Coalition forces should benefit much more from scarce intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor and data exploitation systems if a NATO live demonstration of a new concept for multi-sensor ISR interoperability is successful. The demonstration, Trial Quest 07, is scheduled for September in Norway with the involvement of almost 20 space-based, airborne and land ISR sensor platforms.
NASA's operating plan for Fiscal 2007, still in the works as the agency struggles to accommodate a $528.1-million cut, calls for killing a proposed robotic lunar lander outright, as expected, and slips the initial operational capability of its planned Orion/Ares I follow-on to the space shuttle. But the plan calls for adding funds to two high-profile (and high-cost) space science programs--the Mars Science Laboratory and James Webb Space Telescope--to keep them on schedule for launch dates in 2009 and 2013, respectively.
North Korea proclaimed itself a world nuclear power last Oct. 9 with its nuclear weapon test. Debate about the size or success of the test aside, the event served notice that Pyongyang has mastered the plutonium fuel cycle and at least rudimentary nuclear weapon design and manufacturing capabilities. Because of this, the Initial Actions agreement reached Feb. 13 in six-party talks among North and South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan is a significant step. It will ease the immediate security threats posed by this new nuclear-armed nation.
Your excellent articles on the "50 Years of Spaceflight" in the Mar. 19/26 issue provided a great synopsis of programs put forth to expand our knowledge and presence in the Universe. They also brought back memories of my excitement as these events took place, leading to my aerospace career.
Rolls-Royce has sold Trent 700 and Trent 1000 engines to CIT Aerospace. The Trent 700 order is for four Airbus A330s and seven optioned aircraft, while the Trent 1000s are for the two firm and three options CIT holds for Boeing 787s. Rolls engines will power British Airways' latest 777-200ERs.
French space officials warn that Europe risks falling further behind in space business applications unless it finds a new model for managing such endeavors.
Michael A. Taverna (Kabul and Surobi, Afghanistan)
European NATO members are shoring up their military presence in Kabul and modifying operations in the region to boost security. France also is working closely with its Turkish and Italian partners to build up forces around Kabul, where all three countries share security responsibility.
BAE Systems has begun flying a Royal Saudi Air Force Panavia Tornado fitted with a test round of the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile. The weapon is thought to be part of the Saudi Tornado Sustainment Program upgrade.
A gaggle of lawmakers are concerned about the Pentagon's decision to halt work on the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) wide-area surveillance radar, which is designed to track and identify moving targets on the ground and in the air. Among the system's missions for the defunct Air Force E-10 program was a nascent cruise missile detection capability.
Lean manufacturing, an end to cultural silos and a drive to eliminate rework are finding their way into the manufacturing ethos at the Boeing Satellite Development Center here, where the shop floor is filled with spacecraft.
China Southern Airlines will set up a subsidiary in Chongqing. The new airline, to be jointly owned with the city government, will operate three of China Southern's A320s.
A planetary science team is proposing to the British government and NASA that the backup hardware designed for the Beagle 2 lander that crashed on Mars in 2004 be recycled for a joint robotic mission to search for water on the surface of the Moon. If approved, such a concept could give NASA the ability to participate in a robotic lunar surface mission short of the more ambitious unmanned lunar lander the agency was just forced to kill out of its budget (see p. 16).
A News Breaks item on the Airbus A380 maximum-energy rejected-takeoff test (AW&ST Mar. 12, p. 19) misstated the weight of the aircraft. It was around 575 metric tons.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT (EJM) HAS OPENED a charter sales and service office at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida. Staffed with bilingual personnel, the office will serve South Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America, says Jeff Cropper, senior vice president of charter services. Business jets available at the new location include a Dassault Aviation Falcon 2000 and 2000EX, Bombardier Challenger 601, Hawker 800A and a Cessna Citation III.
USAF Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, is dampening expectations for the Airborne Laser (ABL). The Boeing-led program, which puts a chemical laser in a 747-400 freighter, continues to march toward a key boost-phase ballistic missile shootdown exercise in 2009, a slight slip from earlier plans. However, Obering tells reporters the agency likely will pause after that demonstration to consider a "redo," including necessary modifications and possibly a redesign for the second ABL aircraft, potentially a 747-8.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is getting ready to launch a new planning process that should provide combatant commanders and other Pentagon strategists a better idea of the capabilities likely to be fielded in the future. AFRL's new planning focus will affect everything from general, overarching operational concepts such as sensor layering--an Air Force plan to be the chief architect for interagency and multiplatform sensor deployment--to specific programs such as the proposed Sensorcraft, tactical satellites and space launches.
With the introduction of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 growing nearer, airline technical managers are preparing for how to keep downtime to an absolute minimum. The efforts, which have been in progress for the A380 for some time and are now beginning for the 787, are addressing such matters as identifying the optimum procedures to minimize downtime. These options could encompass aircraft recovery, ground equipment and spares pooling. This contingency planning is particularly significant for the A380, since its size presents new hurdles.
MARKET FOCUS Aerospace mergers and acquisitions continue apace In Europe 10 NEWS BREAKS France to decide this month whether to buy a used U.S. Navy E-2C 16 NASA struggles to accommodate a $528.1-million cut for Fiscal 2007 16 Sikorsky demonstrates S-92's ability to deploy countermeasures 17 Eurofighter begins Typhoon test flights with MBDA Meteor missile 18 Italy and Turkey want to sign deal for attack helo program by May 31 19 WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS
Alain Bellemare has become executive vice president of Pratt & Whitney Strategy and Development. He will continue as president of Pratt & Whitney Canada, Longueuil, Quebec. John Saabas, who has been executive vice president of PWC, also will be chief operating officer.
Merger and acquisition activity, both at the national and transatlantic level, continues apace in Europe. Even if there is now only limited potential for more consolidation among large system integrators, companies in other parts of the defense market continue to see opportunities for transactions. This is especially true for first-tier suppliers, such as GKN plc.
About 10% of simulated North Korean missiles hit Japan in an exercise held this year, according to Japanese newspaper reports. The Japanese-U.S. Keen Edge command exercise in late January and early February simulated the launch of about 150 enemy missiles over several days, says the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. The paper didn't note what defensive weapons were used in the simulation. The Lockheed Martin PAC-3 system was deployed in Japan for the first time Mar. 30.
Alan Stern, NASA's new associate administrator for science, hits the ground running with a pitch to his battered staff urging support of human space exploration, and a promotion to NASA-Goddard's Nobel laureate, John Mather. Astrophysicist Mather is the new chief scientist at agency headquarters, heading a staff of expert advisers to Stern, who also remains principal investigator on the New Horizons mission to Pluto.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has demonstrated the S-92 helicopter's ability to deploy chaff-and-flare countermeasures to deflect missiles away from the aircraft. A series of flights was completed recently at the U.S. Naval Weapons Test Center at China Lake, Calif., using a version of the ALE-47 system installed on various aircraft, including the Sikorsky UH-60, MH-60, HH-60 and S-70. According to Sikorsky, the system is being offered to international military customers of the H-92 Superhawk as well as countries using the helicopter for head-of-state and VIP missions.
Lockheed Martin has completed the critical design review phase of the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The recent four-day system Critical Design Review (CDR) took place at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility. The review--a culmination of a 30-month design phase--validated the design of the overall MUOS system. The first MUOS satellite (see illustration) is slated for on-orbit hand-over to the Navy in 2010 along with the entire ground system.
