CHC Helicopters received a five-year contract from the U.K. Coast Guard to provide search-and-rescue services from four British bases, starting in 2007. The award, the fifth of its kind for CHC, calls for the purchase of four Sikorsky S-92s and three AgustaWestland AB139s. CHC ordered a pair of Eurocopter EC225s earmarked for operations in the North Sea under a five-year agreement last October. Eurocopter also landed an order for two EC225s from U.K. oil and gas operator Bristow, under an option to a previous two-unit purchase in May.
The six months of major combat in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan saw not only centralized planning, but also a degree of centralized execution that was unique in the U.S. experience. Greatly expanded global communications connectivity provided unprecedented real-time situational awareness at all levels. That new capability allowed sensor-to-shooter links to be shortened, in some cases, from hours to minutes. It also, however, resulted in an oversubscribed target-approval process that lengthened rather than compressed the kill chain.
An improved version of the solid propellant booster motor for India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle completed a successful static test-firing at ISRO's Dhawan Space Center on Dec. 29.
Raytheon has agreed to sell its 49% stake in Indra ATM to the Spanish information technology and defense systems company for $58.6 million so Indra can become the sole owner of the former joint venture. Raytheon has purchased the remaining equity in fractional ownership operator Flight Options International. Raytheon had owned 97.6%.
The Transportation Security Administration ended an up-and-down 2005 in up-and-down fashion. Administrator Kip Hawley removed some items, like small scissors, from the list of objects banned from airline cabins, aiming to focus airport screeners on explosives rather than small weapons. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff cited that step among the year's accomplishments. But flight attendants and some members of Congress say sharp objects, however small, can be dangerous in the hands of a terrorist, and they're fighting to have the ban reinstated.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating ground crew training procedures after an Alaska Airlines MD-80 experienced a rapid depressurization at 26,000 ft. on Dec. 26 after taking off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The crew made an emergency descent; no one was hurt. The plane was carrying about 140 passengers and a crew of five. NTSB investigator Jim Struhsaker found that while on the ground, the MD-80 fuselage was scraped by a tug near a forward cargo door. In flight, the sheet metal tore open, creating a 6 X 6-in.
News Breaks 18 U.K. begins to receive imagery from Topsat micro-satellite demonstrator 19 Some evidence surfaces on fate of Britain's Beagle 2 Mars lander 19 NTSB probes metal fatigue in breakup of Chalk's amphibian 20 Boeing closes out record year with four more 777F orders from Avion World News & Analysis 22 Critics accuse Pentagon's civilian leaders of quashing dissent 22 Key mobility, airlift studies may stay under wraps as budgets flatten
Wheel fragments from exploding tires on takeoff penetrated the pressurized fuselage of an Air-India Boeing 747-400, causing the crew to dump fuel and return to Los Angeles International airport on Dec. 19. The aircraft made a safe landing 85 min. later and no one was injured.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.'s tentative decision in the SkyTeam consolidation case grants expanded code-sharing authority but denies what the applicants wanted most--immunity from antitrust laws. Denial reflects a finding that the proposal would create few if any benefits for consumers.
Aviation Week & Space Technology's Person of the Year--the first such feature in the magazine's 89-year history--is meant not to laud personal achievement per se, but to recognize the impact individuals have on the broader aviation, aerospace and defense community. Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini has done just that in spades. When he took the helm in 2002, this Italian company seemed destined to operate in the shadows of the global aerospace/defense industry's industrial juggernauts.
8 Correspondence 9 Who's Where 11 Market Focus 13 Industry Outlook 15 Airline Outlook 17 In Orbit 18-20 News Breaks 21 Washington Outlook 72 Arrivals 81 A European Perspective 82-83 Classified 84 Aerospace Calendar 85 Contact Us
SES Americom's AMC-23 satellite was headed for its orbital checkout position at 170 deg. W. Long. after a Proton launch from the Baikonur Cosmo-drome on Dec. 29 at 8:28 a.m. local time. After checkout, it will be positioned early this year at 172 deg. E. Long. AMC-23 is a hybrid C-/K u-band satellite that will combine landmass coverage from Bangladesh to Califor- nia with K u-band links for Connexion by Boeing over transpacific routes.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) William Russ (see photo) has been appointed vice president-Washington operations for Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems. He succeeds John Grimes, who is now U.S. Defense Dept. chief information officer. Russ was commanding general of the Army Communications-Electronics Command and Ft. Monmouth, N.J.
In another sign that the aerospace industry is hitting on all cylinders as it begins 2006, Heico Corp., a supplier of niche commercial aviation and military products, reports that its sales were up 25% to $270 million in the fiscal quarter ended last Oct. 31. The Hollywood, Fla.-based company is telling investors to expect even bigger sales growth--in the 35-40% range--during the current fiscal year, thanks to robust demand. Wall Street likes what it sees: as of last week Heico's stock was up 45% since May.
Jesse T. McMahan and Philip L. Soucy, co-presidents of Modern Technology Solutions, have won the Combat Survivability Award for Leadership from the Arlington, Va.-based National Defense Industrial Assn. Carl S. Carter, who is chief engineer for low-observables technology at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, received the Combat Survivability Award for Technical Achievement. The awards honor individuals or teams for their performance across the spectrum of survivability--including susceptibility reduction, vulnerability reduction, and related modeling and simulation.
Chris Marzilli has been promoted to president from senior vice president/deputy general manager of General Dynamics C4 Systems, Falls Church, Va. He will succeed Mark A. Fried, who has retired.
The Czech government is expected this month to name the companies invited to formally bid on the country's aircraft maker Aero Vodochody. The process should be completed by May.
Francois Gayet (see photo) has become secretary-general of the Brussels-based Aerospace and Defence Industries Assn. of Europe. He was corporate senior vice president-marketing and sales for Thales. Gayet succeeds Roger Hawksworth, who has returned to the U.K.
Aviation Week & Space Technology's first Person of the Year graces this week's cover. Finmeccanica CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini was selected ahead of several other strong contenders (see pp. 66-71). In the background are images of major programs in which Finmeccanica is involved, including (top right) the Eurofighter Typhoon, whose electronic warfare system has been dominated by the Italian aerospace firm. This came about after Guarguaglini orchestrated the creation of Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems by buying parts of BAE Systems' electronics operations.
The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds nuclear weapon programs is warning the administration not to try to resurrect research on a nuclear "bunker-buster." Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) says that if next month's Fiscal 2007 budget request includes money for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, the House will strip it out, just as it did last year.
Tom Downey, Vice President of Communications, Boeing Commercial Airplanes (Seattle, Wash.)
David Pritchard not only makes incorrect statements about U.S. government support for the Boeing 787 program, but he says: "Members of the Western supply chain need to realize the race is on, and they weren't invited to participate" (AW&ST Dec. 12, 2005, p. 6). That claim is wrong. Although the final distribution of work for the 787 is still being determined, we estimate U.S. content will make up about 75% of the value--similar to that in the 777.
