The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has been intercepting communications for months using a rudimentary intelligence payload operating on the development aircraft over Iraq. The payload is tailored to signals on frequencies used by insurgents and doesn't approach the high-speed frequency-hopping capability planned for the production aircraft. Meanwhile, the Army, Air Force and Navy, each with its own program, are trying to figure out a way to save money by combining future signals intelligence requirements into a single platform.
Lufthansa Technik and MTU Aero Engines have established the goal of growing their combined Malaysian Airfoil Services venture (AASB) into a $20-million-per-year turnover operation; revenue is now $5 million. The growth should be generated by offering a wider array of repair and maintenance services at the Kuala Lumpur site. Furthermore, a new facility is being built to quadruple the production capacity.
Thomas Enders, CEO of EADS and president of the German aerospace industries association BDLI has been elected president of the Brussels-based Aerospace and Defense (ASD) Industries Assn. of Europe. He succeeds Finmeccanica Chairman/CEO Pier Fran- cesco Guarguaglini. Charles Edelstenne, chairman/CEO of Dassault Aviation, has been nominated as ASD president-elect.
Kent L. Statler has become senior vice president/ general manager of Collins Aviation Services for Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He succeeds Harry Gregory, who plans to retire. Statler has been senior vice president-operations.
Thomas Welch (see photo) has been named general manager of Derco Repair Services of Milwaukee. He was vice president/general manager of Pride International.
As a past member of the Space Access Society, I am responding to the commentary by society Executive Director Henry Vanderbilt, "NASA Exploration Needs Reform," and his notion that today's commercially available boosters can be used in place of a heavy-lift booster, which NASA seeks to develop as part of its return to the Moon (AW&ST Sept. 26, p. 28). As the numbers will show, Vanderbilt is incorrect.
Boeing says the Spaceway F1 direct-to-home high-definition television satellite it launched Apr. 26 for DirecTV has completed its in-orbit check and been turned over to the customer. Sister spacecraft Spaceway F2 is due for an Ariane launch from Kourou, French Guiana, late this year.
Washington's two airports are scheduled to be equipped by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with explosives detection trace portals by Thanksgiving. The portals provide greatly improved protection against the possibility of a suicide bomber boarding a plane, by finding minute traces of explosives in air samples as passengers selected for additional screening walk through a portal. New York's John F.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO. HAS CERTIFIED A HEAVY-WEIGHT version of the King Air 350 in the FAA's Commuter Category. The twin-engine turboprop business aircraft is approved for a maximum takeoff weight of 16,500 lb.--1,500 lb. more than the standard 350. Changes include a stronger main landing gear. John Braunels, vice president of contracts and special mission aircraft, says the next step for the King Air 350 series is completion of development and certification for fuel tanks located in the nacelles of the 350ER for extended range capability.
Mickey McCabe (see photo) has been appointed vice president-research/executive director of the Research Institute at the University of Dayton, Ohio. He was head of composites technology for GE Aircraft Engines.
Anthony S. Abbott (see photo), a principal engineer in The Aerospace Corp.'s Navigation Div., has received the El Segundo, Calif., company's highest honor, the Trustees' Distinguished Achievement Award, for "sustained contributions to terrestrial navigation for military applications and to GPS/Inertial Ultra-Tight Coupling." Ultra-Tight Coupling is reported to improve jam resistance for GPS by up to 43%.
USAF Col. (ret.) Tom Harrison has been appointed vice president/program manager for the UH-145 rotary-wing aircraft for EADS North America, Arlington, Va. He has been manager of both the Tactical Operations Center and Tactical Airspace Integration System programs for the Motorola Integrated Systems Div., Huntsville, Ala.
Striking the right level of technology sophistication to hold down costs will factor highly in the upcoming competition to replace NASA's space shuttle fleet. The agency has already described in some detail the "Apollo-on-steroids" approach it wants to take.
Italy's Eurofly has signed a letter of intent with Airbus to acquire three A350-800s starting in 2013, making it the 10th customer for the new aircraft. In the near-term, the Italian carrier will lease two more A330-200s to boost its long-haul fleet.
International Aero Engines will manage its fleet data for the V2500-A1/A5/D-5 engine series using Mxi Maintenix software from Mxi Technologies of Ottawa.
One million kilograms of freight and 2,000 passengers a week may be insignificant for a commercial airport, but it marks a substantial effort for the Royal Air Force's, or RAF's, transport fleet.
The British Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week lambasted the Defense Ministry over its "woeful performance . . . in procuring defense equipment, and its inability to follow its own, broadly sensible, procurement rules." The PAC was looking at procurement performance as detailed in the National Audit Office's Major Projects Report 2004.
The FAA is upgrading beacon interrogators on three radars that serve the Washington Center Air Route Traffic Control Center in Leesburg, Va., earlier than planned after "target jumps" began to occur on air traffic controller displays. Aircraft identifications will remain in place, but target blips will disappear from the ATC screen for several radar sweeps, according to the FAA. The initial Leesburg problem was caused by radio frequency interference (RFI) that was investigated but could not be isolated, FAA officials say.
Five of China's aerospace leaders and luminaries were recognized for their achievements at the first International Aviation Laurate Awards dinner held in Beijing on the eve of Aviation Expo. International Aviation Group decided to recognize the leading contributors to aviation in the tradition of its U.S. partner, Aviation Week & Space Technology.
David Asai has been named chief financial officer of Independence Air. He was vice president/controller/assistant secretary. Asai succeeds Richard Surratt, who has resigned.
CESSNA RECENTLY TRAINED ITS 1,000TH CUSTOMER in the operation of Garmin's G1000 integrated avionic suite. The company trains up to 30 people each week in the factory-authorized training program, using 11 flight instructors. The three-day course, taught at Cessna's facilities in Independence, Kan., includes classroom lecture, instruction in the G1000 simulator and flight time. The G1000 package integrates flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather and engine systems information on two 10.4-in. color, liquid-crystal, active-matrix displays.
