Thales says the first EADS/CASA CN-235 intended for the antisurface/antisubmarine warfare portion of Turkey’s Meltem II maritime patrol aircraft program has made its first flight. Thales is outfitting six CN-235s with its Amascos airborne maritime situation and control system for antisurface/ASW applications and another three units for surveillance of Turkey’s exclusive economic zone. Another 10 ATR 72 aircraft will be equipped under Meltem III. Turkish Aircraft Industries, Havelsen, Aselan and Milsoft are also participating in the program.
Lockheed Martin’s missile-defense Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV-L) has been hover-tested at Edwards AFB, Calif., demonstrating the ability to maneuver while tracking a target. The vehicle is designed to allow a single interceptor to engage a ballistic missile equipped with multiple warheads or countermeasures. In the MKV-L design, the seeker-equipped carrier vehicle is expected to maneuver into the path of the missile, then dispense and guide several small, kill vehicles. Raytheon is developing the competing MKV-R.
Military planners responsible for finding space resources to support troops on the ground wonder if a convergence of events may give new life to an old idea that could dramatically reduce the logistics train behind forward-deployed forces.
Lockheed Martin has resumed test flights of its Boeing 737-300 Cooperative Avionics Test Bed that will validate fusion of the mission systems suite for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
Business jet manufacturers are hoping strong demand from the Middle East will cushion them as the global financial crisis bites deeper around the rest of the world.
NASA will pay $47 million a seat to send three astronauts to the International Space Station on Soyuz vehicles, under the first contract extension covering missions after the shuttle fleet’s scheduled retirement at the end of 2010. That is up from the $27.8 million NASA had agreed to pay for the last Soyuz seat it needs before the planned shuttle retirement (and from the reported $30 million Richard Garriott, a Texas-based computer-game designer, paid to visit the station in a Soyuz as a tourist in October).
Frozen bond markets could force Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to suspend construction on a new international terminal, warned General Manager Ben DeCosta. “We’ve already spent over $300 million on the project. The site was not ready for an international terminal,” he says. Airports need help moving forward with infrastructure projects because the markets are frozen, he says.
Eurocopter is teaming with the French public health system, French Assn. of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (AFHSH), the DGAC civil aviation authority in France and a hospital in Dreux to conduct a series of flight trials to evaluate the feasibility and safety of transporting critically ill patients between hospitals during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Currently, medical helicopters fly only in visual meteorological conditions, thereby limiting the ability to deal with emergency situations.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has launched a competition to demonstrate a multi-shot, multi-target aerial high-power microwave (HPM) platform capable of degrading or destroying enemy electronics. Proposals for the 36-month, $40-million Counter-Electronics HPM Advanced Missile Project (Champ) technology demonstration are due by Jan 15. The winner will supply five unmanned air vehicles for ground and flight testing.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the debate over fielding the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), a new nuclear weapon for ICBMs, is “a problem that may not get solved on my watch,” even though he’s been tapped to stay on. He’s for the program, but some lawmakers are concerned it could spark a new arms race and countermand nonproliferation programs. Obama also has reservations. Proponents cite the need to preserve the fragile nuclear weapons industrial base. Sen.
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale has resigned from NASA, effective Jan. 17, prior to the U.S. presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. Having served as NASA’s second-in-command under Administrator Michael Griffin since November 2005, Dale was the agency’s first female deputy administrator.
Arianespace has been selected to launch ViaSat-1, a 6-metric-ton 100 Mbps. broadband satellite to be orbited in the first half of 2011 to bring affordable Internet access to underserved users throughout North America.
Britain is deferring integration of the Meteor radar-guided air-to-air missile (AAM) on the Eurofighter Typhoon, as no in-service date (ISD) has been identified to replace 2013. The U.K. is the lead nation on the rocket ramjet-powered Meteor AAM. The other three Eurofighter Typhoon partners, Germany, Italy and Spain, are participating in the Meteor development program, as are France and Sweden. A British Defense Ministry official says an “incremental approach to ISD” is now being taken. “There is no delay to the missile development.” The U.K.
The French BEA accident investigation bureau is working to extract data from the flight recorders of the XL Airways Germany Airbus A320-200 that crashed Nov. 27 on approach to Perpignan, France. As of Dec. 3, BEA had been unable to extract clues to the crash from the recorders, although memory cards appeared to be intact and the casing had resisted impact forces. Investigators also say they soon expect to start recovering the wreckage that now lies 130 ft. under the Mediterranean Sea and this may yield clues.
Kevin Kuhn has been named vice president/general manager of the Paso Robles, Calif.-based Joslyn Sunbank division of the Pacific Scientific Aerospace and Defense Group . He was plant manager for Eaton Aerospace at Costa Mesa, Calif.
Rebecca Rhoads (see photo), who is vice president/chief information officer of the Raytheon Co., Waltham, Mass., has been named the 2008 Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council CIO of the Year. She was selected for leadership in information technology, commitment to her team and for helping to drive innovation across the company.
The U.S. Navy is hoping to launch the first of a new series of ultrahigh-frequency satellites that will begin providing 3G-type commercial cellular communications capabilities—including voice, text messaging and video on handheld receivers—to military users as soon as 2010.
The National Reconnaissance Office hopes to recover momentum next week with the launch of an upgraded eavesdropping spacecraft, delayed three years by its own problems at the same time the NRO has juggled a flood of new requirements and accusations of mismanagement of existing programs. The flight will mark the launch of the biggest, most secret and expensive military spacecraft on board the world’s largest rocket.
Mark Van Tine, who is president/CEO of Jeppesen, has been elected chairman for 2009 of the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA). He was vice chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the International Affairs Committee. Van Tine will be succeeded as vice chairman by Robert Wilson, who is president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation, and chairman of the GAMA Technical Policy Committee. Jim Ziegler, chief operating officer of Jet Aviation, was elected chairman of the International Affairs Committee.
Expected capital infusions for major Chinese airlines have begun. China Southern says it has received 3 billion yuan ($435 million) from its main state shareholder. China Eastern and maybe Air China are in line for state money, too.
The Dutch government is assessing contract options to provide helicopter capacity to the coast guard operating in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The aircraft would be based at Coast Guard Air Station Hato at Curacao and at St. Maarten airport, with operations focusing on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao as well as St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. The government is considering a fee-for-service arrangement covering about 1,000 flights annually for surveillance, law enforcement and search and rescue missions.
The magic of flight is an enduring symbol of freedom, and aeronautics—the science of flight—is a cornerstone of U.S. economic prosperity and global security. Americans first mastered powered flight and subsequently created technologies to go faster, farther, safer. Our sustained commitment to innovation has driven our high standard of living, significant mobility for our people, and security for our nation; it directly touches the life of every American.
Ron Colunga (see photo) has been promoted to vice president from director of business development for maintenance, repair and overhaul for Washington-based Safran USA Inc.
Aero Vodochody has submitted a purchase offer for PZL-Swidnik, the Polish helicopter company. The move is part of Aero Vodochody’s strategy to expand its business through strategic investments in the Czech Republic and other Central European states and comes after its attempted takeover of Romania’s Avioane Craiova faltered this year. The Polish government says it’s looking to unload its 88% stake in PZL-Swidnik; AgustaWestland holds 6%. Aero Vodochody plans to build a composites research and development center around the Swidnik-based company.
