The Philippine air force plans to buy an additional 18 AleniaAermacchi SF-260 turboprop-powered primary training aircraft. The contract is still being negotiated and is likely to be in excess of $5 million. The air force initially acquired the trainer in 1973 when it bought 32 of the piston-powered versions followed by another 16 before changing to the SF-260TP. In addition to basic pilot instruction, the airplane is used for counterinsurgency and light attack missions.
USAF Maj. Gen. William L. Shelton has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general while remaining commander of 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic-Space) of Air Force Space Command/commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space, U.S. Strategic Command, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Brig. Gen. Duane A. Jones has been named director of global combat support/deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been director of logistics at Headquarters U.S.
Russia and India’s long-awaited collaborative military airlifter program may finally be about to get underway in earnest, following the Indian prime minister’s visit to Moscow. The agreement giving the formal go-ahead for the Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA) was signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow this month.
Christopher L. Greer has been appointed director of the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy . He also becomes co-chairman of the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and Development. Greer was program director for the Office of Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation.
Stefan Weingartner (see photo) has been appointed president/CEO for commercial maintenance of Munich-based MTU Aero Engines . He succeeds Bernd Kessler, who has become CEO of Switzerland-based SR Technics. Weingartner has been MTU’s senior vice president-defense programs.
The benefits of using gas-to-liquid synthetic jet fuel will undergo testing next year under a new cooperative effort launched by Qatar Airways. Shell Aviation Vice President Sjoerd Post says the first flight trials should take place before the end of next year. The GTL fuel promises higher density, around 4-5%, so aircraft should be able to fly the same distances using less fuel and reduce carbon dioxide output. Initial work will use a equal blend of kerosene and GTL, with higher percentages to follow.
IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani’s Viewpoint is right, but there is a far more pervasive aspect to the green movement (AW&ST Oct. 22, p. 58). Almost every government has seized on the attack by the green movement and global warming activists on industry, the consumer and individual rights, as a way to dramatically increase taxes and make decisions even more powerful in everyday life. The result will be an ever-increasing bureaucracy and strangulation of free enterprise and freedom.
Steve Charles has become director of Citation product support for the Cessna Aircraft Co. , Wichita, Kan. He was director of propeller product support and has been succeeded by Tom Grace, who was head of Cessna’s service information group.
Israeli officials want Washington to understand that the Cold War deterrence doctrine doesn’t work in their neck of the woods. “What does the concept of second strike mean for a small country like Israel?” says a senior, Jerusalem-based official. “The models of Cold War deterrence are built on rational decision-making.” An Iranian bomb test would “energize every Islamic extremist from Malaysia to Europe,” and might set off multilateral proliferation in the region. Israeli worries aren’t limited to nukes, either.
Matthew O’Connell, who is CEO of GeoEye Inc., Dulles, Va., has received the Intelligence Achievement Award for Industry from the United States Geospatial Foundation as the leader in that industry segment.
Darryl Davis has become president of the Advanced Systems Div. of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis. He succeds George Muellner, who plans to retire Dec. 31. Davis was vice president/general manager of Advanced Precision Engagement and Mobility Systems.
Capt. Jon Dudek’s and Col. Michael R. Gallagher’s comments (AW&ST Oct. 29, p. 10) about inadequate pilot support are justified, and airline operations engineering and pilot training management are often at fault. For the best part of 40 years, prior to retirement, I worked closely with my airline’s pilot training management so line pilots’ knowledge and operational procedures could conform with the airplane flight manual.
U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering says he “can live with” the $85-million cut to the Pentagon’s plans to expand its missile defense coverage into Europe. Obering says the cut may delay site activation for six months or more. The Pentagon plans to have an X-band radar site in the Czech Republic by 2011 and a site for interceptors in Poland by 2013.
Talks between the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Thales and MBDA for equipment for the JF-17 light fighter are nearing their end, Pakistani industry officials say. Thales would supply the avionics, and MBDA the weapons package. Pakistan has two JF-17s built in cooperation with China in country for testing, and should receive four more before year-end. Two additional JF-17s are expected to be delivered next year. The latter two aircraft may sport some modifications as design adjustments are made after flight trials.
Middle East airlines are showing clear signs of growing up. Despite the $130-billion flurry of aircraft orders and commitments unveiled at the Dubai air show, healthy financial returns are taking prominence over unbridled growth. What’s more, the market is expected to remain vibrant in the next few years, even after carriers placed orders for more than 400 aircraft.
Intelligence analysts are studying the capabilities of a new version of China’s Long March 4 booster. The two-stage booster was unveiled Nov. 12 when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched an advanced “Yaogan” remote-sensing satellite, possibly with imaging radar, from Taiyuan in northern Shanxi Province. Liftoff was at 6:48 a.m. Beijing time.
Defense officials want Congress to provide supplemental appropriations—immediately, and preferably the entire $189-billion Bush administration request—so the Pentagon doesn’t have to shift money internally to pay for war-fighting demands in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Congress finally passed Fiscal 2008 defense appropriations topping $470 billion. But, except for $11.6 billion in off-budget funds for Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles being rushed to Iraq, the money goes to regular, non-combat-associated Defense Dept. spending.
John Zaepfel has been appointed to the board of directors of the Hi-Shear Technology Corp. , Torrance, Calif. He was founder/CEO of CPG International, which included Chartpak, Pickett Industries, Clearprint, Planhold and Grumbacher.
The German air force is pushing industry to consider more aggressive unmanned aircraft concepts than are currently on the unclassified drawing board, even as the country’s first steps toward a higher-performance, unmanned system move forward.
Continental Airlines in early 2008 will start installing Class-2 electronic flight bag (EFB) systems by Chicago-based navAero on its 58 Boeing 757-200/‑300s and 26 Boeing 767-200/‑400s, in part to provide pilots with an airport moving-map capability for improved situational awareness. Not many major airlines are retrofitting existing fleets with EFB equipment, although some are taking delivery of new aircraft from Boeing with higher-cost Class-3 EFB systems.
Pardus Capital Management, a New York hedge fund, ignited consolidation fever last week by recommending that Delta Air Lines and United Airlines merge. Pardus owns minority positions in both carriers. The recommendation sent shock waves throughout the industry, but Delta CEO Richard Anderson quelled speculation, saying Delta was not in merger discussions with United.
Russia will work with India on the Chandrayaan-2 robotic lunar exploration mission under a new 10-year agreement just signed in Moscow, supplying a lander and rover for surface operations. The agreement also covers the use of India’s Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), set to launch India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter in April 2008, for joint missions to the Moon. In addition to the launch vehicle, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will supply the orbiter/mother ship for the combined effort.
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton supports efforts to send humans back to the Moon as part of her overall space and aeronautics platform, despite her failure to explicitly say so in a recent Washington speech.
British Airways is once again pushing up its fuel surcharge on tickets in response to the continued rise in oil prices. The airline last raised its surcharge in June of this year. For long-haul flights of more than 10 hr., the fee increases to £58 ($120) from £43 ($89) per flight; for those shorter than 9 hr., it grows to £48 from £38. The surcharge for short-haul flights is being raised to £10 from £8. BA expects its fuel bill for the year to exceed £2 billion.
