The U.S. Transportation Dept. appointed the first eight of an eventual 429 federal security directors (FSDs), one for each of the nation's airports. Each FSD will manage and be responsible for all aspects of security at his or her airport.
Stability isn't something the Pentagon's missile defense efforts are known for. No surprise, then, that more changes are in store for both the long-range, anti-ICBM shield and the primary short-range terminal defense program.
The German parliament will decide within the next few weeks the fate of the country's indigenous land-attack cruise missile development, while a critical decision also looms for Germany on a log-jammed pan-European air-to-air missile program. A parliamentary decision on whether to approve production of the KEPD-350 land-attack standoff missile is likely no later than the end of April. The program suffered a setback recently with the failure of a test launch.
Scheduled-service flight operations at Washington Reagan National Airport will return to their pre-Sept. 11 level, about 800 flights per day, on Apr. 15. Reagan National was shut down until Oct. 4, 2001, longer than any other commercial-service airport in the nation, and has increased operations in phases since then, always under heightened security.
An FAA request for additional inspections of Airbus A300-600 vertical stabilizers could come as early as this week pending results of an evaluation of the aircraft's service history data now underway. The agency and Airbus are ``working swiftly'' to complete their review to identify -600s involved in ``maneuver events or upsets'' with unusually high lateral loads that may have damaged the composite tail, according to the FAA.
Symetrics Industries will provide its MD-1295/A improved data modem (IDM) to Turkish Land Forces (TLF) under a $1.25-million order. TLF will integrate the IDMs as part of an upgrade program for Turkey's UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-1 Cobra helicopters.
House lawmakers and the Transportation Dept.'s Inspector General are warning that airline ticket tax revenues are likely to be 20% short of expectations next year, forcing deep cuts in safety-critical FAA functions unless the agency reins in its spending habits. ``We're heading into a huge problem,'' said House Appropriations transportation subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), at an FAA hearing Mar. 13. ``This is going to require that there be some enormous cost control measures.''
Astronaut and Marine Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., is heading back to Marine Air Station Miramar, Calif., where he commands the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, after seeing his hopes to become deputy NASA administrator dashed in a welter of Washington turf wars. Bolden, a veteran Vietnam combat and space shuttle pilot, looked like a cinch for Senate confirmation the day before his scheduled confirmation hearing, only to have his nomination yanked by the White House.
The Japanese navy is expected to select the AgustaWestland EH-101 as the first acquisition in Fiscal 2002, which begins Apr. 1. The Italian-U.K. heavy-lift helicopter is pitted against the Sikorsky S-92 for an initial purchase of five aircraft, two for a navy minesweeping role as replacements for MH-53s and three as support aircraft for Japanese activities in Antarctica to replace S-61s. An additional nine are projected for the next five-year defense plan, beginning in Fiscal 2006. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is expected to assemble the helicopters.
A consortium of major Quebec-based aerospace companies and universities is forging ahead with a provincially assisted research initiative after similar proposals for federal funding were unsuccessful. Consortium Research Innovation Aerospatial Quebec (CRIAQ) has secured commitments of $35.2 million in funding over five years to pursue collaborative, precompetitive research in six areas: low-cost manufacturing and materials, modeling and simulation, icing and acoustics, systems integration, avionics, and microelectronic and mechanical systems.
British-based aerospace and engineering group Smiths plc's interim results released last week showed the scars of the commercial aerospace sector downturn, though the reduction in operating profit was somewhat less than initially feared. Smiths also revealed it has an acquisition war chest on the order of 2.5 billion pounds ($4.55 billion), amid speculation it would be a prime candidate to acquire TRW's Aeronautical Systems Group. TRW is looking to sell as it tries to fend off a hostile takeover from Northrop Grumman.
The crucial new technology for both the Air Force's planned ``smart tanker'' and new intelligence-gathering aircraft is something no one has talked about yet, says a top Pentagon official. ``It's a communications systems called `Jitters.''' The name comes from joint tactical radio system. It's planned as the baseline roll-on, roll-off communications relay package. ``That data link will provide networking across all frequencies and all bandwidths for tactical battle management,'' the official said.
