A year after it was sold off by Boeing, Spirit Aerosystems has gone public. The world's largest aerostructures manufacturer raised $1.65 billion in an initial public offering late last month and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SPR." Onex Corp., a Canadian buyout firm that acquired Spirit from Boeing last year, retains a controlling interest. Spirit manufactures the fuselage for the 737 and will build the front end for Boeing's upcoming 787 jet.
The rumors about what the military's study group is looking at for future Iraq plans are probably all true, says Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Bits and pieces somehow are leaking out," he says. "When somebody hears one end of the spectrum or the other," that gets reported as the primary plan. "It's part of the whole spectrum we're looking at, whether it's . . . beefing up or . . . skinnying down. We are looking at the whole spectrum of possible military actions." But some planning already seems to be making the transition to action.
EA-18G Growler No. 2 has been delivered by Boeing to the U.S. Navy's test site at NAS Patuxent River, Md. It is the second built under a 2003 system development and demonstration contract with the service. The first Growler is undergoing electromagnetic testing at the base's anechoic chamber. The second will move the program toward flight testing, say Navy officials.
Supercomputers fast enough to one day perform one thousand trillion floating point operations per second are entering the market and finding homes in U.S. weapons labs and other scientific research centers.
Bob Bernicchi has been named managing director of maintenance engineering for Alaska Airlines. He was director of MD-80 and Boeing 737-200 fleet engineering.
Donald Sealey has been appointed vice president-corporate audit of Hawaiian Airlines. He was director of recruiting for Resources Global Professionals in Indianapolis and was a senior executive with ATA, United and Delta airlines. Pilialoha Wang has been promoted to senior director of cargo sales and service from manager of cargo sales for Hawaii, Australia and Tahiti.
The Air Force has been twice stymied in starting an airborne tactical jamming program using the B-52 for long-range electronic attack. Now USAF says it can't meet the 2012 deadline, set with the Navy, to field a capability. But electronic warfare (EW) veterans say new technologies are emerging from the black world that could meet the deadline--if USAF changes its outlook. The B-52 was thought to be necessary because it alone could provide enough power to generate low-frequency, high-power jamming beams. No longer.
Brenda R. Manuel has been named assistant NASA administrator for its Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. She had been acting deputy assistant administrator for equal opportunity programs and director of the Discrimination Complaints Div.
When Democrats take over the Senate Armed Services Committee in January, a pair of newcomers will bring additional firepower to two key areas: running the Navy and investigating fraud and waste in government. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Jim Webb of Virginia are among 10 new senators--eight Democrats, one Republican and one independent--to be sworn in next year as members of the 110th Congress.
Pentagon-watchers who count their experience in decades have long marveled at the military services' ability to weather political storms. Sometimes by deflection, sometimes by deception, sometimes with a little help from Congress, they have managed over the years to dodge or minimize the effects of many policies handed down by their civilian secretaries, or by the Defense secretary's office, that they truly didn't like. Try as he might, no less an operator than Vice President Dick Cheney, when Defense secretary under President George H.W.
The Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (Cecam) at Wichita (Kan.) State University will conduct a technology assessment of the airworthiness of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the FAA. The goal is to address development standards for certification. The FAA is responsible for integrating UAS vehicles into the National Airspace System.
Timothy J. Winter (see photo) has become vice president-market for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector. He was director of naval and missile defense.
A $125-million upgrade is underway at Sri Lanka's Weerawila, 162 mi. south of Colombo, that will make it the country's second international airport. When completed at the end of 2009, it will tackle two million passengers a year and become the first airport in the country to accommodate the Airbus A380. It will have a 13,200-ft. runway and provide parking space for 14 aircraft, according to H.M.C. Nimalsiri, director general at civil aviation and CEO, Civil Aviation Authority Sri Lanka.
Taking a leaf out of Darpa's book, the British Defense Ministry this week is launching a technology challenge. The ministry is asking entrants to develop a robotic system capable of identifying and monitoring a diverse set of threats in an urban environment.
The Chinese-European Space Agency Double Star mission will be extended for an additional nine months, following approval of funding by the ESA science committee. The twin satellites, launched in December 2003 and July 2004, received a 17- month extension last year. The extensions are intended to allow Double Star to work in tandem with ESA's Cluster mission, which recently was stretched to December 2009; the upcoming NASA Themis mission; and NASA's new Stereo system, which was launched late last month (AW&ST Oct. 30, p. 35).
Thales has opened a facility near Paris to increase synergies with public universities and research institutes. It is to house 500 people and is located next to Polytechnique, France's prestigious engineering school, and near the Saclay complex operated by the Atomic Energy Commission CEA.
The past year's squeeze on frequent-flier awards means it's time for the Transportation Dept. to consider a rulemaking to loosen things up. That's one conclusion of the department's inspector general's office following a review of airline customer service since 2001. Surveying 15 airlines--13 Air Transport Assn.
Protests against Brazil's detention of the pilots flying the Embraer Legacy business jet involved in the Sept. 29 midair with a Gol Airlines 737 are intensifying. Following the midair, Gol Flight 1907 crashed in the Amazon rain forest, and all 154 people on board were killed. The Legacy jet landed safely but its pilots were detained and their passports confiscated.
After much negotiation and fine-tuning, the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has awarded Boeing a two-year, $674-million launch-capabilities contract for the company's Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The contract is to sustain the company's EELV launch operations at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. "This was extraordinarily complicated to get through, and so we're very pleased to have reached agreement with Boeing," SMC Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel says.
A significant increase in narrowbodies and growth in turboprops is likely to slow the introduction of regional jets across much of Asia, except in China. But while the passenger market is in a state of flux, the region is expected to see strong growth in secondary freight operations, particularly in India, where rising income levels are spurring retail operations to rely on air freight for quick shipments. As a result, air freight is beginning to make a mark against road and rail shipping.
In a more politically than economically important move, Spanish flag carrier Iberia will start daily flights to Gibraltar. The service between Madrid and the British enclave on the Iberian Peninsula is set to begin Dec. 16. A 141-seat Airbus A319 is being used to service the route.
It's now official. Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $1.046-billion contract add-on to provide the U.S. Air Force with 23 F-22s and one replacement test aircraft as part of the Lot 6 full production contract. Work is to be completed by February 2010.
Samuel D. Wyman, 3rd, has been named vice president and USCG Vice Adm. (ret.) Terry Cross director of homeland security programs for EADS North America, Arlington, Va. Wyman was a member of The Spectrum Group and was president of the Harris Corp.'s Microwave Communications Div. Cross was USCG vice commandant.
Indonesia will buy six Sukhoi fighters to add to its two Su-27SKs and two Su-30MKMs, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Herman Prayitno says, looking forward to the creation of a full squadron. The fighters are part of a $1-billion deal that also includes two Kilo submarines, five transport helicopters and four attack helicopters, with deliveries from 2007-10, the Antara news agency reports. A Russian loan will pay for the equipment.
