In the 1980s, my country had innumerable reservations about its part in the NATO alliance. While Danish combat troops now stand shoulder to shoulder with our U.S. and U.K. allies to keep Iraq a free and democratic state, it seems Germany may be taking the "Danish attitude." German parliamentary reservations entail a 4-hr. delay or more for the release of intelligence for operational use (AW&ST Feb. 12, p. 34). This can only mean friendly U.S. troops face a greater risk of casualties, while Al Qaeda boasts with videos of alleged U.S. camps being destroyed.
Latecoere says it is preparing to build a second composite fuselage assembly facility, and would be interested in acquiring any activities shed by Airbus (see p. 18). Company revenues surged 22% last year, to €433 million, on the strength of strong demand for Airbus, Dassault Falcon Jet and Embraer aircraft. But earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell 8%, to €34.7 million, dragged down by A380 and Falcon 7X delays, higher composite R&D expenditures and the transfer of activities to subsidiaries.
USMC Cols. William D. Beydler and Mark A. Clark have been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. Beydler is commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 31, Beaufort, S.C., while Clark is the same for VMMT-204 of Marine Aircraft Group 26, Jacksonville, N.C.
The Israel Air Force (IAF) has accepted into service the medium-altitude, long-endurance Heron unmanned aircraft. Later this year, the service is expected to reveal the larger, missile-carrying Heron II, which is built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and is to become the mainstay of strategic operations. The UAV also is being considered as an unmanned tanker.
The first concrete results are emerging from the High Speed Aircraft project, a European program designed to prepare the groundwork for a supersonic business jet. After two years of analysis, a group of 37 industrial, government and academic institutions from 13 countries has settled on preliminary aircraft and engine configuration concepts to explore in more detail in the next two years. Their goal is to identify viable supersonic business jet configurations. There are no plans yet for the feasibility study to spawn a formal development program.
THE 2007 HELICOPTER SAFETY FORUM, hosted by FlightSafety International, will be held at the Embassy Suites DFW Hotel in Irving, Tex., Apr. 12-13. Attendees will include operators involved in law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire, offshore oil and corporate aviation. The event will focus on safety and risk management, human factors, decision making and new technologies, as well as recommendations made by the FAA, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada to reduce the accident rate.
Much of China's latest defense spending surge is likely to head toward pay raises for poorly remunerated soldiers, sailors and airmen. China is also avowedly aiming for higher levels of military technology, and the latest budget doesn't suggest any slowdown in that effort. But it doesn't suggest acceleration, either, because the unusually large 17.8% rise in official defense spending, the largest in a decade, coincides with a big scheduled raise in military salaries.
Airbus employees in France took to the streets last week to protest the planned reduction of 10,000 jobs as the aircraft maker implements its Power8 cost-cutting program. The number of strikers in Toulouse was estimated at around 12,000, almost three times the number of positions France is set to lose. German labor groups also have voiced their dismay, but not on the same scale. Airbus plans to cut half of the jobs by eliminating temporary workers not on its direct payroll, while it hopes the rest of the cuts will come from attrition or early retirement.
Clive Richardson has been appointed managing director of European, Middle Eastern and Australasian operations for U.K.-based Qinetiq, effective June 1. He has been CEO of BAE Systems Insyte. Andrew Sleigh, currently managing director of the company's U.K. Defense and Technology Sector, has been named group chief technology officer, effective Apr. 1. Hal Kruth, who has been managing director of the U.K. Security and Dual Use Sector, will become chairman of Qinetiq Ventures.
In the International Civil Aviation Organization regional office here, a promising trial program that advocates GPS monitoring of air traffic is dramatically illustrated by a computer display that tracks air activity over Indonesia based on GPS data at three stations.
Galileo satellite navigation system planners are moving to stop loss of frequency rights from deployment delays. Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a contract to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) of the U.K. for a third Giove (as in the Roman god of the sky, Jupiter) test satellite. It is intended to prove key technologies, particularly atomic clocks, and to meet in-orbit operation requirements set out by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Privately owned Chinese carrier Shenzhen Airlines tripled its net profit last year to 360 million yuan ($46.8 million) amid a 24% rise in passenger numbers, state media report.
Sustained combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq reveal a growing gap between operational demands and planning assumptions, which is forcing the British government and the Defense Ministry to reevaluate strategic plans. The U.K.'s armed forces, and in particular elements of the army and air force, are running at higher operational tempos--and for longer--than have been envisioned in the government's long-term strategic assumptions.
USAF Col. (ret.) Michael R. Gallagher (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Your article "Engine Quandary" (AW&ST Feb. 19, p. 30) states ". . . some C-17s are being used for intratheater lift, not one of the system's proposed missions." The last part of the statement is false. The C-17 was always envisioned for use in intratheater airlift. How soon some forget how we sold the airplane in the 1980s as a swing airlifter that would replace the C-141, augment the C-130 and perhaps eventually replace the C-5.
China says it has finished assembling its first lunar orbiter--Chang'e I--after three years of development and that the Long March 3-A that will launch it this year is undergoing testing.
Let's get this straight: Russia is shocked that the NATO nations would consider basing an anti-ballistic missile radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland without consulting the former superpower. The West has kept Russia informed throughout its deliberations on the anti-missile move, which is directed against Iran's growing capability to target Europe, not any potential threat from Russia. But Russia considers itself to have been briefed, not consulted.
AirTran, which is refusing to take two "no's" for an answer, has again extended the deadline on its bid to acquire Midwest Airlines. In January, AirTran made a hostile $345-million offer for the Milwaukee-based airline. Midwest now has until Apr. 11 to respond to the latest overture.
French Rafale strike fighters will be operational in Afghanistan within days, after undergoing a crash course to integrate precision-guided bombs and other wartime enhancements. Both the French air force and navy are participating in the surge of combat capability, aimed at bolstering NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Most of the world's space agencies are teaming up with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in using their Earth-observing space assets to support protection of Unesco natural and cultural heritage sites worldwide. The agreement is a centerpiece in a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, coming up Mar. 21 at Unesco headquarters in Paris.
Gregg Herman (see photo) has been named director of military sales and marketing for the Aerospace Group of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynwood, Wash. He was a product support executive for the group.
ExpressJet struck a short-term deal with JetBlue to fly four 50-seat Embraer ERJ 145s through April to cover for JetBlue's Embraer 190s that are leaving service for software upgrades. About 30 modifications would be applied to the aircraft to correct software issues resulting from the carrier being the Embraer 190's launch customer. ExpressJet, meanwhile, is flying a total of six daily roundtrips for JetBlue, and it named industry leader Russ Chew as chief operating officer. The former COO of FAA's Air Traffic Organization had accepted a job at Hawaiian Airlines.
Airbus completed one of the last high-profile technical tests for the A380 before it is to be delivered to Singapore Airlines in October. The often-spectacular maximum-energy rejected take-off unfolded at the Istres flight test center in southern France on Mar. 4, when aircraft MSN001 accelerated to 166 kt. before the autobrakes applied full force to stop the aircraft. MSN001 weighed in at around 575,000 metric tons during the trial. Jacques Rosay, Airbus chief test pilot, says the aircraft stopped 20 meters (66 ft.) shorter than expected.
Buyers beware: Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne says Russia and China are doing some false advertising as nations around the globe contemplate fighter aircraft buys. "There are some pretenders out there," he says. "Russians and Chinese--both independently, by the way--are talking about fifth-generation fighters." This term, coined by F-22 and F-35 developer Lockheed Martin, refers to a combination of stealth, speed and sensor technology. But Wynne doesn't want the consumer to be confused. "It is just like branding.
