The first of six key U.K. government/industry-identified technology demonstrator projects will get underway if a pending Rolls-Royce bid snags the required research funding. The engine maker will submit its proposal to the Trade and Industry Dept. (DTI) at the end of July. The department has earmarked 30 million pounds ($54.3 million) in its latest budget for "complex systems research." A number of bids for the cash are expected, with those making the first cut invited to offer detailed submissions in September.
USN Rear Adm. William D. Crowder has been named assistant deputy chief of naval operations for information, plans and strategy in Washington. He has been commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, Everett, Wash. Rear Adm. (lower half) Elizabeth A. Hight has been appointed principal director for global information grid operations/commander of the Defense Information Systems Agency's global operations/deputy commander for joint task force/global network operations in Washington.
In all of the recent news and discussions focusing on pension funding problems in the airline industry leading to Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. bailouts and with nearly all of the major "legacy" carriers in or approaching the same "fix," why is there total silence about increasing fares?
NASA has selected a Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jupiter probe as its second candidate mission for the medium-class New Frontiers program, opting for a detailed investigation of the gas giant over a pair of lunar sample return landers proposed by the Colorado School of Mines. Pending final analysis of schedule, technical and cost risks following a preliminary design study, JPL's Juno mission would be developed to go into polar orbit around Jupiter. There it would try to learn if the planet has an ice/rock core, and study its atmosphere and magnetic field.
Jay Hall (see photo) has been named vice president-business development for Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynnwood, Wash. He was aftermarket business unit manager for the Valcor Engineering Corp., Springfield, N.J.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award of the New York-based Wings Club at its dinner-dance on Oct. 28.
Boeing researchers have changed the wing design of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, which is designed to replace the P-3 as the U.S. Navy's primary patrol aircraft. The wing extension is being altered from a blended winglet to a raked or backswept wingtip that is used on some commercial aircraft. Boeing and Navy officials approved the change because it is expected to provide aerodynamic efficiencies but with the added benefit of increased overall performance for long maritime patrol missions.
Dwindling acquisition budgets and longstanding problems of overrun and delay are draining the FAA modernization funding and will force the agency to come up with realistic cost and schedule estimates for cherished programs as it reviews its options, Transportation Dept. Inspector General Kenneth Mead says. As the fiscal pressure mounts, the agency is devoting only 16.2% of its Fiscal 2005 facilities & equipment funds to programs that will increase the capacity of the National Airspace System, Mead tells Congress.
Flight testing for Italy's first unmanned combat air vehicle will mark a new step in Europe's quest to develop a future UCAV capability. The Alenia Aeronautica-developed Sky-X performed a 20-min. first flight at the Swedish Vidsel air base on May 29. The aircraft took off at a speed of 125 kt. on the main runway of the remote base situated close to the Arctic Circle. Sky-X flew a planned route, performing engine, handling and flight control checks. Approach and landing qualities also were exercised before the vehicle executed a 110-kt. landing.
NATO will equip its E-3 AWACS early warning aircraft with upgraded self-protection equipment. According to Marshall Billingslea, assistant secretary for defense investment, the alliance plans to install directed infrared countermeasures systems to protect against attacks from heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles. The E-3s are based at Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
After a stellar run in 2004, homeland security stocks have been hit with double-digit price declines this year. Factors converging to wallop valuations are diminishing public concern about terror attacks, the U.S. government's slow adaptation of promising new security technologies and worries that Wall Street may have been a bit too exuberant in its expectations. "The wind kind of went out of the sails this year," says Brian Ruttenbur, a research analyst who covers 14 homeland security stocks for Morgan Keegan & Co.
The U.S. government is awaiting delivery from Northrop Grumman of the first space-hardened firewire-type interface for a satellite. Firewire is the widely proliferated, high-speed data transfer mode used by devices such as the iPod. The equipment will standardize interfaces on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (Npoess) constellation and provide a quick transfer for the plethora of sensors that are expected to collect unprecedented amounts of data.
The Pentagon finally sealed the deal on a year-long slip to the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program. The delay is not new, although the Pentagon's acquisition chief finally signed off on it in a formal memo last week. The decision reflects a program restructuring devised last year after officials realized the jet was overweight, and the program's manager said earlier this year he is still looking to trim an additional 300 lb.
The contract to develop the tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System has been inked, giving continued work to Meads International. About $2 billion has been earmarked for the design and development phase. The project involves MBDA Italia, EADS/LFK in Germany and Lockheed Martin. It incorporates the Patriot PAC-3 missile, a lightweight launcher, a reloader for rapid fire, 360-deg. surveillance and networked command and control.
As it signed a firm contract for Boeing 787s last week, Ethiopian Airlines said it will exercise five options it held in its original Feb. 4 commitment for the new jet, bringing its total order to 10. As an indication of how elastic "list prices" are, Boeing says the 10 aircraft for Ethiopian are valued at $1.6 billion, or $160 million each. That compares with the $120-million "list price" given for All Nippon Airways' commitment for 50 aircraft that launched the program. Boeing has 118 firm orders for the 787 and 148 commitments.
Lockheed Martin and Aerojet have conducted a second firing of the upgraded Atlas V Block B solid rocket booster (SRB). The test occurred May 24 at Aerojet's new SRB test stand at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards AFB, Calif. The first test occurred on Apr. 1. The Block B is an upgrade of the Block A SRB that Aerojet developed for Lockheed Martin as part of a pre-planned improvement initiative for the Atlas V. The new booster will be used on the rocket to provide improved performance and reliability.
Jens Flottau and Neelam Mathews (Tokyo and Nagoya)
The International Air Transport Assn. expects the global airline industry to incur even higher losses in 2005 than previously predicted, as it continues to suffer from high oil prices and structural problems. In a five-point plan, IATA is calling on governments to rethink their attitudes toward airlines. Meanwhile, the Star Alliance is proceeding with a major initiative tackling global distribution system (GDS) costs.
The Ukrainian government is preparing an extensive airport expansion plan to catch up with growing air traffic demand. The goal is to improve infrastructure by 2010, around the time Kiev hopes to become a European Union member. However, turmoil caused by last year's "orange revolution" in Ukraine has momentarily slowed industry-led initiatives to boost passenger capacity.
Record-high fuel prices and brutal fare competition in 2004 eclipsed the effects of the 2003 Asian health crises, and drove some airlines to fail, others to file for bankruptcy protection or pursue out-of-court restructuring.
On Apr. 15, Northwest Airlines and its corporate parent, NWA Corp., signed an agreement with a syndicate of banks and other investors that relaxed somewhat the carrier's liquidity problems of 2005. Northwest faced a $147.8-million principal payment due in November under an existing $975-million secured term loan. With the stroke of a pen, 96% of the payment was slipped five years, to November 2010, and the remaining 4% was spread out harmlessly through the five-year period. The interest rate went up, of course.
Last summer, I wrote a Viewpoint encouraging the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to focus on real risks and to stop micromanaging operations in a "Soviet-style" command-and-control fashion. Unfortunately, in the nine months since, there has been little improvement in either aviation security or TSA management.
South African Airways (SAA) has reorganized its top management in an effort to implement its realignment strategy introduced last year. In July 2004, SAA's parent, state-owned Transnet, South Africa's leading transport and logistics company, infused 6.1 billion rand ($881.2 million) into the carrier. SAA's restructuring is aimed at increasing efficiencies and removing duplication, according to SAA President and CEO Khaya Ngqula.
