The air transport sector could soon become a victim of the subprime mortgage crisis-induced global credit crunch, as the abundance of money that has spurred growth in recent years is at risk. Until recently, there was still a feeling of exuberance in the aerospace industry about long-term prospects. Despite several years of strong growth and order intake, industry insiders saw little reason for concern.
The legal process for the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines has been completed. The new airline, known as Air India, has launched daily, nonstop flights from Mumbai to New York using Boeing 777-200LRs. The carrier will have a combined fleet of more than 112 airplanes, and by the end of this year plans to add seven 777s, four 737-800s and 10 Airbus A320s.
Concerning the ion drive on the NASA Dawn spacecraft (AW&ST July 2, p. 56), it would be good to have the rocket scientists acknowledge that Newtonian mechanics won’t work at the velocities stated but must be modified by the relativity correction factor. My Dad and I first bumped into this in the design of large TV picture tubes in 1970, with electron beam speeds approaching the speed of light.
The Japanese military is making several giant leaps into the future, at least philosophically, with its plans to buy advanced strike aircraft and precision, air-launched weapons and to develop new, advanced sensors. The precipitating events are ballistic missile tests in North Korea, the fielding of advanced strike fighters and cruise missiles in China and, perhaps most worrisome, China’s destruction of a satellite with a direct-launch, anti-satellite missile.
Crewmembers on the International Space Station will spend the rest of the year getting their spacecraft ready for an intense growth spurt that will almost double its living space by the end of April 2008 if all goes well.
Embattled British airport management company BAA is looking to cut jobs in the support sector, though BAA CEO Stephen Nelson says as, of yet, “no decisions have been taken.”
It was with great interest and disappointment that I read the interview with Steven Udvar-Hazy (AW&ST Aug. 6., p. 58). He is clearly a leader, and his comments are certainly worth thinking about.
Chris Collins has been promoted to executive vice president/chief operations officer from head of operational performance for Frontier Airlines. Paul Tate has been promoted to executive vice president/chief financial officer from senior vice president/CFO and David Sislowski to senior vice president from vice president/general counsel.
As a long retired aerospace engineer, I was quite intrigued by the “Falcon Fix-It List” (AW&ST June 25, p. 17). The list included adding tank baffles to correct a slosh-induced controllability problem, redesigning quick disconnects and ensuring that the rocket nozzle does not impinge on the structure during stage separation. Then, on the next page, we read that the launch of the Terra-SAR-X was delayed by problems with tantalum capacitors. Seems like old times. I wouldn’t be surprised to read of an outbreak of purple plague any day now.
France’s strategic national security policy review process has begun, with the goal of completing the drafting of the new “White Book” early next year. It is the first major strategic update for France since 1994. The review had been sought by parties across the French political landscape before this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, in part to address the new global threat environment. The commission drafting the White Book was formally ensconced late last month.
Sagem Defense Securite confirmed on Aug. 29 the successful first firing test of the infrared terminally guided variant of its AASM air-launched standoff precision weapon. The test took place on July 12 and was performed at the CEL missile test range near Biscarosse, France, from a Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000N strike aircraft based at the Cazaux flight test center. The test followed earlier tests with AASMs equipped with inertial and GPS guidance. The tested version features an additional imaging infrared seeker supported by image processing algorithms.
China is starting to ramp up its scramjet propulsion work—an initiative that will benefit high-speed missile programs while also helping the country to develop advanced aerospace materials, greater computational capabilities and a cadre of young engineers who have matured as a result of cutting-edge engine and aerodynamic challenges. Building on its ramjet experience, China is embracing the much more difficult task of developing Mach 5 air vehicle concepts in which propulsion and aerodynamics are highly coupled.
Paul G. Kaminski, an AIAA fellow and chairman/CEO of Technovation Inc., recently received the 2006 U.S. National Medal of Technology for contributions to national security “through the development of advanced, unconventional imaging from space.” At the same ceremony, Jan D.
Tiger Airways says it will use IAE V2500s on its most recent order, for 30 A320s. The same engines would be used for 20 aircraft that the Singapore carrier has on option.
