The pursuit of commercial and military programs worldwide has pitted U.S. and European aerospace and defense companies against each other for decades. But sharp declines in military equipment spending by NATO member nations—not to mention the emergence of new rivals seeking to develop indigenous aviation industries with exportable products—will force established players to take their sales campaigns to a whole new level.
Robert Wall (Farnborough), Andy Nativi (Farnborough)
The competitive landscape in the military and government helicopter market is intensifying as manufacturers focus on that sector to offset continuing weakness in commercial markets. One area that is keeping the military market so buoyant is sustained combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, driving even smaller militaries to spend precious procurement funds in this area.
The U.S. and Israel are near agreement on the sale of a sharply reduced number of conventional takeoff and landing F-35s, owing to the ballooning cost of the system. Israel now intends to buy 19 in the first batch, with options for two or three. Originally, 75 were planned, with an option for 25 more, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
You know times are tough when a company singles out the stagnant U.S. defense market as a growth opportunity. But that is exactly what EADS NV is doing. Leaders at the European defense giant used the Farnborough air show to reiterate an ambitious plan to grow their U.S. revenues eight-fold by 2020, to $10 billion a year. “International” is the new buzz word in the defense industry as contractors brace for their first downturn since the 1990s. And EADS’s U.S. strategy doesn’t sound so audacious if you consider what is going on in Europe.
Early X-ray emissions from the birth of a distant black hole temporarily overwhelmed the software on NASA’s Swift gamma-ray observatory last month, forcing mission scientists to backtrack through the recorded data to conclude the six-year-old spacecraft had spotted the brightest X-rays ever detected. Measuring 143,000 X-ray photons per second at its brightest, the burst originated at a source designated GRB 100621A, some 5 billion light-years distant.
All this talk about privatizing human space exploration is an intentional diversion to justify doing nothing. America’s space program has always been a partnership of private and public enterprise funded by taxpayers.
The Joint Strike Fighter distributed aperture system could be useful for ballistic missile defense, according to Tom Burbage, executive vice president of F-35 program integration at Lockheed Martin. During a recent flight of the system on Northrop Grumman’s BAC-111 testbed near Baltimore, the system captured the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket 650 mi. away. Burbage notes that missile defense is not currently a mission for JSF, but its sensor capabilities could be helpful for this role.
The Obama administration is cautiously hopeful the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will ratify the New Start treaty with Russia before the chamber’s August recess, and that the full Senate will ratify it after Congress returns in September. But the vigorous campaign mounted to promote ratification suggests the White House and arms control advocates are not taking the outcome for granted.
The Pakistan air force is in the process of integrating the Chinese PL-12/SD-10 medium-range, radar-guided air-to-air missile on its JF-17 light fighter aircraft. The Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 is in production in Pakistan, and two of the aircraft were on static display at the show. Test rounds of the PL-12 are believed to have been delivered to the Pakistan air force. The missile is in service with the Chinese air force. Other weapons on display with the aircraft included the C-802A air-launched anti-ship missile.
The European Space Agency is preparing a new cost-cutting plan to prepare for possible budget cutbacks by member nations that have been particularly hard-hit by the current economic crisis. The plan is among preemptive moves revealed last spring by ESA Director General Jean-Jacqus Dordain to head off a cash crunch. Among them is a budget freeze for 2010 and 2011, to maintain 2009’s spending levels.
Bombardier Aerospace forecasts delivery demand of nearly 13,000 transport aircraft worth more than $600 billion in the 20-149-seat market segment over the next 20 years. In releasing its 2010-29 Commercial Aircraft Market Forecast on July 21 at the show, Bombardier said the greatest demand will be at the larger end of the segment, with 6,700 aircraft expected to be delivered in the 100-149-seat sector. The company expects 5,900 aircraft with 60-99 seats to be delivered between now and 2029 and just 200 aircraft with 20-59 seats.
Governments of nations, including Afghanistan—whose citizens are victimized by financial scams, bureaucratic corruption or spying via networked communications—can now fight back with some high-speed computer-based weapons.
