Thales Alenia Space will supply X-band communications subsystems and S-band tracking, telemetry and control transponders for the Sentinel 1, 2 and 3 satellites, as well as the next three recurrent spacecraft, planned for Europe’s Kopernikus (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) program.
Honeywell Aerospace and Aviation Communications & Surveillance Systems (ACSS) will help the FAA accelerate the installation and testing of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, according to acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell. The new FAA contract is designed to show how ADS-B can help pilots spot safety problems near airports and to encourage aircraft operators to install such equipment earlier than mandated. ACSS will receive $6 million to work on an ADS-B demonstration at Philadelphia International Airport.
First Officer James E. Eaton American Airlines (Yarmouth, Maine)
American Airlines is seeking antitrust immunity for its proposed joint venture with Oneworld alliance partners British Airways and Iberia. This is a competitive response to the Star and SkyTeam alliances, which already enjoy immunity.
Michael Bruno (Washington), John M. Doyle (Washington)
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is moving quickly to organize his administration’s takeover, including national security policy and Pentagon leadership, while reaching out to supporters of his opponent in last week’s election.
China is pushing ahead with development of a broad range of tactical guided weaponry, offering up an increasingly wide range of systems for export. Several previously unseen developments were on display at Airshow China. They included a small anti-ship cruise missile, air-launched versions of a tactical anti-ship missile, a range of dual-mode and standoff precision-guided munitions, a low-cost laser-guided missile and a “small-diameter bomb.” The last two are both intended, at least in part, for UAV applications.
General Dynamics has completed the acquisition of Jet Aviation from Dreamliner Lux, controlled by the Permira Funds. The $2.18-billion purchase, announced in August, will give General Dynamics control of one of the largest business aviation service companies, and a leader in the VVIP completion business.
The list of defense programs facing do-or-die decisions in the next administration seems to grow monthly. But some decisions—the F-22 Raptor and the next Air Force combat search-and-rescue aircraft—could come due before President-elect Barack Obama and a raft of newly empowered Democrats in Congress have moved into their new offices. Obama ran on a platform that promised to revamp defense programs in favor of personnel needs, rebuilding the military and advancing new technologies.
A National Transportation Safety Board team is helping Mexican investigators seek clues to the cause of the Nov. 4 crash of a Learjet 45 on approach to Mexico City. The aircraft crashed into a residential neighborhood, killing all nine people on board, including Mexican Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino, according to the NTSB.
By 2020, 97 additional airports will be operating in China to bring the country’s total to 244, according to its civil aviation authority. Construction of a second international airport for Beijing is due to begin within the next couple of years.
The Iraqi vision is grand: build one of the Middle East’s premier air forces flying F-16s, attack helicopters and modern airlifters. But years of neglect, combat losses and domestic turmoil mean that attaining this goal will be an enormous challenge. Trying to create a new air force in what’s effectively still a war zone may be an unprecedented undertaking. Nevertheless, such efforts are gaining momentum as a new generation of systems, pilots, maintenance personnel and processes starts coming into its own.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is now the 14th in the U.S. with an operational Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) system that allows air traffic controllers to see all aircraft moving on the airport surface on an electronic display. Sensis Corp. is installing ASDE-X systems at 35 airports in the U.S. In an unrelated contract, Sensis has provided its Aerobahn Service to Continental Airlines so the carrier can see all aircraft moving on the surface at Newark Liberty International Airport.
A severe shortage in aircraft delivery financing is threatening to leave Airbus and Boeing stranded with perhaps 200 “white-tail” aircraft they can’t place with customers. The aircraft financing crisis comes on top of fears by analysts that 20-30% of Airbus and Boeing backlogs may be at risk as airlines go bust. Exacerbating the situation is that the leasing sector—which both aircraft makers were hoping would help them ride through the storm—also has entered a period of upheaval and restructuring.
