Deaths from terrorism are on the rise, Americans increasingly are the targets, and former National Security Council member Jessica Stern explains why in a new book, The Ultimate Terrorist. Now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, she led the NSC's Nuclear Smuggling Response Group as Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs. Excerpts follow: During the 1970s, 8,114 terrorist incidents were reported around the world, resulting in 4,798 deaths and 6,902 injuries.
American Airlines and Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile (LanChile) are one step closer to implementing their planned alliance. Last week, the U.S. Transportation Dept. tentatively approved the plan, which has been pending since late in 1997. In addition, the approval paves the way for the U.S. and Chile to conclude an open skies agreement. If the Transportation Dept. issues an official authorization for the alliance, which is expected soon, American and LanChile would begin code-sharing on each other's flights and would hold U.S. antitrust immunity.
The European Union will ban hushkitted Stage 2 commercial transports registered from the 15 member states' airports on Apr. 1, 2000, or 11 months later than previously planned. Third-country hushkitted aircraft will be banned from Apr. 1, 2002, the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) long-planned deadline.
FTi/Frosch Touristik, a Munich-based charter startup carrier created by Air Tours International in the U.K. and its German affiliate Frosh Touristik, is scheduled to begin commercial operations this month. Initially, Frosch would link Munich to 18 destinations in 11 countries in the Mediterranean Basin and West Africa using three Airbus Industrie A320s and one Boeing 737-400. It is the first foray into the lucrative German marketplace for FTi, one of Europe's leading travel operators.
Sanders has completed production and delivery of the first of 11 Electronic Warfare suites being produced for the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter under the EW Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the program.
Fairchild Dornier plans to deliver the first 70-seat 728JET twinjet to Lufthansa CityLine in mid-2002. Late last week, the regional subsidiary of Lufthansa German Airlines concluded a $1.6-billion launch order for 60 728JETs and optioned 60 more.
The CIT Group Inc. has signed an agreement with Airbus Industrie to acquire 25 A320s and five A330s with options for additional airplanes over a five-year period. The acquisition, which is one of the largest in the airline industry this year, will increase CIT's management portfolio to more than 200 commercial aircraft leased to 71 airlines worldwide, according to the company. Initial deliveries are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2000.
Richard A. Schneider has become executive vice president-finance/chief financial officer of DRS Technologies Inc., Parsippany, N.J., and Prasad R. Akkapeddi vice president/general manager of the Photronics unit. Schneider held the same positions at NAI Technologies Inc. Akka- peddi was director of technology and planning for Raytheon Optical Systems.
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the de facto standard method of diagramming software, and Advanced Software Technologies' GDPro is one of several object-oriented software engineering tools that can create UML blueprints and autocode most of them. GDPro can also reverse-engineer UML blueprints from existing large and complex Java, C++, Corba and IDL code, which is useful to apply modern software discipline to older programs. GDPro can interact with source code without adding ``marker'' statements that bloat the code.
Allen Hoyt and Tim Hilde have been named presidents of the Aircraft Sales Div. and Aircraft Operations Div., respectively, and John Penn CEO, all of Western Aircraft Inc., Boise, Idaho.
Intervention by Lufthansa and Deutsche Bank have helped turn around the fortunes of Garuda Indonesia, which is expected to make a $30-million profit in the fiscal year that ends June 30, managers report. ``The first three months were quite good and we are on target,'' said Walter Penzler, who is part of a five-man Lufthansa management team secunded to Garuda. Lufthansa was appointed last year to revitalize the ailing Indonesian flag carrier.
Rolls-Royce AE 2100J turboprop engines have been selected by the Japan Defense Agency and ShinMaywa Industries to power the U.S.-1A Kai short takeoff and landing amphibious aircraft.
Aviat Aircraft Inc. has signed an OEM contract with Garmin International for the installation of Garmin's GPS units into two of its airplane models, the Pitts and the Husky.
