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Two helicopters carrying passengers filming a popular European reality show crashed Monday in a remote area of northwest Argentina, killing eight French citizens and two Argentines, authorities said. The helicopters crashed while flying near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, about 730 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, La Rioja Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo told television station TN. All 10 people on board both aircraft were killed. "An explosion occurred and it's believed that they must have collided," said Angulo. "Aeronautical experts will have to determine that." La Rioja police commissary Fabian Gordillo told state news agency Telam that the...

A press release by company Russian Helicopters suggests that the Ka-52K helicopter (K stands for korabielny, which means naval), is ready and the first units of the rotor-craft have already been manufactured and are due to undergo a test-flying program. The naval variant can fold its rotor blades for better space management aboard helicopter carriers. The absence of a tail rotor makes the choppers ideal for use on carriers, even though they are slightly taller than their Western counterparts. The company's announcement is noteworthy considering France's suspension of the delivery of the Mistral vessels which were meant to be fielded...

Currently, the largest and most powerful helicopter to have ever entered production is the gargantuan Mi-26 'Halo' of Russian origin, of which many still serve in governmental and commercial roles around the globe. After decades of the 'Halo' being on top, a new record holder is now said to be on the way, with Russia and China joining forces to make it happen. This new super-heavy lift class chopper was originally thought to be an outgrowth of the existing, all-weather capable and highly modernized Mi-26T2, but now it seems that it will only borrow a few elements from it, and...

I know some may look at this and say "of course they can do that." I, however, am in complete awe of the training and skill it must take to pull something like this off, along with all the other things they do.

ARMED with AGM-114 Hellfire anti-armour missiles, free-flight rockets, and 30mm automatic cannon, the army’s $40 million Tiger helicopters are ready for combat. And they were put through their paces yesterday as part of the Defence Force’s annual Exercise Chong Ju at Puckapunyal Army Base, with The Daily Telegraph given exclusive behind-the-scenes access. The Tiger’s state-of-the-art cannon can engage ground or air targets at a rate of 750 rounds per minute at a range of 1.5km. The choppers rockets are practising out of the Puckapunyal Army base in Victoria. Picture Craig Greenhill Using helmet-mounted sight displays, pilots only have to look...

The S-97 Raider-Sikorsky new attack helicopter-is out and it is not only gorgeous. It's absolutely badass. It is based in the same technology as their X2 technology demonstrator, which broke the world helicopter speed record in 2010: 260 knots-that's 299.2mph vs the 172mph of conventional helicopters. According to Sikorsky's Mike Miller, it "is an all-new helicopter, all-new configuration. We haven't seen something this new in 30 years." The Raider uses counter-rotating rotor blades with a push propeller on the tail. This unique combination allows it to pulverize all speed records. Obviously, its weight is limited. This thing will not have...

(Reuters) - In a boost to U.S. weapons makers looking for ways to offset lower domestic military spending, India is expected to choose Sikorsky Aircraft's S-70B Sea Hawk helicopters at a 16-aircraft tender worth over $1 billion. The decision could come during a high-profile visit to the United States by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that starts on Friday. The Sikorsky deal would be one of several large U.S. arms purchases by India that are nearing completion, including over $2.5 billion in orders for Boeing Co's AH-64D Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, declined...

Lauer extended his lucrative $20 million-a-year deal with NBC News to remain a “Today” co-host through 2016, following speculation that he would leave the show in the wake of the storm over the brutal departure of Ann Curry in 2012. As part of the deal, NBC reportedly agreed to pay for Lauer to chopper out to the Hamptons, where he has a 40-acre horse farm in Water Mill and a nearby mansion, reportedly worth $15 million, in which he lives year-round with his wife, Annette Roque, and their children.

One couple knows all too well the pain suffered by the parents of James Foley, the American photojournalist executed on camera last month by the Islamic State. Billy and Karen Vaughn also lost their son Aaron Carson Vaughn in 2011, when the SEAL Team Six soldier's Chinook helicopter was shot down over Afghanistan. Now the couple are calling on President Barack Obama to step down, citing his reaction to the Foley video and 'lack of leadership' in confronting ISIS.

