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The Hummingbird is being readied to take to the air again as Boeing gears up to restart flight tests of the A160T unmanned rotorcraft. The company is making changes to the flight control system in the wake of the crash of a vehicle on Dec. 10.
European and U.S. officials are attempting to open a dialogue with Beijing on security and interference issues raised by Chinese plans to deploy a satellite navigation system.
The U.K. is struggling to come to grips with spiraling air-launched-weapon integration costs that could curtail the country’s ability to procure future systems. Integrating the Meteor rocket/ramjet radar-guided missile on the Eurofighter Typhoon could cost £200 million ($400 million), while adding a next-generation family of air-to-surface weapons to their intended platforms could reach £400 million. The problem is a generic issue for air forces as air-launched weapons, and aircraft, become more sophisticated.
China’s 2008 declared defense budget will be 418 billion yuan ($58.8 billion), up 17.6% from last year. The figure suggests spending is approximately keeping pace, but not exceeding, economic growth. However, actual spending may be two or three times as much.
Sanjay Kapoor has been appointed vice president-Patriot programs for the Raytheon Co.’s Integrated Defense Systems , Tewksbury, Mass. Kapoor was vice president-finance/chief financial officer and has been succeeded by Anthony F. (Toby) O’Brien. He was vice president-finance for the parent Raytheon Co.
Alan Caslavka has been appointed Richardson, Tex.-based vice president/general manager of command, control, communications and intelligence solutions for Rockwell Collins . He was its U.K.-based director for European sensors and displays. Honors and Elections
The Pentagon’s acquisition czar has delayed his review of a design decision for the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAV program by at least two weeks. John Young was to examine the choices during a Mar. 4 briefing. Industry executives question whether the delay is due to the uproar and subsequent scramble after the Defense Dept.’s decision to select a European design over Boeing’s proposal for a $35-billion refueling tanker contract.
Swift Engineering and Boeing have completed demonstration flight tests of its KB4 KillerBee unmanned aerial vehicle carrying an Automatic Identification System sensor and data link. At 5,000 ft. altitude, the UAV increases ship-based sensor coverage by 100 times. The UAV is both electrically and mechanically quiet, and can carry multiple payloads simultaneously. The tests were flown at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
Boeing’s 767 may have lost the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker competition to Northrop Grumman/EADS, but that is unlikely to mean an early end to the midsized twinjet’s production. “We haven’t made a decision yet to rescind the offerability of our current models,” says a Boeing official. They include the 767-300ER, -400ER and -300 Freighter. When Boeing introduced the 787 as a 767 replacement in 2004, the company wasn’t sure the older airplane’s production line would be active for more than a few years.
The New Zealand government is altering foreign investment laws in an apparent effort to make it more difficult for a Canadian pension plan to partially take over Auckland International Airport. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) seeks to acquire 40% of the airport shares, a deal that would require approval from the New Zealand government. The government last week amended its overseas investment criteria to stress the importance of local control of strategic assets, signalling its concern about the CPPIB bid.
Paul Tate, who has been chief financial officer of Frontier Airlines , has been appointed chief operating officer of Air Methods of Denver, effective Mar. 31.
Defective fan blades on General Electric CF34-3B1s should be taken out of service before another inflight fire or engine failure occurs—so says the NTSB, labeling the associated safety risks “unacceptably high.”
Tiger Airways this year plans to add two Airbus A319s to its Australian operation so it can use airports smaller than those needed for its A320s. Use of Sydney’s general aviation facility, Bankstown, is a possibility. If Tiger does use Bankstown, Sydney finally would have a second airport for scheduled services. The Singaporean budget carrier is also setting up a pilot-training program in Australia.
Expansion of Singapore’s Budget Terminal for low-cost operators is expected to begin in July to increase its handling capacity from 2.7 million passengers annually to 7 million. Planned additions include seven check-in counters (for a total of 25), three boarding gates (for a total of 10) and more baggage handling equipment. When work is completed early next year, the floor area will increase slightly to 309,000 sq. ft.
Chicago-based NavAero Inc. has received a supplemental type certificate (STC) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its t-bagC2 electronic flight bag system for use on almost all models of the Boeing 737. Saab Aerotech Aircraft Services and SAS Scandinavian Airlines helped obtain the STC for the Class 2 EFB for 737NG and classic series aircraft. The installation will be part of flight demonstrations occurring at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Officials at NavAero says this is the first Class 2 EFB approved by EASA.
British space scientists and astronomers have until Mar. 21 to say why programs threatened by funding cuts at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) should be spared the ax. The council has issued a list of priorities, with several notable programs listed as “lower priority.” These include Bepi-Colombo, the European Space Agency (ESA) Mercury mission.
Donald S. Lopez, deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and a World War II fighter ace, died Mar. 3 at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., from a heart attack. He was 84.
The British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is the latest body to try to determine when Iran might be capable of fielding a nuclear weapon. In a report published last week, the panel notes: “Although technological constraints are likely to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, if that is its intention, in the near future, there is nevertheless a strong possibility that it could establish a ‘breakout’ nuclear weapons capability by 2015.”
Get moving, Senate, and make FAA reauthorization legislation a top priority. So urge 35 aviation groups in a letter signed, sealed and delivered to policymakers on Mar. 5. Just about everyone in the transport and general aviation sectors—controllers, airport operators, airlines, aircraft makers, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, even the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Assn.—is represented in the coalition seeking passage of a comprehensive, long-term reauthorization bill.
U.S. airlines want the FAA to change its proposed Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast mandate to reduce the avionics costs and provide benefits sooner so they can reap a return on their investments.
The White House and the Pentagon finally have an agreement on the UH-71 presidential helicopter. It has survived, it will be restructured, and they have identified $4 billion to fund the rejiggered program. Details will be revealed soon. From the beginning it was thought the program was underfunded and had too few people assigned to it to meet all the demands for concurrency. Military pilots with insight into the program say the right helicopter was picked—a product of AgustaWestland.
The first air-to-air refueling tests for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 are planned to begin this week, clearing the way for the eventual transfer of the first Joint Strike Fighter demonstrators to Edwards AFB, Calif.
