BAE Systems is developing a radar warning receiver (RWR) for satellite use, under a $6.3-billion U.S. Air Force contract. The intent is to alert satellites when they are being “painted” by radar energy, says Eric Rhodes, business development manager for BAE. Initially, the RWR will be able to detect radar energy up to 18 GHz. in bands used for situational awareness. Eventually, the intent is to detect radar energy up to 40 GHz., with frequencies that could be used for targeting satellites.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
A new, reduced-signature, unmanned aircraft—the long-rumored, 20-hr.-endurance, pure-jet Predator C Avenger—has emerged from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ workshops after a 3½-year gestation period paced by massive growth in UAV production and the use of unmanned designs in combat. The UAV’s undeniably stealthed-up exterior offers several clues about how the aircraft could be employed.
The Newfoundland provincial government has put plans to purchase Bombardier 415 water bombers on hold, saying it could not reach acceptable terms for the C$100-million-plus ($83-million) purchase. The Canadian province’s government says it insisted on having all deposits and advance payments protected against potential losses in the current economic climate, but Bombardier was not prepared to provide adequate security. Instead, Newfoundland will continue to operate its six older CL-215 firefighting amphibians.
As it faces the prospect of a bigger order than originally planned for the joint-services Advanced Extremely High-Frequency satellite constellation, Lockheed Martin has completed thermal-vacuum testing of the second spacecraft and is set to begin a final thermal-vac verification test of AEHF-1 on Apr. 30. The company now has four of the 9,200-lb. AEHF spacecraft in process, although only three are fully funded. It has begun advanced procurement of the fourth under an expected $120-million contract from the U.S. Air Force let last year.
American Airlines put two of its new Boeing 737-800 aircraft into service Apr. 14. The carrier accepted delivery of the two aircraft last week and expects 74 additional new -800s to arrive through the first quarter of 2011. The -800s will join the other 77 737-800s in its fleet and eventually replace the carrier’s 270 MD-80s. Many of the new -800s will be based at the Chicago hub, says Gerard Arpey, chairman and CEO of American’s parent company, AMR Corp. He noted that American, like other companies, continues to finds ways to cut costs.
Gary Rower, founder and senior partner of Century CRM, Peachtree City, Ga., has been elected to the board of directors of the International Council of Air Shows . He also has been chairman of its Safety Management System Development Committee.
SuperJet International, which is marketing and supporting the SuperJet 100 regional aircraft, has received an EASA/ENAC Part 145 certificate. The certificate will allow SuperJet to begin activities at its new completion and maintenance base in Venice, Italy.
The Netherlands parliament this week is expected to decide whether the country should purchase two test F-35As. A decision on a production buy would come later. The F-35 procurement has met stiff opposition in parliament. One of the sticking points for F-35 opponents is lack of a firm purchase price.
Bahrain’s Gulf Air has increased its Boeing 787 fleet to 24 aircraft with an order of another eight 787-8s. The deal is Boeing’s first for the year for the 787, for which there now are 886 total orders from 57 customers. Boeing’s order book is now in the black for 2009 with a net four sales after weeks of being in the red due to 787 cancellations. Besides the Gulf Air deal, Boeing has recorded 24 737 and four 777 orders in 2009.
The U.S. Navy and some of America’s military allies will soon have a broad lineup of aircraft including the EA-18G Growler, P-8A Poseidon, EP-X, F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. A range of unmanned platforms is also available, among them the Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance UAV, helicopter Sea Scout and ship- or air-launched Scan Eagle.
The global financial crisis is prompting France to sell off its military communications satellite network to free up funding for new hardware purchases. The bleak economic situation is also forcing a reassessment of private financing initiatives (PFIs) that had been earmarked for aerial tankers and other programs, perhaps putting some procurements at risk.
The EA-18G Growler is turning into a formidable nonkinetic warfare aircraft that can inflict damage on a foe without destroying buildings and causing deaths. Instead, it could fool foes or leave them in the dark with no communications.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive requiring an upgrade of new software on the Honeywell flight management systems (FMS) served by Honeywell NA-2000 navigation computers and IC-800 integrated avionics computers. The AD, which becomes effective May 14 and supersedes a previous directive, is aimed at preventing a shift in the FMS computed position. This could result in uncommanded and undetectable deviations from the intended flight path, which in turn could compromise terrain/traffic avoidance, according to the FAA.
