The European Union and Canada will be exchanging air passenger data under a new agreement approved by the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council. The accord, which should be in full force in the fall, is intended to give airlines guidelines on how to meet Canadian rules on providing data on passengers bound for Canada, while still complying with EU privacy restrictions. Under the arrangement, passengers will be able to dispute the handling of their data.
Connecticut-based PanAmSat has agreed to buy EuropeStar, a small communications satellite operator based in London, from France's Alcatel. Like a deal with JSAT Corp. of Japan a month earlier, the purchase reflects a desire to invest excess cash flow in underserved or high-demand markets that can provide scope for future growth at a minimal cost--a strategy increasingly shared with other satellite operators (AW&ST June 6, p. 53; July 4, p. 17).
France is introducing a "seal of approval" for poorly regulated foreign airlines, which it hopes can become a model as Europe seeks to tighten safety standards of non-European carriers serving its market.
UPS IS INTENT ON STARTING OPERATIONS WITH CONTINUOUS descent approaches (CDAs) at Louisville (Ky.) International Airport as early as 2007 using a variety of tools to perform sequencing and merging tasks. The aim is to have freighters begin an idle descent from cruise to touchdown as demonstrated by Airbus and Boeing in their tailored arrival trials in Australia last year. An A330 and a 747 arrived at a final approach fix within 2 sec. of estimates after descending at idle power all the way from cruise altitude (AW&ST Apr. 25, p. 36).
As the World Trade Organization establishes the Dispute Settlement Board to hear the Airbus-Boeing subsidy case between the European Union and U.S., several countries have raised their hands to be given third-party rights, which means their voice will be heard. Among them are Brazil and Canada, which have sparred over aircraft subsidies; Japan, whose support for the Boeing 787 irks the Europeans; as well as China and South Korea.
French defense research agency Onera and the Saint Louis Institute, a Franco-German R&D facility, have inked a three-year agreement to cooperate on weapon micro-actuators, laser beam formation and related matters, in cooperation with German aerospace center DLR.
China's military buildup has U.S. lawmakers mulling the economic and political price of new defense programs to protect Taiwan. "I think we're past the point of being alarmed. China's military buildup is fairly straightforward," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) tells Aviation Week & Space Technology. The question, says Hunter, is, against whom does China expect to use all these weapons? In its recent annual report on Chinese military power (AW&ST July 25, p.
With its Peacekeeper force nearly deactivated and its Minuteman III fleet expected to expire in a little more than 10 years, the Pentagon is looking for a new intercontinental ballistic missile for the strategic nuclear deterrence mission. At the top of the wish list for the new weapon are flexible targeting, high reliability, longer range and better targeting precision, according to Brig. Gen. Mark Shackelford, requirements director at Air Force Space Command. So far, industry has offered roughly 30 different concepts, he says.
GRINTEK TCI AVIATION SYSTEMS OF SOUTH AFRICA IS UPGRADING the ground-based navigation infrastructure in that nation for the Air Traffic Navigation Services Co. Ltd. (ATNS) under a recently signed 30-year contract valued at $11.3 million. ATNS was created in 1993 as a state-owned limited-liability company to provide ATC services to be paid for by commercial service fees. Grintek will install new navaid equipment at 36 sites where current systems are nearing the end of their service lives. The upgrades include remote control and monitoring capability.
In light of the growing threat of terrorism around the globe, the U.S. Air Force is reassessing the security posture and tools needed to protect the nuclear weapons it deploys on its intercontinental ballistic missile force. Half of the 9,600 people in Maj. Gen. Frank Klotz's command at the 20th Air Force--which operates the nation's ICBMs--are dedicated to security. This mission includes patrols around the massive missile fields, stationary guards at the silos and launch control facilities, and helicopter-borne support for transfer of nuclear warheads.
John M. Lydiard, 3rd, (see photo) has been named chief of staff for the BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions Operating Group, Nashua, N.H. He has been president of BAE Systems Mission Electronics.
Jacqueline S. Everett (see photo) has been named vice president-General Services Administration for BAE Systems Information Technology, Herndon, Va. She was executive director of GSA/ GWAC programs at the Unisys Corp.
