Supporters of the YAL-1A Airborne Laser can live to fight another day for their program after meeting the first of two make-or-break milestones for the Boeing 747-mounted ballistic missile defense system. But the program, which has suffered repeated schedule delays, technical setbacks and financial cuts, is not out of the woods. The putative user of the Airborne Laser (ABL), the U.S. Air Force, is encouraged by the recent achievement, though a top service official notes much more needs to be done.
Despite a harsh business environment, Finnair recorded an improved third quarter, with both revenues and profit up. The airline's income climbed by 10% to 422.8 million euros ($545.4 million) with profit double that of the same quarter in 2003, at 10.1 million euros. CEO Keijo Suila noted that in the past 18 months there have been eight airlines to enter the marketplace, "four of which are already inactive." Fuel costs for Finnair are anticipated to increase 25% over 2003.
The EH 101 is not an American helicopter. It matters not that they have switched the letters EH to US. Nor does it matter where it is assembled or how much American content it has. Toyotas and Hondas are also made in the U.S. I've never heard of either one of these automobiles being called American. The S-92 is American, and Sikorsky should be awarded the contract for the presidential helicopter. It is the finest helicopter in the world, and it is American.
GARMIN INTERNATIONAL INC. OF OLATHE, KAN., has certified the GNS 480 to the highest level possible for using the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to fly localizer-precision with vertical (LPV) guidance approaches. The FAA commissioned the WAAS system last year (AW&ST July 14, 2003, p. 46). It employs ground stations that monitor GPS signals and relays corrections via satellite to avionics equipment like the GNS 480 and its CNX-80 processor. Garmin has provided software upgrades to CNX-80 owners so they can also fly LPV approaches.
I am in almost complete disagreement with the editor's note added to the letter "Security Holes Aplenty" (AW&ST Sept. 20, p. 6), particularly, the statement: ". . . passengers . . . probably would resist a takeover attempt."
A senior British defense official will travel in the first week of December to Singapore to lobby on behalf of the Eurofighter Typhoon. To strengthen his argument, he can also tell the prospective customer all four partner nations are now effectively agreed on the next phase of the program. Lord Willy Bach, the minister for defense procurement, is visiting Singapore to support the BAE Systems-led campaign for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Typhoon is in competition with Boeing's F-15T and the Dassault Rafale for a Singaporean fighter requirement.
Frank Morring, Jr. and Neelam Mathews (Sriharikota)
Fiber-optic cables link the new launch pad and control center at the Satish Dhawan Space Center, just like they do at Cape Canaveral and Kourou. But unlike its Western counterparts, this pad can be adjusted to loft two very different rockets--the Geostationary Space Launch Vehicle and the Polar Space Launch Vehicle--as well as a GSLV upgrade that managers here hope will soon be orbiting payloads that once might have been launched from Florida or French Guiana.
When, if ever, the British government's negotiations with an EADS-led consortium to supply tanker services to the Defense Ministry will conclude is anyone's guess, but proponents insist the continuing dialogue is a sign of progress, not irreconcilable differences.
Bob Giannaris, Jr., has been appointed vice president/manager of the Advanced Signal Processing (ASP) Engineering Div. of Information Systems Laboratories of San Diego. He was a program manager for radiant alloy for Maxim Systems. Bill Gang and Paul Gorman have been named to the board of directors. Gang is the company's executive vice president/chief operating officer, while Gorman is retired commanding general of the U.S. Army's Southern Command.
Elbit Systems has reported an increase in third-quarter revenue of almost $20 million over the year-ago period, to $223.8 million. The company's backlog has grown to $1.96 billion, with about two-thirds for business outside Israel. Net profit increased to $13.7 million from $12 million.
Goodrich Corp. is being tapped as one of two suppliers of next-generation electric braking systems for Boeing's new 7E7 long-haul aircraft. Under a sourcing deal that ultimately could generate more than $1 billion in sales, Goodrich will supply its digitally controlled system, which brakes an aircraft using electric actuators instead of hydraulic pistons.
The British Defense Ministry and Boeing hope to map out a plan by next year for eight Chinook helicopters relegated to storage because they have not met government safety certification standards.
Japan Airlines says the cause of cracks in Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217 engines that powered the carrier's 18 MD-81/87s has been isolated to a stator vane repair problem. Revealing the results of the engine company's investigation, JAL said a P&W repair center used welding to fill chinks around eighth-row stator vanes. Ironically, that process lowered the tolerance of the vanes to vibration. Most of the repaired engines had to be repaired again. JAL had to cancel 596 domestic flights earlier this year when the crack issue arose.
Aerospace projects that exemplify program management at its best took center stage last week during part of the Aerospace and Defense Programs and Productivity conference conducted by Aviation Week & Space Technology, in association with IBM. Recognition went to Boeing's C-17 (see photo), Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, Raytheon's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) and Rockwell Collins' Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR). The Boeing team received the overall program excellence award.
The long-anticipated U.S. proposal to sell eight P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft to Pakistan is now before Congress. The deal could reach $970 million. Pakistan is to use the aircraft to monitor its coastline. The foreign military sale is considered part of U.S. efforts to bolster Pakistan's ability to combat terrorist elements. P-3s are also going to India, its immediate neighbor.
Raytheon is pursuing a multibillion-dollar market for satellite-navigation guidance systems overseas by selling networks based on the FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). India has just signed on.
EADS and EADS North America will support a new international research organization at the University of Texas-Dallas (UTD), to establish a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience on risk management. EADS is providing a grant to support the International Center for Decision and Risk Analysis (ICDRiA). Formed last month, the center will study risk management as it relates to large-investment industrial projects that involve new technologies, applications and markets.
Oliver Masefield and Don Burtis have been promoted to senior vice presidents/senior fellows of Eclipse Aviation, Albuquerque, N.M. Masefield was senior vice president-engineering, while Burtis was head of avionics and electronics. Ken Harness has been promoted to vice president-engineering from director of propulsion systems.
Greg Ewert has been appointed executive vice president- sales, marketing and business development for Iridium Satellite, Bethesda, Md. He was executive vice president-marketing, sales, business development, product development and customer service for Comsat.
Pratt & Whitney completed FAA FAR 33 certification testing on its PW5000 engine last month and earned FAR 33 status earlier this month. During the test program, the engine completed more than 10 engine certification tests, which concluded ahead of schedule. The 18,000-24,000-lb.-thrust engine is targeted for new 100-seat aircraft, and compliant with the more stringent noise and emissions standards anticipated for 2006.
The Transportation Dept. inspector general's annual report on the department's "top management challenges"--governmentspeak for "biggest headaches"--highlights a continuing fiscal conundrum that lacks a ready solution and threatens appropriations for the FAA in the near-term future. Three things are happening, two of them noted by the inspector general, Kenneth Mead, and a third percolating in the U.S. airline industry:
Astar Air Cargo expects a 20-30% increase in 2005 block hours over the current year in DHL contract flying. Training for 20 new-hire pilots will begin after the first of the year, says Senior Vice President Ray Lutz. Astar will fill the capacity gap, at least in part, resulting from DHL contracting for as many as 26 fewer aircraft operated by ABX Air. The aircraft, 16 DC-9s and 10 DC-8s, are not modified with large cargo doors and use the C container, not the larger A container common to the DHL system.
