James (Mitch) Stevison (see photo) has become director of the targets and countermeasures program for Lockheed Martin Space Systems , Huntsville, Ala. He was vice president-operations for the Miltec Systems Div. of Ducommun Co., also in Huntsville. Honors and Elections
A bitter conflict with its mainline pilots is threatening Lufthansa’s crucial restructuring efforts, which aim to make its intra-European operation more competitive versus low-cost carriers and return the unit profitability.
The Airborne Laser’s (ABL) successful intercept this month of a boosting ballistic missile was a milestone for high-energy lasers and the aerospace community as a whole. But the program is unlikely to retain the glow of triumph until analysts pinpoint the cause of a “beam misalignment” and set about exploring whether the unwieldy system can ever be deployed operationally.
The two latest variants of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle for the U.S. Army and Customs and Border Protection Service will move closer to initial deployment following the completion of key tests in California this month.
Meanwhile, General Atomics Chairman and CEO Neal Blue tells us he is confident the Defense Dept. will ultimately place orders for the unmanned Predator C Avenger. Like the turboprop-driven Predator A and Predator B/Reaper vehicles, the stealthy, jet-powered “C” was developed on company funds and with no orders. But Pentagon officials are moving to assert more control over requirements for the next generation of unmanned aircraft. This raises the question as to whether General Atomics can pull off a triple play with its “build it and they will come” strategy.
The Environmental Protection Agency says publication of a draft rulemaking aimed at initiating the removal of all leaded aviation gasoline (avgas) is imminent, perhaps as early as October. In addition, the agency has stated it is targeting the phase-out of leaded avgas by 2017, according to the Experimental Aircraft Assn. Currently, there is no replacement for avgas, which fuels a majority of piston-powered general aviation aircraft in the U.S.
President Barack Obama’s 2011 NASA budget proposal puts the U.S. leadership in space at risk (AW&ST Feb. 8, p. 20). It will have just the opposite results of President John F. Kennedy’s space initiatives. Under those initiatives, America developed technologies and capabilities that benefit every human in the U.S. every day, such as weather, navigation and communication satellites. The lunar exploration program with astronauts and robots was not the sole reason for these capabilities, but was the spark plug.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems has completed baseline integration system testing (BIST) for the second geosynchronous (GEO-2) satellite in the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared Systems constellation at the company’s Sunnyvale, Calif., plant.
The Polish defense ministry has selected the Aeronautics Defense System Aerostar unmanned aircraft to meet an urgent operational need to support deployed forces. The Aerostar beat out two other Israeli rivals, with Elbit’s Hermes 450 and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Searcher III coming up short. The defense ministry expects the first Aerostars to be handed over in about seven months. The government used a bidding process to whittle down the system cost to 89 million zlotys ($30.4 million) from 144 million zlotys, the defense ministry states.
Ronald D. Sugar, retired chairman/CEO of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., has received the National Defense Industrial Assn. ’s 2009 James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award. It honors Sugar’s “corporate leadership, commitment to supporting a robust defense industrial base and advocacy for a responsive government-industry national security team.”
Alitalia continues to cut its operations at Milan Malpensa Airport while stepping up activities at Rome and other cities. Changes will be evident in the spring timetable, with cessation of flights from Malpensa to Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Algiers, Sao Paulo and Sofia, and reduction by half of weekly services to Kiev. Most of these operations will be moved to Rome. If long-range services are curtailed, Malpensa will see more medium-range and domestic frequencies, including seasonal flights to Ibiza and Palma de Majorca, Spain.
Complaints from Pentagon officials—from Defense Secretary Robert Gates down through the ranks—are mounting about the quality of products from the aerospace industry.
Ever wonder just how many personnel it takes to operate an unmanned aircraft? “It takes a lot, . . . and that has become part of our challenge,” says Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, the Air Force’s senior military deputy for acquisition. Other Air Force officials say it takes 120 people to support a single Predator on a combat mission. Shackelford wants more orbits of remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs). “We’re targeting 50 combat air patrols by 2011 and 65 by 2013.
General Electric is marshaling its newly acquired flight management, flight deck upgrades, operations services and engine improvement programs to develop an integrated fuel-services initiative aimed at potentially cutting airline fuel costs by 20% or more.
Defense Minister Herve Morin says France will send 80 more instructors to bolster its Afghan training corps and may consider additional reinforcements. The announcement followed a joint statement by President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the two countries will study ways to use the 5,000-person Franco-German Brigade in theaters outside of Europe, including possibly in Afghanistan. Both countries are being pressured to increase contributions to NATO’s Afghan force.
Boeing’s first production 747-8 Freighter has left the final assembly line in Everett, Wash., and is undergoing “change incorporation” modifications specific to launch customer Cargolux’s order. The air craft is the fourth 747-8F built. The first three are involved in the flight certification program , but will be refurbished for commercial deliveries once it has ended. Meanwhile, Boeing has begun building wing spars for the first 747-8 Intercontinental passenger aircraft that is to be delivered to launch customer Lufthansa in 2011.
Garuda Indonesia will defer until the third quarter a planned initial public offering of its shares intended to raise about $300 million to finance expansion. Global economic weakness is pushing the carrier to defer the offering, which was planned for June, says the minister for state-owned enterprises, Mustafa Abubakar. Garuda is working on operational as well as financial restructuring. It proposes to create hubs in the secondary cities of the sprawling archipelago of 230 million people, rather than directing traffic mainly through Jakarta and Denpasar, on Bali.
French armaments agency DGA has contracted with Thales Alenia Space, on behalf of France and Italy, for construction of a dual-use Ka-band satellite intended to meet sharply rising demand for near-real-time imagery from UAVs , as well as to support low-security-level traffic needs of French and Italian forces and government agencies. Arianespace was chosen to launch the 3-metric-ton satellite, which will be capable of transmitting data at better than 1 Gbps. and is slated to be orbited in 2013.
The Southwest Research Institute is ready to spend more than $1 million to buy its researchers—including a former NASA associate administrator—tickets on private suborbital human spacecraft so they can tend experiments at the edge of space. And NASA-sponsored researchers may not be far behind. Alan Stern, who was associate administrator for science in 2007-08, plans to fly on one of the space tourism vehicles in development “over the next three years,” along with his co-investigator, Daniel Durda.
France has ordered 380 Sagem AASM laser-guided precision weapon kits, enabling this version to enter series production. The kits are intended for air force and navy Rafale fighters, which are already qualified to carry GPS and infrared-guided variants of the AASM. The order will enable program managers to begin qualification trials and start production engineering. Delivery of the weapons is to start in 2012.
Milestones: Dassault Falcon Jet is scheduled to deliver three Falcon 7X business jets to private operators in China in March, doubling the number of Falcons in that country . . . . . Pilatus Aircraft delivered 100 PC-12NG single-engine turboprops in 2009, a record for the Swiss planemaker . . . . . The 100th Bombardier Challenger 605 entered service in February; more than 800 aircraft in the 600 series of business jets have been delivered by the Montreal manufacturer . . . . .
The smallest NASA stimulus-package award for commercial spaceflight development in dollar terms may have the greatest potential for profits in the long run.
The U.K. Defense Ministry has awarded the VT Group a £35-million contract to support the RAF Tucano trainer aircraft for at least the next four years, pending the purchase of a successor. The contract is intended to guarantee the availability of the Tucano fleet to provide 12,000-14,500 flight training hours a year.
