Thursday, September 30, 2004
Air Vector:The Grumman F4F Wildcat
October's Air Vector features the Grumman F4F Wildcat.
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Pentagon to field more sophisticated surveillance on Pak-Afghan border
The Pentagon is considering adding E-8 Joint Stars and RC-135 to trap Osama Bin Laden and his top aide, Al-Zawahri, along the Pak-Afghan border, reported CNN quoting official sources.
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Grippens take shape
The first JAS 39 Gripen fighter planes destined for the Hungarian Air Force are currently on the assembly line in Sweden, according to Imre Iv�ncsik, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense (HM).
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13 Royal Maces to fly Super Hornets to Atsugi
Royal Maces, VFA-27, will be flying what could be their longest mission as they pilot their brand-new F/A-18E Super Hornets from California to Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan.
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Pratt & Whitney's F135 Program Completes 1,000th Test Hour
Earlier this month the Pratt & Whitney led F135 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) team completed the program's 1,000 test hour. This testing milestone represents the cumulative hours of F135 SDD Testing and includes both the Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL/CV) engine tests, as well as the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) system test runs.
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Navy: Pilot caused crash
A series of blunders by an inexperienced pilot caused a F/A-18 to crash during takeoff from Raleigh-Durham International Airport in March, according to a Navy report.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Eurofighter hat in air force ring
Buoyed by the contract to supply Advanced Jet Trainers to the Indian Air Force, a team from a British military equipment export organisation that is in New Delhi is offering to sell the Eurofighter Typhoon.
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BELL DESIGNS INNOVATIVE COMPOUND HELICOPTER CONCEPT FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN UCAR PROGRAM
Bell Helicopter, a key member of the Lockheed Martin Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) team, has successfully completed preliminary design of a novel air vehicle to conduct reconnaissance and combat missions without sending aircrews into harm's way.
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Lockheed's MEADS Wins $3 Bln Contract
A transatlantic venture led by Lockheed Martin Corp. on Tuesday won a $3 billion contract to design and develop the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), which is slated to replace Patriot missiles in the next decade, the venture said on Tuesday.
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Air Force may slash JSF purchase
Industry analysts, defense experts and some retired generals say cuts to the JSF, also known as the F-35, may be on the horizon. With budget pressures intensifying, the Air Force is going to have to make some difficult decisions about what it will buy.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Jolly Rogers Super Hornet Colors
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the "Flying Eagles" of Strike Fighter Squadron One Two Two (VFA-122), flies an aerial demonstration in front of the crowd at the 2004 "In Pursuit of Liberty," Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show. The Super Hornet was painted in the colors of the "Jolly Rogers" of Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VF-103), which will transition to the new aircraft after their current deployment. The air show, held Sept. 24-26, showcased civilian and military aircraft from the Nation's armed forces, which provided many flight demonstrations and static displays. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Daniel J. McLain
Jolly Rogers Final Tomcat Cruise
VF-103 is currently assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67).
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Mission Mars
The IAF�s Agra-based 78 Squadron is working on a concept paper to show how mid-air refuelling needs to be doctrinally infused across all the three forces, to make all IAF fighter aircraft refuellable.
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MiG Chief Fired, Head of Rival Irkut Takes Over
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has fired the head of state-owned MiG Corp., Valery Toryanin, and replaced him with Alexei Fyodorov, the head of rival fighter manufacturer Irkut, in a move that analysts said may be the government's first step toward industry consolidation.
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Locally developed misssile successfully test fired, report says
Taiwan has developed and successfully test fired surface-to-surface missiles that could hit coastal or interior Chinese cities, a newspaper reported yesterday. The missiles, dubbed Hsiung-feng 2A and Hsiung-feng 2E, have ranges between 150 to 300 kilometers, the mass-market Liberty Times said, citing unidentified military sources.
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Birds-for-jets deal readied by Watana
Following Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra�s visit to Stockholm last week to discuss bilateral cooperation between Thailand and Sweden, Commerce Minister Watana has been assigned to draw up the details for trading Thai chickens for Sweden�s JAS 39 Gripen jet fighters.
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Sikorsky's Acquisition of Schweizer is Complete
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation announced that the acquisition of Schweizer Aircraft Corporation is complete.
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India, South Africa begin air force exercise
The air forces of India and South Africa Monday started a weeklong joint air defence exercise, marking the first time New Delhi has deployed its jet fighters for military manoeuvres on the African continent.
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Air Force�s Boeing deal flies into new troubles
Air Force Secretary James Roche contacted his old company last year to help a brother of a top White House aide try to land a job, Northrop Grumman Corp. said on Friday.
