Raytheon Co. will develop and manage first-year production of the U.S. Army's Airborne Command and Control System for UH-60HL Black Hawk helicopters, under a $110-million contract.
Jumper says the conflict in Afghanistan and homeland defense have stressed the Air Expeditionary Force system of 10 rotating wings, but it has not yet broken it. ``We've had to reach forward to portions of the force structure that weren't supposed to deploy for another rotation or even two rotations in certain high-demand, low-density specialties,'' he said.
The Hungarian and Swedish governments have signed a memorandum of understanding permitting Hungary to lease 14 Saab/BAE Systems JAS Gripen fighters to meet a requirement for NATO-compatible combat aircraft. An offset accord linked to the 10-year lease agreement is to be concluded in December. The aircraft, to be delivered from 2004-05, will be the first to be delivered to a NATO nation. Sweden and South Africa have also ordered the Gripen.
The British government issued awards to two contractor teams for more-detailed, stage-two assessments of the U.K.'s Future Carrier Program. The $36-million contracts to consortia led by BAE Systems and Thales will last one year and lead to a downselect of a preferred supplier. The BAE System team includes Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce, while Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are partnered with Thales.
BAE Systems unceremoniously decided to terminate the Avro RJX product range and exit the regional jet market. By a quirk of fate, the British group's decision was announced 48 hr. after a Crossair Avro RJ100 crashed near Zurich (see p. 38), although this is not thought to be a cause-and-effect issue.
However, Jumper, an avowed advocate of advanced technology, expressed a more conservative tack with regard to Space Based Radar. Advocates of SBR envision a constellation of small satellites that can keep constant track of ground, and possibly air, targets. Jumper worries about a ``rush to failure,'' and points out that the immediate goal is to identify a combination of manned, unmanned and space systems that can provide the best ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar picture to commanders.
Alitalia maintains it needs another infusion of capital to continue operations. The flag carrier's recently approved business plan involves recapitalization of 1.78 billion euros ($1.58 billion) and foresees profitability by 2003. However, competitors are concerned about compliance with the European Commission's (EC) strict rules on state aid. Alitalia expects to lose $300 million this year.
SGI Israel is installing the largest graphics computer in that country for BVR Systems, an Elisra Group company specializing in defense training and simulation. The SGI Onyx 3800 visualization system will be used in a full-mission flight simulator for a two-seat F-16 fighter, and will be programmed with high-fidelity models of actual terrain, which are so large that they cross memory partitions. A likely use would be to rehearse ground attack missions.
The U.S. Air Force has put its new Litening infrared and laser-targeting pods into combat in Afghanistan on board older Air National Guard F-16s. The aircraft have an ability to pick up a laser illumination regardless of whether it was generated by a ground party or another aircraft. In addition to the new technology, airpower's success in Afghanistan was ``made very much better by the people on the ground [who are designating targets],'' said new Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper. ``We're wildly successful. I wish we could have done this in Kosovo.
Alcatel will sell 4.2%, or 7 million shares, of its stock in Thales, a move that will decrease its holdings in the defense electronics contractor to 15.8%. The move will contribute 270 million euros ($239 million) to the troubled telecom giant's bottom line while allowing the strategic partnership between the two firms to be maintained. Thales expressed satisfaction with the sale, noting that it would raise the percentage of shares on the market to 45%.
Geci International, a French engineering group, has launched a utility twin turboprop called Skylander and hopes to obtain FAA and European JAA certification in September 2004. Powered by 1,100-shp. Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6A-65Bs, the unpressurized Skylander will carry up to 19 passengers or 3 metric tons of freight. A maritime patrol version also is being planned.
Application of antitrust laws and regulations will play a key role in the U.S. aerospace/defense industry's continuing consolidation, as has been the case since the early 1990s. But the pattern of merger reviews by the U.S. Justice Dept., especially from 1994-97, probably runs counter to popular belief. Until regulators blocked the union of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman in 1998, the general perception was that government had a laissez-faire attitude toward proposed mergers. In fact, that remains the prevailing view in some industry circles.
Transatlantic industrial relationships are likely to follow an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary path for the foreseeable future. This means the potential for full-blown mergers uniting large U.S. and European prime contractors--a subject of much speculation--probably will remain a distant prospect, at best. More transatlantic acquisitions will happen, of course, but they are more likely to be small and medium-sized transactions. That is not to say some major players have never explored such a union.
