Sagem has been selected to supply an upgraded mission planning system (MPS) for the Rafale intended to make the system compatible with the Rafale F3 multi-role standard, introduced last year. The upgrade, known as Version 5 and funded under a defense stimulus plan compiled in 2008, will also be compatible with new-generation ordnance carried by the F3, including the ASMP-A nuclear strike missile, Scalp cruise missile, AASM guided bomb and Recon–NG optronic reconnaissance pod.
The AgustaWestland/Bell BA609 tiltrotor may be close to a government launch customer now that Italy’s border control force is eyeing the aircraft as part of its fleet modernization plans and the coast guard is considering a specialized search-and-rescue variant. The Guardia di Finanza (GdF), the Italian military force under the authority of the minister of economy and finance, is weighing a maritime surveillance version of the BA 609 as a partial fleet replacement for its Piaggio P-166DP1 twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft.
A base operations support services contract for U.S. Air Force sites in Turkey and Spain has been let to Northrop Grumman and its Kellogg Brown & and Root joint venture, Vinell, Brown & Root (VBR). The fixed-price-incentive award has a potential value of $335 million over 4.5 years. VBR will handle program management, civil engineering, base services and communications, as well as occupational health and ambulance services.
Advanced thermal protection systems, to be tested in upcoming hypersonic experiments, will enable development of a reusable “sharp-edged” orbital launch vehicle with much greater flexibility than blunt-capsule or shuttle-type designs, say German researchers. The team at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bremen believes the move to simple, faceted geometries—away from the curved surfaces of conventional reentry vehicles— should also help cut costs while simultaneously offering improvements in aero-thermodynamic performance.
The U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is conducting a year-long Accelerated Mission Test of the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine equipped with the company’s engine enhancement package (EEP). Improvements incorporated into the EEP are designed to extend the engine’s programmed depot maintenance interval to 6,000 total accumulated cycles (TAC) from the current 4,300, says Christopher Szczepan, chief of F100/TF33 engineering and technical flight at Tinker AFB, Okla.
The time may have arrived for the Singaporean aerospace sector to move up a notch by expanding its manufacturing segment into more risk-sharing partnerships. Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), the dominant part of the industry, also has opportunities and it cannot afford to cease its continuous drive toward lower costs, says the Assn. of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) (AAIS).
Jean-Luc Sturlese has become director of the Meaulte, France, site of Toulouse-based Aerolia . He was head of helicopter assembly lines for Eurocopter’s Civil Programs Dept.
LMI Aerospace has inked a long-term supply agreement with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. to design and build the tailcone section of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet , which is expected to enter service in 2014. LMI will be involved in the entire product life cycle, including the joint development phase through sustaining production. Non-recurring services and tooling will be funded via a series of milestone-based payments. First unit delivery of the tailcone structure to Mitsubishi is planned for the third quarter of 2011.
Aerospace & Defense Earnings Snapshot 2009 FOURTH QUARTER FULL YEAR Company Sales Change Operating Income Change Sales Change Operating Income Change ALLEGHENY TECHNOLOGIES $816 million
Expect the future of the U.S. space program—and to a large extent the human-spaceflight programs of NASA’s international partners—to be decided on Capitol Hill this year. Obama’s State of the Union address contained no reference to space. And late last week, top officials at the U.S. space agency had not even seen the NASA figures in the Fiscal 2011 federal budget request. “We’ll see what we get,” said William Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator for space operations.
Arianespace has contracted with ELV, prime contractor for Europe’s Vega light launch vehicle, to support the qualification campaign and combined testing for the new rocket. The combined tests are intended to validate booster interfaces with the new Vega launch pad and control center at Kourou, French Guiana, from which the rocket will operate. Vega is due to make its first flight at year-end.
A decade ago, when the aerospace industry gathered in Singapore for Asia’s biggest air show, the region was playing a familiar role—leading international air travel out of a financial trough and giving manufacturers’ order books a leg up.
An introduction of “rigorous functional disciplines” across Boeing found its way to the Commercial Airplanes (BCA) unit late last week, with eight new senior management appointments after similar moves already played a role in the reorganization of the company’s defense and space units. In talks with Wall Street analysts last week, Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney described a broadened effort to reinvigorate the company as it struggles against continuing pressures in commercial and government spending (see p. 28).
Asia-Pacific airlines are accustomed to pulling out of a recession far faster than their European and North American counterparts, but not this time. The 17-member Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says passenger and freight traffic on international routes declined for a second year in 2009.
Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems employees Al Nikolaus, MQ-8B Fire Scout deputy program manager, and Mike Roberts, the program’s chief engineer, have received the U.S. Army ’s Star Award for contributions to the former Future Combat Systems program. The award honors individuals who fulfill numerous criteria that illustrate how their accomplishments exceed their regular work assignments or job expectations.
I could not agree more with Jerry W. Cox’s philosophy in his Viewpoint “Tanker Contract: Follow the Law” (AW&ST Jan. 11, p. 58). But I want it to apply to everyone, not just Boeing.
Based on one of Pierre Sparaco’s recent “European Perspective ” columns, “Disappointing Tankers” (AW&ST Jan. 4, p. 51), it is clear the selection controversy for a new U.S. Air Force tanker is far from over.
An aging Eutelsat telecom satellite, W2, has suffered an anomaly, forcing the Paris-based satcom operator to switch customers to other spacecraft. Eutelsat is launching an investigation, in cooperation with prime contractor Thales Alenia Space to determine the cause of the incident, which occurred on the night of Jan. 27. Nevertheless, the impact is expected to be minor because W2, located at 16 deg. E. Long., was launched in 1998 and is nearing the end of its design life.
Larry Dodgen (see photo) has been named corporate lead executive for Northrop Grumman Corp. business in Huntsville, Ala. He was a vice president within the company’s Information Systems Sector and executive lead for the Missile Defense Integration Group.
The U.S. will provide 12 RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aircraft to Pakistan to aid the country’s fight against the Taliban and other insurgents. The U.S. also will provide training and other support to assist Pakistan in operating the new intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tool. Counterinsurgency funding provided by Congress is expected to pay for the transaction.
Airbus has conducted cold-soak trials of the A330-200F in Iqaluit, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, The aircraft was exposed to temperatures down to -30C and the cabin interior soaked to –27C. The freighter arrived in Canada on Jan. 23 and departed two days later. During its stay, the aircraft went through two overnight cold soaks to ensure systems would start up again after a period in extremely low temperatures. Operation of the main-deck cargo door was also checked.
Jetstar Airways signed a $2-billion services agreement with International Aero Engines to accompany a separate $1.5-billion contract for IAE V2500 SelectOne engines that will power 50 Airbus A320 aircraft. The engine purchase agreement also includes options for up to 40 more aircraft. The IAE services agreement covers the new engines and those installed on 40 IAE -powered aircraft that Jetstar already operates.
Foreign Military Sales are becoming a hot new “adjacency” for U.S. military contractors as they look for new sources of growth to offset constrained Pentagon spending. In their quarterly earnings calls last week, defense CEOs were full of enthusiasm about the potential of overseas sales to pump up flattening revenues and declining profit margins. Military consultant James McAleese says the largest U.S. defense contractors are now aiming to generate 25-35% of their sales from foreign customers, up from 10-15% in the days of rapidly rising Pentagon spending.
