The FAA has approved the Airbus A320 family of aircraft for 180-min., extended-range, twin-engine operations. It follows the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) approval in March 2004. The aircraft family encompasses the A321, A320 and A319, including the corporate jet version. The first FAA-certified, 180-min. ETOPS aircraft, an A319 Corporate Jet, is to be delivered this month to an undisclosed U.S. customer, according to Airbus. Joint EASA and FAA approval for the A318 is targeted for the second half of this year.
Boeing has completed testing of modifications to underground silos and launch systems in preparation for summer trials of the burgeoning U.S. ballistic missile defense system. The tests validated mods to the three arms that stabilize interceptors inside the silo, mechanisms which caused a flight-test abort during a demonstration in February 2005. Boeing is the prime contractor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System.
After 10 years of development, and a long delay following the Columbia shuttle accident, Europe's Columbus module is ready to be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center for launch to the International Space Station.
The Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor has added another rare airplane to its exhibit collection, a U.S. Navy F4F3 fighter. The Grumman Wildcat saw the brunt of the early Pacific theater action of World War II, from opening volleys during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, up to and including the Battles of Wake, Midway, Coral Sea and Guadalcanal. The aircraft will be joined by the recently acquired A6M2-21 Zero, a B-model B-25 Mitchell bomber, the N2S-2 Stearman flown by former President George H.W.
From United, the surprise is positive initial results from its differentiated-product strategy. From US Airways comes a first-quarter profit, however small. And from ExpressJet the biggest surprise--a decision to find places and ways to operate 69 regional jets rather than turn them back to Continental Airlines.
FedEx is expanding at Indianapolis International Airport, its second-largest U.S. hub, with plans to build a 600,000-sq.-ft.-addition to its 1.9-million-sq.-ft. sort facility, adding a secondary sort facility of 175,000 sq. ft., and two maintenance buildings. The Indianapolis Airport Authority will spend $50 million to build 14 wide-body gates at the 38-gate facility and lease five new gates to FedEx. The express operator will have options for up to nine gates the airport is planning to construct by December 2008.
AgustaWestland's entry in the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter competition--a variant of the AW139 dubbed US139--features high cruise speed, a large cargo area and ease of handling. As do the other entries, the 139 offers a modern glass cockpit and the additional confidence of twin-engine operation--all of which would be welcome upgrades for legacy Huey and Kiowa pilots.
EADS has flown its Barracuda unmanned aerial vehicle demonstrator for the first time. The vehicle was flown for 20 min. from San Javier air base in Spain, because there were flight clearance issues regarding its operation in German airspace. The Barracuda is 8 meters (26.2 ft.) long with a 7-meter wingspan. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada engine providing 14kN. (3,147 lb.) thrust.
Boeing turns to a high-profile federal judge, J. Michael Luttig, to replace its general counsel, 57-year-old Douglas Bain, who will retire July 1. Luttig, 51, brings a considerable political pedigree to the world's largest aerospace company--service in the Reagan White House, a counselor's post at the Justice Dept. before appointment as a federal appeals court judge by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. On the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., Luttig has a reputation as the most conservative judge on the most conservative appeals court in the U.S.
Boeing says its first 787-9 delivery will be to Air New Zealand in 2010. The carrier had been a standard length 787-8 customer but switched its order for four aircraft to the stretched -9. The ANZ aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
Theresa Brunasso has become head of government research and development technology marketing, Bayne Bunce head of airborne and terrestrial solutions for data links and satellite communications and Jim Daly head of airborne and terrestrial solutions for sensors and smart weapons, all for EMS Technologies' Defense and Space Systems Div. in Atlanta.
The Dassault group has offered to sell its 5.7% holding in Thales to the defense electronics companies primary shareholders, Alcatel and the French government. If a suitable proposal is not forthcoming--the group is looking to realize 400 million euros ($512 million)--another buyer will be sought. The only offer to date is from the Thales employees association.
The Iranian government is warning people with satellite dishes that they could be arrested and the equipment seized. The government does not want its public to watch what it considers decadent programming from the West, including material from opposition groups outside of Iran. "If the satellite receivers are visible in houses, the equipment will be seized and the offenders referred to the judiciary," Iranian national police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moqadam told an Iranian news service.
