A presidential commission says measurement and signature intelligence (masint) is "unjustly overlooked" by management, and recommends the director of national intelligence, soon to be John Negroponte, oversee those efforts. Masint often gets short shrift as a result of "neglect or disinterest" from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is now in charge of it, according to the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the U.S. Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.
If you're working as an avionics technician for a U.S. low-cost carrier, you can breathe a sigh of relief because you probably have the most secure job with the most growth potential in the airline business right now.
Continental Airlines flight attendants, who are represented by the International Assn. of Machinists, are the only employee group that last week failed to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the airline. Pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and simulator engineers all agreed to implement their respective contracts allowing for reduced pay and benefits. The reductions, along with those already achieved by the airline, are expected to yield about $418 million in annual pay and benefit savings for Continental--a majority of the airline's goal.
Northrop Grumman delivered the first five units of an enhanced internal electronic countermeasures system to Boeing for use on the South Korean air force F-15K, the latest version of the fighter that began flight testing in early March. The AN/ALQ-135 is a fully automatic, internally mounted electronic combat system that manages multiple threats simultaneously, prioritizing the most imminent dangers. This iteration of heritage AN/ALQ-135 systems replaces multiple processors with a PowerPC-based system that offers speed and memory enhancements.
Siberian operator UTair has agreed to purchase two ATR 42-300 twin-turboprops operated by Continental Airlines, and is negotiating with ATR for training/maintenance services. Deliveries are to begin in June. The company says it may take up to 15 ATR 42s.
Nicholas D. Lappos has been named vice president-government programs for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He was director of the VXX helicopter program at the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
Pentagon officials say the cost of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq still hovers around $5 billion per month. The Pentagon has spent $159 billion alone to invade and occupy Iraq. Another $22 billion has been spent to continue Operation Noble Eagle combat air patrols over major U.S. cities.
Meanwhile, Raytheon picked up a $25.9-million contract from the U.S. Navy to build 22 turret units and associated equipment by mid-2007 for a Multi-Spectral Targeting System to support the Predator UAV.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
The conflicting requirements of low-cost and high-stealth aircraft remain unresolved. However, there may be a solution in new concepts offered by engine builders who suggest cutting costs by building more stealth into the propulsion systems and less into the airframe.
Finmeccanica reported a net profit of 548 million euros ($712.4 million) for 2004, up from 199 million euros in 2003. Order backlog grew by more than 3.5 billion euros. Net debt increased by 115 million euros to 371 million euros. Company officials last week said they expect increased demand for commercial aircraft and growth in the defense portfolio this year. However, executives also are considering disposal of further noncore assets or seeking outside financing to help pay for anticipated consolidation activities.
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to make the first direct measurements of light from extrasolar planets. The dips in these graphs represent the drop in infrared light levels when the planets TrES-1 (top) and HD 209458b passed behind their stars. The Spitzer's infrared detectors were able to measure the difference in IR levels when the stars eclipsed the "hot Jupiters"--gas giants that reradiate the heat from their suns back into space.
Experts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory plan to use computer enhancement this summer to sharpen images of the comet Tempel-1, to compensate for poor focus left in the Deep Impact probe's high-resolution imager after residual moisture was baked out.
Its future may not be as bright as the signature orange on the vertical stabilizer and nacelles of its aircraft, but low-fare carrier EasyJet may be on the verge of emerging from its financial turbulence of last year. At least that's the view of analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), who note that "for the first time, we are hopeful that [fiscal 2005 earnings per share] may prove to be the bottom."
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
Stealth is poised for a massive overhaul. In classified planning sessions and closely held technology projects, its basic tenets are being reexamined. Overshadowing this review is the anticipated implosion of defense spending over the next two decades--a process that's expected to accelerate with the ultimate pullout of major U.S. units from Iraq, as well as growth in entitlement programs to satisfy the financial and medical needs of an aging population.
Boeing launch services chief Dan Collins wants to get back into the business of selling commercial Delta IV launches, but probably not as quickly as he suggested at a Washington symposium on the commercial launch services industry. Flanked by most of his potential competitors should Boeing decide to offer its big new rocket to the private sector, Collins said "we hope to reenter the commercial market here shortly; I'd say by the end of 2005 we should be back in that market." The problem is, the market doesn't amount to much.
Gala Goncalves has been named general manager of France-based NH Industries. She was general secretary/president's cabinet manager at the headquarters of Eurocopter, which is part-owner of NH Industries. Goncalves succeeds Gerard Maitrepierre, who has been reassigned at Eurocopter.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Paul J. Kern has joined The Cohen Group in Washington as senior counselor. He was commanding general of the Army Materiel Command and director of the investigation into abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The striking photos of the gaping Airbus A310 (Air Transat Flight 961) rudder attachment hinges/actuator points were unnerving signs that the chickens may be coming home to roost (AW&ST Mar. 21, p. 20; Mar. 14, p. 73). The rudder disappeared in level, non-turbulent flight at 35,000 ft. Did separation follow a final freeze cycle of internal moisture that again forced the composite layers apart, this time perhaps initiating a small crack along the rudder's leading edge? We know what would happen next.
Missile manufacturer MBDA's U.S. subsidiary plans to develop a protoype wing-kit, dubbed Active Diamond Back, under a contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The kit will differ from the existing Diamond Back by providing a loitering capability. Potential further work includes examining the integration of a munition fitted with Active Diamond Back in internal bays of the the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
The U.S. military obviously is moving toward a more mobile and quickly deployable force structure that can immediately meet a threat anywhere. Your article "Near Miss, For Now" (AW&ST Feb. 14, p. 28) demonstrates this trend.
Venezuela has agreed to buy 10 EADS CASA C-295 military transports as part of a 1.3-billion-euro arms package. The deal also includes several ships and was finalized during a trip to Caracas by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
Bids are due this week for industrial consortia hoping to take a lead role in the design of Europe's future air traffic management system. But questions about how to harmonize the effort over a wide range of stakeholders remain. Funding the multibillion-euro scheme also is seen as a potential hurdle, with program managers now preparing the relatively cheap concept definition phase already working under tight budget constraints.
Except for technology advances made during World War II, the 1930s were arguably the greatest period of aeronautical innovation in the first half of the 20th century. Martin, Curtiss, Lockheed, Douglas, Vought and dozens of other high-profile names pushed the state of aviation art throughout that decade. Their pursuits were fueled by thousands of ordinary people who had a burning passion to fly. Two of those were natives of Columbus, Ga., where their personal lives and a love of flying intersected during aviation's halcyon days.
