From the feedback received from previous AVIATION WEEK Workforce studies, it’s clear that employees and investors alike care deeply about tracking where talented people opt to work, and why.
Thales has demonstrated automatic takeoff and landing of its Watchkeeper UAV system now in development for the British Defense Ministry. Trials were performed in late July, with the Defense Ministry present, leading to the validation of the automatic takeoff and landing system, known as Magic Atols. The trials were carried out using the Megido airfield in northern Israel. The basic air vehicle for the Watchkeeper is the Elbit Hermes 450. The in-service date for the Watchkeeper system is 2010.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
Georgia’s relative success against the Russian air force, compared with its unalloyed failure against the Russian army, is shedding light on other recent air campaigns. In particular, why was the Israeli air force able to penetrate Syria’s Russian-made air defenses while Moscow was unable to finesse Georgia’s Russian-made weaponry? U.S. analysts suggest that the simplicity of the Georgian air defenses, with far less dependence on networking, made it tougher to knock out or blind major parts of the system.
Engineers at Japan’s Space Communications Corp. and SES Americom are checking out two new communications satellites after Arianespace’s fifth launch of the year orbited their birds in a flawless launch Aug. 14. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:44 p.m. EDT—the beginning of its launch window—with the Japanese Superbird-7 and SES Americom AMC-21 on board. Superbird-7 separated 25 min. later, and AMC-21 followed 5 min. after that.
With the launch of two Northrop Grumman Space Tracking and Surveillance Systems (STSS) set for early 2009, there are no plans to press ahead with a program to design a follow-on system for global coverage yet. Missile defense officials say concern about space acquisition management has prompted Capitol Hill to take a wait-and-see approach. If the two satellites demonstrate the concept on orbit, a follow-on system could follow. USAF Lt. Gen.
Lance Crawford has been named vice president/chief information officer of the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was an account executive for the Computer Sciences Corp. Crawford succeeds Larry Duntz, who has retired. Drew McEwen has been appointed vice president of the Domestic Executive Beechcraft Sales unit. He succeeds Brad Stancil, who is now vice president of the Domestic Corporate Beechcraft Sales unit. McEwen was head of Hawker Beechcraft Authorized Services Centers.
Launch of the GeoEye-1 high-resolution commercial-imaging satellite will slip until Sept. 4 from Aug. 22 to give United Launch Alliance more time to organize telemetry resources down range from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., GeoEye Inc. reports. The spacecraft is ready to go, and is scheduled to be mated to its Delta II launch vehicle this week, GeoEye says.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is exploring whether it needs to develop a solid propellant for the divert-and-attitude-control system for its Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) for use on Navy ships. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are exploring different MKV concepts, which are designed to deploy a number of small kinetic kill vehicles to counter warheads and countermeasures. However, the use of a hypergolic propellant could be a concern for the Navy’s stringent shipboard requirements, and MKV will be mated with Standard Missile-3 Block IIs.
A USAF B-1B fitted with the Sniper advanced targeting pod has delivered weapons during combat operations for the first time. The aircraft, belonging to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Sqdn. from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., and detached to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, dropped a GBU-38 bomb during operations in Afghanistan. Operational commanders first asked for the B-1B upgrade in 2006, and the initial installation was completed in April. USAF had to modify the B-1B pylon to carry the 440-lb. pod. All B-1Bs assigned to Afghanistan are supposed to receive the capability.
With the U.S. military preoccupied with fighting two asymmetric wars, it is no surprise that the Defense Dept. is having a hard time focusing on developing advanced technologies that may not be needed until well into the future. The temptation among strategic planners is to concentrate on solving today’s operational problems at the expense of robust investment in science and technology (S&T) and assuming that tomorrow will take care of itself.
A Royal Netherlands Air Force modified DC-10 has completed two flight tests with an Integrated Solutions & Support Inc. cockpit. IS&S of Exton, Pa., developed the cockpit for use in three RNLAF DC-10s. The installation consists of two 15-in. flat-panel displays and two data concentrator units with display generation and two control panels.
