Your article “Corporate Casualties” (AW&ST May 4, p. 36) notes business aviation may be stabilizing, but not recovering. The article implies business aviation recovery is tied to economic recovery. The opposite is true.
A Persian Gulf area surveillance satellite project that had long been expected to emerge under a regional government framework now appears on the verge of kicking off with the aid of private financing.
Boeing said its total order book reached 10 net orders through June 16 with the sale of two 737-800s to MC Aviation Partners AP, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, and one to a Boeing Business Jet client. Boeing also reported that American Airlines is the buyer of eight 737s previously carried on its unidentified list. Boeing has 52 737 orders for the year, and nine 777s. But it has lost one 747, five 767 and 45 787 orders.
United Technologies Corp. (UTC) has spent very little on acquisitions this year, but President and CEO Louis Chenevert says that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the aerospace and industrial conglomerate is hoarding cash—like EADS—to ride out hard times. UTC has spent only $120 million of the $2-billion war chest it stockpiled for acquisitions in 2009. Aerospace properties are a top priority, but Chenevert says many sellers have overestimated their companies’ worth (an assessment being echoed by aerospace financiers).
The F-22 isn’t the only point of disagreement between House Armed Services and President Barack Obama’s Defense Dept. team. In revising the Fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill, the panel directed the Pentagon to continue the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and buy more carrier-based aircraft to close a fighter jet shortfall.
Israel’s Urban Aeronautics has begun ground tests on its Mule ducted-rotor unmanned aircraft, with the first hover flight expected in two months. The VTOL Mule is being aimed initially at autonomous resupply missions. The vehicle is designed to carry a 500-lb. payload with 2-hr. endurance at 100 kt. Development is being funded privately by Urban, which is seeking manufacturing partners to put the vehicle into production for deliveries beginning in 2014.
Space Systems/Loral has landed awards to build a big new broadband spacecraft for Hughes Network Services and a pair of new telecom satellites for a big Intelsat expansion in the Asia-Pacific revealed earlier this month (AW&ST June 15, p. 42). Intelsat 19, to be orbited in 2011, will provide Ku- and C-band capacity to Australia and other Asia-Pacific areas for a range of applications, notably Intelsat’s fast-growing mobile maritime service. Intelsat 20, to be launched in 2012, will meet Ku- and C-band needs in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Russia’s MC-21 narrow-body airliner is to enter service in 2016, says Alexey Fedorov, CEO of United Aircraft Corp. The company’s Irkut division wants to select major partners for the A320/737-sized aircraft by year-end, when important design decisions are to be made. Fedorov says the project is “strongly supported” by the Russian government, which has allocated $3 billion in development funding. The MC-21 is to be available in three versions and is scheduled to make its first flight in 2014.
Lockheed Martin is three months into a funded study of an AC-130J gunship configuration for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. The aircraft would be based on the HC/MC-130J special operations tanker/transport the company is already developing for USAF. The HC/MC common-core configuration is based on the U.S. Marine Corps’ KC-130J tanker variant. The AC-130J study is focusing on the special interfaces and other changes required to adapt the platform to the gunship role.
It was unfortunate that “The Riddle of Flight 447” (AW&ST June 8, p. 26) described two flight control system failures in Airbus A330s, one of which resulted in “uncommanded climbs and descents and a rapid loss of altitude,” but overlooked an almost identical occurrence in a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 in 2005.
China Southern Airlines will build a base at Nanning in southern China for services to Southeast Asia, as part of an effort to increase its presence in Guangxi province. The local government will support this effort, as often occurs when Chinese airlines build up local operations. China Southern’s current base in the province, at Guilin, will become a major tourism hub airport, while Nanning would become an entry point for foreign services. China Southern will spend about $18 million on the Nanning base.
NASA’s Cassini Saturn probe has detected vertical structure in the rings of Saturn from a carefully timed imaging angle as the Sun approaches the planet’s equator. In this image, shadows cast by waves in the edges of the Keeler Gap, located in the outer A ring, stretch across the rings. The waves are generated by Daphnis, a tiny moon only 5 mi. across that perturbs the particles of ring material in the edges from its inclined orbit within the 26-mi.-wide gap.
