Congress and the White House are working on a compromise blueprint for NASA that would maintain a skeletal space shuttle capability, begin heavy-lift booster development, fund an Orion-type capsule for deep space human travel and test alternative contracting arrangements to sire a commercial U.S. human space transportation industry.
Despite the flight-test and production challenges still facing Boeing’s 787 program, the focus is increasingly shifting to service and support as the aircraft approaches the start of its long-awaited airline life.
Canada was expected to announce its commitment to purchase 65 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters on July 16. Ottawa would be the second of the eight international development partners to commit formally to procurement of the JSF, after Australia. The Canadian JSFs would replace Boeing CF-18A/Bs, which are scheduled to be retired beginning in 2018.
EADS celebrates its 10th year of existence at this year’s Farnborough air show. Through the period, the company has been hit by political and programmatic turmoil. Chief Executive Louis Gallois, whose challenge has been to bring some stability to the European aerospace and defense giant, sat down with International Editor Robert Wall in the company’s Paris co-headquarters to discuss past, current and future concerns.
Rolls-Royce will double down on its commercial engine research and technology programs, after deciding to give a cold shoulder to potential narrowbody reengining efforts. Although the company was in talks about offering an engine for a refreshed Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, there has been little enthusiasm for such an endeavor among Rolls-Royce executives. Now Mark King, president of civil aerospace, says: “We remain unconvinced that this is the right answer for the industry. The right answer is a new airplane, and we don’t want to delay a new airplane.”
The Japanese government is under pressure from the country’s largest business association to ease its restrictions on arms exports so the country can join international projects. Nippon Keidanren argues that the country is becoming technologically isolated as the complexity and cost of defense equipment force other countries to increasingly collaborate on development. The F-X requirement for about 50 fighters to replace F-4EJ Phantoms is behind the issue.
The Hydropad modular assembly system allows Hydro Engineering to design a wash rack for specific circumstances, the company states. When the U.S. military needed an instant wash rack solution, they approached Hydro Engineering. The company’s Hydropad allows equipment to be pulled or driven up on its surface for washing. Coupled together, the Hydrosite tactical washing system and Hydropads can wash “anything, anywhere in just hours,” with no permits or construction required. The Hydrosite is a mobile self-contained washing and wastewater recycling system.
Keith Ruggirello has joined the business development team at Wayfarer Aviation Inc. , Purchase, N.Y. He was director of sales and acquisitions at the Infinity Aviation Group.
Chris Tully has become senior vice president-sales for GeoEye Inc. , Dulles, Va. He was executive vice president/chief sales officer at Kastle Systems.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
Two Russian military aviation events are attracting the attention of U.S. analysts. A Tu-160 Blackjack bomber made a record 24-hr. flight in early June, followed by a second record-setting cross-country flight by four strike aircraft, two Sukhoi Su-34 Fullbacks and two Su-24M Fencers that were refueled twice en route from Lipetsk air base near Moscow to the Far East Military District.
In the recent Viewpoint “More Tooth, Less Tail” (AW&ST July 5, p. 50), a quote appears: “The armed forces are perpetually seeking to develop higher-performing—and therefore more costly—weapons systems, yet there is no systematic approach to ensure that funds will be available.” This is not always true. In many cases, higher technology with higher performance can be much cheaper. A good example would be the comparison of a slide rule to a calculator.
Could an unsuccessful bid for Zodiac Aerospace by Safran be the start of a renewed struggle with Thales for dominance in the French aircraft systems sector? Some analysts think so. Safran indicated last week that its CEO, Jean-Paul Herteman, had written a letter to Zodiac, a Paris-based cabin/safety equipment and electrical system specialist, proposing that the two companies examine combining their activities. Safran earlier broke off talks with Thales about pooling their avionics and optronics businesses.
Ian Arthur has been named vice president-marketing and branding for Republic Airways Holdings Inc. subsidiaries Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines. He held a similar position at Frontier Airlines.
Oscar S. Garcia of Miami-based InterFlight Global, has been named to the board of directors of Flight Research Associates , Mountain View, Calif., as an aerospace business development and strategic adviser.
Apollo was created to take us to the Moon. Once our objectives were achieved the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn booster were scrapped. Now the shuttle is being retired and the Constellation program is being canceled—all in the name of saving money. Billions of dollars have been spent to develop hardware that has never been used to its full potential. Clearly, other factors enter into the mix, such as safety and technical considerations, but money and politics are the major culprits behind the demise of these programs.
European guided-weapons champion MBDA faces several near-term challenges that will determine its long-term health: managing flat demand in domestic markets, defending and strengthening its share of exports—including making inroads in the U.S.—and refreshing core elements of its product portfolio to reflect changing end-user requirements.
Donald R. Kamenz has been named vice president-sales and customer service for the Avianor Group , Mirabel, Quebec. He was vice president of Remos Aircraft and had been vice president of ExelTech Aerospace.
Royal Navy Adm. (ret.) James Burnell-Nugent has become an independent non-executive member of the board of directors of U.K.-based Qinetiq . He was commander-in-chief of the fleet and had been commander of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible and three other ships and submarines.
With work on its largest contract underway and its most advanced spacecraft preparing for launch, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. appears set to break into the satellite big leagues—provided the U.K. government lends a helping hand.
Masao Yamagami has been promoted to executive vice president from assistant executive vice president-sales, marketing and customer support and Hank Iwasa to vice president-sales and marketing from director of strategic planning. at the Japan-based Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. Junichi Miyakawa has been named executive vice president-product marketing.
“Concurrency” in aerospace programs is always a risky business. But Airbus is betting that by doing more things in parallel in developing and building the A350, it will be able to deliver the new twin widebody more efficiently and economically. Of concern, though, is that the new business approach could throw up its own set of unanticipated problems and create the same types of delays that plagued Airbus on the A380 and have been the bane of Boeing’s 787.
Space Systems/Loral will provide a high-throughput satellite for Eutelsat and Qatar’s Supreme Council of Information and Communications Technology to serve broadcasting, communications and government markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The two companies will have an equal interest in the project, which will reportedly cost $300 million-plus, including launch and ground facilities. The Ku-/Ka-band spacecraft, to be known as Eshail/Eurbird 2A, will be launched in early 2013 to 25.5 deg. E.
The International Civil Aviation Organization projects 6.4% traffic growth for airlines this year, reversing the 2% drop seen in 2009. ICAO sees the Middle East as having the highest growth rate, through 2012, with year-on-year growth of 15.5% predicted for 2010, followed by 12% in 2011 and another 11.5% in 2012. North America should see the slowest growth in passenger kilometers, with 2.8% in 2010, followed by 2.2% and 2.5%. Europe will grow only marginally more, with rates of 3.5% for 2010 followed by 2.5% and 2.7%.
