Your article "Dig for Victory" talks about a new low-alloy steel called "Eglin Steel" for high-strength use, including casings for deep-penetration bombs (AW&ST Sept. 11, p. 52).
The global business aviation industry is likely to experience moderate growth in the next few years as demand for private and secure executive travel increases. The number of international flights, in particular, is increasing as the need to conduct business abroad accelerates.
You reported that Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, was allowed to "sit in an FB-7 fighter, the same aircraft type that collided with a U.S. Navy surveillance plane in 2001" (AW&ST Oct. 2, p. 18). The Chinese air force aircraft that collided with the EP-3 in 2001 was a Jian-8II fighter not an FB-7.
Following Australia's clearance last week, France's Thales will acquire a 50% share in ADI, which is owned by Transfield Holdings. The A$170-million ($127.5-million) deal will give Thales full control of the country's leading aerospace and defense contractor. ADI, which generates annual sales of A$700 million and employs 2,500 people, will be combined with subsidiaries that produce underwater systems, air traffic management and training/simulation, to form a new entity, Thales Australia.
Scott Campbell has become vice president-sales of Miramar, Fla.-based Kellstrom Defense Aerospace Inc. Todd Jensen has been named head of engine purchasing and inventory management for Kellstrom Commercial Aerospace Inc. And, Bob Lamond has been appointed senior director of commercial engine sales for Kellstrom Industries.
The British Royal Air Force has modified its 10 VC10 CMk1Ks with cockpit armor to protect from small-arms ground fire. Armor steel plate has been fitted below the cockpit floor, with Kevlar tiles on the flight deck.
Honeywell Aerospace is revealing two significant engine development projects at this year's National Business Aviation Assn. convention that demonstrate its continued commitment to new technology for the business jet market. First, the company has developed a new 5,000-lb.-thrust class version of its TFE731 turbofan engine to power the Raytheon Hawker 900XP mid-size business jet scheduled for certification in mid-2007.
Paul Hommert has become vice president of Sandia National Laboratories' California division in Livermore and leader of its Homeland Security and Defense Strategic Management Unit. He succeeds Mim John, who is retiring.
With incredulity I read and reread the News Breaks item on task-saturated U.S. Air Force pilots failing to extend the landing gear on their B-1 (AW&ST Sept. 25, p. 22).
London City Airport has been sold to a group comprising a unit of American International Group and a joint venture of GE Infrastructure and Credit Suisse. The deal is expected to receive regulatory approval next month. The value of the sale by Dermot Desmond is estimated at $1.4 billion.
The Asia-Pacific region is in its second decade as commercial aviation's hot growth market, but it is distinctly cool to the executive jet as a business tool. There are pockets of interest in the region, but infrastructure and airways congestion, along with miles of red tape, have tamped down overall enthusiasm.
Northwest Airlines and negotiators for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. (AMFA) have agreed on a tentative strike settlement. It will be put to a vote, but only those still on strike since the walkout of August 2005 will cast ballots. The vote, recorded electronically, will be counted in early November. If the settlement is accepted, AMFA members' choices will include going on furlough with the prospect of bidding for a position in the future or permanently separating from Northwest.
The sale of up to 36 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds to Pakistan is prompting Indian military leaders to call for an acceleration of their own fleet upgrades. "There are certainly worries over that count," Air Chief S.P. Tyagi said in an interview during the celebration of the Indian air force's 75th anniversary. "I am hopeful that immediate steps will be taken by the government to overcome the shortages."
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman will be splitting about $7 million in Homeland Security Dept. money to demonstrate alternatives to airborne laser jammers as a defense against small surface-to-air missile attacks on commercial aircraft, say industry sources. Raytheon's Vigilant Eagle system, which directs a high-energy pulse against heat-seeking missiles, will be funded at slightly more than $5 million. Northrop Grumman's Skyguard, which uses a chemical-fueled laser adapted from the company's Tactical High-Energy Laser program, will be getting $2 million, sources say.
Marc Tremblay has been appointed general manager and Steve Larned chief marketing officer of Longmont, Colo.,-based DigitalGlobe's Commercial Business Unit.Tremblay was vice president-business development and product management for the Z Corp., while Larned was vice president-marketing for the Americas for Dell.
Engineous Software, provider of integration, automation and design optimization software, has partnered with Visual Collaboration Technologies Inc. (VCTI) to bring VCTI's common visualization platform, VCollab, into Engineous' iSight-FD design exploration system. VCTI says the integration provides possibilities for automating the CAE workflow and for handling large CAE results files by creating compressed 3D visual VCollab files from multi-discipline analyses result files, creating 3D-embedded decision-making reports.
As a longtime veteran of the pulp and paper industry, Pierre Gabriel Cote isn't well known in aerospace circles. But the new president of Bombardier's business aircraft unit is a crucial player in efforts to restore the fortunes of the Canadian transportation giant.
Sheri L. Thureen has been named vice president/program manager of the Computer Sciences Corp.'s Federal Sector Enterprise Business Systems, El Segundo, Calif. She was CSC's director of technical development for the U.S. Army's logistics program.
Another Italian government rescue plan for Alitalia is in trouble with EC regulators before it has started. Prime Minister Romano Prodi says the airline's troubles are so deep they will require intervention. The rescue plan would be ready by January, he indicates, drawing immediate opposition from the EC, which has rejected the provision of state aid to Alitalia.
A shareholder proposal to focus Dutch conglomerate Stork on aerospace and have it unload other operations was accepted by 86.5% of shareholders at a general meeting last week.
The U.S. has stymied itself politically and militarily in any response to North Korea's nuclear test by alienating its allies and involving itself in prolonged fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the result is foes emboldened to develop nuclear weapons. So say several former top Air Force and intelligence officials. They contend the U.S. military response is muted not because it's inappropriate, but because there are not enough ground troops available to back up air strikes and a naval blockade of North Korea, they contend.
The U.S. aerospace industry is headed for another record year in 2006 based on slightly better shipments than predicted and stronger orders than expected. On Dec. 13, the Aerospace Industries Assn. will be forecasting whether this trend line is likely to continue into 2007. Prognosticators at the U.S. Aerospace Industries Assn. will only receive about 30 more days of data before they have to make this call.
Overzealous security reviewers at the Defense Dept. have helped add a new word to the bureaucratic lexicon. It happened after the Pentagon redacted some charts that then-Defense Secretary Melvin Laird used in a 1971 public report, and then reversed their decision and released unredacted versions after an administrative appeal. The charts included 35-year-old U.S. nuclear bomber and missile counts, and about a generation later, someone decided they needed reclassifying.
AT THE GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM conference in Fort Worth, American satnav specialists treated Galileo as a welcome addition to navigation capability for the first time, says Rainer Grohe, executive director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking. Everyone now realizes it will be a positive step to have two independent systems (Galileo and GPS) cooperating to provide improved navigation solutions, he says.
