French aerospace industries association Gifas has reiterated a call for launch aid to be maintained for makers of engines, onboard systems and lower-tier subcontract items, even if it is abandoned for airframers (AW&ST Oct. 17, p. 26). In a report issued last week, Gifas's equipment division argued that system and engine suppliers, already under heavy pricing pressure from airframers, have witnessed a steady erosion in government support since 2001 that is forcing them to bear an ever greater share of research and development.
There are two points on deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) that were overlooked in your recent article (AW&ST Nov. 7, p. 98).
The Pentagon is primed for the perfect storm as operational, budgetary, manpower and transformation crises converge. One of the early indicators of this pending collision is the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which critics say has shifted from a blueprint for military transition to management of minor changes to future programs.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN OFFICIALS HAVE BEGUN INITIAL FLIGHT TESTING of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) sensors, that will surround the aircraft with a protective sphere for enhanced situational awareness. On Nov. 11, the company's BAC 1-11 avionics testbed aircraft flew from Baltimore with three DAS sensors installed. During the flight, all three sensors functioned simultaneously to provide a single, combined, wide field of view.
Jordan has selected Northrop Grumman to conduct a $230-million upgrade of its national command, control, communications, computer and intelligence networks under a five-year program. The company's BattleSpace Command C 4I and Radiant air defense systems are expected to improve the speed of reactions to threats and will make the army, navy and air force more interoperable with each other and coalition forces in the region.
DirecTV has signed with Sea Launch for a Zenit-3SL launch of a Boeing 702 satellite in early 2007, plus another on option. The contract--Sea Launch's seventh of the year--will cover one of three 6-metric-ton 702s currently under construction for DirecTV. The company's 9S, intended to operate from 101 or 119 deg. W. Long. as a backup to 4S or 7S, is currently scheduled for launch next year. It is to be followed by DirecTV 10 and 11 in 2007. On Nov. 16, Arianespace orbited DirecTV's Spaceway 2, earmarked, like Spaceway 1 (orbited by Sea Launch on Apr.
Boeing and Airbus could break new order records before year-end, but the absence of airline commitments was also remarkable at last week's Dubai air show, illustrating airline concerns about readiness of proposed technological innovations. One record that could fall is for total order intake for aircraft seating more than 100; that was set in 1989 at 1,631 aircraft. Airbus President/CEO Gustav Humbert sees a slight chance his company and rival Boeing could combine to surpass that number. "This has been a good year for the industry at large," he notes.
Larry Miller (see photo) has become vice president-quality assurance for Meggitt subsidiary S-TEC, Mineral Wells, Tex. He was general manager of MD-88/90 fleet engineering for Delta Air Lines.
Douglas Barrie (Edinburgh), Michael A. Taverna (Brussels)
A pending status check of Europe's grand vision of a seamless air traffic system threatens to reveal a gulf between political ambition and the reality of implementation. In mid-2006, the European Commission (EC) plans to "take stock of developments" in advancing one of the critical elements of the Single European Sky initiative--the Functional Airspace Block (FAB), says Ben van Houtte, head of the EC's air traffic management unit.
The FAA has approved Frasca International's Mentor advanced aviation training device (AATD) for use in teaching student pilot maneuvers and procedures as outlined under certain sections of FAR Parts 61 and 141. The Mentor can be used for up to 20 hr. toward an instrument rating, 2.5 hr. for a private pilot license, 50 hr. toward a commercial license and 25 hr. for an Airline Transport Pilot certificate.
Ducommun Inc., a publicly traded supplier of electromechanical and structural aircraft components, has agreed to acquire Miltec Corp. for $50 million. Miltec, a privately owned provider of missile and aerospace systems and testing, had sales of $42 million last year. The deal is expected to close before Dec. 31.
Martin P. Kress has become executive director of the National Space Science and Technology Center, Huntsville, Ala. He was vice president/relationship manager of the NASA/Space Group with the National Security Div. of Battelle Science and Technology International, Columbus, Ohio.
