Aviation authorities in Indonesia have grounded budget carrier Adam Air due to safety concerns. The grounding amounts to putting out of its misery a carrier that was running out of cash and had lost the use of most of its aircraft after missing lease payments. It was also struggling to keep up insurance necessary to continue flying beyond last week and had suffered a string of accidents in its four years of operation—including the Jan. 1, 2007, crash near Pambauang, Indonesia, in which 102 died.
Embraer, in response to rising demand, plans to more than double its commercial jet production over the next two years and is looking to build its executive business jet market position. Last year, the Brazilian manufacturer delivered 169 jet aircraft (seven Embraer ERJ 145s, 35 Legacy 600s, 11 Embraer 170s, 34 175s, 68 190s and 10 195s). Four aircraft were for government use. Production is to increase to 215 units this year and 250 in 2009.
Neal J. Keating has become chairman of the Kaman Corp. , Bloomfield, Conn., while remaining president/CEO. He succeeds Paul R. Kuhn, who has retired as chairman. Thomas Rabaut has been named to the board of directors. He is retired president of BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Arlington, Va.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Johnson Space Center), Michael A. Taverna (Paris )
Space travelers from three continents are due back at Kennedy Space Center this week after setting up two key pieces of hardware on the International Space Station, but the way to station completion remains blocked. One of the new station components— Canada’s big Dextre robot—will stretch the crew’s ability to make repairs outside the big orbiting facility. However, chances are it won’t be much help in repairing the damaged starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ), which continues to hinder station completion.
Spirit Aerosystems will design and build nacelles, thrust reversers and engine buildup components for Rolls-Royce BR725 engines that will power the Gulfstream Aerospace G650 business jet scheduled to enter service in 2012. Spirit will also support Rolls-Royce’s Corporate Care Program throughout the life of the airplane. The company already builds fuselages and nose sections for the Boeing 737 and 787, respectively, and has extensive experience building nacelles.
David Hughes (Brussels, Amsterdam, Bremen and Stockholm)
Europe’s Single European Sky ATM Research Phase 2 (Sesar) project appears to be well-organized and about to embark on a €2.1-billion ($3.3-billion), eight-year research and development program as Eurocontrol last week received the master plan for the project from an industry consortium.
The Pentagon’s computer systems are attacked 35,000 times a day, a congressional panel says. The panel worries whether today’s troops are computer-savvy enough to keep winning that fight. The seven-member Select Panel on Roles and Missions, drawn from the House Armed Services Committee, has spent the last six months pondering possible changes in the organization of the military for the 21st century. “A new military specialty, or even corps, may be necessary in order to instill and maintain the values that computers demand,” the report says.
European air traffic growth is showing signs of slowing, and Eurocontrol has just revised its 2008 forecast to 4.1%—down from 4.4% to 4.5%—after release of actual travel figures for the past few months.
Pakistan is getting ITT’s ALQ-211(v)4 advanced integrated electronic warfare systems for its new F-16s. The contract also includes spares, support, engineering services, training and data.
U.S. Navy-led tests on a new Raytheon AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile will begin in the spring. The AIM-9X Block 2 will be launched from an F/A-18C by June, and then from an Air Force’s F-15C, says Navy Capt. Jeffrey Penfield, AIM-9X program director. The missile will reach the field in late 2011. It will feature a one-way data link, allowing the missile to receive targeting information after being launched. This “lock-on-after-launch” mode requires only the launch aircraft’s radar to acquire targeting data, which is supplied to the missile during flight.
Pratt & Whitney has won a $70.2-million contract plus-up for weight reduction in the F135 engine, the current propulsion system for the F-35 JSF. Work is to be completed by 2013.
As an Air National Guard officer and pilot, I am excited to see a decision regarding the KC-45 (AW&ST Mar. 3, p. 22). However, the excitement is tempered by the knowledge that a long battle has begun on behalf of the losing contractor. Combined with a political tug-of-war, the struggle will only delay entry into service, drive up costs and reduce the number of airframes produced.
