Boeing has formally received a $1.15-billion contract for a Block II upgrade remanufacture of 96 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters for the U.S. Army and 30 for the United Arab Emirates. First delivery to the U.S. Army is in October. Saudi Arabia has also expressed similar interests, though a deal hasn't yet been signed. Meanwhile, Boeing has given Japan until mid-2008 to sign on for 10 more Apache Block IIs. Thirteen are already under contract.
Air One's CityLiner is increasing its fleet of Bombardier CRJ900 jet aircraft. The regional arm of Italy's second-largest carrier converted four options it signed for in May 2006 to firm orders for the 90-seat aircraft. Deliveries are to start in April, bringing the CityLiner fleet to 10 CRJ900s by year-end. In conjunction with fleet growth, the carrier is adding new routes. Air One is also modernizing its fleet by replacing Boeing 737s with Airbus A320s.
Nearly 50 years ago, Britain's secretary of state for air, Duncan Sandys, announced in the House of Commons that missiles would replace pilots flying combat aircraft and that the supersonic Lightning would be the Royal Air Force's last manned fighter. For those of us pilot-officers then going through the RAF flight training program, these were serious words.
The U.S. doesn't foresee staging air or ground strikes on Syria or Iran, but defense officials say that within Iraq, they are planning to attack training organizations and supply lines supported by those countries.
Northwest Airlines would issue stock to unsecured creditors and choose among options to raise Chapter 11 exit financing under a reorganization plan submitted Jan. 12 to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The plan, which is missing many details pending a disclosure statement due in court on or before Feb. 15, provides for three major approaches to raise money: a rights offering in which creditors would be able to buy more stock; conversion of current debtor-in-possession financing into exit financing; and potential alternative financing with better terms.
I never cease to be amazed at the perspective of our government officials. The comment from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in the Industry Outlook column (AW&ST Nov. 6, 2006, p. 16) statement that NASA programs are "designed to make taxpayer-funded (R&D) available on an all-come basis" makes one wonder how U.S. industry can compete on a level playing field in world commerce.
USN Rear Adm. (ret.) James Godwin (see photo) has become vice president-certification and life cycle support for Athena Technologies, Warrenton, Va. He was program manager for the F/A-18.
Sea Launch is set to orbit the SES New Skies NSS-8 spacecraft Jan. 25 on a Zenit-3SL from its floating Odyssey platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The 5.9-metric-ton Boeing-built satellite, equipped with 56 C-band and 36 K u-band transponders, will be the sixth unit to be operated by New Skies, and the first to be launched by Sea Launch this year. NSS-8 will be placed at 57 deg. E. Long. over the Indian Ocean, a slot currently occupied by NSS-703. The older spacecraft will be moved to 340 deg. E.
The U.S. Air Force could still field a standoff jamming aircraft on time--by 2012, say electronic warfare specialists--even though it's a task that service officials have already declared impossible.
Robert Loomis has been appointed senior technical consultant for the Washington-based Ares Corp. He was senior systems safety and reliability manager at the Kennedy Space Center.
U.S.-based Texas Pacific has withdrawn its offer to invest $30 million in Indian startup SpiceJet (photo). The private equity fund says its top management was busy with the ongoing $11-billion buyout deal for Qantas by a consortium. SpiceJet has already obtained approval from its shareholders for receiving $71.34 million in shares to raise funds for fleet expansion. The Tata Group will be allotted shares worth $16.8 million; Ishtitmar, $25 million; BNP Paribas, $15 million; Telemnix, $7 million; Goldman Sachs, $5 million, and the U.K.'s KBC Fund, $2.5 million.
Electronic warfare is becoming less a science of developing new technologies and more a process of sensor fusion, target networking and finding new ways to manipulate existing tools of the trade. A case in point--lasers and high-power microwave devices long have been eyed as competing directed-energy attack options. However, researchers are now combining the two to produce smaller, cheaper, more powerful, nonkinetic weapons.
Claude Martel, Jean-Marc Trottier and David Ze have, respectively, been named executive vice president, vice president-business development and network operations, and vice president-academic affairs of Aviation Strategies International of Montreal.
British Airways and the Transport and General Workers Union are in negotiations to try to avoid a strike by cabin staff. Workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action over concerns about the airline's sickness absence policies and pay grading.
The Northrop Grumman/EADS North America team is planning not to compete with an A330-based tanker in the Air Force's $200-billion KC-X aerial refueler competition, according to industry officials. The decision has been made within the company, though company officials still await official release of the Air Force's request for proposals. Officially, the company would not directly answer the question of what it will do.
Melding lasers and high-power microwaves is part of a new formula for creating more powerful, operationally flexible, directed-energy weapon designs. The shift in technology is considered comparable to the change from vacuum tubes to transistors in the 1960s. For example, today, a 10-gigawatt high-power microwave (HPM) system--the power needed to produce weapons effects at tactically effective ranges--is about the size of a house. However, a joule of laser light could generate that same 10 gigawatts of HPM in a far smaller package.
The U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center says it will award a contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to re-engine the entire fleet of E-8 Joint Stars aircraft, which is now powered by Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102s (commercial JT3Ds). The TF33-PW-102s are the original engines that were delivered with the 707 airframes more than 35 years ago.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
NASA managers hope a new strategy for replacing the aging and ailing Landsat Earth observation spacecraft will hold to a minimum the expected gap in the 35-year-old Landsat dataset. But their problem typifies a much broader shortfall identified in a major study by the National Academies of Science (NAS).
The British government is rejecting calls that it review its decision to ax a long-running Serious Fraud Office investigation into alleged corruption involving BAE Systems contracts with Saudi Arabia. Contracts with South Africa and Tanzania continue to be investigated.
A Jan. 15 article (p. 419) incorrectly described the rocket engine selected to replace the LOX/methane powerplant originally baselined for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. The one that was picked is a hypergolic engine like the one chosen to replace the LOX/methane engine on the ascent stage of the lunar surface access module.
Russia launched a Progress resupply capsule to the International Space Station Jan. 17, setting up an automatic rendezvous and docking on Jan. 19. The unmanned vehicle--designated Progress 24--carried more than 2.5 tons of food, fuel and other supplies.
