Lithuania has taken delivery of the first of three Alenia Aeronautica C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters. The air force will receive the other two aircraft in 2009. The airlifters are fitted with an air-refueling probe to support extended-range operations for overseas missions. This week, Alenia will also deliver the first of 12 C-27Js to the Pisa-based 46th Aerobrigade of the Italian air force. The aircraft was used for the fly-off in the U.S. under the Joint Cargo Aircraft program, where it is pitted against the EADS CASA CN-295.
Bell Helicopter has delivered three Bell 412s to India's largest private helicopter operator, Mumbai-based Global Vectra Helicorp, taking its fleet to 18. The company was the first to introduce the Bell 412 to the offshore market in India, and is the largest supplier of offshore air logistics support to the oil and gas industry. GVH has created an MRO center in Mumbai and is the only company to undertake the 3,000-hr./five-year check on Bell 412s.
French space industry officials say disagreement over how to implement a key element of a demonstrator program aimed at maintaining vital launcher technologies could compromise the program's success.
Hans Schmitz has become senior vice president of Lufthansa Technik's new VIP and Executive Jet Solutions Center in Hamburg. He was general manager of Ameco Beijing. Schmitz will be succeeded by Andreas Meisel, who heads Lufthansa Technik's Aircraft Overhaul and VIP Jet Services Div. Meisel was Ameco's executive director of sales and services.
Raytheon has delivered the first Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (Viirs) engineering development unit for use on the next-generation U.S. polar-orbiting weather satellite system. Delays delivering Viirs were a key factor in overall cost growth to the $11.5 National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (Npoess), up from an earlier estimated $7 billion. The delivery clears the way for integration system-level testing of the Viirs onto the Npoess Preparatory Project spacecraft, a risk-reduction project managed by Ball Aerospace.
Ethiopian Airlines has leased two DC-10-30F freighters from U.S.-based World Airways. The aircraft are expected to provide 520 additional tons of weekly cargo capacity for Ethiopia's export market for perishable goods. The aircraft are set to serve the Addis Ababa-Brussels route, but also will operate to the African cities of Cairo, Khartoum, Kinshasa and Nairobi, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board is to discuss its plans to conduct five leadership-directed studies for Fiscal 2007. Topics of interest are: "Implications of Cyber Warfare, Operational Utility of Small Satellites," "Theater Ballistic Missile Threat Assessment," "Thermal Management Technology Solutions" and "Use and Sustainment of Composites in Aircraft." Though, all but the first hour of the Jan. 16 meeting will be closed.
Tom Bradley (see photo) has been appointed director of national space programs for the Strategic Systems Div. of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo, Calif. He was one of the division's deputy program executives.
Eutelsat has selected Alcatel Alenia Space to build a new W-Series spacecraft--the W7--and Sea Launch to be the launch provider. Set for orbiting in the second quarter of 2009, the 5.6-metric-ton, 12-kw. spacecraft will be equipped with as many as 70 K u-band transponders, allowing the Paris-based operator to double capacity at its new 36 deg. E. Long. orbital neighborhood, and to move an older spacecraft--Sesat 1--to a new location.
Your editorial "Beware of Weaknesses in US Airways' Bid for Delta" (AW&ST Dec. 4, 2006, p. 66) made several important points regarding the proposed merger. However, one important element was omitted: the customer.
Why has it taken so long, and now taking even longer, for supposedly intelligent leaders to realize the Age 60 Rule for commercial airline pilots is unrealistic?
By incorporating powerful supercomputers into traditional jet engine-development processes, a not-for-profit research startup hopes to drastically cut the time required to build, test and field new powerplants.
Peggy Slye has become director of the Space and Telecommunications Div. of the Futron Corp., Bethesda, Md. She was senior director for integration for the merger of Intelsat and PanAmSat.
The European Union may have exempted government flights as it includes aviation in its emissions trading schemes, but neighboring Norway is taking a different approach. Rather than exempt the government, Oslo plans to act as a model: The government plans to buy carbon dioxide permits to offset the emissions caused by its flights carrying employees on official business.
Dean Acosta has been appointed managing director at Qorvis Communications in Washington. He was NASA press secretary and deputy assistant administrator for public affairs. Acosta has been succeeded as press secretary by David Mould, who is also assistant administrator for public affairs.
Sukhoi faces a tight timeframe in the coming months regarding the SuperJet regional aircraft, as it strives to meet an already delayed fall start to flight testing and even though only the first section of the aircraft has been built.
Eddy Vandersmissen has been named vice president-marketing and customer services for LMS International, Leuven, Belgium. He has been Benelux region marketing director for Fujitsu Siemens.
The French business-class airline connecting Paris Orly and Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport began operations last week under its new name l'Avion. Formerly known as Elysair, the carrier operates 90-seat Boeing 757-200s on the route. The airline offers one flight daily, except Saturday. Lufthansa Technik provides the maintenance.
Management consultant Accenture of Reston, Va., has completed upgrading NASA's financial system, which supports the operations of the agency's $16.5-billion budget and 18,000-strong workforce. The upgrade provides NASA with an enhanced technical architecture and improved financial management data tracking and reporting. The improved system also streamlines the space agency's funds distribution, control and year-end processing. The upgrade builds on a core financial implementation, affecting more than 10,000 end users across NASA.
USAF Brig. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers has become commander of the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools of the Air Education and Training Command, Maxwell AFB, Ala. He was director of the Center for Force Structure, Resources and Strategic Assessments at headquarters of the U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla. Brig. Gen. (select) Mark F. Ramsay has been appointed chief of the Program Integration Div./deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon.
The world's lowest-cost short-haul airline, Malaysia's AirAsia, is buying 100 more A320s as its founders move to set up a long-haul affiliate that they say will deliver the lowest seat-kilometer costs in the world. AirAsia has also taken options on another 30 aircraft in its A320 deal, which will feed the existing short-haul business as the new no-frills long-haul operation, AirAsia X, introduces wide-body twinjets.
Iceland's FL Group has taken an increased share of Finnair, giving it more than 22% of the voting rights in the carrier. The move comes as the group unloaded its share in Danish low-fare carrier Sterling, and has taken an almost 6% stake in American Airlines parent AMR. The Finnair shares were acquired from Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank, which, with the sale, decreased its holdings in Finnair to below 10%.
Improved airborne reconnaissance is a top priority for the German air force as it seeks to bolster its ability to support international commitments, although severe budget constraints will limit whatever efforts eventually emerge.
A miniature synthetic aperture radar (MiniSAR) developed by Sandia National Laboratories has demonstrated high-resolution, broad-area imaging on board a Lockheed Martin "SkySpirit" unmanned aerial system (UAS) during a field exercise at the Minnesota National Guard's test facility. Flying about 3,000 ft. above the ground, the system transmitted 4-in.-resolution imagery in two operational modes--focused area circle-mapping and broad-area strip-mapping.
