EADS has delivered a company-funded report on the KC-330 to Rand in a bid to articulate the characteristics of its refueler offering before the Air Force's preferred think tank issues its verdict on how the Pentagon should proceed in terms of tanker modernization. The report pits the KC-330 and KC-310 against the Boeing KC-767 being proposed to the Air Force, and an enhanced KC-767 that includes features that were taken out to reduce cost.
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DASSAULT FALCON HAS OPENED A FLIGHT OPERATIONS facility at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The building will accommodate the flight department staff, local field representatives and the company's fleet of business jet demonstrators. The hangar can house up to six airplanes including the new Falcon 7X. The building is the third hangar installation opened by Dassault Falcon in the past four months. Sites at Little Rock, Ark., and Wilmington, Del., were opened in June and July.
PanAmSat opted for Sea Launch for the fourth time to orbit one of its communications spacecraft, this time the Galaxy 16 satellite being built by Space Systems/Loral for a 2006 launch. The 1300-series satellite's footprint will cover the U.S., Mexico and Canada with 24 C-band and 24 K u-band transponders.
Ishay Davidi, Gillon Beck and Yechiel Gutman have been appointed to the board of directors of Israel-based TAT Technologies Ltd. Israel Ofen, Moshe Tachnai, Yossi Rosenberg, Yael Rosenberg and Lior Zeelim have left the board, but Ofen remains executive vice president/chief financial officer. Davidi is senior partner/CEO of the FIMI Opportunity Fund and a director of Tadiran Communications. Beck is a partner in FIMI, while Gutman is a public member of the Israeli Security Authority and a director of El Al Israel Airlines.
Ian Walsh has been appointed vice president/general manager of Textron Lycoming Engines, Williamsport, Pa. He was director of pricing strategies for all Textron businesses.
It'll be weeks or months before the aerospace industry knows whether the U.S. and European Union are headed for an all-out World Trade Organization fight over their respective support for Boeing and Airbus. But the first steps were taken after the U.S. initiated WTO action in a bid to squash Airbus' emerging A350 in its infancy.
Alison Wood has been named group strategic development director for Farnborough, England-based BAE Systems, effective Jan. 1. She has been managing director for future systems.
Philip de St. Aubin (see photo), who is Washington-based vice president-international relations for Boeing, has been named of the U.S.' 50 most important Hispanics in technology and business by Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine. De St. Aubin has held leadership positions in Europe and South America.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible foreign military sale to Canada of 2,000 radio-frequency TOW-2A and 600 TOW-2B antiarmor guided missiles, 400 RF "bunker buster" missiles, and associated equipment and services. The value, with all options exercised, could be $136 million, if the deal is approved. Raytheon Co. in Tucson, Ariz., would be the prime contractor
Your Aug. 23 issue provided an excellent survey of cargo and baggage security. I would agree with U.S. Rep. John Mica's Viewpoint support for in-line screening of baggage (p. 73) provided that airlines call the owners of suspicious bags to open them. Furthermore, no passenger should be forced to check unlocked bags. I keep sensitive business papers in my locked bag and want to be present when it is opened. The advantage of check-in or lobby screening is that I am present if my bag is opened.
Protecting aluminum body aircraft from lightning strikes involves wicking away the electric charge through the conductive metal structure. With advances in the use of composites to fabricate aircraft structures, including use of more composite materials in the fuselage, new systems for dealing with lightning strikes are being introduced. Alcore's PAA Strikegrid 1145 continuous expanded aluminum foil is the industry's highest-performing lightning strike dissipation material, according to the company.
DDC's RPC (remote solid-state power controller) board technology offers substantially lower costs per channel than traditional RPC modules, sometimes called Solid State Power Controller (SSPC) modules, according to the company. Military ground vehicle, commercial and military aircraft applications may benefit from this cost-effective solution for power management systems that control power and protect wiring from overload conditions. RPC boards combine multiple channels on a single board, and utilize surface mount technology.
Lockheed Martin has flight-tested an upgraded Army Tactical Missile System. The Block IA unitary missile features enhanced guidance and controls and new flight software. The modification should boost accuracy through the use of GPS. Production will commence early next year.
Ultem resin is an amorphous thermoplastic polyetherimide offering outstanding high heat resistance, high strength, modulus and broad chemical resistance, according to the company. Its balance of properties and processability offers design engineers exceptional flexibility and freedom to innovate. General Electric Advanced Materials' Ultem sheet has been chosen for use on some aircraft interiors due to its flame, smoke and toxicity compliance and its strength and aesthetics.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is evaluating bids from 28 companies to design and build a low-cost terminal at Changi airport by early 2006. CAAS is seeking a simple, functional design to facilitate passenger processing. In addition the terminal must be easy to maintain and allow for future expansion. The low-cost terminal is part of CAAS' efforts to enhance Singapore's status as an aviation hub by facilitating airline operations, including those of budget carriers. The tender is expected to be awarded by year-end.
In another major commercial step to attack the "high-cost culture" of the U.S. launch industry, the first privately financed SpaceX Falcon low-cost orbital-mission booster has been mounted on its pad for checkout at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The 70-ft. vehicle is being prepared to loft a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory imaging spacecraft into orbit by early 2005.
Roy Griffins (see photo) has become director-general of Airports Council International. He succeeds Philippe Hamon, who is retiring. Griffins was director-general of the British Civil Aviation Authority.
After coming under sharp, sometimes personal attack by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his confirmation hearing to become the head of U.S. Pacific Command, Air Force Gen. Gregory S. "Speedy" Martin has withdrawn his nomination. McCain expressed dismay about Martin on two fronts--his involvement in the KC-767 tanker debate and association with the acquisition community--and said "General, I question your qualifications for command." Martin was the senior military acquisition officer in the late 1990s, working side by side with now convicted Darleen Druyun (see p. 45).
I'm surprised you wasted valuable letter space by printing Mark Powell's sophomoric rant about the missile attack on a DHL Airbus A300 in Baghdad (AW&ST Sept. 13, p. 6; Aug. 23/30, cover).
Final preparations are underway for launch of NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft, following completion of ground testing at Marshall Space Flight Center's Flight Robotics Laboratory. Plans call for a launch no earlier than Oct. 26 on Orbital Sciences' air-launched Pegasus rocket staging out of Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Orbital also built DART, which is designed to approach a special target satellite using its Advanced Video Guidance Sensor. Then it will conduct a number of proximity operations over a 24-hr.
Alain Raquepas, who has been vice president-finance, military simulation and training for Montreal-based CAE, will be acting chief financial officer. He will succeed Paul Renaud, who has become senior vice president-finance and administration/CFO of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
India has brushed aside Amnesty International's claims that the sale to Nepal of attack helicopters equipped with components and subsystems from European Union companies is jeopardizing the EU Code of Conduct. "The direct transfer of attack helicopters from EU members to Nepal would be controversial given the status of the current conflict in the country (Nepal) and the likelihood that such helicopters (Lancer and the Advanced Light Helicopter) would be used against civilian targets," Amnesty said in a statement.
Thales has joined a new industry forum intended to promote the development of network-centric warfare concepts. The forum, known as the Network-Centric Operations Industry Consortium, was established on Aug. 27 to work on a common architectural approach that could serve as a standard for future NCW designs. Boeing, BAE Systems, EADS, Finmeccanica, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, Smiths Industries and Saab are among the participating companies.