J. Michael Cerneck has become CEO of Swales Aerospace, Greenbelt, Md. He will succeed John M. Klineberg, who will remain on the board of directors. Cerneck has been vice president/general manager of defense operations at the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.
Missile Defense Agency Director USAF Lt. Gen. Henry Obering says the May 11 flight test of Lockheed Martin's Theater High-Altitude Air Defense system met all objectives. It was the first test since a major system overhaul in 2000 to involve all Thaad elements. The next trial, set for late summer, will focus on missile seeker characterization capabilities. A full intercept is planned by year-end, followed by demonstrations against increasingly difficult targets at the Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii. Initial deployment is planned for 2009.
An Evergreen AW139 flies over appropriately picturesque piney woods on an evaluation flight recently. AgustaWestland leased back the aircraft and modified it for the U.S. Army's four-way "fly-off" at Ft. Rucker, Ala., for the Light Utility Helicopter competition. Editor-at-Large and staff test pilot William Readdy offers a flight report beginning on p. 60. John Harrington photo.
UNITED STATES Editor-In-Chief: Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. [email protected] Managing Editor: James R. Asker [email protected] Assistant Managing Editor: Michael Stearns [email protected] Senior Editors: Craig Covault [email protected], David Hughes [email protected] Editor-at-Large: William F. Readdy NEW YORK 2 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10121 Phone: +1 (212) 904-2000, Fax: +1 (212) 904-6068 Senior News Editor: Nora Titterington
The loss of a British Westland Lynx Mk. 7 helicopter, and five crewmembers, in Basra, Iraq, on May 6 is further focusing attention on the threats posed to coalition helicopters in theater.
As he gets ready to put some lift into his company's stalled widebody modernization strategy, Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert may want to deliver a blunt message. "You blew it, boss!" might not be choice words, but that's what EADS Co-CEO Noel Forgeard needs to hear. It was while Forgeard was Airbus chief executive that this mid-market muddle began.
Germany's aerospace industry expects continued growth in sales and jobs this year as the sector benefits from a surge in civil aircraft spending and a restructuring of its previously faltering space initiative.
Pentagon bean counters already are looking for places to nip and tuck in preparation for the Fiscal 2008 budget proposal, which isn't due to Congress until next February. Officials in each service and the major commands are drawing their battle lines. Some programs already in the crosshairs are the Special Operations MH-60 multimission helicopter; the Navy's EA-18G Growler, being developed for electronic attack; and the Navy's E-2D Hawkeye aircraft. These early budget deliberations portend a rough road ahead.
Singapore Airlines, which reported a drop in fourth-quarter net profits of 7.1% last week, has delayed a decision on whether to acquire the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350.
Michael A. Taverna (Leiden and Noordwijk, Netherlands)
A manipulator arm to be delivered for the International Space Station next year will highlight the prowess of European robotics engineers. The so-called European Robot Arm (ERA), an advanced seven-degree-of-freedom manipulator, is intended for assembly and servicing missions on the Russian segment of the ISS. Built under a barter arrangement with Russian space agency Roscosmos, the arm is due to be launched atop Russia's Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by a Proton booster in November 2007.
The biannual Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment held at Nellis AFB, Nev., focused on networking and rapid targeting for manned aircraft this year, with only limited participation by unmanned systems. But in the 2008 edition, Pentagon planners intend to start putting machine-to-machine networks through their paces, controlling dozens of swarming real and virtual UAVs cooperating in networks that can find and destroy targets in less than 2 min. "We certainly will submit UAV solutions," says George Muellner, president of Advanced Systems at Boeing.
Concerns are growing that 50% or more of the KH-11 optical and Lacrosse imaging radar satellites that make up the core of secret U.S. space reconnaissance operations will die before smaller, more modern replacements can be launched. A new program, however, may be forming to stem this trend. Fears over the loss of future secret imaging capability are growing as the need for detailed pictures of Iranian and Chinese weapons developments is increasing.
