After auditors found evidence of favoritism in a 2001 competition, the U.S. Air Force is reversing its strategy and recompeting the second phase of the Small-Diameter Bomb (SDB) program. The move opens the field to contractors, as the Pentagon searches for ways to improve its ability to destroy moving targets.
Frank Houston (see photos) has been appointed a group vice president of the Esterline Corp., Bellevue, Wash. He was president of Seattle-based subsidiary Korry Electronics. He has been succeeded by Gary Dytrt, who was general manager of Korry's largest strategic business unit.
Col. (ret.) Chris A. Hadfield of Houston, C. Eric B. McConachie of Montreal, the late Commodore Alexander B.F. Fraser-Harris and the late Wing Cdr. Kenneth C. Maclure will be inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Edmonton, Alberta, on June 4. Hadfield, who is now chief of robotics for NASA, is a Canadian test pilot and astronaut who completed two space flights, was the first Canadian mission specialist and first Canadian to walk in space. He installed Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station and was the first Canadian to operate it while in orbit.
Lockheed Martin is delivering two major upgrades to the Air Force's joint air battle management system. The first spiral modification establishes better connections between air crews and the air operations center to give the latter real-time access to the stations of operations at airfields across the theater. It also enhances security and improves maintenance oversight to track and manage aircraft repairs more efficiently.
U.S. airlines and military forces will seek to forge long-term relationships with maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers in the years ahead as it becomes increasingly imperative to drive down maintenance costs and manage work more effectively. This was among the chief topics discussed at Aviation Week's MRO 2005 show held here recently.
Rhonda Vickery has been named federal security director for Saipan International Airport in the U.S. Pacific Ocean territory of the Northern Marianas. She had been the airport's administrative officer.
The Dutch subsidiary of the European tourism group TUI is establishing TUI Airlines Nederland. It will operate the airline under the name of Arkefly, which will encompass 400 employees and the fleet of HollandExel. It will operate four leased Boeing 767-300s.
An initial segment of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS)--a key to the Pentagon's network-centric operations and warfare efforts--is in jeopardy of having its funding cut off.
Air Force Space Command wants to try a rocket plane to put medium-weight payloads in orbit quickly and cheaply, and it intends to have a contractor build a subscale demonstrator to test the idea over the next five years.
The U.S. is one of only a handful of nations that doesn't charge for the actual cost of air traffic services, according to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. And most of the other nations are small ones. Blakey cited this example at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum in Washington on the airline crisis, noting it as one indication that there needs to be financing reform. Blakey says she is not advocating user fees, endorsing excise taxes or pushing for more money from the U.S. general fund.
As aerospace companies rolled out another quarter of big earnings gains last week, aircraft composites manufacturer Hexcel Corp. announced a net loss of $22.4 million (46 cents a share) for the three months ended Mar. 31.
While celebrating delivery to the U.S. Navy of the first F/A-18E/Fs equipped with a stealth and small-target-detecting radar, Boeing officials said that Switzerland, Japan and India are looking at both the advanced fighter and some variant of its classified advanced radar for a future fighter purchase. More surprisingly, Navy officials say they are planning for the possibility of their own additional fighter production because of the expectation, not yet confirmed, that operational introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will slip.
Worldwide, most passengers today are far more likely to fly in a Boeing aircraft than an Airbus plane, but the growth of Airbus aircraft across the globe in the past eight years has been impressive and shows no sign of abating.
FAA's acceptance of passive radio frequency identity tags that are safe to use in flight on aircraft parts and assemblies is expected to help maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations reduce costs, cycle times and defect rates. The FAA acceptance, which is to be published shortly, flows from a task force established by Airbus and Boeing two years ago as part of the Air Transport Assn.'s Spec 2000 Chapter 9 initiative. But it will apply to all types of aircraft, from hot air balloons to major transports.
The Thales board is considering future industrial strategy, with a possible three-way tie-up with Alcatel and Finmeccanica being mentioned as one option.
Stuart F. Gray has been named treasurer of the United Industrial Corp., Hunt Valley, Md. He succeeds James H. Perry, who will remain vice president/chief financial officer. Gray was director of corporate finance for Wm. T. Burnett & Co. and its subsidiary, STX.
First-quarter general aviation aircraft shipments worldwide increased 15.7% to 627 units, and total aircraft billings rose to $2.7 billion, an increase of 14.1% over 2004, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. In 2005, 432 piston aircraft were shipped, compared with 394 in 2004; 57 turboprops, up from 34; and 138 business jets, up from 114.
After failing in a bid to fund initial work on Italy's part of the Fremm/ Renaissance cruise-missile-carrying frigate program through an ad-hoc industry competitiveness bill, the Italian government is now seeking to shift funding over the first three years of the program to the Treasury Dept. (AW&ST Apr. 18, p. 70). The appointment last week of a new Italian government and industry minister, Claudio Scajola--a strong backer of Fremm--is expected to boost this proposal.
Concerned about being overshadowed by U.S. missile systems, India is thinking more aggressively about export markets for its own systems. The concern arose after the U.S. began sending signals that it would make its Patriot PAC-3 anti-ballistic missile system available to India. First, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a high-profile visit, followed by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey B. Kohler, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, who confirmed how much the U.S. wants to cooperate with India.
European military planners are starting to embrace the concept of fielding a rapid-reaction launch system, both to provide a low-cost micro-satellite launch capability and as a potential counter to anti-satellite (ASAT) systems.
The Japanese space agency's (JAXA's) Optical Inter-Orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite (Oicets) has been sent to the Tsukuba Space Center near Tokyo for pre-flight tests after being reconfigured for a change in its inclination to 98 deg. from 35 deg. The inclination shift was prompted by a change to the mission's Ukrainian Dnepr launch vehicle. A critical design review has been completed, and the launch is expected this summer. From its polar low-Earth orbit, Oicets will test laser beams as a communication medium over distances as long as 45,000 km.
The Airbus A380 flies near the Pyrenees, southwest of Toulouse, France, with its 22-wheel landing gear extended. The European mega-transport's 3-hr. 54-min. maiden flight, on Apr. 27, marked the start of a 12-14-month certification program in preparation for an entry into service, with Singapore Airlines, early in the second half of next year. Fifteen customers have signed orders or commitments covering 154 passenger and all-cargo A380s. Airbus/exm co./H. Gousse photo was taken from an Aerospatiale Corvette business jet chase aircraft at about 10,000 ft.
USAF Lt. Col. (ret.) Robert J. Brun (Redlands, Calif.)
The universal support of British airline and regulatory agencies for a British Airways Boeing 747-400 captain's decision to continue an 11-hr. flight after engine failure on takeoff is both wrong-headed and amazing (AW&ST Mar. 14, p. 68).
Deep-seated contempt among some U.S. missile defense advocates for Canada's decision not to participate in the program continues. The latest demonstration comes from Peter Huessy of the National Defense University, who organizes a series of missile defense issue breakfasts every spring on Capitol Hill. Introducing Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, Huessy emphasizes the need for a missile defense system because, for example, a warhead exploding in Los Angeles or Seattle would result in a tremendous loss of life.
