France plans to equip its Tiger attack helicopters with Lockheed Martin Hellfire II antitank missiles, in the latest setback to Europe's tactical weapon sector. The decision means that Europe's three main Tiger helo users have decided to go with different weapons, shattering a plan established early on to maintain commonality. Without naming the chosen missile, Francois Lureau, head of the French armaments agency DGA, says France is following Australia's lead in selecting the lowest-risk option.
Looking to boost financial reserves after a severe hit last year related to Airbus A380 delays, EADS has sold its 2.12% stake in Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer. The transaction generated €124 million ($161 million) in pre-tax revenue. EADS emphasizes that the deal is purely financial, saying ties with Embraer to cooperate where possible will remain. The company maintains several other industrial arrangements in Brazil.
DaimlerChrysler has completed the lengthy process of unloading 7.5% of its EADS stake in a carefully orchestrated deal to maintain a balance between French and German interests in the aerospace and defense company. Daimler will retain voting rights through mid-2010 to ensure that Germany and French interests remain balanced at 22.5%--the French interests are held partially by the government and Lagardere. The share sell generates $1.5 billion in cash for Daimler. Investors are to receive a 175% preference dividend on their 7.5% stake.
GE Commercial Aviation Services has formed an equally split joint venture with Lynxs Holdings to provide financial support for new air cargo facilities, to build its position in the air cargo facilities sector as rising global trade drives the demand for modern air cargo facilities at airports worldwide.
Peter Kleinschmidt has been appointed general counsel of Amsterdam-based EADS. He succeeds Diane de Saint Victor, who has resigned. He was an EADS senior vice president and had been general counsel of Airbus.
It's crunch time for Australia's disastrous Kaman Super Seasprite program, with the government poised to announce whether it will junk the project--11 years after it was launched, six years after the naval helicopters were supposed to enter service and four years before they are now expected to be operational. Eurocopter and Sikorsky stand to gain from project cancellation if the Royal Australian Navy turns to their NFH90 or SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, though another alternative would be second-hand Seahawks.
Canada is joining the U.S. and Australia in signaling its intent to build a nationwide ADS-B aircraft-tracking network. Nav Canada plans to initially install six ADS-B ground-based receivers to track airline aircraft flying over the Hudson Bay region to and from polar routes. The contract for the receivers has been awarded to Sensis Corp. of Syracuse, N.Y., which is also in the running for the hotly contested U.S. program.
China is steadily removing barriers that have prevented the country's potentially vast business aviation market from being more than a distant dream. It's getting easier to operate business aircraft in China, and the pace of progress is accelerating, manufacturers say. The market volcano hasn't erupted yet, and no one knows when it will, but the manufacturers can feel the rumblings.
Hellfire Systems took a $196.7-million U.S. Army contract modification for delivery of a range of Hellfire missiles in containers through 2011. Raytheon won a $24.2-million delivery order from Kuwait for Patriot PAC2 forebody modifications involving the Guidance Enhanced Missile Plus Frequency Generator Upgrade through 2009.
Richard Hallion, senior adviser for air and space issues at U.S. Air Force Headquarters, has won the Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award, from the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for his book, Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age From Antiquity Through the First World War.
As a retired scientist, I see stagnant wages as the reason for the declining interest in science and engineering as a profession. It is a powerful demotivator to observe corporate officers earning 100-1,000 times their workers' pay, just as it rankles to see the doyens of finance, sales and marketing garner the praise and rewards while the inventors and developers are left with scraps.
Riyadh-based Arab Satellite Communi- cations Corp. will use its fourth-generation satcom system, built by EADS Astrium using a payload from Alcatel Alenia Space, to meet surging demand for video, broadband and voice services in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Arabast is one of a growing number of national or regional operators that are helping to change the shape of the satcom industry (see special report beginning on p. 48). Astra 4B (Badr-4) was launched by an International Launch Services Proton M booster last November.
