Dassault Aviation insiders say the French airframer broke an all-time record for new orders last year, underscoring the ongoing sales boom in the bizjet industry. The claim, reported in Paris daily Les Echos, said Dassault tallied 140 sales or more, pulverizing a mark of 123 set in 2005. Dassault, which had previously expected full-year orders in the 90-99 range (AW&ST Oct. 2, 2006, p. 40), declined to comment, although it confirmed 2006 was an "excellent year."
Provided with the Assistance of Alexander Velovich (Russian Correspondent, Forecast Interational)
ARGON NII (Moscow) develops onboard computers and electronic systems for aircraft, missile and spacecraft applications. ASTROFIZIKA NPO (Moscow) is one of Russia's largest development centers for tactical and strategic directed-energy weapons, mainly lasers. AVTOMATIKA NII (Moscow) and the associated NPO Avtomatika are Russia's primary developers/manufacturers of strategic C 3I equipment. Their products include encrypted telephones comparable to the U.S. STU-3 system.
Rua 18 de Novembro No. 804, Sao Paulo 90240-040 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, BRAZIL Code: RG Employees: 11,432 www.varig.com.br Tel. (55-51) 3358-7039 Fax (55-51) 3358-7001 Ownership: 100% publicly traded Executive Management Chairman Joaquim Fernandes dos Santos Director-President and CEO Carlos Luiz Martins Pereira a Souza VP Financial & Admin. Fernando Wellisch
U.S. passenger and cargo airlines will achieve an aggregate net profit of $4 billion this year, the Air Transport Assn. says in its annual projection for the industry. The association estimates industry net earnings in 2006 at $2-3 billion, setting the stage for aviation's first consecutive years in the black since 1999-2000.
A total of 52 Pakistani air force F-16s will receive Northrop Grumman APG-68(V)9 airborne fire-control radars. Of those, 18 will be newly manufactured radars for new Block 52-plus aircraft, while kits will retrofit 24 Block 15 aircraft as part of a $49.75-million contract. There also are options to equip an additional 44 aircraft, including another 18 Block 52 plus and 26 Block 15 fighters. The radar features a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mode with extended air-to-air detection range.
Provided with the Assistance of Alexander Velovich (Russian Correspondent, Forecast Interational)
Two major missile design centers were lost to Russia with the dissolution of the USSR: the Yuzhmash complex in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, which was the Soviet Union's principal ICBM manufacturer and developer; and AiP NPO/NII-885 (now called Kharton) in Kharkov, Ukraine, an ICBM inertial guidance development/production facility.
PO Box 686 Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Code: EK Employees: 10,507 www.ekgroup.com Tel. (971-4) 295-1111 Fax (971-4) 295-5817 Ownership: 100% state Executive Management President Emirates Airline Tim Clark Executive VP Commercial Operations Worldwide Ghaith Al Ghaith
Thad Beier thinks Airbus would have a winner with a blended-wing-body aircraft. A BWB may work well for a freighter, but it will never catch on as a passenger aircraft.
A series of short-duration, hot-fire rocket engine tests on a hard stand in Mojave, Calif., last month could one day lead to human ascents from the surface of Mars using fuel produced from the planet's atmosphere. XCOR Aerospace ran a series of six tests of its 7,500-lb. thrust liquid oxygen/liquid methane rocket over a two-week period early in December, working under a $3.3-million subcontract with ATK Propulsion and Controls. ATK has a $10.4-million contract with NASA's Glenn Research Center for the advanced engine technology work.
19300 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, WA 98188, USA Code: AS Employees: 10,000 www.alaskaair.com Tel. (206) 392-5040 Fax (206) 433-3379 Ownership: 100% publicly traded Executive Management Chairman, President & CEO William S. Ayer Executive VP Operations George D. Bagley Executive VP Finance & CFO Bradley D. Tilden