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Monday, September 27, 2004
Malta International Air Show ends
The Malta International Air Show came to an end on Sunday, following two days of spectacular performances by eight countries, including that of Italy with its world famous Italian national aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori.
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F-16 cutback would affect HAFB mission
The Pentagon has declared the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet - the signature fixture of Utah's Hill Air Force Base - an endangered species.
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Sunday, September 26, 2004
New leadership at test center
Brig. Gen. Curtis M. Bedke assumed command Friday of the Air Force Flight Test Center, succeeding Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson, who is retiring after a 34-year career.
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Sikorsky, Lockheed fight public relations war
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., locked in fierce competition with Lockheed Martin for a contract to build a fleet of 23 presidential helicopters, showed off its prototype in Washington this week as part of a nationwide public relations and lobbying blitz.
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Amazing landing
Col. Jimmie Jackson Jr., commander of the active-duty 305th Air Mobility Wing, was behind the controls as the first C-17 Globemaster III assigned to McGuire Air Force Base banked and landed perfectly on the runway yesterday afternoon. He then taxied it to a hangar filled with several hundred military personnel and civilians.
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Refuelling aircraft add teeth to IAF:
In just a little more than 18 months since the IAF acquired the Il-78s from Uzbekistan, the aircraft have helped jet fighters to make long journeys to Alaska and South Africa to join international military exercises.
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Boeing could build unmanned planes here
The head of Boeing Co.'s defense business vowed Friday to build next-generation, unmanned combat planes in St. Louis factories if the Pentagon gives the green light for large production.
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IAF makes Il-78s operational
The Indian Air Force has made operational in record time its Ilyushin-78 midair refuellers, the force multipliers it acquired a little over a year ago.
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IAF gets bids for replacing MiGs
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is evaluating bids for a mega purchase of 126 aircraft from four foreign aeronautical majors to replace seven squadrons of its obsolete MiG 21, 23 and 27 fighter aircraft.
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Saturday, September 25, 2004
U.S. Navy Needs To Pick C-2A Successor In 'Couple Years'
The U.S. Navy needs to pick a replacement for its aging C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft "in the next couple years," a service official said Sept. 22.
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Italian aerobatic team arrives for air show
The Italian Air Force aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori, the star of the upcoming Malta International Air Show, landed at Malta International Airport thursday afternoon
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CVW-14 Conducts Sidewinder Missile Exercise
An AIM-9 Sidewinder missile was successfully launched from an F/A-18 C Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 113 (VFA-113) Sept. 20 during a live-fire missile exercise.
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Korea to Buy Second-Hand Patriot Missiles from Germany
The Korean Ministry of National Defense announced on September 24 that a procurement plan is being developed to purchase older version (PAC2) second-hand Patriot missiles from Germany to replace Korea�s current, dated Nike anti-aircraft missiles.
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Navy�s �60s-era Sea Knight helicopters make their last flights
The last two Navy CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters, assigned to Helicopter Combat support Squadron Eight, made their final flights Thursday at Norfolk Naval Station. The entire line is being replaced by the newer MH-60S Night Hawk series of helicopters.
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IAI in contest for S. Korean AWACS deal
A military delegation from South Korea is in Israel to examine the possibility of purchasing four early-warning aircraft from Israel Aircraft Industries in a deal estimated to be worth $1 billion. The South Korean air force delegation has evaluated the early-warning systems that IAI installs on the Gulfstream jets acquired for the Israel Air Force.
Labels: CAEW
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Friday, September 24, 2004
Firefox
If you have been browsing this site and notice that the layout of Alert 5 looks funny. Well its because your Internet Explorer browser doesn't render it properly. I use Firefox for all my work and as long as its rendered properly by Firefox, I'll not spend more time to edit the code to fit IE as its simple HTML which is not very complex for a good browser to render(means that you should dump IE). You may want to click on the banner below to download Firefox.
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Boeing C-17 Becomes McGuire Air Force Base�s First New Aircraft Since �60s
Officials from McGuire Air Force Base today received their first new aircraft in nearly four decades, during a delivery ceremony for a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter at the company�s award-winning Long Beach, Calif., assembly facility.
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Lockheed Martin Successfully Tests Tactical Synthetic Aperture Radar
Lockheed Martin announced today that its Theatre Airborne Reconnaissance System (TARS) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) successfully performed, for the first time, aboard an operational F-16 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. TARS SAR is the first all weather, day and night, precision radar capability developed for tactical aircraft.
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Royal Australian Air Force Chooses Goodrich to Modify Generator Converter Units on Fleet of Boeing F/A-18s
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has chosen Goodrich Corporation to modify the Generator Converter Units on its fleet of 71 Boeing F/A-18 "Hornets." Goodrich's Customer Services facility in Sydney, Australia will upgrade 170 units over the next 2-1/2 years. The upgrade work involves a major refurbishment of the Generator Converter Units by changing out the majority of the internal components and replacing them with the latest electronic hardware.