France and Russia are preparing to commit additional air transport and reconnaissance assets to buoy the European Union’s U.N.-mandated force in Chad and the Central African Republic. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed an offer to send as many as eight helicopters and crews to bolster the EUFOR mission. France, which already supplies a large contingent of troops and equipment, plans to send three CL-289 long-distance, high-speed UAVs to reinforce reconnaissance capabilities.
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems ended fiscal 2007 with a net profit after taxes of $34 million, orders of $1.4 billion and sales of more than $1.2 billion. Two products that are driving business are the Iron Dome defense against short-range rockets and missiles and David’s Sling for protection against medium-range missiles. Statistics for 2006 was net profits of $27 million, orders of $1.25 billion and $1 billion in sales.
Australia is seeking to fill a major gap in its military capabilities with Boeing EA-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft, which it says it may now order as part of its purchase of the standard two-seat version of the Super Hornet, the F/A-18F. The new Labor government, elected in November, says it will stick with the contract for 24 Super Hornets, which it previously said might be canceled.
A Stanford University engineering and aeronautics team is conducting research for advanced computer simulations of hypersonic flight under a $17-million, five-year grant from the Energy Dept. Led by engineering Prof. Parviz Moin, the team will have access to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “Red Storm” supercomputer located at Sandia National Laboratory. The research will center on data from the X-43 vehicle that achieved Mach 9.6 during two flights (that program is evolving into the X-51 vehicle).
Upgrades to the U.S. Air Force GPS constellation continue with the launch Mar. 15 of the sixth “modernized” Lockheed Martin GPS block IIR-M spacecraft, boasting dual civilian-channel capability. The 254-ton Delta II carrying the new $75-million GPS IIR-19M thundered aloft from Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral on 782,000 lb. thrust at 2:10 a.m. local time. The Delta II placed the 4,540-lb. satellite into an initial 11,000 X 100-naut.-mi. orbit that will be circularized with the satellite’s solid-propellant apogee kick motor at about 11,000 naut. mi.
The Bush administration plan to use the Moon as a stepping-stone to Mars and beyond makes more sense than a direct shot at the Red Planet, argues Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chairman of the House Science Committee. “The fact of the matter is we’d have to ask the American taxpayer to trust us for the next 30 years,” he says. “I don’t think that’s realistic.
Kansas State University in Salina is establishing a new facility dedicated to aeronautics work. The Applied Aviation Research Center will focus on research for propulsion, avionics and aviation training and will “fill the void between futuristic development and the application of available technology to increase general aviation safety and efficiency,” says Dennis Kulhman, dean of K-State at Salina. Research also will include unmanned aerial vehicles and training for pilots and mechanics.
Cessna Aircraft Co. is launching its Mobile Service Unit (MSU) program aimed at saving owners of Citation business jets time and money on maintenance. The MSU is a truck fitted with laptop computers, for access to Cessna parts and maintenance manuals; a 28-ft. boom capable of hoisting engines as large as the AE3007 used on the Citation X; a ground power unit; an air compressor; jacks for all Citation models; a rear-mounted lift; and a hydraulic cart. Each MSU is manned by Cessna-trained mechanics who specialize in the Citation family of jets.
Leaders of both political parties from the House and Senate Armed Services committees have unveiled a panel of experts to study nuclear forces and U.S. strategic posture. For some time, Democrats have been calling for U.S. officials to reconsider nuclear weapons and infrastructure in light of post-9/11 security demands. They’ve also been expressing skepticism about the Reliable Replacement Warhead and erstwhile efforts for a low-yield nuclear bunker-buster or even conventionally tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Kevin Myers, who is senior director for enterprise procurement for Rockwell Collins Inc., has been elected to the board of directors of the Irvine, Calif.-based Supplier Excellence Alliance .
Michael A. Taverna (Paris and Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Arianespace is planning to accelerate the ramp-up of its new Soyuz launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana, to meet rising demand from institutional customers. The new pad, due to open in mid-2009, is currently slated to start business with three missions the first year and four the second. But European institutional customers say this rate may not be sufficient.
