India is about to kick off flight trials of its first, indigenously developed beyond-visual range air-to-air missile, called Astra. The 160-kg. weapon features a single-boost motor and radar seeker. The weapon is intended to be similarly sized to the Raytheon AIM-120 Amraam, although Astra is a bit heavier; its range is to be around 70 km. The Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) plans to start test shots at the Balasore Integrated Test Range this month.
The anticipated cost overrun for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) secure satellite communications program is not due to new technical or testing issues, says Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space. The need to restart the production line to build a fourth satellite is the culprit, and the overrun is expected to breach the 25% Nunn-McCurdy limit, triggering a mandatory review of alternatives. A final cost isn’t yet set.
U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is planning to accelerate upgrade work for the Haystack Ultra-wideband Satellite Imaging Radar, giving the Pentagon the ability to characterize microsatellites earlier than previously planned. Work on the X-band imaging radar in Massachusetts would be complete in Fiscal 2012, with the addition of $10 million requested in the Fiscal 2008 omnibus reprogramming signed July 11. The extra money would allow for an accelerated critical design review and systems integration work.
Michael A. Chotkowski has become logistics program manager for Pratt & Whitney Military Engines , East Hartford, Conn. He was business development manager for Hamilton Sundstrand Engine & Control Systems, Windsor, Conn.
The average MRO value of each shop visit by a commercial jet engine is increasing, with airlines spending more on materials, says Holger Sindemann, chief executive of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai in China. This trend, which is occurring globally across the MTU group, is the result of increasing “on wing” service life of the latest CFM56 and V2500 turbofans. When the engines reach overhaul limits, more new parts are needed than if they had been overhauled earlier.
The apparent failure of an oxygen cylinder, a possibly unique event in commercial aviation history, is the focus of the investigation into the rupture of the fuselage of a Qantas 747-400 at 29,000 ft. on July 24. The body of the cylinder, normally fixed to the aircraft just where the 2-meter (7-ft.) hole was blown in the fuselage ahead of the right wing root, was missing after the aircraft landed, while part of the cylinder and a valve were found in the cabin, having shot up from the level of the cargo hold and burst through the floor.
Canada-based Com Dev International, which manufactures space hardware subsystems, has opened an engineering and production facility in El Segundo, Calif. The 46,000-sq.-ft. building will support the design, manufacture and testing of hardware; the new location is projected to generate up to 200 jobs. Company officials say the area was chosen because of its concentration of skilled aerospace engineers and technicians. In addition to Canada and the U.S., the company also has facilities in the U.K.
The Air Force is preparing for the Atlas V launch in December of the first U.S. robotic military spaceplane mission into orbit. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle flight will mark a fundamental technology milestone for the Air Force. It will carry on winged hypersonic space vehicle technology as the space shuttle is canceled. This work is designed to propel the Air Force mission more rapidly—to where the blue sky turns to black—using a reusable hypersonic craft serviced on the ground just like an airplane.
The French-U.S. Jason 2 Ocean Surface Topography Mission has generated its first maps of ocean altimetry between 66 deg. N. and S. Lat. France’s space agency CNES produced the maps using data collected by the new spacecraft in the 10 days beginning July 4. Launched June 20 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on a Delta II vehicle, Jason 2 is orbiting in formation with its Jason 1 predecessor at 1,336 km. (830 mi.) with just 55 sec. separating them.
A strike by air traffic controllers in French-speaking West Africa July 26-28 raised safety concerns with the International Federation of Airline Pilots Assn. (Ifalpa) after workers called for 48 hr. of “radio silence” in control towers. Ifalpa warned flight crews to exercise “extreme caution.” After 48 hr., a 6-8% pay hike and a boost in retirement age from 55 to 60 was agreed to, and controllers went back to work. Flights were disrupted or canceled there during the action.
GE Aviation’s success in selling engines to Chinese airlines has fostered a growing training program that will attract 500 flight-line mechanics and propulsion engineers this year to GE facilities, including its Customer Technical Education Center near Cincinnati.
Timothy Canavan has been named vice president-maintenance and aircraft appearance for United Services . He was head of Delta Air Lines’ worldwide cabin appearance and ground support equipment operations.
