Based in London, Tony covers European defense programs. Prior to joining Aviation Week in November 2012, Tony was at Shephard Media Group where he was deputy editor for Rotorhub and Defence Helicopter magazines. Tony has covered avionics, unmanned vehicles, the supply chain and cyberwarfare.
LONDON — L-3 Communications, Selex ES and Ultra Electronics have partnered to offer Bombardier’s Q400 turboprop airliner as the platform to meet an expected requirement for a multi-mission aircraft for the U.K. The aircraft would be highly modified, with extended-range fuel tanks and an under-fuselage canoe fairing that could be configured to carry a wide-area surveillance sensor or even weaponry to meet a range of tasks, such as maritime patrol, overland surveillance or anti-submarine warfare.
LONDON — The U.K. Defense Ministry is spending £16.7 million ($28 million) updating the missile warning systems for its helicopters under a contract with BAE Systems. The deal, revealed on May 27, covers the purchase of third-generation (Gen3) Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS); these will be fitted to the U.K.’s fleet of Apache, Chinook, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, as well as a single fixed-wing type, which the defense ministry has not disclosed. Eventually the system will be fitted to 300 aircraft.
A new-build airport in the Thames Estuary could supplant London Heathrow and could be built for far less than had been previously forecast, the company behind the plans for the new airport says in a response to the U.K. Airports Commission. Architectural firm Foster and Partners is pushing for the government to develop a four-runway hub airport on the Isle of Grain, a peninsula in the Thames Estuary east of London, which developers say could potentially operate 24 hours a day and open with a capacity of dealing with up to 110 million passengers a year when it opens its doors.