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First Production Sikorsky S-92 Heads to Work
The first production Sikorsky S-92 helicopter is expected this weekend at its new home base in Lafayette, La., where it will open up a new age of offshore service on the Gulf of Mexico with Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
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Swedish PM Rejects Jets-For-Chicken Trade
The Swedish government cannot negotiate a deal with Thailand to trade jet fighters for raw chicken meat, Prime Minister Goeran Persson said Thursday.
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Mirage crashes near Gwalior, pilot ejects safely
A Mirage fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday crashed near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh after developing a snag in its undercarriage but the pilot ejected safely.
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Osprey test pilot wins MCAA honors
On September 18 Marine Corps Lt. Col. Kevin Gross was awarded the Marine Corps Aviation Association's James Maguire Award for 2004. The award, named in honor of Gunnery Sgt. James Maguire, the first enlisted Marine ordered to aviation duty, was presented to Gross in San Diego during the association's annual banquet.
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Russians attack Taiwanese trawler
A Russian helicopter fired missiles at a Taiwanese fishing trawler, and the coast guard seized the vessel and its crew after the boat was allegedly caught in Russian territorial waters with hundreds of tons of illegally culled fish, Russian state television reported.
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That was no quake - it was a Typhoon
A fighter plane being flown at supersonic speeds over the Irish coast caused a huge bang, when it broke the sound barrier, sending North Wales homeowners scurrying for cover.
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Fort Hood Marks Arrival Of Advanced Attack Helicopter
Fort Hood�s 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, will hold a welcoming ceremony Thursday for the first AH-64D Apache Longbow Lot 8 helicopter delivered to the 4th Infantry Division.
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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Team US101 Submits Updated Presidential Helicopter Replacement (VXX) Program Proposal to U.S. Navy
Team US101 has responded to the U.S. Navy's request for an updated proposal offering executive transport variants of its American-built US101 medium-lift helicopters for the Presidential Helicopter Replacement (VXX) program. Team US101 is competing to provide the president of the United States with a state-of-the-art fleet of next- generation helicopters better known by the call sign: "Marine One."
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Royal Air Force Deploys EH101 'Merlin' Helicopter to United States Inside C-17 Transport Aircraft
Britain's Royal Air Force has successfully air-transported an EH101 Merlin Mk.3 helicopter to the United States aboard a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. The deployment marks the first C-17 flight for an EH101 medium-lift helicopter, demonstrating rapid worldwide deployability.
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Raytheon Completes JSOW Operational Test and Evaluation Firings
Raytheon Company's unitary/penetration variant of Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW-C) has completed operational test (OT) firings with nine of 10 shots successful against a wide range of targets. JSOW-C was developed by a team that includes the U.S. Navy, Raytheon, BAE Systems and Thales Missile Electronics.
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Next-generation UAV to be developed in Perth
An unmanned aerial vehicle, capable of high speeds and heavy payloads, was one of a number of advanced defence technology projects to be funded to the tune of $10 million, federal Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today.
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SA avionics company in 'black boxes' deal
A South African avionics company has won new orders from BAE Systems of the United Kingdom to supply crash recorders for the Hawk aircraft, the two firms announced on Wednesday.
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First flight of Italian Army NH-90
Agusta, an AgustaWestland company, is pleased to announce that the first NH90 destined for the Italian Army took off for a successful maiden flight on September 15th at Agusta�s Vergiate plant. The flight was conducted by two test pilot and two flight engineers over 30 minutes, during which a speed of 120 knots was reached and the flight envelope of the basic aircraft was tested.
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Denel Wins $2m Deal From Indian Air Force
Arms manufacturer Denel received a shot in the arm yesterday when it was awarded a $2m contract to supply aircraft components for the production of Hawk jets for India's air force.
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First Female Fighter Pilot Makes History in the Sky
A Pretoria woman has flown her way into world military history as the first female fighter pilot to fly a Gripen fighter jet.
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Eads targets Russian jet maker
EUROPEAN aerospace colossus Eads is in talks to take a strategic stake in Russia's Irkut, co-manufacturer of the Sukhoi 30 fighter plane.
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GE Engine Certified for C-5 Galaxy Program
The FAA has certified General Electric's CF6-80C2 engine for the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy modernization program, GE Transportation-Aircraft Engines of Evendale, Ohio, said Sept. 16.
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Future of Farnborough air show under review
The Farnborough air show, one of the world's premier showcases for the aerospace industry, could be under threat as its future is reviewed by the Society of British Aerospace Companies.
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V-22 Program Pursuing Two-Part Approach To Fix Cooling Device
The V-22 Osprey program is pursuing a two-part approach to fix a faulty cooling device on the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor aircraft.
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Buddy Buddy
An F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and an F/A-18C Hornet demonstrate air-to-air refueling for guests and Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a Family and Friends Day Cruise. Nimitz is currently undergoing sea trials off the coast of Southern California after completing a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) maintenance period. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Roland Franklin.
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Eyeing Iran Reactors, Israel Seeks U.S. Bunker Bombs
The United States plans to sell Israel $139 million worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 "bunker busters" able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Israeli security sources said on Tuesday.
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Irkut Soars Into Black, EADS Requests Stake
Irkut, the privately owned manufacturer of the Sukhoi fighter, for the first time posted a profit under international accounting standards in 2003, the company said Tuesday.
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Patria receives an order for NH-90 rear fuselages
Patria has today received an order for the manufacture of the NH90 helicopter�s rear fuselages from the Italian Agusta SpA a Finmeccanica company. The total value of the order is about 30 million euro. Patria is to manufacture 150 rear fuselages and the first is to be delivered in the end of 2005.
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EDO to Provide Interference Cancellation Technology on Boeing's EA-18G Aircraft
EDO Corporation has been awarded a subcontract from The Boeing Company for an Interference Cancellation (INCANS) system on the EA-18G. The initial three-year system design and development contract is valued at $14 million with a potential value of approximately $70 million over the life of the aircraft's anticipated production.
Labels: EA-18G
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S-3B Viking Testing Concludes
Carrier suitability tests for an upgrade to the S-3B Viking concluded Sept. 1 here, and the last remaining Patuxent River-based S-3B aircraft was transferred to the fleet. This achievement gives this platform an enhanced capability to better meet fleet needs until the retirement of the aircraft in coming years.
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Reserve hands off Operation Deep Freeze missions
Air Force Reserve Command C-141 Starlifter aircrews will stop flying Operation Deep Freeze airlift missions to Antarctica in February.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Boeing Delivers First Apache Repaired Under New Program
Boeing has delivered on-time and on-budget the first U.S. AH-64A Apache combat helicopter refurbished under the new Reset Support program.
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V-22: New River Marines Open Doors To Viewing Public
With Hurricane Ivan off to the west and winds gusting in excess of 30 knots. The Marines put two MV-22s through their paces in a New River air show on Friday.
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Army's Cobra Copters Reborn as Firefighters
The fire season has begun in California, where residents suffered from several huge wildfires in 2003. Firefighters in California are arming themselves with a new tool: a Cobra attack helicopter recycled from the U.S. Army.
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Thunderbirds a roaring success
Awestruck spectators crowded the flightline under sunny skies here Sunday to watch as a famous team of U.S. jet pilots roared above the landscape in a series of miles-high, hairbreadth maneuvers.
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RSAF goes the extra mile for air exercises in France
A month after its aircraft flew more than 3,300km to join Exercise Pitch Black, the region's largest multi-nation air exercise in Australia, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is again flying the extra mile for realistic air combat manoeuvres.
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A160 Hummingbird Resumes Flight Testing as Boeing UAV
The A160 Hummingbird unmanned aerial vehicle made its first test flight as a Boeing aircraft Friday from an airfield near Victorville, Calif.
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Boeing considering bid for new Army helicopter
Boeing Co., European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. and Textron Inc. may bid to develop a new reconnaissance helicopter for the U.S. Army, which plans to fund it with money that was committed to the canceled Comanche helicopter.
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Monday, September 20, 2004
China test-firing new cruise missile which threatens Taiwan: journal
China has test-fired a cruise missile which will pose a new threat to rival Taiwan, according to a leading defense journal. The land attack cruise missile (LACM) will have a range of 1,500 kilometers (900 miles), the London-based Jane's Missiles and Rockets magazine says in the article to be published on October 1.
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Russia makes first defense purchase from Israel
Hebrew daily �Yediot Ahronot� reports that Russia has made its first defense procurement from Israel. Aeronautics Defense Systems has signed a contract to sell unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Russia's Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies, & Natural Disasters.
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Denel shows off Hawks
Production of South Africa's 24 new Hawk lead-in fighter trainer aircraft is well under way at Denel's production facility at Kempton Park. Denel and BAe Systems officials showed journalists nine of the British designed aircraft on Sunday in various stages of assembly in a large revamped hangar.
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German air force plans cutbacks in Holloman program
The German air force is planning cutbacks in its training program at Holloman Air Force Base by 20 to 25 percent.
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