Lockheed Martin Corp.'s recent earnings reports paint a picture of a company that has been masterful in squeezing more profits out of its operations. Going back over the last six quarters, the defense and information technology giant posted only modest year-over-year revenue increases of 4%, 7%, 9%, 5%, 9% and 6%. But net income during the same periods rose by 47%, 26%, 60%, 44%, 39% and 56%.
VERY LIGHT JETS CONTINUED TO GARNER A LOT OF ATTENTION on the exhibit floor at the National Business Aviation Assn. convention in Orlando, Fla., two weeks ago. One receiving much positive notice is the Embraer Phenom 100 (due to enter service in mid-2008). Sitting in the roomy cockpit of the mockup of the new 1,160-naut.-mi.-range aircraft, all you can see is glass. Round-dial instruments are banished and the front panel is graced with three high-definition displays. The completely integrated Garmin Prodigy flight deck provides all the data pilots will need on two 12-in.
The first openly identified mission for a Boeing Delta IV launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., is undergoing final preparations there for a Nov. 4 liftoff. The U.S. Air Force F-17 payload is the second in the Lockheed Martin Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Block 5D-3 series. Including F-17, the company has four spacecraft awaiting launch. The others are maintained for DMSP operations at Lockheed Martin Space Systems' Sunnyvale, Calif., storage facility.
Business aviation is an incubator for avionics innovation, and now it's spurring revolutionary developments in enhanced and synthetic vision as well as new display options.
A pair of U.S./German satellites has added to the body of evidence that global warming is melting the polar ice caps, generating data that the Greenland ice sheet is losing almost 100 gigatons of ice per year. The twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) spacecraft detect changes in the mass of the part of Earth directly below with precise measurements of the distance between them as they orbit in close formation.
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Boeing has opened the swing tail on its 747 Large Cargo Freighter for the first time, as part of the aircraft's certification process. The tail allows direct insertion of full-diameter fuselage barrels and full-length wing boxes for the 787. As of last week, the first LCF had accumulated 270 hr. of ground tests and 55 flight-test hours.
Whether or not the Chinese and South Koreans search ships leaving North Korea for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the U.S. has other ways to prevent shipment. So says Mario Mancuso, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for special operations and combating terrorism. He says that special operations forces have the capability to derail shipments intended to proliferate WMDs. Moreover, the U.S. also has far broader capabilities. "We're doing things across the spectrum," Mancuso says.
At Vokel air base in the Netherlands, the flying weather was excellent on Sept. 21. A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16BM was making touch-and-go landings. Two local photographers where snapping away, including Peter de Vos, at the end of the runway, and Rene Wilthof. Wilthof says he was about to head home when the F-16 made a low pass over one of the parallel runways and he heard a loud bang as a "big flame" shot out the engine exhaust. The pilot pulled straight up to gain altitude in order to bail out, Wilthof says. Several more explosions followed with more flames.
EADS and SITA have agreed to cooperate on developing airport information systems aimed at speeding aircraft turnaround times. The two groups will work on melding mobile radio and information technology: EADS will focus on the radio element, where its Secure Networks unit has expertise, while SITA will concentrate on the IT aspects.
The Sinergia investment fund has bought a 40% stake in Air Italy. The remaining 60% is held by three foreign companies. The value of the investment has not been disclosed. Air Italy launched operations in May 2005, flying mainly charter routes from Milan, Rome and Verona. It projects €70 million in revenue in 2006 and expects to carry 500,000 passengers. The cash infusion is aimed at funding an ambitious expansion plan that includes development of a low-fare business, and investors hope to boost revenue to €300 million within the next three years.
Demand for business flying shows no sign of slowing down as orders for new jets dominate the National Business Aviation Assn. show. Consumer interest on jets from entry-level models such as the Eclipse 500 to large-cabin, long-range airplanes such as the Gulfstream G550 and Dassault Falcon 7X ran high. Major airframe manufacturers are awash with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of orders for jets, turboprops and helicopters. And business deals within the service and support sector was equally vibrant.
Raymond Goyco has been appointed vice president-sales and marketing for Ship it AOG, Addison, Tex. He was director of marketing for Corporate Service Supply and Manufacturing Inc.
Eurocopter has sold its first EC135 and EC145 light twins in Poland. Due for delivery early next year, the aircraft were ordered through Hellinvest, the company's Warsaw-based representative. Seven EC120B and EC130B4 helicopters are operating in the country.
India's Civil Aviation Ministry is threatening to impose a moratorium on new airplane licenses as one way to dampen the country's voracious appetite for new airlines and aircraft.
Qantas intends to move its information technology systems for support and maintenance operations to India-based Satyam Computer Services and Tata Consulting Services as of November. The decision means the loss of 340 positions.
Louise Hatfield (see photo) has become U.K.-based sales manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for OAG Cargo. She was a sales executive with DHL.
James D. Shields (see photos) has been appointed president/CEO of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc., Cambridge, Mass. He succeeds Vincent Vitto, who has retired. Shields was vice president-programs and will be succeeded by Darryl Sargent, who was director of the Space Systems Programs Office. John Stillwell has been promoted to vice president-strategic systems from principal director of the Strategic Systems Program Office.
Northrop Grumman has won a $2.7-million contract to develop new software for the ICAP III electronic attack package now being fielded on EA-6B Prowler aircraft. The Block 3 software upgrade is to tie the system to the larger warfighting networks and allow the aircraft to participate in electronic warfare battle management. The U.S. Navy intends to provide a single electronic combat operational picture that can then be prioritized for time-critical targets, assess threats, prepare responses and communicate those actions to anyone in the network.
No matter which party wins control of the House and Senate next month, there will be new leaders running several committees and subcommittees. Thanks to the term-limits rule imposed by Republicans, veteran leaders like Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) will have to step aside. Also leaving leadership posts at their six-year maximum mark: Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as that panel's aviation subcommittee chief and Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.).
The paperwork is in hand for NATO to deliberate proceeding with the €3.3-billion ($4.1-billion) Alliance Ground Surveillance system program. After adjusting the project's scope during the summer to reduce development costs, the transatlantic industry team, AGS Industries, has submitted its proposal, with an eye toward a contract in the coming months for the design and development phase. The program is now focused on developing a radar and integrating it on an Airbus A321, after the unmanned aircraft adjunct was turned into an almost-off-the-shelf U.S.
