Galileo Avionica is preparing its first Falco unmanned aircraft system for operations after completing end-user operational tests and evaluation. Pakistan is the launch customer for the UAS program, although the Italian manufacturer will not confirm who the “undisclosed” buyer is.
An agreement by two European small-satellite specialists to bid jointly for future Galileo navigation system spacecraft may provide the key to putting the troubled and complex undertaking back on its feet.
As the legislative clock runs down for this session of the 110th U.S. Congress, House and Senate negotiators have yet to schedule a conference to reconcile their differing versions of the Fiscal Year 2008 Homeland Security Dept. appropriations bills.
I understand the need for reducing pilot workload in the proposed two-seat fighters (AW&ST Oct. 1, p. 27) for combined air-to-air and air-to-ground operations. What I don’t understand is why the U.S. Air Force is not combining efforts of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle development to allow the additional workload to be conducted remotely. A rear-seat crewman is usually looking at data displays and not helping the pilot fly. Why not save the weight of a second seat and have that crewman focus on the data without the distractions of g-forces?
The U.S. Navy, backed by several allied navies including those of Japan, the Netherlands and Spain, is continuing to make progress toward building a credible sea-based missile defense capability. The latest milestone was achieved off Kauai, Hawaii, Nov. 6 when the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) intercepted and destroyed two short-range ballistic missile targets simultaneously.
The Netherlands has agreed to acquire six Eurocopter EC135 P2i light twin helicopters for the Dutch police. The aircraft, to be delivered in the second half of 2009, will replace Eurocopter BO105s.
Ken Allen Peterman has been appointed president of the ITT Corp. ’s Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Aerospace/Communications Div. He succeeds Lou Dollive, who will retire. Peterman has been vice president/general manager of Rockwell Collins’ C3 Systems, Richardson, Tex.
Robert Wall (Tel Aviv), David A. Fulghum (Tel Aviv)
Upgrades to Hamas's low-cost rockets now targeting Israel are placing an increased number of cities at risk, leading to an aggressive pursuit of crash programs to counter these attacks.
Thomas Hills (see photos) has been appointed director of business development, marketing and sales for the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team , Plainfield, Ind. He was a U.S. Navy captain on staff at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington. Jim E. Payton has been named deputy director of business development, marketing and sales. He was director of OEM sales and international business development for Rolls-Royce Helicopter Engines in Indianapolis. Greg J. Fedele has become director of strategic business operations.
The top 20 U.S. airlines carry 98% of the nation’s passengers. “What if there are 19 instead of 20?” asks Gordon Bethune, who led the rebirth of Continental Airlines and is advising hedge fund Pardus Capital Management on industry consolidation.
Cirrus Design has opened its order book for a “new-from-nose-to-tail” version of its trademark SR20 that will be ready for deliveries in early January. The debut of the 2008 SR20-Generation Three marks the 10th anniversary of the certification of the original SR20 in 1998. The initial SR20, a composite aircraft, offered innovative design and safety features, including the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System that is now standard on Cirrus aircraft.
Amid international pressure on Iran to discontinue its alleged program to build nuclear weapons and doubts about North Korea’s commitment to end its own, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is stepping up the sophistication of flight testing for its burgeoning layered ballistic missile defense system.
United Airlines has added three more destinations to its growing European high-speed rail feeder network. United says it will expand its interlining agreement with French national railway SNCF-Tgvair, to include Champagne, Lorraine and Strasbourg. Service to the destinations, all of which are situated on the SNCF’s newly opened high-speed train line to eastern France and Germany, will start Dec. 9. The carrier already allows passengers from 13 French cities to connect by rail to U.S. destinations through Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport using a single ticket.
Tiger Airways Australia took to the air on a revenue flight for the first time Nov. 23 from Melbourne Airport to Australia’s Gold Coast, bringing a new low-cost carrier into service. The airline will also serve Adelaide, Alice Springs, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Perth and the Sunshine Coast out of Melbourne.
Boeing has completed first flight of Japan’s second KC-767, following its modification to an aerial refueler. The company also has flight-tested a new pylon for the Wing Air Refueling Pod designed for Italian KC-767s. The Japanese tanker will conduct night refueling using a fifth-generation boom to complete FAA certifications.
Lack of agreement on FAA funding could have a direct impact on the potential for a severe pilot shortage. The stalled FAA reauthorization bill contains a provision that would increase the mandatory pilot retirement age to 65 from 60, greatly accelerating an agency rulemaking that would accomplish the same thing. According to one regional airline executive, there are a slew of retirements pending, and things are starting to look bleak. A higher retirement age could greatly ease the problem.
The U.S. Air Force’s Space Battlelab is one of seven such establishments to fall victim to the service’s tight budget crunch. The Space Battlelab at Schriever AFB, Colo., formally closed its doors earlier this month. Its mission of developing technologies for use in the field will shift to the Space Innovation and Development Center (SDIC), also located there. Critics of the battlelab shutdown, ordered by the USAF chief of staff, Gen. T.
Without the so-called bridge supplemental—a spending measure meant to pay for immediate war costs until a Fiscal 2008 supplemental spending bill can be ironed out—USMC will fall short of funds Mar. 15, Castellaw says. His projection is based on recent spending trends and the cost to continue operations in Iraq. Castellaw says the impending shortfall is a “serious issue,” as the service must pay to reset its hardware and continue operations abroad. With drastic cuts internal to the service, the Marine budget could last for an extra 14 days, he estimates.
The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. plans to acquire as many as 50 light enforcement helicopters for Customs and Border Protection. The acquisition will be under a firm, fixed-price contract with a base for one year and four one-year options, according to a pre-solicitation notice. The solicitation is expected to be released this month.
The Defense Dept. is warning of dire times ahead, despite a record $476.4 billion in appropriations so far this Fiscal Year. In fact, the hot-button issue of funding national defense could sour the holidays for more than just Washington politicians and Pentagon denizens.
Qatar Airways received a water cannon salute in Doha when its first Boeing 777-300ER touched down Nov. 29 on the delivery flight from Seattle. The airline will be adding 32 777s to its fleet. It has confirmed orders for 14 777-300ERs, six 777-200LRs and seven 777-200Fs, with deliveries from now until mid-2010. It has options for another five 777s.
The Defense Dept. has given the nod to a plan to trim two test aircraft from the $24-billion Joint Strike Fighter program. The move will allow for replenishing the program’s depleted management reserve account by hundreds of millions of dollars, says Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin F-35 vice president, though he declined to cite a specific figure. That account had eroded due to development complications; one government official said it was short as much as $600 million.
Robert Wall (Haifa and Tel Aviv), David A. Fulghum (Haifa and Tel Aviv)
Israel is eyeing two space projects that will allow it to place satellites into orbit quickly during a crisis. The dual-path approach could see Israel field a new satellite launcher and a new spacecraft design. Underlying technology efforts for both initiatives are already underway.
The U.S. Justice Dept. has joined a lawsuit against Lockheed Martin, saying the company was remiss in not knowing a supplier—in a $20-million fraud scheme—inflated the prices of tools sold for building the F-16 and F-22. A U.S. attorney says Lockheed Martin, as a government contractor, is expected to ensure that claims for payment are accurate.
