USAF Brig. Gen. Randal D. Fullhart has been selected for promotion to major general and appointment as vice commander of Air Force Cyber Command (provisional), Barksdale AFB, La. He has been deputy chief of the Central Security Service of the National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Md., and will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Noel T. Jones. Jones has been commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, Air Education and Training Command, Luke AFB, Ariz., and will be succeeded by Col. Kurt F. Neubauer, who has been selected for promotion to brigadier general.
Belgium’s federal government has reached an agreement with the country’s three regional governments on how to divide €178 million ($278 million) in Airbus A350XWB-related subsidies. The money is to enable Belgian aerospace companies to fund research and development necessary for them to participate in the A350 program. Companies will be required to pay back the subsidies.
The French air force will see a major upgrade of its Mirage 2000Ds with the planned replacement of the PDLCTS targeting pod with the Damocles system. Thales already has sold the system for French air force and navy Rafales, but the verdict had been pending on how to improve the standoff range for Mirage 2000Ds. French armaments agency DGA has placed an order with Thales for an initial batch of nine pods, with deliveries to take place starting mid-2009 and finishing up in 2010.
Herman Shanian has been named business development director for Aerodyne/Circor Aerospace , Irvine, Calif. He was director of sales for the Data Devices Corp. Dale Johnson has been appointed CAP engineering manager for Circor Aerospace. He was product manager for Aerodyne Controls Inc.
Finnair is seeing a further deterioration of the balance between capacity and demand that pushed its June load factors down to 73.4%, or 3.6 percentage points below the same period last year. Traffic was up only 5.3%, while capacity grew 10.4%. Consequently, the airline made schedule adjustments and capacity cuts in long-haul traffic. Finnair also reports that during the first six months, unit revenues were lower than in the previous year, decreasing 0.9%.
Several former senior managers from federal agencies with roles in Earth science and human health are urging the creation of a federal organization “to meet the unprecedented environmental and economic challenges facing the nation.” The proposed Earth Systems Science Agency would combine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey into a single organization, says the group, which includes former presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons; Charles Kennel, a former NASA associate administrator, and D.
EADS has entered exclusive talks with French aerospace and defense contractor Daher to sell a large stake in Socata, the aerostructures and general aviation business. The deal is expected to close in a few months. Daher executives have signaled they will back Socata’s ambitions to expand its product offering. Daher and Socata already are teamed in pursuing aerostructures work on the Airbus A350XWB.
Air France-KLM will limit its coming winter season to 2% capacity growth, with the subsequent summer season to be held to a similar level. That’s far below the growth rates of past seasons and less than half of the more than 4% growth rate forecast just a few weeks ago for the 2008-10 period. The airline also is in talks with rail providers about a potential teaming arrangement to handle the stiff competition fast trains represent in Europe for its short- and medium-haul network.
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), parent of cargo operator ABX Air, is working on multiple options to maintain revenues if DHL reduces its reliance on ABX Air and shifts air lift to rival UPS. ATSG will rely on redeployment of many of its 44 Boeing 767-200s in the Asia-Pacific region and other growing areas of the world. The Wilmington, Ohio-based cargo company is trying to work with DHL to determine availability of the 31 767s currently committed to DHL service.
July 21-23—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford. Also, July 24–25—2008 Regional Leadership Conference. Hartford Marriott. And, Aug. 18–21—AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference and Exhibit/26th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference/AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference and Exhibit/AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference and Exhibit, and AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit.
An Aster 30 missile successfully intercepted a target simulating a theater ballistic missile (TBM) in the first operational test of the Franco-Italian SAMP/T ground-based medium-range antimissile defense system. Expected to begin deliveries toward year-end, the SAMP/T will be the first European system capable of defeating TBMs of the Scud-class.
Forrest Colliver has been appointed vice president-business development of Ottawa-based EMS Satcom . He was director of business development for commercial aircraft solutions for Thales Aerospace.
Aviation Week & Space Technology: How has the structure of Tactical Missiles Corp. (TRV) developed since its 2002 creation? How do you actually manage and focus a corporation which now includes so many enterprises?
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has notified Superjet 100 launch customer Aeroflot of delivery delays. The first of the regional jets will not be handed over until the third quarter of 2009, about a year later than planned. Africa
Allen Thompson has been appointed vice president-flight operations/chief pilot for the Seattle-based Alteon Training subsidiary of Boeing. He was director of flight training.
Designed and configured for all LED measurement requirements, UDT Instruments’ optometer features microprocessor control and three measurement data-presentation options: direct display measurement with analog bar, RS-232C computer interface, and analog voltage input. It is easy to use in production and/or laboratory settings, according to the company, and is equipped with a silicon photometric detector and LED holding sockets for many common LED types.
Embraer has sold three EMB-145 Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft to the Indian government. The first, featuring the Saab Erieye radar, is to be handed over in 2011. India will undertake outfitting the mission system and cabin equipment. The Indian air force also operates four Embraer Legacy business jets for VIP transport; the country’s home ministry operated a fifth Legacy. India has several airborne early warning efforts underway. Neighboring Pakistan will operate the same radar system, the Erieye, although mounted on a Saab 2000 turboprop.
The U.S. Army and Air Force are expected by October to finalize a plan to settle on a common Predator/Sky Warrior vehicle to reduce complications and save on costs to operate and maintain the similar Predator, Sky Warrior and Reaper fleets simultaneously. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is conducting integration flight tests of its Block 1 Army Sky Warrior UAV, a derivative of the USAF Predator. Already, two of eight Block 0 aircraft, which include Sky Warrior’s larger airframe and the heavy fuel engine, are in the Middle East.
Dan Swenson has become vice president-investor relations for Rockwell Collins , Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was an investment banker with Banc of America Securities and Credit Suisse.
Leo Malloy has become president of the Skyway subsidiary of Midwest Airlines . He succeeds David Reeve, who has retired. Malloy has been vice president-customer service for Skyway and city manager for Midwest’s operations at Washington’s two airports.
A European Commission research project will seek to develop a second-generation integrated modular avionics architecture to enable it to be applied to more systems across a broader range of aircraft. Integrated modular avionics (IMA) allows various aircraft systems and software packages from different manufacturers to be hosted on the same computer using standard hardware and high-speed multiplexing technology borrowed from the telecom industry, without compromising aircraft safety.
Chinese courts are continuing to order pilots to pay damages for quitting their jobs. They are enforcing the most contentious term in the employment contracts of a rapidly growing industry suffering extreme shortages of skilled labor. A court in the central city of Wuhan ordered 10 pilots who left their jobs at China Eastern to pay 10 million yuan ($1.46 million) to the carrier, which argues that compensation is needed to cover the cost of training them.
SES has decided to combine its Americom and New Skies affiliates into a single operational unit. The two satellite fleets will remain separately owned and operated. New Skies CEO Robert Bednarek will head the new unit.
