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AVX Aircraft of Benbrook, Texas has responded to the US Army’s request for information on the smallest of five planned Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capability sets with two 7.5t (16,700lb) winged coaxial compound helicopter configurations that the company’s chief executive describes as vertical takeoff fighter aircraft for light reconnaissance, attack, assault and medical evacuation missions. The baseline swept-wing, 13.4m (44ft) diametre rotor concept would be powered by two 3,000shp Improved Turbine Technology Programme (ITEP) engines and is designed to meet a demanding set of core requirements proposed by the US Army in its “Capability Set 1” RFI document. The requirements...

The Mi-28 attack helicopter was developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War as an answer to America's AH-64 Apache. Nicknamed "Havoc" by NATO, it was designed to kill NATO tanks and armored vehicles. As such, the Havoc needed to be able to take hits—even to the cockpit—and keep flying. Despite the similarity between the Havoc and the Apache, we're pretty sure that American helicopter designers didn't test the Apache's armored cockpit by shooting machine guns at it—with people inside. Yes, as the video shows, Soviet designers actually put a person inside a mock Mi-28 Havoc, then fired a...

China and Russia have conducted the seventh round of negotiations on their joint development of heavy-lift helicopters. Both sides have reached a consensus on the core technology, said Yu Feng, President of AVIC Helicopter Co. Ltd. on Monday. The talks, held from Feb. 29 to March 4, are of great significance for further promoting strategic cooperation between China and Russia, Yu Feng, also an NPC deputy, told reporters at the ongoing Two Sessions meetings on March 7. The development of heavy-lift helicopters makes China the third country after Russia and the U.S. to boast the capability. Thus, China has become...

Australia bought its Tiger ARH attack helicopters only eight years ago, and now it wants to scrap all 22 of them. Even more embarrassing, the Tiger has still not yet achieved “final operational capability” — meaning the helicopter never fully became ready for combat. The decision to ditch the Tiger — to occur in the 2020s — landed with a thud with the release of Australia’s 2016 defense white paper, which laid out the country’s military strategy over the coming decades. The plan includes U.S. $21.5 billion in new spending, which would pay for new submarines, frigates, patrol vessels, aircraft...

Russian Kamov Ka-52 (NATO reporting name “Hokum-B”) helicopters would be about to deploy to Syria according to a source who talked to ITAR-TASS.

Friends: 2 USMC CH-53 helicopters went down off the coast of Oahu, 12 souls missing. One of my son's best friends is a CH-53 pilot stationed in Hawaii, and cannot be reached. We don't know if he was flying at the time. Please pray for Brian and all those involved. Thanks

U.S. Marine Corps 22 mins *The Marine Corps can confirm there is an active search and rescue operation ongoing for two CH-53 helicopters of the coast of Oahu. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently conducting search and rescue operations. The aircraft are from the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing from Marine Corps Base Hawaii. We will provide more details as they become available.* — Major Christian Devine, USMC

Russia has created a highly modified variant of its venerable Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter dubbed the “Prospective Speedy Helicopter” Demonstrator, or Demonstrator PSV. This testbed aircraft aims to take Russian helicopter technology to the next level when it comes to both kinetic performance and avionics. The unique chopper took its first flight on December 23 out of Russian helicopter giant MIL’s plant near Moscow. Designers used the Mi-24K Hind as a starting point for developing this new experimental aircraft, turning the two pilot attack helicopter into a single pilot technology demonstrator. Multiple technologies will be flown on the PSV, including...

The Russian leader also warned it would have serious consequences for his country's relations with Turkey A Russian rescue helicopter has been shot down by Syrian rebels while searching for pilots missing after Turkey downed a Russian jet. The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a government-held area in Syria's Latakia province. A Syrian insurgent group, which uses U.S. Tow missiles, said its fighters hit the helicopter with an anti-tank missile. Video footage has emerged online appearing to show the helicopter after it crashed in dense woodland. Plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the aircraft....

A RUSSIAN helicopter has been downed while searching for the pilots who ejected from their burning jet after it was shot down this morning while flying over Syria, according to unconfirmed reports.

King Stallion, the U.S. Marine Corps’ brand spanking new helicopter, completed its first flight Tuesday. The Marines’ new helo is incredibly advanced - it will be able to lift a whopping three times more weight than its predecessor.

