Randal J. Hudon, vice president-corporate aviation and travel services for BellSouth, is one of five new members of the board of directors of the Washington-based National Business Aviation Assn. The others are: Jeffrey W. Lee, director of flight operations of the IBM Corp.; John H. Ratcliff, aviation director and chief pilot of the Ford Motor Co.; George A. Saling, vice president-aviation and travel services of Altria Corporate Services Inc.; and Douglas Schwartz, aviation director of AT&T. Retiring from the board was Philip A.
Jostling for position to take advantage of China's projected 3,000-plus helicopter market over the next 20 years, AgustaWestland and Changhe Aviation Industries are to set up a joint venture to produce the former's A109E twin-engine helicopter. The deal, several years in the making, will see final assembly component deliveries begin in time for initial helicopter deliveries in 2005, with an envisaged build rate of one helicopter per month.
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The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $9-million contract for changes to the on-orbit Space Based Space Surveillance Pathfinder satellite. The redesign is expected to provide for more precise orbital insertion, reduce operational risk and im- prove duty cycle, says USAF.
Aerospace researchers are unveiling unmanned helicopters, microwave weapons and tactics that U.S. Army aircraft must use to survive as they are pushed down to low altitudes in daylight to attack a new lineup of hard-to-find targets.
Debra L. Palmer (see photo) has been appointed vice president-business development and advanced programs for Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training & Support, Orlando, Fla. She succeeds Jerry Zionic, who is retiring. Palmer has been business development director for the expeditionary warfare unit.
Fighters, other air assets and ground systems should be able to exchange large amounts of data using an emerging Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-developed battlefield local area network.
Delta Air Lines is making considerable headway--more than $2 billion worth, if all goes well--toward surviving the coming winter and reshaping itself without filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But it's depending increasingly on short-term, stopgap measures to maintain enough cash.
Space Systems/Loral will use a hybrid C- and K u-band design for the Intelsat Americas-9 (IA-9) that it's building for delivery in 2007. Intelsat Global Services Corp. has not yet selected a launcher or launch date. SS/L signed a contract to build IA-9 in March as its parent company, Loral Space and Communications, was completing its plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The two parties reported their agreement on the satellite's design last week.
NASA's Spaceflight Leadership Council has confirmed a May 2005 return-to-flight date for the grounded space shuttle fleet. The panel concluded that the work remaining to get the shuttle Discovery off the ground for the first of two flight tests of post-Columbia safety upgrades can be completed by that time. An earlier launch window opening in March 2005 was dropped after Florida's Kennedy Space Center was repeatedly battered by hurricanes, slowing work and exhausting KSC personnel. The new window remains open from May 12 until June 3.
Investors in defense stocks are celebrating President Bush's victory over U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), but their enthusiasm is being tempered by the reality that Bush's second term is likely to yield smaller increases in military spending from those of the last four years.
The Italian government is trying to resolve the Volare Group's deep financial crisis. This month the three key shareholders, Interbanca, the Tricolore investment fund and Argentine investor Eduardo Eurnekian, are scheduled to decide on a plan to raise capital, and already have each pledged 12-14 million euros ($15-18 million), but the company needs 60 million. In addition, the investors have agreed to provide a bridge loan to keep the airline operating until the end of this month.
Eiichiro Hoshino has been named general manager in Japan and Elaine Loh chief financial officer for Asian operations for the St. Louis-based Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. Hoshino was an executive for General Electric International, while Loh was regional CFO for Videojet Technologies.
Analysts are expressing perplexity at the surprise merger of propulsion group Snecma and electronics firm Sagem, raising doubts in particular about alleged synergies the move would generate. Nonetheless, they think it could bring substantial long-term benefits. The planned merger, revealed on Oct. 29, would see privately owned Sagem acquire 77% of Snecma shares through a 3-for-13 stock swap, and the remainder through a public share offering at 20 euros ($25) per share. The purchase would be financed through a 900-million-euro debt issue.
Lockheed Martin Corp. will take an after-tax earnings charge of $110 million (25 cents per share) in the fourth quarter after a federal court upheld the U.S. Energy Dept.'s 1998 termination of a fixed-price contract the company had won to clean up a radioactive waste burial site in Idaho. The U.S. District Court there ordered Lock- heed Martin to repay the government $110 million, including interest.
A BMI Baby Boeing 737 and an Excel Airways 767 in charter service made tail-to-wing contact while preparing to depart Manchester Airport in England on Nov. 4, but there were no injuries. The British Air Accident Investigation Branch is looking into the incident, according to airport officials. The 737 was carrying 79 people and the 767 had 255 on board.
George Zdravecky has been appointed vice president-technology and engineering for Avexus Inc. of San Diego. He was vice president-product development at Manugistics.
The 25 European Union nations have signed off on a constitutional treaty that will give the EU expanded powers in foreign policy and defense. However, the treaty must be ratified by each member before taking effect.
UPS will have access to any one of Singapore Technologies Aerospace's overhaul facilities under a 10-year, $438-million contract to cover DC-8s, A300s and MD-11s.
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Qantas, which ordered 14 Boeing 717s in May, said it will begin shifting eight of them from its Jetstar regional subsidiary to QantasLink next July to replace an equal number of BAe 146s. Narendra Kumar, the executive general manager for regional airlines, said the move will be made progressively as Jetstar's Airbus A320 fleet grows. The 717s will be operated in a 115-seat configuration; the 146s seat 65-76 passengers. They are leased until 2008. QantasLink also operates 34 Bombar- dier Dash 8s.
The time might have arrived for industry to replace government as the moving force behind modernization and global standardization of air traffic control, Don Antonucci, president of Transportation and Security Solutions at Lockheed Martin, tells government and industry officials at an Air Traffic Control Assn. convention here.
The European airline industry's recovery has done nothing to lessen competitive tensions. Air France Chairman/CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta is publicly expressing doubts about the integrity of Emirates' dramatic growth strategy. He is also critical of the TGV high-speed trains' newly launched fare war.