The steep drop in airline traffic following Sept. 11--and the devastating impact the sudden decline had on carriers and aerospace suppliers--is testing the skills of aviation analysts whose job is to forecast the market for new commercial aircraft. ``We're in uncharted territory, which means traditional models are apt to be less reliable,'' Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia said.
Inadequate government funding of research and technology will jeopardize Britain's future as a preeminent player in both the defense and commercial aerospace markets, according to the U.K. industry association. The concern reflects wider European malaise. While the warnings may smack of special pleading, the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) echoes other European industry groups. If their assessment is correct, the assertions have obvious economic implications.
Boeing is encouraged by some initial signs of improvement in the airline industry six months after the terrorist attacks that crippled a large segment of the company's commercial customer base. Gradually increasing airline load factors and a leveling off of the number of aircraft being placed in storage each month are viewed as positives, although airline revenues are still off and overcapacity continues with underutilized operational fleets and a ``desert fleet'' totaling more than 2,000 aircraft.
U.S. special operations forces' critical role in the war on terrorism is not without cost. In addition to the loss of life in accidents and confrontations in both Afghanistan and the Philippines, the Pentagon sees emerging shortages in critical special ops aircraft. The impact has been broad-based, affecting several different types of aircraft, a reflection of the scope of special ops activities. And the situation could worsen before it improves. The U.S. plans to expand its counterterror operations to support governments in Yemen and Georgia.
Aviation Daily, an Aviation Week-affiliated newsletter, reports the NTSB has adopted the final report on the October 1999 crash of EgyptAir Flight 990, concluding that the relief pilot put the plane into an unrecoverable dive for undetermined reasons. The final report, approved unanimously by the five-member board, is expected to be released in a few days. It differs little from a draft circulated to the Egyptian delegation 11 months ago. The Egyptian delegation has maintained that an elevator system failure could have caused the nose to drop, leading to the crash.
Michiko Lisa Lindsey has become associate counsel for Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures, Long Beach, Calif. She was an associate at the San Diego law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton&Scripps.
A ``green'' airport development in the Thames Estuary is being touted as a potential solution to Great Britain's growing requirement for runway capacity. National press reports identified a marshland site in southeast England as a possible location for a new London airport. However, it is in an area where environmental concerns run high. A U.K. government consultation paper to be published in May is likely to weigh the provision of additional runways.
Jacqueline Yeaney has been appointed managing director for marketing of Delta Air Lines and Susan Judson district manager of Delta's Reservation Sales Contact Center in Cincinnati. Joan E. Spero has been named to the board of directors. She is president of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and a former undersecretary of State.
The first U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin Atlas V evolved expendable launch vehicle has been rolled out to Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral for propellant loading tests. The transfer to the pad of the first EELV flight vehicle after seven years of planning and development marks the beginning of a new era for U.S. unmanned booster operations.
Charles Broman, former general manager of the Tucson (Ariz.) Airport Authority and a former president of the American Assn. of Airport Executives, has received the AAAE's Lifetime Leadership Award.
A blue-ribbon panel of Japan's Transport Ministry has requested the minister to provide slots for Japan's small domestic carriers for new routes when Tokyo's Narita Airport's second runway opens Apr. 18. The new 2,180-meter (7,150-ft.) runway and the distribution of 882 weekly international slots are to be decided by the end of March. Narita's existing 4,000-meter runway is the nation's busiest for international services. Local opposition to noise forced the airport to accept a shortened second runway, limiting its usefulness for international services.
Spot Image has concluded a three-year partnership deal with ImageONE that will give the Japanese company exclusive rights to sell Spot products for security applications in Japan, Spot Image's largest Asian market. The accord, which follows a five-year agreement with DigitalGlobe of the U.S. in January, will focus heavily on 2.5-meter very-wide-area images and high-resolution 3D ortho-imaging data to be provided by Spot 5, set for launch in April (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 33).
