Finmeccanica is finalizing key elements of its enlarged U.S. footprint, coming to terms with U.S. partners on C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft production and preparing financial resources to complete the acquisition of DRS Technologies. After several weeks of difficult talks, Finmeccanica Chief Operating Officer Giorgio Zappa says the two companies are close to an agreement about partnering on the C-27J. “We are working out with Boeing and L-3 Communications some legal and industrial details, but we have solved the main issues,” Zappa says.
Chinese engineers have made 36 improvements to the Long March 2F rocket for the launch of the Shenzhou 7 manned capsule scheduled for October. The design changes improve reliability and safety, says the Xinhua state news agency. One tackles a vibration problem while others introduce monitoring functions. The rocket earmarked for liftoff of Shenzhou 7 has arrived at the launch site at Jiuquan for assembly with its boosters and the spacecraft, and for system checks.
BAE Systems and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) are teaming up to compete for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Joint Allied Threat Awareness System (Jatas). The objective of the Jatas program is to provide cost-effective, advanced missile warning capability, aircrew warning of laser-based weapon systems and a Hostile Fire Indicator for small arms, rockets and other threats.
Boeing has pushed its 777 order count to 46 for the year thanks to British Airways and Delta Air Lines. BA bought two 777-300ERs directly and will lease two more from GE Commercial Aviation Services that were previously carried as unidentified on Boeing’s web site. Delta ordered two more ultra-long-range 777-200LRs. Boeing also gained a 737 Business Jet order, raising its net total for the year to 551.
A pledge by European Union ministers to place the organization at the center of space policymaking, coupled with European Space Agency efforts to broaden support among its members, could boost Europe’s chances of carving out a key role in international exploration and other big-ticket space endeavors.
An initial three Australian Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters have arrived at Darwin, the army’s main operating location for the system. The army plans to base 17 of 22 of the rotorcaft at Darwin. They will be be operational with the 1st Aviation Regiment (either the 161st or 162nd Reconnaissance Sqdn.). The units are co-located with the army’s 1st Brigade, partly to ensure close air-ground integration, Australian defense officials suggest.
AgustaWestland is setting up a Portuguese subsidiary to provide support services, including for the 12 AW101 helicopters operated by the Portuguese air force. The company hopes it can convert interest from the Portuguese defense ministry in the Future Lynx into an order. The navy already operates the Lynx.
Once upon a time, the price of an airline ticket included a bag of peanuts and a pillow to dream on. But, spurred by high fuel costs, JetBlue Airways has joined other carriers in upping the passenger tab. The JFK-based carrier on Aug. 4 started selling $7 sleep kits on flights longer than 2 hr. The reusable, “eco-friendly” kit includes a 10 X 12-in. pillow, 39 X 51-in. fleece blanket, carrying case and $5 coupon for use at a home furnishings store.
Business continues at a record-setting pace for the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA), which is reporting $12.1 billion in billings in the first half of the year, a 24.1% increase from the same period in 2007. Total shipments were up 1.6% to 1,919 aircraft. GAMA President Pete Bunce notes that expanding world markets are having a positive effect on the turbine segment. Business jet shipments totaled 663 units in the first six months, a 39.3% increase. Turboprop deliveries increased to 222 from 186 units. Piston shipments, however, were down 15.7%, to 1034 units.
USN Rear Adm. Archer M. Macy, Jr., has been named director of the Joint Staff’s Washington-based Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization. He has been commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Rear Adm. (lower half) Steven R. Eastburg has been appointed program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs, NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div./assistant commander for research and engineering at Naval Air Systems Command, also at NAS Patuxent River.
NASA has appointed Thomas Irvine as the new deputy associate administrator for the agency’s aeronautics directorate. Since May 2005, Irvine has been director of the Mission Support Office for the aeronautics directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. Irvine was deputy director of the Aeronautics Test Program at NASA headquarters.
More than 45 years ago, NASA, along with the whole U.S., was in a frenzy to develop the technology to land a man on the Moon. It felt like all of the country was going on the same trip. Today, the public hardly cares about space, and NASA is mostly focused on delivering three select individuals to the space station.
