HOUSTON — Three International Space Station astronauts reparked their Soyuz crew transport capsule on Nov. 1, opening a docking port on the orbiting science lab for the anticipated arrival next week of U.S., Russian and Japanese crewmembers. The 21-min. Soyuz TMA-09M maneuver concluded at 4:54 a.m. EDT, as ISS commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, U.S. astronaut Karen Nyberg and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano redocked at the Russian segment Zvezda module.
Ever since Lockheed’s unsurpassed SR-71 Blackbird was retired from U.S. Air Force service almost two decades ago, the perennial question has been: Will it ever be succeeded by a new-generation, higher-speed aircraft and, if so, when?
Embraer’s defense and security business grew to more than 20% of the company’s net revenues in the third quarter, as continued market growth coincided with a decrease in commercial aircraft deliveries. Formed in 2010, the Brazilian manufacturer’s Defense & Security segment had net revenues of $266.8 million in the third quarter, up from $256.6 million a year earlier. This was 20.7% of the company’s total net revenues for the quarter.
NEW DELHI — India’s space agency on Oct. 31 carried out a launch simulation for its first Mars orbiter to validate the mission’s flight readiness before its scheduled liftoff next week, a senior space scientist says. The 8 1/2-hr. simulation, which was conducted at the first launch pad in Sriharikota in south India, included satellite battery checkup, withdrawal of the mobile service tower and testing of electrical systems, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says.
SEOUL — South Korea may move quickly to order the Lockheed Martin F-35 for its derailed F-X Phase 3 competition for 60 fighters – and then again it may not. In a program that has become chaotic and unpredictable even by the standards of fighter acquisitions, a range of very different outcomes is in the offing.
Aviation Week A&D Programs November 13-14, 2013 Arizona Biltmore Phoenix, AZ Featuring the 2013 Program Excellence Awards recognizing the best in program performance and leadership! Top aerospace and defense program leaders come together to evaluate program performance — where money is being spent and best practices in tackling efficiency and cost, strategy, and supply chain.
U.S. Marines recently field-tested a wearable solar-powered system to extend the battery life of crucial electronic devices during a recent field exercise, Navy officials say. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and assembled at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, the Marine Austere Patrolling System (MAPS) combines solar power and an individual water purifier to help lighten the load of Marines conducting lengthy missions in remote locations with few or no options for resupply, Navy officials say.
SLOW START: The second so-called super committee of congressmen and senators set up to find a way out of the almost quarterly budget wars in Congress gathered publicly Oct. 30 to read prepared statements, and then adjourned until Nov. 13. House and Senate Budget Chairs Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), respectively, are now aiming simply for a bicameral spending blueprint for fiscal 2014, which started Oct.
NASA’s Kepler extrasolar-planet finder has discovered its first Earth-sized planet orbiting a distant star, but don’t crank up the interstellar spacecraft yet. While its composition is rocky like Earth’s, its 8.5-hr. orbit means it is far too warm to lie in the “Goldilocks zone.” That is the name scientists give to the habitable zone around stars, where the temperature is “just right” to sustain water in its liquid state, and perhaps life that would need liquid water to survive.
SEOUL — Curtiss-Wright Controls is working to turn South Korea from a customer to a supplier, exploiting the progress local manufacturers have made in gaining technology. Perhaps the most prominent opportunity is in actuation, the equipment that, for example, moves flight control surfaces, says Curtiss-Wright Controls Vice President Christopher Thomson. “South Korea has been a good market, growing faster than our other segments,” says Curtiss-Wright’s Tom Quinly. “We want to take it to another level.”
Defense analysts and U.S. Navy officials say further fleet reductions of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) are impossible if the nation is to meet its stated nuclear deterrence requirements. “The number of boats you need is not necessarily related to the number of warheads, but geography,” says Ronald O’Rourke, naval specialist at the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says the U.S. Naval Air Forces needs to do a better job reporting mission capability rates and readiness for its MV-22 squadrons. “From fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2011, MV-22 squadron commanders computed the Naval Aviation Maintenance Program MCR (mission capability rates) for five of the six squadrons using erroneous aircraft inventory reports and work orders,” the IG says in the executive summary of its report, released Oct. 23. The full report is classified.
LONDON — Norway will decide next week whether the AgustaWestland AW101 or the Eurocopter EC725 will become the country’s next long-range search-and-rescue helicopter. A decision on the Norwegian All-Weather Search and Rescue Helicopter (NAWSARH) program is expected on Nov. 8, and is set to come after the two European manufacturers were downselected by the country’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security — the government department running the program — back in July. Both companies delivered their final offers to the department in early October.
BEIJING — Chinese rotorcraft maker Avicopter has slipped the development schedule of its proposed 3.1-metric-ton (6,800-lb.) helicopter, while revealing more data about the type and confirming its designation as AC332.
The U.S. Army and Alcoa are studying an unexpected potential solution to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs): a solid aluminum ground combat vehicle body. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the world’s largest aluminum producer announced recently that they have launched a cooperative effort in the battle against roadside bombs and other improvised explosives used by terrorists and insurgents.
Austria’s defense ministry has ordered six Tracker mini-unmanned aircraft systems from France’s SurveyCopter, which is owned by EADS defense company Cassidian. Canada, meanwhile, has awarded MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) a C$11.3 million ($10.8 million) contract to provide AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven B hand-launched small unmanned aircraft. The hand-launched, short-range Trackers are the first mini-UAV to be deployed by the Austrian Armed Forces, Cassidian says, adding that a further procurement is planned between 2016 and 2017.
Click here to view the pdf Selected Asia-Pacific Countries'Defense Aviation Acquisition Plans, Fiscal 2009-2023 Selected Asia-Pacific Countries' Defense Aviation Acquisition Plans, Fiscal 2009-2023 Country Size of Existing Inventory (as of 2012) Acquired Fiscal
Hoping to gain entry into a potential U.S. market for non-toxic “green” satellite thrusters, the Swedish National Space Board will permit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to ground test environmentally friendly propulsion technology already flight tested on a European spacecraft.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the U.S. chief of naval operations, emphasized the Navy’s commitment to harnessing the electromagnetic spectrum and honing its cyber warfare skills during a keynote speech Oct. 29 at the Association of Old Crows national conference on electronic warfare (EW). “We’re using the electromagnetic spectrum as a domain and as a means, and we understand and grasp it,” Greenert says. “We have to figure out how we can beat things electronically first. Why do we spend all this money kinetically if we can jam, spoof or do otherwise?”
U.S. allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific plan heavy investments in aircraft and other aviation-related assets over the next decade, according to an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of data provided by Avascent Analytics. As a group, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand are slated to spend about $236.2 billion between fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2023, the analysis shows. The countries spent $55.7 billion during fiscal 2009-2012.
