The U.S. Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout wrapped up a series of flight tests and landings on the Frigate McInerney last month off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla. Deck landings were planned for February, but weather only allowed approaches. The unmanned rotorcraft is expected to begin shipboard tests on board the Littoral Combat Ship Freedom, the first of a series made by Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine, by the second quarter of 2010; initial operational capability is expected in 2011, says Capt. Tim Dunigan, the Navy’s MQ-8B program manager.
Olivier Blain has become vice president-corporate communications for France-based Eurocopter . He succeeds Laurence Rigolini, who has been named a vice president of Eurocopter subsidiaries. Blain was vice president/director of public affairs, communications and corporate social responsibility for Coca-Cola Enterprise in France.
The British Defense Ministry now says the earliest Royal Air Force in-service date for the Airbus A400M is 2014 and that while it “remains committed” to the program, this is “not at any cost.” The ministry told the Parliament’s Defense Committee: “We are considering a number of options as a contingency to mitigate any capability gap as a result of delays to or termination of the A400M program.”
As the drop in oil prices has not eased the pressure on aircraft makers to improve aircraft efficiencies, Airbus is exploring aerodynamic enhancements throughout its product range to reduce fuel burn. A variety of aerodynamic and system improvements are being pursued to boost the efficiency of the A320 family, widebodies and the new A380, the aircraft maker says.
William Hart (see photos) has become vice president-Space Systems for the Raytheon Co. , El Segundo, Calif. He succeeds USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Brian Arnold, who was appointed vice president-space strategy. Hart was a program management executive at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Arnold was commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. will build the first two spacecraft in the next series of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R), after its $1.09-billion contract with NOAA and NASA was modified. Boeing protested the award on Dec. 2, 2008, and the two government agencies said May 7 the contract was re-awarded after “a series of corrective actions were implemented” and the contract reevaluated. Launch of the first satellite is scheduled for 2015.
Kongsberg has begun development of the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) under a 166-million-kroner ($25.6-million) contract from the Norwegian Defense Procurement Div. JSM is proposed as an anti-ship and land-attack missile for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The contract covers the 18-month first phase of the program, under which Kongsberg will develop and test changes to its in-production Naval Strike Missile required to produce the air-launched JSM.
TAP Maintenance & Engineering is close to completing the branding of VEM Maintenance & Engineering to TAP, which became the sole shareholder in VEM in April 2007. The Brazilian maintenance unit’s name was legally changed in February. Beyond the visual signs of change, the Portuguese and Brazilian maintenance, repair and overhaul units have a single commercial direction and the facilities are well coordinated. In August 2006, TAP obtained controlling interest from Varig.
Thales says it has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for its ADU 3200, a primary reference air data unit intended for rotorcraft applications. The ADU 3200 is designed to operate trouble-free for 14,500 flight hours and is said to be the only system on the market equipped with algorithmic processing that can eliminate blade-rotation errors. The ADU also features high-precision sensors that can deliver good measuring performance at speeds as low as 20 kt.
At the start of the decade, commercial space imagery was supposed to be a blockbuster industry. Spurred by a Clinton administration directive that permitted satellite operators to sell high-resolution images with virtually no restrictions, companies such as Ball Aerospace, Orbital Sciences Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. poured hundreds of millions of dollars into new ventures. Wall Street analysts predicted that a flood of demand from the commercial sector would boost industry revenues to $2.5 billion annually.
Bell Helicopter and the U.S. Army will soon begin to work through the many elements of the service’s Life Support 2020, a program that will extend the service life of the Kiowa Warrior OH-58D with sensor, safety and platform upgrades. The first task is to place a Forward Looking Infrared Radar (Flir) ball on the nose of the aircraft and remove the sensor ball from the mast, which may require some rebalancing of the aircraft’s center of gravity and a skid extension so the Flir ball doesn’t scrape the ground.
Etihad Airways, aiming for dominance in the luxury market, is investing $70 million in remodeling its first-class service. The airline plans to debut its revamped first-class cabin at the end of August in a new Airbus A340-600, and complete a full rollout across the fleet by the end of 2010. Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan says “economic turbulence will give way to calmer times,” and the current move serves to reestablish the carrier’s position as a leader in luxury travel.
