A technology that allows pilots to control aircraft systems by voice command has completed a new round of flight trials on a U.K. Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopter. Qinetiq's Direct Voice Input (DVI) system enables the direct-voice-input control of avionics equipment via standard aircrew helmet microphones and intercom and is speaker-independent--the system does not need to recognize a specific user. This provides aircrew the ability to control aircraft systems using voice commands and access information without removing their hands from the flight controls.
The in-the-centerline infrared search-andtrack system idea saves time and money, although it is ironic that a now-retired fighter is the hardware source to catch up with the rest of the fighter world (AW&ST June 4, p. 30). However, fuel tanks are jettison items, especially in shipboard catapult launches. This might promote just a slight, possibly fatal, hesitation in a single-engine, heavy weight shot, if a $2.5-million limited availability item cohabitates with 2,500 lb. of fuel. Perhaps the weight should depart without the money.
Northrop Grumman has completed work on the main fuselage of its first X-47B in the jig at its Palmdale, Calif., facility. The X-47B is a candidate for the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System competition, which will be decided this fall. Boeing is also proposing a variant of its X-45 family of UAVs. Installation of the engine and component parts are the next steps for Northrop Grumman's UAV.
BC Partners, a London-based private equity firm, has struck a deal to buy a 76% stake in Intelsat for $5 billion and the assumption of $11.4 billion debt. Intelsat's current owners, a group of four private equity firms, acquired the global satellite operator in 2005 and purchased chief competitor PanAmSat--from a private equity owner--for $3.2 billion last year. The group plans to retain a 24% stake in the company, which is based in Bermuda but largely run from Washington.
VolgaDnepr and the Antonov design bureau say the Russian and Ukrainian civil aviation authorities have confirmed that plans to modernize the An-124 freighter, in particular the flight deck, will comply with certification requirements. However, funding to cover the modernization and reopen the assembly line remains to be clarified. Meanwhile, VolgaDnepr concluded an agreement with Ilyushin to acquire three additional modernized Il-76TD-90VD cargo aircraft, plus 10 units on option.
Peter J. Carian (see photos) and Tsou-Chiang Huang have been appointed distinguished engineers and James D. Barrie and Michael J. Meshishnek have been named distinguished scientists at El Segundo, Calif.-based Aerospace Corp. Carian was a principal engineer and works in the Electronics Engineering Subdivision. Huang was promoted from senior project engineer and works in the Systems Engineering and Technology Directorate, Chantilly, Va. Barrie and Meshishnek were promoted from senior scientists and work in the Space Materials Laboratory.
MARKET FOCUS Low-cost carriers face threats from environmental fees 10 NEWS BREAKS DLR releases initial images from new radar imaging spacecraft 18 Embraer's Phenom 100 very light jet makes its debut 20 Taurus Systems and Textron Systems to pursue new standoff missile 20 Wanda Austin named new president of The Aerospace Corp. 22 AVIATION WEEK writers win seven Aero space Journalist of the Year Awards 22 PARIS AIR SHOW 2007, BRIEFLY
Lockheed Martin's Mission & Combat Support Solutions will upgrade radar capabilities for the reconnaissance version of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force fleet of F-15 aircraft. As part of a Japanese-led team, the company will equip select F-15s with advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR) pods. The modified F-15s are slated to replace several aging RF-4 recon aircraft.
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United Launch Alliance (ULA) is investigating why one of its Atlas V/Centaur vehicles with a pair of National Reconnaissance Office ocean surveillance spacecraft on board fell short June 15, and it isn't ready to predict when the next flight of the vehicle will be. ULA Chief Operating Officer Dan Collins tells the Washington Space Business Roundtable "it's really too early to say" whether launch of the first Boeing-built Wideband Gapfiller System (WGS) satellite, now set for early August, will slip.
Thales has agreed with Samtel of India to jointly develop, produce and sell cockpit display systems in a move that could lead to creation of a joint venture company. Samtel already supports Thales products, which include helmet-mounted displays for Indian navy MiG-29s.
A team of psychology graduate students from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.--doctoral candidates Carl Smith and Peter Squire, and master's students Jane Barrow, Kevin Durkee and Jennifer Moore--has won a design competition sponsored by the FAA and intended to improve runway safety at the nation's airports. Raja Parasuraman, professor of psychology, is the team's faculty adviser.
