Italy stands to receive a range of new helicopters now that key parliamentary hurdles are cleared—except for one problem—legislators didn’t provide the requisite funding. The main beneficiaries from last week’s decision, if money can be found, would be AgustaWestland and Boeing, with pending orders for the AW101 and CH-47F Chinook, respectively.
The British Defense Ministry accepted into service its Raytheon Sentinel R1 airborne stand-off radar (Astor) aircraft last week. Two aircraft were deployed to Afghanistan in November. A full operational capability for the five-strong Sentinel fleet is expected to be declared in about two years.
Michael Mecham (El Segundo, Calif.), Amy Butler (Colorado Springs)
The U.S. has long used ground networks and adapted its space-based assets to track and assess the military capabilties of other nation’s spacecraft. But the tempo of this race for intelligence is speeding up. China’s unannounced demonstration of a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon last year and growing concern about the potential posed by high-power laser beams has led the U.S. Air Force to want far more capacity to know about what assets are in space (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 32).
Following compression in the inlet, part of the airflow enters into the main combustion chamber while some goes to the pre-burner. The hot pre-burner gases pass through another heat exchanger to raise the helium outlet temperature to a constant turbine entry temperature. The pre-burner gas then flows to the main combustion chamber to complete its combustion with the remaining air before expansion through the exhaust nozzle. From HX3 the helium is expanded through the main drive turbines to drive the air compressor, and then to HX4 where it is cooled by hydrogen.
Defense technology company Qinetiq has received an additional order worth $58.8 million from the U.S. military for system and replacement components for the Talon family of robots. The robots are deployed in large numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan to counter increased use of improvised explosive devices.
British Airways and Qantas could mark a new era in air transport history if they pull off the first-ever merger of carriers based on two different continents, though this could jeopardize the planned BA/Iberia airline pact. The two Oneworld members last week surprised the global airline industry by revealing that they are assessing just such an endeavor, which would take place “via a dual-listed company structure,” according to identical releases by the companies. They also pointed out that there is “no guarantee that any transaction will be forthcoming.”
NASA and the European Space Agency are in the early stages of developing a joint Mars-exploration strategy to pool their limited resources, and could begin mounting joint missions to the red planet as early as 2016.
XCOR Aerospace is scheduled to start rocket tests for its prototype Lynx suborbital vehicle this week, after announcing a partnership with RocketShip Tours which will sell rides to the edge of space for $95,000.
The bluish-white frost visible at the Mars Phoenix landing site in October heralded the end of the spacecraft’s mission, which finally came Nov. 29 when controllers stopped trying to use spacecraft orbiting Mars to contact the lander. Phoenix last communicated with the Mars Odyssey orbiter on Nov. 2, and after one final try to use Odyssey, mission managers gave up the hunt.
Passenger traffic remained negative in October, with freight growth “poor,” according to the Airports Council International. Global traffic stayed depressed at -3.4% as a result of an average 5% decline in worldwide domestic activity. International traffic growth was down 1.4% compared with the same month in 2007. Total worldwide freight decreased 7%, with international freight falling 8% and domestic, 5%. For the first 10 months of the year, passenger traffic remained flat at -0.6%, and total freight was down by -0.3%. The outlook for the immediate future?
Competitors lining up for Greece’s fighter procurement are geared for a delay in the program, with a request for proposals possibly slipping to the middle of 2009, or beyond.
USAF Brig. Gen. Bradley A. Heithold, who has been selected for promotion to major general, has been named commander of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, Lackland AFB, Tex. He has been director of plans, programs, requirements and assessments at Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) headquarters, Hurlburt Field, Fla. Heithold will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Trask, who has been commander of the 23rd Air Force and Air Force Special Operations Command/director of operations at AFSOC headquarters.
A standardization renaissance in Boeing’s 500,000-sq.-ft. Satellite Development Center here has resulted in the development of a pulse production line that draws on lean manufacturing technology—a hallmark of the company’s airplane assembly programs.