The U.S. Air Force has officially taken delivery of the first of a series of new missile warning sensors in the Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) constellation. The HEO-1 sensor was launched June 27, 2006, into highly elliptical orbit on a classified National Reconnaissance Office host satellite. The sensor is an infrared scanner, and it’s expected to be certified for the missile warning mission later this year. It will now undergo operational test and evaluation with the Air Force. HEO-2 will begin operations by early 2009.
The European Union has launched its program to provide licenses for mobile satellite services operators covering all 27 member states. In the past, service providers had to deal with national authorities, but the EU wants to encourage multi-national service and has centralized the licensing process. For the initial round of licensing, satellite operators have until Oct. 7 to apply to the European Commission for services operating in the 2-Ghz.-band spectrum specifically reserved for pan-EU services.
Maria Alexandra Rangel Tovar has become general manager for Martinair in Bogota, Colombia. She was commercial director and general manager for Aerogroup.
Fuji Heavy Industries is contemplating a Subaru-branded light business jet. The Japanese company has released a model of one of several designs. No details have been disclosed, but the model’s proportions suggest an aircraft of at least the size of the Cessna CitationJet. Fuji, supplier of 777 and 787 wing boxes and the wing of the Eclipse 500 very light jet, had previously stated its aim of getting back into building aircraft of its own design, although it would work with international partners on the business jet.
Air France, eager to find revenue opportunities to offset slowing air travel demand and sky-high fuel costs, is accelerating efforts to work more closely with Delta Air Lines. Meanwhile, Britsh Airways, Iberia and American Airlines again are seeking U.S. anti-trust immunity (ATI) to cooperate more closely on transatlantic routes.
European carriers are assessing their fleet plans even as they optimize route networks to navigate through the morass of troubles gripping the air transport sector worldwide. While for many carriers the immediate focus is largely on parking aircraft to cut capacity, the more resilient airlines have other options.
In the first half of 2009, Delta Air Lines will be offering AirCell broadband wi-fi access to passengers on domestic flights. Customers with wi-fi-enabled devices, including laptops and personal data assistants (PDAs), will be able to access the Internet and send and receive text messages. AirCell’s Gogo system will be available for a $9.95 flat fee on flights of up to 3 hr. and $12.95 on longer flights. Delta plans to introduce service first on its MD-88/-90 aircraft, then expand to Boeing 737s, 757s and 767-300s.
Improved air traffic management could cut European commercial aviation carbon dioxide emissions by 570,000 tons annually beginning in 2013, according to the Society of British Aerospace Companies. Its latest briefing paper on the environmental impact of aviation examines the role air traffic management has in cutting aircraft emissions. The SBAC report notes: “In the European airspace, aircraft fly, on average, 31 mi. more per flight than necessary.
USAF says seven flight tests remain for the new Raytheon AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam). Of three test firings, two have been successful, one of which recently destroyed a QF-4 target drone at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. USAF officials report that performance on the two-way data link and an “enhanced” conformal data link on the front end of the weapon are “satisfactory” and will continue to be reviewed. The weapon also has the ability to maneuver actively at the end of its flight to compensate for evasive tactics used by the target.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has found evidence that a body of hydrocarbon on Saturn’s moon Titan is liquid, based on its reflectivity in infrared wavelengths. “Ontario Lacus” is larger than its namesake, Lake Ontario in North America, and absorbs 99.9% of the light that hits it at the 5-micron wavelength, according to Robert Brown of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He is principal investigator on Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). “For it to be that dark, the surface has to be extremely quiescent, mirror smooth,” he says.
Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) will develop a plan to improve testing and evaluation methodologies of unmanned and autonomous aerial vehicles for the Defense Dept. The “Road Map Development and Technology Insertion Plan,” a U.S. Army-funded initiative, will address systems that operate in the air, on the ground, underwater, on the sea surface and in space. GTRI’s chief task is to identify new approaches to testing autonomous systems.