The new generation helicopter is based on the Sikorsky S-92, whose cabin, some other parts and wire harnesses are made only in India. NEW DELHI: Construction of the first lot of six VH 92 Super Hawk helicopters that transport the US president has begun in India. Caption - The new generation helicopter is based on the Sikorsky S-92, whose cabin, some other parts and wire harnesses are made only in India in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) at Hyderabad. Caption - In pic: H-92. VH-92 Super Hawk VH variant is a much advanced version of H-92. Work on...

The AH-64A/D Apache and AH-64E Block III Apache Longbow (renamed Guardian) are four-blade twin-engine attack helicopters manufactured by Boeing. The Apache was originally developed by Hughes Helicopters in the 1970s (first flight on September 30, 1975), however, the company was acquired by McDonnell Douglas in 1984. In 1997, McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing. The latest variant, the AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter (originally designated AH-64D Block III), is powered by two General Electric T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines with 1,994 shp each. The AH-64D/E models are based on the original AH-64A, which was deployed in 1984 and first used in combat in 1989...

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies in a helicopter shot a suspect involved in a dangerous wrong-way chase and car crash on the northbound 215 Freeway Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the coroner's office identified the suspect as Nicholas Alan Johnson, 32, of Fontana. Two cars were involved in the crash near Palm Avenue. A man and a 13-year-old male were treated and released from the hospital. An adult female, believed to be the man's wife, remains hospitalized and is recovering from her injuries. The suspect was wanted in connection to a prior home-invasion robbery in Fontana....

China unveiled an export version of its light Z-19 assault chopper several days before the start of the 2015 China International Helicopter Exposition. The helicopter can provide offensive air support and destroy the armored vehicles of any potential enemy with its “air-to-surface” armament including anti-tank missiles, a 23mm cannon and other weapons. It also has gun pods and can carry air-to-air missiles, and its tandem-seated cockpit is armored. The aircraft can carry out reconnaissance missions as well. In contrast with its basic version, the new chopper features modernized systems protecting it from the enemy’s air defense, and it sports new...

Vaughan, ON - On Sunday, August 16, 2015, at 1:30 a.m., Air2 was in the area of Highway 7 and Pine Valley Drive assisting uniform officers on the ground, who were responding to a weapons call. While searching for a suspect from the air, the pilot and tactical flight officer were struck by an unrelated bright light source that originated in the area of Jenna Court. The strikes continued as the crew engaged in safety measures. The tactical flight officer used the camera system on Air2 to observe three men standing next to a vehicle at the end of Jenna...

The wreckage of a US military helicopter that went missing in Nepal has been found, the Nepalese army says. The helicopter went missing earlier this week while delivering aid near the Chinese border, with six US marines and two Nepali soldiers on board. Maj Gen Binoj Basnet told AFP agency that it was not known if there were any survivors. The editor of the Nepal Times, Kunda Dixit, said the wreckage was found 56km (35 miles) from Kathmandu.

The Russian Navy is seeking to re-acquire at least “100 nuclear-capable Mi-14 anti-submarine helicopters for deployment within the Black and Northern Sea Fleets over the next two – five years”, according to sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Mil Mi-14 is a shore-based amphibious helicopter armed with (optionally) a torpedo, twelve 64kg or eight 120kg depth bombs. This submarine killer also has a very special ammo in its arsenal: a 1 kiloton nuclear antisubmarine bomb weighting 1,600kg, capable of scuttling any underwater target within a radius of 800 meters. The helicopter not only has a unique capability of...

A Camp Pendleton-based Marine UH-1Y Huey helping with relief work after Nepal’s recent earthquake was missing, officials from the U.S. Pacific Command said Tuesday. Late Tuesday, the press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted an official as saying the aircraft had been spotted north of the capital of Kathmandu. “We have been told it was spotted in Tamakoshi region,” north of Kathmandu, said Interior Ministry spokesman Laxmi Dhakal. “But until (our) choppers make landing and get to it, we still can’t say anything about its condition or of its passengers.”

A U.S. Marine helicopter supporting earthquake relief in Nepal was declared missing Tuesday with eight people on board, a military spokesman said. The UH-1Y Huey with two Nepalese soldiers and six U.S. Marines on board disappeared over Charikot, Nepal, at about 10 p.m. local time (12:15 p.m. ET), said U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Army Maj. Dave Eastburn. Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said the U.S. military is hopeful that the missing helicopter landed and is out of communication. A military official told NBC News there is "no indication that there was a crash" but "it is dark," so they could...