Northrop Grumman Corp. has completed the initial installation of its Interim Capability for Airborne Networking (ICAN) on board the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars) aircraft to support communications between U.S. Air Force and Army personnel in the Middle East. ICAN enables a mobile airborne data network communication system that can be used for real-time collaboration via "chat rooms" and e-mail, within a secure, classified environment. The entire E-8C fleet is slated to be equipped with ICAN technology by March 2007.
The liquid-explosives plot broken up in the U.K. shows that aviation security is forcing terrorists into more complicated plans involving more people--and more chances for disruption--says Stephen McHale, head of Patton Boggs' homeland security practice here and the deputy administrator of the Transportation Security Administration through 2004.
Airbus has paid Qantas A$104 million (US$79 million) to compensate the airline for A380 delays, the carrier announced late last week, as part of its full-year earnings report. Qantas expects to receive the first of the mega-transports late next year, much later than planned due to assembly problems at Airbus. For the past fiscal year, the carrier achieved a net profit of A$480 million, which is 30.4% less than for the previous year due to higher fuel costs. Fuel now amounts to about 30% of Qantas's operating costs.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants (AFA) has extended the deadline for its threatened strike against Northwest Airlines by 10 days to Aug. 25 (AW&ST Aug. 7, p. 51). AFA officials say security issues arising from the discovery of the alleged terrorist plot in London prompted their decision to extend the deadline. Also last week, Northwest and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., the union representing its striking mechanics, returned to the negotiating table a year after its unsuccessful job action against the airline.
The U.K. Defense Ministry has named Team Athena--led by Lockheed Martin UK--as contractor for the Land Environment Air Picture Provision (Leapp) program. The team will further develop their solution as part of the 30-million-pound ($56.9-million) assessment phase. Leapp will provide U.K. ground forces with an accurate picture of the air situation during operations, marking a fundamental change in how ground forces are coordinated and future battles fought.
Lockheed Martin's extended-range version of its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm), which the company says is the world's first stealthy conventional cruise missile, completed its second flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. It is the second in a series of development and evaluation test flights to adapt Jassm-ER to the B-1B. The missile separated from the bomber, deployed wings and tail, and started its engine. It then climbed to its cruise altitude, navigated a planned route and descended to close in on its target.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) seem destined to become a ubiquitous tool performing an array of missions on behalf of the U.S. government, but the FAA steadfastly remains leery about sanctioning freedom of the skies for pilotless aircraft. The success of military UAVs, such as the Predator and Global Hawk, in surveillance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan have been followed with interest by U.S. civilian agencies that envision using the unmanned aircraft as tools for a variety of missions.
Stephen Newell (see photo) has been appointed vice president-military and government sales for EMS Satcom of Ottawa. He was manager of avionics systems at Airia Inc., Annapolis, Md., and had been a product manager for Racal Avionics.
Regarding Steve Jensen's letter on aluminum "Wiring Worries" (AW&ST Aug. 7, p. 6) and the A380 and focusing more directly on the aviation business, does anyone remember all the problems with Piper Cherokees' aluminum battery feeder cables? A former student vividly recalls landing one with smoke pouring from under the back seat, where the battery was located.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Aug. 29-31--SAE's General Aviation Technology Conference & Exhibition. Wichita (Kan.) Hyatt. Call +1 (724) 776-4841, fax +1 (724) 776-0790 or see www.aerospace.sae.org Aug. 29-31--AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2006. Orlando, Fla. Call +1 (703) 845-9671 or see www.auvsi.org
When United Airlines came out of bankruptcy this year, the carrier had to start amortizing its MileagePlus database, which was on its books with a value of zero at the end of its three-year stint in Chapter 11. The company adopted an appraised fair-market value of $521 million for "a very valuable list of our frequent fliers, including their travel patterns and preferences," says CFO Jake Brace.
The ACE Aviation Holding Company is hoping to reprise the success of its initial public offerings of subsidiaries Aeroplan and Jazz by offering a minority stake in Air Canada and monetizing its maintenance unit by year-end. ACE Chairman and CEO Robert Milton announced the initiatives to maximize shareholder value through subsidiaries when reporting second-quarter results. He expects their implementation will "unlock the value of ACE's assets, which is not being adequately recognized by the market."
David Riemer has become vice president-science and engineering for the Launch Systems Group of Alliant Techsystems in Salt Lake City. He was Wichita, Kan.-based vice president-product development and engineering.
Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer, is securing its niche in the aircraft market beneath Boeing and Airbus with its 170/190 regional jets, Phenom very light jets and large corporate aircraft. Second-quarter aircraft sales pumped a 26% year-over-year boost in revenue to $1.02 billion and helped drive net income of $139.1 million. The future looks good, yet the quarterly results were not as satisfying as one would expect.
As flight schedules at London airports finally recover from a hellish nine-day stretch of security-related cancellations, major U.K. airlines are maneuvering to pin blame--and impose reparations--on beleaguered airport operator BAA.
Low, slow-flying aircraft penetrating the National Capital Region restricted airspace will be intercepted by a U.S. Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin, similar to the one maneuvering near the deck of the USCG Cutter Valiant off the coast of Miami Beach (below).
Mike Van de Ven, who has been executive vice president-aircraft operations of Southwest Airlines, will be executive vice president/chief of operations, effective Sept. 1. Daryl Krause, who has been vice president-inflight, will become senior vice president-inflight and provisioning. Scott Halfmann has been promoted to vice president-provisioning from senior director.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Paris)
The fighting in Lebanon is already triggering debate in Israel about the division of missions between its air force and army. The combat also revealed classified technology that Tel Aviv kept under wraps prior to the simultaneous conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Analysis of the conflict is being rushed because many believe the United Nations cease-fire will not last long. Both U.S. and Israeli military officials doubt that U.N. or Lebanese troops can disarm Hezbollah; this means a continuation of the fighting is inevitable.
Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, was to have rolled out the first production A-10C aircraft late last week. Upgrades are designed to enable pilots to engage ground targets more quickly, accurately and from greater standoff ranges. The cockpit now includes two 5 X 5-in. multi-function color displays, a new stick grip and right throttle for hands-on-throttle and fingertip control of aircraft systems, and a targeting pod.
The French military hopes to put its new Syracuse 3B communications satellite into service next month, providing much-needed capacity as NATO extends its operations in Afghanistan and as French forces prepare to deploy to Lebanon.
Ronald Smith has been named vice president-corporate competitive excellence, Susan L. Cote vice president-corporate contracts and pricing, and Mark A. Rabinowitz vice president/assistant treasurer of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. Smith was vice president-Six Sigma for the Space Technology Sector, while Cote was that sector's vice president-contracts, pricing and program business management. Rabinowitz was assistant treasurer of banking and capital markets.
Eurocontrol is developing a staff training course on the environmental impact of aviation and actions that people can take on a daily basis to help mitigate any negative effects. "Air traffic management does not have a solution, but it does have a role to play in mitigating the environmental impact of aviation," says Bo Redeborn, director of air traffic management strategies for Eurocontrol.
Arianespace has scheduled its next Ariane 5 launch for Sept. 19. Like the previous three missions this year, the vehicle will be in the ECA-heavy configuration, this time carrying three spacecraft. The two primary payloads are Australia's Optus D1 telecommunications satellite and the U.S. DirecTV 9S broadcast bird. The secondary payload will be JAXA's LDREX-2 deployable satellite antenna. Launcher assembly is basically complete, and the vehicle is expected to be moved soon to the final assembly building.
