Kingfisher has converted its original order for Airbus A350 twin-widebody to the newer configuration, the XWB, now on offer. The deal is included in Airbus’s April order intake. Overall, Airbus at the end of the month stood at 30 gross orders and 11 net orders—the difference reflecting cancellations. The only other new orders last month were for three A330-200s, including one from International Lease Finance Corp. The order book for the A318 and A319 remain in negative territory. Airbus delivered 162 aircraft in the first four months.
EADS and Lockheed Martin announced a partnership to build a helicopter for requirements the U.S. Army hasn’t set. The EC645 Armed Scout, effectively an up-armored EC145, will be pitched as an Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) when (and if) the Army re-competes the program. Corporate leadership remained mum about most of the details, including when and whether the company will build a prototype. The focus for the moment, according to EADS chief operating officer David Oliver, is creating the right team to meet Army requirements, whatever those may be.
ST Aerospace’s revenues of SING $458 million were down 2% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, primarily because there were not any MD11 freighter conversion deliveries.
As Washington debates the merits of a split buy, EADS developers are proceeding with work on the Australian KC-30 tanker in a bid to address U.S. Air Force concerns about the A330-based aircraft. In July, the KC-30 is slated to refuel another aircraft using an EADS-designed boom system, which was long seen as a risk for its U.S. tanker proposal. And there’s another challenge. If EADS wins the contract, it plans to assemble both the tanker and A330-F freighters at a new facility in Mobile, Ala.
A snag in a U.S. Navy-led weapon data-link development may become a factor in determining the outcome this fall of a hotly contested U.S. Air Force competition between Raytheon and a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team to develop a new 250-lb. bomb.
The first-quarter results are in—and they bear bad tidings for U.S. general aviation manufacturers, which saw a 41.1% decrease in airplane deliveries and 18.2% decline in billings compared with first-quarter 2008. GA manufacturers delivered 462 aircraft in the first quarter—350 units within North America, 89 in Europe, 8 in South America and 15 in the rest of the world. The turboprop aircraft segment showed the only growth, with deliveries of 92 units, up 3.4% from the 89 delivered last year.
The way ahead for the A400M military airlifter may not be clear until year-end, even if customer states commit this summer to continuing with the program. However, a critical milestone is fast approaching for the TP400D turboprop’s full-authority digital engine control software: Its initial flight-test is scheduled for this month. The Fadec software has become the pacing item for the airlifter’s first flight, owing to problems with attaining the needed civil certification with the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Pentagon contractors who think the Fiscal 2010 budget process is painful had better brace for an even tougher Fiscal 2011. That’s likely to be the first year that overall U.S. defense spending levels off, according to military and industry insiders. Initial phases of the 2011 budget are now underway as the services’ major commands formulate initial funding proposals. Those will eventually be collated in the Pentagon late this year in advance of a request to Congress next February.
Eilene Marie Galloway , who helped draft the legislation that created NASA and went on to become an internationally recognized expert in space law and policy, died May 2 of cancer. She was 102.
Finland will purchase the Nasams II ground-based air defense system to meet its medium-range missile defense requirement. Nasams II is built by Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg and uses Raytheon’s ground-launched version of the AIM-120 Amraam radar-guided missile. Spain and the Netherlands operate Nasams II, as does Norway’s air force. The contract is worth 3 billion Norwegian kronor ($460 million).
European partner governments and senior industry executives are intensifying pressure on Britain to deliver funding for the Eurofighter Typhoon. At the same time the Royal Air Force is cautioning of the capability and cost-impact should a positive decision not be forthcoming.
The Experimental Aircraft Assn. says early indicators suggest its annual convention in Oshkosh, Wis., could equal or exceed the 2008 gathering, when 540,000 visitors turned out.
Boeing says it has lost another 25 orders for the 787 from an unidentified customer, pushing its cancellation rate to 57 for the year and 58 overall, or 6% of its total. The company reached agreement with the customer on Apr. 30 to cancel its entire order for 25 aircraft. According to that description, three potential customers could be involved—Air Berlin, Continental Airlines and China Eastern. Officials at Air Berlin and Continental say their orders stand. China Eastern could not be reached for comment.
A new European Aerospace Cluster Partnership has been created with co-funding from the European Commision to coordinate aviation research across Europe. Based in Hamburg, EACP will bring together 24 European aerospace research clusters, including Aerospace Valley and Pole Pegase in France, Campani Aerospace in Italy and the Hamburg Metropolitan Area Aviation Cluster in Germany.
USN Capt. (ret.) Mark E. Wisniewski (Alexandria, Va.)
As a former Navy P-3 pilot I enjoyed reading David Fulghum’s two articles on the new P-8 Poseidon (AW&ST Apr. 13, pp. 56-58). But the characterization of P-3 flight engineers as “hung over” simply cannot be allowed to stand without comment. As a long-time subscriber and admirer of Aviation Week I suspect he really meant no harm by his choice of words. Nevertheless, his description of P-3 flight engineers is just wrong. I spent 24 years in the Navy and have never known FEs to be anything less than dedicated professionals.
Boeing’s Phantom Ray unmanned combat air system demonstrator is now being inspected at hangar in the company’s St. Louis, Mo., facility prior to flight tests late next year. The air vehicle was designed under a defunct Pentagon unmanned combat air system program. Photo by Boeing.
Eurocopter has delivered its first “haute couture” helicopter aimed at tapping into the business-jet industry’s VIP clientele. The inaugural rotorcraft, known as “L’Helicoptere par Hermes,” will be operated by Falcon Aviation Services in the United Arab Emirates, catering to customers in the Persian Gulf region. The VIP version is based on the twin-engine EC135 and features a spacious four-passenger cabin equipped with luxury furnishings designed by the Paris fashion house Hermes.
Jeffrey Pino, a veteran Army aviator turned helicopter marketing whiz, was summoned to the phone one night in March 2006 with a flattering offer. His boss, Sikorsky Aircraft President Steve Finger, was being moved by parent company United Technologies (UTC) to run sister unit Pratt & Whitney. The top job at Sikorsky was Pino’s if he wanted it.
The FAA has distributed more than $1 billion—94% of its grants-in-aid for airport improvement funding—for 301 projects, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tells a congressional hearing on the effectiveness of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of the $200 million provided for facilities and equipment projects, the FAA has been working on contract awards for air traffic control facility improvements, power system upgrades, new runway lighting, and navigation systems and other infrastructure projects, LaHood tells the House Transportation Committee.
Dwight J. Gibbs has been named senior vice president-technology for Input , Reston, Va. He was chief technology officer for Legg Mason Capital Management.
Russia’s Space Forces used a Soyuz-U launch vehicle to orbit a military reconnaissance satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Apr. 29. Designated Cosmos 2450, the spacecraft is believed to be a Kobalt-class photo-reconnaissance satellite that returns film in recoverable canisters.
Airbus Military has completed testing of receiver flight control laws demonstrating the ability of the manufacturer’s A330-200 multirole tanker transport (MRTT) to be refueled by French air force Boeing KC-135 tankers. Twenty contacts were involved, using the first of five KC-30A MRTT earmarked for the Royal Australian Air Force as the receiver aircraft.
Boeing is to deploy and operate Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aircraft on behalf of SOC under a contract potentially worth $250 million over five years. The company says it has 132 ScanEagles in theater under similar service contracts with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
As chairman/CEO of the old Martin Marietta Corp., Norman Augustine played an instrumental role in the great consolidation that reshaped the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry after the Cold War. So it’s worth soliciting his views on what’s likely to happen to the industry if President Barack Obama’s administration succeeds in its push to reshape U.S. military priorities.
