The World of Aviation

An RAAF 11SQN AP-3C Orion based in the Middle East was damaged on April 8 after a flare became hung up within its countermeasures dispenser system (CMDS). The aircraft recovered safely to its base at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE and no crew members were injured, but the incident has been subject to

Despite admitting that it has been costing his airline over $1.5 million a day, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told reporters on April 21 that he does not expect the disruption to European flights as a result of the Icelandic volcano eruption will materially affect Qantas’s earnings outlook. “It won’t affect our earnings forecast. We will

Airbus Military says it has completed all the flight tests required for the daylight certification of the wing-mounted Cobham 905 hose-and-drogue refuelling system on its A330 MRTT, clearing the way for formal military certification of the system from Spain’s INTA certification authority. Tests included manoeuvring in an expanding flight envelope to verify the aircraft’s handling

EADS North America has announced its intention to bid for the USAF’s KC-X tanker replacement program as the prime contractor with its A330 MRTT based KC-45, although it stresses that it hasn’t given up looking for US partners for its bid. Previously partnered with Northrop Grumman and more recently reported to have unsuccessfully explored a

The online Defense Daily has reported that Bell-Boeing is reportedly considering offering the V-22 Osprey as a contender for the VXX presidential helicopter competition to replace the current fleet of VH-3 and VH-60 aircraft. The report says a company source said that the partnership is “preparing a response to the RFI request with a VV-22

The seventh F-35 JSF development aircraft  made its first flight from Fort Worth on April 20, flying for one hour with pilot Jeff Knowles at the controls. The aircraft, an F-35A dubbed AF-2, will be used to validate the F-35’s weapons suite, and as such is the first to be fitted with the new internal