General Electric is pursuing an aggressive technology development path and is boosting its spending on aircraft engine research and development by $200 million this year to $1.2 billion, says Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of GE Transportation. The company has been investing about $1 billion a year in this area since 2001 to feed several new engine programs in development by GE and its partners.
The Israel Air Force next month will take delivery of its first Nachshon Gulfstream G550 fitted with the Elta-provided Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System. The IAF is buying three G550s for signals intelligence, and later another three for airborne early warning.
USN Rear Adm. (ret.) Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr., president and CEO of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, made some quite disturbing admissions during his interview (AW&ST May 30, p. 50). Apparently, he thinks it is proper to "sidestep the regular procurement process" and "get things done" via "good relationships with the people in the Pentagon and the Congress." So-called "agile" procurement may be desirable, but not if this means favoring one competitor over another or eliminating oversight mechanisms that protect public money from abuse.
Your article on the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) shows lessons from the space shuttle were not considered sufficiently (AW&ST May 9, p. 32). Reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) should never be used on another thermal protection system (TPS). RCC is cheap, but it is not used for anything outside of NASA. It depends too much on a thin carbide coat. RCC worked well in the Apollo engines as conditions were controlled exactly, but you can't do that with a TPS. RCC, especially when it is cold, is dangerous so only Apollo TPS materials should be used.
JSF production is expected to reach a rate of an aircraft a day by 2012, but program managers want to return to a schedule buffer. Janis Pamiljans, Northrop Grumman vice president and Joint Strike Fighter program manager, wants a four-aircraft cushion to avoid one problem disrupting manufacturing flow. "A poor decision takes 30 days to recover," Pamiljans points out.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Incoming NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin wants to buy crew and cargo deliveries to and from the International Space Station as soon as he can from private commercial providers who have risked money to develop the capability. He has almost $100 million to spend right now, and more in the pipeline.
Craig Staresinich (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager for the Northrop Grumman Corp. Missile Systems Sector's Kinetic Energy Interceptors program, Fair Lakes, Va. He was vice president/deputy of programs for the company's Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Germanwings will expand its fleet of Airbus single-aisle aircraft with the purchase of another 18 A319s and an option for 12 more. Germanwings operates 15 A319s and five A320s, but had previously never bought aircraft directly from Airbus.
Inmarsat says the price for an initial public offering to raise new capital to pay down debt has been set at 2.45 pounds ($4.43)--the upper end of the indicative price range (AW&ST June 13, p. 29). The IPO values the company at about 1.1 billion pounds and is expected to raise 368 million pounds, not counting over-allotment arrangements. This would create a free float of 33%.
Airbus says it announced deals worth $33.5 billion during the Paris air show, although not all of those are firm orders. The aircraft maker recorded 320 orders and commitments during Le Bourget, including 40 aircraft orders and commitments that weren't announced. Highlights include a single A380 order from Kingfisher, and the 60 A350 commitment placed by Qatar Airways.
The U.S. Coast Guard is working with the secretive U.S. Air Force Safari program to develop a small, slow, quiet manned patrol aircraft, says Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins. He tells the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee his agency will issue a request for proposals through the Air Force in September, funded by a $14-million covert-airplane initiative.
The Chilean defense ministry says it will join the European A400M airlifter program. Chile will take three of the EADS-built aircraft, to be delivered in 2018-19, and may build parts for the program under an offset agreement.
Missing from the discussion of low-cost versus legacy carriers is the offer made in the early 1980s by United Airlines pilots to waive parts of their contract, to allow United to compete against new airlines in the deregulated market. United's CEO declined the offer because he believed the new airlines wouldn't be a threat.
Thales will furnish the helmet-mounted display system for 20 Russian Aircraft Corp. MiG-29s. The launch customer for the Thales system on the Russian fighter isn't being disclosed. Delivery of the systems is to be completed by the end of 2007. Thales is already working with MiG on the MiG-AT trainer and upgrades to the MiG-21.
For the second consecutive year, Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI) has been named the 2005 "Best Small Company to Work for in America" by the Great Places to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management. AGI supplies software for analyses of land, sea, air and space assets.
The United Arab Emirates' national carrier, Etihad Airways, says it will use Boeing's Connexion to provide high-speed inflight Internet services and live global television coverage. Connexion is to be applied on Etihad's fleet of 25 aircraft, including its Boeing 777-300ERs and Airbus A330/A340s and the five A380s Etihad ordered earlier this month at the Paris air show. The win was a coup for Boeing, since Airbus is a partner in its rival, OnAir.
Sea Launch orbited Intelsat's IA-8 communications satellite on June 23, sending the Space Systems/Loral-built spacecraft aloft from its Odyssey floating launch platform at the equator in the Pacific on a Zenit-3SL rocket. The spacecraft will service the Americas, Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii from an orbital slot at 89 deg. W. Long.
Goodrich Corp. is shuffling top executives at three business segments, a move the company says is aimed at providing more seasoning for potential successors to President Marshall Larsen. John Grisik will leave his post at airframe systems to take over the electronics business from Cindy Egnotovitch, who will run engines systems. She is replacing Jack Carmola, who will take Grisik's chair. The changes are part of planning for succession, according to the company.
Brandon R. (Randy) Belote, 3rd, (see photos) has become vice president-corporate and international communications and Mary Simmerman vice president-corporate procurement for the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. Belote has been the Washington-based director of corporate and international communications. Simmerman was vice president-materiel at the company's Integrated Systems Sector.
The NASA/Boeing-Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engine project is correcting flaws in critical Honeywell SSME electronic components that could have caused a potentially dangerous launch pad abort.
Even as the price of oil hits $60 per barrel, U.S. airlines are approaching the end of the second quarter--and the financial reports that will follow in a few weeks--with a few positive revenue trends.
At a time when the U.S. is facing increasing competition from abroad, it is time to think outside the box, when searching for solutions for various helicopter requirements (AW&ST May 30, p. 28). The EADS NH90 would seem like a good candidate for some of the requirements, except for the fact that it is a European product. In fact, EADS has been garnering market share with its innovative and fresh designs. So why don't we do the same?
At the recent Paris air show, ATR logged 20 orders for new turboprop passenger transports and options for at least another 10. The largest sale came from Fincomm Airlines for eight ATR 42-500s plus options for another eight. In addition, CCM Airlines is buying six ATR 72-400s and Air Caledonie is taking two 42-500s and one 72-500. Air Madagascar has signed for one 42-500 and two 72-500s with an option for two more airplanes of an undecided type. This year ATR, a joint venture between EADS and Alenia Aeronautica, has won orders for 51 aircraft.
Scientists who are starting to use drones for civilian research remain enthusiastic about the prospects, but have been frustrated by practical problems that will delay their exercise by about five months.
Erick Epperson (see photo) has been named business operations controller of the Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis. He was controller of FAG Bearings, Joplin, Mo.
