John S. Edwards/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com
The outlook for the expendable launch vehicle (ELV) market is solid. Revenues for commercial launches have risen steadily since 2005, with Europe garnering the lion’s share of the global market.
Larry Dickerson (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The successes, evolution and technology of unmanned aircraft are helping to chip away at the barriers erected by critics who see unmanned aerial vehicles as a passing fad soon to be relegated to the trash heap of failed (or over-hyped) developments. Prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, UAVs were considered exotic toys and not essential tools for victory on the modern battlefield. This all changed as the U.S. demand for surveillance assets soared and its fleet of UAVs expanded by leaps and bounds.
Research Institutes GosNIIAS (State Research Institute of Aviation Systems) (Moscow) is a think tank focused on combat aircraft, aviation weapons systems and military avionics. The institute has an important role in the development of software for onboard mission computers and the integration of weapon control systems.
Air Force Aero Technologies of Australia N-22B (16) Aero Vodochody L-39ZA (18) Airbus A310-300 (1) Airbus ACJ (1) Basler Turbo 67 Conversion (9) Bell Helicopter Textron 412 (8) Bell Helicopter Textron 412SP (10) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H (18) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1N (1) Boeing 737-400 (1) Boeing 737-800BBJ2 (1) British Aerospace HS.748-2A (2) British Aerospace HS.748 (4) CASA CN-235 (2)
Defense and aerospace giant Thales is gunning for further growth, following a surge in orders and sales last year. But Dassault Aviation’s reinforced role in the company could force a reformulation of this strategy, or even a change in command.
5-2-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0061, Japan Tel. 03-3569-7300; Fax 03-3569-7395 www.mbco.jp MBSat-1 Broadcasting, multimedia. Orbital location is 144° E. Carries one Ku-band and 16 S-band transponders. 2016 EOL. Service providers/users: 30 providers, including MTV, Nikkei CNBC, NNN24, Takarand, TBS.
Douglas Royce (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Until very recently, the world’s manned bomber market was essentially dormant. There are only a few air forces around the world that maintain these fleets, and development of new bombers has for decades been the province of the U.S. and Russia. Until recently, neither nation had been working on new manned bomber designs. One that is underway in the U.S. would be based on an existing concept for an unmanned combat air system.
All Nippon Airways says it will extend implementation of a Line Operations Safety Audit developed by the University of Texas and being implemented by 30 major carriers. In 2006, ANA was the first Japanese carrier to implement the human factors study, which involved an observer riding in the cockpit jump seat to assess crew performance in normal flight operations. Pilots for the other five carriers in the ANA Group will now undergo the critiques, which will extend to the end of May.
John S. Edwards/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com
The commercial communications satellite market is no longer dominated by the companies that once were perennial favorites: Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Thales Alenia Space, EADS Astrium and Space Systems/Loral are now capturing big blocks of market share.
Air Force Beech 99A (6) Beech B100 (1) Bell Helicopter Textron 206B (3) Bell Helicopter Textron 412 (4) Bell Helicopter Textron 412EP (3) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H (13) Boeing 707 (1) Boeing 707-320C (1) CASA C-101BB (4) CASA C-101CC (1) CASA C-212-200 (2) CASA C-212-300 (2) Cessna A-37B (6) Cessna CitationJet CJ1 (4) Cessna O-2A (3) Cessna OA-37 (7)
Air Force Aero Vodochody L-39C (1) Aero Vodochody L-39ZA (7) Antonov An-26 (2) LET L-410UVP (6) LET L-410UVP-E (1) Mikoyan MiG-29 (10) Mikoyan MiG-29UB (2) Mil Mi-2 (6) Mil Mi-8 (1) Mil Mi-17 (14) Mil Mi-24 (18)
