Three U.S. Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles are executing missions over Iraq and Afghanistan with about 500 flight hr. per month, says Bill Walker, a business development executive for prime contractor Northrop Grumman. On-the-ground turnaround time is about 4 hr. So far, the company has delivered four Block 20 aircraft, which have a larger wing and more onboard power. Two more are slated for delivery this month.
Smiths Detection is to begin to replace all BAA X-ray screening systems with more advanced models, including its Advanced Threat Identification X-ray, which is capable of detecting explosives and liquids. The 10-year deal with the U.K. airport operator is worth more than $40 million.
U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys are en route to Iraq via sealift, where they will execute their first foreign missions. VMM-263 from MCAS New River, N.C., began deployment last month. The Pentagon decided not to self-deploy the MV-22s, although they are capable of making the trip via air with refuelers. Meanwhile, the Air Force is considering early deployment of its CV-22s, which are optimized with specialized radar and communications for the special operations support missions.
The Army will need an extra $13 billion or so a year to replace war-related equipment losses until about three years after the war in Iraq winds down—whenever that may be. And the service will require a bigger piece of the defense budget thereafter, says Army Secretary and former Texas politician Pete Geren. He expresses little sympathy for the Air Force’s need to replace aging aircraft. Moreover, he says Army-USAF issues regarding the Joint Cargo aircraft and oversight of unmanned aircraft aren’t resolved.
Collage of airport images and airplanes illustrates the rapid expansion in the world's air traffic. To keep increasingly crowded skies safe, industry is looking to adopt new methods of prevention to stop accidents before they occur. Global cooperation is key to the implementation of safety programs and setting one level of safety worldwide. Special report begins on p. 52. Getty Images photo.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to procure 72 Eurofighter Typhoon military fighters is a milestone in the European program’s history. The $9-billion-deal, dubbed Al-Salam, will extend Riyadh’s solid relationship with the U.K. for another several decades, and serve as another indication that armaments export is significantly broader than more conventional business agreements.
New two-seat strike fighters and electronic-attack aircraft are quickly emerging as a combat necessity. That need heralds the beginning of a revolution for the military aviation that will likely see the end of large-platform bombers and intelligence-gathering aircraft. Instead, military aviation will start looking like the Israeli Air Force, which abandoned bombers for fighter-size aircraft that can strike at strategic ranges.
The rollout of the Superjet 100 marks the start of an intense period to get the aircraft ready for service by next November, but Italian and Russian industry officials are already in talks to broaden their cooperation perhaps beyond the regional jet market.
Air Force’s Materiel Command has created an AFMC intelligence squadron to provide lifetime support of complex and critical advanced intelligence for use by new systems such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
After months of wrangling between USAF and Lockheed Martin over C-5 re-engining program cost estimates, acquisition chief Sue Payton said last week that the effort has breached Congress’s limit on cost increases and will have to go through an arduous recertification, including an assessment of alternatives. One source on Capitol Hill said that in a recertification, the C-5 effort is likely to be cut back heavily in favor of buying new C-17s. Cost-breach criteria are a 25% increase in the current cost estimate or a 50% increase in the original estimate.
Ken Hylander has been promoted to senior vice president-safety and engineering/chief safety officer from vice president at Northwest Airlines . Tim Rainey has been appointed senior vice president-flight operations and system operations control (SOC). He was senior vice president-flight operations and inflight services. Bill Lentsch, who has been vice president-customer service for Northwest’s Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) hub, has been named vice president-flight operations and SOC administration.
The U.S. Air Force is reassessing requirements for a new Light Attack Aircraft (LAA) for the young Iraqi Air Force. USAF is leading the procurement, though the aircraft will be turned over for use by Iraqi forces. The yet-to-be-determined system will be financed through the U.S. Iraq Security Forces Fund, using money set aside by the U.S. Congress.
China’s cabinet and Central Military Commission have approved long-standing plans to develop a space-launch site at Wenchang on Hainan Island. The facility will handle “synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations and deep-space probe satellites,” state media report.
