Russian helicopter manufacture grew by 60% in 2008 compared to the previous year. Russian Helicopters—the umbrella company for manufacturers and design bureaus—released production figures for 2008 of 169 airframes, compared to 102 for 2007. The majority were the Mil Mi-8/Mi-17 family of military medium-utility helicopters. About 20 Mi-24/35M Hind and M-28H Havoc attack helicopters were produced. The figures included an upgrade of 24 Mi-2 light helicopters, and 11 Kamov Ka-27/32 co-axial rotor helicopters. This year, the plan is to manufacture 231 helicopters.
Mar. 23-26The Aerospace Corp.’s 13th Ground System Architectures Workshop: “Focusing on the User.” Marriott South Bay Hotel, Torrance, Calif. Call +1 (310) 336-6805 or see www.aero.org/conferences/gsaw/index.html Mar. 24-26U.S. Transportation Dept. Human Factors Coordinating Committee’s 2009 International Conference: “Fatigue Management in Transportation Operations.” Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel. See www.fatiguemanagement09.org
Eurocopter has sold six EC725 medium-lift helicopters to Mexico and is negotiating to build an industrial facility. Sale of the EC725s—for transport and civil security applications—was announced during a state visit last week by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Mexico already operates EC225s, Super Pumas and Panthers, and a Mexican subsidiary supports more than 350 Eurocopter helicopters in Latin America. According to Mexican sources, construction of the plant could cost up to €550 million ($688 million) and would be tied to an additional buy of six Panthers.
Southwest Airlines drew the top political leadership of the Twin Cities and Minnesota to attend ceremonies marking its inaugural service Mar. 9 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The airline is operating eight flights daily to Chicago Midway Airport, where passengers can connect to 57 destinations. Southwest is offering fares as low as $49, but many are in the $92-164 range. For its part, Northwest/Delta is not sitting still at NWA’s home base in nearby Eagan.
A shake-up in management structure and a near-term focus on medium and small/mini-unmanned aerial vehicles are emerging as key recommendations of a British root-and-branch review of its UAV needs. The Defense Ministry’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Capability Investigation is proposing that such needs be brought within a single directorate, rather than being managed across several, as at present.
A Sikorsky S-92 operated by Canada’s Cougar Helicopters and en route to two offshore platforms ditched in the North Atlantic about 31 mi. east of St. John’s, Newfoundland, on Mar. 12. Of the 16 oil workers and two crew on board, one was rescued by another helicopter, one is confirmed dead, and 16 were missing as of Mar. 12. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board says the crew reported mechnical difficulties.
Ongoing delays getting the space shuttle Discovery off the launch pad are starting to squeeze plans for getting the International Space Station (ISS) completed before the shuttle fleet is retired. Near term, the station program may have to delay doubling the crew from three to six by at least a month. Longer term, continuing trouble getting the aging orbiters into space could trim the number of flights available to finish assembly and pre-position heavy spare parts on the station. A last-minute scrub Mar. 11 delayed launch of Discovery on STS-119 until Mar.
The British Defense Ministry is to renew its service contract with Thales for the Hermes 450 UAV, for supporting combat operations at least until early 2011 when the Watchkeeper UAV begins to enter service.
The Greek government has named the Marfin Investment Group as the preferred bidder for Olympic Airlines, with the European Commission quickly providing its approval. The investment fund, Greece’s largest, would buy the flight operations and maintenance activities, although last week talks were still being finalized on how the ground operations would function. Athens stands to net around €177 million ($226.6 million).
Demand for commercial aircraft is sagging, financing is hard to come by, the stock market is in turmoil, and ominous signals from the Obama administration are creating worries that U.S. defense spending could be targeted for cuts. But as aerospace and defense companies brace for leaner times, there’s a glimmer of hopeful news. The industry is much healthier than it was in 2001, when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks triggered the last downturn in commercial aerospace.
Controllers for NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter expect to return to science observations this week following a somewhat risky Mar. 11 reboot of the spacecraft’s main computer. The restart was devised by engineers to remove flaws from the computer’s memory that had accumulated after years of being bombarded with space radiation. Odyssey had not been rebooted in more than five years. As a fringe benefit, the reboot also restored the orbiter’s backup, or “B-side” systems.
