The World of Aviation

Malaysia Airlines has announced that it will operate a second daily service between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney from November 1. The new service, which is scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 777-200, will depart daily from Kuala Lumpur at 0900, arriving into Sydney at 1955, while the return service departs at 2155 from Sydney

The Department of Defence has released images of the test dropping of a AGM-154C JSOW glide bomb from a RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet last month. The weapon release was part of 1SQN’s first live weapon trials with the Super Hornet at the Woomera Test Range, north of Adelaide. Five Super Hornets and about 100 aircrew,

Hawker Beechcraft has launched the King Air 250 at the NBAA Conference in Atlanta, with the new twin-turboprop utilising composite technology to improve  performance. The King Air 250 features composite winglets and propellers, as well as changes to the engine induction system. Compared to the B200GT, the 250 has a 122m advantage in takeoff distance

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has advised Congress of a huge US$60bn (A$61.5bn) arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Top of the list is 84 new Boeing F-15SA fighters which will be of an advanced configuration similar to the Singaporean F-15SG and Korean F-15K. The aircraft will feature AN/APG-63(V)3 AESA radars and GE F110-129

Sikorsky has announced a scout and attack development of its X2 high speed compound helicopter, dubbed the S-97. Like the X2 demonstrator which recently exceeded 250kt in level flight, the S-97 will feature a coaxial main rotor and a rear-mounted pusher propeller, and will carry troops and air-to-surface weapons. The company says it will self-fund

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the Australian and Chinese governments have agreed to allow more airline services between the two countries to cater for expected higher demand in November and the end of February. Under new arrangements, the number of weekly services between Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth and Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen