In the Jan. 4 issue, the engine in Block 52 F-16s ordered by Egypt was incorrectly identified on p. 21. The Block 52 version is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-229 Engine Enhancement Package.
Boeing says a reorganization and leadership changes in its Integrated Defense Systems unit will “reposition the company for growth in the current business environment.” Effective immediately, the unit will be called Boeing Defense, Space & Security in response to anticipated “flattening defense budgets and shifting customer priorities,” according to BDSS President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg.
Mesa Air Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after attempts to reject leases on roughly half its fleet collapsed. The regional operator, which serves as a feeder for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways, says it intends to continue scheduled services while it attempts to restructure through the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company’s Hawaiian joint venture with Republic Airways Holding, Go! Mokulele, is not affected by the filing.
The debate over whether air cargo is another Achilles’ heel in the aviation security system was renewed by the Dec. 25 attempted terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The 24th U.S. Air Force, the service’s newest numbered force for cyber-operations, has been declared “ready” after a major command readiness assessment by an Air Force Space Command inspector general team. A USAF statement Jan. 4 said the goal was to evaluate the force’s ability to conduct USAF network operations, as well as command and control of the service’s network. The 24th was stood up Aug. 18, 2009, and came into being after a massive cyber attack in late 2008.
Terma, of Aarhus, Denmark, and Boeing are one step closer to the Danish company becoming a viable partner and supplier of commercial aerospace structures, now that the Chicago-based aerospace giant has completed a detailed site survey of Terma’s Grenaa-based facilities. That site already produces winglets for some commercial aircraft and various composite structures for fighter jets and engines.
Embraer has delivered the first Phenom 300 light jet to Executive Flight Services on behalf of an undisclosed customer. Executive Flight Services is the wholly owned aircraft management subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.-based Executive AirShare, one of the U.S.’s largest regional fractional aircraft ownership companies.
French armaments agency DGA has ceded its nuclear engineering unit to the French atomic energy commission, CEA, as part of an ongoing streamlining of the French agency. The unit, in Gramat in southern France, employs 250 and is responsible for evaluating the vulnerability of weapon systems to nuclear or conventional arms. The CEA will add several dozen specialists. Overall, the DGA plans to cut 3,000 from its 13,000-man payroll under the streamlining program and close down or transfer seven of 22 sites, including six engineering installations.
European Union emissions allowance (EUA) prices stabilized in late December, following volatility earlier in the month that was driven by speculative activity relating to the U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen. December 2010 EUA prices rallied from €12.82 ($18.46) per metric ton on Nov. 24 to €15.00 on Dec. 7 on what some traders say was speculation ahead of the Copenhagen talks, which ran from Dec. 7-18.
The Viewpoint “Rethinking Crew Fatigue” comes off as esoteric overkill. The regulations and compliance that deal with fatigue, which William S. Voss disdains, seem clear and deal effectively with the fatigue issue. Instituting and implementing an exotic and complex fatigue risk management system (FRMS) seems to add arbitrary complexity without the promise of better results than are provided by dreaded current regulations and compliance. Also, permitting pilots to nap in the cockpit as part of an FRMS system is absurd in the extreme.
Jan. 20-21—Practical Aeronautics Short Course: “Introduction to Aeronautics: A Practical Perspective.” Holiday Inn Express, Niceville, Fla. Call +1 (970) 887-3155 or see www.practicalaero.com Jan. 20-21—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Strategic and Tactical Missile Systems Conference. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. Call +1 (703) 264-7500 or see www.aiaa.org
Aviation Week, continuing a proud tradition begun more than 50 years ago, is honored to present the nominees for Laureate awards for 2010. These individuals and teams have been nominated for lasting contributions and extraordinary achievements—and in some cases, heroics—in civil, military and commercial aviation and aerospace. While some were nominated by industry and government—a first in the history of Laureates—all of the candidates listed on the following pages were selected by the editors alone, based on a rigorous review of the nominees’ accomplishments.
