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For several years, Boeing Co. has been consistent on one point: The best aircraft to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet is a modified version of its 767 commercial jet. On Tuesday, however, Chicago-based Boeing said it was ready to build a new tanker based on any of its airframes, including the next-generation, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. "We have a full family of aircraft, and if the Air Force and the Department of Defense determine a new aircraft is the best solution for replacing the KC 135 tanker, we think we can ensure their requirements are met," said Brian Ames,...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Northrop Grumman, the No. 3 Pentagon contractor, announced Wednesday that it will team with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. to build an air-to-air refueling tanker that can challenge Boeing Co., once thought to have a lock on an Air Force contract worth billions. For Los Angeles-based Northrop, which built the Cold War-era, billion-dollar B-2 Stealth bomber, the program puts the company in contention for major Air Force work and places it at the fore of a new trend that teams American defense contractors with European manufacturers. The airplane's basic design will come from the commercial...

SINGAPORE (AFP) - The US-made Boeing F-15 Eagle has defeated the French-built Rafale in a dogfight for a billion-dollar fighter contract in Singapore, dealing a blow to European interests in Asia's booming arms market. The French defense ministry has expressed "regret" following Singapore's announcement late Tuesday that it was in talks with Boeing for its new generation of fighters, a decision closely watched by other buyers. "It is a sovereign decision of the Singaporean state. France respects it. Even if we regret it, this decision will not detract from the quality of our bilateral relations," the ministry said in a...

ST. LOUIS, August 26, 2005 – Four Boeing [NYSE:BA] Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) were released on Aug. 25 from two separate carriages on a U.S. Air Force F-15E, testing the full capabilities of the SDB guided-weapon system. The test at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was conducted at an altitude of 15,000 feet, approximately 20 nautical miles from four separate targets. After receiving target coordinates, the F-15E crew released the four bombs from two separate BRU-61 carriages. "Being able to hit more targets with fewer sorties is what the SDB was designed to do," said Boeing Weapons Enterprise Capability Center...

ST. LOUIS, August 10, 2005 – Two Boeing [NYSE: BA] Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45A unmanned aircraft successfully completed a graduation exercise when they flew their most challenging simulated combat mission today at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. "We pushed the X-45As to their limits and they responded brilliantly," said Darryl Davis, Boeing Global Strike Solutions vice president. "This incredible X-45A program made aviation history and laid the foundation for our X-45C, which will become a critical weapon in our military's arsenal." For test flights 63 and 64, the X-45As departed from the...

WASHINGTON -- Boeing has completed passive flight testing of its missile-killing Airborne Laser, or ABL, the company announced Wednesday. Now the program to install a missile-killing laser into a Boeing 747 will move back to Wichita, Kan., after the latest round of tests, which were conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Boeing Integrated Defense System Wichita originally modified a 747 for the Airborne Laser program that is designed to detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles. The system utilizes a megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine laser. The recently completed flight tests measured the aircraft's ability to identify and track targets,...

Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-made F-15 Eagle used to be the sure thing of fighter jet procurement. Now the aging fighter is just a long shot in its own country. Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, says the odds are against the U.S. Air Force signing a multiyear deal to buy more F-15s. That assessment isn't surprising as the Pentagon prepares to spend billions of dollars over the next few decades for the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, two planes under development by Lockheed Martin Corp. Still, some influential members of Congress say the Air Force...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was supposed to end the practice of subjecting black voters to literacy tests, poll taxes and intimidation. But one civil rights leader said the use of photo identification requirements in some states is a giant step backwards. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s, told Cybercast News Service that legislation recently passed in his home state requiring voters to provide photo IDs "is going back almost to the literacy tests; to tell people you must prove who you are [to polling...

A Division of Motor Vehicles counter clerk who reportedly told police he faked at least five state ID cards was charged Thursday with felony counts of bribery and misconduct in public office. The state Department of Transportation has suspended Alfredo Ramirez, 41, of the 6300 block of W. Adler St. from his job without pay while an internal investigation is carried out, said Gary Guenther, director of the division's Bureau of Field Services. Ramirez, a five-year DOT employee, is accused of working up a fake identification card for an undercover police officer who presented fake documents while Ramirez was working...

ST. LOUIS, July 27, 2005 – Two Boeing [NYSE:BA] Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) were dropped recently from the same aircraft, scoring direct hits on two separate targets. The test on July 26 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. was from an altitude of 15,000 feet. Released from a U.S. Air Force F-15E at Mach 0.95, each weapon performed a planned one hundred degree heading change, traveled approximately 18 miles across the range from the release point and attacked independent targets spaced 30 feet apart. "These were our 25 th and 26 th successful weapon flights and two of the more...