One of those technologies—cheap, commercially available digital weaponry—is multiplying faster than the Pentagon can afford to counter them, say top electronic warfare specialists. “If we don’t understand that this is where the threat is going,” says one, then the Defense Dept. will be building systems—“including the F-22 and F-35”—with questionable combat usefulness for the current environment. Even countries with entrenched infrastructures, like China and Russia, are shifting to commercial products.
SLCA, a subsidiary of Safran’s Aircelle unit, will supply composite rudder and elevator flight control surfaces for Embraer’s Legacy 500 and 450 midsize-cabin business jets that are scheduled to enter service in 2012 and 2013, respectively. This is the second contract with Embraer for SLCA; the first was for composite aft-fuselage and cockpit structures for the Phenom 100 very light jet and 170/190-series regional airline aircraft.
With the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, many Americans saw the victory as cause for renewed hope and optimism for a more secure future for themselves, their families and their nation. And that’s not all. In what clearly was a mandate for change of historic proportions, voters also embraced the idea that government has a positive—and in all likelihood larger—role to play in making America a better place. The extent to which Washington can do the same for industry remains to be seen.
Royal Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Dalton (see photo) has been appointed the U.K.’s next chief of air staff, effective July 31. He will succeed Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy. Dalton has been deputy commander-in-chief for personnel. Following Dalton will be Air Vice Marshal Simon Bryant, who will be promoted to air marshal. Air Marshal Christopher Moran has been promoted to air chief marshal and will become commander-in-chief of Air Command and air aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. He succeeds Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Loader, who is retiring.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington)
The fight between Congress and Pentagon senior civilians about funding production of 20 new F‑22s is not over. Four senior members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) sent a letter of protest to Defense Secretary Robert Gates Nov. 21 concerning the accuracy of testimony by Pentagon acquisition chief John Young.
Missile defense advocates, worrying about congressional ambivalence for the program, are relying on a documentary film to help make their case. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, is bankrolling the film, 33 Minutes, to publicize the need for missile defense in an uncertain world. The title refers to the time a ballistic missile takes to reach the U.S. “The longest times are typically 33, 34 minutes,” from North Korea or Iran, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering, 3rd, the departing commander of the Missile Defense Agency, says in the film.
Lufthansa is creating a subsidiary in Italy, Lufthansa Italia. The carrier will operate six Airbus A319s starting next year from its Milan Malpensa base. The airline will be fully owned by Lufthansa, but will have its own air operators certificate. Service will start to Barcelona and Paris in February and expand to Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Madrid, London and Lisbon soon after. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM continue to battle over a minority stake in Alitalia.
Megan Rae Rosia has been appointed a partner in the Aviation Group of Washington law firm Crowell & Moring . She was assistant FAA administrator for government and industry affairs.
The liquidating trustee for Dornier Aviation (North America) said it began seizing Hainan Airlines assets by garnishing the “first of several” bank accounts Nov. 25, and added it plans to pursue assets worldwide to collect on a U.S. court’s $14-million judgment against the Chinese carrier from August. Most of the $14 million is for parts, services and repairs Hainan acquired from Dornier.
USN Vice Adm. (ret.) John G. Cotton has become senior vice president-maritime and air warfare strategic plans and programs for DRS Technologies Inc. , Parsippany, N.J. He was chief of the Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force.
Judge James Cacheris of U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., is considering a motion by space-tourism travel agency Space Adventures to drop a lawsuit by Japan’s Daisuke Enomoto that charges the Virginia firm stiffed him on a refund when he was bumped from a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station in 2006. The Japanese millionaire paid a reported $21 million for one of the extra Soyuz “taxi seats” brokered by Space Adventures, and argues the no-refunds clause in his ticket doesn’t count.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is investigating the best methods for monitoring pilots’ brain activity to help them realize when their stress, fatigue or distraction levels are edging into dangerous territory. The studies are employing functional near-infrared spectroscopy, also known as fNIRS, and other imaging technology to measure blood flow in the brain’s cortex and the concentration of oxygen in the blood. Researchers hope to improve the interaction between sophisticated avionics and the pilots that operate them, to improve decision-making and safety.
