The World of Aviation

The ‘Team Soteria’ consortium, comprising CHC, Thales UK and equity partner RBS and offering the Sikorsky S-92, was selected as preferred bidder for the UK Minsitry of Defence’s £5bn (A$8.9bn) SAR-H search and rescue helicopter contract on February 9, beating rival consortium AirKnight (British International Helicopters, Lockheed Martin and VT) which had offered the Eurocopter

The federal government has announced a $200 million package aimed at upgrading aviation security in line with the recently released Aviation White Paper and heightened security since the attempted terrorist attack on a Delta Air Lines service on Christmas Day. Announced in a joint statement from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese and

The RAAF’s AP-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance fleet celebrated seven years of continuous operations in the Middle East in late January. “This milestone is a great tribute to the men and women of Air Force’s Surveillance and Response Group who have worked long hours flying and maintaining the Orions. Maintenance staff have often worked in 50C

The prototype of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries XC2 jet transport, formerly called the C-X, finally took to the air for the first time on January 26 after a delay of more than two years due to reported structural integrity issues. The aircraft, which looks very much like a smaller, twin engined C-17, was developed locally

Lockheed Martin’s AGM-158 JASSM missile has successfully completed three more tests since late last year, giving it a record of 18 out of 19 since flight tests resumed in September. The latest tests have renewed confidence in the program after the USAF had threatened to cancel it early last year after a series of cost

Northrop Grumman has successfully flown its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) AESA radar on a USAF F-16 in tests at Edwards AFB in California. The SABR is designed as a retrofit for F-16s and other fourth generation fighters as part of a greater electronics upgrade program. “This officially marks the first time a retrofit AESA