Astrium will join with Singapore in building a suborbital demonstrator to underpin its fledgling spaceplane program, with a first flight expected perhaps as early as next year. Singapore-based companies will be building a small-scale demonstrator of the spaceplane, and the first series of test flights will occur here, Astrium executives disclosed at the Global Space & Technology Convention in Singapore on Jan. 25-26.
Pratt & Whitney has a “handshake” on the fixed-price contract for low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 4 of F135 engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, at a 16% unit cost reduction from LRIP 3, says Warren Boley, president of the company’s Military Engines Div. “That is right on our cost-reduction plan,” which aims to get the cost of an F135 down to that of an F119—$10 million at today’s prices—by the 250th engine. Pratt also expects to receive contracts totaling around $1 billion under the Pentagon’s plan to extend F-35 development into 2016.
Leithen Francis (Bengaluru, India), Neelam Mathews (Bengaluru, India)
True to form, India’s military planning appears to be shifting, with the newly announced delay in the award for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition, which was due this year. A downselect is still anticipated in 2011, leaving those left in the competition to discuss commercial terms.
John Duval, national aviation director for Austin Commercial of Dallas, has won the Distinguished Service Award of the American Association of Airport Executives in recognition of nearly four decades of service to the international aviation industry. He was immediate past chairman of AAAE.
Japanese industry is urging the government to keep the country’s planned F-X fighter in production until 2028, raising the stakes for the three Western companies competing for the program.
In recent editorial you suggest the Defense budget could be cut by having the Air Force or Navy provide the Marine Corps’ air support (AW&ST Jan. 17, p. 50). This idea has been discussed and rejected in the past for good reason.
USAF Lt. Col. (ret.) Price T. Bingham (Melbourne, Fla.)
In “Numbers Matter,” the Australian wargame shows the U.S. losing to China because airfields in Taiwan were quickly taken out (AW&ST Jan. 3, p. 21). This is a strong argument for rethinking our concept for air bases, especially for fighters.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will be working with a venerable Japanese fishnet manufacturer on an orbital net to clean the spaceways of debris. Nitto Seimo Co., a century-old firm in Fukuyama, is working with JAXA engineers on a concept that would launch a metal net several kilometers long into orbit, unfurl it and then use an electrodynamic tether to haul it back into the atmosphere along with a load of space junk.
Flush with oil dollars and pent-up modernization needs, the Middle East is expected to remain a hotbed of defense procurement activity. But there are several potential hurdles that could slow down program decisions, including political turmoil that has engulfed the region. Unrest in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as the fear of mounting instability in Yemen, could shift initial spending priorities, suggest industry officials.
CEO James McNerney has made the clearest indication yet of Boeing’s determination to forego re-engining the 737 in place of a clean-sheet replacement design for entry into service around 2020. Speaking at the Cowen and Co. Aerospace and Defense Conference in New York on Feb. 10, McNerney said although Boeing is “not done evaluating this whole situation yet, . . .
Scott Allard has joined Allegiant Travel Co. of Las Vegas as chief information officer. Capt. Greg Baden, who is the new vice president-flight operation/systems operational command, and Greg Rehwaldt was named vice president-stations. Allard was CIO at Spirit Airlines, Baden was managing director of flying at Delta Air Lines, and Rehwaldt was vice president-operations for UnitedHealth Group.
French forces are moving rapidly to replace a Tiger attack helicopter that was severely damaged in a hard landing during a joint French-Afghan mission on Feb. 4, slightly injuring one of its pilots. Defense officials say preliminary indications rule out enemy fire and point to poor visibility, bad weather and rugged terrain as probable factors in the mishap, the Tiger’s first in operational service.
France appears to be moving away from a possible Foreign Military Sales acquisition of U.S. General Atomics Predator medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs in favor of a European greenfield development. Former French Defense Minister Herve Morin and Laurent Collet-Billon, head of armaments agency DGA, brought up a potential Predator buy with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in separate visits to Washington in mid-2010.
NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos have started negotiating for at least two more years of Soyuz flights to the International Space Station for U.S., European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts, as the space shuttle era draws to a close. The discussions cover crew rotations to the ISS for 2014 and 2015, NASA says, although Roscosmos chief Anatoly Permanov tells Russian reporters the deal could extend until 2017. Under the upcoming contract, NASA will pay $55.8 million a seat for six trips to the ISS in 2013-14, up 9% from the current $51 million.
A flurry of activity in the opening weeks of the new Congress has raised hopes that the long-stalled FAA reauthorization bill may finally be passed soon. This bill will affect all facets of the aviation industry, but it has been bogged down for more than a year by arguments over a handful of issues.
There seems to be a disconnect between Space Adventures, the travel agency that sends tourists to the International Space Station, and Russian space agency Roscosmos, which procures the Soyuz capsules that carry them there. Last month Space Adventures announced “the conclusion of an agreement” with Roscosmos and RSC Energia, the Soyuz manufacturer, to “commercially offer” three Soyuz tourist seats beginning in 2013. Not so fast, says Alexey Krasnov, the Roscosmos human-spaceflight chief.
Competition in the Asia-Pacific turboprop market is set to increase as ATR and Bombardier each prepare to make inroads in the region. Trung Ngo, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft vice president of Asia-Pacific sales, says his company is poised to open a new regional sales office, and such a move is generally coupled with a customer support office. Industry executives say the location will be Singapore, although Trung declined to comment.
Lockheed Martin engineers in Denver are awaiting the arrival of the first complete Orion crew exploration vehicle structure for the start of ground tests. The test article left NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans by truck Feb. 10.
In regard to “Sharper Sting” (AW&ST Jan. 17, p. 24), the Joint Strike Fighter looks like it will be a great airplane, but as with so many new aircraft, it is years behind schedule and billions over budget. Meanwhile, our F-16s are getting older and service-life-extension programs are being discussed. Perhaps an alternate solution for the U.S. Air Force is to procure several squadrons’ worth of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to replace the older F-16s and complement the JSF.
March 8—Laureates Awards. Washington. April 12-13—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition. Miami. April 12-13—MRO Latin America Conference & Exhibition. Miami. April 12-14—MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition. Miami. May 10-12—NextGen Ahead. Washington. May 24-25—A&D Cybersecurity Conference. Washington. May 26-27—Inventory & Engine Asset Management Forum. Zurich. Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011. Madrid. Oct. 24-26—A&D Programs. Phoenix.
While throwing down the gauntlet against the temptation of top-tier contractors to link up in the face of tightening defense budgets, the Pentagon is inviting mergers and acquisitions among subcontractors. But the specter of additional consolidations in aerospace and defense is being seen as a mixed bag, with critics concerned about the potential to stifle innovation.
Paul D. Bradley, professional engineer and managing director of Peterson Industries, Adelaide, Australia, has been elected president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers . In more than two decades with SME, he held various leadership roles, including terms on the SME executive committee and the board.
Leslie Blaker, chairman of C3I Solutions Business Development for Rockwell Collins , has joined the board of the Washington-based Satellite Industry Association for 2011. Other new members are: Jennifer Warren, vice president-technology policy and regulation for the Lockheed Martin Corp.; and Susan Eid, senior vice president-government relations at DirecTV Inc.
