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The Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 Lightning has been awarded the ATF (advanced tactical fighter) development and production contract. The aircraft is pictured during its initial flight test program, during which the YF-22 proved to be more agile and better suited to USAF requirements than the larger, faster Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 competitor. Some 650 F-22s are ultimately expected to enter service as the next generation USAF frontline fighter aircraft.
Newsdesk- Military Aviation
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Wing Failure Downs Raaf Orion:
Wing structural failure apparently caused the crash of the RAAF P-3C Orion at Cocos Island on 26 April, according to an RAAF spokesperson.
The Orion was one of two such aircraft involved in searching for a missing bulk ore carrier when it crashed. The aircraft was flying low over Cocos at around 360kts when the leading edge of the wing detached. The pilot, an RAF exchange officer flying his last RAAF mission, attempted to make it back to the Cocos strip, however he was forced to ditch in the island’s lagoon. It is believed that upon deployment of the undercarriage the extra drag vastly exceeded the lift available forcing the Orion to land in the fagoon short of the Cocos runway. With the engines on full power upon impact one of the props broke free and impacted the rear fuselage killing a reserve plot. The other 19 crew members escaped. It is expected that Richmond’s 2AD, which conducts heavy maintenance on the Orions, will attempt to recover the aircraft (A9-754). At the time of writing official investigations into the crash were continuing.
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