As of the beginning of April, two of the elements of the U.K. Defense Ministry’s Combined Aerial Target Services (CATS) were introduced into service by defense technology company Qinetiq, prime contractor for the program. The project, awarded at the end of 2006, covers a 20-year period and has a value of up to £308 million ($616 million). The Banshee aerial and the pop-up helicopter targets—both produced by Meggitt Defense Systems—are now available within the CATS program following evaluation and verification trials.
A factor that won the U.S. Air Force replacement tanker program for Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 may have operational repercussions, say U.S. Air Force critics. The KC-45’s ability to carry cargo and passengers is being used to validate the need for production of fewer C-17 transports. But a long-time operations expert says USAF will now be required to assign the tanker “for too many missions” because of its “significant strategic airlift capability,” he says.
The Russian commander and engineer for the International Space Station Expedition 17 crew, along with the first South Korean astronaut, are set for liftoff in a Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Apr. 8 on a mission that will debut several firsts for the ISS. Major highlights will involve: •The first mission to utilize all three partner laboratories—the U.S. Destiny, European Columbus and the Japanese Kibo—to be delivered this spring by the shuttle STS-124 mission.
While I can understand the patriotic outrage of some of your readers about the KC-45A tanker program award, the U.S. should never have put itself in the position of having only one heavy airframer, that is the root of the problem.
Charles E. Billings, M.D. (Clinical Professor Emeritus)
Regarding your editorial “Don’t Let Courts Trump Safety” (AW&ST Mar. 24, p. 58), the issue of blame versus more constructive approaches to aircraft accident analysis has been discussed in these pages ever since implementation of our NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) brought the question to the forefront in 1975.
Running out of time to find a buyer or secure continued financing, Aloha Airlines ceased inter-island and transpacific flights on Mar. 31—“an incredibly dark day for Hawaii,” according to Aloha CEO David A. Banmiller. Honolulu-based Aloha was founded in 1946 to provide island air transport; its cargo arm has offered services since 1985. “Unfair competition succeeded in driving us out of business,” says Banmiller, whose airline filed for bankruptcy protection Mar. 20.
Lockheed Martin also won big by snagging a $766.2-million USAF contract to design and develop software tactical radios for aircraft, ships and fixed installations. The company is to produce 42 engineering models of the small airborne configured system, which is designed for the CH-47, UH-60, AH-64, Class 4 UAV and C-130, and Marine Corps helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Just when EADS seems to have moved beyond the financial and operational crises of the last two years and is rebuilding its reputation as a company that knows what it’s doing, it encounters a setback—highlighting just how fragile its progress really is. The latest blow: a decision by French stock market regulators (AMF) to press charges against a large number of current and former executives over alleged insider trading.
Embraer this week is scheduled to unveil the detailed concepts behind its midsize MSJ and midlight MLJ business jets. The seven- and 12-seat aircraft are supposed to fill Embraer’s business jet gap between the Phenom 300 light jet and Legacy 600 super-midsize aircraft. The development bill is expected to be $750 million. The MSJ is expected to enter service in the second quarter of 2012, followed a year later by the MLJ.
France will cut back its nuclear arsenal, reduce the number of bases and reef the sails of armaments agency DGA in the biggest force streamlining and modernization the country has undergone since the Cold War.
Robert Sturgell is not exactly a favorite-son candidate for FAA administrator. First, New Jersey’s senators, both Democrats, put a hold on his nomination, complaining that the redesigned New York airspace would have an adverse effect on their state. And one of the senators, Frank Lautenberg, says FAA inspection failures that caused five U.S. carriers to cancel thousands of flights were the result of “a management failure at the highest level of the FAA . . . .
Rising oil prices and sluggish world economic growth have prompted the International Air Transport Assn. to downgrade—for the second time—its 2008 industry profit forecast. Based on 2.6% world growth and an average price of oil at $86/bbl, IATA is now predicting a $4.5-billion profit—down from its December 2007 forecast of $5 billion and its September 2007 outlook of $7.8 billion. All world regions, with the exception of Africa, are expected to be in the black, especially those with strong ties to the booming economies of China, India and Latin America.
Air France and Aeroports de Paris executives have signed off on the development of S4, a new satellite terminal associated with Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport’s Terminal 2E. The structure is to accommodate 7 million passengers per year and operations are expected to begin in 2012.
EADS Defense & Security and its Philippine partner, Integrated Energy Systems & Resources, will supply the MSSR 2000 I secondary radar system to the country’s Air Transportation Office. Delivery is planned for mid-year and is to serve as the foundation for a larger air traffic control update.
A key company at the heart of Russian aerospace reform, Irkut Corp., is persevering with efforts to develop its fledgling commercial business, aware that it faces a potential fall-off in fighter orders from 2012. Diversification into the civil sector is proving challenging, but senior management says the company is now poised for solid revenue growth. Its key export offering, a variant of the Su-27 Flanker, is a mature program, while further developments of the type are being built by other manufacturers.
There are signs British Airways may be beginning to recover from the ill-starred debut of its dedicated terminal at London Heathrow Airport. The first week of operation of the £4.3-billion ($8.6-billion) Terminal 5 has been marred by a baggage mountain, flight delays and cancellations, but the problems appear to be easing. The mess has reportedly cost the airline £16 million so far.
Brad Walker has become managing director of leisure and group travel marketing for Alaska Airlines . He has been director of leisure marketing. Joe Samudovsky has been named director of cargo sales for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. He was domestic and international mail manager for United Airlines.
Sobering new NASA estimates that cancellation of the space shuttle in 2010 could cost up to 9,000 jobs in the aerospace sector—6,400 of them alone at the Kennedy Space Center—is refocusing congressional pressure on the White House for additional funds to accelerate development of the Ares/Orion shuttle replacement vehicles.
Stepped-up production of 737s and 777s allowed Boeing Commercial Airplanes to deliver 115 aircraft in the first quarter, nine more than in 2007. First-quarter deliveries included 87 for all models of the 737 (83 in 2007); four 747s (3); three 767s (3); and 21 777s (17). Meanwhile, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems reported fewer helicopter deliveries in the first quarter than last year; no Apache new-builds were delivered, compared to four in the first quarter of 2007. Two Chinook new-builds were delivered (five last year).
Emirates Airline, which is preparing for route expansion, will begin recruiting pilot first officer candidates in the U.S. this week. The Dubai-based carrier’s Career Center will host programs Apr. 7 in Detroit, Apr. 8 in Cincinnati and Apr. 9 in Atlanta.
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Talks between Air France-KLM and takeover target Alitalia have broken down, leading to the resignation of the latter’s CEO, Maurizio Prato, and an uncertain future for the Italian carrier. Air France would only buy Alitalia if unions agreed to certain terms, but they balked even after the prospective buyer sweetened the offer. Alitalia may now be headed for Italy’s version of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, although Rome is mounting a last-ditch effort to get Air France back to the table.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
A stealthy F-22 Raptor, carrying modified Amraam-derivative missiles, could accelerate into supersonic flight at 60,000 ft., zoom into a steep climb, and threaten almost any satellite in low Earth orbit, says a U.S. Air Force general.
