A theater missile defense command post exercise between Russia and NATO will take place this week at the Russian Simulation Facility. It's the third drill in the series and sets the stage for a field training exercise in about a year. This week's trial will focus on command and control issues related to deployed theater missile defense units.
It was reported in the article "Orion Debrief" (AW&ST Sept. 11, p. 26) that Lockheed Martin has won the $8-billion shuttle replacement contract. I remember my early days, at Martin Marietta Denver. We had just won the space station contract--it was about $8 billion--in 1980. It would be illuminating if you would research the cost growth of the space station program since then. Based on our track record, I will be stunned if the eventual cost of the Orion is $8 billion.
Managers expect an easy repair to this tiny micrometeoroid orbital debris ding technicians found in the right-hand radiator on the space shuttle Atlantis after the STS-115 mission last month. But its discovery points up the importance of the pre-reentry thermal protection system (TPS) inspections NASA has laid on and the risk spacewalkers face every time they venture outside. The 0.1-in.-dia.
Russia's defense minister is taking the highly unusual step of publicly chastising air-sector guided-weapons manufacturers over program delays. Sergei Ivanov says, "The current development of aircraft weapon systems is unsatisfactory." While he did not identify specific systems, there are several tactical weapons languishing in development for the air force. Initial work on some of them stretches back almost two decades.
Deposition Sciences Inc. announced an innovation in high-temperature, high-density performance in their HeatBuster Cold Mirror product line. The breakthrough in coating technology withstands light levels above 200 watts per square centimeter and extreme temperature above 400C. The cold mirrors feature reflectivity values of up to 98% across the visible spectrum and extremely low reflectivity in the infrared, with transmission of equal to or less than 20% in the 800-2,500nm waveband.
The only post-Comanche aviation project for the U.S. Army that has yet to get on contract, a $1.3-billion effort to field a small cargo airlifter, may suffer a delay due to a disagreement between oversight committees in Congress over whether the Air Force or Army should hold the purse strings for the effort.
Just in case the aviation community doesn't have enough to argue about in next spring's FAA-reauthorization debate, airport interests are working to fill any gap. Congress already is on the hook to mediate and eventually arbitrate the argument between airlines and business aviation on ATC user-fee burdens. Now, airports are preparing a proposal to lift the $4.50 per-passenger-per-departure ceiling on passenger facility charges, and to block attempts to limit what PFCs can finance.
Pentagon insiders say L-3 Communications' much-anticipated Network-centric Collaborative Targeting (NCCT) system--for instantly identifying and locating enemy emitters--is on its way to operational units. With it comes a little-known capability, mapping and precisely registering the ways in and out of enemy computer and communications networks. "It provides the eyes and ears of the Suter [network invasion and exploitation] capability," says a military official with insight into the program.
Comair will implement a bankruptcy court-approved contract for flight attendants effective Nov. 15, but the airline and Teamsters Local 513 remain open to negotiations to reach a consensual agreement before the deadline. The contract sets average flight attendant annual wages at $29,950, an average pay cut of $2,250, according to the company. Including a reduction of benefits, the average impact for the nearly 1,000 flight attendants is $3,700, the company says.
THE QUESTION OF HOW TO DO "INDOOR NAVIGATION" with satellite signals was a hot topic at ION/GPS, says Grohe. This can be important for everything from allowing first responders to find their way inside a darkened building, to letting them know where a "911" call is coming from. He notes that Galileo will have about 10 times the signal power as the current-generation GPS satellites. This will provide a significant improvement in the use of satellite signals for indoor navigation starting in 2010, when Galileo is scheduled to go operational.
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The Star Alliance could see three new accessions next year and, perhaps more critical, name its long-anticipated Indian partner. Star's vice president-commercial, Philip Saunders, says Shanghai Airlines and Air China are already on track to join, and before the end of next year Turkish Airlines could also gain full member status, bringing to 18 the number of full members--the group also has three regional members. The naming of a carrier in India to join the network has long been anticipated, and Saunders says it could take place next year.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport plans to construct new perimeter taxiways aimed at eliminating hundreds of runway crossings each year, thereby reducing potential incursions on the airport's seven runways. The project begins this month with work on a taxiway around the southeast quadrant of the 18,000-acre facility. It is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2008, according to DFW officials. The FAA is funding 75% of the cost to build the first taxiway, with the airport financing the remainder of the project.
