US Airways is citing the Justice Department’s investigation into possible antitrust violations by global distribution system providers as one of many reasons why the airline’s antitrust lawsuit against Sabre should be allowed to proceed.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is testing a new warhead casing material that could increase the lethality of air-to-air, air-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. Arena tests of the high-density reactive material (HDRM) against aircraft, missile and small boat targets are planned this month as a step toward transitioning the technology to a weapon system.
Australia’s Tiger Airways is preparing to resume flying on a second route following the lifting of the carrier’s operating suspension last week. Tiger is restoring its Melbourne-Brisbane route beginning Aug. 18 after reintroducing its Sydney-Melbourne service on Aug. 12. The carrier is “resuming Australian domestic services gradually,” and regulators are only allowing it 18 sectors per day during August.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) is pushing to do more work for Sikorsky in light of the fact that Taiwan has 60 UH-60s on order, according to an AIDC executive. An-Cheng Yen, a senior manager for AIDC’s Taiwan Advanced Composite Center, says the additional work that Sikorsky has offered it recently is small in dollar terms, so AIDC is trying for more.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwan’s latest upgrade program for its indigenous fighter has left many western defense industry executives unimpressed. “It still doesn’t address the main issue with the IDF [Indigenous Defense Fighter], which is that it’s under-powered,” says one industry executive, echoing the sentiments of many in the industry.
BEIJING — The South Korean air force rates all of the Western competitors for its F-X Phase 3 fighter program, including the F-35 Lightning, as capable of meeting the in-service date of 2016, an assessment that appears to raise the chances of the Lockheed Martin aircraft. The air force does not express the same view on the fourth and most recent competitor for the planned 60-aircraft order, the Sukhoi PAK FA.
U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh is promising to spend $7 billion over the next decade on renewable-energy technologies. McHugh also announced last week the establishment of the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force, which will be focused on “working with the private sector to execute large-scale renewable energy projects,” according to an Army statement. The task force will conduct “an aggressive outreach effort to attract and engage private industry” in the renewable energy effort, the service says.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — First deliveries of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to Taiwan appear set for 2014. Sources familiar with the situation add that the first Black Hawk is due to be completed in May 2013, but then needs to be modified to meet Taiwan’s requirements. Also, Taiwanese pilots and maintenance engineers will have to train in the U.S. before the aircraft comes to Taiwan.
UP FOR GRABS: On Aug. 15, NASA will unveil its latest batch of 2,000 space program artifacts to be given away to eligible organizations that request them. Most of the artifacts are from the space shuttle program, and include thermal tiles and spacesuit components. “Artifacts are released incrementally when NASA no longer needs them, in accordance with export control laws and regulations,” the agency says.
Air Combat Command chief Gen. William Fraser has declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aircraft, officially clearing its use for operational missions. Fraser signed off on the initial operational capability decision Aug. 10, according to Mike Norcini, chief of Global Hawk requirements for ACC. “There are enough assets and infrastructure in place to support the one continuous Block 30 orbit requirement for IOC,” Fraser says.
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa)are setting up an engineering review board to investigate the loss of the second and final Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV-2) shortly after launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Aug 11.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — At least three Asian nations are planning to upgrade their Lockheed Martin F-16s with active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, possibly following the U.S. Air Force’s lead. Taiwan is seeking U.S. government permission for an F-16 upgrade package that includes AESA radar, targeting pods and missiles. This AESA radar competition in Taiwan—and globally—is between Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) and the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has completed two weeks of testing on a Textron-built countermeasure system for protecting vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Textron Defense Systems’ TRAPSNet—an enhanced version of its Tactical Rocket-Propelled Grenade Airbag Protection System (TRAPS)—is a passive countermeasure that automatically deploys a net to defeat the RPG before it reaches the vehicle, minimizing collateral damage.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for space operations, will head a new mission directorate at the U.S. space agency that combines Space Operations and Exploration Systems. To be called the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEO), the new organization at NASA headquarters in Washington will manage U.S. operations on the International Space Station (ISS) and development of capabilities for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 16 - 18 — Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International North America 2011, Washington Convention Center. For more information call 703-845-9671 ext. 213, or go to www.symposium.auvsi.org/auvsi11/public/enter.aspx Aug. 16 - 21 — MAKS - International Aviation & Space Salon MAKS 2011, Zhukovsky, Russia. For more information go to www.aviasalon.com/en/
The newly negotiated contract between the Ingalls Shipbuilding unit of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and the U.S. Navy for the DDG-113 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer includes provisions that take into account a half-decade gap in building the vessel type as well as the long-term effects of Hurricane Katrina on the yard, HII CEO Michael Petters says.
More than a year of in-space testing has demonstrated that a nontoxic “green” thruster technology developed in Sweden is spaceworthy, with better head-to-head performance than hydrazine, according to a paper presented this week at the Conference on Small Satellites in Utah.
