There’s an old adage that when the wagons are circled, remember to shoot outward. As self-evident as the folksy advice might seem, it has been soundly ignored by some people within the U.K. space science and particle physics community in their increasingly testy spat with Britain’s recently formed Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
A noncash write-down by Deutsche Post World Net Jan. 23 of Express America’s fixed assets of about €600 million ($882 million) raises questions about the profitability of the delivery giant’s U.S. operation. The German post office says it expects the U.S. division to make “consistent progress in underlying profit,” and it is estimating 2009 earnings before interest and taxes of between €900 million and €1.1 billion. Wilmington, Ohio-based ABX Air Inc. provides two-thirds of the U.S.
A new Boeing-Lockheed Martin team is hoping to unseat B-2 manufacturer Northrop Grumman as the incumbent bomber provider to the U.S. Air Force. Last week, the companies made public their collaboration to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation bomber work, but what exactly they will be building is yet to be decided.
Bruce Bunevich has become Great Lakes marketing manager for Universal Avionics , Tucson, Ariz. He was sales manager for Chelton Flight Systems and has been director of international sales for Avidyne.
The U.S. Air Force couldn’t keep a lid on this forever. Though not released officially by USAF, the first photos of an F-22 and Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber during an intercept have surfaced. They began to show up last week on the Internet, and Aviation Week & Space Technology received them from a source. USAF officials acknowledge another Raptor pilot snapped photos during the intercept. Shown is an F-22 off the coast of Alaska, flying close to the Bear.
The European Commission in mid-year is expected to name a system architect to help it implement the Sesar future air traffic management system for Europe. Bids are due next month.
Feb. 13-14American Helicopter Society International, The Redstone Chapter and the Product Support Committee Technical Specialists’ Meeting: “Condition Based Maintenance.” Von Braun Civic Center. Huntsville, Ala. See www.vtol.org Feb. 20-21—Shephard’s Defense IT ’08 Conference, London. Also, Mar. 17-19—Shephard’s Search and Rescue Conference and Exhibition 2008. Bournemouth (England) International Center. Call +44 (162) 860-6979, fax +44 (162) 866-9789 or see www.shephard.co.uk/events
Boeing captured a $116-million U.S. Air Force contract to provide more than 4,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition tail kits for delivery in 2009-10. An option provides for deliveries through 2015 that could bring the total to $590 million.
B/E Aerospace has been named the passenger and crew oxygen system supplier for the Airbus A350XWB. The initial contract is worth $125 million. B/E also supplies the oxygen system for the rival Boeing 787.
British defense officials say they’re finally close to awarding contracts on two core projects—the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft and the next-generation aircraft carrier. But the broader procurement outlook—including the Eurofighter Typhoon—is much more challenging. The Defense Ministry is in the final throes of Planning Round 2008, with significant cuts or delays to some major projects now inevitable. The carrier program and the replacement tanker, however, appear nearly secure.
The U.S. Air Force doesn’t plan to include funding for the wide-area surveillance version of its Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor in its Fiscal 2009 budget request, says Martha Evans, director of the Air Force’s information dominance acquisition office. A small-scale (1.3 X 4.7-ft.) MP-RTIP is now flying on Northrop Grumman’s Proteus aircraft and will eventually be used by the Global Hawk UAV to monitor moving ground targets. But this electronically scanned array radar can’t track and target cruise missiles.
Japan’s latest geostationary Engineering Test Satellite (ETS-VIII) is having problems with two of its four ion engine thrusters. The southern thruster on System A failed Jan. 15. After that fault was traced to a power source and the control team switched the satellite to System B on Jan. 23, controllers discovered the southern thruster on System B was unstable for continuous firing. The Japan Aerospace Explorations Agency is looking into the problems, but says there’s enough fuel on board to substitute chemical thrusters for the duration of its mission. Launched Dec.
Airbus ended a strong January order intake with commitments from MatlinPatterson for six A330-200 freighters and nine A320s for Niki Luftfahrt. The MatlinPatterson deal adds Brazilian Varig Logistica and Indianapolis-based Global Aero Logistics as new Airbus customers, while the Niki order is a follow-on purchase, raising the Austrian carrier’s A320 fleet to 20 aircraft.
The European Regions Airline Assn. is taking a proactive stance on continuous-descent approaches. ERA board members have agreed to use these procedures at as many airports as possible because of their environmental and flight safety benefits. CDAs avoid the “dive and drive” type of approaches, which put aircraft at low altitude where they are vectored around to line up to land while engines are set at high power settings.
The Japanese Defense Ministry wants to buy more airborne warning and control system aircraft and will fit its Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrollers, now under development, with radars that can detect cruise missiles. The moves are responses to rising Chinese cruise missile capabilities, says the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Kevin Schemm (see photo) has been named Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president-sales for North America. He succeeds Ray Conner, who has become vice president-sales for all of Seattle-based Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Schemm was vice president-contracts. Honors and Elections
The European Joint Aviation Authorities have qualified the first Level D simulator built by FlightSafety International for the Gulfstream G150 and have approved FSI’s maintenance training program for the twin-engine business jet. The simulator is located at FSI’s training facility in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and features electric motion and control loading systems and an advanced Vital visual system.
Robert Wall (Paris), Joris Janssen Lok (The Hague)
Norway and Sweden, wrestling with diverse security and budgetary challenges, are on the verge of making potentially far-reaching decisions that will shape the long-term capabilities of their militaries.
Safran’s Aircelle affiliate plans to double the size of its Morocco plant to meet rising demand, notably for the A380 program. The move, part of a comprehensive Safran effort to expand output in low-cost and dollar-zone countries, will raise factory floor space in the North African country to 20,000 sq. meters and boost the workforce to 500 people by 2009.
In Frances Fiorino’s Commentary “Finding Safety in Numbers” (AW&ST Jan. 7, p. 40), there is a statement attributed to the NASA survey that Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) did not provide estimates of the frequency with which “unwanted events” occurred or whether their frequency was increasing or decreasing.
The European Space Agency says Earth observation, launch tracking, telecom and other existing operational requirements are enough to justify investment in a data relay satellite system, even if interested defense users balk at paying. ESA plans to propose a system funded partly by telecom operators or other private investors at its next ministerial summit in November.
A high-tempo information war is underway between the U.S. and Al Qaeda. “Al Qaeda and insurgents distribute videos every day via nontraditional media operations,” says the Central Command Air Forces chief, Lt. Gen. Gary L. North. “We’re discovering these outlets . . . and attacking them . . . to shut them down.” For wars involving more traditional military foes, a new electronic attack and information warfare road map is being constructed. “I see the capacity to shift that capacity to our Predator and Reaper [unmanned aircraft],” he says.
ATR expects orders to drop slightly this year from the 113-aircraft and 26-option high of 2007. But the turboprop market outlook remains strong even in the U.S., where airlines are bracing for a possible recession. Long-term prospects are also good, the industry leaders believe. After the turboprop market tanked several years ago, high oil prices have allowed the fuel-efficient aircraft to regain market share. ATR CEO Stephane Mayer says, “We are back for the long-term.”
The U.S. Air Force, particularly Air Force Special Operations Command (Afsoc), is following with interest work to reduce the drag of Lockheed Martin C-130s. The endeavor is indicating a significant fuel-saving potential from a relatively minor strake modification.
