Amy Butler (Washington), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
The U.S. Navy’s decision to select a Northrop Grumman design for its new surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles appears to secure the company’s foothold as that service’s preferred UAV provider. The Apr. 22 announcement also stamped out Lockheed Martin’s attempt, as a prime contractor for a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ Predator-derived design, to break into the burgeoning Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAV market.
Diamond Aircraft will provide 14 DA40-TDIs and two DA42-TDIs to India’s national flight academy (Igrua). The deal includes three simulators. Diamond notes that this connection gives it a solid foothold in the Indian flight-training and general aviation market. Igrua is expanding its reach and hopes to enroll 100 pilots per year.
Space Florida, an economic-development organization established by the state legislature to promote aerospace-industry development, has teamed with Spacehab Inc. to establish a “space-based biotech corridor” linking laboratory space on the International Space Station with the state-owned Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Space Florida will provide Spacehab with financial backing and use of its research facility to develop commercial uses of U.S. experiment-rack space on the ISS.
Swedish Space Corp. has selected a Kosmotras Dnepr booster to launch two Prisma satellites. The Prisma spacecraft, to be orbited in 2009 from either Baikonur, Kazakhstan, or Yasni, Russia, will experiment with formation-flying technologies, including environmentally benign and micro propulsion systems. France, which is participating in Prisma, also may launch its Picard climate research satellite on Dnepr.
Denmark plans to fly air force pilots in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as part of its fighter evaluation process. The Danish Defense Ministry has asked the U.S. Defense Dept. to release additional information on the aircraft. The Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martin F-35 are also contenders. A selection is expected by mid-2009.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) technicians are well along in building the first flight version of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which is set for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in the summer of 2009 on a newly designed Mitsubishi H-IIB rocket.
Ronald T. Rand has been appointed senior vice president-communications for the Lockheed Martin Corp. , Bethesda, Md. He succeeds Dennis R. Boxx, who has retired. Rand has been vice president-communications for Pratt & Whitney and former director of public affairs for the U.S. Air Force.
Theoretical physicist-cum-rock star Stephen Hawking believes NASA is on the right track with its plans to move humans beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon and eventually Mars. Speaking at George Washington University, Hawking argues for an international push into space at 20 times the funding it gets today. Even if the worldwide expenditure on space exploration increased twenty-fold, it would only consume one quarter of one percent of the world’s GDP. “Isn’t our future worth one quarter of a percent?” he asks.
“Why is a carbon-trading scheme better than increased fuel taxes?” asks Fred Bearden (AW&ST Apr. 7, p. 8). I have worked on this issue as a consultant for a number of years for clients such as the European Commission and several European governments. I agree that in terms of economic efficiency, a trading scheme is not better than a tax. A tax gives the same incentives as emissions-trading for buying fuel-efficient aircraft and flying more efficiently. Furthermore, a tax has a lower administrative burden than an emission trading scheme.
The U.S. Air Force plans to fill its long-standing capability gap to collect intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in defended airspace by using its next-generation bomber also as the basis for a highly stealthy recce aircraft.
The circumstances that led to the selection of the Northrop-EADS KC-45A tanker are curious. At the start of the competition, Boeing pitched a variant of the 777 as an alternative to the KC-767. But, the U.S. Air Force talked Boeing out of it. USAF wanted a “medium tanker.” The 777 would have trumped the Airbus A330 in all criteria that the selection committee cited as the A330’s winning advantage over the 767.
Manuel Lopez Aguilar, who is executive vice president-maintenance and engineering for Iberia Maintenance, and Joe Sirico, manager of Pratt & Whitney’s Regulatory Compliance Office and co-chairman of the Manufacturing and Maintenance Subcommittee of the Aerospace Industries Assn.’s Civil Aviation Regulatory and Safety Committee, have won the 2008 Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) from AVIATION WEEK’s Overhaul & Maintenance magazine.
I have read the letters predictably moaning about the loss of Boeing to the “foreign” competition. If this is about jobs, as some writers state, then the solution is easy: Use deficit spending to hire thousands of people to dig holes, and thousands more to fill them up again. The overall effect is the same as the standard government “jobs” program-—using deficit spending to pay uncompetitive companies to stay in business.
