The South Korean government is poised to make a key decision for its future multipurpose helicopter that should set into motion negotiations to fashion an international industrial agreement on the project.
Despite ostensible concord on the war against terrorism, the U.S. and China remain at loggerheads over Beijing's export of ballistic missile know-how to unstable nations like Pakistan and pariah dictatorships like Iraq. The U.S. regards the war on terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction as twin threats, and President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin reiterated at their summit here Feb. 21-22 what the White House calls their ``vital'' cooperation on intelligence and law enforcement in the wake of Sept. 11.
The opening of Lufthansa Technik (LHT) Shenzhen marks the second facility the German maintenance, repair and overhaul operator has established in China and the third in Asia. The new center at Shenzhen's Huangtian airport just north of Hong Kong will specialize in the overhaul of composite parts. The shop has 6,300 sq. meters (67,790 sq. ft.) of workspace, and its 40 employees will focus initially on overhauling thrust reversers for CFM56-3 engines on Boeing 737s.
Lockheed Martin will provide support for F-16s flown by 16 countries, including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and Venezuela. Under a Defense Dept. contract worth up to $12.7 billion over 23 years, the company will perform tech support and services, acquisition development and integration for weapons systems on airplanes under terms of the ``Falcon 2020'' program.
Progress in developing the F-22 continues to be sub-par, and Lockheed Martin's costs remain high, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) assessment. The Air Force last year extended the development program several months to allow time to complete testing, but that won't be enough, the congressional watchdog agency warns. Test aircraft are being delivered late and the pace of testing remains too slow. Therefore, the service may face 11 additional months of flight testing, the GAO projects.
State-run Qatar Airways is attempting to bolster its status as a gateway carrier to Asia, opening routes to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Maldives. In concert with the expanding Asia network, Qatar has added almost 30,000 sq. ft. of space to the new Doha International Airport, building a new departures terminal that includes 10 more holding lounges. The airline operates the airport, and the additional space is to accommodate a doubling of current passenger capacity to six million annually, but no timetable has been set.
David N. Siegel, former president of Continental Express, will take the reins of US Airways as president and CEO Mar. 11. Chairman Stephen M. Wolf, who has served as CEO since his colleague Rakesh Gangwall resigned last year, will step away from directing daily operations. Siegel's appointment coincides with difficult negotiations the airline is conducting with the Air Line Pilots Assn. over the expansion of regional jet services.
Walter Meyer has been appointed vice president-corporate accounts and alliances in the U.S. and Kenneth Ray Bright director of marketing for the Americas for Singapore Airlines. Meyer was vice president-U.S. marketing, while Bright was managing associate for marketing and international revenue development for Continental Airlines.
Airlines continue to make impressive gains in the market, with Aviation Week's Airline 25 stock index well above where it stood shortly before Sept. 11. In fact, the index as of Mar. 6 was nearly 1% higher from a year ago, and it has appreciated more than 17% in 2002. Against this backdrop are rebounds in fundamentals such as load factor and revenues per available seat mile.
Costs on two of the Defense Dept.'s helicopter programs have skyrocketed to the point where senior Pentagon officials must reassess whether they still want the aircraft. Both Bell Helicopter Textron's AH-1Z and UH-1Y and Boeing's CH-47F Chinook upgrade have seen costs balloon, triggering so-called Nunn-McCurdy breaches.
Richard J. Surratt has been promoted to executive vice president and will remain treasurer/chief financial officer of Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Inc.
Government officials set off a proverbial gun battle last week, triggering such heated argument over how the weapons-in-the-cockpit issue is being handled by government and unions that some pilots are threatening massive walkouts. Two issues underlie the skirmish--whether a pilot with a weapon is perceived as armed and dangerous, or armed and secure. The second is whether pilots, if armed, should be provided lethal or non-lethal weapons to safeguard the cockpit.
Iraq refused to discuss its requirements and operational concepts for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles until shortly after Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, Hussein Kamal, defected to Jordan in August 1995. Kamal was the most senior regime official with control over these weapons programs. Baghdad was concerned about what Kamal would reveal and sought to limit the damage with a burst of controlled cooperation and admissions.