NEW DELHI - U.S. aircraft maker Boeing has joined the race to supply fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, a senior company official said Friday, weeks after the United States and India signed a strategic defense pact. Responding to a request from the Indian government, Boeing Co. presented its latest multipurpose jet — the F/A-18 Super Hornet — to defense officials in India this week. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide India with a premier aircraft that will help guarantee the security of India and its people," said Chris Chadwick, Boeing vice president for F/A-18 programs....

ST. LOUIS, July 19, 2005 -- The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing [NYSE:BA] a $31.2 million contract modification to upgrade 25 additional C-17s Globemaster IIIs with the Northrop Grumman Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures, or LAIRCM, defensive system. Boeing is now on contract to upgrade a total of 56 C-17s with the LAIRCM system and has already delivered 25 upgraded aircraft. LAIRCM autonomously detects, tracks and jams infrared-seeking missiles by directing a high-intensity modulated laser beam into them. This most recent award is a contract modification to the work Logistics Support Systems, a part of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems, performs under...

ST. LOUIS, July 14, 2005 – The V-22 Osprey had a “coming out” of sorts yesterday, when VMX-22, the U.S. Marine Corps Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron in New River, N.C., hosted media from around the nation. The event was held to share highlights of the recently completed Operational Test and Evaluation and provide a look at where the program currently is and what milestones are yet to come. Those in attendance had the experience of a lifetime when they became some of the first non-government personnel to fly on board a V-22. “The VMX-22 squadron, led by Col. Glenn...

ST. LOUIS, July 11, 2005 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] started installing satellite communications and air traffic management upgrades on the first of 32 U.S. Air Force AWACS aircraft. “Enhanced satellite communications will boost the fleet's capability by providing crews with multiple channels for voice and data,” said Ed Froese, vice president of Boeing Airborne Warning Systems. “This improves the AWACS system's ability to communicate with other AWACS aircraft, platforms and ground stations.” The Global Air Traffic Management upgrade permits AWACS to efficiently operate in congested airspace worldwide, especially in Europe and the East coast corridor of the U.S., by allowing...

ST. LOUIS, June 6, 2005— Boeing [NYSE: BA] received an $81 million contract for its second full-rate production contract of 401 Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS). First used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the JHMCS displays flight and targeting information on a helmet visor, allowing pilots to lock-on and attack air-to-air and air-to-ground targets simply by looking at the targets. This capability enables pilots to launch weapons much more quickly, thereby significantly increasing both their effectiveness and survivability. “Continued feedback from U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy pilots tells us that the JHMCS system is significantly increasing their combat capability,” said...

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - As the dust settles on a series of scandals at Boeing Co., the Chicago-based aerospace giant and its nemesis, Airbus, are now jockeying to revive a multibillion-dollar Air Force plan to purchase hundreds of modified airliners as aerial refueling tankers. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., quietly attached an amendment to the Defense Department budget bill last month that would effectively eliminate Airbus from a future tanker bidding competition, leaving Boeing as the only available option for a contract that could be worth billions of dollars. The Airbus defense group - called the European Aeronautic Defense and Space...

Boeing to Highlight 787 Dreamliner, 777-200LR Worldliner and KC-767A Tanker Transport Aircraft at Paris Air Show 2005 CHICAGO, June 3, 2005 – The world’s longest-range passenger jet, the most advanced and capable tanker aircraft, and the aviation industry’s best-selling new airplane will be among the products featured by The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] at this year’s Paris Air Show, beginning June 13 at Le Bourget airfield outside Paris. “Boeing is entering the air show with tremendous momentum,” said Tod Hullin, Boeing senior vice president, Communications. “This is a company that’s on the move. Our financial performance has been strong, and...

ST. LOUIS, June 1, 2005 – In the first of two flight tests this month, a Boeing [NYSE:BA] Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) flew more than 55 miles from an altitude of 30,000 feet, hitting within 34 inches of its planned impact point on a target barge in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the longest flight to date, and typical of the accuracy provided by the Small Diameter Bomb system. On average, the SDB has hit 42 inches from its targeted impact point. The May 11 test, near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was the first since the U.S. Air...

ST. LOUIS, May 26, 2005 – ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, has surpassed 3,000 combat flight hours during operations in Iraq in just ten months. The low-cost UAV has proven to be one of the military's most effective tools for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terrorism. Since being deployed by the First Marine Expeditionary Force in August 2004, ScanEagle has accumulated flight hours at an increasingly high rate due to the need for its unmatched capabilities. "The Marines...

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano refused Friday to let state lawmakers expand Proposition 200. The governor vetoed legislation that would require proof of legal presence in the United States to enroll in adult education classes and get state-subsidized child care. HB 2030 also would have required those not here legally to pay the higher tuition at state universities and community colleges normally charged only to people who are not Arizona residents. Napolitano said it was that last provision that prompted the veto. "While I agree that public programs should not be available to those who consciously decide to come here...