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.
After more than decade planning it, seven years trying to achieve it and one failed attempt to do it, U.K. government officials have finally sealed a deal to harmonize the country's multiple search and rescue (SAR) helicopter operations under one agency.
The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) has used its first deployment of Eurofighter Typhoons to a Red Flag exercise to start conceptualizing how it might use the fighter in conjunction with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
Eurocopter has delivered its greatest hints yet about the thinking behind its future product lineup. The EADS-owned helicopter manufacturer walked away with 69 orders at Heli-Expo here this month and also launched a new version of its EC135 light twin, but the company is keeping the industry waiting to see what results from its X4 program to replace the AS365 Dauphin.
