DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A new joint venture in Sharjah and plans to expand from there into neighboring regions should increase access to technical support and spare parts for operators of Russian-made helicopters in the Middle East. Oboronprom-owned Russian Helicopters, JSC and Airfreight Aviation Ltd. say the new joint facility, called International RotorCraft Services (IRC), will begin accepting work orders on Dec. 1.
Astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis got right to work after docking with the International Space Station Nov. 18, using the orbiter’s Canadian-built robotic arm to hand a pallet carrying large spare parts to the station’s arm.
PHOENIX — U.S. aerospace & defense (A&D) programs have never been more lucrative, productive and important than they are now — and they have never been more of a dismal failure, either. According to a yearlong industry review of the issue, and culminating in a conference hosted by Aviation Week here this month, industry leaders believe they have made real progress in implementing best practices. But getting people and programs to follow them thoroughly and consistently remains the greatest shortfall.
Worried lawmakers on Capitol Hill increasingly are focusing on near-term Pentagon budgets, especially with an expected cut to or perceived sacrificing of procurement, research and development accounts.
CUSTOM PREDATOR: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expects to unveil a maritime-oriented Predator B unmanned aircraft in December, Tom Cassidy, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI) aircraft systems group, told Aviation Week’s A&D Programs conference in Phoenix this month. CBP’s Air and Marine group operates five Predator Bs; four from the UAS Operations Center in nearby Sierra Vista and another from a similar center in Grand Forks, N.D.
A post-launch inspection of fragile thermal protection system panels on the space shuttle Atlantis turned up no obvious damage Nov. 17, although it will be late Nov. 18 before the final results are in.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is buying two Saab 340-based Erieye airborne early warning systems and 25 PC-21 basic trainers, but is still holding out on buying the Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainer.
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Manufacturer BAE Systems is formulating its marketing of the Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance UAV demonstrator air vehicle in the U.S., following the recent kickoff of test flights of the U.K. version. Mark Brown, BAE Systems vice president of unmanned aerial systems, is positioning the Mantis as a next-generation UAV. “When we talk about Mantis specifically, you’re talking about a theater/strategic platform that has the ability to satisfy intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance requirements and also be a weapons carrier,” Brown said.
MUTUAL ASSURANCE: The United States and China have reaffirmed their June 1998 commitment not to target each other with nuclear weapons, according to a “joint statement” Nov. 17 after President Barack Obama’s visit to Beijing. This reverses a George W. Bush administration decision under the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review to target China with nukes, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
LONDON — A U.S. flight crew has flown the Qinetiq Zephyr high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle for the first time, during recent trials at the U.S. Army’s Yuma proving ground in Arizona.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Eurofighter Typhoon consortium is targeting fielding of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the Meteor ramjet-powered air-to-air missile in 2015, according to the consortium’s chief executive, Enzo Casolini.
NEW DELHI — Expecting to reap a windfall from defense offsets and tap tax advantages, QuEST Global has formally launched India’s first aerospace precision engineering and manufacturing facility in Belgaum, Karnataka. The company has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with major players, including SABCA (Societe Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aeronautiques), Magellan Aerospace Ltd. and Farinia SA. According to a statement, the QuEST Global facility offers complete design-to-build services, enabling an end-to-end aerospace supply chain ecosystem.
GOODRICH MOVES: Goodrich Corp. is to buy Atlantic Inertial Systems, only two and a half years after ownership of the company previously changed hands. AIS is being acquired from J.F. Lehman for $375 million. The private equity firm bought the business that now constitutes AIS from BAE Systems in April 2007 at a reported cost of $140 million. AIS provides guidance and navigation subsystems for military aircraft and helicopters as well as for missiles and munitions. Sales for 2009 are anticipated to be in the range of $180 million.
The U.S. and China plan to begin talks on cooperation in human spaceflight soon, with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and an unspecified Chinese counterpart set to exchange visits next year. U.S. President Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart, called for the human spaceflight talks in the joint statement issued at the end of their meeting in Beijing Nov. 17.
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using a supercomputer developed to test the performance of nuclear weapons without actually setting them off to simulate the ignition sequence when a white dwarf star explodes as a supernova.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Eutelsat has formed a strategic agreement with telecom satellite startup Asia Broadcast Satellite that will allow customers of both operators to add bandwidth in Asia, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, where certain capacity, particularly Ku-band, is scarce.
GENOA, Italy — Italy is the second Eurofighter Typhoon partner nation to opt for a multi-year support package with industry. Rome has agreed to a 600 million euro ($891.3 million), five-year deal, with the contract signed between Eurofighter, representing industry, and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency on the behalf of the Italian air force. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) already has a long-term support contract in place.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a new Pentagon task force last week aimed at combating the threat of improvised explosive devices (IED) in Afghanistan. The group, led by Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Paxton, the Joint Staff’s director for operations, will work across government agencies to try to come up with new solutions to the growing threat of roadside bombs in the country.
PARIS — France has concluded an agreement to help Vietnam develop a surveillance satellite system, and EADS Astrium has agreed to support the effort. An intergovernmental accord to build VNREDSat-1 (Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment and Disaster monitoring Satellite system) was inked Nov. 13 in Hanoi by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. This was followed by the signing of a partnership agreement by Francois Auque, head of EADS Astrium, to define the network. Astrium’s partner will be the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST).
