All news – Page 7917
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Japanese search for FS-X price reduction
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE JAPAN'S DEFENCE Agency (JDA) is pressing FS-X fighter programme contractors and suppliers for lower prices, to achieve an overall reduction of 20% in the aircraft's production cost. The move is intended to counter the Japanese yen's rapid appreciation against the US dollar. Recent currency ...
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Mitsubishi reveals AAM-3 configuration
JAPANESE DEFENCE MANUFACTURER MITSUBISHI has released configuration details of its AAM-3 short-range infra-red (IR)-guided missile which entered production for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force in 1990. The missile, shown carried on an FS-X wing-tip launch rail, resembles the AIM-9 Sidewinder in general configuration, but the cruciform canards are distinguished by ...
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Helios launch is a success
THE HELIOS 1A intelligence-gathering satellite was launched into polar orbit aboard an Ariane 40 booster, from Kourou, Guiana, on 7 July. The French/Italian/Spanish satellite is part of a $2 billion programme which includes ground stations and the Helios 1B, to be launched in 1996, giving Europe its first ...
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Westland plans to replace Lynx blade-assembly part
Douglas Barrie/LONDON A CRITICAL PART of the Westland Lynx main-rotor- blade assembly is being replaced on a precautionary basis, with the UK manufacturer admitting to being "confused" over the underlying cause of a fatal Lynx accident in September 1994. The loss of a British Army Air ...
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Shuttle change
Lockheed Martin intends to conduct all Space Shuttle processing work at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, including the work now being completed under subcontract by Thiokol, which stacks the solid-rocket motors it manufactures and mates them to the external tank. Northrop Grumman will also be affected by the decision. ...
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JADC targets YS-X development
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE JAPAN AIRCRAFT Development (JADC) expects to launch full-scale development of its proposed 90- to 110-seat YS-X twinjet by the end of the 1996 fiscal year. According to JADC senior managing director Shinya Kobayakawa, work will need to begin by late 1996 or early 1997 ...
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Embraer signs marketing deal with PZL
EMBRAER HAS signed a co-operation agreement with Polish manufacturer PZL-Warssawa-Okecie. Details are still being worked out, but the memorandum of understanding covers marketing of PZL general-aviation aircraft in Brazil and the sale of Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia regional airliners to Poland. Under the agreement, Embraer's light-aircraft subsidiary Neiva will ...
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Baltic first for Boeing 737
ESTONIAN AIR HAS BECOME the first Baltic states operator of a Boeing 737 with the entry into service of a -500 series aircraft on 12 July. The aircraft went into service between the Estonian capital of Tallin and Amsterdam, Netherlands. A second 737 is due for delivery by November. ...
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Hexcel and Ciba-Geigy to form composites unit
HEXCEL AND Ciba-Geigy have signed a letter of intent to combine their composite-materials businesses. Under the $220 million deal, Ciba's Composites division would become part of Hexcel, and the Swiss-based pharmaceutical and chemical group would take a 49.9% stake in the combined company, which will have annual sales of more ...
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FAA completes Cat III GPS flight-tests
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration has completed flight-tests to determine the feasibility of Category IIIb automatic landings using the global-positioning system (GPS). Results from flight-tests by E-Systems and Wilcox, in June and April, respectively, are being analysed. The results are expected to be released by September. The tests ...
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Lockheed Martin JAST tests begin
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES HOVER TESTING of the Lockheed Martin Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) model started at the NASA Ames Research Center in California on 10 July. The 86%-scale model is being tested at NASA's outside aerodynamic reference site, which will evaluate jet thrust, airframe "suckdown", ...
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US Congress backs Comanche
THE US CONGRESS favours increased funding for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, with the House National Security Committee (NSC) boosting the fiscal year 1996 Comanche budget by $100 million, and the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) adding $174 million to the Pentagon request. The US Army wants ...
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U-2 offer revived for RAF
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES LOCKHEED MARTIN is to hold exploratory talks with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) later this month over the possible sale of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft to the Royal Air Force. The talks are thought to be unrelated to briefings which Lockheed Martin ...
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ASPJ deployment
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has approved the installation of the ITT/ Westinghouse ALQ-165 airborne self-protection jammer (ASPJ) on 12 US Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-18s operating over Bosnia. The systems have been in storage since 1992, when the US Navy cancelled the programme, citing test failures. The DoD ...
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Boeing to build second Heliwing demonstrator
BOEING DEFENSE & Space Group is building an additional Heliwing unmanned air-vehicle (UAV), at its own expense, after determining in initial flight testing that the concept is feasible. A Heliwing prototype was destroyed on 13 June during the last of nine scheduled company-sponsored flights at Moses Lake, Washington, ...
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Work stops on Hunter engine
WORK ON THE replacement heavy-fuel engine (HFE) for the TRW/IAI Hunter short-range unmanned air-vehicle (UAV) has been suspended because of weight problems associated with the powerplant selected late in 1994. In October, the Pentagon awarded TRW $38 million to qualify a diesel-fuel-burning engine for the Hunter joint tactical ...
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Medium range success
The US Navy has awarded Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical $11.5 million to build six medium-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The medium-range UAV is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000ft (15,300m) and at a combat radius in excess of 500nm (900km). Source: Flight International
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UAV survey predicts doubling of market
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC NEARLY 8,000 unmanned air-vehicles (UAVs), worth $3.9 billion, will be produced worldwide between 1994 and 2003. The reconnaissance market is expected to double in size over the ten-year period, according to the Teal Group's UAV annual forecast. The forecast, released at the 1995 ...
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KrasAir takes DC-10 for US-Russia flights
KRASAIR, THE Krasnoyarsk-based Russian airline, has taken delivery of the first of two McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s. It will become the first Russian operator to fly a US-registered aircraft into the USA when it begins operating the tri-jet from Moscow to Los Angeles and New York later in 1995. ...
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USAir wage plans hit trouble
USAIR'S GOAL of gaining $2.5 billion in wage concessions from employees over the next five years has had a setback, with 8,300 members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) voting to reject the concession package negotiated by the union's leaders. The AFA says that rank-and-file members turned ...