With thermal management a growing problem for densely packaged platforms, a Thermacore-led team received a Darpa award to develop advanced air-cooled heat exchangers for military electronics. The two-phase, 48-month MACE program will demonstrate micro-technologies to improve thermal performance and reduce electrical consumption of heat exchangers.
Credit Suisse’s Robert Spingarn has been ranked as a top A&D analyst by The Wall Street Journal and Forbes because of prescient calls on commercial aerospace stocks in recent years. So when he “resets” his outlook, it’s worth taking notice.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace, apparently fearless of the worsening economic slowdown, is pushing ahead with expansion and hiring plans for its global maintenance, repair and overhaul operation. ST Aero is even open to further expansion through acquisitions, which it thinks should become cheaper as excess capacity piles up in North America and Europe. Development of unannounced new facilities, probably in Asia, is also in the cards.
The air force is being offered a variant of the Kamov Ka-252RLD Helix-B naval airborne early warning helicopter modified to provide surveillance support for land forces. Oboronprom, the holding company that is consolidating Russia’s helicopter manufacturers, is promoting a derivative known as the Ka-252SV.
Shenzhen Airlines is adding to China Eastern’s troubles (see Rebuilding in Progress, below) by setting up an affiliate in the southern province of Yunnan. The subsidiary, called Kunming Airlines after the provincial capital, will have three Boeing 737s, 30 pilots, 26 flight attendants and 80 million yuan ($12 million) in funding. China Eastern lost service rights in Yunnan last year when its local branch mishandled a dispute with pilots. Hainan Airlines is also moving into the territory by building up its local subsidiary, Lucky Air, under the name Yunnan Airlines.
The U.S. Air Force has issued a notice for bidders for development and manufacture of three Air Force One replacement aircraft. Today’s Boeing 747-200-based VC-25A system is growing expensive to maintain, and the first replacement is needed in Fiscal 2017.
GE Aviation has completed the critical design review on the 7,500-shp.-class GE38 turboshaft that will power the U.S. Marine Corps’ Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter, clearing the way for full engine testing in 2009. The GE38 is an updated version of the T407 turboprop developed, but never produced, for the U.S. Navy. Engine deliveries are to begin in 2010.
The Royal Navy is testing an improved version mission planning tool for its Sea King Mk 7 airborne surveillance and control helicopters. The navy’s Sea King Mk 7 trials squadron is now using the Thales WISP 2 planning tool development of the initial Whiskey Initialization Support Peripheral. The upgraded variant provides improved route planning, increased connectivity, and the capability to model the helicopter radar’s surveillance footprint over the operational terrain.
Lockheed Martin has won a $49.7-million USAF contract for the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Research and Evaluation program that is being overseen by the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
In his letter “Spaceflight Will Not Be Cheap” (AW&ST Nov. 17, 2008, p. 10), Markus Schiller disputes my call to use heavier but cheaper parts like those on aircraft, now that launches may be cheaper thanks to SpaceX. He writes: “Aviation-rated hardware will fail due to acoustics and vibration at launch, thermal stresses, radiation, etc.” Actually, aviation parts are robust and would need little if any modification for spacecraft use, though analysis and testing are required.
Airbus doesn’t expect to field an A320 family replacement until 2020, says John Leahy, the airframer’s chief operating officer for customers. The in-service date for the next-generation aircraft has steadily been moving to the right. In the meantime, Airbus is working on an update to the A320, which would include the addition of winglets that would be designed to improve fuel-burn by 5%. Leahy says it is still unclear whether the next-generation A320 would be powered by the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine.
Gregory Kaldahl has become vice president-resource planning for United Airlines parent UAL Corp. He was managing director for international planning and scheduling.
John Casani of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Earl Murman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Donald Richardson of Donrich Research have been named the 2009 honorary fellows of the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) . The fellows for 2009 are: Brij Agrawal, Naval Postgraduate School; William L.
Two daunting problems face the Obama administration as it crafts a Pentagon acquisition strategy: a dearth of skilled program overseers and a consolidated industrial marketplace. These issues—fostered by a faster-better-cheaper procurement philosophy in the 1990s—are making the challenge of keeping multibillion-dollar programs at cost and on schedule ever harder, says the top Air Force weapons buyer.
Michel Laroche, senior vice president-research and technology for the Paris-based Safran Group, has won the grand prize of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Assn. of France . He was cited for contributions to the development of the aerospace industry through his expertise in propulsion. Winner of the Astronautics Award was Alain Souchier, future programs director in the space engines division of Safran subsidiary Snecma, for his scientific and technical achievements and commitment to making space travel a reality.
Turkish Technic and myTECHNIC signed a five-year technical services, material and hangar slot agreement to garner the best of what each MRO has to offer. For myTECHNIC, which recently opened at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, it means gaining the country’s flagship carrier as a customer and partner, as well as tapping Turkish Technic for component capabilities. Turkish Technic will benefit from hangar slots, says Ismail Demir, the MRO’s general manager.
Space Exploration Technologies erected the first Falcon 9 launch vehicle on the pad at Cape Canaveral on Jan. 10 in a dress rehearsal for the booster’s maiden flight, now targeted for mid-year. The exercise validated system interfaces and launch processes, says SpaceX. Horizontal integration of the Falcon 9 was completed on Dec. 30, after which the 180-ft.-long rocket was lifted onto a transporter erector and moved to the pad at Space Launch Complex 40, where the booster was raised to the vertical position.
EADS is exploring a role for Turkey in the Advanced UAV program. Ankara has expressed interest in joining the research and development endeavor, says Stefan Zoller, CEO of EADS Defense & Security. Talks are in their early stage. The program is geared toward devising a modular, turbojet-powered UAV. France, Spain and Germany are involved in the effort, which is in the risk-reduction phase slated to wrap up in the spring. Negotiations should then shift to the development contract. One issue is national budgets; not all the partners have the 2009 allocations, yet.
The FAA faces a leadership transition at a critical time for the agency. While there have been dramatic changes under Bush appointees Marion Blakey and Robert Sturgell, the next FAA administrator must confront unresolved issues ranging from fractured labor relations to aging facilities and uncertain funding.
But the House Armed Services Committee is still worried about potential cost overruns and schedule slips in the JSF program, as well as a projected shortfall in Navy and Air Force tactical aircraft. Those are just two of the issues the panel will monitor in the next two years, according to an oversight plan approved last week. Meanwhile, Pentagon acquisition chief John Young has received a Joint Estimate Team (JET) report on F-35 costs that has not been made public and isn’t likely to be.
Paris-based Euroconsult says that global government space expenditures hit a historic high of more than $62 billion in 2008 and predicts they will grow at a 4.5% per annum rate through 2012, despite the worldwide economic downturn. According to Euroconsult’s report Government Space Markets, Forecasts to 2017, this growth has been generated in part by an increase in outlays among established space powers, driven by security concerns.
Qatar Airways is looking for opportunities to speed fielding of its Boeing 787s. Delays in the program have pushed Qatar’s first deliveries out to 2013, but airline officials say they are looking for opportunities to pick up earlier delivery slots off the Boeing line.
The Air Force is planning to increase its annual purchase of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters in the upcoming Fiscal 2010 budget request. The service had planned to cap its buy of the single-engine stealthy fighters at 80 per year in 2018. But funds added to the program in the new budget will drive that annual rate up to 100, says Sue Payton, the service’s acquisition czar. “What has been typically happening is we have a decent ramp, and then we lose tails,” she says, because the money is taken away or diverted to something else.
