MITRE CORP. IS DEVELOPING A UNIVERSAL ACCESS TRANSCEIVER (UAT) Beacon radio for use on small unmanned aircraft systems. The transmitter is contained in a package about the size of two decks of playing cards. It will allow UAS operators to make their air vehicles more visible by transmitting position and velocity data using a waveform compatible with the ADS-B network the FAA will deploy nationwide. Currently, the agency plans to use UAT as the data link for general aviation aircraft.
Southeast Asian budget carriers are stepping up efforts at getting extra revenue by selling add-on products and services. Malaysia's AirAsia, which does not allocate seats, has begun to let passengers join priority boarding groups by paying a fee, while Singapore's Tiger Airways is selling travel insurance underwritten by the local unit of American International Group's American Home Insurance.
The U.K. is struggling to iron out problems with a key future air-launched weapon that the Royal Air Force is pushing to deploy to Afghanistan. Early air-launch trials of the weapon--the Raytheon Paveway IV dual-mode precision guided bomb--failed to meet the RAF's accuracy requirements. Some rounds missed the intended targets by 250 ft., sources suggest.
As President Bush and his war critics argue about whether Al Qaeda plans to export terror attacks from Iraq, the head of research and development for the Homeland Security Dept. says improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are his top priority. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe they're coming to a theater near you," Undersecretary Jay Cohen told a homeland security science and technology conference here. Tactics used to defeat IEDs in Iraq--jamming the cell-phone signals used to detonate them--won't work in U.S. cities, he says.
Why would an airline equip its fleet with missile countermeasures when the same aircraft are equipped with ADS-B (Mode S position report and trend vector)? Having ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) makes it easier for terrorists to target a specific aircraft with homemade missiles than one with infrared/radar sensors. Traditional missiles require sophisticated optics/antennas that are not easily found or cheap. ADS-B missiles only require an L-band antenna and L-band/GPS receiver.
With a climb speed of 180 KIAS, a cuise of Mach 0.63 and a descent of 216 kt., future Cessna Mustang owners should not be surprised if their newfound pride in "jet performance" will be met by insults and yells to "get out of the way" by airline pilots and controllers. And what are the speed brakes for?
You appear to have opened a forum on global warming in the Correspondence sections (AW&ST Mar. 19/26, p. 93; May 7/14, p. 10). I am a physicist now serving as a system engineering program manager. Climate change has always interested me (global cooling was the crisis du jour when I was an undergraduate in the 1970s). I also once lived in Greenland. The following facts are difficult to dispute: The debate has become very political, quite emotional and often lacks civility. A consensus on global warming will not be reached in these pages.
Bill Whitlow has been promoted to president from vice president of the Marlton, N.J.-based Aviation and Maritime Services Div. of L-3 Communications. Whitlow succeeds Tom Brennan, who has retired.
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Air France-KLM is embarking on a new round of fleet renewal and efficiency improvements, in a bid to stay ahead of rising costs and continue improving its underlying financial returns.
Avion Aircraft Trading will buy eight rather than just six Airbus A330-200Fs after placing four aircraft already with Icelandair Cargo. The increase in the order size was agreed to during final contract talks. Avion Aircraft takes delivery of the first of its A330s in 2010. The deal brings Airbus's firm orders for the freighter to 14. Avion Aircraft has not decided on an engine.
Russia's Irkut Corp. has rolled out the first two of a batch of 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM two-seat multirole fighters for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. An initial batch of six aircraft will be delivered to Malaysia no later than July. The Su-30MKM differs from India's Su-30MKI mainly in that the Israeli-supplied systems of the latter are replaced. South Africa's Avitronics, for instance, provides the laser-warning system for the Su-30MKM. A further six Su-30MKMs will be delivered by the end of this year, with the final batch to follow in 2008.
Talk comes freely from all corners on how to deal with global warming (AW&ST Apr. 16, p. 28). Those who argue for squeezing the air transport industry, and its travelers and cargo generators as part of the solution, are focused on the perceived inequities between the haves and have-nots, which air transport seems to highlight. In doing so, they forget some of the reality of air transport and carbon emissions:
John Douglass, the face and head of the Aerospace Industries Assn. for nine years, plans to retire at the end of the year, AIA announced May 24. Douglass became well-known to reporters for his annual industry briefings and media advocacy skills, along the way being oft-cited on aerospace and defense industry issues inside Washington's Beltway. AIA has grown its regular membership to 103 from 52 under his tenure while expanding the Supplier Management Council to 172 members from 24.
Engineers from Alliant Techsystems and NASA are evaluating the results of a 2-min. ground test of a four-segment Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), both to validate its continuing performance on the space shuttle and evaluate it for its role on the planned Ares I crew launch vehicle. The 2-min. test generated an average thrust of 2.6 million lb., and was considered a success.
Thomas MacAleavey has become Shannon, Ireland-based chief executive for engine leasing for AerCap Holdings. He was senior vice president-worldwide sales and marketing for U.S.-based Willis Lease Finance Corp.
Alloy Surfaces Co. Inc. has received a $20-million addition to its British Royal Air Force contract for infrared countermeasures. The order is for Special Materials Decoys, metal wafers which emit primarily in the infrared rather than the visible spectrum. The "ASD BOLIR" flares are for use with Bol countermeasures dispensers. This contract extends production through 2012 at Alloy Surfaces' Bethel Township, Pa., facility. Alloy Surfaces is a subsidiary of Chemring Group PLC of the U.K.
Australia will join U.S.-Japanese research on ballistic missile defense but won't host an anti-missile system on its soil. The Liberal-National government, however, plans to buy at least three destroyers equipped with the U.S. Aegis defense system and is considering whether to equip them with the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3, which can intercept medium-range ballistic missiles. The Labor opposition says it would support such a move.
A heavier debt load for Qantas will probably be the biggest result of the failed private equity bid for the company by a consortium that included Texas Pacific Group and Onex Corp. The Australian airline says it will "conduct an extensive review of capital management strategies over the next few months," with CEO Geoff Dixon adding that the company needs to take A$3.5 billion ($2.9 billion) in cash out of its balance sheet to avoid becoming a takeover target again.
The European Union and European Space Agency member nations, through Europe's new Space Council, have endorsed a common space policy, and approved the adhesion of Eumetsat as a permanent observer on the Council. Eumetsat will operate the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) network, the next big joint EU-ESA space undertaking. The European Commission endorsed the common space policy last month (AW&ST Apr. 30, p. 30).
The Global Terrorism Database, billed as the world's largest unclassified database of terrorism attacks, is now available online for general use by researchers, policy-makers, media and the general public. The database was developed by Start, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, based at the University of Maryland, with funding from the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. The database includes 80,000 terror incidents from 1970-2004. Start plans to update the database through 2007 within the next 12 months.
Gulfstream is considering the launch of a supersonic business jet demonstrator in time to convince regulators in 2013 that the skies can be opened to day-to-day, overland SSBJ operations. While a program decision has not been made, Gulfstream appears ready to go it alone (with some partners at the system level), while many of its rivals are either remaining on the sidelines or looking for government support to launch similar efforts.
Skybus passengers heard more than the safety tutorial from flight attendants when the Columbus, Ohio-based carrier inaugurated Airbus A319 service last week to the Los Angeles suburban airport at Burbank. The jingling sounds of commerce were in the air.
