All news – Page 6920
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Final Tornado
The final new-build Panavia Tornado has left the BAe Warton production line for delivery to the Royal Saudi Air Force, concluding the aircraft delivery portion of the Al Yamamah contract signed in 1993. Development work continues on upgrading UK Tornado GR1s to GR4 standard, which will be completed by 2003, ...
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Fuji lifts off with unmanned helicopter for Japan
Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) is to begin production of the Forward Flying Observation System (FFOS) unmanned helicopter in 1999 for the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF), following the completion last year of Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) trials on a prototype. The company says it expects to get ...
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Australia debates taking Land Attack Harpoon development role
The Australian Department of Defence is considering possible involvement in the development of the Boeing Harpoon Block II land attack missile, with a view to deploying the weapon aboard its Collins-class submarines and surface vessels. The Department has long discussed deploying an ocean launched land strike capability, with a debate ...
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Japan ready to flight test attack helicopter
The Japan Defence Agency (JDA) is expected to begin flight evaluations in early 1999 of competing European and US attack helicopters, as it once again faces conflicting pressure to purchase either a foreign design or support the indigenous development of an enhanced version of the Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI) OH-1 ...
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Boeing chooses JSF manufacturing team
Boeing has picked its core team of suppliers for its bid to win the Joint Strike Fighter programme competition. The suppliers are UK-based Flight Refuelling, for the fuel system, Marconi Electronic Systems for cockpit displays, Messier Dowty for the main and nose landing gear and Rolls-Royce for the vertical ...
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Tamam wins Hind upgrade work
The Tamam division of Israel Aircraft Industries has been awarded a $20 million contract to upgrade 25 Russian-made Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters. Although the company declines to name the customer, India is thought to be one strong possibility. The contract includes the production of a prototype and the series ...
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Raytheon radar
Raytheon Systems and the US Air Force are sharing the cost of developing an advanced technology modular radar receiver. The company received $8 million for its work to demonstrate a four channel high-performance multimode radar receiver system for use on various aircraft and space platforms. Source: Flight International
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Longbow on target
Peter Gray/FARNBOROUGH Now a Boeing product following the merger with McDonnell Douglas, the AH-64D Apache Longbow is a substantially improved version of the widely used AH-64A attack helicopter. Changes include uprated engines, new digital avionics and the Longbow fire-control radar. This mast-mounted radar is associated withfire-and-forget Hellfire anti-armour ...
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Point to point delivery
David Learmount/LONDON Transporting outsized, heavy machinery or plant to a remote site on a different continent is a logistics nightmare which might involve three or more modes of transport. The unit, perhaps a hydro-electric generator, often has to be designed not only for its mechanical efficiency, but to enable modular ...
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Facing the future
Emma Kelly/LONDON The in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry has come in for sharp criticism over the last few years, with some well-publicised interactive IFE failures giving it a bad name. To limit the chances of this happening in the future, the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) - the IFE industry ...
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Raptor approaches supersonic tests
The first supersonic tests of the Lockheed Martin Boeing F-22A Raptor air superiority fighter are expected to take place later this month at Edwards AFB, California. The tests will be conducted with the Raptor 1 (aircraft 4001), which is now dedicated to expanding the high and fast part of ...
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Proteus aims to reach new high
Scaled Composites, manufacturer of the Proteus high-altitude long operation aircraft, plans later this month to expand the flight envelope to altitudes above 35,000ft (10,700m) and speeds up to 175kt (320km/h) indicated airspeed (or Mach 0.55) as part of its goal of achieving "loiter" operations at 64,000ft. Proteus, which was ...
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Phantom satellite
Tim Furniss/LONDON US intelligence officials admit they were caught unawares when North Korea launched a three-stage satellite booster on 31 August. The attempt failed, but it exposed the USA's lack of knowledge about the country's ability to develop a three-stage rocket. The booster was a two-stage Taepo Dong ...
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Growing pains
Emma Kelly/LONDONThe in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry is growing up. But it has had to. The IFE industry today is showing the first signs of realism and credibility - much improved characteristics than the over-promises and disappointments that have plagued the industry in recent years. After years of considerable effort, interactive ...
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Beriev makes first flight with Be-200
Beriev completed a 30min first flight of the Be-200 twin-turbofan amphibian on 24 September at the Irkutsk Aviation Production Organisation airfield in Irkutsk, Siberia. Four days later the prototype made a second test flight, during which the aircraft reached a maximum speed of 216kt (400km/h). Tagenrog, Russia-based Beriev ...
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Proteus market predicted to fly
Guy Norris/MOJAVE Wyman-Gordon is predicting an estimated market for up to 1,000 of the unconventional Proteus high-altitude, long operation (HALO) aircraft being built by its subsidiary Scaled Composites. The US investment company hopes to begin proof-of-concept trials as early as 2000. The prediction, from Wyman-Gordon's chairman and chief ...
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Kaman warns K-MAX users on fuel pump failure
Kaman has alerted K-MAX operators that the first fatal crash of the external lift helicopter, in Germany early in September, may have been caused by a fuel pump failure. The company is meeting engine manufacturer AlliedSignal to decide what action should be taken. The single-seat, single-engined helicopter, operated by ...
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Cirrus tests
Cirrus Design has successfully completed development tests on the crew seats for its SR20 business aircraft. Final FAA evaluation on the seat tests was planned to have taken place by 5 October. Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus, has received more than 200 orders for the four-seat SR20, which is due for certification ...
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Maryland Eurocopter
The Maryland State Police in the USA is scheduled to take delivery of a Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin in April 1999. The twin turbine helicopter will be added to the aviation division's existing fleet of 11 AS365s. Source: Flight International
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Bombardier extends fractional ownership project to Europe
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Bombardier is planning to launch its Business Jet Solutions fractional ownership programme in Europe by the end of the year. An announcement could be made at the National Business Aviation Convention in October. The Dallas, US-based programme, arguably the world's second largest fractional ownership scheme, will ...