BAGHDAD — A Russian-built Iraqi military helicopter providing aid to those stranded on a mountain fleeing Sunni militants crashed Tuesday after too many tried to climb aboard, killing the pilot, said the army spokesman. Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said in a statement that Iraqi parliamentarian Vian Dakheel, of the minority Yazidi community most affected by the fighting, was aboard the Mi-17 helicopter and was injured in the crash. She and others aboard were evacuated to a hospital in the nearby Kurdish autonomous region. The New York Times reported on its website that reporter Alissa J. Rubin, riding along on the...

NEW DELHI: India has offered to significantly increase an order for US attack helicopters, Indian officials said, as US defense secretary Chuck Hagel began a visit to New Delhi on Thursday aimed at boosting defence and strategic ties. The Apache gunships and a deal for Chinook helicopters, both built by Boeing, will top the agenda in Hagel's talks on Friday with India's new administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India has offered a follow-on order of 39 AH-64D Apache helicopters in addition to the 22 now being negotiated, an Indian defence ministry official said. The sides have been wrangling...

Neat video of a rather interesting (if ultimately unsuccessful) U.S. attack helicopter design from the early 1970s.

Sikorsky and Boeing Team Submit New Army Helicopter Design By: Dave Majumdar Published: June 17, 2014 2:00 PM Updated: June 17, 2014 2:00 PM A joint Sikorsky-Boeing team has submitted their initial design for a new high-speed compound helicopter called the SB-1 Defiant to the U.S. Army. “Last week we submitted our initial design and risk report to the customer,” said Doug Shidler, one of the two co-program directors for the industry team, during a Tuesday teleconference. “Next week we will be conducting our initial design and risk review with them.” The high-speed compound helicopter design is the team’s entry...

After 38 years in the Washington National Guard, 1st Sgt. Brett Jensen received something new for a change. The citizen soldier belongs to an aviation battalion that’s receiving brand-new helicopters for the first time in five decades. It means the local unit will be able to retire aircraft dating to the Vietnam War era. “It’s kind of nice being able to see new aircraft in the fleet,” said Jensen, 56, a Tacoma resident who has deployed twice to the Middle East and participated in domestic missions ranging from the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 to the more recent disaster...

Headline only.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edogan has said that the country’s first domestically-produced assault helicopter is to be exported to friendly countries. Speaking at a ceremony to hand-over T129 assault helicopter to the Turkish Armed Forces at the Turkish Army Air Defence Command in Ankara, the Turkish premier said, “Production of the assault helicopter is a milestone for the development of the country’s defense industry. As many as 59 helicopters will be handed over to the Turkish Armed Forces in the first phase, while some friendly countries have shown their interest for the purchase of these helicopters as well.” The...

"In his new book, “Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Ben­ghazi” (Broadside Books), writer Kenneth R. Timmerman explains how the US government’s efforts to arm the Libyan rebels backfired, flooding weapons into Syria, and as he ­reveals here, Afghanistan: The Obama administration isn’t only giving the Taliban back its commanders — it’s giving them weapons. Miliary records and sources reveal that on July 25, 2012, Taliban fighters in Kunar province successfully targeted a US Army CH-47 helicopter with a new generation Stinger missile...."

NEW DELHI: India is closely tracking Russia's move to directly supply Mi-35 attack helicopters to Pakistan by lifting an informal arms embargo. But officials here also say that Russian arms have in any case been surreptitiously finding their way to Pakistan through China for years now. "Yes, there is some concern here. But then, other countries like the US and France also sell their weaponry to both sides of the line of control. If the French sell Agosta-90B submarines to Pakistan, they sell the Scorpene submarines to us," said a senior defence official. This comes in the backdrop of Russian...

At least 13 soldiers and an army general were killed Thursday when pro-Russian insurgents shot down a military helicopter outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, interim President Oleksander Turchinov said. "I have received reports from Sloviansk itself that the terrorists shot down a helicopter carrying relief troops. Fourteen soldiers, including Gen. (Vladimir) Kulchitski, have died," Turchinov told Ukrainian media. Pro-Russian militiamen fired a bazooka at the helicopter near Sloviansk, the main pro-Moscow bastion in the Donetsk region, Turchinov said.

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Rebels in eastern Ukraine shot down a government military helicopter Thursday amid heavy fighting around the eastern city of Slovyansk, killing 14 soldiers including a general, Ukraine's leader said. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told the parliament in Kiev that rebels used a portable air defense missile Thursday to down the helicopter and said Gen. Volodymyr Kulchitsky was among the dead