USAF KC-X RFP release nears
The USAF is close to releasing a Request for Proposals for its oft-delayed KC-X program to acquire 179 air refuelling tankers to replace obsolete KC-135s in service. The RFP, the third effort by the service in eight years to acquire the KC-X after two previous programs were dumped in controversy, is due to be released
Boeing completes P-8 stores vibration tests
Boeing says it has completed stores ground vibration testing of its P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The tests, conducted in Seattle in January and early February, comprised 18 different weapons configurations being loaded onto the T1 test aircraft and the aircraft being manipulated by external ‘shakers’ which induced vibration on the wings and horizontal stabiliser.
USMC completes APKWS assessment
The US Marine Corps has completed an operational assessment of the BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), a laser guided 2.75in rocket employed by helicopter gunships. The tests, conducted at the US Navy’s China lake facility in California, saw the APKWS score a 100 per cent hit rate in the eight test shots
JSOW demonstrates networkability
A Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 successfully demonstrated the weapon’s ability to function in a networked environment when its Strike Common Weapon Datalink (SCWDL) communicated via Link-16 with an E-8C JSTARS aircraft recently. The test verified the weapon’s ability to be re-targeted or guided to a moving target in flight, verifying its capability
Praise for Australian made helicopter stretcher system
Caloundra Airport’s Helimods has designed and manufactured a new light weight patient stretcher loading system allowing EMS aircrews to more easily and efficiently load patients onboard helicopters. The MultiDeck stretcher loading system, manufactured using composite materials and alloys, was designed to meet the joint safety requirements of Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) and Ambulance Service of
Chinook spares contract for Mincham Aviation
Boeing has awarded Mincham Aviation a contract to manufacture four assembly-spare-part sets for the CH-47 Chinook after the South Australian company was identified during recent Boeing Office of Australian Industry Capability (OAIC) conferences. The contract “is the first step in what we hope will be a long term relationship with Boeing,” said Daryll Mincham, managing
