All Military UAVs articles – Page 325
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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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Boeing introduces new Delta IV variants for commercial market
Tim Furniss/LONDON Boeing is to introduce three new versions of a Delta IV Medium Plus class Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) booster to compete in the commercial market and to complement the standard Delta Medium EELV to be built for the US Air Force. The developments will give Boeing ...
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Upgrade house Aerostar hunts for strategic partnerships
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Romanian fighter upgrade specialist Aerostar is looking for strategic partnerships in the civil and military sectors, possibly including the sale of equity in the Bacau-based company. On the military side, Aerostar is hoping to build on its experience in the $300 million MiG-21MF Lancer upgrade for ...
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Prices rise as high altitude
Costs of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing DarkStar and the Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Global Hawk unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), undergoing advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD), are soaring to $13 million a copy - $3 million more than the price set several years ago, say US Air Force officials. The Tier II ...
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Boeing's tailless 'Super Frog' hops on to the drawing board
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Boeing has begun initial development of an advanced tailless, four-engined tiltwing short take-off and landing military transport using company funds. The company believes potential customers for the turboprop, which could be available within 10 to 12 years, include the US Air Force Special Operations Command, ...
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Powerplant failure grounds Outriders
Alliant Techsystems Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicles being test flown by the US Army have been grounded after the failure of a UAV Engines 801R gasoline powerplant during a flight on 9 September at the company's test centre in Glasscock, Texas. The fleet will remain grounded until the Joint ...
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Dasa steps up search for AT2000 partners
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) is stepping up efforts to enlist partners and customers for the AT2000 Mako advanced trainer/light combat aircraft (LCA) as it gets closer to deciding on full-scale development. At the same time, the company is looking at the potential for an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) derivative. ...
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Cash crisis threatens F-16 radar
Ramon Lopez/BALTIMORE Northrop Grumman's APG-68(V)X radar upgrade for US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16s is under threat from lack of funding, despite having won endorsement from the USAF's F-16 programme office and the Air Combat Command. An air force study concludes that an $80 million investment in development ...
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Commercial boost
Tim Furniss/LONDON The US Air Force is expected shortly to award Boeing and Lockheed Martin $500 million contracts to begin development of new booster families which will cut the cost of launching satellites into orbit. The first operational launches are planned for 2001. The USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle ...
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Unorthodox fuel puts Firebird in class of its own
Mark Hannant Hydrogen peroxide is usually associated with adolescents and bleached hair. For Intora Firebird it has a much more significant, application. The Southend, UK-based manufacturer has unveiled three versions of its hydrogen peroxide-fuelled Intora Firebird at the show's static display. Unfortunately, while it is the novel fuel ...
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UK plans hold key for European military builders
Tim Ripley The future of Europe's military aircraft manufacturing capability depends on the UK's Future Offensive Air System (FOAS), say British Aerospace executives. "Without something new, the current capacity in our industry is threatened," says Martin Blaze, BAe's FOAS project director. "FOAS is one thing that will ...
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Kaman tests out battlefield UAV theory
Kaman's K-MAX heavy lift helicopter has participated in two US Navy and Marine Corps exercises to test the potential of using unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to deliver critical supplies to troops on the ground. Using the global poitioning systems, the K-MAX was able to simulate flight as a ...
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Affordable AEW
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) with its distinctive rotodome, whether mounted on a 707 or 767 based airframe, is likely to be the last of the large, expensive surveillance platforms. While the USA is looking towards space-based surveillance in the long term, ...
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Boeing Delta III explodes on maiden flight
Tim Furniss/LONDON Boeing's first Delta III commercial booster exploded on its maiden flight about 70s after launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 26 August. The Hughes PanAmSat Galaxy X satellite was lost in the $277 million failure. Boeing said that the Delta III began to malfunction at T+55s ...
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UAV breaks record with transatlantic crossing
An uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) completed a 3,200km (2,000nm) transatlantic flight on 21 August using only 6 litres (2USgal) of fuel during the 26h crossing. The record flight was achieved by an Aerosonde "robotic" aircraft built by composite manufacturing specialist RnR Products of Milpitas, California. It was developed over ...
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Lockheed Martin works on cockpit
Lockheed Martin is to develop a common cockpit for the US Navy's upgraded Sikorsky SH-60Rs and new CH-60s, using commercial technology, after abandoning its initial upgrade approach as too expensive. The company has won a $61 million contract to equip two SH-60R prototypes for flight testing in late 1999, to ...
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Failed tests threaten future of Outrider unmanned air vehicle
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The future of the Alliant Techsystems Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (TUAV) is under new threat after a US Department of Defense report criticised the system for failing to meet several key flight test requirements and exceeding the promised purchase price by 50%. The damning ...
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Northrop system flies UAVs in test
Northrop system flies UAVs in test Northrop Grumman has demonstrated a new control system which allows autonomous control of several unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to be undertaken by a single operator. The capability of the firm's Co-operative Aggregate Mission Management System (CAMMS) was demonstrated in a company-funded flight ...
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USAF plans further manoeuvre vehicle tests
Further drop tests in the US Air Force Space Manoeuvre Vehicle (SMV) programme are planned, including a suborbital rocket engine boosted test flight in 2001, following the successful first drop-test of a 6.7m-long flight test vehicle on 11 August (Flight International, 19-25 August). A fully developed operational SMV would provide ...
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Outrider UAV suffers in test flight crash
Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) has been severely damaged in a crash during a test flight, just days after it officially completed a two-year demonstration programme for the US Army. The accident was witnessed by Danish military officials who were being briefed by Alliant Techsystems on the vehicle's ...