British industry and U.S. defense officials are pressing the U.K. government to explain how, and if, it intends to fulfill the economic and defense diplomacy roles of its soon-to-be-defunct arms-sales organization. Last week, defense industry executives met with John Hutton, the state secretary for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, to try to flush out the strategic import of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to ax the Defense Export Services Organization (DESO).
Israel is in talks with the U.S. to buy up to $465 million in precision weapons. The Foreign Military Sales deal that the Pentagon has proposed includes 10,000 Joint Direct Attack Munitions tailkits, 4,000 Paveway II tailkits, 10,000 Mk. 84 bombs, 1,500 Mk. 82 bombs, 2,000 BLU-109 penetrators and 50 5,000 lb. GBU-28s.
Your article “Small Craft Warning” was timely (AW&ST June 25, p. 47). The U.S. government’s concern “ . . . that Al Qaeda might try to smuggle weapons or terrorists into the U.S. on an international general aviation flight . . .” is well-founded. However, considering the situation on our southern border, which until recently was virtually unguarded after 9/11, the strategy begins to leak. One must assume the U.S. believes it is impossible for weapons or terrorists to be smuggled across the Rio Grande. From what I have read about “suitcase nukes” (AW&ST Aug.
British Airways and Lufthansa in the coming months will be strengthening their premium long-haul offerings, which are increasingly important as European mainline airlines try to secure their profitability. Next year, British Airways will start to operate Boeing 757s on long-haul routes between the U.S. and other non-U.K. destinations, while Lufthansa plans a major upgrade to its first-class product and will reintroduce three-class service for all its mainline long-haul operations.
The FAA is proposing an airworthiness directive that would require certain operators of Embraer 120-series aircraft to modify electrical wiring and install a new stall warning computer. The action, aimed at correcting an unsafe condition that may develop under certain icing conditions, follows a directive issued in March by Brazil’s ANAC airworthiness authority. It is based on the findings of icing tunnel tests jointly conducted on an EMB-120 wing section by Embraer, NASA, the FAA and Brazil’s General Command for Aerospace Technology.
Lockheed Martin had a good day with a contract add-on of $322 million for the procurement of five C‑130Js as part of Fiscal 2007 spending for the global war on terrorism supplemental.
Russian’s booming economy has poured enough cash into the government to allow its Air Force to resume flights over the North Pole. Only a few days after reports that a Russian aircraft accidentally fired a missile into neighboring Georgia, Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov, the chief of long-range aviation, said that two of his Tu-95MS Bear bombers launched eight cruise missiles during a 15-hr. flight into the Pacific Ocean. At some point, they approached U.S. territory in Guam where a U.S. combined-service exercise is on-going.
Blended-wing airliners without windows may not be popular with customers, (AW&ST July 16, p. 14) and they need to be kept happy. However, big generous windows could be put in the ceiling, sunroof-style, fairly easily. The main thing is that the passengers want to see out, not that they want to see anything in particular. Nobody complains about lack of forward vision for passengers or that they can’t see down when they sit over the wing. They just want to feel less claustrophobic.
Air China and China Eastern have each lost rights to one scheduled flight into congested Beijing Capital International Airport, just a few weeks after the authorities said persistent delays would be punished with loss of service rights. Warnings have been issued for another 120 flights since tough new rules were introduced in June. The Civil Aviation Administration of China says that every 10 days it is preparing a list of the 20 most delayed flights. If a flight appears on the list twice, it’s canceled.
Internet collaboration specialist Exostar has introduced an item unique identification (IUID) tool developed by Lockheed Martin to meet the Defense Dept.’s mandated requirement for a 2D matrix for identifying assets, components and parts. Called I-Guides, the tool is designed to improve asset visibility and interoperability between suppliers and contractors working on Defense Dept. assignments.
Metron Aviation of Herndon, Va., is teaming with Flight Explorer of McLean to integrate computer software tools that enhance the capability for airlines and business jet operators to reduce delay time and costs. The two will pair Metron’s Enhanced Substitution Module with Flight Explorer’s FE Professional Aircraft Situation Display. Flight Explorer will also be able to sell Metron’s product with enhancements provided by the McLean establishment. Metron specializes in traffic flow projects for the FAA among other clients.
BAE Systems has returned a solid set of interim results, its financials apparently untouched by corruption allegations in recent months. BAE recorded a strong performance irrespective of a U.S. Justice Dept. investigation and a U.K. Serious Fraud Office effort halted by the British government. The investigations relate to involvement in the Al Yamamah arms pacts between the U.K. and Saudi Arabia. Revenues and profit were both up for the first six months of 2007. Sales rose to £6.891 billion ($13.920 billion) from £6.376 billion.
Thales reports the European Navy Radar that equips the frigate version of the NH90 helicopter has completed a two-week flight-test campaign to demonstrate air-surface capabilities. The French contractor says the ENR, developed with EADS and Galileo Avionica and integrated by AgustaWestland, is now on track for qualification. Delays in developing the radar have held back initial delivery of the naval variant (AW&ST Aug. 6, p. 31).
Dr. James P. Bagian, the astronaut-physician cited by unnamed government sources as the prime advocate of publishing allegations that astronauts flew under the influence of alcohol, categorically denied Aug. 1 that that was the case. “That’s totally false,” said Bagian when asked if he had insisted on release of the charges while he was a member of the panel NASA convened to review astronaut mental-health screening.
A letter by Steve Jensen (AW&ST June 25, p. 7) raises an interesting issue. All commercial passenger aircraft since at least the early Douglas models have, among other things, been very effective flying Faraday cages/shields. This has provided adequate passenger and crew protection from unavoidable lightning strikes.
A mounting embarrassment is enveloping the flight safety community, in Europe and elsewhere: Unwarranted persecution is slowly but surely progressing. This disturbing trend can be expected to play out in the headlines yet again in the next few months when all parties involved are set to appeal the recent French court decision (suspended sentences) that were the supposed conclusion of a 14-year-long judicial investigation of an Airbus A320 crash that occurred near Strasbourg in 1992.
Over the next decade, 26 multi-mission communications development, acquisition or maintenance programs will scoop up $12.54 billion in defense spending, say analysts at Forecast International. The investment in 18 different products will produce purchases of 611,513 individual units. Spending is being driven by the high cost of delays in development of the Joint Tactical Radio System, notes an FI report. Also having an impact are the Bowman Tactical Radio and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System.
Why does the U.S. not recognize Canadian screening standards and require rescreening of bags of passengers connecting through U.S. airports (AW&ST July 8, p. 18)? Bags are screened in Canada and put on Canadian and American aircraft destined for the U.S., and this is accepted by the U.S. If the U.S. does not recognize our screening standards, why does it allow bags screened by incompetent Canadians on aircraft that enter U.S. airspace?
BAA owner Ferrovial will have to wait until early 2008 to find out whether the British Competition Commission favors breaking up the airport authority’s ownership of several major British airports. The commission last week released a “statement of issues” in its inquiry into BAA airports, but it gave no real hint of what its future recommendations might be. The commission will report on its “emerging thinking” in January or February 2008. A final report will be released by year’s end.
Virgin America is competing directly in the nonstop transcontinental market against United and American airlines and relative newcomers such as JetBlue Airways. It’s also taking on carriers that fly transcontinental with one-stop connecting flights.
The Pentagon estimates that 130 aircraft will be lost and their crews killed in the next 25 years in accidents involving controlled flight into terrain. Those fatalities can be avoided, the Air Force believes. A software-based Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System has demonstrated 98% effectiveness in eliminating aircraft crashes into the ground and it is ready for operational integration into current aircraft, including the F-22 and F-35, Pentagon officials say.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has received 720 orders valued at more than $75 million for its light sport aircraft entry, the SkyCatcher. The manufacturer introduced the two-seat aircraft July 22 at EAA AirVenture 2007 (see p. 62).
EADS is considering selling its manufacturing facility in Augsburg, Germany, as part of the large initiative to overhaul the supply chain for Airbus. The decision marks the first non-Airbus site that could be sold off under the Power8 restructuring program. Despite doing a lot of commercial work, including some for Boeing on the 787, the Augsburg facility falls under the EADS Defense and Security Div. It is the seventh facility to be put up for sale or offered for partnership. The rest belong to Airbus and are spread over Germany, France and the U.K.
The automated, coordinated flight of UAVs continues to expand. Proxy Aviation Systems says it has completed demonstrations of cooperative flight using one of its SkyWatchers and another SkyRaider in conjunction with two simulated UAVs under a contract with the U.S. Air Force UAV Battle Lab. The flights were conducted in July at Creech AFB, Nev. The operators communicated over a common mesh network so one person could manage all four aircraft.
An 18-week test campaign on Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle will get underway in Kourou, French Guiana, in the next few days in preparation for the robotic supply spacecraft’s first flight next year. The Jules Verne ATV arrived at Kourou after a two-week voyage from Rotterdam on board the MN Toucan, the dedicated payload/launcher vessel operated by Arianespace.
