-18E/F: Starting block
When it comes to the US Navy's plans for the Boeing F/A-18, the E/F upgrade is only the start. Having tackled the original airframe's deficiencies, the navy is now keen to get to grips with the limitations of the current avionics. "We used around 90% of the C/D's avionics ...
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F/A-18E/F: Production partners
Every F/A-18E/F begins life at Northrop Grumman's El Segundo plant, once home to a North American P-51 Mustang production line, and just a stone's throw from Los Angeles International Airport, California. The E/F programme sustains a 25-year long relationship between the team members that began with Northrop's YF-17 lightweight ...