BRIAN O'KEEFFE--THE AUSTRALIAN WHO HELPED pioneer the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) in the 1990s to guide civil aircraft across the Pacific Ocean with GPS--agrees with Grohe that Galileo is now much more accepted. O'Keeffe, who was also at the Institute of Navigation/GPS meeting, said no one poked fun at Galileo this time, and many technical papers addressed how the two systems will augment each other and work with the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass).
Air France-KLM expects merger-related synergies to top $1 billion in savings in 2010. The company is running ahead of plan on generating savings, and Deputy CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon says savings from integrating the two carriers' revenue management systems and information technology will drive future savings.
Italy is starting work on a medium- to high-altitude endurance unmanned aircraft, the Molynx. The vehicle, whose design was unveiled last week, is intended mainly for civil operations, such as land-use monitoring and surveillance. The air vehicle would have an operating altitude of 45,000 ft. and could stay aloft up to 30 hr. The sensor mix is expected to include a synthetic aperture radar plus electro-optical, infrared and hyperspectral sensors.
In the aftermath of the crash of Comair Flight 5191, there have been many calls for an increased focus on human factors and training to prevent similar accidents. Although beneficial, the groups that are working on their "don't take off on the wrong runway" training modules are missing the greater need.
John Griffith, ALCM/CALCM Program Manager (The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash.)
Regarding Douglas Barrie's article "Bunker Shot" (AW&ST Oct. 2, p. 34), it is important to fully address the U.S.'s ability to attack deeply buried hardened targets. The Air Force currently has the AGM-86D penetrator. Using a time-delay fuze, the missile is capable of penetrating greater amounts of soil and steel reinforced concrete than the Taurus. It has greater range than Taurus, is certified for carriage on the B-52 and was used successfully during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Monarch Airlines will use Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s to power its Boeing 787s. The airline has six firm orders and options for four more of the Boeing aircraft. Deliveries are to start in 2010. It's the first order for the Trent 1000 from an airline in Rolls' home market, the U.K. The carrier already uses Rolls engines on Airbus A330s and Boeing 757s.
John C. Ulrich has been appointed a corporate vice president of General Dynamics, Falls Church, Va., and president of its European Land Combat Systems Div. He succeeds H. Michael Malzacher, who is retiring. Ulrich was the division's senior vice president/ deputy director.
James C. May, president and CEO of the Air Transport Assn., talked to Senior Editor David Hughes about how to pay for a modernized ATC system in the U.S. Hughes has covered plans for ATC modernization in the U.S., Europe and Asia extensively for Aviation Week & Space Technology. The interview was conducted by phone, and May followed up with these written answers to AW&ST's questions. Aviation Week & Space Technology: Is the national airspace system reaching a crisis point?
Frederick Reed, executive vice president/general counsel/consultant with Development Specialists Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has been named to ABX Air Inc.'s board of directors.
MBDA is negotiating to buy solid rocket and ramjet motor specialist Bayern Chemie-Protac as it continues efforts to improve profitability and boost export sales. CEO Marwan Lahoud told a gathering of journalists here last week that the company is near agreement on acquiring the Franco-German rocket motor manufacturer from Thales and EADS for an undisclosed price. Bayern Chemie generates annual sales of €60 million ($75 million) and employs 300 people, two-thirds of them in Germany.
A Canton, Ohio, aerospace company is fielding an entry in the competition for a counter-insurgency aircraft. A proof-of-concept for the turboprop-powered A-67 Dragon flew Oct. 6. Test pilot Dale Mitchell completed a 45-min. test regime after takeoff from Cassville, Mo. Upon landing at Monett Municipal Airport, also in Missouri, the right landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to slide off the runway. The gear and four-blade Hartzell propeller were damaged; a stronger main gear is under consideration.
Robert Mionis has become CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise's Manufacturing and Engineering Divs. and Michael Allgood the corporation's chief financial officer. Mionis was vice president-integrated supply chain for Honeywell Aerospace, while Allgood was CFO of Emery Worldwide and Pacer Global Logistics.