Bidders were lining up last week to submit offers to India for its 126-aircraft fighter procurement. Contenders include a variant of the Boeing F/A-18EF, the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16IN, MiG-35 version of the Fulcrum and Saab with a Gripen derivative. Technology access, industrial participation and the ability to integrate third-party systems and weaponry will feed into the final selection.
BMI Chairman Michael Bishop is cautioning that U.K. airport authority BAA needs to increase its efforts to ensure that the mess during the openings days of Heathrow Terminal 5 does not occur with Heathrow East, the intended replacement for Terminal 1. Bishop says many of the airlines at Heathrow were exasperated by being treated as second-class citizens while “being charged through the nose” to pay for Terminal 5.
USAF Maj. Gen. Robert R. Allardice has been appointed director of strategy, plans and policy at U.S. Central Command Headquarters, MacDill AFB, Fla. He has been commander of the coalition air force transition team of Air Combat Command’s (ACC) Multi-National Security Transition Command in Baghdad. Brig. Gen. C.D. Alston has been named director of nuclear operations, plans and requirements/deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been director of space and nuclear operations. Maj. Gen. Stephen J.
U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets will receive ITT Corp.’s ALQ-214(v)3 integrated countermeasure system for protection against enemy air defense and air-to-air weapons through a $111-million full-rate production contract. In addition, some of the systems will go to the Royal Australian Air Force’s newest batch of Super Hornets. But that’s nothing compared to the company’s $312-million contract with Special Operations Command for a suite of integrated radio-frequency countermeasures.
Northrop Grumman has snagged contracts worth $252 million from Lockheed Martin for development of the communications, navigation and identification subsystem of the F-22 Raptor. Software radios will allow simultaneous support of multiple tasks including identification friend or foe, flight aids, and both voice and data links.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737NG arrives at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport on Runway 01R. SAS 737NGs have flown 2,000 “green” approaches into the airport during the past two years. Using 4D trajectory procedures, the aircraft cross the threshold within 7 sec. of the required arrival time, on average (see p. 52). Avtech, an air navigation consultancy in Stockholm, is helping SAS to implement 4DT. SAS will soon add Required Navigation Performance approach procedures so aircraft can shorten their approach path to the runway. SAS photo.
Wayne S. Pennell has been appointed deputy executive director for operations and maintenance for the Maryland Aviation Administration . He was deputy executive director for maintenance, utilities and terminal services.
Executive jet operators Jet Aviation of Switzerland and Elite Jets of Dubai will create a strategic partnership to develop business aviation services in the burgeoning Middle East bizjet market. Elite, founded in 2004, will provide charter services in the region for Jet Aviation customers using its fleet of Challenge 604/605, Hawker 850 XP and Cessna CJ3 aircraft. Jet Aviation will provide line and scheduled maintenance, technical assistance and training services, and allow Elite to benefit from pooled purchasing of insurance, fuel and other items.
U.S. legacy airlines are preparing to cull dozens of older mainline aircraft from their fleets this fall, as they foresee even tougher times after the peak summer travel season. Deep first-quarter losses reveal the industry’s shaky condition due to record fuel costs. This alone would be enough to force carriers to review their capacity plans, but another blow is expected in the fourth quarter when the economic downturn could start to seriously bite into travel demand.
South Korea will loosen restrictions on budget airlines that bar them from flying internationally in their first two years of operations. The move will open opportunities for carriers that hope to begin flying in South Korea in the next year.
The European Space Agency is preparing to begin development work on the first three spacecraft for its Global Monitoring for Environment and Security system as it gears up for a second-phase expansion plan that is expected to more than double the initial fleet. Thales Alenia Space was awarded a €305-million ($488-million) contract Apr. 14 for Sentinel 3, the second of five dedicated Sentinel satellites that will form the backbone of the space segment of GMES, which is being developed under ESA responsibility.
Randy Mulvey has been promoted to director of SkyWest Inc. ’s Midwest Connect and Pearl Perrin as director of its Delta Connection service. Mulvey was Chicago regional director for SkyWest, while Perrin was a regional director for Delta Connection ground operations. Spencer N. Hyde has been promoted to director of SkyWest’s enhanced multimedia and business development group from manager of design and multi-media development.
