New Delhi plans to carry out two air-launched test-firings of the Brahmos rocket-ramjet-powered cruise missile beginning in 2007, with an air force procurement decision to follow. The Indian air force already has earmarked a Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker for the trials, with fit check and missile drop tests to be carried out during the course of this year.
A Sikorsky S-92 flown by Norsk Helicopters flies over the North Sea in support of oil platform operations. The global commercial helicopter business is growing at a modest pace as demand for new aircraft drives sales upward and utilization rates continue to climb (see p. 52). But increasing restrictions on airspace use, rising fuel costs and the specter of user fees threaten to bring the industry to a hover. Sikorsky photo by Rich Zellner.
On Mar. 8, Italian low-cost carrier Wind Jet is to begin operating twice-weekly flights with Airbus A320 aircraft between Moscow Domodedovo Airport and its hub at Forli Luigi Ridolfi Airport, located about 50 km. (31 mi.) from popular tourist cities, including Florence. Wind Jet, established in 2003, operates scheduled and charter flights domestically and to European destinations including Paris and Dusseldorf. It is looking to expand European operations.
Elsewhere in the world of xenophobia, Virgin America's 11-week-old application for certification as a U.S. carrier is thoroughly enmeshed in the Transportation Dept.'s proposal to relax its application of standards for avoiding foreign control of an airline.
The British Defense Sales Export Organization anticipates that Asia-Pacific will overtake the Middle East in terms of the value of military acquisitions within the next 5-10 years.
After a combined 2,057 sales last year, neither Airbus nor Boeing expect commercial jet orders this year to reach such heights, but that's not to say airlines will stop buying. Both manufacturers say it will take awhile for airlines to absorb last year's orders--Airbus netted 1,055 and Boeing 1,002--pushing totals well past the previous record level of 1,600 set in 1989 when there was another competitor, McDonnell Douglas, in the fray. Sales this year are more likely to meet historic patterns of 850-875 aircraft for each competitor.
The cabin section of the first pre-production Model 429 Global Ranger is under construction at Bell Helicopter's facilities in Mirabel, Quebec. The company is targeting the corporate, offshore oil and emergency medical services markets for its lightweight, twin-engine helicopter. First flight is tentatively scheduled for late in 2006, followed by Canadian and FAA certification one year later.
Shenzhen Airlines has taken delivery of two Airbus A319s, which it will operate from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport to major China cities. The aircraft, powered by CFM56-5B engines, will be configured in a two-class layout for 128 passengers.
The first of two fourth-generation spacecraft for the Arab l Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) is set for a Mar. 1 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. EADS Astrium shipped Arabsat 4A to the launch site in Kazakhstan on Jan. 26, where it is in the final stage of preparation atop the Breeze M upper stage of the International Launch Services Proton booster that will take it into orbit. Alcatel Alenia Space supplied the payload. The second satellite is to be launched by ILS later this year.
Just before sunrise--unnoticed and unannounced except for the whine of its single jet engine--an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with the most combat hours in the U.S. military's inventory left here on the final leg of its last operational mission. Continuing a trip on Feb. 20 from RAAF Edinburgh that began in the Middle East about a week ago, it headed toward Edwards AFB, Calif., where it may conduct some additional test flights while Northrop Grumman looks for an appropriate museum to house the aircraft.
If you like Dubai Ports World, the prospective buyer of the British company that operates six major U.S. ports, you'll love Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, the holding company being established to provide, among other things, aircraft leasing, airport development and management and MRO services (see p. 30). At $15 billion, part of it from the government of Dubai, the company will be capitalized for a robust startup and early competitiveness in worldwide markets.
The global commercial helicopter industry is riding a wave of prosperity that promises to extend well into 2007 as flight operations and sales show no signs of slowing down.
European Space Agency science program committee members OK'd two new missions following an injection of additional funding at the agency's ministerial summit in December. The BepiColombo Mercury mission and the Gaia planet-finding observatory will go ahead as planned. But to fit them in, the committee delayed by two years the start of the Solar Orbiter to 2015. ESA had been threatened with eliminating a major new mission if no new money was forthcoming.
A severance program for Delta Air Lines' officers and directors was approved last week by U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The airline sought to reinstate the program for what it says is the sole employee group that has not had severance or furlough protection since the airline's September 2005 filing for bankruptcy protection. Delta is seeking a $200-million yearly reduction in overhead and administrative costs, which will include job cuts for some officers and directors. The Air Line Pilots Assn.
Alexey Komarov (Moscow), Douglas Barrie (Singapore)
President Vladimir Putin last week finally set into motion the creation of a single Russian aerospace company, but in the coming months the government will need to be careful it does not derail the industry. Putin issued a decree Feb. 21 formally launching the process of pulling together the remnants of the once sprawling Soviet aerospace sector. The Unified Aircraft Co.--whose acronym in Russian is OAK--is intended to encompass both fighter and commercial manufacturers, private and state-owned.
The French defense ministry has concluded agreements with BNP Paribas and Calyon-Eurofactor that will permit the two banks to acquire receivables for 30,000 contractors that work for the ministry. The new system, which is part of an ongoing procurement reform, is intended to simplify the ministry's billing procedures and accelerate payments, which can take six months or more.
Mike Nilsson has been promoted to partner from associate at the Washington law firm of Harris Wiltshire and Grannis. He is a former legislative aide to U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller, 4th (D-W.Va.).
Robert Wall and Michael A. Taverna (Bordes, France)
Turbomeca is pressing ahead with a new technology effort aimed at developing a powerplant that would eventually replace its workhorse Arriel turboshaft. Although still selling strongly at a rate of more than 650 engines a year, Turbomeca suggests the time appears ripe to initiate an effort to replace the 600-900-shp. Arriel, the company's biggest selling model (AW&ST Dec. 5, 2005, p. 61). More than 6,000 units have been built since 1977; the latest version--the Arriel 2S2--was certified last year for the new Sikorsky S-76C++.
Thales has landed a $20-million contract to supply and support two Boeing 737-800 full-flight simulators for Shanghai Airlines. The new units, which will feature Thales's low-power-draw Em2k motion system, follow four others delivered to China during the past four years. The company also said it will open a regional headquarters in Singapore to build Asian business.
Unhappy about the extent of work its industry is garnering on the Joint Strike Fighter, Norway is considering pulling out of the Lockheed Martin-led program in the next few weeks.
The FAA's budget for Fiscal 2007, as proposed, puts pressure on capital accounts for the second year in a row, but it turns out that the current fiscal year, 2006, is being squeezed, too. Last year, when Congress restored most of the Bush administration's big cutbacks, it shaved $100 million from the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) request for operations, leaving $6.5 billion. When pay increases came in higher than expected, the response was "not just about cutting costs, but cutting services," ATO chief Russ Chew tells the Air Traffic Control Assn.
Let's take a break from transatlantic rivalries--those difficulties in establishing a solid two-way street between Europe and the U.S., political disputes and multiple misunderstandings--and focus for a moment on sentiments we hold in common. European admiration for U.S. aviation cannot be masked. This means we commiserate when American friends suffer bad news.
