The British, French and German governments are scrutinizing their defense industrial strategies, reflecting concern that too many crown jewels are being squandered.
GE Capital will sell about 33 million Class C shares in SES Global that were acquired in the sale of Americom to SES in 2001, bolstering SES's aim of increasing the liquidity of its stock. The sale, amounting to 5.6% of equity, will increase the free float of the Luxembourg-based satellite operator by 13-46% of stock, and reduce GE's holding to 25.1%. Liquidity was 23% prior to SES's listing on the Paris Euronext stock exchange in May 2004.
North American airlines aren't spending as much as European and Asian carriers on information technology and telecommunications and may therefore lose the lead they have in this area, according to SITA Inc. The European-based company that provides IT solutions to the air transport industry says that while North American carriers have been out in front on such trends as selling tickets over the web, they are ignoring inflight service enhancements such as providing passengers access to the Internet and e-mail.
Citing advances in weather forecasting and monitoring, all-weather aircraft performance and flight crew training, Southwest Airlines asked the FAA for an exemption to regulations setting the threshold for the requirement that an alternate airport, or even two alternates, be designated by dispatchers. Rules require an alternate if weather minima forecast at the destination airport are less than a 2,000-ft. ceiling and 3-mi. visibility. Southwest seeks minima of 1,000 ft.
Australia's Anzac frigates are being upgraded with active phased-array radars to handle the growing threat from anti-ship cruise missiles. The two main elements of the lightweight radar systems are a search-and-track radar and a phased-array missile illuminator. The latter would be used to guide ship self-defense missiles to shoot down the cruise missile.
Hurricane Katrina interrupted airline operations and sent fuel prices soaring to new heights, dealing another blow to financially-strapped U.S. carriers. But for once, the industry actually caught a bit of a break.
Separately, Eurocopter affiliate Helisim has decided to install a level D full-flight simulator for the Eurocopter EC225/725 Super Puma Mk. 2 upgrade at its facility in Marignane, near Marseille, France. The simulator is to enter service in 2007. The facility, built in partnership with Thales Services and Defense Conseil International, is already equipped with simulators for the Super Puma Mk.1/2, Dauphin N2 and EC155.
The acquisition of Belgium-based airport and inflight catering specialist Aviapartner by the 3i Group private equity firm has been cleared by the European Commission, which was reviewing it for anti-trust concerns. The EC found no problems with the deal, announced in July. Aviapartner operates in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy.
Singapore's decision to select Boeing's F-15T for its next fighter puts the island state firmly in the U.S. camp for its combat aircraft, and also bolsters the interdiction fighter's production line long after it was thought dead.
Images from the shuttle Discovery's mission to the International Space Station highlight the extraordinary beauty of space and the maturity of combined human and robotic flight operations. At the ISS, those combined operations are at 220 mi. altitude. But robotic/human operations are equally spectacular on Mars, where the human connection from Earth is commanding the rover Spirit on the crest of a Martian mountaintop now about 55 million mi. away (see p. 60).
NASA will buy hardware and software that allows space shuttles to use power from the International Space Station, extending the time available for docked operations to 12 from eight days. That will enable more assembly, maintenance and shuttle-inspection/ repair work during the dwindling number of shuttle missions remaining before retirement in 2010. Installation of the Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System in shuttle orbiters will begin next spring, and the first use of the system is scheduled for STS-119--six flights out on the manifest.
NASA has shifted analytical work on the space shuttle external tank out of New Orleans, but the extent of Hurricane Katrina's impact on the flight schedule remains to be seen. Administrator Michael D. Griffin says early estimates of a slip in the next flight from March to October 2006 were probably too pessimistic, but agency spaceflight managers need more information before setting even a planning date.
Wales's ParcAberporth continues to press its case as an emerging center of excellence for unmanned aerial vehicle work. Last week saw the first flight of the Watchkeeper Hermes 450 UAV in U.K. airspace during an event at the site. The Hermes 450 is the air vehicle element of the British Defense Ministry's 700-million-pound ($1.286-billion) Watchkeeper surveillance system. The event also saw Boeing and Qinetiq form a team to look at civil UAV applications.
