Senior NASA managers believe they will be able to launch the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in May, but they won’t decide until March whether to release one of the two shuttle launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the first flight test of the follow-on Ares I crew launch vehicle. Meeting with their human-spaceflight counterparts at the Johnson Space Center on Jan. 22, top Hubble program officials said they should have a replacement computer ready to go to the telescope in time for a May 12 launch.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin says France exported €6.3 billion ($8.13 billion) worth of military hardware last year, up from €5.5 billion in 2007 and the most since 2000. He predicted that a revamped export system introduced in 2007-08 will lead to a further increase this year and said he sees no reason why France cannot catch the U.K., the leading European arms exporter. A breakthrough foreign arms sale for the Rafale fighter is among the near-term targets.
Raymond Jaworowski (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Manufacturers of fixed-wing military trainer aircraft are battling for a slice of a continually shrinking pie, as demand is declining just when a new generation is entering the market. Competition is intense for even small procurement contracts.
MBDA has been awarded a contract to transform 45 Exocet Block 2 antiship missiles into the MM40 Block 3 standard, which will double missile range and ensure that the weapon is suitable for attacks in littoral areas or to vary attack angles for naval targets. The missiles are scheduled to be delivered in 2011-12. The Block 3, which was qualified in April 2008, is to be installed on French Horizon frigates and later, on the Fremm multimission frigate fleet.
Aerospace and defense companies are beginning to release their financial results for the last three months of 2008, the first full quarter since the global financial crisis intensified last September. And while it will take more time for the full impact of the downturn to show up on bottom lines, Wall Street analysts are watching closely for signs of how companies will fare as the year goes on.
Douglas Royce (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The outlook for production of rotorcraft over the next decade is mixed. In the near term, manufacturers can be expected to continue to see high levels of production through 2010 as they work through backlogs. After that, the effects of turmoil in the economy are likely to bring a normal cyclical downturn to the industry.
John S. Edwards/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com
The outlook for the expendable launch vehicle (ELV) market is solid. Revenues for commercial launches have risen steadily since 2005, with Europe garnering the lion’s share of the global market.
Larry Dickerson (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The successes, evolution and technology of unmanned aircraft are helping to chip away at the barriers erected by critics who see unmanned aerial vehicles as a passing fad soon to be relegated to the trash heap of failed (or over-hyped) developments. Prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, UAVs were considered exotic toys and not essential tools for victory on the modern battlefield. This all changed as the U.S. demand for surveillance assets soared and its fleet of UAVs expanded by leaps and bounds.
Research Institutes GosNIIAS (State Research Institute of Aviation Systems) (Moscow) is a think tank focused on combat aircraft, aviation weapons systems and military avionics. The institute has an important role in the development of software for onboard mission computers and the integration of weapon control systems.
Air Force Aero Technologies of Australia N-22B (16) Aero Vodochody L-39ZA (18) Airbus A310-300 (1) Airbus ACJ (1) Basler Turbo 67 Conversion (9) Bell Helicopter Textron 412 (8) Bell Helicopter Textron 412SP (10) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H (18) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1N (1) Boeing 737-400 (1) Boeing 737-800BBJ2 (1) British Aerospace HS.748-2A (2) British Aerospace HS.748 (4) CASA CN-235 (2)
Defense and aerospace giant Thales is gunning for further growth, following a surge in orders and sales last year. But Dassault Aviation’s reinforced role in the company could force a reformulation of this strategy, or even a change in command.
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