The U.K., France and Italy pledged to move ahead quickly on developing a new naval air defense system--which could act to spur further mergers among European missile makers--despite London's decision to pull out of a cooperative program to build Horizon frigates. Opting to go it alone on a next-generation frigate poses an embarrassing counterpoint to the U.K.'s calls for greater cooperation on European defense and weapons procurement. The move also does not bode well for French offers to collaborate with the U.K. on its next-generation aircraft carriers.
FAA officials are rushing to complete a proposal for comprehensive upgrades of cockpit voice and flight data recorders (CVRs and FDRs). Their boss is giving the keynote speech at an international transportation data recorder symposium the National Transportation Safety Board is hosting here this week. FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey is keen to accelerate planned upgrades of FDRs, particularly on Boeing 737s. Many boxes now in service track just 11 parameters.
When asked about the F-117 loss, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Richard Hawley reminded, ``Stealth airplanes aren't invisible. They are designed to reduce the lethal envelope of enemy air defense systems, not eliminate them. When you have a lot of unlocated threats, you are at risk even in a stealth airplane.'' Asked if the loss was the result of failing to implement lessons learned from previous experience, he replied, ``That's an operational issue that is very warm.'' During a congressional hearing, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen.
The Australian army has short-listed the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow, Augusta A129 ARH Scorpion and Eurocopter Tiger from a field of six for its Air 87 armed reconnaissance helicopter requirement of about 30 aircraft. A request for bids is expected later this year with a winner selected by mid-2000. Bell 206 Kiowas and UH-1H Iroquois are to be replaced. Eliminated from the competition were Bell's AH-1Z Viper, Sikorsky's Black Hawk and Denel's Redhawk version of the Rooivalk.
LOCKHEED MARTIN AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT WILL BE SUPPLYING two new ATC automation systems in China. The systems will support terminal approach and departures at two airports currently under construction; the Changbei Airport in Nanching and at the Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou. System acceptance by China is expected in the first and third quarters of next year, respectively. The new workstations and computers will support radar and flight data processing, and will operate with the country's existing ATC radar and communications systems.
Dismal subscriber levels revealed by the Iridium consortium last week are raising new questions about whether there is a significant market for the high-end satellite telephone service the pioneering venture is trying to sell.
Boeing completed Year 2000 computer compliance testing earlier this month on its commercial transport line by turning ahead the captain's clock on a next-generation 737-600 to Jan. 1, 2000. The company, which began its Y2K analyses in 1993, has spend the last two months flight testing its nine in-production transport models, according to Susan Tankersley, system engineer for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. These include the 717, MD-11 and MD-80/90 lines.
Following a rash of single- and dual-engine surge events involving Pratt&Whitney PW4000-series engines, the FAA is requiring airlines to perform special tests to determine stability of the high-pressure compressor section, and to restrict the installation of potentially unstable engines per aircraft.
Several miles to the east of Miami International lies the airfield's attraction to travelers and traders and the airlines that serve them. The city of Miami and its surrounding communities host more than 40 international commerce banks and many law firms that underwrite and expedite trade among the U.S., Latin America, Europe and, to a growing extent, Asia. Merchants who move those goods have set up residences in Miami to be closer to their trade advisers as well as to South Florida's cultural and entertainment venues.
Expect to see key documents leak from the Indonesian Air Accident Investigation Commission's closed-mouth inquiry into the crash of a SilkAir Boeing 737 in December 1997. Relatives of the deceased expect to sue SilkAir and are mounting pressure in Singapore and Indonesia for a definitive report. They are finding allies among AAIC staff members critical of the way AAIC Chairman Oetarj Duran has handled the investigation.
A new bistatic radar system that the U.S. Air Force will use to evaluate the radar cross sections of low-observable air vehicles could lead to an improved operational capability to detect stealthy aircraft and cruise missiles.
Barry Gray has been appointed vice president-Midwest aircraft sales of Vance and Engles of Washington. He was director of sales and marketing of DB Aviation Inc.