Washington and London signed a treaty last week, intended to ease British access to U.S. defense equipment and related data. The treaty is a successor to the abortive International Traffic in Arms Regulations waiver (ITAR) discussions. The treaty will require U.S. Senate support for it to become law, a step that could prove problematic. The ITAR waiver was strongly--and successfully--opposed by some U.S. politicians. The treaty was signed by the outgoing British prime minister, Tony Blair, and President George Bush.
The National Business Aviation Assn.'s (NBAA) 2006 convention and exhibition in Florida has been recognized by Tradeshow Week as the eighth-largest event in the U.S., based on square footage occupied by exhibitors, up from a ranking of 37 in 2005. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen says last year marked the largest attendance in the association's history with more than 33,000 visitors over a three-day period at the Orlando Executive Airport. This year's show is scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center. See www.nbaa.org/2007.
European Joint Strike Fighter nations met recently in Rome to discuss closer cooperation, and to look at ways to reduce the price tag of early-production aircraft. Italy, the Netherlands and Norway also signed a memorandum of understanding covering greater cooperation in the production sustainment and follow-on development phase of the program. Turkey and Denmark attended the meeting, too. The attendees discussed the idea of an "average acquisition price" that would set a fixed cost for the overall number of aircraft to be acquired.
Japanese industry is making a renewed attempt to break into the first ranks of aircraft builders, with a range of large aircraft proposed or under development that compare well with those of any single European country. The international market remains a challenge for Japanese companies, but it's hard to dismiss the ambition in their latest projects, which include: *A maritime patrol aircraft, comparable with the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA.4, sporting a combat system and high-bypass turbofans developed domestically.
Robin Stainer brings up a good point on airliners going "greener" (AW&ST May 21, p. 6). But that is one of the benefits of the Boeing 787. GE is claiming its engines for the 787 will provide a 15% fuel savings over power- plants that they replace, but GE also says emissions will be as much as 95% below current regulatory limits and significantly lower than future regulations set forth by the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection. Also Boeing is touting a 20% fuel savings compared to the 767.
Steve Zaat has been appointed director of customer service for Quest Aircraft, Sandpoint, Idaho. He was senior manager of business development for Boeing's Advanced Logistics Support Systems.
Malcolm R. O'Neill has been appointed to the board of directors of Auxilia Inc., Troy, N.Y. He is the former chief technology officer for the Lockheed Martin Corp.
Boeing is offering the Navy what one Pentagon source calls a "tempting" deal for an all-time-low flyaway price of $49.9 million for new F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The cost is guaranteed for a third multi-year buy of 170 aircraft, but this is nearly double the Navy's stated commitment for 92 more. Still, the deal "is going to be pretty tough for the Navy to turn down," says a Pentagon official. The proposal comes as Defense Dept. leaders worry that the cost of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter will continue to grow.
John E. (Ed) Boyington, Jr., (see photos) has been promoted to president of L-3 Communications Integrated Systems subsidiary Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., from vice president-federal programs and Waco, Tex., site executive. He succeeds Daniel A. Grafton, who has retired. Michael L. Holmes has been promoted to succeed Boyington from general manager of L-3 Flight International, Newport News, Va. Succeeding Holmes is David C. Wooten, who was a senior manager for L-3 Integrated Systems.
Travis H. Slocumb, 3rd, (see photo) has become vice president-strategy and business development and Kurt M. Kutyla (see photo) vice president-contracts for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo, Calif. Slocumb was senior vice president/director of business development for the Science Applications International Corp. Kutyla was director of contracts and succeeds Scott Faith, who is now deputy to Brian Arnold, the vice president of Raytheon Space Systems.
Taiwan's China Airlines will invest $1.1 million in an 8% stake in the planned landing-gear maintenance business of Taikoo (Xiamen) Aviation Engineering Co. (Taeco). Haeco affiliate Taeco itself opened its fifth maintenance hangar on June 13, continuing the strong expansion since the company opened its first in Xiamen in 1996.
Growth in regional jets and better utilization rates of existing single-aisle transports have taken some of the pressure off aircraft order rates, but Boeing's 20-year outlook remains decidedly bullish for everything it makes.
Thales is proposing a tactical data link that gives nations not currently allowed to use the NATO-standard Link 16 the option to acquire a similar capability, which Thales calls LX16. At least one Asian country is in negotiations to equip all of its armed forces (air, land and maritime) with LX16, say company sources, while declining to identify the customer. Thales is also receiving "strong interest" in LX16 from several other nations as well as from "aircraft manufacturers who are not in NATO countries and who sell outside NATO."
