Southwest Research Institute has received an engineering services contract, worth up to $48.5 million, to support military information operations by the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center.
Greece's Defense Ministry has ordered 10 Canadair 415GR amphibious aircraft from Bombardier Aerospace and placed options for five more in a contract worth more than $250 million. The contract includes aircraft, spare parts, ground support equipment and training, with deliveries expected to start in the first quarter of 1999. Greece currently operates 15 CL-215s. The 415GR is a new model with higher operating weights to accommodate future installation of search-and-rescue equipment. The new model also has on-board boat handling equipment and a utility cargo hoist.
The AR-108 is a handheld scanner that can receive channels throughout the aviation frequency band of 108-136.957 MHz. It measures 3 5/16-in. tall (not including the antenna) and 2 5/16-in. wide. The 6-oz. receiver picks up 10 weather channels and has a memory that can be programmed with 99 channels. It will scan either the channels in memory or the entire aviation band. Other features include a key lock, key beep tone on/off switch, battery power saver function and separate volume and squelch controls. Edmo Distributors Inc., 5505 E. Rutter Ave., Spokane, Wash. 99212.
The French government is poised to conclude a multiyear order for 48 Dassault Aviation Rafales, a milestone that should reboot the slow-moving program and improve the fighter's export potential.
The AE7000 is a data recorder that can capture or play back up to 1 gigabit/sec. Applications include intelligence gathering and electronic warfare. Incoming signals are processed and recorded on an array of 10 9.1-gigabyte disks. Analog signals of up to 50 MHz. and variable rate digital data of up to 1 gigabit/sec., as well as a variety of commonly used digital communications protocols can be recorded and replayed directly. The system can store up to 19 min. of continuous 622 megabit/sec. SONET data or 30 min. of 20-MHz. analog data.
The Model 9260 Mini Fixed-Point Maintenance Furnace and Model 9210 Mini Water Triple Point Cell Maintenance Apparatus can be used to automate the use of fixed-point devices that are used in calibrating temperature sensors. The 9210, which uses a mini-water triple point cell, can achieve uncertainties that are better than 0.0005C. The triple point can be generated in the cell in 5 min. The 9260, using mini metal freeze point cells, automates the freezing and melting of indium, tin, zinc and aluminum, covering a temperature range of 156-660C. Hart Scientific, 799 E.
New details emerging about China's FBC-1 fighter and associated systems indicate China's intent to further upgrade the aircraft's capability to include delivery of standoff and precision air-to-ground weapons. The twin-engine fighter is regarded as a potent coastal defense system when equipped with its mainstay Chinese-made C-802 antiship missiles. A limited number are believed to have entered service with the Chinese navy in 1994.
The 12-volt PM1207 and 24-volt PM2407 starters have been approved for replacement installation on Teledyne Continental 360, 470, 520 and 550 series piston aircraft engines. The Lamar permanent magnet starters were developed for aviation piston engines, rather than being derived from automotive designs. They weigh about 40% less than conventional starters because they do not require bulky windings. The starters are designed to last between mandatory engine overhauls and come with a 2-year warranty. Precision Airmotive, 3220 100th St. S.W., Building E, Everett, Wash.
The rapid growth of international air express shipments is slowing. In the 12 months ending in July 1998, the volume of overseas air express increased 12.3% to about 1.3 million daily shipments, according to a study by Seattle's Air Cargo Management Group. That compares to an annual overage growth rate of 18% in the past 6 years and single-year increases of more than 23%. The slowdown reflects the Asian economic crisis and mirrors similar declines in international air freight traffic, according to Lee Hibbets, ACMG research director.
The BSB Bi-Stable brake series can be used in any battery-powered or low-current supply applications, such as aircraft actuators, missile systems and satellites. They are available in four sizes with torque ranges of 0.75-35 in. lb. The brakes are designed to operate without a continuous current supply in applications where heat and power conservation is essential. When pulsed with a 100-millisec. DC current, the brake will latch and hold in either the on or off position. Reversing polarity resets the device. Electroid, 45 Fadem Road, Springfield, N.J. 07081.
This slide rule calculator is intended to ease the design of magnetic shields. A user selects the thickness of the shield material, the shield diameter, the strength of the source field on either the DC or 60 Hz. scale and then reads the associated attenuated field strength. Conversion factors, definitions and application notes are printed on the reverse side. Magnetic Shield Corp., 740 N. Thomas Drive, Bensenville, Ill. 60106.
One reason Navy aviators got the lead in the first night of bombing during last December's attacks on Iraq is concern about Bedouin camps around bases where U.S. aircraft are stationed in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman. Intelligence officials are picking up flurries of cellular telephone calls to Iraq whenever a flock of allied aircraft take off. To achieve surprise, only carrier-based aircraft were used on the first night, while USAF aircraft that would normally have led a large-scale attack initially, remained inactive.
Simula Technologies also is scheduled late this spring to begin deliveries of its ``Durachute'' emergency bail-out parachute to the U.S. Navy. Planned for use in the P-3 and EP-3, the 17-lb. backpack, built by Simula subsidiary SEI, is significantly lighter and smaller than its NB-8 predecessor. It is easier to don and fits a wider range of occupants with a single size, according to Lance C. Labun, Simula manager of safety technology. Durachute's rate of descent is slower, the canopy is more maneuverable and has limited forward glide.