Executives from Intelsat and Lockheed Martin say a joint report on the Jan. 14 electrical power failure of the LM-built IS 804 will be issued at the end of the month. LM Commercial Space Systems President Ted Gavrilis said the evidence has pinpointed the probable cause of the failure, which led to the total loss of the spacecraft, but several avenues are being pursued. The glitch could potentially affect 11 spacecraft, eight of which are in operation--including three at Intelsat.
The network of ATR turboprop operators is expanding. South Korea's Hansung Airlines has commenced operations with one ATR 72-200, making it the first ATR operator on the peninsula. Hansung's fleet is to grow to 10 aircraft in the next five years, with the second to be added in early 2006. Meanwhile, ATR and Air Caledonie have firmed up the commitment announced in June for the New Caledonian carrier to buy three turboprops from the EADS/Alenia Aeronautica joint venture--one ATR 42-500 and two ATR 72-500s. Deliveries are planned for 2006 and 2007.
PanAmSat has completed the acquisition of EuropeStar, a London-based fixed satellite service (FSS) operator with one spacecraft and two orbital slots (AW&ST Aug. 1, p. 18). The unit will be folded into PanAmSat-Intelsat company.
Russia launched a Progress supply vehicle toward the International Space Station on Sept. 8, setting up an automatic docking on Sept. 10. The Progress carried 2.5 tons of supplies including food, water, fuel and clothing for the two-man crew, and a new water-circulation system for the Elektron oxygen generator, which has been off-line.
Mike O'Dwyer, inventor of the world's fastest gun, likes to reminisce about growing up in Australia, a long-dead father he never knew, and his memories of a boyhood obsession. Sometimes his musings turn to the nature of modern warfare and his fascination with inventing weapons. O'Dwyer, a former grocer, was transfixed as a child by newsreels of kamikaze attacks on allied ships at the end of World War II.
Italian aviation authorities are urging the redesign of fuel quantity indicators used on ATR turboprops after finding that the wrong one had been installed on the Tuninter ATR 72 that crashed last month into the Mediterranean Sea off Sicily, killing 16 of 39 on board.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is one of the staunchest advocates for defense funding on Capitol Hill. But some of the Vietnam War veteran's positions--including advocacy of "Buy America" restrictions--have put him at odds with both Pentagon brass and his Senate counterpart, John W. Warner (R-Va.). In a wide-ranging interview, Hunter discussed with Defense Technology International's Joseph C.
Jerry Agee has become acting president of the Mission Systems Sector of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He succeeds Donald C. Winter, who has been nominated as secretary of the Navy. Agee has been deputy sector president.
A new round of consolidation in the fixed satellite service business is likely to push back an anticipated upswing in commercial satellite orders. However, companies building smaller spacecraft could benefit, industry officials said at a Euroconsult-sponsored industry gathering here last week.
When Darpa ended its work on the Metal Storm sniper rifle in 2002, the agency's official explanation was that it had decided to pursue a "more promising endeavor" called Mach 5/50. Like Metal Storm, Mach 5/50 was an Australian concept to demonstrate a weapon with very high rates of fire and no moving parts. Also like Metal Storm, Mach 5/50 would utilize stacked projectiles with a "unique positioning, seating and sealing approach" to develop a weapon that could be used in everything from naval air defense to firepower for combat vehicles.
The long-depressed launch service industry is gearing up to meet growing demand for small satellites, and to benefit from a momentary dearth of launch positions for large spacecraft.
World News Roundup 16 Investigators find crashed ATR 72 had wrong fuel quantity indicator 16 NTSB joins probe into crash of Indonesian 737-200 17 Startup Chinese cargo airline orders six Boeing 747-400Fs 18 Loral aiming for Chapter 11 exit this month 18 Space executives report on many fronts at industry gathering World News & Analysis 20 Pentagon blames procedures, com- munications in Katrina response 22 Homeland Security assisted rescue and recovery efforts
