All news – Page 6810
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NATO reacts to surveillance challenge
Tim Ripley and DeeDeeDoke/LONDON Allied commanders are calling in additional surveillance assets to improve their coverage of Yugoslavia in an effort to combat intensifying Yugoslav military action in Kosovo. US Air Force General Atomics RQ-1A Predators and US Army TRW Hunter unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) - the latter on their ...
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LCA remains on the ground as details of US sanctions emerge
Howard Gethin/LONDONIndia's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is continuing to undergo taxi trials, but remains grounded because of the lack of a reliable flight control computer. The system was impounded by US officials after Indian scientists working in the USA were sent home following India's nuclear tests in May last year. ...
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B-1 is deployed as NATO targets Serb tactical units
NATO began to switch the emphasis of its air campaign in Yugoslavia to tactical targets on 31 March in an effort to target the Yugoslav army in Kosovo directly, but continued with strikes against strategic and air defence targets as bad weather hampered operations for much of the last week ...
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Unita rebels obtains MiG-23s, gunships
Unita, the Angolan rebel movement, has obtained up to six MiG-23 fighter bombers and six Mil Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters, South African sources say. The acquisition ends the Angolan Government's monopoly on air power and alters the balance of power in the country. More importantly it offers Unita the ...
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US Air Force offered another 60 C-17s
The US Air Force's C-17 Globemaster III transport fleet will number 180 if the US Department of Defense accepts a Boeing offer to supply a further60 aircraft. The unsolicited offer on 30 March results from a year-long Boeing study of cost-cutting measures aimed at generating further C-17 sales to ...
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Second Comanche makes first flight
Boeing Sikorsky has flown the second RAH-66 Comanche scout/attack helicopter. The aircraft completed a 30min first flight at Sikorksy's West Palm Beach, Florida, test centre on 30 March. The second RAH-66 will be used to test the Comanche mission equipment package (MEP). Initial testing will evaluate the digital flight ...
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US DoD to detail JSF cost restructure plan
Chris Jasper/LONDON Joint Strike Fighter rivals Boeing and Lockheed Martin are to be called in by the US Department of Defense on 9 April to be told how the DoD intends to restructure the programme in an attempt to head off rising costs. The planned revision of the programme will ...
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Poland takes first step towardsrebuilding aerospace industry
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Poland has begun restructuring its beleagured aerospace industry with the formation of a new company to take over the assets and ongoing operations of bankrupt PZL-Mielec Aircraft. The move is aimed at relieving the state-owned manufacturer of its crippling debts and allowing it to fulfil current ...
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Portuguese flag carrier to join SAirGroup stable
TAP Air Portugal will become the latest European carrier to come under the partial ownership of SAir Group if plans for the Swiss company to acquire a 20% stake in the Portuguese state-owned flag-carrier are approved by the European Commission. SAir Group says it hopes to complete the purchase ...
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Turbofan chosen for unmanned air vehicle
AlliedSignal's F124turbofan will power Boeing's unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), which is to be flight tested under a US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency technology demonstration contract (Flight International, 31 March-6 April). The unreheated turbofan was chosen over the Rolls-Royce Turboméca Adour to power the UCAV. The F124 is ...
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Ryanair introduces first 737-800 to expand European network
Ryanair has taken delivery of the first of 25 Boeing 737-800s ordered last year to expand its European network. Ryanair, which operates 21 Boeing 737-200s, including seven Stage 3 hushkitted machines, also has options for 20 737-800s. The airline 33 routes from London Stansted to Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, ...
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ESA signs first Mars Express contract with Matra Marconi
Julian Moxon/PARIS The first contract for the European Space Agency's (ESA) 150 million euro ($161 million) Mars Express programme has been signed with prime contractor Matra Marconi Space. The 60 million euro contract was awarded despite the programme awaiting full approval, expected at the ESA ministerial meeting in ...
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Investors give ultimatum on Iridium performance
Iridium has been given a two-month deadline by its lenders to prove that it can meet revenue and subscriber targets. The Motorola-owned company has been told that it must have $4 million cash revenues, $30 million in accrued revenues and at least 52,000 customers by 31 May. Iridium had 3,000 ...
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Spaceway investment
Hughes Electronics will invest $1.4 billion in the multimedia Spaceway satellite system for North America. Two satellites will be launched by 2002. Hughes is planning an international Spaceway system with international partners. Source: Flight International
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Sea Launch set for first commercial launch
Tim Furniss/LONDON The first commercial lift-off from Sea Launch offshore platform Odyssey is scheduled for August following the maiden flight of a Zenit 3SL from the floating launch site. The booster placed a demonstration payload into geostationary-transfer orbit on 28 March. The commercial Zenit 3SL booster will carry a Hughes ...
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Airbus aims to trim A3XX weight
Julian Moxon/PARIS The take-off weight of the Airbus Industrie A3XX will be reduced by 2-3t through the use of a new, high-pressure hydraulic system, if tests being carried out by Aerospatiale at Toulouse prove it to be economically and technically viable. "We have decided to go for a system ...
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Making a mark
Max Kingsley-Jones/DOHA Qatar Airways has restructured from a low-cost operator to a high-quality international carrier The Qatar government recognised that action was needed to ensure that its capital, Doha, was not isolated as the country's economy grew during the early 1990s. While the nation's shared flag carrier, Gulf ...
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Emirates' global vision
Max Kingsley-Jones/DUBAI Emirates had a handful of routes and aircraft when it began in 1985 - now it is a major force and is eyeing the A3XX The Past 14 years have been an exciting ride for Emirates. The airline has topped the growth tables for national carriers ...
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Emerging power
Max Kingsley-Jones/MUSCAT Oman Air is embarked on a programme of expansion and restructuring OMAN, on the Gulf's eastern side, rests in the shadows cast by the cosmopolitan regions to its west, such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Dubai. The country has chosen not to follow its neighbours ...
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Rising forces
Rapid growth in Gulf air transport has spawned new carriers and put pressure on others. Max Kingsley-Jones reports. The developing air transport market in the Gulf has been one of the 1990s' most fascinating stories as well as one of the most difficult to unravel - for observers outside the ...