The Saab Gripen NG demonstrator aircraft has re-entered the flight test program, now fitted with a Selex Galileo active, electronically scanned array radar. The aircraft was returned to flight test at the end of last month.
Middle East Airlines continues to defy assumptions. Having delivered a profit in 2006 when its Beirut base came under attack during the Israel-Hezbollah war, the carrier this year expects to increase its profitability in spite of the global economic problems ravaging most airlines.
The French aerospace industry is looking to tap a planned public bond issue for billions of euros’ worth of new projects, including a medium-lift helicopter, intercontinental business jet, and engines and other hardware to equip them.
Eutelsat reported an 11.8% jump in revenues in the first quarter of its 2009-10 fiscal year, driven by growth in video and a surge in data and value-added services, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. A new satellite, W7, is scheduled to be launched on Nov. 23 to serve this fast-growing market. Eutelsat’s performance mirrored third-quarter results at SES, which included a 2.4% rise in revenues and a 4% improvement in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
I fully concur with David Tussey regarding the use of angle of attack in the cockpit as a baseline indicator of aircraft performance and safety (AW&ST Oct. 19, p. 9). I used to sell AOA products and rapidly became convinced that AOA indication is a basic safety device in any aircraft. It is inexpensive and guaranteed to save lives.
Australian composites manufacturer Quickstep is to sign with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to produce components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter potentially worth A$700 million ($636 million) in a 20-year period. Perth-based Quickstep expects to reach a long-term agreement by March 2010 to supply up to 21 components for the F-35, including lower skins, access panels and weapons bay doors, in one of the largest F-35 contracts awarded to Australian industry.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) is considering changing its interpretation of a 75-year-old U.S. labor law governing airline and rail union elections, a politically charged proposal that could open the door for more unionization in the industry. For a sector that is already stumbling financially and facing collective bargaining pressure from unions over past concessions, any changes to the law that could make it easier for unions to take root are being strongly opposed.
Richard K. Sylvester has been named vice president-acquisition policy for the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Assn. He was deputy director of acquisition resources and analysis in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Nov. 14-15—Aviation Nation 2009 featuring The Thunderbirds. Nellis AFB, Nev. Call +1 (702) 652-7469 or see http://www.nellis.af.mil/aviationnation2009 Nov. 15-19—Dubai Airshow and International Aerospace Exhibition. Airport Expo Dubai, United Arab Emirates. See http://dubaiairshow.aero
The leader of U.S. Strategic Command says so few satellites are in queue now for launch for critical missions—such as weather observation satcom or ballistic missile warning—that there is a risk of service gaps that could impede the military’s ability to do its job.
Efforts to introduce fuel-burn improvements on the Airbus A380 are advancing even as the European aircraft maker continues to struggle with basic production of the mega-transport.
Dec. 2-3—A&D Finance Conference. New York. Dec. 8-10—MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition. Hong Kong. Feb. 17-18—Defense Technology & Requirements. Washington. Feb. 28-Mar. 1—MRO Middle East 2010. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mar. 17—Aviation Week Laureates Awards. Washington. You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only)
The top U.S. Air Force civilian overseer says changes to the plan to buy KC-135 refueler replacements are expected to come out later this month. Both competitors are grumbling about the draft KC-X request for proposals (RFP).
Goodrich is to push its short-wave infrared (SWIR) imaging technology for night vision to higher levels of performance under Phase 3 of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Photon Counting Array program. Bridging the gap between image-intensified night-vision goggles and thermal imagers, SWIR cameras detect photons reflected from objects and produce detailed, images that allow target ID, even in near-complete darkness. The improved camera will offer higher sensitivity and lower noise to produce crisp images in no-moon conditions.
Modern aviation’s safety record is impressive by any measure, but there is always room for improvement. In Europe, accident investigation is balkanized, and there is too much emphasis on assigning blame. In the U.S., the regulatory response to investigators’ recommendations is downright sclerotic. The result is that efforts to improve safety overall are hampered or slowed.
Mission: STS-129 International Space Station utilization and logistics flight 3 (ULF-3), the 129th launch of the space shuttle program and the 31st to the ISS. Orbiter: Atlantis (OV-104), making its 31st flight. Atlantis last returned from orbit on May 24 after the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. It has one scheduled flight remaining—STS-132 in May 2010.
Even a basic requirement for a U.S. Air Force airborne electronic attack and jamming capability does not appear to be any closer to a solution. But after two programs for a B-52 standoff solution, the effort appears to be taking a new direction. “The Air Force believes we need to have stand-in capability [instead],” says Maj. Gen. David Scott, director of operational capability requirements. “We need to get into a place, persist, fight, kill things and get out.
A British government-commissioned report into crash of an RAF Nimrod MR2 in Afghanistan in 2006 is highly critical of both the military establishment and industry in relation to the accident. Charles Haddon-Cave’s exhaustive report—subtitled “A Failure of Leadership, Culture and Priorities”—examining the underlying causes of the deaths of the 14 personnel onboard Nimrod XV230 over Afghanistan in September 2006, was published at the end of October.
I read Frank Klatt’s letter about the XF-103 with great interest (AW&ST Oct. 26/Nov. 2, p. 8). I remember him from 53 years ago when I was 19 and assigned to flight testing at Edwards AFB, Calif. I worked for Curtiss-Wright, which built the dual-cycle J-67, and remember being out on the flight line during runup tests. It was an exciting way to begin my aerospace career, which lasted 35 more years with General Dynamics on the Atlas and Centaur rockets.
Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR is trying to resolve production levels for 2010 even as it completes flight trials on the latest version of the aircraft, the ATR 72-600, with new avionics and an enhanced powerplant. But behind the scenes, the aircraft maker also is working on developing a successor product that could seat up to 100 passengers.
With brownout landings and obstacle strikes accounting for almost as many helicopter losses as hostile fire in Iraq and Afghanistan, flight tests of an integrated sensor and symbology system are being hailed as potential breakthroughs in improving safety.
