Boeing's win of the bulk of the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) awards represents a huge boost to the company's efforts to grow into a leading launch provider. At the same time, Boeing's win deals a setback to EELV competitor Lockheed Martin, which had long dominated the market for launching medium-heavy U.S. government payloads and has plans of its own to grab a big chunk of the commercial launch market.
General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has signed an order for 15 150-seat Airbus A320s, 14 185-seat A321s and one124-seat A319 scheduled to be delivered in 2003-06.
The nearly 4,000-page, last-ditch budget measure President Clinton signed into law last week (see p. 34) included implementing legislation for the global Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans all chemical weapons. The Senate had approved the treaty unanimously, but the House procrastinated for 16 months. Last-minute appeals from influential supporters, including Rep. Lee Hamilton (Ind.), the House International Relations Committee's ranking Democrat, helped save the day. Advocates argued that U.S.
David Singleton (see photo) has been named managing director of British Aerospace Asset Management, Hatfield, England. He succeeds Tony Rice, who is now group managing director for commercial aircraft. Singleton was head of group strategy and planning for British Aerospace.
Tests of EW systems are increasingly relying on modeling and simulation techniques to greatly expand the data available from tests against live missiles. While only 140 live missile shots are planned against drones to evaluate the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures/Common Missile Warning System (ATIRCM/CMWS), the computer work can produce the equivalent data of thousands of firings, according to Andrew B. Whitaker, who directs the ATIRCM/CMWS program at Lockheed Martin/Sanders.
Significant enhancement of the EA-6B's electronic warfare capability is expected to result from its ICAP-3 upgrade, with initial operational deployment now scheduled for early 2004. Northrop Grumman, which produced the first EA-6B nearly three decades ago, heads the team selected by the Navy this past spring for the ICAP-3 (Improved-Capability) upgrade.
When ITT Industries' Avionics division began development of the ALQ-211 in 1990, the system was called the Advanced Threat Radar Jammer and was intended for the Army AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter. Within several years, the system's greatly expanded capabilities resulted in a new name--Suite of Integrated RF Countermeasures (SIRFC).
Burbank Aeronautical Corp. has selected Senior Flexonics Inc. to supply 268 HIPRES maintenance-free accumulators for slightly more than $2 million by the end of 1999.
A three-year program to demonstrate a novel technique to quickly and precisely determine the geo-location of enemy air defense radars so they can be attacked even if they stop radiating will soon be launched by Darpa in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The program is called Advanced Tactical Targeting Technology, or AT3 (AW&ST July 20, p. 54).
Continental and Northwest airlines last week were awaiting a government decision on their proposed link-up. Both carriers and Air Partners LP, which is seeking to sell its controlling stake in Continental to Northwest, have been in talks with the Justice Dept.'s Antitrust Div., which has raised concerns about the acquisition. ``At this point, we can't predict whether the Justice Dept.'s concerns will be addressed by agreement or by litigation,'' said Jeffrey A. Smisek, Continental's executive vice president and general counsel.
Karen Ramos (see photo) has been named director of the Space Launch Services Div. of Quantum Technology Services Inc., Cocoa Beach, Fla. She was VentureStar technical director for the Spaceport Florida Authority.
The omnibus appropriations bill passed last week to close out the 105th Congress provides six months of funding for FAA-backed airport improvements but temporarily blocks the Clinton Administration's efforts to impose competition guidelines on airlines. President Clinton signed the bill into law on Oct. 21.
Richard J. Nelson, who has been managing director of aviation at the University of North Dakota and was president of Skyway Airlines, has been named interim dean of UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. He succeeds Odegard, who died Sept. 27. Nelson also will be interim president of the UND Aerospace Foundation.
Barring a dramatic deterioration in the U.S. economy in 1999, major business jet manufacturers believe they are well-positioned to weather a cyclical downturn or even a mild recession next year. That message came through loud and clear at the National Business Aviation Assn.'s 51st annual meeting and convention in Las Vegas last week. Virtually all business jets in production capacity are sold out for the next 12-18 months, depending on the model, and aircraft companies continue to enjoy robust demand. Backlogs are huge.
