Northwest Airlines is providing a glimpse of its hoped-for future as it struggles in bankruptcy court with several unions over how to achieve goals including a $6-billion revamping of the aircraft fleet.
Two Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout unmanned helicopters autonomously conducted nine landings on the amphibious assault ship USS Nashville last week, a first for the U.S. Navy.
Robert Wall (Paris), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
The U.S. Army has opened a Pandora's box for the Pentagon's airborne signals intelligence community with its decision to terminate the Aerial Common Sensor program. What now lies ahead is months of likely interservice battles as the Air Force, Navy and Army each try to impress their intelligence priorities on their sister services.
It doesn't have a name yet, but engineers are already sketching the robotic lander that will scout one of the Moon's polar regions for humans to follow. Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) planners at NASA are putting together options for a mission they call RLEP-2, which should launch by the beginning of 2011. They plan to pick a concept this spring. The 40-50 engineers agency-wide who are working on the task have a lot of ideas for tackling the mission, which has one overriding problem.
Moscow Domodedovo International Airport enjoyed double-digit growth in 2005, based on an Airports Council International report. The airport handled 13.9 million passengers in 2005, 7.8 million international and 6.1 million domestic. Compared with 2004, this reflects a 15.7% increase. Most of the growth occurred on flights to London, Brussels, Zurich, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Tashkent, Hurghada and Dubai. In December alone, Domodedovo handled 990,000 passengers, a 19.5% increase over the same month in 2004.
Lufthansa has recorded a 2005 operating profit of 550 million euros ($665 million), beating analysts' consensus estimate of 530 million euros and outperforming the latest guidance from the airline's management.
Russia and Algeria appear to have finalized a deal on the export of MiG-29SMT multirole fighters. The aircraft will be fitted with Phazotron Zhuk-ME radar, along with air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. A number of Sukhoi Su-30s also are reported in the package. Acquisition of the Almaz-Antey S-300 surface-to-air missile system is also under discussion.
Capt. Jack Broadbent makes an excellent point regarding the limitations of a battery backup for flight data recorder systems with multiple sensors (AW&ST Dec. 12, 2005, p. 8). However, cockpit voice recorders with battery backups would only need to power one sensor: the cockpit area microphone. Better yet would be a cockpit voice and video recorder with battery backup. Video not only would directly record pilot control inputs, but also instrument and screen displays that have battery backup.
Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland are testing laser optics for an instrument that they expect will help pinpoint a good spot for future human settlements on the Moon.
Anita Antenucci, managing director/co-head of Los Angeles-based international investment bank Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin's aerospace, defense and government investment banking group, has won Woman Deal Maker of the Year in the M&A Advisor newsletter's annual awards. She was cited for growing a middle-market practice in aerospace and defense mergers and acquisitions during a period of substantial consolidation in the industry.
German-French plans for a heavy-lift transport that could be built in cooperation with U.S. manufacturers are nearing the initial definition phase, say Eurocopter executives. The two countries first floated the heavy-lift concept in mid-2004, under the name Heavy Transport Helicopter (HTH), as a replacement for aging Sikorsky CH-53s and Boeing CH-47s toward the end of the next decade. Heavy-lift capability is seen as central to Europe's out-of-theater peacekeeping and humanitarian mission aspirations.
The textbook descent of Stardust's blazing-hot return capsule to a safe touchdown, and the quality of the cometary dust it delivered to waiting scientists, validates the aerodynamic modeling, designs and technology NASA can use for future deep space and sample return missions.
Herb Knight, who will continue as senior vice president-aircraft sales and management, also will be head of the aircraft brokerage and acquisitions practice and North American aircraft management business of Stratford, Conn.-based PrivatAir. Jeanne Muzio has become vice president-select membership sales and Loryn Cooke manager of client services.
Boeing has chosen Middle River Aircraft Systems, a General Electric subsidiary in Baltimore, to provide thrust reversers for the 747-8, for which GE is building the GEnx-2B67 engine. Spirit Aerosystems of Wichita, Kan., will build the aircraft's engine nacelle and strut. GE has completed GEnx design for the 787 and expects to begin tests in March. That engine will operate with a 111-in. fan and be certified at 70,000 lb. thrust in 2008. The 747-8 version will be certified at 66,500 lb. thrust with a 104-in. fan.
What's been the U.S. military's "biggest victory to date in the global War on Terrorism?" Not what you might think, says Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy. "Our response to the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia [in 2004] and the [2005] earthquake in Pakistan did more to counter the ideological support for terrorism than probably any other events," Henry tells an American Enterprise Institute conference.
Boeing has completed a key test of the Australian Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system as part of the developmental path to delivering the first of the modified Boeing 737s to the Royal Australian Air Force in November. The company, in conjunction with the Australian Defense Materiel Organization, put the electronically scanned radar through its paces, including a 3-hr.-endurance and 360-deg.-scan trial.
Embraer's ability to invest in new aircraft development is likely to receive a big boost out of the anticipated overhaul of its shareholder structure. The Brazilian manufacturer's board late last week was expected to approve a share conversion that will also see the current concern being moved into a new entity of the same name.
One of the biggest system integration contracts up for grabs for aerospace and defense contractors this year is providing headaches before it's even awarded. Bidders vying for the massive 2008 Beijing Olympics security integration contract are starting to worry about perceived dawdling on the part of the Chinese. Beijing has put up for bid the lead systems integrator role for security and has indicated it wants the system to be largely up and running by next year to work out bugs in plenty of time for the summer 2008 event.
The British Defense Ministry has reversed its intention to centralize its Air Combat Service Support Units (ACSSU) at RAF Scampton in the east of England, and instead has chosen RAF Leeming in the northeast of the country. The ACSSU provides communications for RAF units on deployed operations. The ministry's initial decision was reviewed because of an increase in the estimated cost of using Scampton.
Ron Utecht has been appointed president/chief operating officer of Timco Aviation Services Inc., Greensboro, N.C. He was a consultant to the company and had been senior vice president-maintenance and engineering for United Airlines.
Precision Castparts Corp.'s year-over-year operating income rose 26% in 2005 to $91 million as strong aerospace demand offset a softening automotive market. Quarterly sales were up 16% to $864 million.
The British Defense Ministry is seeking funds to bring forward its planned acquisition of another Boeing C-17 airlifter. The U.K. is purchasing the four aircraft it has leased. London had planned to buy a fifth aircraft early in the next decade, but the Pentagon's move to end production in 2008 is forcing the U.K. to consider an earlier acquisition.
An item in News Breaks misstated the cost of the Bell-Boeing V-22 (AW&ST Jan. 16, p. 411). The U.S. Marine Corps variant now costs $69 million apiece. Officials are targeting a $58-million price within four years.
With exports in mind, a Dassault-led team is set to introduce a package of system and software modifications to the Rafale fighter that would allow it to meet a broader range of requirements, from state-of-the-art surveillance to traditional strike or air defense.
