You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 5-6--U.S. Defense Dept. Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. Apr. 25-26--MRO Military Conference, Phoenix. Apr. 25-27--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix. May 16-17--MRO Military Europe, in conjunction with ILA air show, Berlin. Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China.
NASA will spend $40 million in the current fiscal year and another $130 million in Fiscal 2007 on commercial launches to the International Space Station (ISS), part of a $500-million wedge that could give spaceflight entrepreneurs enough seed corn to begin harvesting profits from orbit. A draft call for proposals outlines a two-stage procurement process that will begin with negotiated agreements between the U.S. space agency and potential launch providers designed to spur launch demonstrations.
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace will reenter talks with Boeing on Dec. 13 for a four-year contract at the company's Wichita, Kan., factory after members rejected a contract offer in voting Dec. 5. The pay package was lower than what Boeing offered at its Seattle-area factories, members said.
Malaysia may be signing up for four Airbus Military A400M airlifters, but other elements of its ambitious procurement program are being delayed as funding restrictions shackle acquisitions. Combat aircraft upgrade, intra-theater airlifter, and surveillance aircraft programs are all being deferred. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is in the midst of a modernization program, the centerpiece of which is the purchase of 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM multirole combat aircraft. The four A400Ms will be delivered in 2012-13.
Meterologists are worried that threatened interruptions in the availability of critical oceanography data could limit operational use of such information in weather and climate forecasting, just as oceanography is poised to transition from the realm of science to routine operations.
Bill Hayden, director of supplier performance for Honeywell Aerospace, has been named to the board of directors of the Irvine, Calif.-based Supplier Excellence Alliance.
Airlines' shift to smaller aircraft amid growing economic difficulties raises a red flag for the U.S. Transportation Command's new chief because commercial carriers may be less able to support military missions in times of conflict. The administration is crafting a plan to "assure airlines the business is there" with the Pentagon during peacetime and war, says USAF Gen. Norton Schwartz. The proposal would go to Congress next year.
As ITT's avionics unit moves away from its traditional component supplier role, it is providing more complete suites of electronic warfare equipment and using software to integrate systems into a variety of aircraft.
Only two weeks ago, Lockheed Martin's C-130J program manager and the top USAF uniformed official were crowing that a renegotiated multiyear contract for the airlifters was near signing. But the wind is now out of their sails. McCain demanded the renegotiation to boost congressional oversight of the 60-aircraft deal. The existing arrangement gives the C-130J commercial status, which reduces the amount of data sent to the Pentagon and Congress; McCain wants it to reflect more standard military procurement protocols.
New radars are becoming sophisticated radios--radios that can be used as weapons against insurgents. A series of experiments is turning the radars of next-generation tactical aircraft--including the F/A-22 and F-35--into advanced communications devices for intelligence-gathering, reconnaissance and strike missions.
Christopher Cuddy has become Boston-based group managing director of Cheapflights Ltd. and president of Cheapflights (USA). He was vice president/general manager of New Markets at Lightbridge Inc.
Efforts by NATO to adapt military forces to modern warfighting could be at risk due to a lack of funding and political support. A top military officer overseeing NATO's so-called transformation initiative argues that more must be done if the alliance wants to better position itself for modern conflict and the integration of member forces.
James B. Kelly (see photo) has been appointed president/ CEO of Flight Explorer, Alexandria, Va. He succeeds Walt Kross. Kelly was president/CEO of SynXis.
Richard Branson, armed with the unprecedented startup funding in U.S. history of $177.3 million, filed Dec. 8 with the Transportation Dept. to operate a U.S.-based low-cost carrier, Virgin America. VAI Partners LLC holds the controlling 75% or $88.9-million share. A Virgin Group of companies led by Branson and two other British citizens holds the 25% minority stake, in accordance with U.S. foreign ownership rules. Corporate headquarters will shift from New York to near the new carrier's main hub, San Francisco Inter- national Airport.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is expecting its first test in 10 months of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system as soon as this week. An interceptor launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands will engage a simulated target. Testing had come to a standstill after back-to-back failures resulted in a push for more ground tests and quality control.
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing received AS9100 aerospace quality systems certification for its Leesburg, Va., and Ottawa operations. The audit was performed by TUV America.
A replay of data tapes from the Hayabusa asteroid mission has raised doubts about whether the Japanese spacecraft was successful in collecting samples for its return to Earth in June 2007. The doubts arose because of a mysterious safety mode procedure that cropped up during the command sequence for firing two pellets into the surface of the asteroid Itokawa. The pellets were to knock surface bits free that would float up a collection cone into a canister.
Data from instruments on two NASA Earth Observing System satellites--Aqua and Terra--have provided the most detailed map yet of Antarctica. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) instruments on the spacecraft generated 260 cloud-free swaths over the polar continent between Nov. 20, 2003 and Feb. 29, 2004, which were combined into a digital mosaic. Known as the Mosaic of Antarctica (MOA), the map grids match those in a 1997 mosaic generated by Canada's Radarsat-1.
Iran is acquiring the Tor M-1 (SA-15 Gauntlet) air defense system from Russia. The vertical-launch missile system is mounted on a tracked vehicle, and is capable of engaging targets at up to 7.5 mi. The Tor M-1 uses the 9M331 missile, and can engage aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and precision-guided air-to-surface weapons.
British airlines are competing with Asian counterparts for British flight crew and engineers. U.K. carriers have increased salaries by as much as 20% in an effort to attract and retain employees. A survey by aerospace staffing company Wynnwith found that of the 850 flight crew vacancies advertised in Britain, 32% were for jobs in Asia, 20% for posts in the Middle East and only 25% for airlines in the U.K.
Rolls-Royce has snagged a $600-million order to supply the engines for China Southern Airlines' five Airbus A380s. The aircraft deal was announced earlier this year, and deliveries are set to start in 2007.
Airbus has snagged a firm order for nine A320s from Philippine Airlines, which already operates seven aircraft of the type. Moreover, the carrier has taken options for another five aircraft and will lease two A320s and two A319s from GE Capital Aviation Services, Airbus announced last week. First deliveries of the newly ordered A320s are slated for the second half of next year, with handovers to run until 2012.
Finnair has expanded its order for Embraer regional jets, opting to take another four of the aircraft. The order, worth approximately $100 million, comes on top of an earlier one for 12 of the aircraft type. Finnair expects to have all 16 RJs in service in 2007. The four latest aircraft are Embraer 190s; the initial order was split between 10 170s--the first of which are now in service--and two 190s. The carrier holds four more options for the RJ. The Embraers next year will be used to phase out MD-80s and to open new routes.
Britain's Cobham plc has been selected for Australia's A$1-billion ($750-million) Coastwatch contract. The Cobham bid is based on using 10 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. Cobham subsidiaries would provide surveillance services out to 2020.