The French National Assembly has approved a €186-billion ($257-billion) five-year defense spending bill, ensuring France will have sustained funding for modernizing its armed forces. The bill includes €108 billion for procurement of new hardware, with a strong emphasis on force projection, space systems, reconnaissance and other capabilities needed to meet contemporary military threats. Cold War-era programs such as the Rafale fighter and Tiger attack helicopter are given lower priorities.
Japanese defense officials are beginning to grow wobbly about an early decision on the F-X because it appears the F-22 will stay in production, and studies are underway to determine what is needed for an export version of the Raptor. Japanese air force officials told Aviation Week & Space Technology they need F-22’s speed and altitude in order to cover the western approaches to Japan. Japan has only one runway capable of handling fighters and that is in Naha, Okinawa. Yet the country’s area of responsibility extends to within 125-150 mi. of China.
The European Space Agency has signed a €37-million ($51-million) authorization-to-proceed agreement with Thales Alenia Space to begin development of a 1.8-metric-ton experimental reentry vehicle for Europe’s Future Launcher Preparatory Program (FLPP). The vehicle, known as the IXV, is intended to test various reentry technologies that could help baseline, among other things, a European download capsule for the International Space Station and a future lunar lander.
Elbit Systems’ Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle, the primary UAV system for the Israel Defense Forces and a part of the U.K.’s Watchkeeper program, has added some features to expand its mission effectiveness and operational capabilities. Its modified engine enables increased flight altitudes up to 20,000 ft., and the vehicle can now take off from higher altitudes and carry more payload weight. Also, its communication data-link range is extended to 250 km.
With the exception of the business aviation market and lower company valuations (who’s aren’t), the aerospace/defense industry today is doing pretty well. Production rates are robust, the outlook for many government contractors is bright, cash flow is strong, balance sheets are healthy, and everyone is making money. As one well-placed observer put it last week at the 48th Paris air show, “As a whole, the industry is in fantastic shape.”
Northrop Grumman is developing a vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned cargo aircraft concept called MUVR. The fan-in-wing vehicle is designed to operate from any aviation-capable U.S. Navy ship, carrying payloads up to 10,000 lb. The concept has been wind tunnel-tested and briefed to the Navy, but there is no formal requirement yet for such an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), according to Gene Fraser, vice president and deputy for strike and surveillance systems.
Astrium confirms it will build two medium/high-resolution wide-swath Spot satellites to replace Spot 5. Astrium Services head Eric Beranger says the spacecraft, to be launched in 2012-14, will be funded with a mix of cash flow, EADS corporate financing and debt. Astrium has also signed an agreement to build a satellite integration complex in Kazakhstan as the first step implementing an agreement made last month to supply a surveillance satellite system, including two spacecraft, to that country.
The U.S. Marine Corps is planning to flight-test a turreted gun on the Bell/Boeing MV-22 Osprey to increase its defensive firepower in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. The BAE Systems remote turret mounts a 7.62-mm. minigun in the aircraft’s belly.
Pyongyang could be aiming at Hawaii or Guam or Okinawa—or not. A Tokyo Defense Ministry study says North Korea’s next Taepodong 2 test—or perhaps that of a slightly enlarged upgrade—may be launched as early as next month. U.S. intelligence officials say predictions are strictly conjecture. “It could be pointing anywhere, although we’re pretty sure the North Koreans won’t point them toward China or Russia,” says a military analyst.
U.S. and Indian aviation representatives plan to meet this fall in Washington under the umbrella of the two nations’ Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), according to the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The announcement follows the agency’s award of $371,000 aimed at helping the Indian aerospace industry develop more efficient engineering processes. The grant, the fourth given under the ACP, focuses on areas such as airworthiness, FAA requirement compliance and quality management. Florida-based Heico will lead the training program.
Saab has joined the Sesar (Single European Sky ATM Research) partnership program aimed at developing Europe’s new air traffic management system. One of Saab’s main contributions will be to develop the remotely operated tower concept that it launched this year. The concept allows for traffic management at small- and medium-size airports to be remotely controlled from a central site. Saab also will develop airport control tower systems and management systems to support the aircraft turnaround process at the gate.
While preparing for the initial flight of its first X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS), Northrop Grumman is also working this summer to refine the control technologies that allow the stealthy, tailless aircraft to operate in and around an aircraft carrier.
Russia’s Phazotron is beginning the next stage of development testing of an active, electronically scanned array (AESA) fighter radar, and Indian air force pilots are slated to fly with the system this year.