The document that no one understands, the Chinese defense budget, is out again. Alarmists, as usual, point to a double-digit increase in defense spending for the 14th straight year. Others, as usual, point out that the 17.6% increase is only about $5.6 billion while the U.S. defense budget could be plumped up by as much as $48 billion. Everyone agrees that a substantial part of the Chinese defense budget--perhaps 2.5-5 times that declared--is hidden. While some money will go for modernization, most will be earmarked to maintain its 2.5 million soldiers.
Pratt&Whitney and the Dutch research organization Nederlands Centrum voor Laser Research (NCLR) have agreed to work together for at least a year to demonstrate an advanced laser drilling system that could be used to manufacture the Joint Strike Fighter's F135 powerplant. According to Pratt officials, most excimer lasers are rated in the 30-100-watt power range and are capable of drilling only one hole at a time, which can be a time-consuming and costly process.
After more than 60 years of service, Ansett officially ceased operations at midnight Mar. 4. The demise of what once was Australia's second largest airline left 3,000 workers unemployed and its assets--including 300 aircraft, spare parts and terminals-- on the auction block. The demise of Ansett leaves two airlines, Qantas and low-cost Virgin Blue, in the Australian marketplace.
SCHWEIZER AIRCRAFT HAS INTRODUCED THE 300CBI--AN UPGRADED version of the company's entry-level 300CB helicopter. The new version features a fuel-injected Textron Lycoming engine and a new main rotor driveshaft. Initial deliveries of the 300CBi are scheduled to begin this summer after FAA certification. Standard price is $214,750.
Julius Longshore, test and evaluation project engineer and E-2C Hawkeye test pilot for Northrop Grumman Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Warfare Systems, Bethpage, N.Y., has received the Dean's Award from the Council of Engineering Deans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Longshore is one of three pilots who reportedly have logged more than 5,000 flight hours in the Hawkeye.
French defense and space leaders are urging France and its European partners to reevaluate their military space capabilities in light of new joint security and defense requirements, and to work together so that these capabilities can be realized. In statements that broke with the fiercely independent streak France has traditionally displayed in defense matters, officials acknowledged that the country had seriously neglected military space requirements, including a number considered vital to support Europe's planned rapid reaction force.
Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport will be a test site for a wireless local area network (LAN) ``traffic cop'' called the Central Site Director Engine. The system partitions a wireless LAN between various applications to allow multiple applications to run on the same network, and is designed to operate in a secure environment without redundant hardware. Roving Planet of Boulder, Colo., has signed a letter of intent with Concourse Communications for the pilot test.
Ralph Stewart has become CEO, James Poage vice president-marketing, Scott Smith vice president-sales and account management, and Bob Kiehnle vice president-finance of Aeritas Inc. of Dallas. Stewart was senior vice president/general manager of information technology solutions of Sabre Holdings. Poage was chief marketing officer and Kiehnle chief financial officer for TradeMC. Smith was senior vice president/general manager of Sabre's Business Travel Solutions.
Swiss, the revamped Crossair's corporate identity, does not violate the ill-fated SAirGroup's ownership rights on the Swissair trademark, according to a decision made last week by a Zurich court. In the absence of an amicable settlement, SAirGroup executives filed a complaint to prevent Crossair from using the Swiss trademark as well as its Swissair-inspired logo. The Swissair brand late last year was valued at SF660 million ($400 million), SAirGroup executives said, adding that the Crossair team expressed no interest in its acquisition.
The Bush Administration's 10-month-old attempt to reform how weapons are bought is under fire on Capitol Hill for being long on jargon and short on management shakeups.
With Trent 800 engines from Singapore Airlines (SIA) already on the shop floor for servicing, SIA Engineering and Rolls-Royce have officially opened their S$185-million (U.S.$100-million) Singapore Aero Engine Services Pte. Ltd. (SAESL) repair facility near Changi Airport. The 18,500-sq.-meter (199,000-sq.-ft.) shop is capable of overhauling up to 200 engines a year. SAESL Chairman Ian Lloyd said the company expects to handle 150 engines in the next three years with sales of S$90 million by the end of the first full year.