The growing shortage of science and engineering graduates is not only a problem in aerospace, but throughout the U.S. Aerospace, energy and manufacturing are all competing for the same resources. Now add banking and financial institutions who recruit engineers because they are seeking analytical minds. Starting salaries of engineers are gaining the attention of youth, but it's our job to communicate the importance of studying science and math. A simple solution might be to offer federal tax credits upon graduation.
India is aiming to revamp a slew of its air-launched weapon types with requirements for air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons in the pipeline. The military is considering purchasing an improved air-to-air missile for its Jaguar strike aircraft, acquiring a medium-range anti-tank missile for several helicopter types, identifying a replacement for the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile and procuring a helicopter-launched anti-ship missile.
Thales revenues were basically flat last year at €10.3 billion, with the land and joint systems unit and aerospace delivering 10% and 6% growth, respectively, while the naval unit suffered a 10% revenue drop. The order book at the end of last year stood at €20.7 billion, a high for the company. Also, the company reported it has signed contracts with the Brazilian air force to modernize 26 ATC radars. The total value is around €60 million.
A diesel-fueled, compact internal combustion engine that yields unprecedented power and the promise of huge efficiency gain is being prepared for firing of its second iteration this spring at the University of Tennessee.
Even as defense budget-cutters prowl for new targets, the F-22's first air expeditionary force deployment hit a rough patch when the 12 stealth fighters had to turn back on their way from Hawaii to Okinawa because of a navigation computer problem. The software fix was considered minor and easy to do, say Lockheed Martin officials. However, because of the aircraft's system integration, the glitch "affected almost everything to some degree," position and orientation in particular, says an official with insight into the program.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) thinks having 2,000 government employees--not airline contract workers--check passenger boarding documents would close a "vulnerability gap" at airport security zones. TSA Administrator Kip Hawley wants to hire and train 1,329 more screening officers and reassign nearly 700 already working at the agency to entrances of airport sterile areas. But lawmakers are stunned by the price tag: $60 million. TSA officials note they are 2,000 positions below the 45,000-screener cap Congress has authorized.
USAF Gen. (ret.) Howell M. Estes, 3rd, has been appointed to the board of directors of DigitalGlobe, Longmont, Colo. He heads his own consulting firm and is vice chairman of the board of trustees at The Aerospace Corp.
Michael A. Taverna, Andy Nativi and Robert Wall (Paris)
Much of this year's activity for MBDA will focus on exports, but company officials indicate 2008 is shaping up to be a critical year in the evolution of the European missile maker.
Workers at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center are scheduled to test eight Stage 3 booster motors for Minuteman ICBMs this year in AEDC's large Rocket Motor Test Facility. The tests are intended to acquire reliable data and evaluate the reliability of the booster motors, says Col. Robert Shofner, commander of the 526th Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Wing at Hill AFB, Utah.
USAF Cols. David H. Cyr and Douglas J. Robb have been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. Cyr is director of the Air Force Chaplain Service Institute, Air University, Air Education and Training Command, Maxwell AFB, Ala. Robb is command surgeon, U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
Northwest Airlines plans to carry out an aggressive operating plan with a renewed fleet of Boeing 787, Airbus A330, Embraer 175 and Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft. Information was contained in a disclosure statement and amended reorganization plan filed last week with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Northwest will complete delivery of 32 A330 aircraft within a year. Later this year, Northwest is scheduling delivery of the first of 72 regional aircraft, equally divided between Embraer 175s and CRJ900s.
Air France-KLM is going to scale back its cargo fleet and hopes to unveil soon a new round of cost-cutting initiatives to assure continued financial strength. The Franco-Dutch airline group reported strong third-quarter results, but signaled it wants to take action to turn around the struggling cargo segment, whose results were hurt by overcapacity. Nine-month cargo operating income declined 41.3% compared to 2005, while overall group operating income was up 31%.
Joseph T. Lombardo has been appointed executive vice president of General Dynamics' Aerospace Group and president of subsidiary Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., effective Apr. 9. He will succeed Bryan T. Moss, who will become president emeritus. Lombardo has been Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream's chief operating officer.
