At least 14 Americans were killed in two helicopter collided on Monday, military officials said. It was one of the deadliest days of the war for U.S. troops.

Quoting military sources, NBC News reported that seven American servicemen and three U.S. civilians were among the dead in a crash in the country’s west. Meanwhile, a US Army Ch-47 Chinook helicopter seen in operation in southern Afghanistan. Two helicopters collided in southern Afghanistan, killing four American troops and wounding two more, the military said.

Eleven American servicemen, one U.S. civilian and 14 Afghan civilians were also injured in the crash in western Afghanistan.

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A Malaysian woman who gave premature birth to a boy on board an airplane minutes before it landed will get free flights for life along with her child, an airline official said Friday.

Liew Siaw Hsia, 31, gave birth on budget carrier AirAsia’s flight from Penang to Kuching on Wednesday.

AirAsia spokesman Nazatul Mokhtar said Friday that the flight was diverted to nearby Kuala Lumpur for an emergency landing when Liew started labor pains. He says Liew was 27 weeks pregnant, 11 weeks short of the full term.

A doctor on the flight helped the woman deliver while the plane was still 2,000 feet in the air in its final approach to land.

Mother and son were rushed to a nearby hospital after the plane landed. Their condition late Friday was unknown, though Nazatul said earlier that they were both in good shape.

Liew and her son will get lifetime of free flights.

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The nation’s fleet of B-2 spirit stealth bombers will all get a new Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed radar system following the U.S. Air Force’s decision to authorize full-rate production of the units by the company’s Radar Modernization Program (RMP).

The decision, made last Oct. 16 by the assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (acting), allows Northrop Grumman to begin fabrication of the balance of radar units needed to outfit the entire fleet. Those units will be produced as the final installment of the $468 million RMP contract awarded to the company by the Air Force in Dec. 2008.

Northrop Grumman is the Air Force’s prime contractor for the B-2, the flagship of the nation’s long range arsenal, and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world. Northrop Grumman is currently producing radar units authorized under the RMP low rate initial production program, added Mazur. The company is also installing radar units in operational B-2s as part of the RMP system development and demonstration phase.

The B-2 radar modernization program replaces the aircraft’s original radar system with one that incorporates technology improvements that have occurred since the B-2 was originally designed in the early 1980s.

The B-2 is the only U.S. aircraft that combines stealth, long range, large payload and precision weapons in a single platform. In concert with the Air Force’s air superiorityfleet, which provides airspace control, and the Air Force’s tanker fleet , which enables global mobility, the B-2 helps ensure an effective U.S. response to threats anywhere in the world. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling, giving it the ability to reach any point on the globe within hours.

The 20-aircraft fleet of B-2s is operated by the 509th Bomb Wing from its headquarters at Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Aerial Surveillance Systems has announced the SkyEye 350 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350-based aerial surveillance aircraft successfully completed its first flight on September 30th.

FLIR Systems’ BRITE Star II was selected to be the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) targeting sensor for the SkyEye 350. The BRITE Star II is the latest generation of the combat-proven laser designation system. Its range performance, sensor combination, and program record make it the low-risk choice for reliable, long-range target designation.

With a 100% duty cycle, diode-pumped laser rangefinder/designator and in-flight boresighting, the system is capable of being the eyes for any fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle. The BRITE Star II is currently fielded on the MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and the UH-1Y utility helicopter.

The specially modified EO/IR sensor package will capture stabilized high-magnification images that allow the SkyEye 350 to provide a wide range of low-medium-high-altitude tactical missions and long-range covert surveillance operation capabilities.

FLIR Systems has more than 3,600 sensors in operation today, on over 100 different types of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle and ship platforms in more than 75 countries around the world.

The SkyEye 350 is the most technologically advanced aerial surveillance platform in the world at its cost point. The aircraft is being offered at as a turnkey, COTS, user-friendly, exportable platform to the US DoD, international and foreign government customers and is available now with the shortest available delivery lead-time in the industry.

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