Concerns about compromising sensitive U.S. technology (AW&ST June 29, p. 29) might be addressed by selling the Japanese F-22, with conditions. Japanese Air Self-Defense Force pilots and mechanics would be assigned to these aircraft, but U.S.-specified classified equipment could be serviced only by Lockheed-Martin technicians. These Japanese-owned aircraft would reinforce U.S. assets in Asia, while keeping the production line open, should the need for additional U.S. Air Force F-22s emerge.
Budget carrier AirAsia X is considering moving into the market between New York and Kuala Lumpur as Malaysian Airline System abandons that route. The Malaysian government says it is willing to consider applications for a new operator to New York. AirAsia Bhd., a Malaysian narrow-body operator, owns only a minority of the shares of AirAsia X, although the two companies use a common brand and take bookings through the same web site. AirAsia Bhd.
The European Cockpit Assn. is taking the European Union to task for what it views insufficient attention to pilot fatigue concerns. Pointing to the U.S. where the crash of a Colgan Air regional aircraft has prompted authorities to reexamine pilot fatigue concerns, ECA bemoans the lack of similar actions in Europe. “Does Europe need a fatal accident, too, before actions are taken over here?” asks ECA Secretary General Philip von Schoeppenthau, adding that the European Aviation Safety Agency and European Commission have failed to take leadership of the issue.
A visit to the Kennedy Space Center highlights the sense of dread that the space industry is feeling about the scheduled retirement of the space shuttle fleet next year. Contractors that have grown up around the program during the past 35 years are facing a huge drop in revenues, especially since a shuttle follow-on won’t be operational until at least 2015.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is considering using fielded unmanned aerial system (UAS) sensors and developing a lighter kill vehicle. The overall goal is to intercept ballistic missiles early in flight. In its Fiscal 2010 budget, the MDA displayed a renewed focus on early ascent-phase intercept—before a threat reaches apogee—over continued development of midcourse engagement capabilities. Nevertheless, big hurdles loom.
Raytheon collected a $24.4-million, one-year contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to provide it with a wireless network interoperable gateway for the military. That means lots of stovepiped systems can exchange information by tapping into the electronic gateway. Options can extend the contract to 2012 and increase the total value to $155 million. This system is supposed to link military, civilian and coalition radios into a single network.
The first four of 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force are due to arrive at RAAF Amberley in March. The aircraft have been bought as stop-gap replacements for General Dynamics F-111s and are supposed to be replaced by Lockheed Martin F-35s after about 10 years.
The U.S. Air Force has established a senior-level panel designed to manage basing decisions including those for new aircraft. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said during a recent press roundtable that the Senior Basing Executive Steering Group was formed to address “unresolved basing issues.” The committee also will be a “bridge” between decisions made in the Base Realignment and Closure Commission of 2005, he says, and in the future.
The vast majority of British Airways pilots have agreed to new contract terms that reduce their pay in the short-term in return for greater profit-sharing. Of the pilots who voted, 94% approved the new pay package, which should yield £26 million in annual savings for the airline. In return, BA says it will provide a long-term incentive plan. Starting in June 2011, pilots will be able to receive £13 million worth of airline shares if targets are met. Those would vest three years later.
David A. Fulghum (Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and Washington)
The debate in Washington continues to rage over the value, fate, reliability and need for the world’s only operational fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor. But in the Pacific, those who will possibly fight with the stealthy aircraft—both regulars and reservists—are doggedly focused on its advantages. The aircraft offers 2 mi. more altitude, a half-Mach greater speed and an electronic surveillance system that can instantaneously encompass the battlefield.
At the request of lawmakers, the Transportation Dept. Office of Inspector General is planning an audit of FAA regulations and airline policies pertaining to crew rest requirements and pilot fatigue. The review also will examine how carriers and the FAA enforce regulations and polices, as well as assess how they update them to reflect modern airline operations—from daily multiple-leg trips of regionals to ultra-long-haul flights of major carriers. The move comes in the wake of the Feb. 12 crash of Colgan Air/Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y.
