The Pentagon expects its traditional supplier base to change as the military adapts acquisition plans to focus more clearly on the war on terror. In turn, industry officials are trying to sort out what that change means for them.
Pratt&Whitney Aftermarket Services has signed a $325-million, 20-year agreement with Hawaiian Airlines to provide fleet management for its PW4060-powered Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The airline has 18 of the aircraft on order and expects to have three in operation by year-end.
USAF Lt. Gen. Lance W. Lord has been named commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo., and will be promoted to full general. He has been assistant USAF vice chief of staff.
Investigators for Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science have determined that improper wiring prevented the Demonstrator of Atmospheric Reentry System (Dash) spacecraft from separating from its payload housing during the Feb. 4 second test mission of the National Space Development Agency's H-IIA launch vehicle. The ISAS investigators said an NEC Toshiba Space Systems technician incorrectly copied an assembly drawing for an electrical connection that kept the H-IIA separation signal from being received by the spacecraft.
The International Civil Aviation Organization last week endorsed a global strategy to bolster global aviation security. The Aviation Security Plan of Action includes establishing a $17-million ``systematic and harmonized'' audit program and setting a global standard for cockpit reinforcement as well as flight crew security procedures and training. The plan is to be adopted by June 14 and implemented as soon as possible.
THE NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY (NGS), an office of the National Oceanic&Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service, will host a one-day CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) Users Forum on Apr. 19 at the NOAA campus in Silver Spring, Md. The National and Cooperative CORS networks are comprised of numerous subnetworks operated by more than 45 organizations. Collectively, they include more than 500 sites--each containing a geodetic quality, dual-frequency GPS receiver--and these networks are growing at a rate of about six sites per month.
Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce garnered welcome business last week securing a bumper deal worth up to $2 billion on the Gulfstream V-SP, alongside securing an order for its Trent 500, which will power the Airbus A340-600. Up to 600 BR710 engines will be supplied to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. during the next 10 years if all contract options are exercised. The agreement, signed Feb. 19, calls for Rolls-Royce to deliver 300 engines initially for the GV-SP currently in development by Gulfstream, with another 300 on option.
The Russian government is desperately seeking a waiver from new European Union noise regulations that would stop thousands of Russian-built transports from operating to European destinations. However, talks on the matter are stalled and the Apr. 1 deadline for the new rule is rapidly approaching.
The second prototype of Hindustan Aeronautics' Light Combat Aircraft (TD-2) is expected to make its initial flight soon, according to India's Aeronautical Development Agency. The ADA also announced that feasibility studies are underway to develop a naval variant with a night-attack capability and a two-seat trainer version. Indian defense officials report that the U.S. has ``cleared'' sale of GE-404-F2J3 engines for the aircraft, as well as flight control systems and advanced avionics.
The Helicopter Assn. International's annual covention attracted more people this year than in 2001 amidst a flat market and rising fears within the industry about skyrocketing insurance rates, a tighter squeeze on profits and shifting flight operations rules in the wake of a national security clampdown.
Snecma, French aerospace R&D agency Onera and national science research center CNRS signed a five-year agreement to pursue advanced combustion research. The $20-million-plus per year effort will focus primarily on commercial aero-engine noise and emissions and cost reductions in space propulsion systems.
GE Aircraft Engines has won a $126- million contract from Lockheed Martin Aerospace Co. to provide CF6-80C2 engines and thrust reversers and nacelles for the development and demonstration phase of the USAF C-5 Galaxy Reliability and Enhancement and Re-engining Program.
Moving to address a shortfall of air traffic controllers at the national level, Germany is hiring staff from Ireland. Under a partnership between the Irish Aviation Authority and German air navigation services provider, Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), 17 Irish air traffic controllers have begun a 2.5-year stint with the DFS.
Telair International has received FAA approval of its bomb-resistant LD-3 cargo container and is marketing it in conjunction with a lightweight container, for a net weight savings on aircraft.
Margaret Ewing has been appointed group finance director for London-based BAA plc. She will succeed Russell Walls, who will retire this summer. Ewing has been group finance director of Trinity Mirror plc.
Goodrich Corp. has signed a six-year contract with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. to supply standby altitude indicators for 300 MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters.
This 60-year-old ball screw assembly company has issued a new catalog: ``Actuation Solutions for Commercial, Military and Defense Applications.'' It traces the history of the company's technology, and reviews operating principles of ball screw actuation in respect to design, reliability, performance, manufacturing, inspection and engineering criteria. A separate section explains use of ball splines, industrial ball screws and electromagnetic actuators. Thomson Industries, 2 Channel Drive, Port Washington, N.Y. 11050.
Phil Kent has become vice president-engineering for Hydro-Aire Inc., Burbank, Calif. He was an executive at Northrop Grumman Navigation Systems, Woodland Hills, Calif.
The Air Force's unmanned combat air vehicle will be much larger and heavier than first thought, following a redesign intended to narrow the gap between initial prototypes and an operational system. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Boeing matured the existing design over several months. The new look comes at a time when the Pentagon has opted to field the system as soon as possible. The Fiscal 2003 defense budget request puts the project on the fast track, with the goal of fielding 14 aircraft by 2003.
Now that NASA's new administrator, Sean O'Keefe, has completed his get-acquainted tour of the agency's field centers, he has his work cut out for himself back in Washington. Interestingly, O'Keefe is the first NASA administrator barely old enough to remember John Glenn's Mercury mission; he was six at the time. But here we are, 40 years after Glenn's historic three orbits--a full three years after he returned to space on the shuttle at age 77 as the oldest astronaut ever. I cannot help but think, hey, weren't we supposed to be on Mars by now?
After several years of ``mending and fixing,'' as Chairman and CEO Daniel P. Burnham puts it, Raytheon Co. finally has regained enough financial flexibility to begin thinking--again--about expanding its business. That doesn't mean Raytheon plans to make a multibillion-dollar acquisition anytime soon. But it does signal a major inflection point in the company's recovery.
NASA's Johnson Space Flight Center has awarded a $1.9-million contract to the Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory to build a floating potential measurement unit for the International Space Station.
Eclipse Aviation Corp. ended its third round of equity financing worth $100 million toward development and certification of the Eclipse 500 business jet. The Albuquerque, N.M.-based company has secured $220 million in financing. FAA certification is scheduled for December 2003 with deliveries in 2004.