A worldwide recession may be near, but Boeing is bullish on air freight, assigning it a 5.8% average annual growth rate in its latest 20-year forecast. As they have for almost a decade, Asian air cargo markets are expected to lead growth, with domestic Chinese and intra-Asian markets growing 9.9% and 8.1%, respectively. Boeing’s analysts expect the world freighter fleet to nearly double to 3,892 aircraft in 2027 from 1,948 last year. Biggest growth will come in mid-size and large freighters, which will see their market share increase to 65% from the current 61%.
Shenyang is planning yet another upgrade of the F-8II fighter aircraft, dubbed the F-8T. The upgrade would cover avionics, the flight control system and weaponry. Likely candidates for the latter include the SD-10 (PL-12) radar-guided air-to-air missile, as well as a supersonic anti-ship missile.
After gaining 60 commercial customers worldwide, Pratt & Whitney has picked up the first military client for its EcoPower engine wash system. The company will wash 800 engines in the U.S. Air Force’s C-17 fleet as a subcontractor to Boeing, which was selected last month to provide fleet-wide overhaul and repair support for the C-17’s PW F117-PW-100 engines. The F117 is the military version of Pratt & Whitney’s PW2000 for Boeing 757s.
A USAF CV-22 has flown over Africa during its first overseas deployment. U.S. military officials confirm that “several” CV-22s, recently delivered to the Air Force Special Operations Command (SOC), have arrived in trans-Saharan Africa to participate in Flintlock ’09, a regularly scheduled training exercise with nine African nations.
Avic displayed a model of its proposed MA700 turboprop at Airshow China, confirming that the aircraft will be an all-new design unrelated to the MA60 and MA600, which are derivatives of the Russian Antonov An-26. Avic’s new Transport Aircraft Co. is negotiating exclusively with Pratt & Whitney Canada for an engine for the aircraft, which an executive says would seat about 80 passengers in a four-abreast cabin. The exterior is not expected to change much from the model.
The aerospace journals have been dominated recently with articles addressing the future of space exploration and expansion onto other planets. With NASA’s 50th birthday, the planned U.S. missions to the Moon then Mars, and yet another space tourist visiting the International Space Station (ISS), the future of human expansion far beyond Earth seems much more forthcoming.
The U.S. Navy is hailing as a success its intercept of a short-range ballistic missile target with an SM-3 launched from the Aegis destroyer Paul Hamilton on Nov. 1. This was the first fleet operational firing of the SM-3 Block IA against such a target; previous trials used test assets. By contrast, a second intercept attempt by the fleet failed. The Aegis destroyer Hopper engaged a second ballistic missile launched during the test but did not intercept. The goal of the demonstration was to achieve two intercepts in series.
Russia and Italy have concluded a bilateral agreement that will see the license production of AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters in Russia and the joint production of advanced composite materials.
The latest conflict in the remote and ungoverned area between Pakistan and Afghanistan is focusing attention on a problem older than either nation-state: controlling national borders. From the concrete walls dividing the crowded neighborhoods on the West Bank near Jerusalem to the “virtual fence” being built in the American Southwest, governments concerned about intruders are spending billions of dollars on fences, security cameras, gates and guards.
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Germany is pondering alternative paths for the direction of its satellite surveillance systems, decisions that could have a major impact on the country’s long-term spending in this area. Choices made now will be critical in shaping the country’s satellite industry, and are of particular interest to OHB Technology and EADS Astrium; both entities have a lot riding on future spending and system architectures.
David E. Anderson has been appointed controller of SkyLink USA , Dulles, Va. He was a project director for the NeoSystems Corp. and vice president-finance and accounting for DCA Management Services Inc.
The Russian air force is due to receive its first batch of Kamov Ka-52 Hokum-B dual-seat coaxial-rotor combat helicopters in 2009, says its chief, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin. “We are planning to acquire up to 12 Ka-52s in 2009” as long as acceptance trials are completed and performance requirements met, he says. The air force selected the Mil Mi-28N Havoc as its basic attack helicopter to eventually replace the Mi-24 Hind. The Ka-52 is to be used as a reconnaissance-attack helicopter for special missions. Full-rate production was launched in late October.
