A green light from the European Union transport ministers last month will enable work to begin on defining Galileo, Europe's proposed second-generation Global Navigation Satellite System.
Urban warfare has become a post-Cold War trend that is likely to deepen in the 21st century, requiring new forms of combat technology, defense experts say. From Pristina and Port-au-Prince to Panama City and Mogadishu, urban warfare and urban peacekeeping are becoming the norm, despite the fact that traditional U.S. military doctrine has called for avoiding urban operations, with their high casualty rates in wartime and their rabbit-warren risks to occupation forces in peacetime.
In the aftermath of the June 12 crash of a Sukhoi Su-30MK, Paris air show organizers are considering revised procedures for approving flight presentations. After rehearsal flights, in addition to the manufacturer's officials, the pilots may have to sign an approval form agreeing to the routine's parameters. Last month, Sukhoi General Designer Mikhail Simonov initially attributed the accident to a shortened flight routine imposed by show organizers. But as early as May 18, Sukhoi officials had approved a 4-6 min. routine.
Thailand's Shinawatra Satellite Group says it is likely to be the first to take the next step in satellite development: introduction of broadband multimedia technology that will bring 25 times more capacity than Asian customers--or anyone else--can now get. Such a spacecraft would carry the equivalent of 1,000 or more 36-MHz. transponders with combined C-, Ku- and Ka-band transmissions. The target launch date is late 2001 or early 2002. Requests for proposals are expected in the third quarter.
Two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers that came within 60 mi. of Iceland's coastline on June 25 were intercepted by two U.S. F-15s flown by the Louisiana Air National Guard. The aircraft flew north from Moscow over the North Pole to reach the Iceland area during a Russian military exercise named ``West 99.'' A U.S. National Security Council official said the incident was no cause for alarm, adding that the Russian airplanes never violated Iceland's airspace.
American Airlines is seeking authority from the U.S. Transportation Dept. to operate from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Shanghai and Beijing. American proposes to fly the Shanghai route daily but would serve Beijing three times weekly using Boeing 777IGW (increased gross weight) transports equipped with 237 seats. Service would begin on Apr. 1, 2001, according to the airline. If approved, American's flights would be the only nonstop service from Chicago to China. An agreement signed in April by the U.S.
Several changes are emerging for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program that could add to the number of missiles the Pentagon will buy and alter how the stealthy cruise missile operates.
ECE, an Intertechnique affiliate, has been selected by Auyres Corp. to supply electric power systems for the Loadmaster LM200 light transport aircraft scheduled to be produced in the Czech Republic.
Bernard Hensey has been named managing director of FLS Aerospace (Ireland) in Dublin. He was executive vice president-aircraft overhaul for the FLS Aerospace Group.
Hurel-Dubois has concluded an agreement with Eurocopter to supply equipment bays, electronic racks, fireproof bulkheads and additional airframe subassemblies for the Tiger attack helicopter.
SITA HAS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING a next-generation global aeronautical data link service--the ICAO standard VHF Digital Line (VDL) Mode 2. Harris Corp. is under contract to SITA to develop the VHF ground stations, including radios, to communicate with aircraft using both the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and VDL Mode 2, which will have 10 times the capacity of ACARS. SITA--the leading telecommunications and information provider to the air transport industry--will deploy the service first in areas of highest density air traffic.
Rolls-Royce's Trent 895 has received certification from both the U.K. and the European aviation authorities. A derivative of the Trent 892, the 95,000-lb.-thrust engine is scheduled to enter service with British Airways on its extended-range Boeing 777-200s in January.
Paul Poberezny, founder/chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Assn., has received the Crystal Eagle Award from the Aero Club of Northern California. The annual award recognizes accomplishments that have contributed to the advancement of aviation or space technology.
Dynamics Research Corp. has won a contract valued at up to $64 million to provide engineering, technical and logistics support to USAF depots and other Defense Dept. and federal agencies.
Northrop Grumman Corp. remains one of the U.S. aerospace/defense industry's most acquisitive companies, although management has had to restrict its purchases to relatively small operations such as California Microwave's defense electronics business for $93 million and Data Procurement Corp., an information technology outsourcing company, for $33 million. Hamstringing Northrop Grumman has been its heavy debt load.
Japan's $7-billion F-2 close air support fighter's introduction into service has probably suffered another setback with the discovery of a new set of cracks in its cocured carbon fiber-reinforced wing. Hairline cracks appeared May 13 during tests of the No. 1 static test prototype at the Japanese Defense Agency's Technical Research Center at Tachikawa in Tokyo. The cracks showed up around an oil pipe hole in a rib of the test article's right wing, which was built by the F-2's Japanese prime contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Carriers are telling Boeing they want cockpits that can perform Category 1 approaches to non-ILS airports using planned GPS-based Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) procedures. Airline operators also are anxious to extend FANS-1 procedures to North Atlantic routes due to HF frequency saturation, according to David L. Allen, chief engineer for communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems (CNS/ATM) for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group.
India's air force began night attacks last week against bunkers, gun emplacements and supply camps in northern Kashmir as its conflict with Pakistan dragged into a second month. India's Western Air Command said its delivery techniques have evolved since the current round of fighting over the disputed region began. Reports indicate the air force is using laser-guided bombs, but details on aircraft and weapons used were not given. Group Capt. D.N.
Tracking data indicate the U.S. Air Force Titan IVB launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on May 22 carried a single large National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload that was eventually maneuvered into a 1,675 X 2,050-mi. orbit inclined 63.4 deg. The mission has parameters unlike any other current NRO satellite. In addition to the primary payload, the launch left nine other objects in orbit.
Fred Fratto has been appointed vice president-human resources for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. He held the same position with Goody Products Inc., Peachtree City, Ga.
Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team, which includes Northrop Grumman and British Aerospace, is modifying a BAC 1-11 into an airborne platform to test elements of the avionics suite planned for the company's X-35 JSF design. The BAC 1-11 will be used chiefly to evaluate multisensor avionics during inflight conditions difficult to produce in simulation.
Aerojet has completed a series of ground tests confirming that a one-sixthcale version of its airbreathing Strutjet rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC) engine operates well over a broad speed range--from a standing start at sea level to Mach 8.0 at an altitude of 140,000 ft. The engine is a strong candidate for future commercial or military reusable launch vehicles.
The Joint Strike Fighter Program Office and the GE/Rolls-Royce JSF alternate engine team have signed a potential four-year, $450-million contract that should lead to ground tests of an F120 engine for the JSF in 2003. The propulsion team will perform pre-engineering and manufacturing development work on the powerplant for a year prior to aircraft down-select in 2001. Once this is accomplished, a three-year contract option should be exercised that will lead directly to ground tests of a JSF F120 beginning in 2003. The tests should wrap up in 2004.
Pratt&Whitney and Boeing investigators have determined that the failure of the RL10B rocket engine that ruined the second flight of the Delta III involved an explosive rupture of the engine's combustion chamber, an unprecedented occurrence for the oxygen/hydrogen powerplant critical to the U.S. space program and international satellite customers.
High-power microwave and laser weapon, detection and communications systems could be in the hands of U.S. combat forces during the next few years, thanks to decades of directed-energy research and technology development now coming to fruition.