Matthew B. Foster has been promoted to vice president-business development and advanced programs from director of acquisition management for Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver. Foster succeeds B. Clovis Landry, who has been named vice president-technology for Lockheed Martin Information and Services, Bethesda, Md. Nathan J. Lindsay was appointed vice president/general manager of advanced space launch systems and J. Wayne Littles vice president-coproduction of the RD-180 engine.
Charles A. Vehlow has been appointed vice president/general manager of U.S. Army programs and military rotorcraft for Boeing in Philadelphia. He was vice president/deputy director of the RAH-66 Comanche program. Vehlow succeeds James J. Morris, who now heads production of 747s, 767s and 777s for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle.
British Secretary of State for Transport John Prescott has overturned a Civil Aviation Authority decision to award Virgin Atlantic the right to operate flights to Moscow. British Midland had appealed the decision, arguing the Moscow route was vital to its Eastern European expansion plans which include starting a new service to Budapest next year. Prescott wants a new hearing which is scheduled for Nov. 26. Virgin was unsuccessful in two earlier applications to secure the rights to fly from London to Las Vegas and Cape Town.
If anyone doubts business flying and corporate aviation have reached new high levels of maturity and professionalism, that notion would have been dispelled by talking to some of the more than 31,000 attendees and inspecting the more than 140 aircraft on static display at last week's National Business Aviation Assn.'s annual convention, held this year in Las Vegas.
The Hughes/U.S. Navy UHF F9 communications satellite is being maneuvered to its initial geosynchronous orbit test station over the Pacific following launch from Cape Canaveral on Oct. 19 on board an ILS Atlas 2A. The overall cost of the mission is $200 million. The spacecraft will eventually be positioned over the Atlantic to provide 6th Fleet communications. The F9 spacecraft is the second to be equipped with the new Global Broadcast Service high-data-rate capability.
Controversy continues to surround Russia's Voronezh Aircraft-Building Assn. (VASO), even after an agreement this July between VASO, the Ilyushin Design Bureau and the Russian Federation government to build 20 Il-96 and Il-96T aircraft over the next five years. The plant's finances have not improved despite claims by Voronezh head Sergey Shabanov that banks have already allocated funds for the project.
New telemetry system software developed by Britain's Logica is to play a key role in the Alcatel Space Industries/Eugelsat W communications satellite series. Logica's software should provide greater command security and flexibility, make seamless interaction between ground stations throughout the networks' coverage region easier and enhance Eutelsat's ability to control multiple satellites simultaneously as its builds its in-orbit fleet. The first of the new Eutelsat W spacecraft was launched on an Ariane 4 from Kourou, French Guiana, in early October (AW&ST Oct.
The Dassault Systemes/IBM Catia computer-aided design and manufacturing software has been revised to accommodate Windows NT as a platform and to embrace the Windows operating approach for a more ``natural'' feel. Now in advanced testing with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Cessna, Bombardier and Embraer, Catia Version 5 has been reengineered to be native for Unix and Windows NT platforms.
Stephen A. Taylor (see photo) has been appointed director of sales, marketing and customer satisfaction for Chrysler Pentastar Aviation, Waterford, Mich. He was a completion center specialist for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Efforts by Boeing's McDonnell Aircraft and Missile Systems Div. to adapt the F/A-18E/F for an escort/standoff jammer role as a potential successor to the EA-6B have been reoriented to reduce cost by exploiting EA-6B's ICAP-3 technology. The company's effort was initiated in 1993 with a short Navy-funded study after budgetary constraints prompted the Navy to cancel its Av-Cap plans to upgrade the EA-6B's capabilities. Subsequently, the Navy launched its less costly EA-6B Improved Capability ICAP-3 program (see p. 58).
