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.
WARTON, U.K. — BAE Systems has begun systems tests on the first of 22 new Hawk jet trainers for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). Engineers began testing the electrical, fuel and hydraulic systems of the aircraft – designated ST001 – in November. The aircraft is significant, as it is the first to be assembled by the company since 2010, and also the first to be produced in the newly reconstituted Hawk assembly line now located at Warton after it was moved from Brough, East Yorkshire, which resulted in the loss of 900 jobs at that facility.
LONDON – Brazil has become the third country to select MBDA’s Sea Ceptor air defense missile system for its naval vessels. Brazil joins the U.K. and New Zealand in choosing the system, which is developed from the company’s Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) and the Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Asraam).
One year after a police helicopter crashed into a public house in Glasgow, Scotland, air crash investigators say they are getting closer to publishing a final-draft report on the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2 twin-engine helicopter, operated by Bond Air Services on behalf of Police Scotland, crashed into the roof of the Clutha Vaults public house in Glasgow’s city center on Nov. 29, 2013, killing 10 people. Fatalities included all three helicopter crewmembers and seven people inside the public house.