The Boeing 787 program continues to present many serious questions (AW&ST Sept. 10, p. 24). Why so little visibility of composite fatigue testing in view of major problems with other attempts in the last 30 years? Why no data on lightning strike testing—there is much history and they are common? Why at such a late date is supplier chain management an issue for something as simple as a fastener? And with all the CAD tools, why suddenly is there a three-month delay in flight testing (probably the minimum) when they went to “stuff the shell”?
USAF Air Mobility Command’s chief, Gen. Arthur Lichte, says he wants to convert his fleet of airlifters, refuelers and executive transports to using alternative fuels. Lichte didn’t provide a date, and he says the concept is young. However, the driving force for the plan is to reduce the common operating costs. USAF is the largest fuel consumer in the Pentagon, and of the Air Force’s commands, AMC rises to the top in fuel consumption. For every $10-per-barrel increase in oil cost, USAF estimates a $600-million impact on its fuel budget.
Homeland security and border skirmishes are prompting India to look at aerostat surveillance, with the hope that technology operating continuously will be cheaper than current surveillance platforms. Three years ago, the Indian air force purchased two Israeli Elbit EL/M-2083 systems, mounted on a TCOM airship, that operate at 2-3-mi. altitudes. Officials say that the air force has ordered another four.
The U.S. Navy’s premier electronic surveillance aircraft is fading fast, so the Navy is scrambling for a replacement plan. With the two other elements of its maritime surveillance program intact—Boeing is developing the P-8A patrol aircraft and the Navy is reviewing proposals for an unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft—replacing the P-3 Orion fleet is what remains.
Frank Morring, Jr., Michael A. Taverna and Neelam Mathews (Hyderabad, India)
A Japanese spacecraft arriving at the Moon on the 50th anniversary of Sputnik this week marks the beginning of what may be a lucrative sweepstakes in space for generations to come. But instead of Cold War-style political prestige, the purse for this space race could be long-term market position as the world’s high-tech economy begins to move off-planet.
Big avionics companies such as Rockwell Collins have always retrofitted their products into aircraft with aging systems, but in this market upturn the Cedar Rapids-based company is modifying products especially for this business jet market segment. Not that “forward fit” of avionics in new business jets isn’t keeping the company busy. In fact, business is booming in the “forward fit” of cockpits in new aircraft that are rolling off the production lines, and it’s also high in the retrofit of existing cockpits.
Japan will scrap regulated minimum fares on international tickets sold directly by airlines, next year. Tickets sold by travel agents are already unregulated.
In a candid exchange last week, two senior USAF generals showed that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England’s decision denying the service’s bid to control the burgeoning Pentagon UAV fleet has left the military far from a consensus. During a panel of four-star generals at the Air Force Assn.’s annual exposition, Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said he’s “not unhappy with the decision” or the formation of teams to tackle a host of UAV management issues, including acquisition and operations. Then he handed the microphone to Gen.
Jim Hopkins (see photos) has been appointed vice president-FBO operations, Tom Mekis vice president-aircraft sales, service and charter, and Mark Linville vice president/chief financial officer for Landmark Aviation , Winston-Salem, N.C. Hopkins was head of FBO sales and marketing. Mekis was general manager of the Leesburg, Va., facility and vice president of the aircraft charter and management division. Linville was head of finance and administration for the North American operations of LeCreuset of America.
The U.S. Air Force is wrapping up an unexpectedly long operational testing phase for the newest Raytheon Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam) while the Pentagon is turning to versions of some old mainstay weapons for its ground-attack requirements.
Robert Wall (Paris and Toulouse), Douglas Barrie (London)
British Airways says it wants to see more fidelity on the Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350XWB-1000 designs before making its next long-haul fleet replacement decision. For now, though, Airbus is celebrating, having convinced BA to buy 12 of the mega-transports. Given London Heathrow’s slot constraints, the A380 has often been viewed as the ideal aircraft for BA, so its long reluctance to sign on was a cloud over the aircraft. But the fog has lifted—BA has taken seven options on top of the 12 firm A380 orders.
Signs of liberalization notwithstanding, the Chinese government continues to closely supervise its airline industry, as Air China and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific have discovered in a failed bid for China Eastern. The two carriers, linked by cross-equity holdings, apparently did not seek prior government approval as they planned their offer for the struggling Shanghai-based airline, a move that would have blocked Singapore Airline’s deal to acquire a strategic stake in the company.
