Air International

AIRSCENE HEADLINES
Dave Allport reports on the selection of the Hawk 128 as the RAF's new Advanced Jet Trainer.

AIRSCENE
Military, commercial and aerospace industry news from around the world, compiled by Dave Allport.

AIRSCENE COMMERCIAL ACCIDENTS
Chronological list compiled by Dave Allport.

EASTERN APPROACHES
Ian Goold analyses Boeing and Airbus market forecasts and other predictions for Asia/Pacific air transport.

JOINT DIRECT ATTACK MUNITION - ON TARGET IN ALL WEATHERS
JDAM is revolutionising air warfare in a manner similar to that of laser-guided bombs during the Vietnam War. Carlo Kopp traces the development of a bomb which promises to develop into a diverse family of derivative weapons adapted to a range of demanding niche roles.

REGIONAL JET, BIZJET AND WARRIOR
With sales now approaching the 1,000 mark, the Embraer 145 family is even exceeding by a good margin the entire production of jetliners, from the Comet to the Avro RJX. René J Francillon reports on the Brazilian success story.

GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS M/RQ-1 PREDATOR
Playing a leading role in America's 'War on Terror', the Predator has evolved from a reconnaissance tool to become a fully-armed platform capable of time-critical targeting in virtually all types of combat scenario. Martin Streetly looks at its technology and reviews the Predator's development and use to date.

REGIONAL AIRLINES FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
European Regional Airlines Associations President João Ribeirio da Fonseca tells Eryl Crump why the sector is in crisis.

HIPS FOREVER
Alexander Mladenov looks at the evolution of Russia's best-selling helicopter, charts its export success and looks at the development of new variants, and upgrade packages.

HELICOPTERS (THEIR TIME HAS COME)
Mike Hirst unveils the mysteries of helicopter flight and looks at some of the unique capabilities which make them admirably suited to take on a wide variety of roles.

RE'EM RE-ENGINING
What began as a project aimed at eliminating a maintenance problem on the Israel Defence Force Boeing 707 fleet has resulted in the aircraft having a significantly improved performance at 75% of the predicted project cost. Shlomo Aloni reports from Israel on this IDF/IAI success story.

AIR DATA FILE
Technical data and illustrations, including general arrangement drawings, of the Marganski ZRiPSL EM-11 Orka and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd HJT-36 Sitara, collated by Alan Dawes.

IN PRINT
Reviews of some recent books

PARIS AIRSCENE
Following last month's preliminary report of the first major news from the 45th Paris International Air Show, Dave Allport presents a round-up of other news from Le Bourget.

A RIAT GOOD SHOW
Photo report from the Royal International Air Tattoo compiled by Dave Allport.

TALKBACK
Readers' letters and photographs of general interest.