Harold “Ed” Constantine has been appointed vice president of Qinetiq North America ’s Systems Engineering Group Software and IT Services Sector, Huntsville, Ala. He was U.S. Navy and Marine Corps account manager for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems for the Northrop Grumman Corp.
The Russian air force will take delivery of its first Sukhoi Su-35S fighter by the end of the year, with a Libyan deal for the aircraft also anticipated to be concluded in the same time frame. Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan confirmed here that the air force would begin to receive the latest upgrade of the Su-27 Flanker before the year is out. The Su-35S, sometimes also known as the Su-27M2, matches the Flanker airframe with more powerful 117S engines, thrust vector control and new avionics and systems.
Qinetiq’s Zephyr solar-powered unmanned aircraft was set to land on July 23 after completing a two-week flight, setting a new duration record. The 160-lb. aircraft flew above Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., at altitudes up to 65,000 ft. after its launch on July 9. The flight was designed to demonstrate that the Zephyr can meet Qinetiq’s goal of three months’ endurance, with the two-week duration set by the number of times the experimental lithium-sulphur batteries can be recharged. Qinetiq plans to deliver production Zephyrs beginning in 2012.
Jikun Kim has been named interim CFO of AeroVironment Inc. , Monrovia, Calif. He succeeds Stephen C. Wright, who has resigned as senior vice president/CFO. Kim has been vice president/controller and was CFO of Raytheon Vision Systems.
Boeing plans to ferry its Phantom Ray unmanned combat aircraft demonstrator from St. Louis to Edwards AFB, Calif., atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The flight will take place “in the next few months” under an existing Boeing-funded Space Act Agreement with NASA. A special adapter will attach the 50-ft.-span Phantom Ray to the structure used to mount the space shuttle orbiter atop the converted Boeing 747, as seen in this concept.NASA operates two of the 747s. Phantom Ray flight-testing is to begin at Edwards in early 2011.
Scott T. Parker has become executive vice president/chief financial officer and Lisa D. Zonino executive vice president/global head of human resources of the New York-based CIT Group . Parker was chief operating officer/CFO of the Cerberus Operations and Advisory Co., while Zonino was head of the global risk practice for Egon Zehnder International. Nelson J. Chai has been named executive vice president/chief administrative officer/head of strategy and Robert C. Rowe executive vice president/chief credit officer.
The European Space Agency has issued EADS Astrium a €35-million ($45.3-million) contract to develop an atomic clock for the International Space Station that will provide an ultra-stable and accurate time base for use in space-to-ground and ground-to-ground clock comparisons.
U.S. export controls could harm America’s advantage in unmanned aircraft technologies by encouraging foreign competitors to develop their own systems, warns Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush. The warning comes as the European Defense Agency launches a study, led by Saab, which effectively is trying to assess how Europe can become self-sufficient in the sector. Bush worries that the U.S. government has constrained contractors from sharing technologies with allies through sales channels, even when they are being shared on the battlefield.
TAM Airlines is reinforcing its growth strategy with an expanded network and a bigger fleet, hoping to take advantage of its recent admission to the Star Alliance.
Viking Air has received Canadian certification for the new-production DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400. The first 19-seat utility aircraft has been delivered to launch customer Zimex Aviation of Switzerland. The updated Series 400 has been approved under an amendment to the DHC-6 type certificate, which Viking acquired from Bombardier along with rights to other out-of-production de Havilland Canada aircraft.
Prof. Farrukh S. Alvi of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers . He is known for his work in experimental gas dynamics and flow control, particularly in the use of microjet-based actuators, and holds a number of patents in those areas.
A malfunction of seals between the scramjet engine and its nozzle is believed to be responsible for the Boeing X-51A WaveRider experimental hypersonic vehicle failing to reach the planned Mach number on its May 25 first flight. Leakage of hot gases from the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne scramjet is thought to have generated unexpected side forces on the vehicle and resulted in a slower acceleration and shorter duration than planned.
