The U.S. Air Force has changed the requirements for Boeing's high-performance unmanned combat aircraft to include electronic attack as part of its initial operational capability. That change would make the Block 10 UCAV--which is to evolve from Boeing's X-45--the Air Force's replacement for the Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler. The Navy has already selected the two-man EA-18 as its follow-on.
Don O'Bannon has been named vice president-small and emerging businesses at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He was a partner in the Dallas law firm Vial & Hamilton.
David C. Miller has been appointed president of the Denver jetCenter. He was director of finance and administration for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena (Calif.) Airport. Miller succeeds Larry Ulrich, who has been named senior vice president of parent company jetCenters Inc.
A 4-hr. strike carried out by a minority group of Italian air controllers belonging to the country's air traffic control organization (ENAV) severely disrupted air traffic in Italy on June 26. Alitalia was forced to cancel 64 national and 42 international flights, affecting 21,000 passengers, as well as reschedule another 209 flights. Other airlines were forced to do the same, with more than 200 flights in total canceled.
Finmeccanica will be taking a more limited role in southern Italy-based Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali (EMA), its joint venture with Rolls-Royce. Rolls has boosted its stake to 51% from 33%, while Finmeccanica reduced its portion to 49% from 66%. EMA makes turbine vanes and blades for aero engines (RB211-524, RB211-535 and Adour) and has the capability of producing vanes and blades for power-generation turbines, a business in which Finmeccanica is currently involved with Ansaldo Energia.
The Italian air force has signed a long-awaited contract covering a first batch of five C-27J Spartan airlifters jointly produced by Finmeccanica/Alenia Aeronautica and Lockheed Martin. The aircraft, which will be equipped with inflight refueling systems, head-up cockpit displays and combat self-protection systems, are valued at $186 million, including five years of operational support and spare parts, according to company officials. First delivery is scheduled for 2005 to Pisa-based 46th Aerobrigata. The air force optioned seven additional C-27Js.
Tiny cracks on a fixture inside the liquid hydrogen fuel lines of two of NASA's four space shuttles have forced a delay in the planned July 19 launch of the space shuttle Columbia on a 16-day research mission, and may push back the next International Space Station assembly flight as well. After cracks were found in flow liners on Atlantis and Discovery, Shuttle managers ordered Columbia's three main engines removed so technicians can inspect the lines that feed liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the engines from the external tank.
John Gardiner, a student at Loughborough (England) University, has been awarded the first educational scholarship launched by The International Air Cargo Assn. in memory of Walter H. Johnson, Jr. The scholarship honors Johnson's contribution to the air cargo industry during a career of nearly 60 years. Gardiner is studying for a bachelor's degree in transport management and planning.
Washington won't fink out on selling AIM-120 Amraam air-to-air missiles to Brazil. It seemed like that might happen when Peru decided to get rid of its Russian-made R-77 beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile, because the U.S. policy was to withhold export approval as long as there was no Amraam-like system in South America. Peru bought the R-77s for its MiG-29s but is now taking the missile out of service because they couldn't be integrated onto the fighter. Too late, say U.S. officials. Now that a BVR weapon exists in the region that led to a U.S.
As instrument checkout continues, the Goddard Space Flight Center has received the first images from Aqua, NASA's newest Earth-Observing System satellite, which was launched May 4. ``These engineering images are great, which tells us that we have a healthy spacecraft and all instruments are performing nominally,'' Project Manager Phil Sabelhaus said. As of late last week, science data in the form of engineering images had been received from all six of Aqua's instrument packages.
IT services provider Sita has partnered with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) to develop an information technology system that will allow the government to review and analyze inbound passenger details against their own databases and quickly identify those warranting further questioning at the airport. The system will automate the collection and standard formatting of information from multiple sources, including passenger name records (PNR), and take data from the relevant global distribution and airline reservation and departure control systems.
French and U.S. military authorities will jointly seek to determine why a USAF A-10A close-support twinjet on June 27 crashed at about 3 p.m. local time near France's Polygone bombing range south of Luneville, France. The pilot was killed. The 81st Fighter Sqdn. aircraft, which carried no armaments, was based at Spangdalhlem, Germany. The aircraft was on a tactical leadership program training mission with no live munitions on board.