Antisatellite weapons are getting a close look from the National Security Council. NSC's Bob Bell says the White House will report to Congress about a whole menu of options. He hints that the NSC is looking for a way to limit a foe's access to real-time reconnaissance without necessarily destroying satellites. ``The trick,'' Bell says, is to come up with something for use in regional conflicts while assuring the Russians that ``our intentions are not . . . directed at them.''
National Technical Systems' 4 X 4-ft. transonic/supersonic wind tunnel has been upgraded to provide data acquisition on a personal computer running LabView display software and National Instruments VXI system. A 20-in. monitor provides primary data and status display. The new configuration allows for near-real-time test data reporting, as well as allowing greater flexibility for automating data handling and formatting. Test data can be sent to customers via the Internet or in a variety of hard media. National Technical Systems, 24007 Ventura Blvd., Calabasas, Calif.
Bell Helicopter Textron delivered the first of 310 upgraded OH-58D Kiowa Warriors for the U.S. Army on Dec. 22. The aircraft are being modified in accordance with the Army's Safety Enhancement Program (SEP).
Aces Wild : The Race for Mach 1 documents the competition between Chuck Yeager and George Welch to break the sound barrier. Author Al Blackburn, a former Navy and North American Aviation test pilot, offers anecdotal evidence that Welch actually broke the sound barrier in a Sabre prototype before Yeager's official record-setting flight on Oct. 14, 1947, in the Bell X-1. The book also documents North American's development of the Sabre, which played a key role in the Korean War. Scholarly Resources Inc., 104 Greenhill Ave., Wilmington, Del. 19805-1897.
The Russian government has revealed the configuration of the MiG Project 1.42 fighter technology demonstrator after years of mystery, and MiG officials expect it will make its maiden flight by March. The ANPK MiG design bureau plans to present the MiG 1.42 officially to the Russian government at the Zhukovsky flight test facility on Jan. 12. The aircraft has been talked about for more than 5 years, and occasionally it has not been clear whether it has flown (AW&ST June 23, 1997, p. 22; May 31, 1993, p. 23).
The Collins MFD-268S is an ultra-high resolution display system developed for use on the Boeing B-1B, the Boeing CH-47 improved cargo helicopter and the Bell Helicopter Textron/U.S. Marine Corps H-1. The display provides a 1,024 X 768-pixel resolution on an 8 X 6-in. display surface. Demonstrations of the display as a target planner for the B-1 were to start last month. Flight tests will begin later this year. In the B-1 application, the MFD-268S is intended to enhance the crew's ability to react to real-time events via data-linked information.
PAM-Quickstamp is designed to allow early feasibility evaluation regarding formability and performance of stamped products. It provides fast, qualitative evaluation and is meant to be used with PAM-Stamp stamping simulation software. PAM-Quickstamp carries out three-dimensional evaluation in a few minutes. Secondary parameters are simplified, while the software accounts for elastoplastic behavior, friction and blankholder pressure. ESI Group, 6 rue Hamelin, BP 2008-16, 75761 Paris Cedex 16, France.
Series 117 conformal sensors measure true gun chamber pressure directly through an unmodified shell case. The integral sensitive end of the sensor is contoured to the shape of the test barrel wall. Cartridges do not have to be drilled or gas passages cleaned with the conformal method. Properly configured sensors can accumulate hundreds of thousands of test firings. PCB Piezotronics, Pressure and Force Sensors Div., 3425 Walden Ave., Depew, N.Y. 14043-2495.
Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) has fired the first salvo in the new Congress' battle over aviation funding. He says the House Transportation Committee, which he chairs, will pass a bill by Mar. 1 calling for all airline ticket tax revenues to be spent on aviation improvements. The taxes annually generate about $10 billion for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, but currently almost half goes for unrelated government spending. Shuster wants the trust fund taken off budget, just as was done last year with a similar fund for highway improvements.
SmART Search relies on artificial intelligence techniques to improve the ability of machine vision systems to search and locate objects. SmART, which stands for small alignment and registration tool, is designed to adapt to a wide variety of process variations while providing fast, highly accurate search and registration results. Applications include robotic wafer handling, wire bonding and inspection, integrated circuit assembly, and component pick and place.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines this year expects to carry about 10 million passengers, up from 5 million in 1995. Last year, the Belgian carrier's traffic soared a record 27.3%, to 8.74 million passengers, three times that of the Assn. of European Airlines' 7.7% average growth rate. Sabena's dramatic rise is tied to a high-frequency 75-point European route system centered on Brussels, the European Union's ``capital,'' and an aggressive marketing strategy.
Green Hills Software recently added several microprocessors to the capability of its ``Multi'' integrated software development environment. These include the Hitachi SH3-DSP and SH-4, several ARM processors and Motorola's M-Core family. Multi is available in C, C++, EC++ and Fortran optimizing compilers and runs on Windows 95, Windows NT and Unix machines. A single seat license costs $5,900 for Windows and $8,900 for Unix. Multi also has a new ``CodeBalance'' optimizing profiler for 32-bit processors with 16-bit instruction set extensions.
