President Bush and Russian President Putin will discuss Iran, civil nuclear cooperation and probably the source of Russia's greatest political heartburn, missile defense, when Putin visits the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, July 1-2, according to White House representatives. "Cooperation between the United States and Russia is important in solving regional conflicts, stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and combating terrorism and extremism," says one official. But Russia continues to vociferously oppose a U.S.
Alden A. Andre has been named FJ44 engine retrofit sales manager for Clifford Development, Kalamazoo, Mich. He was sales manager for Sierra Industries.
USAF Brig. Gen. Andrew E. Busch has been named commander of Defense Supply Center-Richmond (Va.) of the Defense Logistics Agency. He has been commander of the 402nd Maintenance Wing, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Robins AFB, Ga. Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog has been appointed commander of the 57th Wing of Air Combat Command (ACC), Nellis AFB, Nev. He has been commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, U.S. Central Command/director of the air component coordination element, Multi-National Force-Iraq. Brig. Gen.
Sagem's attempts to forge an alliance with Thales in inertial navigation systems center primarily on the commercial aircraft market (AW&ST May 28, p. 46). The global market for INS is dominated by Honeywell.
The Defense Dept.'s plan to create a combatant command for Africa faces numerous challenges, including what neighbors in the region will say about increasing U.S. presence on the newly strategic continent, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. Those neighbors include France, long a military and economic power in Africa, and China, which is pouring money and manpower into the continent as part of a worldwide quest for resources, customers and partners. Africa Command (Africom), the sixth U.S.
Russia tested improved strategic and tactical missile systems last week, amid continuing political sniping over U.S. plans to site forward elements of its missile defense system in Europe. Russia launched what was described as the RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk, while an improved variant of the army's Iskander system, known as Iskander-M, was tested at the Kapustin Yar range. The latter development appears to allow the Iskander system to launch not only short-range ballistic but also cruise missiles.
Montreal-based CAE reported net earnings of C$34.3 million ($32 million) in its fourth quarter, and C$127.4 million for the fiscal year, which ended Mar. 31. This compared with previous fourth-quarter net earnings of C$9.2 million and C$63.6 million for the last fiscal year. The simulator maker, which had C$93.6 million in cash at year-end, received C$1.455 billion worth of new orders in the year, for a total backlog of $C2.775 billion. Orders included seven civil-sector full-flight simulators, bringing the backlog to 34 (10 Airbus, 22 Boeing, one Embraer and one ATR).
Lockheed Martin has begun assembly of the first short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, and is scheduled to start mating the wing and aft fuselage to the airframe this month. Designated as BF-1, the F-35B is tentatively scheduled to make its first flight in mid-2008, according to company officials.
The space shuttle Atlantis is poised for a June 8 launch carrying the first set of 240-ft. solar arrays for the starboard side of the International Space Station. The crew will also complete retraction of the station's center arrays. STS-117 was to have launched in mid-March until a hailstorm severely damaged the insulation on the nose of its 155-ft. external tank (AW&ST Mar. 5, p. 53). A Herculean effort by NASA and contractor technicians repaired the tank at Kennedy, preserving the ability to loft four missions this year.
Malaysian Airline System says it plans to buy as many as 110 aircraft, including 55 widebodies. While the company is giving no other details, it has said it needs to replace its 39 Boeing 737-400s. MAS's financial performance continues to improve, with a January-March profit of 133 million ringgit ($38.6 million), compared with a loss of 321 million ringgit a year ago.
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Ltd. expects to order Boeing 777s or Airbus A350s as soon as next year for the second phase of its business strategy as a low-cost carrier that offers almost full cabin service on long-haul flights from China's richest city. That second phase will see the Hong Kong airline moving into secondary markets. In the first stage, it is focusing on big, mature routes already served by long-established rivals.
AGUSTA/WESTLAND HAS SOLD A CA109 POWER HELICOPTER to CCTV in China. The aircraft will be used extensively for electronic news gathering and aerial photography during the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. In 2006, Agusta/Westland won an order from the Beijing Municipality Public Security Bureau for one AW109 Power, one AW139 and two CA109 helicopters.
China will take a big step in the liberalization of its aviation industry in 2010 by ending the monopoly on the most lucrative routes held by its big-three carriers--China Southern, Air China and China Eastern.