With massive forest fires having burned 2.6 million acres in the U.S. already this year, it's time for the federal government to rethink its rules of engagement for battling fires from the air. The current system is broken, and the nation can no longer afford what has become an expensive, outdated sop to commercialism. On a single day last week (June 26), the National Interagency Fire Center reported 176 wildland fires burning, with 19 considered ``major'' blazes engulfing 901,402 acres. Arizona's Rodeo/Chediski fire had burned 409,000 acres and was only 5% contained.
Thomas R. Andrews has been named vice president-aviation services for the Tucson (Ariz.) Airport Authority. He was deputy manager of engineering and maintenance at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Seaside views may be hazardous to aircraft health. At least that's the conclusion from a review of bird-strike data from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The country recorded 1,103 bird strikes last year, 12.5% more than in 2000. The majority occurred with seabirds struck at low altitudes because so many of Japan's airports face the sea--78 out of 121 civil and military air fields. Tokyo Haneda had the highest strike incidence--109 hits. Increasing flight numbers mean the bird-strike incidence rate is expected to keep climbing.
Thomas Cook AG has completed a contract for two Airbus A320 aircraft, which are expected to be delivered early next year. CFM56-5B4 engines will power the aircraft, which will be configured in a single-class layout and bear Thomas Cook livery, in keeping with the group's new corporate brand strategy. One will be operated by Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and the other by JMC Airlines, a British holiday carrier.
Scott L. Bowers has been appointed vice president-revenue management, Kenneth I. Feldman vice president-marketing and Randy L. Richards vice president-cargo, all for America West Airlines. Bowers was senior director of pricing, while Feldman was senior director of marketing for America West Clubs. Richards was director of U.S. field operations at AIT Worldwide Logistics.
Talks were expected to intensify last weekend concerning Northrop Grumman's proposed acquisition of TRW Inc., and an announcement could come as early as July 1, officials close to the negotiations said. A deal would not close until September or later, however. Senior Northrop officials were expected to meet with TRW officials in Cleveland to offer up to $59-60 per share to acquire the whole company, a price that institutional investors were advising TRW management is fair.
The emergence of more sophisticated long-range surface-to-surface rockets is raising doubts among Israelis about a planned effort with the U.S. to develop a laser-based air-defense system. U.S. and Israeli negotiators are in the final stages of formulating an agreement to begin development of the Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser (Mthel). U.S. officials are trying to remain low-key concerning the discussions owing to the tensions in the Middle East, but the deal could be concluded soon.
FedEx Corp. reported record revenue and earnings for its Fiscal 2002, which ended on May 31, as ground and freight operations made up for a decline in volume at FedEx Express. The Express unit increased revenue 4% year-over-year in the fourth quarter as strong growth in U.S. Postal Service work made up for a 3% drop in domestic daily package volume. Its revenue for the fiscal year was down 1%, however, and it cut back capital spending ``significantly.''
Craig Bevington has been named vice president-sales and marketing for new engine programs for Superior Air Parts, Coppell, Tex. He was marketing and sales manager for Teledyne Continental Motors.
If airline and aerospace/defense executives were asked to list the most meaningful criteria for measuring their organizations' success, the answers would vary from one company to the next. In the aerospace world, some managers focus on profit margins or cash generation, while others look to return on invested capital or revenue. Still others zero in on market share or their company's price/earnings ratio; a high P/E usually means the capital markets believe a company has some substantive advantage.
Ken R. Patrick, who founded Canadian Aviation Elec- tronics (CAE) in 1947, died June 1 in Victoria, British Columbia. He was 86. The former Royal Cana- dian Air Force officer employed World War 2-trained technicians who, during the Cold War, developed and built radar systems above the Arctic Circle. CAE now employs 6,000 people and has broadened its offerings into simulation, controls and training.
For many small- and medium-size U.S. aerospace companies, mergers and acquisitions will continue to be a cornerstone of their business strategy as they seek to expand their systems integration capabilities, and thus increase their value as suppliers. And chances are the vast majority of those transactions will go unopposed by the government. But their larger brethren--the platform builders and manufacturers of major systems--are likely to find the deal-making climate much less favorable than it used to be. From the perspective of Air Force Secretary James G.
