The British Royal Air Force is struggling to clear a much-delayed, and sorely needed, reconnaissance pod into service in the run-up to potential deployments in the Persian Gulf region. Amid speculation that the Defense Ministry is considering deploying additional recce aircraft to the Middle East, the RAF is wrestling to bring its Reconnaissance Airborne Pod for Tornado (Raptor) into operation.
The Singapore prime minister revealed on Apr. 5 that five Jemaah Islamiyah militants who fled Singapore in January were planning to hijack an aircraft in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand and crash it into Changi Airport. The Singapore group is part of a much larger regional terrorist network spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Mas Selamat Kastari, the suspected mastermind of the plot, was last seen in Indonesia, but his whereabouts are unknown. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the threat should be taken seriously.
The U.S. Air Force plans to replace the M-38 ejection seat in its T-38 trainers. The effort could involve changes to the cockpit, but shouldn't affect ongoing avionics and propulsion upgrades. The maximum functional ejection speed should be 550 kt. equivalent air speed with seat performance up to 50,000 ft. The seat should accommodate pilots weighing 103-245 lb., provide active leg restraints and, preferably, arm protection. The program would be for more than 500 aircraft with two seats each.
Jeffrey G. Postlethwait has been appointed vice president/general manager of the Semiconductor Products unit and Ralph M. Norwood vice president/chief financial officer of the Satcon Technology Corp., Cambridge, Mass.
Design and manufacturing engineers at Boeing are already working together on the Sonic Cruiser to take advantage of new production techniques that could be applied to the planned high-speed aircraft. In parallel with that effort, Boeing continues to expand its materials technology development team, recently enlisting the participation of its own Wichita Div. Officials there said they had to compete just like any outside organization to be included on the materials team.
European nations must invest more in defense, especially on strategic airlifters, tankers, intelligence gathering/sharing and precision munitions, says NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. In town last week, he added that, to help the countries focus on trimming personnel while improving technology, he will roll out in November a series of ``specific actions . . . not guided by the market'' about how sustained modernization can be accomplished within the current $140-billion per year combined defense spending in Europe.
The Air Force is speeding development of a stealthy, secure radio that's at the heart of the Pentagon's next-generation ``smart'' tanker. Later, the system also is to be installed in surveillance and strike aircraft, ``smart'' transports and attack helicopters.
Boeing Co. reiterated its commitment to building the Sonic Cruiser in some form, even as the company continues to develop the business case and the airline industry wrestles with an uncertain financial future amid staggering losses.
Telenor Satellite Services has begun offering high-speed aeronautical data services using Inmarsat's Swift 64 broadband network. Telenor claims to be the first to offer the inflight 64-Kbps. services, known as Aero HSD, which allow corporate, government and airline customers to access Internet, intranet, e-mail, fax and video data with existing Aero H antennas. Two USAF and two business aviation aircraft have already installed Aero HSD, a company official said. Telenor also launched a new 64-Kbps. maritime service, called Fleet 77.
DELIVERIES ARE SLATED to begin in 2004 for the 12-15 Alenia Aeronautica/Lockheed Martin C-27J Spartan medium-lift transports that the Hellenic Air Force has committed to purchase and for another dozen of the aircraft that the Italian air force plans to procure. The Hellenic Air Force contract is expected to be signed by year-end and the Italian agreement by the end of this month. The Italian purchase would mark the beginning of the replacement program for the service's 38 Alenia G.222s, according to a company executive.
THE EUROPEAN UNION JOINT AVIATION AUTHORITIES have approved Learjet pilot training programs at FlightSafety International's Learning Centers in Tucson, Ariz., Wichita, Kan., Atlanta and West Palm Beach, Fla. The approval covers training for the Learjet 31A, 35/36, 45-, 55- and 60-series business jets. JAA officials also approved training for the Gulfstream IV, Gulfstream V and Hawker/HS 125-series jets, and Cessna Citation 500, 550, 560, 650 and 750 aircraft.
U.S. Army special operations forces believe that Afghanistan's high mountains and rough terrain could have thwarted several missions without the small force of MH-47Es to call on. But now senior Army officials have to wrestle with how to replenish and upgrade the special purpose helicopters that have come under heavy enemy fire in recent months.
Spain, Austria, Belgium and Sweden have expressed interest in joining France's Pleiades optical imaging system. Pleiades consists of a pair of small, 1-meter-resolution optical imaging satellites to ensure continuity with the existing Spot network starting in 2006-07. Sweden and Belgium each have a 4% share in Spot. Spain's interest could also cover Italy's CosmoSkymed X-band radar network, which is being developed in partnership with Pleiades. Italy will share use of Pleiades data under the partnership agreement.
Several issues brought up by the Flight 587 accident continue to bother American Airlines pilots flying the Airbus A300-600. One is the notion that only airplanes that have gone ``outside the envelope'' need to have special inspection of the vertical tail (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 47). Pilots point out that, as far as the documentation goes, Flight 587 was completely within the envelope when the tail came off.
Aerospace analysts have scoffed at the idea that EADS/Airbus can capture part of the U.S. Air Force ``smart tanker'' competition or that the service would operate a mixed fleet of aircraft. But top USAF officials insist that Boeing does not have a lock on the tanker business and contend that continued EADS competition is critical to the program's success. ``We sincerely want to make them a viable contender for future tanker business,'' said Marvin R. Sambur, the Air Force's acquisition chief.
Concepts basic to network-centric warfare and integrated battlespace can be used for homeland security, according to industry and government officials. Joanne Maguire, vice president for business development of TRW Space and Electronics, said the network-centric warfare construct ``could be really powerful'' for local governments in terms of coordination.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE HELD at FIDAE what its executives called the international debut of the upgraded Challenger 604 business jet. In addition to an avionics suite upgrade--to an enhanced version of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4--called PrecisionPlus--which was incorporated last year, the Challenger 604 now includes a new Safe Flight Auto Power auto-throttle system, which reportedly takes advantage of PrecisionPlus features to deliver precise automated thrust and speed control throughout a flight.
The fight to keep a local airport open generally comes down to a volunteer group of local pilots taking on municipal officials who control land zoning around the facility. That's the scenario unfolding at one small airport in Maryland, where county officials will soon decide whether to add airport buffers to a developer's already approved basic plans for a 1,058-acre commercial and residential project that abuts the northern side of the privately owned Freeway Airport, one of four public-use airports in the county.
Clint Waltman (see photo) has been appointed Colorado Springs-based vice president/director of Defense Dept. Services for bd Systems Inc., Torrance, Calif. He was senior business development manager for Raytheon in Colorado Springs.
The American Mechanics Fraternal Assn., which represents about 9,500 Northwest Airlines employees, went to U.S. District Court in Minneapolis seeking an injunction to prevent the airline from going beyond FAA regulations on criminal history records checks. According to the union, the agency required in a post-Sept. 11 rule that employees with unescorted access to secure areas be checked for violations of any of 28 criminal offenses during the past 10 years, but Northwest is going back 20 years and considering misdemeanors.
The Bush Administration may not be as happy as it lets on with the success of its efforts to stifle media leaks. It's hard to imagine why else the CIA would be off investigating the damage such leaks have on national security. The study is being conducted by one of the CIA's top intelligence officers and currently being wrapped up. The report will play well with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which for some time has been trying to stiffen punishment for such leaks.
European space leaders are hoping that a new round of talks with NASA and other International Space Station partners will permit the facility to operate with a full complement of seven astronauts, and not the scaled-down version now being considered.
