Two of NASA's International Space Station partners are moving ahead on alternate ways to deliver equipment and supplies to the International Space Station, now that the U.S. agency has decided to retire its shuttle fleet. The European Space Agency has hired a team headed by Dutch Space to figure out how to put the European Robotic Arm (ERA) on Russia's planned Multipurpose Laboratory Module and launch it on a Proton rocket. The arm was originally intended to ride a shuttle to orbit, and be mounted on the canceled Russian Science and Power Platform.
The British government is attempting to use key procurement decisions to drive through fundamental changes in the U.K.'s defense-aerospace industrial base.
The Australian military will deploy the Elbit Systems-built Skylark man-portable unmanned aircraft to Iraq. The initial contingent will include four Skylarks, with two remaining in Australia for training.
The past decade or so is littered with good intentions when it comes to defense industrial policy in Europe. Grand declarations have come and gone, with the government and the private sector seemingly content to muddle along.
Boeing officials are downplaying the findings of the long-anticipated Pentagon Mobility Capabilities Study (MCS), which stopped short of requiring more C-17s despite an impending production line closure that would start next year.
As concerns grow over a pandemic sparked by avian flu spreading out of Southeast Asia, official Washington still grapples with what to do. President Bush calls for $7.1 billion to pay for vaccine development, an anti-viral drug stockpile, domestic and international surveillance and local preparedness. The administration says travel restrictions may be needed in a serious outbreak, but one expert thinks concern over airplanes' role in a crisis may be overblown.
The U.S. government has selected Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics to upgrade six Raytheon King Air 300 special-use aircraft with an option for 12 more. The integrated packages will include dual-channel digital flight control systems, a fully integrated digital autopilot and three 10 X 8-in. liquid crystal adaptive flight displays with engine indication capability. The Rockwell Collins Integrated Flight Information System will be included, along with GPS with Wide Area Augmentation System capability.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has selected Federal Equipment Co. of Cincinnati to design and build weapons elevators for the Navy's next-generation CVN 21 aircraft carrier. The ship will be equipped with 11 weapons elevators, each platform powered by four magnetic motors, manufactured by MagneMotion of Acton, Mass., that eliminate the need for hoist cables. The 8 X 20-ft. platforms will be capable of holding 24,000 lb., and "basically levitate in place," says Federal President Doug Ridenour.
USAF Maj. Gen. (select) Jeffrey R. Riemer has been appointed commander of the Air Armament Center and program executive officer for weapons at Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin AFB, Fla. He has been director of operations at the command's headquarters, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski who has been commander of the 49th Fighter Wing of Air Combat Command (ACC), Holloman AFB, N.M. Brig. Gen. Michael F. Planert has been named military executive of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, Md.
In a bid to expand their command and control, and network-centric defense activities in Finland, local TietoEnator is pooling its efforts with Saab. The TietoSaab joint venture will be 60% controlled by the Finnish entity, with Saab holding the rest. The business will be formally opened by Jan. 1. In addition to Finnish contracts, Saab Systems President Dan-Ake Enstedt says the joint venture will pursue export defense and civil security opportunities.
Major European airlines could be forced to reevaluate corporate strategies now that Lufthansa holds a minority stake in Fraport AG, the operator of Frankfurt's international airport, and has confirmed plans to invest in German air traffic control provider Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) next year.
An inexpensive flight recorder to be delivered on several new light aircraft is attracting interest for its flight operations quality assurance abilities.
After four wasted years since the U.S. Air Force's 2001 tentative lease contract for the KC-767 with Boeing, it is time to move ahead. USAF and Congress should start the process for replacing the KC-135 Stratotanker with an all-American solution. Brand-new KC-767s remain the only choice for USAF, Congress, the U.S. aerospace industry and U.S. taxpayers. If USAF stands for a backup tanker fleet, secondhand converted MD-11s or early Boeing 777-200s should be considered.
The German air transport department has decided not to renew the operating license for charter carrier Aero Flight, formerly known as Aero Lloyd. The agency said only that Aero Flight no longer meets legal requirements to maintain its operating license. The charter operators insisted that safety is not the underlying issue, suggesting the government had problems with Aero Flight's business plan.
India is expected to make its biggest arms sale ($88 million) to Chilean armed forces for 20-30 twin-engine lightweight Advance Light Helicopters manufactured by government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Technology transfer for the ALHs is said to have been offered to Chile. The first squadron of ALHs in the Indian air force became operational in October with the delivery of six helicopters; four more are expected. Chile may also be India's first buyer for the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos.
The International Federation of Airline Pilots Assns. has issued a safety bulletin in response to the recent JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 landing that saw the nosewheel turn 90 deg. Ifalpa says the incident "has caused increasing concern among pilots and operators" and that 13 similar occurrences were found to have four different causes. In response to the JetBlue case, Airbus has told airlines the nose gear shock absorber upper support anti-rotation lugs were damaged.
Sidney E. Fuchs (see photo), who is president of the TASC business unit within the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Sector, has been named to an executive-level panel of the Information Technology Assn. of America's Coalition for America's High-Tech Future. The panel consists of presidents of large companies and universities that have an investment in the future leaders of technology, engineering, science and math industries. The coalition addresses ways to secure the availability of science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills in schools.
Northwest Airlines says rising fuel prices led to cancellation of its intended Oct. 30 launch of Seattle-Amsterdam-Bangalore service. Northwest, along with partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, offers daily flights from 16 U.S. gateway cities to Mumbai and New Delhi, via Amsterdam.
The FAA has certified Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s G36. Formerly known as the A36, the upgraded derivative features a fully integrated avionics package that includes the Garmin G1000 and GFC 700 autopilot. The twin-engine G58, which features a similar installation, is scheduled for certification by the end of the year.
Adtron has added the 3.5-in. SATA (A35FB) flash disk to its Flashpak family. It complements 3.5-in. IDE (I35FB) and Adtron SATA/IDE 2.5-in./form factor flash disks. All are built on Adtron SmartStorage framework and the ArrayPro performance engine. The patent-pending ArrayPro technology enables high sustained performance rates for a given capacity, according to the company. Up to 128 gigabytes fits in a standard 3.5-in. form factor to meet most command and control and telemetry applications needs.
J. Thomas Zusi has been named to the board of directors of K&F Industries Holdings Inc., White Plains, N.Y. He retired from the then-AlliedSignal Inc. as corporate vice president-finance, business analysis and operations.
Israel is in talks with Romania to sell used F-16s. The $150-million deal is expected to involve about a dozen older F-16A/Bs, that would likely receive updated avionics. The U.S. would have to approve the sale.
A Rannoch Corp. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system, combined with multilateration for fixing the position of aircraft, has achieved initial operational flight tracking over the Taiwan Strait for the Taiwan Civil Aviation Authority. The area of coverage is adjacent to the Fujian Province of China.
Blake E. Larson (see photo) has been promoted to senior vice president of Alliant TechSystems, Edina, Minn., and president of the ATK Advanced Propulsion and Space Systems Group. He was vice president/general manager of ATK Composites. Charlie Precourt, a former astronaut and deputy program manager for the International Space Station, has become vice president-strategy and business development of Alliant TechSystems.