Swiss and Brazilian fighter competitions are edging closer to a decision, but industry officials fear both projects may unravel this year. The Brazilian air force says it concluded its technical review, although that document has not yet been submitted to the defense ministry.
The White House has gone dark on its new space policy as Obama and his top aides wrestle with the airport security issue, and it’s unclear when NASA will get clear guidance on what to do. Administrator Charles Bolden tells the American Astronomical Society, “I don’t know anything,” although he promises that “the future of human spaceflight will not be paid for out of the hide of the science budget.” NASA is working with White House aides to help them figure it all out, Bolden says, but space policy “fell off Obama’s desk” over the holidays, according to one insider.
Madhu Unnikrishnan (New York), Robert Wall (Paris)
As airline corporate communications and marketing departments focus on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, a fourth site, LinkedIn, is becoming increasingly important to airline human resources departments.
Mexico has the potential to be a boom market for air travel, but the Mexicana airline group is not just sitting back and waiting for demand to materialize. The carrier has made major changes across all of its operations, positioning it to capitalize on untapped domestic traffic as well as new international opportunities.
Frances Fiorino (Washington), Robert Wall (Paris), Andrew Compart (Washington)
Body scans, pat-downs, passenger profiling, flight delays—the global aviation community is bracing for the operational and financial impact of measures being taken to address vulnerabilities laid bare in the Dec. 25 terrorist attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
With the threat of a conflict with Iran looming, the Israeli air force has augmented its fleet of KC-707 (“Re’em”) aerial refueling aircraft with an eighth tanker, bolstering the strike capacity the country would have if it tries to undertake a raid on Teheran’s nuclear facilities.
The Global Positioning Systems Wing and the 50th Space Wing at Shriever AFB, Colo., will bring improved ground systems software for telemetry, tracking and command to support the USAF’s GPS on Jan. 11. The upgrades include new navigation signals for civil users, encrypted military codes, crosslink enhancements and improved navigation signal accuracy. They anticipate mid-2010 launch of the first of 12 GPS-IIF satellites from Boeing.
Lockheed Martin received a foreign military sales contract to deliver sniper advanced targeting pods and Lantirn (low-altitude navigation targeting infrared for night) enhanced-resolution pods to the Turkish air force. The award, valued at $118 million, is to deliver pods for F-16 Block 40 and 50 Peace Onyx aircraft. Rich Lovette, program director for fixed-wing fire control at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control unit, says the pods will bring a significant upgrade to Turkey’s F-16 fleet.
It did not take long for Wes Bush to make his mark on Northrop Grumman Corp. Three days after he became CEO on Jan. 1, the 120,000-employee military contractor announced that its headquarters will move to the Washington region in 2011, decamping from Los Angeles, where Jack Northrop founded the company 70 years ago.
Alan Diehl is right in his letter “KC-135 Updates Make Sense” (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 10), which endorses the suggestion that instead of buying oldish Boeing 777s or Airbus A330s, or even older 767s as tankers, the U.S. Defense Dept should fund development of a new tanker with a blended-wing, composite airframe and geared turbofan or unducted fan engine.
Sikorsky’s Helicopter Support Inc. unit, and Goodrich Corp. have agreed to collaborate to offer an advanced aircraft maintenance application to the global rotary aircraft market. The Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) developed by Goodrich’s Sensors and Integrated Systems business is a series of networked diagnostic sensors that comprehensively tracks mechanical performance of the aircraft. Real-time data are provided to enhance predictive maintenance.
ABX Air pilots, hard hit by the 2008 closing of the DHL hub at Wilmington, Ohio, are benefiting from a recent agreement over disbursement of $75 million of severance and pension funds. DHL remitted $75 million to ABX Air in December under a 2008 pact between the airline and the express package operator. ABX Air and Teamsters Local 1224 reached agreement separately on the disbursement covering 670 pilots.
