All Military UAVs articles – Page 318
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Packing punch
Air power is the key to modern warfare, but it could be used differently, believes the US commander of the Kosovo air campaign DeeDee Doke/AVIANO AB As US Air Force Lt Gen Mike Short launched his command of the air campaign over Kosovo last March, he expected to ...
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Avitronics reveals ELINT payload for UAVs
South Africa's Avitronics has unveiled an ultra-lightweight electronic intelligence (ELINT) payload for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Deliveries to at least one unnamed North African customer will start in November. Senior Avitronics officials say the payload will be used with an operational UAV system. The order is understood to have ...
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Contracts
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been appointed prime contractor for the manufacturing programme linked to the supply of up to 145 attack helicopters to the Turkish armed forces. TAI has asked the five shortlisted helicopter manufacturers - Agusta, Bell Helicopter Textron, Boeing, Eurocopter and Kamov/Israeli Aircraft Industries - for best ...
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Popeye fails in Kosovo, but wins S Korean order
South Korea has completed plans to procure 100 AGM-142 stand-off missiles, even as news is emerging of the air-launched stand-off missile's failure to hit targets in their debut during the Kosovo air campaign. US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers forward based in the UK employed the AGM-142 during ...
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NASA sensor technology project shifts focus
NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) programme is refocusing on "selling" the capabilities of a group of innovative, remotely piloted aircraft entering, or concluding, critical new tests. The ERAST effort is aimed at developing technologies for a new series of remotely operated, autonomous aircraft that will be ...
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New deep penetrator warhead used in Operation Allied Force
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC A US weapon still under development and designed to attack deep underground bunkers containing command and control centres and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was secretly and successfully deployed against Yugoslav targets in the Kosovo theatre of operations, according to US Air Force officials. ...
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Skunk Works: responding to changing times
Things are no longer black and white for the Skunk Works. The still-secretive Lockheed Martin unit is having to adjust to the reality that much of its future business opportunities are in the commercial, and not the classified, arena. Not that the two worlds are so vastly different - both ...
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UAV suppliers line up for Sender
The UK Ministry of Defence has received responses from 36 companies interested in taking part in the assessment phase of its Sender unit-level, tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) requirement. The Sender will provide tactical reconnaissance and target acquisition at ranges up to 50km (90nm). The MoD expects to issue ...
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In the works
Tailless fighters, reusable space vehicles, blended wing body transports and hypersonic strike missiles are just some of the technologies on the drawing board at Boeing's Phantom Works Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Boeing's Phantom Works appears increasingly aptly named as it becomes a "virtual" organisation linking the aerospace giant's advanced development centres. ...
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Four Tactical UAVs in US Army shoot-out
The US Army has narrowed the field of players in its $325 million Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (TUAV) competition from seven to four. They will participate in a fly-off later this year. The AAI Shadow 200, Alliant Techsystems Outrider, General Atomics Prowler II and S-TEC STM-5B Sentry will take ...
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Israel thinks again on F-16A/B upgrades after big purchase
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Israel's recent decision to buy 50 Lockheed Martin F-16Is and take options on another 60 has led to the air force reconsidering an upgrade programme for its large fleet of F-16A/Bs (Flight International, 28 July-3 August). Sources in Israel's Ministry of Defence say that, although the ...
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IAI Airtruck details revealed
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Flight International has obtained the first detailed technical specifications on Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) Airtruck, as the Israeli company struggles to find a large enough customer base to launch its proposed twin turboprop freighter. IAI began developing the Airtruck several years ...
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DERA presents Racal with a radar lifeline
Stewart Penney/LONDON Racal Defence Electronics' work with the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA)to define a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology demonstrator for fast jet low level reconnaissance missions has handed the UK company a lifeline that will allow it to continue developing SAR technology. This is despite its ...
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The show goes on
As mainland China blusters and threatens, Taiwan stages its fifth Taipei Aerospace show, playing down its traditional defence slantAndrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Despite the continuing tense political situation between Taiwan and neighbouring mainland China across the Taiwan Strait, the Taipei Aerospace Technology Exhibition 99 (TATE99) has drawn increasing representation from Taiwan's own ...
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Hummingbird tested
Frontier Systems has flight tested avionics and software for its A160 Hummingbird vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding development of the 48h endurance, 5,500km (3,000nm) range A160 (Flight International, 21-27 July). The key Hummingbird technologies were flown in ...
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USAF targets new pod
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC) has drawn up an operational requirement for an advanced targeting pod and will shortly be seeking industry proposals as a result of lessons learned during the Kosovo conflict. "We're looking to field the system in a 2003 timeframe, ...
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US Army pushes cockpit management technology
Guy Norris/YUMAThe US Army has begun demonstrations of the Rotorcraft Pilot's Associate (RPA), a cockpit management system for combat helicopters, amid mounting interest from potential non-rotary users, including the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programmes. A Boeing Phantom Works-led team developed the RPA over six ...
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Kosovo proves need for pilots
Stewart Penney/THE HAGUEThe Kosovo conflict proved the continued need for a man in the cockpit and the need for the highest possible level of technology, regardless of the sophistication of the threat, according to Lt Gen Ben Droste, commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). A man in ...
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Israelis settle for F-16I, despite new F-15I offer
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DCIsrael's air force has settled its long-running fighter competition by ordering 50 Lockheed Martin F-16Is for $2.5 billion, and taking options on up to a further 60. The announcement follows a last-ditch attempt by Boeing to clinch the contest, offering an F-15L version of its ...
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Ranger for Finland
The Finnish army has selected the Israel Aircraft Industries Ranger unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to meet its requirement for tactical UAVs. Three systems will be procured as part of the $20 million deal. A system normally includes three aircraft and two ground stations. The Ranger - designed for service in ...