The World of Aviation

  New basing and other facilities required for the RAAF’s planned fleet of 72 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters at RAAF base Williamtown and other locations have been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for approval. A release from Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Darren Chester says the new

  The first of up to 100 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters for the RAAF will be formally rolled out on July 24. The aircraft – designated AU-1 – will be ceremonially handed over to RAAF and government officials at the company’s Fort Worth facility. It will then be taken to a flight line

A final flurry of orders were announced on July 17, the last business day of the 2014 Farnborough Airshow. Airbus A320 Lessor Hong Kong Aviation Capital (HKAC) signed a firm order for 70 A320neo Family airliners, comprising 40 A320neos and 30 A321neos. Airbus A330 Russia’s Transaero Airlines signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) 20 Airbus

Irish organisation ASL Aviation Group has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Lockheed Martin to purchase 10 LM-100J Hercules transports. The LM-100J is a commercial freighter version of the familiar C-130J-30 Hercules, and is the marketing name of the L-382J, a type design update notification for which was submitted to the US FAA in January.

Fiji Airways owning company Air Pacific Limited has reported an interim FJD$17.2m (A$9.93m) profit for the six months to June 30, its best ever half yearly result and a massive improvement over the FJD$500,000 (A$292,000) profit recorded in the same period last year. The group is comprised of Fiji Airways and regional subsidiary Fiji Link,

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has apparently been shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. The aircraft, registered 9M-MRD and operating flight MH17 with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board – including 27 Australians – was reportedly hit by a Russian made SA-11 or SA-17