Vision Systems International, a joint venture between Elbit Systems and Rockwell Collins, has received a $54.1 million contract to begin production of Gen II helmet-mounted display systems for the F-35 Lightning II. Lockheed Martin awarded VSI the contract to deliver 52 displays and 30 aircraft shipsets. These HMDS components cover the requirements for Lots...
moreRafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.’s Recce-U real-time reconnaissance system is making its debut here at Paris. The system has been developed from the RecceLite fast-jet tactical reconnaissance pod, an outgrowth of the widely used Litening targeting pod. Recce-U comprises a self-contained multi-sensor ISR system, a ground data link station and a ground...
moreHoneywell is celebrating a further $400 million worth of orders for its TPE331 engine following a U.S. Air Force decision to procure a total of 319 General Atomics Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “The TPE331-10 engine delivers the power combined with the low fuel consumption the Reaper needs to complete its missions associated with long-range,...
moreSchiebel (Hall 4 Stand A24) is poised to announce a civil customer for the Camcopter S-100 unmanned rotorcraft to be used for pipeline surveillance. The company also is looking at developing growth variants.
To be approved to fly here at Paris’09, the Camcopter made six flights in three days at France’s Istres flight-test center. In Austria, the Camcopter...
moreIsrael intends to order 25 Lockheed Martin F-35 fifth-generation fighters, with an option for 50 more. If it wants them quickly, as expected, the news could help some other international partners in the Joint Strike Fighter program.
The Israelis have asked for an early multi-year buy (MYB) to reduce the unit cost of their first F-35s. At more than $120...
moreRaytheon’s RACR low-cost AESA upgrade radar for tactical aircraft is now ready for installation in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and awaiting its first order. The sensor draws on the technology used in Raytheon’s latest fighter radars, the APG-63 AESA versions in the F-15 Eagle and APG-79 in newer F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.RACR is a scaleable radar primarily aimed...
moreGround Master 400, the new ThalesRaytheonSystems air defense radar on display here in Thales’ outdoor compound, is just completing its development ahead of deliveries due to start next year, but is already racking up substantial sales. Other advanced radar programs involving Thales and its joint venture with Raytheon are also coming to fruition.Malaysia,...
moreCivil certification of unmanned aerial vehicles has taken on new momentum over the past few years with the realization that there could be a large number of potential uses for them–from law enforcement to, eventually, air cargo. A UK-based European consortium now claims to be leading the world to get UAVs approved for flights in civil airspace in...
moreOn this 100th anniversary of the Paris Air Show French journalist Gil Roy continues his reflections on the greatest moments from the salon du Bourget’s illustrious history with a look at the show became a focal point–thankfully a peaceful one–for the Cold War. The first Paris Air Show, staged at the Grand Palais in the center of the French capital in 1909,...
moreAs the era of the Space Shuttle draws to a close, uncertainty hangs over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) like the pall of smoke after a launch. Only eight more Shuttle flights are planned, to complete the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). After that, there will be a five-year hiatus before the next U.S. astronauts fly from the KSC–on the...
moreThe 28th salon aéronautique et spatial in 1969, promised something special. And it kept its promises. Over the course of 10 days, more than 1.35 million visitors assembled at Le Bourget, 660,000 of whom were there for the final two days to witness the flying display. This was the biggest attendance since the very first show 60 years previously, in 1909....
moreBell Boeing has just received a new contract to add to its existing support contract for the V-22 Ospreys operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command. The initial Phase I $581 million, five-year integrated logistics support contract was awarded this January. The latest award, dubbed Phase I.5, adds $11 million to cover...
moreIrkut Corporation is evaluating tenders from Western engine, avionics and systems suppliers for its proposed new MC-21 family of narrowbody airliners. The Russian airframer (Hall 4 Stand C114) wants the first of the new model to enter service in 2016, and it intends to offer variants with capacity of 150, 180 and 210 seats.
According to Irkut president...
moreItaly’s Elettronica has entered the last phase of development of its directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system for the anti-missile protection market, and is due to complete ground tests and flight trials by the end of 2009. The project was launched in 2007 to create a system that would protect aircraft from infrared-guided (“heat-seeking”)...
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