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.
A trial to reduce the need to stack arriving aircraft at London's busy Heathrow Airport will have international implications. The trial, the second phase of a series called Topflight, aims to extend the horizon of arrival-planning for the airport's air traffic controllers beyond U.K. airspace out 350 nm into Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Ireland.
BAE Systems has begun flight trials of three-dimensional printed metallic components on the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft, as the company explores the potential benefits of the method. A one-off component—a bracket made from printed stainless steel and designed to carry a fixed thermal-imaging camera—has been fitted to a U.K. Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 the company uses for flight testing. The bracket was produced in a fraction of the time and cost that similar items would have previously taken.