Robotic laser topographic inspection of the exterior of the orbiter Discovery is providing precise 2D and 3D data to make engineering judgments on the orbiter's readiness to fly a safe reentry by early next week. The new Canadian-developed Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) made precise scans of the Discovery's reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) wing leading-edge panels and nose cap.
Groupe Latecoere reports a 42% boost in 2005 revenue compared with last year. The company says revenue reached 171 million euros, largely on the strength of suppliers to Airbus, Embraer and Dassault.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that federal agencies involved in responding to violations of restricted airspace lack fully developed interagency policies and procedures, information-sharing arrangements and a clearly designated lead agency. "As a result, opportunities may be missed to enhance the security of U.S. aviation," the report says. Between Sept. 12, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2004, the FAA counted 3,400 violations of restricted airspace in the U.S.
The Space Shuttle Discovery should leave the International Space Station (ISS) in much better shape than it has enjoyed since the last shuttle visit in November 2002, but history shows that the sooner NASA finishes fixing the external tank and flies again, the better. Discovery's crew corrected some troubling problems on the ISS that had persisted due to the 2.5-year grounding of the shuttle fleet after the loss of Columbia. Another long delay is sure to generate some of the same issues again.
Stork reported strong operating results in large part due to its aerospace operation. A strong second quarter should provide the conglomerate with 15% net profit growth for 2005. The aerospace sector generated 265 million euros in net turnover, with earnings before interest and taxes of 36 million euros. Company officials highlighted higher deliveries on NH90 components and additional agreements related to work on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Australia plans to spend $19 million to expand the Australian Aerospace helicopter production facility in Brisbane where the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters are being assembled for the army. The money will allow MRH-90 troop transport helos to be built there as well. The spending plan was announced at the same time as delivery of the first Brisbane-assembled Tiger to the army--four were built in France; the remaining 18 are scheduled to be finished in Australia and fielded by 2009.
Your detailed article by Frances Fiorino and David Bond, "Great Expectations," on the proposed America West-US Airways merger was very informative, and I think the new, combined airline will be a great success (AW&ST May 30, p. 38). Since their routes barely overlap, their hubs complement each other and their fleets are very similar, it will be a great marriage. If seniority integrations work out, it will be testimony to cooperation and future success, as well as labor solidarity.
The European Space Agency is supporting development of a solar-powered airplane, the Solar Impulse, that Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard hopes to pilot around the world. Design and assembly are planned for 2006 and 2007, followed by a first flight attempt in 2008. The team expects to perform its first night flight that same year (AW&ST June 27, p. 48). Long-range trials are to take place a year later, including a transatlantic mission and an around-the-world tour, with at least one stop on each continent.
Raymond B. Greer has been named to the board of directors of Kitty Hawk Inc. of Dallas. He is president/CEO of Transport Industries Holdings Inc., Irving, Tex.
USAF Maj. Gen. Scott S. Custer has been appointed vice director for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. He was assistant deputy chief of staff for air and space operations at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. Custer has been succeeded by Maj. Gen. Norman R. Seip, who was special assistant to the deputy chief of staff for air and space operations. Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Lanning, who has been chief of staff for the Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, Va., has been named special assistant to the commander of Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Maj. Gen.
Astronaut Daniel W. Bursch has retired from NASA to join The Aerospace Corp. as the National Reconnaissance Office Chair at the Naval Postgraduate School. He will be technical liaison between the Naval Postgraduate School Space Systems Academic Group (NPS SSAG) and the National Reconnaissance Office, NPS SSAG and The Aerospace Corp., and NPS SSAG and industry for space systems and related subsystems, technology, research and development.
USN Rear Adm. George E. Mayer has been appointed commander of the Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, Va. He has been commander of Navy Region South/chief of naval air training, Corpus Christi, Tex. He will be succeeded by Rear Adm. (selectee) Donald P. Quinn, who has been director of aviation officer distribution for the Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tenn. Rear Adm. (selectee) Michael D. Hardee has been named assistant commander for aviation depots for the Naval Air Systems Command, NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been NASC's air speed project officer. Rear Adm.
USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Ronald T. Kadish, former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va. He is now vice president/partner in Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