JEPPESEN REPORTS THAT ITS ELECTRONIC CHARTS BUSINESS IS GROWING, but its traditional paper chart business has not declined. This isn't an ideal situation for Jeppesen because it must continue to invest in both its emerging electronic chart business and its legacy paper business. The company believes the latter will begin to wane at some point, but first pilots have to become comfortable using electronic charts without having paper around as a backup. That may take a while, according to Kevin Collins, senior vice president and general manager of Jeppesen, a Boeing company.
Saab is to sell its 27.5% stake in the Nordic Ammunition Co. (Nammo) to Finland's Patria Oyj, which already has the same shareholding, for 400 million Swedish kronor ($49.7 million). The remaining 45% is owned by the Nor- wegian state. Norway has the right to acquire 5% of the shares being sold, and will announce its intent by Dec. 18.
Britain's annual financial physical exam of its Defense Ministry's procurement performance shows the agency is beginning to gain some control over cost overruns and procurement delays. It also makes clear that progress still is required.
Bruno Delile has become senior vice president-industrial and business development, Fouad Attar vice president-marketing and sales and Pierre-Yves Reville senior vice president-materials and services, all for Air France Industries. Ludovic Loisel has been named vice president-strategy for Air France Industries and Air France/ KLM MRO coordination. Delile has been senior vice president-materials and services and Attar director of intercontinental sales. Reville was senior vice president-sales and marketing, and Loisel vice president-business development.
I am surprised that your article "A New Path to Space?" (AW&ST Oct. 24, p. 56) portrays air-launch of an orbital booster rocket as a new concept. I was a member of the Pegasus team at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center when, on Apr. 5, 1990, we flew the first successful air-launched space shot, orbiting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's SECS experimental communications satellite and NASA's Pegsat magnetosphere science satellite.
Japan's new Aerospace Exploration Agency, the two-year-old combination of three formerly separate organizations now known by the acronym JAXA, has an ambitious vision for the next 20 years. But like its counterparts in other spacefaring nations, its vision is clouded by the uncertainties of domestic politics and international space-exploration planning.
The MDA's sea-based floating X-band radar (SBX) is traveling from Texas to Adak, Alaska, on the Blue Marlin transport ship. Because of its size, the ship will have to go around the tip of South America. SBX, the largest X-band radar, is designed to distinguish decoys from warheads in space.
As it opens a nonstop polar route to New Delhi, Continental Airlines is betting on the strength of its Atlantic hub in Newark, and the size of the Indian-American population living in the carrier's Houston home base as advantages. "Until now, business travelers [coming from the U.S.] had no choice but to fly intermediate destinations" to reach India, Continental President Jeffery Smisek commented during a visit here this month to promote use of Boeing 777-200ERs from Newark Liberty International Airport.
Airbus is starting to talk to airlines about converting A380 options to firm orders and is weighing whether to build A350s at a faster rate than first planned. New Airbus President/CEO Gustav Humbert says that fielding of the mega-transport next year will likely spur companies that have options to start turning them into firm orders. Airbus has about 50 options along with 149 firm orders for the A380, and 10 commitments from UPS are likely to be firmed up soon.
Building on its initial success with enhanced vision, Kollsman Inc. is developing two new forward-looking infrared (Flir) sensors and a compact head-up display for use on a variety of aircraft in addition to a combination enhanced/synthetic vision display.
Management of NASA's Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) has been assigned to the Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. The assignment anticipates robotic lunar rover missions starting in 2008 to help pick landing sites for manned missions. The rovers are to explore whether resources such as oxygen, hydrogen and metals are available to support long-term habitation. The rovers would follow the 2008 launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft already under development at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Royal Jordanian Airlines subscribes to the philosophy that bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to aircraft size and network. It soon plans to order as many as 15 regional jets as part of a conservative strategy to expand its service within the Arab world and feed key international routes.
