The French army’s deployment of three Eurocopter Tiger HAPs to Afghanistan has logged its 1000th flight hour in theatre. The aircraft were deployed by the French army’s 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment in August 2009 to support the French combat search and rescue EC 725 Caracal helicopters in Afghanistan. Eurocopter reports that the three aircraft have
A USAF C-17 crashed near Elmendorf AFB in Alaska on July 28 with the loss of all four crewmembers. The aircraft, from the 3rd Wing Alaska Air National Guard based at Elmendorf, was reportedly practicing a demonstration routine for an upcoming airshow, and plummeted into a forest adjacent to the base. “Our deepest sympathy and
The US House Defense Appropriations Committee has again earmarked funds for the GE/RR F136 ‘alternative’ JSF engine despite calls from the Pentagon and the White House to abandon the second engine. US media reports US$450m (A$500m) has been approved in a vote which went 11-5 in the engine’s favour. The vote comes despite threats from
Lockheed Martin CEO Bob Stevens has told financial analysts in the US that the three F-35B STOVL test aircraft based at NAS Patuxent River are not meeting their flight test schedule due to parts failures. Stevens said the flight test schedule was running 21 flights behind the 95 the company had hoped to have achieved
The Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter program for the Canadian Forces has been renegotiated for a second time after continuing software development delays meant an interim capability delivery target for later this year is unlikely to be met. Twenty-eight CH-148s, a Canadian specific version of Sikorsky’s H-92, were ordered in 2004 to replace Canada’s ageing ship-borne
Raytheon has delivered the 200th AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar to Boeing for installation on US Navy F/A-18E/F and EA-18G and RAAF F/A-18F fighters.
