All articles by James Drew – Page 25
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NewsDownsized US Army to pass on 533 shunned OH-58, TH-67 helicopters
The US Army has already found a home for 119 of the 652 Bell OH-58 Kiowa and TH-67 Creek helicopters that have been displaced under the service’s aviation restructure initiative, according to a recent report provided to Congress.
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NewsWide-area sensors shrinking as industry looks beyond military
The sensor industry appears to be going through something of a wide-area motion imagery, or WAMI, revolution with an across-the-board reduction in the size, weight and power of new systems, making city-wide airborne surveillance easier and cheaper.
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NewsNorthrop, USAF nearing deal for Global Hawk universal payload adaptor
The RQ-4B Global Hawk could soon be carrying the U-2 Dragon Lady’s most prized surveillance sensors under a “cooperative research and development agreement” between negotiated between Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force.
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NewsF-22 Raptor retrofit to take longer, but availability hits 63%
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor may be the world’s greatest air superiority jet, but the supercruise fighter came with some major design flaws that require billions of dollars and many years to address.
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NewsBell sees V-280 Valor as common attack-utility platform
Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin’s third-generator tiltrotor aircraft demonstrator, the V-280 Valor, might still be under construction for the US Army, but already the future vertical lift contestant is morphing into a mid-weight, utility-attack platform.
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NewsF-35 designed for long-range kills, not dogfighting
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter might be designed to “shoot and kill” its enemies at long distances, but flight trials of the A-model in January found the aircraft has trouble engaging the twin-seat F-16D Fight Falcon at close distances.
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NewsLockheed Legion Pod takes flight on F-16
Lockheed Martin has flight tested its new Legion Pod infrared search-and-track system for the first time on its F-16 Fighting Falcon in Fort Worth, Texas, as the US Air Force explores upgrades to make its legacy fighters more competitive against modern airborne threats.
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NewsAirbus beats Boeing in South Korean tanker competition
Airbus Defence & Space this week added South Korea to its growing list of A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) operators after the nation downselected the tanker type over Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus and Israel Aerospace Industries’ 767-based design.
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NewsUSAF’s ultra-lethal carbon fibre bomb approved for export
The United States plans to export an advanced, tungsten-laden bomb that is designed to cause less collateral damage than its predecessors, but be more lethal.
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NewsGlobal Hawk ‘payload adaptor’ plan gaining momentum
Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4B Global Hawk would evolve into a “reconfigurable sensor-transporter” capable of carrying a variety of sensors weighing up to 544kg (1200lb) under a modification programme currently being assessed by the US Air Force.
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NewsNew report pokes holes in USAF’s argument for retiring the A-10
The US Government Accountability Office has raised doubts about an air force claim that retiring the A-10C Warthog would save the government $4.2 billion over five years, and says capability gaps will emerge without close-in attack aircraft.
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NewsUPDATE: F-16 belonging to Iraqi Air Force crashes in Arizona
The US Air Force has confirmed that one of the Iraqi Air Force’s brand new Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons has crashed in the Arizona desert in an apparent training accident.
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NewsBombers or boomers? DoD faces a nuclear spending dilemma
The greatest threat to the US long-range strike bomber (LRS-B) programme could be a submarine, with a new report showing that modernisation of the sea-based leg of the USA’s nuclear triad dwarfs planned spending on airborne assets
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NewsBoeing touts KC-46A cost, combat design ahead of Korean decision
With South Korea just weeks away from selecting an aerial refuelling tanker, Boeing is touting the combat capability and lower projected life-cycle cost of its KC-46A offering as reasons for a Pegasus downselect.
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NewsBoeing delivers its final USAF C-17 simulator
Boeing has all but capped its C-17 production run and will soon shift gears to focus almost entirely on upgrade and sustainment, with Qatar ordering four of the last five aircraft and the US Air Force taking delivery of final aircrew training simulator.
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NewsUSAF wants improved day-night F-22 Raptor helmet by 2020
A long-running effort to provide F-22 Raptor pilots with a day and night helmet-mounted display and cuing system has taken a significant step forward, with the US Air Force publishing a draft programme schedule and requirements list that would “deliver a HMD system by 2020”.
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NewsEmbraer expands Super Tucano presence in Africa with Ghana sale
Ghana has joined the growing club of African Embraer A-29 Super Tucano operators after ordering five of the Brazilian light-attack turboprops for its air force.
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NewsUS report calls for dual-capable F-35C and tactical nukes
A US think tank has proposed installing nuclear weapons on the C-model Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for deployment aboard aircraft carriers as a hedge against Russia and China.
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NewsCanada accepts first six Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclones
The Royal Canadian Air Force has accepted delivery of its first six Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone maritime patrol helicopters, marking a major step forward for the Sea King replacement programme that has a “torturous history”.
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NewsPARIS: Lockheed to deliver final four IOC F-35Bs by 30 June
The last four F-35B Joint Strike Fighters the Marine Corps needs to declare initial operational capability will be delivered 30 June, in time for an operational readiness inspection targeted for the second week of July.