Two hundred eighteen years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, it has become evident that the framers made a teeny omission in Article 1, Section 8: “Powers of Congress.” Everything in the section is set forth as something that Congress has the authority to do. Nowhere is there even a hint that there are things that Congress must do. In fact, Congress isn’t required to do anything at all, and, as a series of articles beginning on page 28 of this issue suggests, that is pretty close to what is happening with respect to the NASA, FAA and Homeland Security Dept.
The U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering and Development Center (AEDC) and GE/Rolls-Royce are initiating a series of tests aimed at collecting data on the alternate F136 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The engine and afterburner have been installed in AEDC’s J-2 test cell and will undergo a variety of simulated flight conditions across a wide envelope of altitudes and Mach speeds.
Tiger Airways Australia took to the air on a revenue flight for the first time Nov. 23 from Melbourne Airport to Australia’s Gold Coast, bringing a new low-cost carrier into service. The airline will also serve Adelaide, Alice Springs, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Perth and the Sunshine Coast out of Melbourne.
Australia’s new Labor government is likely to join Japan in seeking to overturn the U.S. ban on exporting the F-22 Raptor, although Canberra is far from deciding it wants to buy the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter. The government of incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who won a landslide Nov. 24 election victory, is showing a commitment to the armed forces at least as strong as its predecessor’s, with a defense policy that calls for greater readiness for the Australian Defense Force (ADF), not cutbacks.
Australia has ordered three Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters, supplementing its six CH-47Ds, which may be candidates for rebuilding to F standard. The first of the new-build Fs will arrive in 2011.
Airbus this month plans to spell out what is necessary beyond the Power8 cost-cutting program for it to deal with the further decline in the dollar. Early signs are the next round of measures will be difficult, forcing cutbacks in areas previously viewed as sacrosanct. Airbus CEO Tom Enders signals that research and technology spending will have to be curtailed to generate needed near-term savings. Moreover, Airbus indicates it will be more selective in deciding development and product improvement investments.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne says he’d like to keep Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga.-based F-22 Raptor production line open beyond Fiscal 2013, when the current multiyear buy will end. However, it is a “year-to-year” battle, he says, noting his approach on garnering F-22 funding is less aggressive than that of USAF Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, who would like to see a new multiyear deal signed as soon as possible. Wynne gave a glimpse into the Fiscal 2009 budget now being formed at the Pentagon and expected on Capitol Hill in February.
Timothy P. Conway has been named director of automation engineering and special projects for Ladish Co., subsidiary Stowe Machine , Windsor, Conn. He was an engineering manager at Sterling Engineering Corp.
Marine Corps special operations got off to a rocky start when the first company assigned to Afghanistan was told to leave by the theater commander after running into ambush. The corps’ special operations chief, Maj. Gen. Dennis Hejlik, says he reviewed the fight, and talked to the company as it came out of country, and he now believes its response to the initial ambush was correct and appropriate to the situation. However, the corps learned lessons.
This image of cliffs towering 2 km. at the north pole of Mars is a sample of the rich return from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe, which completed its 5,000th orbit of the red planet Nov. 23. Collected with the spacecraft’s High-Resolution Stereo Camera, the image is typical of its 3D color perspectives.
Russia may be in a position to begin refurbishing its air-launched strategic nuclear arsenal around the turn of the decade if it sustains the present pace of development and testing on a successor to the Kh-55 (AS-15 Kent) cruise missile. There is renewed impetus to the follow-on to the Kh-55—Tactical Missile Systems’ Kh-101/102—with increased funding apparently being provided to conclude the long-running program.
The U.S. Air Force’s next-generation bomber will be used to launch nuclear payloads—a requirement that will affect the design and cost of the program, says the service’s top civilian leader.
I liked Tom Tilden’s clear letter about the speed of sound (AW&ST Nov. 5, p. 8). Somewhere along the way, however, a minus sign escaped from the letter—390 Rankine is minus 69.7F, not (plus) 69.7F.
Glenn Curenton (see photo) has been appointed vice president of the Westar Aerospace and Defense Group ’s Ballistic Missile Defense System Div., Huntsville, Ala. He was a technical director with General Dynamics, supporting the U.S. Middle Defense Agency, and has been director of space and missile systems initiatives at Teledyne Brown Engineering.
USAF Gen. (ret.) Lester L. Lyles has been appointed to the board of directors of the Washington-based American Security Project . He also is a director of the General Dynamics Corp. and MTC Technologies Inc.
Although Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz came away from a state visit to Russia without signing off on a long-expected arms deal, Russian press reports say a groundbreaking military cooperation framework agreement will be signed by year-end, along with an order for T-90 battle tanks. A purchase of Mi-17 transport helicopters is expected to follow next year (AW&ST Nov. 19, p. 39).
The C-130J is poised for strong growth, says Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Bruce Tanner. Orders for four of the airlifters from Norway and another 17 for Canada are expected soon, possibly by year-end. India is in talks to buy six C-130Js, which are optimized for special operations, and Australia is also looking at buying up to four of the airlifters. Backlog is now at 40 orders.
A Raytheon-built Standard Missile-3 Block 1A boosts from the USS Lake Erie, an Aegis ballistic missile defense-equipped cruiser, during a first-of-a-kind Missile Defense Agency (MDA) flight test Nov. 6. This was the first attempt—and it was a success—to pit two separate SM-3 Block 1As, both launched from the Lake Erie, against two separate targets launched in rapid succession in the Pacific region. Targets for systems in development by MDA are set to become more complex, according to MDA Director USAF Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering (see p. 54). U.S. Navy photo.
Melissa Sabatine has been appointed vice president-regulatory affairs and Alexsis Horowitz director of communications for the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives . Sabatine succeeds Thomas Zoeller, who who is now president of the National Air Carrier Assn. Horowitz was the FAA congressional relations liaison and a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee staff.
Aerospace and defense companies are poised for potential declines in spending as the war in Iraq continues to dominate the Pentagon’s budget. However, spending for now is looking good. Companies and military leaders also appear aware of the urgency to get major efforts—like the new refueling tanker program and extension of the F-22 production line—underway before the change of administration after next year’s elections. More than 300 investors heard these and other points at this year’s Aerospace & Defense Finance conference held Nov.
Hard on the heels of competitors Tiger Airways and Jeju Air, Korean Air will start a budget airline in May. Beginning with an unconventional fleet of three Airbus A300s and two Boeing 737s, it is planning to build the new business, tentatively called Air Korea, into Asia’s largest no-frills carrier. Singapore’s Tiger Airways said Nov. 5 it would start a franchise in South Korea, and local turboprop operator Jeju Air announced plans last month to step up to Boeing 737 no-frills operations. Like Incheon Tiger Airways, Air Korea will be based at Incheon airport near Seoul.
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon both won $160-million, 18-month contracts for risk-reduction work on the next-generation GPS operational control segment. This contract is separate from an ongoing competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to design GPS III satellites. The winner after the risk-reduction stands to land a $1-billion development contract.
After more than 20 years of development and frustration, the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory module is on the brink of its trip to the International Space Station. Senior NASA managers were expected to clear the space shuttle Atlantis for a mission to deliver ESA’s hardware during a Dec. 6-13 launch window. First opportunity for liftoff would be at about 4:31 p.m. EST Dec. 6.
David A. Fulghum (Washington ), Robert Wall (Paris)
The Israeli air force largely restricted its attacks on Lebanon during the 34-day war in 2006—with a policy of avoiding electrical power production and distribution—but then diluted the political effect by destroying fuel supplies needed to keep the electricity flowing.
