A method of quickly simulating and testing components and software for “plug and play” tactical satellites that can be put together in a matter of days has been developed by Albuquerque, N.M.-based PnP Innovations. Based on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Plug and Play Avionics (SPA) standards, the company’s structural panels contain embedded power and data routers as well as mounting positions for PnP sensors and processors.
The U.S. Air Force says it plans to issue a final request for proposals for the Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program in late April. This could, however, change with the issuance of the Pentagon’s budget to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is expected to take place soon. TSAT was among a list of potential program kills drafted as the Pentagon seeks to cut spending.
Jane Calderwood has been named vice president-government and political affairs for Washington-based Airports Council International-North America . She was vice president of Brown and Co., also in Washington.
Korean Air budget subsidiary Jin Air is branching out internationally with plans to fly to Bangkok and Macao starting in October. The airline proposes to expand to 16 international routes by 2011, serving Southeast Asia, China and Japan. Jin Air has three aircraft and has announced plans to lease two Boeing 737-800s this year.
E-GEOS, a geospatial information service venture founded by Telespazio and Italian space agency ASI to market imagery data and products from Italy’s Cosmo-SkyMed submetric radar constellation and other sources, has signed a contract with 4C Satellite Images & Technologies, an arm of U.S.-based 4C Controls. The €180-million ($234-million) deal will give Luxembourg-based 4C Satellite exclusive rights to CosmoSkyMed in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The International Air Transport Assn. says all its members have passed a required safety audit, but the group’s membership list is missing 21 airlines that did not meet audit deadlines and had to leave.
German researchers say aerodynamic condensation trails formed by airflow over an aircraft’s wing at high altitude need to be factored into climate models being developed to determine the effect of air traffic on global warming.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is studying a small, liquid-propellant vehicle for nanosatellite launches, says President Jim Maser. ARDE of Carlstadt, N.J., a pressure-vessel and propellant-tank specialist that Rocketdyne acquired last November, will help in the research and development effort. Maser says the project is part of a growth-through-innovation drive, but adds that it is too preliminary to describe in detail.
A revised defense acquisition reform bill approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee has dropped a total ban on contractors advising the Pentagon on weapon systems that they are also building or developing. The legislation, introduced by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), aims to tackle the dual problems of cost overruns and delays by requiring more systems engineering and testing at the beginning stages of a weapon system’s acquisition. President Barack Obama endorsed the bill (AW&ST Mar. 9, p. 21).
Boeing has demonstrated deployment of a containerized solid-state laser weapon system to reduce risk for the U.S. Army’s truck-mounted High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, planned for counter-rocket, artillery and mortar test firings in 2013-15. The company-funded Redeployable High-Energy Laser Systems (RHELS) packages a solid-state laser, thermal management, beam control and operator station in a 40-ft. cargo container. Boeing has demo’d the ability to transport the laser by semi-trailer and have it ready to fire within 8 hr.
Investors finally had a reason to smile in March, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index rebounded from 12-year lows, rising 8-9% during the month. But many defense contractors weren’t invited to the party. BAE Systems plc, General Dynamics Corp. and Raytheon Co. saw continued declines in their stock prices, while L-3 Communications Holdings shares were flat. The only exceptions were Lockheed Martin Corp., which mirrored the Dow’s rebound; and Northrop Grumman Corp., which saw a 17% gain fueled in part by bullish expectations for shipbuilding.
Certification trials of the Embraer 190 regional jet began last week for the steep approaches required for London City Airport. The aim is to have the clearance in place by year-end. Five Embraer 190s, as well as six Embraer 170s, are on order for BA CityFlyer, a British Airways subsidiary. The Embraer 170 has been certified for steep-approach operations, with first delivery of the aircraft to CityFlyer due in the second half of 2009.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the piggyback Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will launch on an Atlas V no earlier than June 2, to accommodate the delayed Atlas V launch of the U.S. Air Force Wideband Global Satcom (WGS 2) spacecraft. That launch, which was delayed by a liquid oxygen leak in its Centaur upper stage, was scheduled for 8:31 p.m. EDT on Apr. 3. The NASA lunar mission had been set for launch in a May 20-24 window, but managers ordered the delay to allow more time to process NASA’s launcher after the Air Force flight, the agency says.
The British Defense Ministry’s abortive Red Dragon project to develop a military aircraft maintenance hangar at its St. Athan site is being criticized by the National Audit Office. The overall development was undercut by a shift in the ministry’s approach to fast-jet support, which meant the hangar was no longer needed for the purpose it was built for in 2004. The Defense Ministry worked on the program with the Welsh authorities; however, potentially conflicting ambitions arose, according to the report. The site is now set to be a Defense Training Academy.
Airbus Germany has admitted that in an effort to discover whether employees were taking kickbacks from suppliers, it breached the workers’ privacy. The violation of employee rights took place in 2007 when Airbus cross-referenced employee bank details with those of suppliers. The actions were unearthed in a subsequent review by management launched in December and reported to the company’s works council last month. A similar scandal last week brought down the head of the German rail company, Deutsche Bahn.
Alenia Aeronautica has finished the first series of test flights of its Sky-Y UAV using Italian air space. Five flights of the medium-altitude long-endurance UAV demonstrator were carried out near Puglia, following approval by the civil aviation agency. The Sky-Y UAV has previously been test-flown in Sweden. The recent trials, held in March, continued to monitor the performance of the Selex Galileo EOST-45 electro-optical sensor, and the imagery transmission via a satellite link. The Sky-Y was first flown in mid-2007.
There are stirrings within the moribund market for A&D mergers and acquisitions. Alliant Techsystems is expanding its armament systems business by acquiring Eagle Industries, a supplier of operational nylon gear for military and law enforcement agencies. The price was not disclosed, but Alliant says Eagle will add $80 million to its fiscal 2010 revenues. And Triumph Group announced the purchase of Mexmil Co., a California-based manufacturer of thermal-acoustic insulation systems for commercial aircraft with operations in Mexico and China.
The “Big Five” U.S. space companies could lose up to 10,000 jobs over the next few years unless the government accelerates procurement of the first elements of the Constellation family’s Ares V and Altair programs, warns Boeing Space Exploration head Brewster Shaw. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, ATK, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and United Launch Alliance “are at risk of laying off 8,000 to 10,000 people,” because of the looming gap between retirement of the shuttle and emergence of the follow-on Constellation family.
The French aerospace and defense industry is urging the government to come through on military spending commitments to help offset the drastic decline in commercial business.
Budget woes and old ways of doing business are increasingly tripping up Iraq’s attempts to rebuild its military as the nation struggles to recover from decades of combat and mismanagement, coalition officials are saying in Washington and Baghdad.
As a former USAF C-5 program manager, I propose that organizational reform should come before “acquisition reform.” The service has long struggled with the issue of transferring acquisition program management to commands, with no real single manager of the process. Many Defense Dept. acquisition problems can be overcome through a flatter organizational structure.
Apr. 15—Washington Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society Lecture by Gordon Leishman: “Helicopter-Thinking Forward, Looking Back.” Kim Engineering Building Rotunda, University of Maryland, College Park. Call +1 (703) 693-1564 or e-mail [email protected] Apr. 16-17—Technology Training Corp.’s Military Energy & Fuels Conference. Also, Apr. 30-May 1Information Operations Conference. Both at Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Alexandria, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1210 or see www.ttcus.com
Steven H. McCoy (see photo) has become vice president-advanced concepts for the Northrop Grumman Corp. ’s Baltimore-based Electronics Systems Sector. He was director of airborne systems.
