Maiden Flight for Tu-160M
Flight trials of the first upgraded Tu-
160M2 have begun. The United Aircraft
Corporation (UAC) released a video on
January 25 of the aircraft’s maiden flight,
which is reported to have taken place the
previous week. The first Tu-160M2 was
rolled out at the Kazan Aviation Factory’s
S P Gorbunov assembly facility in Kazan,
southwest Russia, on November 16.According to an unnamed defence official
quoted by the TASS news agency, the
aircraft will be delivered to the Russian
Aerospace Forces by the end of the year.
The aircraft is one of two Blackjacks
left incomplete after production of
the original Tu-160 ended in 1994.
The second will also be used for the
programme. The Tu-160M2 will includeall-new avionics and control systems, as
well as new weapons. New more powerful
engines will be incorporated in future.
The Russian defence ministry announced
an order for ten Tu-160M2s on January- The ministry has said that series
production of the improved Tu-160M2 will
begin in 2019 followed by deliveries of
new aircraft in 2023.
The last Shin Meiwa US-1A amphibian has
left the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
(JMSDF) after more than 40 years’ service.
The final operational aircraft, 9090, flown
by 71 Kokutai, carried out its last flight at
Iwakuni Air Base on December 13, followed
by a formal retirement ceremony.
The US-1 entered service in 1976 and
was used in the search and rescue (SAR)
role. It has now been replaced by the
ShinMaywa US-2, a much-upgraded version
of the same aircraft, five of which have been
delivered to date. Dave AllportA photograph of Boeing’s entry in the US
Navy’s competition for a carrier-based
unmanned air tanker was unveiled on
December 19. Other contenders to build the
MQ-25A Stingray are Lockheed Martin and
General Atomics.
Boeing’s submission, which has not yet
flown, is completing engine runs at its St
Louis, Missouri, facility, where it will undertake
deck handling demonstrations. These trials
will see the prototype taxi via remote control
and move within the confines of a simulated
carrier flight deck.
Additionally, Boeing will aim to show that
the craft can engage the launch bar of a
catapult. The aircraft will not fly during the
demonstrations and Boeing has not scheduled
a date for its first flight.
The navy’s requirements for the unmanned
air refuelling aircraft include the ability to deliver
15,000lb (6,804kg) of fuel to strike aircraft
operating up to 500nm (926km) from the carrier,however stealth requirements are unclear.
The first Stingrays are due to be fielded by
2020 and the aircraft carriers USS Dwight DEisenhower (CVN 69) and USS George H W
Bush (CVN 77) will be the first to operate the
unmanned tanker.Bombardier’s US Tariff Victory
Bombardier has successfully resisted an
attempt to impose crippling trade tariffs in
the USA on its C Series airliner.
The United States International Trade
Commission (USITC) ruled on January 26
that American industry was not injured or
threatened by imports of the 100- to 150-
seat aircraft from Canada, overruling the
US Department of Commerce which had
determined last year that the aircraft were
subsidised and sold at less than fair value.At one stage, it looked as if the C Series
would face import tariffs of 292%.
Bombardier, in a statement said the ruling
was a “victory for innovation, competition,
and the rule of law”.
Boeing’s statement said the company
was disappointed the USITC had not
recognised “the harm that Boeing has
suffered from the billions of dollars in illegal
government subsidies that the Department
of Commerce found Bombardier receivedand used to dump aircraft in the US small,
single-aisle airplane market”. It went on:
“Those violations have harmed the US
aerospace industry, and we are feeling the
effects of those unfair business practices in
the market every day.”
The company will review the commission’s
detailed opinions when they are released.
Wings for the C Series are made in
Belfast and about 50 UK companies supply
parts for the aircraft.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 5Boeing’s Stingray Bid Unveiled
Boeing’s offering for the US Navy’s competition for a carrier-based unmanned air refuelling
aircraft. Boeing/Eric ShindelbowerJapan Retires Shin Meiwa Amphibian
The last US-1A on its final flight. Japan MoD04-05_headline_newsDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 5 05/02/2018 15: