China’s airlines and aircraft industry should benefit from a government decision to restrain growth in the country’s civil aviation market, although Western manufacturers could see less demand from the Asian giant. Almost no new airlines will be allowed until 2010 at the earliest as part of a policy aimed at slowing rapid traffic growth that is straining infrastructure and the supply of skilled labor.
Russian airline conglomerate AiRUnion has big ambitions centered on becoming an internationally recognized carrier that eventually could be invited to join the Star Alliance. The alliance of five Russian airlines expects to grow by around 10% annually in the next few years and wants to increase passenger numbers from 3.65 million to more than 8 million while modernizing and doubling its existing fleet.
The Australian Parliament has approved A$23.6 million to build three new headquarters buildings and an armory at the Australian Defense Force facilities on the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s base at Butterworth. Australia maintains a logistics operation there and operates military aircraft into the base, which has an 8,000-ft. runway. In an unrelated action, the government approved A$142.2 million to redevelop Royal Australian AFB Pearce near Perth, which supports pilot training.
Britain is ready to begin a final series of test firings of a directed-energy warhead that, if successful, could see a system fielded shortly after the turn of the decade. The weapon—believed to be a radio-frequency package—is suitable for delivery by a cruise missile, but could also be carried by an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). This may be why at least part of the program is being run by the Defense Ministry’s Strategic Unmanned Air Vehicle Experiment (Suave) project team.
The problem I have with the F-22 is that it’s designed to fight someone’s hypothetical idea of a war. While we’re buying them, the rest of this world’s countries —the Chinese in particular—are fielding cheaper current-technology aircraft.
Dave Reid is correct that the modern turboprop provides a near-instantaneous thrust increase when the power lever is advanced and the propeller blade angle immediately coarsens. However, the turboprop’s handling advantage in the very-low-altitude firefighting regime is more than just rapid thrust/drag control (AW&ST July 30, p. 6).
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems’ CH-47F Chinook helicopter has entered service with the U.S. Army’s 101st Aviation Regiment. The aircraft has a Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System cockpit that Boeing says improves crew situational awareness, and a BAE Systems Digital Advanced Flight Control System with features such as hover-hold and altitude-hold that improve performance in brownout landing situations (AW&ST July 30, p. 53).
Assembly of the International Space Station is ready to shift into high gear as astronauts and cosmonauts move through all of the construction and maintenance work—and then some—on the STS-118/13A.1 mission.
Citing the prospect for “decades of persistent conflict,” Army Gen. George Casey is calling on Washington leaders and the public to ante up and sustain a multiyear effort to grow, modernize and reorganize the “stressed and stretched” land force. Adding 65,000 soldiers to the active ranks, for a total of 547,000, and even more in reserves and National Guard by 2013, while reorganizing units into modular brigades, would be challenging enough, the new chief of staff told a National Press Club audience Aug. 14.
The French defense ministry plans to spend around €6 million ($8.1 million) to support research into improved tactical missile motors. The undertaking has no specific focus, although the French armaments agency, DGA, says it is interested in innovative technologies to lower costs—particularly in early design phases—as well as research into inert materials leading to improved behavior as weapons age. Bidders are to propose ideas early next month.
USANG Brig. Gen. (ret.) Homer Smith has become vice president-operations/chief operating officer of Avetec, Springfield, Ohio. He has been a consultant to the company and succeeds William R. Swaim, who will remain a management and communication consultant.
Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser, a chemical laser mounted on a C-130, has completed its regimen of low-power laser flight-testing. With 27 flight hours, the system engaged targets using a small surrogate solid-state laser. Ahead for the program is installation of the lethal chemical laser on the platform and a series of flight tests, which Boeing expects to begin by next year.
Meeting European targets to make aviation more environmentally friendly has been a challenge for manufacturers for some time. Now, Airbus and others are realizing they are going to have to produce results even faster than thought.
Aircraft release gases and particles in cruising altitudes that can change the atmosphere’s composition and contribute to climate change: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is issued in large quantities and remains for a time in the atmosphere. In concentrated form, it has a direct effect that warms Earth’s surface. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) produce ozone under the effect of sunlight and reduce the concentrations of methane. These greenhouse gases have opposite effects but the ozone is stronger and warms Earth.
Vincent Knoops has been named general manager for Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand for Air France-KLM, effective Sept. 1. He will succeed Frans Leenaars, who will become Amsterdam-based director of commercial strategies and alliances. Knoops has been KLM’s London-based general manager for the U.K. and Ireland.
NASA expects to have all of the spacecraft elements needed to restore U.S. access to space after the shuttle retires under contract by year-end, and continues to work toward an internal target date of September 2013 to launch it with a crew. Contractors are now working on the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the J2-X engine to power the Ares I crew launch vehicle’s upper stage. On Aug.
Japan’s ATD-X stealth demonstrator project aims for a first flight within five years, but the aircraft could take off within four, says the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper. If the project is successful, a follow-on effort could produce an operational Japanese stealth fighter in 10 years as a replacement for the country’s F-15Js. The aircraft will be about 14 meters (46 ft.) long, its size limited by its two 11,000-lb.-thrust engines, each with three thrust-vectoring paddles. But the defense ministry’s research agency says larger Japanese engines also might be developed.
Rockwell Collins has received a $23.8-million contract from the U.S. Army for the Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (Avcatt) helmet-mounted display (HMD) modification and upgrade program. Avcatt is a mobile simulation training system that allows Army aviators to conduct realistic training and mission rehearsals through a networked, combined arms simulation. The company’s SimEye SR100A HMD will be utilized to provide a more compact, lightweight upgrade for another HMD currently in use with Avcatt.
Lockheed Martin is giving a peek at its battle management tactical operations center that has been designed for the medium extended air defense system (Meads). The interceptor missile program is undergoing preliminary design review. The center incorporates an open systems architecture that allows target data and defensive missile capability to be instantaneously available to support any node in the networked operation. The interceptor in use now is the PAC-3 missile segment enhancement, which offers increased engagement range over the current design. German, Italian, U.S.
It is surprising your in-depth Viewpoint of Aug. 6 did not include analysis of offshoring recruitment of pilots to augment our coming shortage. This practice has helped our industry reduce costs by recruiting overseas.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say North Korea is adjusting its operations to attempt to hide future ballistic missile launches after observing how the U.S. reacted to last year’s salvo of short- and long-range launches.
Gore Design Completions has received its first green Airbus A320 for conversion into a Prestige business jet, marking the company’s first Airbus-authorized completion endeavor. The process to install the new cabin will take about six months, Gore says. Among the amenities are an executive bedroom and conference room. Seventy-five of Gore’s 300 employees will be involved with the project, according to the company.
Aero-engine makers tread a delicate line. On one hand, they want to shout from the rooftops about steady progress in cutting emissions; on the other, they want to avoid the glare of bad mass-media attention that might label them as scapegoats for aviation’s greenhouse gas contributions.
