The White House will have to keep a sharp eye on nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, despite the ebb in tensions since the May/June crisis. Both countries are keeping their air forces and armies deployed in forward areas, and India has rejected Pakistan's call for demobilization. Despite Islamabad's renewed pledge to halt the infiltration of militants across Kashmir's Line of Control, India is highly skeptical, pointing to past promises that wilted without ripening.
Alliant Techsystems has won a $9-million contract from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command to continue low-rate initial production of sensor upgrade kits for the AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System.
A state-backed institute in Florida has reserved space on the commercial module Spacehab Inc. has proposed for the International Space Station. The Florida Space Research Institute has signed a contract to fly its Scanning Probe Microscope for Microgravity on the Enterprise module that Spacehab and RSC Energia are jointly developing. The microscope is intended to support researchers in such areas as advanced materials and nanostructures.
Improving the ability of scientists on the ground to operate experiments on the International Space Station could help ease the manpower crunch in orbit, where station crewmembers have been spending less than 20 hr. a week on the science ISS was built to serve. ``Telescience'' already plays a big role on the ISS, but telecommunications technology exists--or soon will--that could give ground-based researchers an even larger role in running orbiting experiments.
Recognizing that six restructurings don't exactly breed a lot of confidence in a program, Army officials laid out a metric with which to measure how the latest iteration of RAH-66 plans are proceeding. And so far the service has managed to stay ahead of schedule. The initial promised milestone was the first flight of software drop 10.0. It provides flight controls, displays and processors for the development program and was scheduled for June, but service officials point out they pulled it off May 22--30 days earlier than planned.
Aviation's profound dependence on computer and infrastructure networks, including electrical power, air traffic control and telecommunications, requires a federal initiative to address multiplying cyber threats, according to a new congressional analysis. Canvassing information warfare's ceaseless ramifications, the congressional Joint Economic Committee warns that the extent and effects of the nation's vulnerability to systemic disruption by terrorist cyber strikes is not yet understood, much less addressed.
Boeing delivered a total of 222 commercial transports during the first half of this year, ahead of the pace required for the company to meet its predicted target of about 380 aircraft for 2002. Of the total, 130 of the aircraft were 737s, almost 40 more than all other Boeing models combined. The company delivered 527 commercial transports last year, and estimated it will deliver 275-300 in 2003.
Thales says it has teamed with Israel's Elbit for the U.K.'s 600-million-pound ($875-million) Watchkeeper UAV program (AW&ST May 20, p. 25). The air vehicles proposed are the Elbit Systems/Silver Arrow Hermes 180 and 450, which are powered by UAV Engines Ltd. of Shenstone, England. A number of Thales defense facilities in the U.K., as well as British aerospace research outfit QinetiQ, are involved in the offer.
A hydrogen fuel liner crack has been found in the shuttle orbiter Columbia similar to those found earlier in Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour has yet to be inspected. Columbia's main propulsion system liners are made from stainless steel, unlike the other orbiters which have Inconel liners. Several NASA/contractor teams are examining the metallurgy, safety and repair issues associated with the cracks, to guide NASA decisions on when the orbiters can be returned to flight.
Frontier Airlines applied for a government-backed $70-million line of credit to ``add to its liquidity,'' company officials said. The application is significant in that Frontier was one of the few airlines that had remained profitable during the post-Sept. 11 industry slump. However, the federal government's financial rescue of airlines staggered by the steep decrease in air travel has upset commercial market balances, forcing fairly healthy airlines to seek loan guarantees in order to compete with other recipients.
Virginia-based Veridian Corp. will support the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Div. with scientific and technical services covering information technology and network infrastructure for weapons systems development, under a five-year, $154.4- million contract.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have finally stopped haggling over an ATC contract to develop the next-generation En Route Automation Modernization system. After Raytheon's protests twice forestalled the FAA's attempts to award the contract to Lockheed Martin, the two companies finally came to an accommodation. Raytheon dropped its protest, the FAA awarded the contract to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon joined the team as a subcontractor.
Fairchild Dornier was declared permanently insolvent by a German court last week. The regional aircraft manufacturer immediately released 1,830 of 3,600 employees. Those affected will continue to receive around 80% of their salaries for three months. Management hopes it can retain key engineering capabilities until an investor is found. The 728/928 regional jet program will be frozen. Alenia Aeronautica has expressed interest in buying the program along with other units.
