The FAA has certified Sikorsky's S-76C++ helicopter. The aircraft features Turbomeca Arriel 2S2 turboshaft engines, an inlet barrier filter, new interior, HUMS and a gearbox that generates less noise in the cabin. The engines allow a 350-lb. increase in payload over the S-76C+. The S-76D, which will feature further improvements, is scheduled for certification in 2008.
Officials in Israel have sidestepped a ban on naming a successor to long-time Israel Aircraft Industries CEO Moshe Keret by naming the company's chairman, Itzhak Nissan, as acting CEO until Keret's official retirement in late February. An official appointment requires authorization of the defense and finance ministers, who have suspended such activity until after elections in March.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) J.H. Binford Peay, 3rd, and USN Adm. (ret.) Robert Natter have been named to the board of directors of Washington-based BAE Systems Inc. Both were directors of United Defense, which was acquired by BAE Systems.
USAF Col. (ret.) Lewis Hanson, Air Force One pilot to four U.S. Presidents, died Dec. 27, at a Meredith, N.H., hospital. He was 81. Presidential passengers included Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson, and his favorite, John F. Kennedy. Hanson served as the pilot or first officer on every Kennedy trip while he was in office.
Reed Burkhart and Synette Tom have been appointed sales and marketing directors for North America and Southeast Asia, respectively, for Space Systems/Loral, Palo Alto, Calif. Burkhart was an executive at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and Tom at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.
Thales and EADS remain center-stage as Europe's aerospace and defense industry sees another year of jockeying for position in the defense electronics sector. In fact, the stakes have become higher as both companies have expanded the battlefield into naval defense activities. The tension rose another notch on Dec. 30, when EADS and ThyssenKrupp combined to buy Atlas Elektronic, the German naval electronics house formerly owned by BAE Systems. EADS will hold 40% in Atlas and ThyssenKrupp 60%.
Saab has received a 150-million kronor ($19-million) contract to integrate the IRIS-T dogfight missile (see artist's concept) on Gripen. The first missile shot would take place next year, with integration work running into 2009. Sweden is part of the IRIS-T development team with Germany (where missile prime Diehl BGT Defense is based), Italy, Norway, Spain and Greece. Additionally, Saab has snagged a $13.5-million contract for the further development of the StriC Swedish air defense system, with a particular focus on NATO interoperability.
The U.S. Marine Corps is sole-sourcing an $18.8-billion development and procurement deal for 156 CH-53Ks to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., the manufacturer of the CH-53 helicopter family. Competitions for the new heavy-lift aircraft's engine, digital cockpit and airframe are expected this year and will be managed through Sikorsky, which also will perform final assembly. First flight is planned for 2011.
By using new RNAV precision departures at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, American Airlines expects to save $15 million a year in fuel initially and as much as twice that in the future.
Can a trimmed-down United Airlines survive in the grueling domestic arena and in the global competition among super carriers? That question is facing the airline as it advances through final legal issues toward exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Orbcomm has completed a new round of financing that will provide $110 million in capital for its next-generation satellite program. The bulk of the funding was from new financial investors, including the Pacific Corporate Group, which committed $60 million, MH Equity Investors and Torch Hill Capital. Existing investors--including Ridgewood Capital, Northwood Ventures senior management and OHB Technology of Germany--also participated.
Market Focus 8 Thales and EADS in battle for lead in European defense electronics News Breaks 16 JPL releases polar projection of Spirit on flanks of Husband Hill 16 Sale to China highlights record year for Dassault Falcon 17 FAA orders inspections of G-73 Mallards after Miami crash 18 Former Air Force One pilot Lewis Hanson dies World News & Analysis 20 Ready to emerge from Chapter 11, United faces huge challenge
Maintaining cost efficiency will remain a top priority for airlines in 2006, what with world carriers expected to record a $6-billion loss for 2005, cautions the International Air Transport Assn. However, IATA is reporting good growth news--research shows that, compared to 2004, freight traffic enjoyed a 2.8% growth in November, and a 2.8% growth for the first 11 months of the year. Passenger traffic was up 6.1% in November with load factors at 73%, and 7.7% for the first 11 months of the year.
To help preserve a viable European air transport insurance market that is increasingly fickle due to terrorism concerns, industry and government officials this year are looking to overhaul liability rules that date back more than 50 years.
Advances in miniaturization technology will enable New Horizons to carry the most compact high-performance instruments ever flown on an initial reconnaissance mission to a previously unexplored planet, says William Gibson, payload science manager at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio. The instrumentation is designed to enable New Horizons to obtain images of Pluto, its moons and more distant Kuiper Belt objects, some as detailed as Landsat images of Earth's terrain.
MBDA has completed the second qualification test of the SAMP-T air defense missile. The Aster 30 missile intercepted the C-22 target drone, representing a maneuvering aircraft, at 500 meters and 10 km. from the launch. Integrated in the test were the Arabel radar and vertical launcher.
After reading about methods to suppress the effect of sonic booms from aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound over populated areas (AW&ST Nov. 7, 2005, p. 68), I would like to propose an idea. The coalescence of shock waves from the undersides of aircraft might be reduced or prevented by injecting strategically located rear-directed jets of air to cancel or reduce the formation of shock waves. The energy that produces these jets would come from the plane's engines and being rear-directed, it would not degrade overall thrust.
Dale Gordon has been appointed engineering and laboratory manager of Aerofit Inc., Buena Park, Calif. Fred Cowles has been promoted to supervisor of APT Laboratory, a unit of Aerofit, from lab technician.
Marcus Bryson has become chief executive of U.K.-based GKN Aerospace. He has been CEO of GKN Aerospace Propulsion Systems and Special Products of San Diego.
Lufthansa German Airlines has been given the regulatory green light to take over Eurowings and its low-cost Germanwings subsidiary, but it needs to make some changes to appease antitrust authorities. The European Commission says slots at Vienna and Stuttgart will have to be relinquished to eliminate what would have amounted to monopolistic control over certain routes.
Steve R. Osborne has been promoted to corporate vice president-business acquisition from director of strategic business initiatives for New York-based L-3 Communications.
A flurry of year-end orders allows Airbus to claim records in the narrow-body arena, but highlight a relatively lackluster performance in wide-body sales. While most of the attention in 2005 in the perpetual Boeing versus Airbus battle was focused on the admittedly higher-margin wide-body market--where the U.S. manufacturer has been trouncing its European rival in recent months--in the narrow-body world, Airbus has quietly put together a record-breaking series of wins.
L-3 Communications Holdings Chairman/CEO Frank C. Lanza can be forgiven for bristling a bit when asked about his company's "weak" stock. After all, Wall Street has long showered him with praise for L-3's track record of stellar sales and earnings growth.
