Charles Koontz has been named executive vice president-strategic projects for the Science Applications International Corp. , McLean, Va. He was head of the then-Information Technology and Network Solutions Group. Larry Cox, who is senior vice president/general manager of the Intelligence and Information Solutions Business Unit, will lead the company’s cyber-security program.
Gilles Genete has become general manager of the Paris-based Circor Aerospace France Group . He was CEO of Calorstat SAS, Dourdan, France. Genete succeeds Jacques Bodet, who will remain an adviser to Circor.
The U.S. Air Force is reintroducing its stealthy RQ-170 to operations in Afghanistan, and Israel is using its strategic-range UAVs to observe, target and strike smugglers in the Red Sea—two more indications that technologically advanced militaries are relying increasingly on missions flown by unmanned aircraft.
One of the new German air force Heron 1s—assigned to the first UAV squadron at Jagel Air Base, Germany, and operated from Masar-e Sharif AB in Afghanistan—shows off its cockpit-like satellite communications dome and the multi-sensor electro-optic and infrared turret, located under the nose. Communications from the UAV can be linked directly to Germany. The German version of the aircraft also carries an electronically scanned array radar for all-weather operations. The vehicles are fielded via a lease with Rheinmetall Defense.
Sikorsky is going toe-to-toe with the Russians again over helicopters, this time protesting a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) for Mi-17 helicopters for Afghanistan. In April, Sikorsky won a State Department contract for a fleet of S-61 helicopters, purchased instead of the Mi-17 because of State Department concerns about buying and supporting a Russian aircraft.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and Orbital Sciences Corp. are seeking ways to continue developing technology to “fractionate” satellites—or create distributed satellite architectures—despite an abrupt termination of the flagship contract for this work.
China expects to have as many as 15 timing and navigation spacecraft in orbit by 2012 for regional coverage, and a constellation of “more than 30 satellites” by 2022 for worldwide coverage, according to Sun Jiadong, head of the Beidou (Compass) satnav program. China Daily cited a television interview by Sun in reporting launch of another Beidou on a Long March 3A lifting off from the Xichang space center in southwest China on Aug. 1. Use of the Long March 3A suggests that the satellite is one of the 30 that will operate in low Earth orbit.
Compania Mexicana de Aviacion’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection last week is more of an indication that aircraft lessors are emboldened by the rebound of airline fortunes rather than a warning about Mexican aviation.
Without naming the customer(s) involved, Boeing says it has lost 10 777 and 15 787 orders in its Aug. 5 web updating of its total order count. Industry officials are speculating that those orders were held by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. In late 2007, DAE placed a $10.9-billion order for 100 aircraft that included 10 777-300ERs and 15 787s. Boeing is no longer carrying the 777-300ERs or 787 orders on its website, seemingly confirming the speculation. Boeing also is dropping one unidentified 737 order but adding two 737-based business jet orders.
Wall Street Journal reporters Andy Pasztor and Susan Carey received the National Press Club’s 2010 Michael A. Dornheim Award for a series of articles highlighting safety lapses and poor pilot training at commuter airlines in the U.S. in the wake of last year’s crash of a Colgan Air turboprop near Buffalo, N.Y. The Dornheim Award, now in its third year, is named in honor of Aviation Week & Space Technology’s late senior engineering editor and Los Angeles bureau chief. The two reporters were honored at a ceremony Aug. 2 at the club in Washington.
Mexican transportation officials are vowing to hire more aviation inspectors to reverse the U.S. FAA’s recent decision to downgrade Mexico’s aviation safety rating. The FAA on July 30 dropped Mexico from category one to category two, restricting code-sharing operations between U.S. and Mexican carriers. This mainly affects American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which partner with Mexicana and Aeromexico, respectively.
While NASA deliberates over its heavy-lift launch options, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is revealing ambitious concepts for a family of Falcon X and XX super-heavy-lift vehicles that it says could provide the foundation for the first commercially based road map to Mars.
To ease the way for the Iraqi air force to field F-16 fighters, the U.S. and Iraqi governments have signed an agreement to provide training for the first batch of Iraqi AF F-16 pilots starting in the fall. A deal for the purchase of 18 F-16 Block 52s has not yet been finalized, but the two sides nevertheless have decided to ensure that Iraqi personnel will be trained and ready to operate the fighter.
The third and final attempt to flight-test the Boeing HyFly hypersonic missile demonstrator failed when its booster did not ignite and the missile fell into the Pacific after release from an F-15E on July 29. HyFly is a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to demonstrate technology for a tactical missile with a cruise speed exceeding Mach 6 and a range of 400 nm. from an air launch and 600 nm. from a surface launch.
Eric D. Strafel has been named senior vice president-operations for Dallas-based Aviall Inc. He was vice president-supply chain management for L-3 Communications.
Vince Jimenez and Mark White have been named component repair and overhaul regional product support sales managers for General Dynamics Aviation Services ’ Lincoln, Calif., facility.
U.S. analysts are debunking claims that Iran has received four S-300 advanced air defense missiles from Belarus and another unidentified source. “It is possible Iran could have managed to acquire a couple of missiles—but not complete systems—for reverse-engineering purposes,” says a senior U.S. analyst. However, he adds, “we have no evidence of that at this time.” The S-300 family includes the SA-10, SA-20 and SA-22 surface-to-air systems.
Whether Israel buys the Lockheed Martin F-35 in substantial numbers is still a “very delicate subject,” according to senior officials in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Advocates stress its deterrent effect and the demands of conventional warfare. Detractors point to high cost, a tight defense budget and the likelihood that foreseeable conflicts will be fights against guerrillas and terrorists.
Powered aircraft wheels for taxiing efficiency, proposed by several correspondents, overlook the braking requirements for current airline equipment. Engineers have exhausted pad material and rotor technologies to squeeze enough brake capacity in all the wheel hubs to meet Refused Takeoff stopping specifications. Any taxiing motive method substituted for the brake assembly must provide equivalent braking torque and energy (heat) dissipation. No electric motor/generator system would accomplish that in the same space.
The race to build the U.S.’s first integrated nationwide hybrid mobilesatellite service (MSS) is taking a new turn following a multibillion-dollar deal between Harbinger Capital Partners and Nokia Siemens Networks.
Telecom service in Africa gets a boost with the launch of Rascom-QAF1R and Nilesat 201 Aug. 4 on the third Arianespace launch of the year. Rascom-QAF1R will permit the deployment of the first pan-African geostationary telecom service, replacing an initial unit whose lifetime was cut short not long after launch in December 2007. The 3-metric-ton, 6.4-kw. spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space, is owned by Mauritius-based RascomStar-QAF,
Brendon Dedekind has been appointed Orlando, Fla.-based director of real estate for Signature Flight Support . He was vice president-acquisitions and leasing for Avalon Park Group Management.
The Pentagon is exploring the potential export of further F-16s to Oman as part of a foreign military sales pact for up to 18 F-16 Block 50/52 fighters. As part of the $3.5-billion deal now under review, 12 F-16 Block 50s already operated by Oman will be upgraded. The FMS offer is likely in competition with the Eurofighter Typhoon campaign to sell 12 aircraft to the country.
NATO has established the Emerging Security Challenges Div. to examine such issues as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber-defense and energy security. None of the topics is new for NATO, but this is the first time the alliance has aligned itself organizationally to deal with them. NATO is wrestling with whether to treat some of these topics as a more fundamental core element of its mission.