Ten months after Sept. 11, Washington abounds with red flags that the ``new arms race'' against terrorism demands a broader conception of catastrophic threats and a blueprint to finance completely new homeland defenses. With both the theoretical and operational realms of national security in a state of flux, the focus on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) should be expanded beyond a terrorist assault with one or two nuclear, chemical or biological devices, authorities say. Government must begin anticipating modes of attack in panoramic terms.
Moscow-based financial and industrial group Defense Systems has completed an upgrade of the S-125 Pechora (SA-3 Goa) surface-to-air missile, improving the capability of the aging but still widely fielded air defense system. Egypt is believed to be the first customer for the upgrade. LIVE FIRING of the low- to medium-altitude Pechora-2M was carried out at the Kaputsin Yar test range during May. The manufacturer is now preparing to start delivery of upgrade kits later this year. Defense Systems also hopes to conclude additional export orders in the near future.
The FAA's marathon solicitation of public comments on arming pilots produced as little as it seemed to, the General Accounting Office confirms. The agency received more than 7,500 comments, more than 99% of them from individuals.
Thales has agreed to acquire the naval C3 and training/simulation activities of Sema from SchlumbergerSema. To be renamed Thales System Integration, the company generates 12 million euros in annual sales. The purchase is part of ongoing plans to reinforce the company's presence in the German naval sector.
Last-minute federal loan guarantee applications to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board have brought the total to 11, and there may be more even though the deadline for applying was June 28. The new applications are from Frontier, Aloha, Great Plains and World Airways. Vanguard Airlines, whose earlier proposal was denied May 28, resubmitted its application. A board spokeswoman said applications from other airlines, which she declined to identify, were submitted on time and were being checked last week for completeness.
EADS is expected to land about 10% of the U.S. Coast Guard's $11-billion Deepwater contract, according to industrial sources. As a member of the Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin consortium in charge of the program, the European concern will initially deliver an unspecified number of CASA CN-235ER transports for the maritime patrol mission (AW&ST July 1, p. 28). But later, the contribution would be expanded to include patrol and SAR helicopters and surveillance radar, sources said.
Japan's Transport Ministry, after a long series of talks, has formally requested the Japanese Defense Agency and U.S. Forces-Japan to open some restricted airspace to civil operations. The areas in question are now used for military flight training at 14 military bases. Both parties are said to be amenable to the move, which will reduce fuel burn by allowing more direct flights, and will provide more latitude in bad weather. The intent is to benefit holiday charter flights.
Astronomers have used data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Arecibo Radio Telescope to find a neutron star at the center of a bright ring of high-energy particles in the remains of a distant supernova. The discovery offers clues to the way nature converts the energy of a rotating neutron star into extremely high-energy particles. Chandra detected the X-ray ring in June 2001, and astronomers at the University of Massachusetts and Columbia University used the Arecibo facility to spot the neutron star in April.
Just because Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has five expensive programs under the microscope in the run-up to crafting the Fiscal 2004 budget doesn't mean any of the projects are doomed, says Vice Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the deputy chief of naval operations for resources. The billion-dollar-program list includes the F-22, the Comanche, the V-22, Space-Based Radar and the CVN-X next-generation aircraft carrier.
USN Vice Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani has been promoted to admiral with assignment as commander, and Army Maj. Gen. Russel L. Honore has been assigned as director of homeland security, both for U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Va.
Sobelair, the charter subsidiary of bankrupt Sabena, will be acquired by Belgian World Airlines, an investment company recently formed by entrepreneur Aldo Vastapane. A Brussels court ratified Vastapane's proposed business plan designed to rescue Sobelair and, in the longer term, boost revenues with scheduled flights to long-haul destinations such as Johannesburg and Moscow. Sobelair operates six Boeing 737s and two 767s.
Five hundred of Air New Zealand's 650 pilots have voted to strike for 48 hr. starting July 19, which may cripple domestic and international flights. They are protesting possible job losses for 32 ANZ pilots. The pilots, members of the Airline Pilots Assn., fear further job cuts because of the planned expansion of subsidiary carrier Freedom Air in the next five years.