Stung by high fuel prices, India’s Kingfisher Airlines will reduce to five its original order for 10 Airbus A340-500s and add five A330-200s. The airline is selling two A340-500s in the wake of canceling plans for direct service from Bangalore to New York. Kingfisher is still intending to offer flights to San Francisco. Cancellation of orders for five A350XWBs has been denied, although predelivery payments have not been made.
Former astronaut and U.S. senator John Glenn says President Bush’s idea to use the Moon as a base for human exploration of outer space is impractical. “It seems to me the Moon is questionable as a way station” to Mars, Glenn tells a congressional committee hearing on NASA’s first 50 years and future challenges. “If that’s what we’re doing—which I don’t believe it is—but if that’s what we’re thinking about doing. That is enormously expensive,” Glenn told the House Science and Technology Committee. In response to a question from Rep.
Two Saab Gripen two-seat fighters are undergoing flight and ground evaluations at Emmen air base in Switzerland as part of the Swiss air force’s program to replace the aging F-5 Tiger fighter. The Gripen will be followed by Dassault’s Rafale in October and the Eurofighter Typhoon in November. About 30 Gripen flights are planned, including some at night, and another 50 flights will be conducted with Swiss air force F/A18s and F-5s. Final bids are due in January, and source selection by the Swiss government is scheduled for July 2009.
Intriguing configuration details of the closely guarded Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, the world’s largest all-composite design, are emerging following its unveiling at Scaled Composites’ manufacturing site in California.
GE Aviation has delivered the first of a new enhanced airborne flight recorder (EAFR) for the Boeing 787. The EAFR meets regulations instituted by the FAA in March. The new device is part of a Rockwell Collins network communications package and it can be reconfigured to gather newly selected flight data. It also has an independent power supply so it will continue to record even if aircraft power fails.
New problems developing the A400M military airlifter and concerns that the A380 ramp-up schedule for next year may not be achievable signal EADS could face more financial charges as it struggles to stabilize the two flagship programs.
David Mellors (see photo) has been appointed chief financial officer of U.K.-based Qinetiq Group plc , effective Aug. 31. He was deputy CFO for Logica plc. He will succeed Doug Webb, who has become CFO of the London Stock Exchange Group plc.
Tough sledding continues on Capitol Hill for Air Force leaders. Now the lawmakers are directing the service to consider “industrial base concerns” in its next evaluation of a replacement air refueling tanker. The directive came with the $487.7-billion Fiscal 2009 defense appropriations bill approved July 30 by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. The bill, which must clear the full Appropriations Committee before consideration by the House, fully funds the tanker program at $893 million.
Airbus is going to meet with Grupo Marsans to determine whether the carrier still plans to buy four A380s now that Argentina seems likely to nationalize Aerolineas Argentinas. Grupo Marsans has indicated it still wants some of the A380s. In any case, the commitment is not yet firm in the Airbus order book.
ITT‘s night-vision business unit is producing 16-mm. intensifier tubes for a new type of night-vision goggle popular with Navy and Air Force fighter pilots and special operations ground forces. This is the USAF panoramic night-vision goggle (PNVG-see photo) and a similar system (Quad Eye on the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System) used by Navy pilots. In fact, ITT received a $14-million order in June, the largest order yet for these image intensifiers that are 25% lighter than conventional 18-mm. tubes.
The Engine Alliance is defining the scope of an improvement program for its GP7200 turbofan to help Airbus enhance performance of the A380, and put some very long-range routes within reach.
Shockwaves from the federal indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens are expected to extend beyond Alaska to the aviation, defense and space sectors. The seven-term Republican, known as “The Incredible Hulk” for his mastery of delivering federal dollars to Alaska, will have to step down as the senior Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee—which oversees NASA, FAA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—as well the defense appropriations subcommittee. Stevens pleaded not guilty last week to seven counts of making false statements on financial disclosure forms.
The European Space Agency is undertaking a worldwide search for candidate missions that could be carried on development flights intended for its Vega light launch vehicle. The five flights are being bankrolled by the agency’s Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment (Verta) program, kicked off in late 2005 to demonstrate mission flexibility (including multiple payload capability), perform sustaining engineering and underwrite a portion of launch costs as the three-stage solid-rocket launcher climbs the learning curve.