The global economy is in a severe downturn, businesses are slashing premium air travel and corporate flying is being widely sneered at. It is certainly not the environment in which any entrepreneur would wish to launch a high-end aviation product, but it is the reality confronting Blink and JetBird as they try to build air taxi services in Europe.
It’s fascinating to see our aerospace industry fall prey yet again to a strange kind of “not-invented-here syndrome.” We have to build something completely new. It has to be perfectly optimized. Two modern examples: The Ares I and the Next-Generation Bomber (AW&ST Apr. 27, p. 18, p. 22, respectively).
Mushrooming demand for commercial satellite capacity by defense agencies around the world may help shape the way the U.S. procures its satcom bandwidth. Australia recently became the latest country to indicate that it will draw increasingly on commercial capabilities, including hosted payloads, wherever possible to complement core military satcom capacity (see p. 34). An initial contract with Intelsat has already been signed (AW&ST May 4, p. 34).
London might be ill-advised to ignore the potential wider repercussions of ending its participation in the Airbus A400M military airlifter as it ponders its next move, although the U.K. could yet benefit from the broader political and industrial maneuvering surrounding the program.
In a deal valued at $1.36 billion (at list prices), Turkish Airlines has placed its first direct order from Boeing for five 777-300ERs. It now flies three of the long-range twin-engine aircraft on leases. Turkish operates a mixed fleet of 132 aircraft and has been consistently upgrading. Since 1997, it has placed orders for 49 737-800s.
As a long-time reader of your magazine, I can honestly say that while I have occasionally disagreed with your editorials, the Cap and Trade stance (AW&ST Apr. 20, p. 70) was the first to disgust me. The Cap and Trade initiative will destroy U.S. aviation. It is an impossible scheme hatched by Luddite environmentalists and know-nothing politicians looking for yet another tax. It is no more likely to work than a perpetual motion machine.
There’s more to come in the shakeout of the European general aviation diesel engine market after a tumultuous year that has seen the landscape for suppliers change markedly. The turmoil is now compounded by the global economic slowdown that is taking a toll on orders and the ability of the industry to right itself financially.
Vought Aircraft Industries benefited from the timing of deliveries for the H-60, C-17 and its Gulfstream executive jet programs, for which it is a supplier. But its overall first-quarter revenues dropped 5% from a year ago to $403 million. Net income was $18 million, off 38%. President and Chairman Elmer Doty says start-up efforts for Boeing’s 747-8 program were the primary reason commercial revenues were off 16% to $34.4 million. Cancellation of Cessna’s Columbus 850 will not have a material impact on Vought’s financials, he said.
Australia will powerfully strengthen and reorient its defense forces in the face of a rising China that it expects to wield an increasingly long reach. Assessing risks in the changing Asian balance of power out to 2030, a defense white paper sets out plans for land-attack missiles as a strategic strike force based on a fleet of larger and more numerous warships.
NetJets Europe is one of the biggest buyers of business aircraft in Europe, offering customers a fractional ownership program and flying-hour cards. William Kelly, CEO of NetJets Europe, talks with Aviation Week & Space Technology International Editor Robert Wall about the global economic crisis and its impact on his business. AW&ST: How have NetJets Europe’s operations been affected by the economic downturn?
Eumetsat has inaugurated the first ground facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to serve its Eumetcast data transmission network. Funded by the European Union, the facility will be part of a network intended to enhance the use of environmental satellite data by sub-Saharan African nations.
June 15-21—Paris air show. Sept. 23-24—MRO Europe. Hamburg, Germany. Nov. 2-4—A&D Programs. Phoenix. Dec. 2-3—A&D Finance. New York. Dec. 8-10—MRO Asia. Hong Kong. June 4—Business Aviation Security. Rosslyn, Va. June 16—Demonstrating the Value of Corporate Aviation. New York. July 15-16—Revenue Management for Airlines. Chicago.
BAE Systems is aiming to fly the Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle before the end of this month, says Kevin Taylor, managing director of the company’s Military Air Solutions business unit. The Mantis technology demonstrator is being jointly funded by the Defense Ministry and industry. The air vehicle is now at the Woomera range in Australia.