General Electric captured a $231.2-million contract to develop and demonstrate the inlet, engine, exhaust nozzle and integrated thermal management technologies for the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology. The goal is to create optimized propulsion over a broad range of altitudes and speeds. The research also is to demonstrate advances in thrust, fuel efficiency and costs.
A News Break said Boeing's 1-kw. Agile Multi-role Weapon System, a Humvee-mounted laser also known as the Laser Avenger, requires its operator to focus energy on a target for up to 40 min. (AW&ST Aug. 20/27, p. 26). Boeing says the laser can operate for up to 40 min. but can destroy anticipated targets within “single-digit minutes.”
Sept. 11-14—Reed Exhibitions’ Aerospace and Defense Group’s Defense Systems Equipment International Exhibition. London. Call +44 (208) 439-8888, fax +44 (208) 439-8899 or see www.dsei.co.uk Sept. 11-14—International Civil Aviation Organization’s Introduction to Performance- Based Navigation Seminar. ICAO Asia and Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok. Call +1 (514) 954-8219, ext. 7117, fax +1 (514) 954-6759 or see www.icao.int/pbn
David A. Fulghum (Kadena AB, Okinawa, and Yokota AB, Japan)
Next-generation air defense is lurching toward reality in Japan, a country that’s less than a 10-min. ballistic missile flight from North Korea and tens of minutes of flight by China’s advanced strike fighters and cruise missiles.
Analysts have used many different approaches over the decades to project engineering shortages in America, such as census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, advertising for engineering and technical-oriented positions, student enrollments, aging workforce data and retirement statistics. History indicates that none of these have been manifest. The crescendo of the “shortage” projections was found in congressional hearings in 1991 that did not validate the alleged crisis. And in 2003, the Sloan Foundation released a paper challenging shortage forecasts.
The Japanese defense ministry has asked for ¥15.7 billion ($136 million) in funding to proceed with its planned stealth fighter demonstrator in the fiscal year beginning Apr. 1. Proposals to accelerate upgrades for Japan’s F-15Js are also taking a concrete form, with the ministry requesting ¥112.3 billion in Fiscal 2008. Both projects are a response to the U.S. refusal to supply F‑22s. The ministry is also seeking ¥67.9 billion for four jet maritime patrol aircraft under the Kawasaki Heavy Industries P-X project.
Israel Aerospace Industries’ net profits increased 47% to $71 million, up from $48 million in the first six months of 2006. Accumulated sales increased 23% to $1.623 billion from $1.319 billion last year. Backlog reached a record $7.2 billion—87% for export. Operating profit increased 71% to $100 million (6.2% of sales) from $58 million. Company sales increased 12% to $795 million, a jump from $713 million.
The right-hand vertical axis for a graph provided by the International Air Transport Assn. (AW&ST Aug. 20/27, p. 55), showing decreases in fuel burn per passenger, should have read liters per 100 passenger kilometers.
Belgium-based Barco said at the MAKS air show at Zhukovsky, Russia, that it plans to start assembling its avionics products in that country to expand its role as a supplier there. The company is in final negotiations with electronics equipment supplier Elara and the Russian systems integrator National Institute of Aircraft Equipment (NIIAO) to open a dedicated production unit to assemble Barco avionics displays to the same standards used at its facilities in Belgium. Barco is already doing business in Russia.
Shannon Coffey has received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Mechanics and Control of Flight Award for developments in parallel processing that have brought improvements to the U.S. capability in space situational awareness. Coffey is head of the Mathematics and Orbit Dynamics Section of the Naval Research Laboratory. His research has been devoted to classical satellite orbit theory and computational techniques for satellite orbit determination for space object cataloging.
USAF Gen. Lance Smith has asked to leave his NATO job as Supreme Allied Commander-Transformation at the end of his tour in November. He plans to retire in January. The organization’s defense planning committee has agreed to his release. The job is frustrating because many NATO nations continue to under-invest in defense, not meet obligations and prolong projects until they are no longer relevant or affordable.
