More than 10 years after the Indian air force introduced the Dassault Mirage 2000H into its fighter force, government officials are criticizing continued maintenance and operational reliability problems, which have caused delays in building up fleet strength and maintaining combat effectiveness.
William Steve Carrier, 3rd, has been named vice president-business development for Grumman Data Systems. He was vice president-federal marketing and sales of Cordant Inc., Reston, Va.
Japan's two biggest airlines report that restructuring efforts they have undertaken in the past two years and improved passenger revenues are helping them emerge from their worst postwar slump. Japan Airlines (JAL) said the 1,053.3 billion yen ($11.8 billion) in operating revenues it recorded in the fiscal year that ended Mar. 31 represented its first increase in four years. Revenues were up 13.3% from the previous year. (The exchange rate fluctuated widely during the year but is standardized at 89 yen per dollar in this report.)
Chester F. Wheeler has been appointed vice president-business management of Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver. He succeeds Donald B. Chasteen, who is retiring. Wheeler was vice president-finance and business management of the company's Space Launch Systems.
Israel Aircraft Industries' modernized MiG-21 flew for the first time from Ben Gurion International Airport. The 40-min. flight on May 24 was flown by a pilot from the Military Aircraft Group's Lahav Div. The modified MiG-21 has a one-piece windshield and a new stick grip incorporating the hands-on-throttle-and-stick concept. The new avionics package for the Russian-built fighter includes a head-up display, a multi-function display and a tactical data link. The weapon system allows computerized control and release of Western-type weapons.
Intermittent gaps in GPS coverage at flight altitudes are raising some new concerns about relying on one satellite system for aircraft navigation. Dick Arnold, who leads the FAA's GPS and navigation integrated product team, used the term ``worm holes'' to describe these coverage problems caused by ground-based interference. The phrase evokes an image of small gaps, which mainly appears to be the case, but the FAA has investigated at least one anomaly that covered hundreds of square miles.
Matra and Dassault Aviation are set to conduct the first firing toward a drone target by an advanced radar-guided Mica missile from a Rafale fighter prototype. The test will be conducted as early as June 6 off the Cazaux and Landes test centers on the French Atlantic coast. Both Matra and Dassault want to reveal the test at the Paris air show next week.
Charles T. Manatt has been confirmed as a member of the board of directors of the Comsat Corp., Bethesda, Md. He succeeds former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R.-Minn.). Lawrence S. Eagleburger, a former U.S. secretary of State, has been appointed to the board. He is a senior policy adviser for the Washington law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman and Caldwell.
Hughes has demonstrated an optically controlled phased array radar that could open the door to a new generation of equipment combining the functions of radar, communications and electronic warfare in one system.
Cessna is refurbishing tooling for the C-172 Skyhawk light piston-powered aircraft as it gears up a $75-million effort to restart single-engine aircraft production next summer. Ground-breaking for a new single-engine aircraft final assembly facility in Independence, Kan., occurred May 19. Cessna flight-tested a C-172 engine testbed here in mid-April. It has a more powerful fuel-injected IO-360 Lycoming engine and new fuel system.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS WILL SUPPLY Paveway 2 laser-guided bomb kits to the French Ministry of Defense under a $28.7-million contract. The Paveway kit adds a laser guidance unit to the body of an unguided bomb, converting it to a precision weapon. The guidance system steers to a laser spot on the target provided by the delivery or another aircraft or a ground controller. Deliveries are expected to begin late this year and continue through the end of 1997. The ministry has qualified Paveway 2 on the Mirage F1 and plans to add the French navy's Super Etendard this year.
THE FATAL ACCIDENT RATE of U.S. civil-registered turbine helicopters has improved significantly and was lower than general aviation's during 1988-92, the latest period analyzed. U.S. civil-registered turbine helicopters suffered 0.9 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours, down 47% from the previous 5-year period, according to a report by the Flight Safety Foundation, Arlington, Va. Pilot error was a factor in 62 of the 85 fatal accidents studied. Twenty-four accidents involved adverse weather or poor visibility.
Robert J. Walker (see photo) has been appointed vice president-sales and marketing of Sabreliner Corp. of St. Louis. He was director of marketing for Sparton Technology Inc., Albuquerque, N.M.
David Gardner has been named director of media services for Orion Atlantic, Rockville, Md. He was manager of customer services and operations for GEAmericom. Arthur Hill, 2nd, has been appointed executive director of satellite services sales.
TAIWAN'S NATIONAL Space Program Office has selected a Lockheed Launch Vehicle to loft the nation's first Rocsat satellite. Taiwan's 400-kg. (880-lb.) Rocsat-1 will carry an experimental communications payload, an ocean color imager and an ionospheric plasma electrodynamics instrument. The spacecraft will be launched from Cape Canaveral into a 600-km. (324- naut.-mi.) circular orbit inclined 35 deg. to the Equator.
The Pratt&Whitney PW4084-powered Boeing 777 has won FAA approval for full 180-min. extended-range operations (ETOPS). The certification, the first for any transport at start of service, gives pilots the ability to fly up to 180 min. from a suitable alternate airport while over water or remote terrain (AW&ST May 29, p. 17).
Gary L. Denman (see photo) has been named senior vice president-strategic planning of GRC International Inc., Vienna, Va. He was director of the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency.
PLANS TO ADD 750-FT. EXTENSIONS to both ends of the air carrier runway at FairbanksInternational Airport are on track. When completed next year, Fairbanks Runway19R/1L will be the longest civilian runway in Alaska at 11,800 ft. Including clearways, available takeoff distance is 12,800 ft. Latest U.S. Transportation Dept. monthly statistics, from mid-1994, indicate Fairbanks is the 10th largest U.S. cargo gateway in tonnage. It was 13th for all of 1993.
U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE is calling for clearer rules on export control of radar-absorbing materials. This follows the U.S. Commerce Dept. having twice approved RAM exports in 1994 that later were prohibited by the State Dept. Because RAM materials have limited shelf life, reversal of export approvals causes financial loss to the manufacturer. A Pentagon complaint arising from an AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY article on the technology transfer triggered the State Dept. export review.
AERO VODOCHODY LTD. AND ROCKWELL AEROSPACE will team to supply 72 L-159 light attack aircraft for the Czech air force. Aero, as prime, will supply the L-159 from its L-39/59 family of aircraft. Rockwell will lead an international team to integrate the avionics. The avionics team includes AlliedSignal for multifunction displays and IFF, Flight Visions for HUDS, Fiar for fire control radar, GEC-Marconi for radar warning receiver and Dynamic Controls Corp. for stores management systems. The first phase of the contract is valued at $18.6 million.
John W. Guffey, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of Giddings&Lewis, Fond du Lac, Wis. He is chairman/chief executive officer of Coltec Industries Inc. Stephen M. Peterson has been named group vice president/general manager of the subsidiary Fadal Engineering Co. He was vice president-sales.
