The order book for new Pentagon weapons for unique missions is bulging. EDO has won a $171.8-million Navy contract to build 2,250 JCREW radio-controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare systems as part of an order to support operations in Iraq. These are vehicle-mounted electronic jammers designed to prevent the ignition of radio-controlled IEDs. Raytheon collected an $86.1-million contract to provide multi-spectral targeting systems for Predator and Reaper UAVs.
Nations of the world have signed 131 open skies aviation accords since the first agreement of its type, between the U.S. and the Netherlands, was concluded in 1992, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization. The pacts provide full market access with few or no restrictions between signatory nations. The U.S. is a partner in 77 agreements. In total, 91 nations and territories have concluded the liberal pacts.
Eclipse Aviation is exploiting a digital design tool that emphasizes automobile-like manufacturability in a way that’s reminiscent of an earlier time in U.S. industrial history.
Panasonic Avionics and Rockwell Collins have agreed to bundle inflight entertainment and moving map displays. The agreement means passengers will be able to “pull” individual video choices to their seats rather than have the service provider “push” videos to all cabin monitors.
The proposed buyout of Stork by private equity firm Candover has been canceled after several months of talks. One of Stork’s major shareholders, LME, which controls more than 43% of the conglomerate’s outstanding shares, says it will not tender its allotment under the proposed terms. The refusal by LME to sell means that Candover (which has been acting through an entity called London Acquisition) can’t reach its targeted share level. Talks between LME, Stork and Candover are continuing, however, to see if a different deal can be structured.
Terry Scott has been promoted to vice president-sales and marketing for Dallas-based Aviall Inc. from senior managing director for OEM programs for Aviall Services. He will succeed James T. Quinn, who is scheduled to retire at year-end.
Jeffrey Blose has been named director of materials and supplier management for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan. He was senior director of global commodities sourcing/director of procurement for Honeywell’s Engines Product Center.
Bjorn Alegren has become president of SAS Ground Services. He was vice president-corporate purchasing/chief purchasing officer of the SAS Group and has been succeeded by Patrik Knutsson. Claus Sonberg has been appointed executive vice president-corporate communications and investor relations of the SAS Group. He has been Nordic regional CEO at Burson-Marsteller in Oslo. Sonberg succeeds Hans Ollongren, who has become adviser to Mats Jansson, the group’s president/CEO.
It might be the beginnings of a giant of commercial aviation. The ARJ21 regional jet is shaping up as China’s equivalent of the Airbus A300—a project that in its time seemed merely interesting but later was recognized as the origin of a product range that would challenge the established order of civil aircraft makers.
The U.S. Navy has for the first time transported an MQ-4B Fire Scout in a KC-130T transport. The unmanned rotorcraft was shipped from Northrop Grumman’s facility in Moss Point, Miss., to NAS Patuxent River, Md., for flight trials. In addition to the KC-130T, the Navy plans to certify the MQ-4B for shipment on board the U.S. Air Force’s C‑5 and C‑17 cargo transports.
Bombardier has scheduled the 11th Annual Safety Standdown for Oct. 22-25 in Wichita, Kan. The event, conducted in partnership with the National Business Aviation Assn. (NBAA) and the FAA and the NTSB, will cover safety topics including human factors, international flight procedures, emergency and medical training, aviation law and security issues. Deadline for registration is Sept. 22. For more information go to www.safetystanddown.com.
Peter T. Mahal, president of the EMAS Div. of the Engineered Arresting Systems Corp., Logan Township, N.J., and three other individuals who helped develop the Engineered Material Arresting System have received the Elmer A. Sperry Award for 2007. The others are: Robert F. Cook, formerly of the University of Dayton; Pam L. Phillips of the Port Authoriy of New York and New Jersey; and James White of the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, Pomona, N.J.
Satellite operators are confident they can round up enough support at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) to defeat efforts by broadband wireless operators to encroach on C-band spectrum. But they are worried the European agency responsibility for allocating spectrum—the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)—may be caving to terrestrial-operator pressure, and warn that this pressure will not stop with WRC ’07 (AW&ST Feb. 26, p. 44).
Japan was set to launch its Selene lunar-orbiter mission on an H-IIA rocket Sept. 14 local time (late Sept. 13 EDT), kicking off a round of mapping and prospecting aimed at preparing the way for human explorers. For details on the flight from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s launch facility on Tanegashima Island in southeast Japan, visit www.aviationweek.com.
Virgin America has asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. to allow CEO Fred Reid to retain that role for an additional three months. As part of winning the agency’s approval, the carrier agreed that Reid would relinquish that title six months after certification. The agency said he could stay with Virgin America an additional three months as a consultant. But the carrier is asking that Reid remain CEO through the consultancy period that’s scheduled to end Feb. 18.
A team of top officers from Lockheed Martin and nine partner nations in the $40-billion Joint Strike Fighter development program plan to meet for the first time this month to begin discussions on a coordinated purchase of F-35s designed to stabilize production rates and cost. The partner nations have agreed to varying levels of development funding, though they’ve not yet committed to production numbers.
Sept. 23-25—Aircraft Builders Council 2007. Fairmont Scottsdale (Ariz.) Princess Resort & Spa. Call +1 (952) 928-4662, fax +1 (952) 929-1318 or see www.aircraftbuilders.com Sept. 24-26—2007 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition and Global Air Chiefs Conference. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington. Call +1 (703) 247-5800, fax +1 (703) 247-5853 or see www.afa.org/events/Conference.asp
Ryanair is appealing to the European Court of First Instance to back its plan to take over Aer Lingus. The European Commission this year rejected the purchase on antitrust grounds, but Ryanair contends the decision was motivated by politics, not market considerations.
James M. Myers (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager of the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems Sector’s Navigation Systems Div., Woodland Hills, Calif. He was vice president of the satellite communications business area for the Space Technology Sector.
The latest wrinkle in NASA’s plans for human exploration of the Moon could give industry a chance to set up a private lunar-surface bus line, provided the coaches are pressurized against vacuum and hardened against space radiation.
Boeing has won a $1.1-billion U.S. Air Force contract for depot maintenance of the aging CK-135 tanker fleet. The contract is considered a bridge to the often-delayed KC-X replacement tanker program. The company is also getting a $35.3-million add-on to a contract to sustain the C-17’s material improvement projects for USAF. Finally, analysts say Boeing remains the antiship missile market’s top provider with its Harpoon II and next-generation Harpoon III. Sales are expected to bring the company $1.5 billion over the next 10 years.
“Clearing the Air” (AW&ST Aug. 20/27, p. 54) contains the statement that target fuel consumption for the A380 and 787 is lower than that of the best hybrid car. This assumes that the aircraft is full and that car has only one occupant. With two passengers in the car we are at about breakeven. At typical airline load factors the car is ahead. At five in the car, the aircraft are comparable to the Hummer.
The U.K. and Saudi Arabia were on the brink late last week of announcing the al Salaam defense program built around the purchase of 72 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. All the contractual paperwork is understood to have been completed. The program also may be cash-financed, rather than through an oil deal.
