All news – Page 7184
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UK MoD considers tri-service helicopter brigade structure
Helicopters from across the UK armed forces will be pooled into two joint operational brigades, if proposals forming the basis of a continuing Strategic Defence Review (SDR) study are acted upon. The study of a joint helicopter group (Flight International, 29 October-4 November) proposes that all of the ...
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South Korea signs for KTX-II development
South Korea's KTX-II programme at last looks ready to get off the ground, after more than two years of delay, with the signature of a deal between the air force and prime contractor Samsung Aerospace to launch full-scale development of the advanced-trainer/light-strike aircraft. The 1.2 trillion won ($1.27 ...
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BAe broach partner
British Aerospace has selected Gencorp Aerojet as its US partner for the Broach penetrator warhead, which is a candidate for use on the Raytheon TI Systems Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) and the Boeing AGM-86C conventional air-launched cruise missile (CALCM). Gencorp will support engineering and integration of the Broach system on ...
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South Korean SAM
South Korea successfully test fired the locally produced Chunma, a "Pegasus" surface-to-air missile (SAM) on 27 October. Development of the 10km (6nm)-range weapon, which has been aided by Thomson-CSF, is due to be completed by December. Prime contractor Daewoo hopes to put missile into production in 1998. . ...
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Singapore to double Chinooks
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is to purchase up to ten more Boeing CH-47D Chinook heavylift helicopters, while neighbouring Malaysia and Thailand are wrestling to reconcile their future helicopter requirements with contracting defence budgets. Singapore is understood have signed an initial agreement to order six additional ...
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Kaman finalises RAN SH-2G(A) supplies
Kaman Aerospace is finalising the selection of suppliers for the upgraded avionics in the SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite shipborne helicopter for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The last major element, the digital automatic flight-control system, will be chosen soon, says vice-president of engineering Michael Bowes. Australia, meanwhile, has completed ...
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Harrier creates challenges for Royal Thai Navy
The Royal Thai Navy is grappling with major logistical and training challenges following the recent entry into Navy service of the British Aerospace AV-8A Harrier. Thailand has acquired seven AV-8S and two tandem-seat TAV-8S Matador versions of the Harrier from the Spanish navy. The vertical/short-take-off-and-landing (V/STOL) aircraft were ...
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US DARPA outlines strike-UCAV goals
Unmanned combat air-vehicles (UCAVs) could be operational in defence-suppression and deep-strike roles within 12 years, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) believes. The presence of such UCAVs by around 2009-10 could also lead to a cut in the required number of next-generation strike fighters, because of ...
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Domestic bliss?
Next year will mark a watershed in Japanese civil-aviation history: for the first time in 43 years, the country will see the emergence of new domestically owned airlines. In all, there will be six new carriers - four start-ups and two subsidiaries belonging to two of the three major incumbent ...
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Fliers who lose the way
According to the US General Accounting Office (GAO), some licensed professional pilots should never have been given their jobs, and no amount of training will rectify this situation. While many in the industry would agree with that, there are real differences of opinion on just how those pilots' deficiencies should ...
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Lancair studies shared-ownership options for Columbia
Lancair is considering a fractional-ownership option for its new Columbia 300 piston single. The Oregon-based company has booked 142 orders for the all-composite four-seater, which is scheduled to be certificated in April 1998, but acknowledges that the $205,000 price tag may be too high for some potential owners. ...
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SME achieves Malaysian first
SME Aviation has become the first Malaysian airframe manufacturer to produce an aircraft for export, having won US type certification and production approval for its two-seat MD3-160 Aero Tiga aerobatic trainer. Selangor-based SME heralds the development as a watershed for the local aircraft industry, claiming that "this is ...
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Gulfstream delivers
Gulfstream Aerospace says that its firm-order backlog at the end of the third quarter of 1997 remained unchanged from a year ago, at 89 aircraft, but its value declined to $2.8 billion from $3 billion in 1996, because of increased deliveries of the more expensive Vs. The Savannah, Georgia-based company ...
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Viking starts Orenda re-power work on Beaver
Canadian conversion specialist Viking Air has begun design work to re-engine the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver utility and floatplane with the Orenda Aerospace 450kW (600shp) turbocharged OE600 vee-8 water-cooled piston engine. The British Columbia-based company already holds supplemental type certificates for re-engineing the Beaver with the Pratt & ...
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Competitions poised to launch 30-seat jet
American Eagle and Continental Express have launched competitions for a combined total of up to 250 regional jets in the 30- to 40-seat category, effectively signalling the beginning of what is being seen as another regional-jet buying frenzy in the US industry. The competitions are a two-horse race ...
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Boeing pushes ultra-long range 747 derivative
Boeing could obtain board approval to offer airlines a new ultra-long-range - more than 14,800km (8,000nm) - derivative of the 747 as early as May 1998, if it can attract sufficient market interest, particularly from key Asia-Pacific airlines including Cathay Pacific Airways, EVA Airways of Taiwan and Qantas. ...
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Airbus and R-R strive for A340-500 orders
Airbus Industrie and Rolls-Royce are engaged in a concerted final push to enlist sufficient airline orders for a launch of the new A340-500/600 growth derivatives. The European consortium is understood to be keen to launch the two ultra-long-haul and stretched versions of the A340 by mid-November. Airbus sales ...
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Ariane 5 is launched
The Ariane 5 was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana on 30 October, boosting the morale of the European space industry after the failure of the first attempt 16 months ago. The latest launch, however, was marred by a premature shutdown of the Vulcain first-stage engine, which resulted ...
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China signs up for $3 billion-worth of Boeings
China's long-awaited and highly politicised deal for new Boeing aircraft has finally been signed in Washington, covering the purchase of up to 50 widebody and narrowbody passenger jet aircraft, worth $3 billion. The deal, as expected, was announced on 30 October during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's state visit ...
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EC slams France on consolidation
The European Commission (EC) has added its voice to warnings over the nationalistic flavour of the French Government's aerospace industry restructuring in the wake of the Thomson-CSF decision. "The European Commission does not commend the decision, as national restructuring is not a long-term solution," says Paul Weissenberg, chef ...