L-3 Communications subsidiary Integrated Systems will provide the U.S. Navy with eight Special Structural Inspection Kits as part of the service's P-3 Sustainment, Modification and Improvement Program designed to extend the service life of the fleet of 150 airplanes. The kits will be used during intensive depot-level work that includes special structural inspection.
Chile's LAN Airlines has ordered 25 Airbus A318s and A319s, and has taken an option for 15 more of the single-aisle aircraft. The deal will cost LAN about $750 million, the carrier said. Aircraft deliveries will commence next year. The carrier already has A319s and A320s in its fleet, powered by IAE V2500s. An engine decision for the new aircraft hasn't been made. Pratt & Whitney hopes LAN's A318s will be the first powered by PW6000 turbofans.
How does the FAA create the National Airspace System (NAS) of the future? By getting a host of stakeholders to agree on key issues such as what parts of the aging infrastructure to retire, what the new system should look like and how to pay for air traffic control services.
The Argos HAL-2 (High-Accuracy Locator) transmitter has a reliable frequency stability making it possible to pinpoint to an accuracy of 1,000-1,300 ft. The VHAL-2 is fitted with an integrated GPS device to enable even more accurate pinpointing to within a few feet, while retaining the same overall performance as the HAL-2, according to the company. The system is used worldwide for locating and collecting data by satellite and is related to such systems as GPS.
Raytheon has won a multi-year contract from Boeing worth $580 million to provide active electronically scanned array APG-79 radars for U.S. Navy F/A-18E/Fs. The five-year contract involves 190 radars. The radar is to have longer detection ranges and the ability to produce high-resolution synthetic aperture radar maps. It also is to have enough resolution to detect very small targets at ranges great enough to attack them.
Russian and Kazakh workers at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, are continuing 27 years of stellar performance to prepare and launch Progress unmanned resupply spacecraft. The automated Energia Progress tanker/transports have been the critical logistics lifeline to the International Space Station while the U.S. space shuttle has been grounded. The checkout and launch of the Progress M-53/P-18 vehicle and its SL-4 Soyuz launcher are shown at Baikonur in mid-June. The cosmodrome is celebrating its 50th anniversary as the world's first spaceport.
Russia's new Express AM-3 satcom is undergoing checkout in geosynchronous orbit prior to going operational with communications services to Siberia and the Far East. The 2.5-ton Russian Satellite Communications System spacecraft was launched June 24 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on board a Khrunichev Proton booster with an Energia Block DM upper stage. The spacecraft will be parked over the Pacific Ocean at 140 deg. E. Long., where it will use 16 C-band, 12 K u-band and a single L-band system to provide voice, data and broadcast services.
After 2.5 years of tumultuous space program change following the loss of Columbia and her crew, NASA will begin the countdown July 10 for the planned launch of Discovery to return the shuttle program to flight July 13. "Based on a very thorough and very successful Flight Readiness Review, we are 'go' for launch," said NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin.
Virgin Atlantic Airways' business travel traffic figure was up by 26% in the 12 months to the end of February. Its load factor for this class was 56%, the highest since 2000. The airline is also recruiting an additional 1,500 staff over the next 18 months, predominantly in operations.
Secure Flight, the computerized airline passenger pre-screening program, may be a bit late getting off the ground because of budget cuts, the program's manager says. Already four months behind schedule, Secure Flight is supposed to roll out in mid-August with two yet-to-be-selected airlines. But budget woes are putting this target date "in very serious jeopardy," Justin Oberman tells a House subcommittee. The administration seeks $81 million for Secure Flight in Fiscal 2006.
Only days after BAE Systems completed the acquisition of United Defense Industries, it has received a $1.27-billion order for the remanufacture and upgrade of 500 Bradley armored vehicles for the U.S. Army.
Some friction is developing in Japan over delivery schedules and overpayments for U.S.-manufactured weapons systems. Japan's Board of Audit says that approximately $2.04 billion that the JDA has paid for procurement of U.S.-made systems through the Foreign Military Sales program has not been cleared for export. The board wants the agency to accelerate its claims for clearance, although the JDA reports it has repeatedly asked for U.S. action without success. The audit board says Japan has overpaid $93 million and wants refunds.
British airline passengers will be able to begin judging how "green" an airline is as part of an aerospace industry initiative aimed at addressing environmental concerns. By the end of 2005, airline signatories to the "Sustainable Aviation" strategy document have agreed to "common reporting of total carbon dioxide emissions, and fleet fuel efficiency." A further goal is to "inform passenger understanding of the climate impacts of air travel, including evaluating carbon offset initiatives."
Lockheed Martin has completed the first successful test flight of its Joint Common Missile controlled test vehicle (CTV-1) at China Lake, Calif. It is the first time the JCM has flown with a production-like rocket motor. The flight covered the maximum rotary-wing range of 16 km. (10 mi.). The missile is expected eventually to have a 28-km. range.
The Japan Defense Agency, which has spent 2.4 billion yen ($22.5 million) in research on its own unmanned aerial vehicle since fiscal 2003, has decided that it will take too long--about 10 years--to complete an "operational-ready" system for the nation's front-line reconnaissance needs and is expected to select the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk over the General Atomics Predator to fill that role. The continued threat of military action by North Korea has prompted the JDA to seek improved reconnaissance as quickly as possible. The agency sent a specialist group to the U.S.
Giovanni Fazio (see photo), a senior physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and lecturer in the Harvard University Astronomy Dept., has received NASA's Public Service Medal. The award recognizes Fazio's efforts as principal investigator for, and his role in the development of, the Infrared Array Camera, which is one of three instruments on board NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
David A. Fulghum (Baltimore), Amy Butler (Washington)
Pentagon planners are beginning to quietly voice their alarm at what appears to be up to a $30-billion shortfall that could threaten a host of weapon programs--including aviation projects.
Raytheon has received a $752-million contract to provide Taiwan with elements of a missile and air defense system. They include a UHF phased-array radar integrated with Taiwan-furnished IFF beacons, two missile warning centers, and communications as well as specialized architecture and protocols.
Arm Aerospace's options to its aero-lift include: an increase in scoop width of 20% making it easier to dock aircraft; high-speed drive for faster travel time to full height or floor level; increased tail clearance for loading ease, the company says. Arm Aerospace, 1775 South Pantano, Suite 100, Tucson, Ariz. 85710. 10 on www.AviationNow.com/aps
United Airlines flight attendants, in response to the carrier's efforts made last week to begin termination of their pension plans, said the action sets the stage for "strikes this summer." In the meantime, the Assn. of Flight Attendants (AFA) will continue to pursue legal and legislative solutions to preserve the plan. AFA has warned that any unilateral change to its contract is a violation of the Railway Labor Act and is grounds for legal work stoppages.
Jack A. Milavic's comments show how quickly we forget history. Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the closest we came to a successful hijacking of an airliner and suicide attack was the attempt on FedEx Flight 705 in 1994 by a disgruntled pilot who reportedly planned to crash it into the FedEx building in Memphis, Tenn. The attempt was foiled by the survival instincts of the crew. So yes, there is a threat of an irate passenger storming the cockpit in a cargo-only environment.
JetBlue Airways has awarded MTU Aero Engines' maintenance subsidiary a 750-million-euro ($900-million), 10-year contract to support up to 360 International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans. MTU is a partner in IAE.
