Danish Defense Minister Soren Gade told parliament last week he wanted to sign the Production Sustainment and Follow-on Development memorandum of understanding for the Joint Strike Fighter. Signature, however, could slip into early 2007. The minister indicated Denmark would continue its fighter competition between the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Saab Gripen.
Steve Long has become senior vice president-business development and operations for Innovative Solutions and Support Inc., Exton, Pa. He was general manager of the Electronic Systems Div. of Parker Aerospace.
Spot Image is looking to double its sales over the next five years as it prepares to establish a beachhead in the very-high-resolution imagery segment. The company has displayed double-digit growth since the 2002 launch of Spot 5, which offers 2.5/10-meter resolution panchromatic imaging, as well as a stereo imaging capability, over a broad 60-km. swath. However, prices for medium resolution products are dropping as more providers, drawn by the growing availability of low-cost small-satellite imagers, enter the market.
AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines are launching a tenuous partnership that ties the two low-cost carriers together in a conservative and potentially promising way. The objective is not merger--at least, not immediately--but it extends the reach of the two carriers to the entire U.S. and beyond, while raising revenues. Partnering in low-cost carrier (LCC) ranks comes none too soon as network carriers re-emerge from hard times and pose a fresh threat to their growth.
Two of Poland's first four Advanced Block 52 F-16s fly in formation ahead of one of its air force's MiG-29s. The Lockheed Martin fighters, which were procured as part of the Poland Peace Sky foreign military sales program, arrived Nov. 9 and became the most technologically advanced F-16s in Europe (see p. 42). Lockheed Martin will produce 48 F-16s for Poland to help integrate the Polish air force into NATO operations. The next four aircraft are to arrive in December. Photo by Mariusz Adamski.
An In Orbit item on the upcoming Minotaur I launch from Wallops Island, Va., incorrectly identified the secondary payload on the mission. It will be GeneSat-1, not GeneSat-2 (AW&ST Nov. 6, p. 19).
The fate of Heathrow Airport could be determined before year-end, if dire warnings by British Airways CEO Willie Walsh are proven correct. The British Transport Dept. is due to provide a progress report on the government's 2003 Aviation White Paper by the end of December. In the run-up to publication, Walsh is cautioning that the government must revise its position on the development of a third runway at Heathrow or inflict serious, if not irreparable, damage on the airport's economic health.
KLM and Air France are jointly conducting a review of future regional jet and turboprop needs, although no near-term purchase is planned. Moreover, the two carriers, partners in the Air France-KLM Group, are expected to place a joint order about 2008 for a new mid-sized jet, a competition pitting the Boeing 787 against the A350WXB. But for now, expansion and upgrades to the existing fleet are center stage. Boeing confirms that eight 737-800s previously included on its unidentified orders list are going to KLM for delivery through mid-2008.
If the KC-767 is chosen as the U.S. Air Force's new tanker, the Israelis say they could field a cheaper version converted from used airliners. Moreover, Israel Aircraft Industries strategists say they could offer an even less expensive air refueler if customers are willing to buy converted airliners that are smaller than the Boeing 737.
Gunship operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are pointing Air Force Special Operations Command (Afsoc) to a speed and precision strike as they look to define their future close air support aircraft.
Dassault Aviation has completed high-density altitude trials for certification of the Falcon 7X long-range business jet. It was tested at Gunnison and Leadville airports in Colorado, which have field elevations of 7,678 ft. and 9,927 ft., respectively. The tests were monitored by the European Aviation Safety Agency. All objectives were met, according to the company. French certification is scheduled for March 2007, followed by first customer deliveries in April.
Northrop Grumman will provide its third-generation Litening Advanced Targeting system to the Royal Netherlands Air Force as part of that country's F/A-16 targeting pod upgrade program. Plans call for delivery of 20 pods and spares in 2007-8. To date, more than 470 units have been ordered by the U.S. Air Force and allied nations. Australia, Spain and Italy also operate the system.
Europe's ATV space tug is advancing toward an inaugural mission to the International Space Station next year, following completion of full-scale rendezvous and docking tests last week. However, meeting the deadline will be a challenge, planners acknowledge.
Here is what the FAA's fee-for-service planners will be up against next year: Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), senior Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and likely its next chairman, continues to oppose user fees to pay for air traffic management improvements. Oberstar takes over in January but won't wait "until all of the pieces are in place" to start working with committee Republicans on key issues, including next year's FAA reauthorization.
In a decade, it is quite conceivable that the only single-engine combat aircraft in production in the West will be the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). U.S. and European fighter manufacturers may cede a substantial segment of the market to the effort through lack of other products.
David H. Barakat (see photo) has been appointed vice president-programs and technology for the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He was vice president-programs of the company's Mission Systems Sector.
Amateur rocketry is a fun hobby and a nice pastime that has been with us since the Chinese invented rockets in the Middle Ages. But when (creating) our future for our children starts to be confused with this mere hobbyism, it is time to take notice.
The Franco-Italian SAMP-T air defense system has carried out its last qualification firing of the Aster 30 missile, clearing the way for the formal operational evaluation by the French air force and Italian army. The Nov. 14 test at the French missile test center at Biscarrosse employed a C22 target replicating a traditional air-breathing threat and using self-protection jamming. The target was intercepted at a range of 11 km. (7 mi.) and an altitude of 3 km. The ballistic missile engagement capability still needs to be demonstrated in live-fire trials.
After reviewing a shareholder proposal for Netherlands-based Stork to focus exclusively on aerospace and divest other operations, the company supervisory and management board has rejected the idea. Management thinks remaining a conglomerate has advantages, including less risk exposure during an aerospace downturn.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin has directed the U.S. General Services Administration to pay Delta Air Lines $14.6 million for transporting military personnel since September of last year, when the carrier filed to reorganize under bankruptcy laws. The Manhattan-based judge ruled the government could not withhold payments even though it had not settled an issue involving ticket prices. The GSA would not comment on the case.
Two of the three crewmen on the International Space Station are scheduled to venture outside on Nov. 22 for a little golf. Shortly after emerging for a 6-hr. spacewalk, cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin plans to hook his feet into an extravehicular activity (EVA) ladder on the Russian-side Pirs docking compartment and take a one-handed swing to send a special 3-gram ball hurtling over the aft end of the Zvezda service module.
Planners for Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) say a key part of future revenues will come from the integration and sales of smaller, cheaper--but highly sophisticated--reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence-gathering aircraft that can be operationally effective in fleets of only one or two.
CHELTON FLIGHT SYSTEMS HAS GAINED a Supplemental Type Certificate for its synthetic vision Electronic Flight Instrument System on the Eurocopter EC120B. The standard configuration will have a primary flight display and a multifunction display (MFD), with an optional three-screen system having a second MFD. Chelton already holds similar STCs for the Eurocopter AS350/355 helicopters. The system shows the pilot the aircraft's position with 3D graphics that depict the terrain and any obstacles ahead.
A laser communications terminal developed by Boeing and Ball Aerospace & Technologies for the U.S. Air Force Transformational Satellite Communications System's intersatellite crosslinks is starting a round of technology readiness assessments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory.
