Even as the ink dries on the U.K.’s latest military communications satellite contract, Skynet 5D, industry is already corralling its arguments for research and technology funding for a follow-on system, with ambitions to begin work during the 2011-12 period.
Swedish defense procurement agency FMV has awarded Saab another 2-billion-kronor ($280-million) contract for further work on JAS 39 Gripen upgrades. The latest work package, called MS20, covers integratation of the Small Diameter Bomb on the single-engine fighter. Saab officials say enhanced radar modes also will be developed, to improve beyond-visual-range target-tracking capability. The work is focused on improving the ability to employ the Amraam radar-guided air-to-air missile. MS20 also is to bring enhanced communications capabilities to the fighter.
Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr., a brash former fighter pilot and rear admiral who battled a skeptical USAF to win acceptance of unmanned aerial vehicles, is retiring as president of the Aircraft Systems Group at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) effective Mar. 15. Cassidy joined San Diego-based General Atomics in 1987 after a 33-year career in the U.S. Navy. GA-ASI was formed three years later with a staff of five and spun off as an affiliated company in 1993.
Doug Davis, global strategic initiatives director for unmanned aerial systems at the New Mexico State University Physical Science Laboratory, has been appointed to the board of directors of The Hague-based Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and elected its secretary.
Investors are betting that an infusion of government money and a revised business plan will lead to restarting production of the Fokker 100 where previous attempts have failed. If things go well, a prototype could be airborne in 2012 and customer deliveries of the so-called Next-Generation Fokker would commence in 2015.
Air Jamaica’s leadership has proposed a plan to rebuild the financially troubled carrier as a wet-lease operator for Caribbean Airlines while that Trinidad and Tobago-based carrier finalizes takeover negotiations with the Jamaican government. If approved, the wet-lease operation could begin as soon as Apr. 12 when Air Jamaica’s new schedule begins, and continue for up to 12 months to facilitate the takeover.
Turkish Airlines last week finalized an order valued at $1.6 billion for 20 Boeing 737 NextGen aircraft (10 737-800s and 10 -900ERs). They will be fitted with soft blue overhead lighting, sculpted sidewalls and larger, pivoting overhead stowage bins.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II were honored for their service to the U.S. at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Washington last week. The WASPs, founded by Jacqueline Cochran, were civilian female pilots employed by the U.S. Army Air Forces to ferry aircraft, including fighters and bombers. Their work paved the way for integration of women pilots into the armed services.
Greece last week joined 35 other countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. To become a member, Greece had to comply with key requirements, which include enhanced law enforcement and security-related data-sharing with the U.S., timely reporting of lost and stolen passports, as well as the maintenance of high counterterrorism, law enforcement, border control, aviation and document security standards. In turn, Greek citizens will be permitted to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. is backing proposed legislation designed to protect U.S. pilots and other airline workers against outsourcing, without affecting existing code-share agreements. The House bill was introduced last week and would direct the Transportation Dept. to ensure that new revenue-sharing agreements between U.S. and foreign carriers benefit both employees and the carriers. The airlines would be required to conduct an amount of flying that is proportionate to the revenue received, notes ALPA President John Prater.
Mar. 21-24—Institute of Applied Aviation Management/National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law’s Post-Graduate Diploma Seminar: “Aviation Law and Air Transport Management.” Sharjah International Airport, United Arab Emirates. Call +91 (94) 4787-5164 or see www.nalsar.ac.in Mar. 22-25—White Eagle Aerospace’s Short Course: “Aerodynamics for Engineers.” Also, Mar. 29-Apr. 1—“Aerospace Vehicle Performance.” Both events at Wingate by Wyndham Hotel, Oro Valley, Ariz. See www.whiteeagleaerospace.com
Mike Beffel has been named vice president-operations for Chromalloy , Orangeburg, N.Y. He was vice president-operations for the industrial gas turbine, new parts and military sectors.
Aircraft Technical Publishers of Brisbane, Calif., says it has reached a settlement of a patent-infringement lawsuit it filed against Avantext of Longview, Tex., last July. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ATP said Avantext infringed on its AD Basic (and ancillary) Libraries and software, which are used by mechanics in general aviation maintenance. In the settlement, Avantext acknowledged ATP’s patents and will receive a non-exclusive license to use ATP’s portfolio for an undisclosed sum.
The FAA and India are expected to reach a bilateral safety agreement by mid-2011 that will allow both countries to accept each other’s certification of aviation products. The pending agreement includes a technical assessment and a simultaneous evaluation of the country’s regulator, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is expected to lead to broader cooperation between the two nations.
Flying out of Boeing’s Moses Lake, Wash., facility, the first 747-8 Freighter test aircraft has completed its initial airworthiness test. The milestone, set by Boeing, means test engineers can be onboard flights and it allows Boeing to begin flights with RC521 and RC522, the two remaining test aircraft in the program. They are expected to begin flying this week. Vice President and 747 General Manager Mo Yahyavi says the first aircraft, RC501, had completed 13 flights covering 33 hr. as of Mar. 11. It has reached 30,000 ft.
Government stimulus plans and new partnership agreements are helping accelerate demand for broadband satellite services, spreading their impact to the four corners of the world. In its latest forecast, Paris-based Euroconsult predicts that consumer satellite broadband demand alone will exceed 10 million subscribers by 2018, compared with barely 1 million now. Moreover, subscribers will be downloading media-rich content, which requires significantly more bandwidth.
China Great Wall Industry Corp. has contracted to supply and launch a telecommunications satellite for Laos. Laosat-1 will be built by the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and launched by an LM-3B from Xichang. The launch date was not given. It was the fifth in-orbit delivery award for China Great Wall.
U.S. Senate Democrats are urging speedy confirmation of intelligence specialist Robert A. Harding to lead the Transportation Security Administration—a crucial post that has been vacant for more than a year and during one of the most serious aviation security breaches since 9/11.
Chinese ground controllers are monitoring the new Yaogan 9 Earth remote-sensing satellite after its launch from the Jiuquan satellite launch center Mar. 5. An announcement from the launch facility in northwest China says the spacecraft will survey land resources, forecast grain output and help manage disasters—the same tasks mentioned for earlier satellites in the Yaogan series. However, the U.S. Defense Dept. lists the satellites among Chinese military assets.
Separately, Kehler wants his cadre of satellite experts to be involved in the upfront planning for the Missile Defense Agency’s Precision Tracking and Surveillance System (PTSS). Typically, MDA develops missile defense technology and tests it. Then it is then handed off to a military service for operation. “What I have asked the director of the MDA is if PTSS is going to be ours [to operate eventually], we want to be part of it now . . .
David F. Toomey, 3rd, has become senior vice president for cyber-operations for the Mission Solutions Group of Qinetiq North America , Fairfax, Va. He was commander of the U.S. Air Force Information Operations Center, Lackland AFB, Tex.
Martin Sweeting, founder of U.K.-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and director of the Surrey Space Center, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Elektra Electronics Industry Awards 2009 . He was cited for challenging conventional space engineering by using commercially available electronics and parts to build small satellites. His vision has been to change the economics of space, developing a market for small satellites, and providing cost-effective solutions for established space giants.
Members of the International Space Station partnership are all set to use their same approach to cooperation if and when humankind ever ventures beyond low Earth orbit, but for now some partners would be happy just to get off the ground. Meeting in Tokyo, Administrator Charles Bolden and the heads of the Canadian, European, Japanese and Russian space agencies agree that the U.S.
Iran is continuing to build its tactical missile capability on the basis of Chinese technology with the claimed entry into series production of the Nasr 1 anti-ship missile. The Nasr family may also include air-launched derivatives.
