Aermacchi MB-339 The MB-339 was developed as a follow-on to Aermacchi’s MB-326. The first prototype flew in 1976. Propulsion is provided by a Rolls-Royce Viper Mk 632-43 engine (4,000 lb. thrust) or a Viper Mk 680 (4,400 lb. thrust). Over 220 aircraft for flight-training and light air combat have been produced to date. The MB-339CD variant serves as a lead-in trainer for Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon pilots in the Italian air force.
Boeing is planning to submit a proposal for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Counter-Electronics High-Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (Champ), a three-year Joint Capability Technology Demonstration that is expected to begin in mid-2009. Boeing has previously looked at direct-attack or cruise-weapon variants that could emit an HPM pulse and disable or destroy the electronics of its target.
The acquisition of Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego-based company that specializes in services and software for tracking and distributing equipment, will bolster Boeing’s desire for deeper penetration of the logistics and sustainment market.
Airshow China was graced for the first time by two Chengdu J-10 fighter aircraft, but both were parked well away from the static display area, with no close access., but one of the aircraft did participate in the flying dispays. The aircraft were fitted with fixed air-to-air refueling probes. Other People’s Liberation Army Air Force aircraft included the Xi’an H-6U tanker, a Xian JH-7A strike aircraft and two Shenyang J-8II fighters. A Plaaf CHAIC Z-8 and Harbin Z-9 helicopter also flew during the daily display.
China’s Taihang turbofan engine was on display at Airshow China, but which platforms the engine will power remain under wraps officially. The engine program, however, is closely associated with the J-11B development of the Su-27 Flanker. As well as the J-11B, the Taihang—which may also be known as the WS-10—could be used to reengine the Chengdu J-10. The Russian AL-31F currently powers the Su-27 and J-10.
NASA has awarded United Space Alliance (USA) the Integrated Mission Operations Contract, signaling a continuing partnership between the agency and the company for operation of the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The award is valued at $206.5 million for the three-year base period, which could grow to $371 million if a fourth option year and variable work content are fully exercised. The sole-sourced contract will support JSC with flight operations work for the Constellation and International Space Station programs.
The U.S. and the European Union have taken a major step toward harmonizing cargo screening standards while the U.S. edges closer to a deadline for much stricter security measures. The Transportation Security Administration and the EU’s Directorate General for Energy and Transport have signed a joint statement of purpose that establishes common standards for screening cargo on passenger aircraft.
Under an open skies accord concluded last week, Singapore and Kuwait carriers may operate any number of flights between the countries and points beyond.
Security lines will be shorter at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after the facility spent $26 million to add 10 lanes designed to cut passenger waiting time. Travelers now have access to 32 lanes at three security checkpoints at the world’s busiest airport. Last summer, for example, Hartsfield had more than 300 instances of security-line waits of more than 20 min., according to airport official Robert Kennedy. “This summer at our peak times, we had less than 40 instances of waits of more than 20 min.,” he noted.
China is pulling back the veil of secrecy around its space program by revealing new internal contracts for the launch of several new spacecraft and Long March boosters. It is also continuing an aggressive liftoff pace by launching a second dual-satellite mission within two week.
Mike Slattery has been named vice president-interiors and completions and Steve Denny manager of the Interior Dept. of the Western Aircraft Interior Re-Completion Center , Boise, Idaho. Slattery was director of operations at Savannah Air Center, while Denny was manager of the Interior Dept. for Stevens Aviation.
The U.S. Navy has inspected 476 of 636 F/A-18A-D Hornets, 99% of the deployed force, following the discovery of cracks in aileron hinges on the outer wing panel on 15 aircraft last month. Of those inspected, 10 were grounded and 20 placed on flight restrictions. Navy officials say that with the procedures now in place and maintenance techniques under development, no further degradations of the service’s strike-fighter capability are expected.
The Colombian air force has become the first international customer for Sikosky’s UH-60A-to-L upgrade, with six helicopters to be converted by its Sikorsky Aerospace Services aftermarket unit at Chase Field, Tex. Two additional upgrade kits are included in the contract. The A-to-L conversion installs uprated T700-701D engines and the main gearbox, and new avionics, flight controls and wiring.
Pentagon acquisition czar John Young says the Defense Dept. decision to terminate the $1.5-billion development contract with Northrop Grumman/EADS North America for an Airbus A330-200-based refueling tanker was not aimed at protecting Boeing, the only U.S. widebody maker. In actuality, the decision was based on the discovery of acquisition missteps on the part of the Air Force during the source selection. “There is nothing in this decision that involves protectionism,” Young says, adding that Europe could be more open to U.S. contractors. Young notes that U.S.
Malaysia’s AirAsiaX has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-300. The Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered aircraft is configured to seat 383 in a two-class layout. The low-cost unit of AirAsia Group ordered 25 of the type to build long-haul operations from its Kuala Lumpur base to cities in Australia, North Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
China aims to challenge the global aerospace industry with a range of increasingly focused civil and military aircraft and system builders, following a sweeping restructuring of its aeronautics sector. Specialized Chinese aircraft businesses that are emerging from the restructuring are the competitors that U.S., European, Russian and Japanese companies will struggle against and cooperate with over the coming decades.
SES says it has been affected by further solar array failures on its fleet of Lockheed Martin A2100 spacecraft. In August, the satcom operator reported a small reduction in commercial capacity on two satellites, AMC-4 and AMC-16, with “some potential future additional degradation.” Aon Space, in a September report, said AMC-16 “continues to lose solar array strings” and that the power loss is rumored to be at 25%, sufficient to trigger a claim. In third-quarter results disclosed Oct. 27, SES revealed it had lost six transponders on its AMC-6 satellite.
Monte Belger, who is vice president of Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, has been elected chairman-elect of the Alexandria, Va.-based Air Traffic Control Assn. Nine area directors and were elected: Northeast U.S., Mike Headley of Apptis; Eastern U.S., Jeff Griffith of the Washington Consulting Group; Southeast U.S., Robert Coulson of the Harris Corp.; North Central U.S., Jim Crook, who is retired from the U.S.
President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will place Iskander short-range missile systems in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave that borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland. The U.S. has announced it would place in Poland a Patriot missile battery capable of shooting down short-range missiles. Medvedev said in a Nov. 5 speech that Russia plans to jam U.S. missile-defense systems, parts of which are to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic, and that Moscow was scrapping plans to stand down three Cold War-era missile regiments.
Douglas Barrie (London), Robert Wall (Paris), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
France’s plans to provide urgently needed equipment to its forces in Afghanistan are proving more complicated than anticipated. An envisioned surge in combat capability is raising all sorts of questions, ranging from what systems to deploy to whether the existing infrastructure is adequate to support them.
Ed Chevrestt has become vice president/general manager of BBA Aviation’s Executive Beechcraft , Kansas City, Mo. He was general manager of American Airlines’ maintenance base at Kansas City International Airport.
Boeing is studying the impact of reducing its annual rate for building C-17 Globemaster III cargolifters to eight aircraft from 15. “You’ve got to look at the external realities,” says Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft. As the impact of the recent financial crisis takes hold, Boeing and other defense companies are bracing for flat, or possibly declining, spending at the Pentagon. Chadwick wants input from a team studying the issue within six weeks.
Hondgu is now aiming to secure service release of its L-15 advanced jet trainer in 2009, though the company has yet to gain an order from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (Plaaf) for the type. A company executive suggests an order could be forthcoming “soon.” The first version to be cleared will be subsonic, with the supersonic variant to follow in 2011. Development issues with the afterburning variant of the Progress Al-222-25 have at least partly been responsible for the delay.