Grob Aerospace plans to add a second SPn utility jet to its flight test program next month and will start evaluating key elements that were put on hold following the crash of a prototype last November. SPn tests resumed in February, but that aircraft lacks a full avionics suite. The third prototype, now being completed, should help to rectify this shortcoming and allow Grob to demonstrate critical elements of the aircraft, says CEO Niall Olver.
Guy Norris will join the Aviation Week & Space Technology staff as Southern California-based senior editor, starting June 4. He will cover technology developments across the industry. Norris previously worked for Flight International, first as technical editor based in the U.K. and most recently as U.S. West Coast editor. Before joining Flight, he was London correspondent for Interavia and worked there when it became part of the Jane's Information Group.
Professor Kenneth Button's viewpoint (AW&ST Apr. 30, p. 66) represents the financial interests of those that use the ATC system for business and profit. The Bush administration funding concept he supports mimics the European model, which charges user fees for funding air traffic control. The administration plan is a blatant attempt to shift the burden for financing the ATC system from those commercial interests that use it for profit to those that fly privately.
US Airways says its proposal to unify the contracts of the pilot unions from pre-merger US Airways and America West is worth about $122 million. Most of this, the carrier tells the Securities and Exchange Commission, would improve to America West levels the pay and contract terms of the pre-merger US Airways pilots, who made contract concessions in two Chapter 11 reorganizations since 2001. America West pilots would get 3% raises and "other improvements," and in return the carrier would benefit from a three-year contract extension through 2012.
Latin America has seen healthy capacity growth in recent years, although this overall pattern has been erratic in South America due in large part to the financial travails of its carriers. Throughout the wider region, including the Caribbean, economic improvement will likely be necessary for long-term expansion. The Latin American regions together account for 8.5% of the world's population and South America is home to 5.8% of the global population, Central America for 2.3%, while the Caribbean has only 0.5%.
The Dutch government made an about-face on its plans to purchase the Raytheon Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile. A previous administration had committed to buying 30 of the ship-launched weapons for use on LCF-type air defense and command frigates. But the roughly $94 million needed for the purchase and installation could be better spent, says current Dutch defense minister Eimert van Middelkoop, a member of the Christian Union party. The funds could be redirected to efforts to recruit and retain military personnel.
Prof. Jean-Pierre Swings has become chairman of the European Science Foundation's European Space Sciences Committee. He succeeds Prof. Gerhard Harendel. Swings completed his doctorate and postdoctoral training at Liege University in Belgium in 1974. His current research interests include extragalactic astrophysics, very large telescopes and instrumentation, space astrophysics and solar system exploration. Swings also has been general secretary of the International Astronomical Union.
MORE THAN 11,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE 2007 EUROPEAN Business Aviation Convention and Exposition--a record for the annual event held in Geneva. The three-day show also included 354 exhibitors that occupied 1,423 booth spaces, and 60 aircraft were on static display at the Geneva International Airport.
Passengers on Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and the mainline's other regional partners now have a way to help reduce environmental effects of air travel. For a "small, voluntary additional payment," they may purchase a "carbon offset" that would support projects to reduce greenhouse gases. The mainline is teaming with nonprofit organization Zerofootprint in the effort. At the airline web site, customers will find information about carbon offsets, a calculator to determine how much carbon dioxide their trip will generate and the cost to offset it.
The U.S. Air Force has released its revised request for proposals for the $15-billion Combat Search and Rescue-X (CSAR-X) HH-60G Pave Hawk replacement program. The changes came after losing bidders Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin protested Boeing's win last year with a Chinook variant. The revision addresses an apparent lack of clarity by USAF evaluators on the life-cycle costs of each proposal. USAF plans to announce a winner in the fall, and buy 141 helicopters.
BELL/AGUSTA AEROSPACE CO. OFFICIALS SAY THEY EXPECT to achieve FAA and European certification of the BA609 civil tiltrotor in 2010, followed by initial customer deliveries in 2011. Michael Cuppernull, BAAC director, says there are now two aircraft flying--one at Bell Helicopter Textron's XworX facility in Arlington, Tex., and another at Agusta's Cameri test center in Northern Italy. The two tiltrotors have accumulated about 200 flight hours and both Bell and Agusta have stationed flight teams at each other's facilities.
A raft of problems is forcing Boeing to further delay delivery of Italy's KC-767A tanker aircraft. The air force now will have to wait until mid-2008 to receive its first aircraft--more than two years later than originally planned.