The “Three Parties” behind Japan’s Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite (Gosat)—JAXA, the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Ministry of Environment—have issued their second research announcement for scientists using data from Gosat’s Thermal and Near IR Sensor. Gosat is the principal orbiting observatory focused on CO2 and methane monitoring to seek sources of emissions.
A Sun shield being developed to shade the upper-stage fuel tanks on the Atlas V rocket and prevent fuel boil-off should be ready for testing by April 2011, according to United Launch Alliance (ULA). The test deployment will take place after the primary payload separates, during a flight that does not require the shield. Normally, it will inflate and deploy after the payload fairing is jettisoned. ULA, ILC Dover and NASA are collaborating on the inflatable shield, which ULA says could be adapted to other rockets or used for orbiting fuel depots.
As anticipated, President Barack Obama has nominated think-tank analyst Robert O. Work to be undersecretary of the Navy and Arizona lawyer Charles A. Blanchard to be Air Force general counsel. Work, a vice president at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Studies, has written extensively on naval strategy. His last post in a 27-year U.S. Marine Corps career was as military assistant and senior aide to then-Navy Secretary Richard Danzig in the Clinton administration. Blanchard also served in the Clinton administration as general counsel to the Army.
The shareholders of Mitsubishi Aircraft have invested a further ¥30 billion ($29.7 million) in the company’s MRJ regional jet project, following the original business plan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries remains the majority owner. Mitsubishi Aircraft says it now has capital of ¥50 billion plus a “capital reserve” of ¥50 billion.
Prospects for the SPn utility business jet’s revival should crystallize soon, its program backers hope as they seek to secure the financing to complete its development and finally bring the product to market. The goal is to find financial backing to revive the program before mid-year, says former Grob Aerospace CEO, Niall Olver, who is leading the effort to revive the SPn. After Grob declared bankruptcy last August, the rights to the aircraft were split from Grob’s aircraft trainer business, which now belongs to H-3 Aerospace.
Russia is poised to start development of a manned spacecraft to replace the aging Soyuz, along with a new-generation medium-lift launcher to carry it aloft and a new space center in Siberia from which both will be launched. Together, the projects constitute Moscow’s most ambitious space endeavor since Russia joined the International Space Station.
Iranian national Baktash Fattahi, who is also a U.S. legal resident, was arrested and charged by the U.S. government with trying to sell military parts to Iran. The Apr. 3 arrest took place at Fattahi’s apartment in Lancaster, Calif., but charges will be brought in Miami. Fattahi and his alleged co-conspirators are accused of exporting 13 different parts for F-14 and F-5 fighters, as well as AH-1 Cobra, UH-1 Huey and CH-53 helicopters. The parts were funneled to Iran via Dubai, the Justice Dept.
Arguments for capping F-22 production, claiming the Raptor was only meant to counter Soviet aircraft, are flawed. The F-22’s primary objective is to establish air dominance over an area of conflict. This, in addition to air superiority, will require the capability to counter advanced surface-to-air missiles and other ground-to-air threats of a potential adversary.
Russia’s best air defense systems are proliferating despite international requests and Moscow’s assurances that the most powerful and effective of them would not be exported. In fact, this policy backfired when a Russian-built air defense missile was used by Georgia to shoot down a supersonic, Black Sea Fleet Tu-22M bomber/reconnaissance aircraft during the 2008 conflict.
When U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made public his Fiscal 2010 budget recommendations (see p. 22), he dropped a bombshell that will test the resolve, integrity and leadership of the Obama administration, Congress and U.S. aerospace/defense industry.
NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Palmdale, Calif., is expected to house its full complement of airborne science research aircraft by mid-year, after its dedication on Apr. 9. Consisting of a 425,000-sq.-ft. hangar and office/laboratory complex situated on 16.2 acres, the site was formerly used for the Rockwell B-1B bomber production line as well as Lockheed Martin’s abortive X-33 Venture Star project. Located on U.S.
Following years of industrial and intergovernmental discussions, Alenia Aeronautica has finally acquired a stake in the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co., builders of the Superjet 100. Under the $183-million deal, the Finmeccanica unit is taking a 25% stake in SCAC, plus one share. Finmeccanica was the first “outsider” allowed to buy a major shareholding in a Russian aerospace company. The deal follows the creation of the Superjet International joint venture, in which Alenia holds a 51% stake to Sukhoi’s 49%.