While President Barack Obama won plaudits for his campaign to reduce nuclear weaponry worldwide, the White House is now trying to defend its Fiscal 2010 request for maintaining a major legacy nuclear bomb. A July 14 White House statement warns that the House Appropriations Committee’s rejection of a $65-million request for a B61 refurbishment study next year would essentially end efforts to provide critical components.
The U.K.’s desire to keep open the choice of a long-range, long-endurance UAV in a pending study has forced the Defense Ministry to nix near-term ambitions for the Reaper.
As it delves into the finer points of browser-friendly collaboration, Exostar is developing a software service model that enhances security protocols and provides visual markings that are the equivalent of a “classified” stamp on a paper document.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
New reports now contend that Moscow lost as many as eight aircraft—one of them to fratricide—during the conflict with Georgia, despite repeated Russian defense ministry claims that only four were destroyed. Confirmed losses were three Sukhoi Su-25 “Frogfoot” ground-attack aircraft, along with a Tupolev Tu-22M3 “Backfire C” bomber. These losses occurred on Aug. 8, 2008, the first day of the battle. Two Russian aircrew were captured and exchanged. Another five were killed (one by fratricide), according to additional analysis from a Russian military think tank.
Boeing has completed flight tests of a modified fuel-metering unit and fuel-oil heat-exchanger (FOHE) on a new British Airways Rolls-Royce Trent 800-powered 777-200ER. The modified system is designed to prevent the buildup of ice, which was suspected as the cause of a crash-landing of a BA 777 at London Heathrow Airport in January 2008, and an engine rollback on a Delta Air Lines 777 last November.
The U.S. Congress and the White House are digging in for a protracted battle over how many stealthy F-22 Raptors are needed for the U.S. Air Force to maintain air superiority. President Barack Obama is threatening to “veto any bill” that supports acquisition of more than the 187 F-22s already funded by Congress, putting him on a collision course with lawmakers who want more of the fifth-generation fighters for national security, economic and political reasons.
July 27-Aug. 2—EAA AirVenture. Oshkosh, Wis. See www.airventure.org Aug. 4-7—Aerospace Museum of California’s Aerospace Summer Camp. McClellan. Call +1 (916) 643-3192, fax +1 (916) 643-0389 or see www.aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org Aug. 5-7—SAE International’s Aerospace Program Management Short Course. WATC Comotara, Wichita, Kan. Call +1 (724) 776-4970 or see www.sae.org Aug. 9-13—American Astronautical Society/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference. Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. Call +1 (703) 866-0020 or see www.space-flight.org
Aeroflot Russian Airlines reported a $37-million net profit for last year—a sharp decline from the $313 million posted in 2007. The drop was attributed to losses at sister airlines Aeroflot-Nord and JSC Terminal, an affiliate that is building the carrier’s new terminal at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. Spikes in aviation fuel prices coupled with currency exchange-rate turmoil adversely affected financial results, according to the airline.
Space shuttle experts are evaluating the heat shield protecting the space shuttle Endeavour following what appears to be the most extensive release of insulating foam from its external tank during ascent since the Columbia accident. However, camera angles may have made the release look worse than it was.
U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has formulated its requirements for a follow-on spacecraft to the initial Block 10 Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite, although the service still hasn’t decided whether it will take the form of another identical satellite or an updated version, according to AFSPC chief Gen. Robert Kehler. Boeing and Ball Aerospace produced the Block 10 SBSS spacecraft, which will perform surveillance of objects in space from orbit.
The British government used last week’s publication of its “U.K. Low Carbon Industrial Strategy” paper to reiterate its aim of agreeing to “a global sectoral emissions target for aviation, as part of a wider global deal,” during the Copenhagen climate conference at the end of this year.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the State Dept. plans to take a page from the Defense Dept.’s playbook by conducting its own Quadrennial Defense Review, dubbed the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). Clinton tells an audience of State Dept.
Astronomers are eagerly awaiting a chance to try out Europe’s Herschel infrared telescope, the largest ever sent to space, after test observations with all three instruments proved promising. Now approaching its operational position at the second Sun-Earth Lagrangian point, Herschel’s Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (Spire) produced the image above right on June 24, using the galaxy Messier 66 in the constellation Leo as one of its targets.
