Saab has secured a four-year, 312-million-Swedish-kronor ($42.7-million) contract to fully integrate the MBDA Meteor ramjet-powered air-to-air missile on the Gripen fighter. Gripen has been serving as the launch platform for all Meteor test flights, but those trials were not undertaken with a full integration into the Gripen weapon systems.
Expect more vocal support from lawmakers—most of them face voters in November and support for the Middle Eastern ally is a common campaign theme—for Israeli missile defenses and other bilateral security efforts. For instance, House Democrats on Sept. 8 quickly and publicly praised a Pentagon notice that it is signing the David’s Sling Weapon System Project Agreement with Israel.
Kevin Wright (see photo) has become executive vice president of TTTech North America Inc. , Carlsbad, Calif. He was senior vice president-strategy, sales and marketing for Meggitt Control Systems.
Air China will greatly expand its business aircraft operation at Beijing Capital International Airport with support from the city government, a strong sign of official confidence in the prospects for general aviation in China. The expanded operation will compete with a similar facility owned by Hainan Airlines. Separately, the city of Dalian is negotiating with Air China for creation of an airline at its local airport, but in that case the new company will offer normal scheduled services, not business aviation.
Engineers are beginning work on a hardened spacecraft they hope will be tough enough to fly through the Sun’s million-degree corona repeatedly on a quest for scientific data that could someday save the lives of astronauts on the way to Mars.
President Barack Obama went into the Heartland of America over Labor Day weekend, rolled up his shirtsleeves and rolled out a $50-billion infrastructure spending plan that promises to create new jobs and improve the U.S. transportation system. While we still do not know exactly how the money would be spent and where—including how much would go to highways and bridges and development of high-speed rail versus aviation—Republicans have condemned the plan, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) calling it a “last-minute, cobbled together stimulus bill.”
Steve Fleeman has been appointed accessory sales manager for West Star Aviation , Grand Junction, Colo. He held a similar position at Midcoast Aviation.
Tom Deany (see photo) has become vice president-human resources of the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. , Boulder, Colo. He succeeds Jim Stevens, who has been appointed vice president-global human resources. Deany was a senior human resources manager.
Now that the traditional summer season is finished, lawmakers, lobbyists and their staffs are flooding back to the nation’s capital for what could be an awesome display of eleventh-hour lawmaking. With Fiscal 2011 starting next month, Congress and the White House must pass and enact at least one law that funds the entire U.S. government, starting Oct. 1. Usually lawmakers try to pass about a dozen appropriation bills, each focusing on major issues such as defense and transportation.
I have flown first-generation glass cockpits in Boeing 757s and 767s. The very first caution we received in training was “someone must always be flying the plane.” In a two-crew cockpit, that was relatively simple. One person flew while the other was “heads down,” working with the flight management system. Second-generation glass cockpits in single-pilot general aviation aircraft looks slick, but when you are in heads-down mode, what about situational awareness; who is flying the airplane?
The looming shortfall in military broadband capacity is encouraging the U.S. Defense Department to sharply expand the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) network and to further blend commercial know-how and other enhancements into its design.
Gary Merrill (see photo) has become vice president-quality assurance of M7 Aerospace of San Antonio. He was managing director of quality assurance and technical programs for US Airways.
Next month, the European Commission is expected to establish a cross-border network of national accident investigation bureaus. The initiative could play a key role in further enhancing flight safety while establishing an all-new context.
Regarding pre-spinning landing gear wheels before touchdown mentioned in “Wheel Wear Revisited” (AW&ST Aug. 16, p. 8), I recall a switch in the cockpit of the giant (for its time) Lockheed Constitution to spin up the wheels electrically. State of the art in 1946?
Sea Launch President/General Manager Kjell Karlsen says the company expects to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-October, once U.S. government approval for sale of the company to Russia’s Energia is complete. Operations will resume with two launches late next year, four in 2012 and 3-4 per year thereafter. Four operators—Intelsat, Echostar, Eutelsat and AsiaSat—will receive launches in return for claims, and two others (O3b and Hughes Network Services), partial launch coupons.
Richard Cheong has been appointed Singapore-based Asia-Pacific manager of risk and asset management for Airclaims . He was quality manager at both Royal Brunei and Hong Kong Dragon airlines and also quality system and compliance manager at Cathay Pacific Airways. Bill Kinsley has been named Chicago-based Americas manager of risk and asset management. He was a repair station manager and aircraft maintenance controller at Mesa Airlines
Airbus raised its net order intake for 2010 to 250 aircraft and reached 301 gross units by Aug. 31 but also has seen several cancellations. The net intake is twice as high as it was at the same point in 2009. Deliveries have reached 335 aircraft for 2010, 15 units more than at the same time last year. Overall, Airbus took in 15 new orders last month; however, it also suffered six further cancellations for A319s and four for A320s, bringing the total cancellations for the year to 51.
The Japanese military expects to begin work on a utility helicopter next year after a competition that may determine whether Fuji Heavy Industries can sustain and develop its rotorcraft business.
Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody suffered a big drop in profit in 2009 but maintained its streak of remaining in the black since its 2007 acquisition by the Penta Group. The just-reported Aero Vodochody 2009 profit came in at 279 million Czech koruna ($14.3 million), down from 402 million koruna the year prior. Revenue also fell sharply and totaled 2.9 billion koruna, compared to 4.2 billion koruna for 2008. The sluggish commercial sector was largely behind the fall in revenue.
As four European militaries begin an unprecedented sharing of their airlift resources through a new merged command structure, one likely outcome will be a further integration of their transport missions in the coming years.
The likelihood that ongoing delays of short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) F-35 testing will force slippage in the 2012 in-service date for the U.S. Marine Corps is growing as Lockheed Martin continues to struggle with some parts reliability issues affecting the Harrier replacement.
Thirty years ago, Parker Aerospace was among the many suppliers that ignored a third-place aircraft manufacturer named Airbus. “Our company said, ‘They won’t be viable,’” recalls President Bob Barker. “That obviously was not the right strategy.” Today, the Irvine, Calif.-based manufacturer of flight control, fuel and hydraulics systems counts Airbus as one of its top five customers. And Barker is determined not to repeat the mistake of ignoring an up-and-coming aircraft builder.
Lockheed Martin plans to step up its commercial satellite construction and launch activity in the coming years to help offset an expected flattening in U.S. military space activity.
Boeing is reorganizing its defense unit away from platforms to a broader emphasis on capabilities as it continues to recast itself in response to the austerity culture that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is emphasizing. As with most reorganizations, the move includes a reduced headcount.
The Colombian air force is to obtain a long-range strike capability, representing a major enhancement in the country’s military capability. The operational enhancement comes as Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has successfully completed flight tests for the Colombian Boeing 767-200 multi-mission tanker-transport (MMTT) aircraft.
