Boeing is touting the first test of its 500-lb. Joint Direct Attack Munition against a moving target. During the May 24 test, an F-16 dropped the JDAM while a second fighter lased a target truck moving about 15 mph. Boeing says the test demonstrates the contractor's ability to satisfy USAF's near-term need for a weapon to "simultaneously be used against stationary targets in adverse weather and moving targets in clear weather." Flight tests for the laser JDAM are to run through February 2006.
In addition to increased air travel, Airbus and Boeing have another reason to be optimistic: One source of competition for new aircraft sales is disappearing. Airlines have had ready access to used aircraft that were parked after the industry went into recession. But after several hundred were returned to service during the past 15 months or so, there aren't many left. What is left is largely more than 15 years old and has been parked for at least two years, notes Laurent Rouaud, Airbus vice president for market forecast.
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$441.6-billion Defense authorization bill. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2006 (H.R. 1815) passed on a vote of 390-39 last week. Among the provisions: It requires the Government Accountability Office to submit an annual review of the Army's $124-billion Future Combat Systems program, including an analysis of established performance, cost and schedule goals. Legislation that authorizes an equal amount, but with different provisions, is still pending in the Senate.
Alcatel Space plans to expand and streamline its satellite design and production complex in Cannes, France, as part of its planned merger with Finmeccanica. The 45-million-euro ($56.25-million), three-year project, on 34,000 sq. meters of adjoining land to be leased from the city, was cleared to start, following approval of the merger by the European Union on Apr. 29 (AW&ST May 9, p. 18). The move will enable the reorganization of the plant's operations--currently split among four sites--and provide room for growth.
The heat generated by Airbus' very public verbal torrent following Air-India's order of 20 Boeing 787s and 23 777s embarrassed Indian officials and has yet to subside. But political leaders here are trying to assure that it doesn't spill over into other areas, particularly pending purchases of French nuclear technology.
European air safety authorities, including those in France, Germany and the Netherlands, have lifted a temporary ban on operations of privately held Turkish airline Onur Air. Safety officials met with airline officials in recent days to resolve their safety concerns.
A Snecma-led team has successfully performed a first test firing of the Vinci, a new-generation cryogenic engine primarily intended for future versions of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster. The combustion chamber was ignited and propellants supplied as specified during the 1.5-sec. firing.
Charles H. Edmondson (see photos) has been promoted to senior corporate vice president from executive vice president of the Universal Avionics Systems Corp., Tucson, Ariz. Donald D. Berlin has been promoted to chief operating officer from vice president/general manager of the Marketing/Product Support Div.
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NASA has posted a third Centennial Challenges prize aimed at sparking technology development to support its new Moon/Mars exploration program. The Moon Regolith Oxygen (MoonROx) competition offers $250,000 to the first team that can extract breathable oxygen from simulated lunar soil produced at Johnson Space Center from volcanic ash. Prize rules set mass and power limits on the hardware, which must be able to extract at least 5 kg. of oxygen in 8 hr. The offer expires on June 1, 2008.
Congestion pricing at New York LaGuardia Airport likely would lead to increased airline use of larger aircraft and growth in service from LGA to larger airports and on long-haul routes--but wouldn't decrease congestion--reports Nicholas Rupp, an East Carolina University economist, following a statistical analysis. Since there are no periods between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. when LGA isn't congested, the theoretical incentive to move flights to off-peak times wouldn't apply, Rupp observes.
Satellite-to-satellite imaging has been extended for the first time to other planets, with Mars Global Surveyor taking a picture of Mars Odyssey. Mars Express also was photographed. Besides being a remarkable accomplishment in itself, the technique might be useful for determining the health of other satellites--examining the long-delayed deployment of Mars Express' radar antenna booms, for example (AW&ST May 16, p. 21).
Boeing has signed formal contracts with Japan Aircraft Development Corp. for design and development of the fuselage and wing structures for the 787. JDAC represents Fuji Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which have been working under a memorandum of understanding on development of the new twin-engine jet since November 2003.
RAF Air Commodore (ret.) Ron Cook has been named vice president-London operations for New York-based L-3 Communications. Cook was director of equipment capability, intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance in the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
Messier Services Asia in Singapore and Boeing are developing what Boeing describes as an innovative supply chain management program to reduce repair and overhaul turnarounds by giving MSA enhanced access to technical/certification support for Boeing-designed and manufactured landing gear systems. Benefits are to flow to Singapore Airines--Boeing's largest 777 operator--and other Boeing customers in Asia. Besides the technical support, the agreement calls for MSA to have greater access to available inventory from Boeing.
Today, our armed forces face a new combat environment and emerging threats that compel a transformation of our combat capabilities and doctrine. Development of weapon systems, especially those in space programs, are challenging by nature and therefore require skilled attention in order to achieve success. However, countless acquisition programs have been anything but successful, experiencing exploding budgets and protracted schedules. We should not have to choose between the transformation of our armed forces and controlling the runaway train of acquisitions failures.
Dassault Aviation and Gulfstream say they continue to study key technologies for a future supersonic transport. Dassault and 35 other companies and research institutes are participating in a four-year European R&D effort--HiSAC (High-Speed Aircraft)--looking into such things as sonic boom, propulsion and the economics involved. However, both manufacturers agree that, despite brightening bizjet prospects, combining the know-how and financing for a program launch is far in the future (AW&ST May 9, p. 47).
Capt. J.R. Baker has been elected chairman of the Master Executive Council of the America West Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Assn. He was vice chairman and has been succeeded by First Officer John McIlvenna. First Officer John Jurik was reelected secretary-treasurer.
Greg Russell (see photo) has been appointed CEO of Airservices Australia, effective July 19. He has been chief operating officer of Athens International Airport and was director of aviation at Sydney Airport.
A pair of new broadband satellite projects are gathering steam. Inmarsat says it will begin limited service May 28 with the Inmarsat 4 mobile broadband satellite it launched in March. Initial operation will involve shifting existing lower-speed digital data and voice offerings to the new spacecraft, providing unbroken coverage across the Indian Ocean region for the first time. Inmarsat's 432 Kbps.
Richard Nightingale of the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif., told the American Geophysical Union meeting last week in New Orleans that a Jan. 20 solar flare produced the most intense burst of solar radiation in five decades. The flare, which occurred at 2 a.m. EST, tripped radiation monitors around the planet and scrambled detectors on spacecraft.
Once again I had to read a letter about how a $10-per-ticket fee to pay for missile defense systems on all commercial aircraft is "no big deal" (AW&ST May 9, p. 8). I would like to give a breakdown of what the $10 really totals. My airline flies roughly 200,000 passengers per day. Ten dollars per passenger would add up to $730 million per year, or $7.3 billion over 10 years. It seems like every week someone writes about another fee that the airlines could pay. The problem is, nobody is doing the math.