British Airways next year plans to unveil a new first-class cabin configuration. After recently overhauling its business class, the airline determined it needed to upgrade first class to re-establish a sufficient difference between the two offerings. Rivals also have upped the competitive pressure with new high-end first-class configurations.
Instrumental in the development of UAVs, Darpa took the next step in 1998 when it began the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program. Boeing’s Phantom Works was awarded a contract to build two tailless X-45A UCAV demonstrators, the first flying in May 2002. In July 2005, the two X-45s demonstrated the preemptive destruction of enemy air defenses, autonomously detecting and avoiding threats and replanning and coordinating attacks.
Your article “Mending Fences” (AW&ST Aug. 4, p. 27) was illuminating about the U.S. Air Force acquisition process. It has been intuitively obvious for more than some 25 years that we need to get back to basics. Why is the Air Force just now recognizing this fact?
Marillyn A. Hewson has been appointed president of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego (N.Y.) , effective Sept. 1. She succeeds Frank C. Meyer, who plans to retire in early 2009. Hewson has been an executive vice president of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth.
An unprecedented political space summit held last month in Kourou, French Guiana, although informal, was a well-concealed wake-up call. It indicates an emerging awareness of the faltering ambitions for Europe’s space future, and it could signal an intention to strengthen direct political involvement in European space programs. Is this a bright idea, as France maintains? If the plan becomes concrete, the future will tell.
The problems at Vern Raburn’s Eclipse Aviation provide a perfect example of how “one-size-fits-all” design and manufacturing fads do not fit all (AW&ST Aug. 4, p. 36). One can get all the lean manufacturing, just-in-time delivery and honed formulas from the software industry and still not save your skinny Silicone Valley empennage from destruction.
Copper Canyon was a classified Darpa program that ran from 1982-85 and led to the X-30 National AeroSpace Plane (NASP). The X-30 was to be an air-breathing, single-stage-to-orbit demonstrator powered by airframe-integrated ramjet/scramjet engines burning liquid hydrogen fuel. The X-30 was transferred to the Air Force, but runaway costs led to its cancellation in 1995.
The U.S. will supply Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawks to South Korea, despite earlier refusal and doubts that such a sale was allowable under the Missile Technology Control Regime. Washington has worked out a way to suppy the surveillance drones that does not breach the regime, says the Choson Ilbo newspaper, without giving details.
Austrian low-fare airline FlyNiki expects to remain profitable this year in spite of soaring fuel prices and a slowing economy. It even has plans to expand its business model next year.
Matthias Betsch, whose company Flight Design produces the CT line of light sport aircraft in Germany, received the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Assn. ’s President’s Award at the recent EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. Betsch was cited for his company’s contribution to recreational aviation worldwide through its products and services.
Managers of NASA’s space shuttle, International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope programs have decided not to advance launch dates for the two shuttle missions remaining this year. The shuttle Program Requirement Control Board says processing the Hubble payloads could be advanced by only one day, instead of the three-day acceleration studied, so the STS-125 mission on Atlantis will remain in a launch window that opens Oct. 8.
Mel Hilderbrand has been appointed president of the Endevco Corp. , Irvine, Calif., a division of Meggitt. He was director of strategic projects for Meggitt Sensing Systems.
After experimenting with remotely piloted vehicles in Vietnam, ARPA in 1971 began the Mini-RPV program to develop small, low-cost unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance, target acquisition and laser designation. Weighing 75 lb. and powered by a modified lawn-mower engine, the Praerie I first flew in 1973. This led to the U.S. Army’s Aquila RPV program, which was abandoned in 1987 after costs had spiraled almost four-fold.
The first Indian-built Hawk advanced jet trainer was delivered to the air force last week. BAE Systems is building 24 of the 66 Hawk aircraft on order for the Indian air force, with Hindustan Aeronautics building the remaining 42, under license. .
