Taiwan will receive its first of 30 AH-64D Apache Block IIIs next year and is the first export customer. The system will be almost identical to that used by the U.S. Army, with some national modifications. Production on the first rotorcraft should begin around October. The U.S. Army is due to receive the first of 690 Block IIIs in November.
One of the drawbacks of being the sole engine supplier on a well-selling product is the need to create robust production capacity quickly—something aerospace companies have repeatedly struggled to accomplish. Nevertheless, this is a problem Rolls-Royce is happy to have with its Trent XWB, which is the only engine on offer for the Airbus A350. Still, the company realizes there are potential pitfalls in that situation, too.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority has cleared the way for the West Wales unmanned-aircraft center to commence overland operations in segregated airspace. It is the first time that permission has been granted by the U.K. regulator and could clear the way for the Qinetiq-run concern to pursue commercial business from government and industry. The new airspace is a 500-sq.-mi. area up to an altitude of 22,500 ft. The airspace remains open for civil aviation, but will be closed during unmanned-aircraft operations.
At least two U.S. carriers are taking the Transportation Department to court to challenge key components of the agency's new passenger rights rules, many of which apply to both U.S. and foreign airlines. In petitions for review filed with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, low-cost carriers Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines argue the department has gone too far with new rules on full-fare advertising, fee disclosure, post-purchase price increases and ticket refunds.
I was greatly surprised at the glossy photos and reference (AW&ST May 23, p. 2) to the 2009 event at the Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Plant as an example of “cyberfratricide.” Prior to my retirement after 36 years in the electrical utility (power production and transmission) business, I had seen and discussed numerous reports and analysis of the event that occurred on Aug. 17, 2009, none of which mentioned a cyberlink. Were these all “smokescreen” explanations designed to hide this “cyberfratricide” or are we discussing two different events?
Michael Feeley has been appointed VP and general manager of Lockheed Martin's San Diego site for its Missions Systems and Sensors business. He joined Lockheed Martin in 1998, serving in a number of leadership positions in program management and business development.
After years spent focused on devising the A350XWB design, and a new management approach aimed at minimizing program turbulence, Airbus is about to learn whether its efforts will be successful as concept becomes reality. The increasing activity comes even as Airbus continues to work on program optimization, with the design for the largest member of the family, the -1000, set to get another boost and other system improvements in the works.
During the past year, the U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Center has provided Russia with 252 notifications and China with 147 notifications regarding close approaches between satellites in orbit, according to a U.S. diplomat. Moreover, notifications have been provided to government and commercial owners/operators roughly 677 times since May 2010 due to the debris caused by China's January 2007 anti-satellite demonstration alone.
Key U.S. lawmakers are supporting the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in their $649 billion proposal to fund the U.S. military during fiscal 2012. Their bill, expected to be debated by the full House this week, includes a provision stating that the House Appropriations Committee “remains committed to the success” of the F-35 program.
The U.S. Army next year will deploy a sensor system to allow AH-64D Apache attack helicopter pilots taking fire to quickly locate the threat and counterattack. The ground fire acquisition system uses an electro-optical sensor to detect muzzle flashes or those from the launch of a rocket-propelled grenade and can be used to slew the Apache's 30-mm gun in the direction of the threat to quickly attack insurgents. Some 24 helicopters, or one battalion's worth, are to get the system initially.
BAE Systems has dropped plans to bid its Hawk advanced jet trainer in Poland's competition after heavily courting the country. The decision was made after Poland formally released its request for proposals for 16 trainers. BAE determined the high-end performance Poland was seeking did not suit its Hawk 128/T2 offering. Polish officials have indicated they want the aircraft also to have light-attack capabilities. A source selection decision is due this year or early in 2012.
Even though NATO-led operations over Libya have finally allowed the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen to earn their combat credentials, questions remain over the long-term evolution of the two fighter programs.
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney waves off a suggestion that the commercial aircraft sector is nearing a cyclical peak. The real issue, he says, is the ability of suppliers to keep up with rising global demand for passenger jets (see p. 67). “The constraint to taking up [production] rates for Boeing and Airbus is not the marketplace,” he says. “It's the ability of the supply chain to get there.”
John D. Russell, program manager of defense-wide manufacturing science and technology at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, has been selected by the Dearborn, Mich.-based Society of Manufacturing Engineers to receive the 2011 J.H. “Jud” Hall Composites Manufacturing Award. It honors excellence in the development or improvement of processes in composites research, education and technology transfer.
So how efficient will the Comac C919 be? A common answer from executives involved in the program: probably about as efficient as the Airbus A320NEO. Efficiency is not the same as competitiveness, however. How well the Chinese 158-seat airliner is received in the market will depend on how quickly Comac can build a reputation for reliability and after-sales support. And the big swing factor will certainly be the price that the company charges for the aircraft.
Shifting customer requirements in the military airlift category may presage the emergence of new business opportunities, particularly for small and mid-size tactical transports. For decades, the market for the smaller end of the airlifter spectrum has been dominated by two demands—carrying military personnel and their cargo and, in a modified conversion, conducting various surveillance missions. While those traditional military roles may not be waning, there is an increasing emphasis on other activities, such as supporting responses to natural disasters.
Zaidan Khalifat (see photos) has been named director of quality and safety and Miguel Serra director of ground operations and the operations control center for Kabul-based Safi Airways. Khalifat held managerial positions at Arik Air and Royal Jordanian Airlines.
It helped enable development of the Internet, GPS and cell phones, but the Pentagon's advanced research arm may have taken on its most outlandish challenge yet, with plans to set the world on a 100-year path to the stars. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) plans to award a $500,000 grant in October to “seed” the creation of a self-sustaining organization to conduct long-term research across the disciplines required to enable human interstellar flight.
Claire Allanche (see photo) will join EADS North America, Arlington, Va., as director of special projects in September. She is VP-head of international media relations and of communications France at EADS' Cassidian division.
Darrell Richardson, former CEO of Air Turks & Caicos and Pace airlines, is the new CEO of Gulfstream International Airlines, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Other newcomers to the executive management team are: David Querio, chief operating officer; Curtis Berchtold, VP and CFO; Peter Barry, VP-technical operations; Matthew Holliday, VP-sales and marketing; and Donna Tipsword, VP-human resources.
Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa says a new narrowbody aircraft could deliver up to 27% better fuel efficiency compared to a current-generation aircraft if it were equipped with new engines and its major components were made from the company's newly developed aluminum alloys.
For a decade, the turmoil surrounding the U.S. Air Force's KC-X tanker competition has overshadowed most other activity in the military sector. But with that contest now settled, a new strategic landscape is emerging. There are increased prospects that the market for new tankers will effectively be split, with Boeing building a far larger number of aircraft under its Air Force KC-46A program but Airbus Military garnering a larger number of customers for its A330-based refueler.
Boeing is completing the first 767 to be built at the new two-per-month rate on its recently relocated north-facing assembly line in Everett, Wash., as it readies for the start of KC-46A tanker production for the U.S. Air Force in 2013. The manufacturer will mark the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the 767 into service in 2012 and has 56 orders in its firm backlog. That is sufficient to sustain its new 767 production line in Everett's 40-32 bay at the two-per-month rate until 2014, when the tanker is to make its first flight.
