After falling in 2002, worldwide civil helicopter sales have rebounded in 2003 and are expected to total $18.7 billion over the period from 2003 to 2012, according to a new study by Forecast International. Deliveries over the next decade should rise from 934 units in 2003 to a 10-year high of 970-975 in 2004-2005, before falling off steadily to approximately 925 annual shipments in 2012, according to the forecast. The study projects total shipments of nearly 9,500 commercial helicopters from 2003-2012, including 3,600 piston-powered models.
Honeywell's aerospace business has acquired the United Kingdom's Hymatic Group, which builds environmental control systems for the aerospace industry, the company said Jan. 12. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "The acquisition of the Hymatic Group is an excellent technology fit with our existing environmental control systems product line," Russ Turner, president of Honeywell Engines, Systems & Services, said in a statement. "This acquisition expands our presence in Europe and brings our business closer to our customers in the region."
PRAGUE - Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody is facing competition from minority shareholder Boeing in an anticipated tender for advanced jet trainers in Greece. Aero has expressed interest in supplying its dual-seat L-159 to Greece, which is expected to announce a tender later this year to replace its aging fleet of trainers. Greece is currently using the modern T-6A Texan II for initial training and the older T-2/CE Buckeye for advanced training.
A key Senate panel announced Jan. 12 that it will hold a hearing in early February to examine the future of manned and unmanned missions to Mars, an issue that has grown significantly in prominence in recent days. The hearing by the Senate Commerce Committee's space panel is expected to take place Feb. 2 or Feb. 3, a congressional source said.
NEW DELHI - Indian scientists will use a new Israeli space telescope to prepare themselves to receive and analyze data from India's own astronomical satellite, Astrosat. India plans to launch the Tauvex telescope for Tel Aviv University on the GSAT-4 spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2005 (DAILY, Sept. 16).
U.S. Army officers this month will brief Acting Army Secretary R.L. Brownlee on a plan to outfit the service's helicopters in Afghanistan and Iraq with the most effective missile protection devices, an Army spokesman said Jan. 12. Brownlee "has received an initial back-brief at this point and he has said, 'Okay fine, go back and finish and then come back and brief me again,' and they're in the process of doing that right now," said Maj. Gary Tallman.
The French Interim Tactical UAV System (SDTI), which is to be used by French land forces beginning in mid-2004, completed its acceptance flight test campaign, UAV maker Sagem said Jan. 12. The system performed validation flights in an airspace shared with civil and military users of the Istres test center in the south of France, the first time this has been done in France, the company said. During the flights, the UAVs delivered high-resolution images, including ones of the flooded Rhone delta.
HORNET WORK: Herley Industries of Lancaster, Penn., will build microwave hardware for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet 's Automatic Carrier Landing System, the company said Jan. 12. Herley is teaming with Sierra Nevada Corp. on this system under a $2.4 million U.S. Navy contract.
The Aegis weapon system is on track to help defend against ballistic missiles by the end of 2004, according to a representative of prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
The National Composite Center (NCC) of Ohio and its partner Mutual Tool and Die Inc. have created Vector Composites Inc. to market composite components to the military and to the defense and commercial aerospace industries. Vector will offer the NCC's Rapid Fiber Preform process, which can create complex shapes at reduced costs, according to NCC. The company will pitch its composite products for unmanned aerial vehicles, commercial aircraft and other systems, the center said.
The first Remote Minehunting Vehicle (RMV), part of the AN/WLD-1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS), will be delivered to the Navy this July on the destroyer Momsen (DDG-92), Lockheed Martin business development analyst Dan Sullivan said Jan. 12. The rest of the RMS already is on the ship, he said at a media briefing in advance of the Surface Navy Association's Jan. 13-16 symposium.
The chairman of the House Science Committee's space panel said Jan. 9 that the Bush Administration should consider asking Russia to join its expected program for manned missions to the moon and Mars. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has been an advocate for U.S. space cooperation with Russia as a way to improve ties between the former Cold War adversaries and encourage democratic and capitalist forces in Russia.
HILL SHUFFLE: Democrats on the House Science Committee are getting new leaders for the new year. Texas Rep. Ralph Hall, who has been the committee's ranking Democrat, recently announced he will become a Republican. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) will replace Hall as the committee's top Democrat. Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) will succeed Gordon as ranking Democrat on the space and aeronautics subcommittee. It is expected that Reps.
Under a $2 million contract from the FAA, General Dynamics plans to use Iridium satellite links to help fill coverage gaps in the FAA's Capstone Communications Control System in Alaska. Installed in selected aircraft, the experimental Capstone system regularly broadcasts GPS-based position information about the aircraft to ground terminals through line-of-sight communications links. The system was credited with saving the life of a downed pilot in November 2002 when rescuers used Capstone data to find the last known location of his plane.
Jan. 20 - 22 -- Network Centric Warfare 2004, "Meeting the Challenges of Warfare in the Information Age," Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, Va. Call (800) 882-8684, fax (973) 256-0205, email [email protected] or go to www.ncw2004.com. Jan. 21 -- PSA Winter Roundtable, "Global Military Strategy in Support of Precision Strike," Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va. Contact Dawn Campbell, (703) 247-2590, email [email protected] or go to www.precisionstrike.org.
IN-HOUSE: A main reason mid-tier defense subcontractors are merging is to bring key technologies in-house, for cost savings, says Jon Kutler, president of Quarterdeck Investment Partners. "Prime contractors want to deal with fewer suppliers, and ones that have more value added to them, that provide a range of capabilities. This requires consolidation," Kutler said. A recent example is FLIR Systems' recent acquisition of Indigo Systems (DAILY, Jan. 8).
NUKE PUSH: An Energy Department official is signaling he intends to exploit a new law repealing a ban on research and development of new, low-yield nuclear weapons. In a Dec.
JOINT EXERCISE: India and the United States plan to conduct joint aerial exercises Feb. 16-26 near the central Indian city of Gwalior, which Indian officials say is evidence of strengthening defense ties between the two countries. The exercises, part of the Cope Thunder series of exercises, will include India's Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs and Mirage 2000s and U.S. F-15C Eagles. The exercises are "an important element of the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship," an Indian air force official says. In May, U.S.
MOSCOW - Russia will lease the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan through 2050 for $115 million a year, according to an agreement signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Kazakhstan Jan. 9. Russian media reports say the agreement is a compromise between initial proposals from both countries for the lease. Documents released Jan. 9, which is the tenth anniversary of Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, include green lights for a number of joint programs between Khrunichev and Kazakhstan.
ON THE CHEAP: If NASA expects to revisit the moon and go to Mars on a limited budget, Administrator Sean O'Keefe's financial and management experience should hold the agency in good stead, according to Howard McCurdy, professor of public affairs at American University in Washington. "It has to be done on the cheap, and look at who you've got as the administrator of NASA," McCurdy says. "It's not an engineer, it's a financial manager. ... Remember who John F. Kennedy brought in to organize Project Apollo? It was Jim Webb, who was not an engineer.
