Concerning the letters from Paul R. Johnson (AW&ST May 22, p. 6) and Martin Sippel regarding ballistic return of reusable launch vehicles, I also have study results.
Saab has won a contract worth 1 billion kronor ($139 million) for future evolutions of the Gripen fighter. Software upgrades and subsystems research and development activities are also covered. Saab is offering advanced Gripens to Denmark and Norway and other countries.
Uri Sinai (see photo) has been appointed general manager of the MLM Div. of Israel Aircraft Industries' Systems, Missiles and Space Group and Arie Halsband (see photo) general manager of the group's MBT Space Div. Jakob Goldman (see photo) was named director of corporate procurement and logistics and Baruch Mevorach (see photo) deputy vice president/assistant to the president, both for IAI Ltd. Sinai was deputy general manager of MLM. He succeeds Yair Ramati, who has become corporate vice president-marketing.
Separately, Aero Vodochody, the biggest Czech aerospace and defense contractor, won an award from the Czech government to modify four L-159 single-seat light strike aircraft into twin-seat trainers. The aircraft are to be delivered next year to support the air force's JAS 39 Gripen fighter fleet.
A federal administrative law judge says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may not fly its Gulfstream IV-SP jet near the center of hurricanes until it thrashes out the details with its employees' union. Judge Richard Pearson, sitting in Atlanta, says NOAA illegally bypassed the National Weather Service Employees Organization when it began sending the twin turbofan jet closer to hurricanes' eyes at 45,000-ft. altitudes during the 2005 storm season. Pearson ruled that NOAA should have addressed union safety concerns in collective bargaining.
USN Rear Adm. Robert B. Murrett has been nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Md. He has been director of naval intelligence in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington. Rear Adm. Thomas J. Kilcline, Jr., has been appointed director of the Warfare Integration and Assessment Div. in the CNO's Office. He has been director of the office's Air Warfare Div. Kilcline will be succeeded by Rear Adm. Bruce W. Clingan, who has been the division's deputy director.
Epicos and the Czech Defense Industry Assn. have approved a four-year project to integrate 80 local businesses through Epicos and Exostar, two leading aerospace and defense industry e-business platforms. The project is intended to enhance the ability of Czech companies to benefit from international marketing assistance and offset agreements. Neighboring Austria and Hungary have similar initiatives with Epicos and Exostar, as do Lithuania, Switzerland, Chile, Brazil and Malaysia.
John P. Stenbit has been named to the board of directors of New York-based Loral Space & Communications Inc. He was assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communications and intelligence/Defense Dept. chief information officer before retiring.
I agree with Martin Sippel (AW&ST June 26, p. 6) that a boost-back reusable launch vehicle booster is far less efficient than a flyback booster using airbreathing engines.
The names Indra Systems and Ultra Electronics don't exactly stand out in the European aerospace industry. But their performance certainly does. Indra ranked first for contractors with annual revenues of $1-5 billion, while Ultra took the top spot for companies with revenues of $250 million-1 billion in this year's Top-Performing Companies study. Their secret? Strong management teams, high-margin product niches and more nimble operations than larger competitors.
Christine Goode has become deputy chair and Air Vice Marshal Roxley McLennan a board member of Airservices Australia. Goode succeeds Air Marshal Leslie Fisher, who has retired.
Air France and KLM are beginning tests using radio-frequency identification tags to better track luggage. Air France began the trial July 3, and KLM should start this week between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport using common technology. The trials will be gradually expanded to more baggage dropoff points at the two facilities, and slowly rolled out to other destinations (for example, tests on Paris-Tokyo flights are to start this summer). The RFID replaced bar-coded luggage tags.
Australia's three busiest airports will soon be equipped with Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS) from Sensis Corp. in Syracuse, N.Y., the supplier of similar systems to the FAA. Sydney and Melbourne will be equipped first, followed by Brisbane, under an agreement signed by Airservices Australia. One of its officials says the systems will improve safety at the airfields and will, in conjunction with other systems, improve low-visibility landing capability.
Lufthansa Systems will provide complete navigation data for cockpit systems on six Boeing 747-400ERFs being acquired by Jade Cargo International Co. Ltd. of Shenzhen, China. The data will include route information and alternate airports for optimum flight planning. The cargo carrier, a joint venture of Shenzhen Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo and another German company, will begin operations in August from Shenzhen to Asia and Europe.
Matt Sekella, JTRS Section Manager, Northrop Grumman TASC (Williamsburg, Va.)
Regarding the article "TAC-Air Internet" (AW&ST June 19, p. 51), while I have no issue with USAF Lt. Col. Steve Waller's program and what it has demonstrated, I believe the opening scenario is overstated.
Georgia Institute of Technology will introduce five doctoral programs in the field of applied electronics research, in cooperation with Thales. The programs, to be launched in late summer, will cover topics such as air traffic control, radar algorithms and optimization of complex systems. Thales operates similar research partnerships with institutions in France, the U.K., the Netherlands and Singapore.
The space shuttle's Achilles heel is its extraordinary complexity. Simplification ought to be a primary design criterion for any space vehicle, particularly a reusable launch vehicle (RLV). Adding fuel for a ballistic return to launch site might cause the RLV to be a little larger overall than a design with turbojet assist, but would reap substantial benefits in design simplicity. Omitting turbojet assist would eliminate thousands of parts, simplify the task of flying it and eliminate a system needing service between flights.
The foreign-military-sales floodgate has opened for Pakistan. After freezing Pakistan out of an F-16 sale in the 1990s because of skepticism about its loyalties, the Pentagon is revealing details of a new sale worth up to $5 billion. Before the Independence Day holiday, the Pentagon announced approval of selling 36 F-16 Block 50/52 fighters to Pakistan along with 500 AIM-120C5 Amraam missiles, 200 AIM-9M-8/9 Sidewinders, 500 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and other weapons.
Germany may be going to the Moon. The German aerospace center DLR and Bremen-based space contractor OHB-System will jointly undertake a preliminary definition study for a small German national lunar exploration mission. The 10-month, 500,000-euro ($635,000) study will determine the technological and economic feasibility, and scientific interest, of a mission around 2010 based on this OHB lunar lander concept, dubbed Mona Lisa, that was presented at the Berlin air show in May.
John D. Schumacher has been appointed vice president-Washington operations for Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet. He succeeds Donald H. Brownlee, who plans to retire. Schumacher has been director of aerospace science and technology for Whitney, Bradley and Brown, and was chief of staff for then-NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. Anthony J. Ammendolia has been promoted to Washington-based executive director of government relations from director of business development for missile defense and strategic systems.
This year's AW&ST scoring model was significantly revamped. Scoring concentrated heavily on operating metrics that contributed 70% to each company's total score. Financial measures provided the remaining 30%. COMPANIES GROUPED ACCORDING TO REVENUES
European rules on flight-time limitations that are slated to be adopted in September will have to undergo scientific review on the impact on flight crews, according to an amendment passed by the European Parliament at the urging of the European Cockpit Assn. The lobbying group was concerned the new standards had not undergone proper review. Moreover, the parliamentarians passed a "non-regression clause" that mandates that states with stricter flight time limitations may not raise them.
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The British government is embarking on a fundamental overhaul of defense procurement and support. The most radical element yet to emerge from the government's Defense Industrial Strategy review is a plan unveiled July 3 to merge the procurement agency and logistics organization into a single department. Paul Drayson, the minister for defense procurement,notes: "Implementation will not be easy, and there are important details still to plan." But he adds: "We have to take this forwardly rapidly."