Fred Buttrell, who was senior vice president-strategy and business development for Delta Air Lines, has been appointed president/CEO of Delta Connection Inc. He succeeds David Siebenburgen, who will retire but remain chairman of Delta AirElite Business Jets. Joe Kolshak, who was director of investor relations, has been named vice president-flight operations, for mainline Delta. He succeeds Dave Bushy, who will remain a Boeing 767 captain and be the airline's liaison to industry groups for pilot resource planning, training and recruitment.
The Senate has long been frustrated with Pentagon accounting problems and lack of transparency on where money is spent, and now the Defense Dept.'s inspector general has found new ammunition for lawmakers. Investigating an allegation that the Environmental Technology Laboratory mischarged costs to Advanced Sensor Applications Program, the IG indeed discovered that $1.6 million couldn't be properly accounted for. The project is a cooperative effort between the Defense Dept.
The U.S. Aerospace Commission and the Defense Dept. envision a number of near-term measures that could aid U.S. aerospace companies and enhance their long-term financial outlook. Pentagon acquisition chief Edward C. (Pete) Aldridge told the commission last week at its first hearing that two policies are being developed that could improve contractors' balance sheets. One is focused on helping companies eliminate excess capacity; the other is more directly related to profit policies.
U.S. heavy bombers have appeared in the Afghanistan conflict as little more than distant contrails, but the small force--primarily 18 Boeing B-1s and B-52s operating from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean--has dropped most of the 4,700 tons delivered by the Air Force, which comprise 72% of the war's total.
Norman Mineta and Tom Ridge, whose workloads have mushroomed since Sept. 11, each in its way, are trying to do quickly what many aviation industry professionals would be impressed with if they can do at all. Mineta, the secretary of Transportation, and Ridge, President Bush's Homeland Security czar, outlined their immediate plans Nov. 27 at Aviation Week's homeland security and defense conference in Washington. For each, work will not be slowing down for the holidays.
Marshall Aerospace will provide spares and rotables support for RAF Tristars, under a contract for up to 10 years that takes effect in January. The contract includes simulator, ground and test equipment support.
The U.S. Air Force is going to consolidate the intranets from 110 bases around the world into a single electronic portal called My.AirForce. The centralized system is to start operating in early 2002 and will include millions of pages from 28,000 information systems and 1,500 Web sites. Up to 1.2 million users will have access with varying levels of security, using 128-bit SSL encryption.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $4.5-billion contract to sustain the B-1B bomber fleet for the next 15 years. Boeing also will be responsible for upgrades on the aircraft.
Mergers and acquisitions have dramatically altered the global aerospace/defense landscape in recent years. The value of those deals easily exceeds $150 billion. Still, it isn't over. Many more companies will be acquired before consolidation runs its course. With that in mind, Aviation Week&Space Technology, in collaboration with Charles River Associates Inc. (CRA), undertook a six-month analysis of consolidation--past, present and pending.
General Electric outsources some of its information library support to Sopheon (www.sopheon.com), including services for the aircraft engines unit and the corporation. The library is used for research, development, and legal and business information. Employees can search for data themselves through a network portal, or e-mail the Sopheon research staff to help them. The library culls information from the Web, published literature and proprietary sources.
Douglas Barrie will join Aviation Week&Space Technology as London bureau chief on Jan. 7. Barrie has covered aerospace issues within Europe for numerous aviation and aerospace publications for the past 13 years. Barrie, a British citizen, graduated from Edinburgh University. He succeeds John D. Morrocco, former European bureau chief, who left the magazine earlier this year to join Boeing in Chicago. Pierre Sparaco, who is Paris-based senior European editor, will be promoted to European bureau chief, effective Jan. 1. Barrie will report to Sparaco.
EasyJet, a growing low-cost British carrier, is seeking to establish an additional hub at Paris Orly. Although it would operate initially between Orly and existing points in its route system, EasyJet also would like to serve Orly-Nice, France's second busiest city-pair. The carrier's cheapest fares on Orly-Nice would be as low as $38-52 and the highest price an estimated $120, a fraction of Air Lib's and Air's France fares.