An article on the upcoming Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission incorrectly stated the surface resolutions of the Mimi-RF radars on India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter and the LRO (AW&ST Mar. 9, p. 44). The best resolutions are 150 and 30 meters, respectively.
Arturo Alfonso-Meirino has been named industry and market director for the Brussels-based European Defense Agency . He was assistant director and succeeds Ulf Hammarstrom.
It was just another bill trying to reform the Pentagon’s acquisition process until last week, when it became part of Obama’s program to cut waste in government contracting. The president threw his political clout behind legislation sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, respectively.
China will spend 14.9% more in its declared military budget this year than it did in 2008. But the announced budget, 480.7 billion yuan ($70.2 billion) does not cover all of China’s defense spending, foreign analysts say.
Our nation has historically enjoyed the geographic protection of broad oceans. But today, geography has only limited value as we assess our national vulnerabilities. The military notion of a “front”—a defined line of battle safely distant from our homes, schools and places of business—is becoming as antiquated as the buggy whip.
GE Aviation will expand its 49% stake in Airfoil Technologies International-Singapore to complete ownership by buying out the 51% share of Teleflex Inc. for $300 million. The purchase expands GE’s base in engine repairs as the commercial airline market enters what is likely to be a prolonged slowdown for new orders.
CFM International is moving into the full-scale test phase of its LEAP-X engine project and adding more new technologies in an effort to devise a design suitable for the requirements of next-generation narrow-body aircraft.
Selex Galileo is aiming for first flight of a beefed-up version of its Falco unmanned aerial vehicle—Falco Evo —by the end of the second quarter of 2010. Attempting to gain maximum improvement in performance for a comparatively modest outlay, the company is using the Falco fuselage, but it is wedded to a larger wing and extended tail booms. Four prototype shipset kits for the Falco Evo upgrade are being manufactured. The design is intended to increase the basic Falco’s maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) by 330 kg. (728 lb.). The Falco MTOW is 420 kg.
Technicians at the Goddard Space Flight Center put the finishing touches on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter before shipping it to the Kennedy Space Center for a scheduled May 20 launch. In addition to producing accurate terrain and resource maps, the orbiter and a lunar impactor riding piggyback will be expected to help settle the question of whether there is water ice in the Moon’s deep polar craters. NASA/Debora McCallum photo.
Peter B. Teets (see photo) has been named chairman and USAF Gen. (ret.) Thomas S. Moorman, Jr. (see photo), vice chairman of the board of trustees of The Aerospace Corp. , El Segundo, Calif. Teets succeeds USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Donald L. Cromer, who is retiring from the board. Teets is the retired president/chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin Corp., while Moorman was Air Force vice chief of staff before retiring.
General Electric and Rolls-Royce have temporarily halted tests of the first F136 engine to investigate the source of debris in the oil system. The F-35 alternate engine, which first ran in production configuration on Jan 30, had reached 98% power and was nearing the end of initial tests, when the problem hit. GE Rolls-Royce halted tests when data levels dropped off.
Douglas Barrie (London), Andy Nativi (Abu Dhabi), Robert Wall (Paris)
The United Arab Emirates is pursuing the acquisition of two strategic signals intelligence-gathering aircraft. The most likely platform is the Airbus A320. The program is estimated at $1.2 billion, according to European industrialists with interest in bidding the project. The aircraft is likely to be fitted with communications and electronic intelligence systems. It could also be outfitted with a long-range oblique photography system to provide imagery intelligence.
LAN Airlines expects its unique business model to get it through the current industry downturn in good shape, as the carrier benefits from the diversification strategy it developed during the past 10 years. “The first quarter of 2009 will still be reasonably good and we will still grow this year,” says President/CEO Enrique Cueto. Last year, LAN managed to significantly grow revenues and profits. The carrier is one of few worldwide with an investment-grade rating, which makes loans cheaper for it than for most of its competitors.
While welcoming the publication of the British Defense Technology Plan, industry is already pointing out that its real value will only be determined by adequate funding support. On Feb. 26, the Defense Ministry released a technology development road map covering the future requirements of all three armed services. It is the first time the ministry has made such a document public. The plan covers a range of research and development objectives, including in air systems, weapons and radar and electro-optical senor technologies.
