The first of 12 C-27J tactical transport aircraft on order for the Greek air force will be delivered in January 2005. Defensive aids for the aircraft are still under discussion.
I note that our bureaucrats are going to spend several years "studying" the feasibility of anti-missile devices on commercial jets (AW&ST Sept. 6, p. 42). The delay is outrageous, since excellent protection is already available from Israel. What's more, the Israeli pod is proven--it saved a jetliner in Africa, and likely did so in other incidents where passengers were unaware the pod was used and the Israelis weren't talking. The Israeli system is available off-the-shelf and can be installed during normal maintenance times.
Telecom & IT system integrator ORG Telecom Ltd. has signed a long-term agreement with satellite operator Eutelsat to develop the Afghanistan market for extending cell phone coverage via satellite. With many provinces still cut off from each other and the rest of the world, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) operators will be able to use the ORG link to provide mobile telephony across the war-torn nation as well as to their local telecom operator customers. ORG will use Eutelsat's Sesat 2 K u-band satellite at 53 deg. E. Long.
Cheryl K. Petersen has been elected president and W. Jerome Stanley vice president of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. Petersen was vice president. Stanley was a member of the Los Angeles Convention Center Commission. Other commissioners are Miguel Contreras, Armando Vergara, David Voss, Peter Weil and Walter Zifkin.
A former NASA space shuttle safety inspector has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Orlando, Fla., on 83 counts of fraud and 83 counts of making false statements involving inspections on the orbiter Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center. The charges against Billy T. Thornton stem from a year-long NASA inspector general's investigation that led to the man's dismissal in September 2003. The indictment alleges the offenses took place between Oct. 24, 2002, and May 14, 2003.
Although no aircraft using Reagan Washington National Airport were hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, the events of that day prompted U.S. security officials to close the airport indefinitely to business jets and turboprops.
The Swiss Aeronautical Industries Group is signing on with the AeroSpace and Defense Industries Assn. of Europe (ASD) in an indication that SAIG members seek to come closer to the European Union. SAIG companies, including Ruag Aerospace, have about $420 million in annual revenues and a combined workforce of 2,700. Brussels-based ASD was formed earlier this year out of Aecma, a European aerospace industries association; the Edig defense group; and Eurospace.
Stretching production, and possibly deferring national deliveries to support export sales campaigns, are being touted as the four Eurofighter Typhoon nations finally close on a $28-billion deal for an additional 232 aircraft. With warnings that any further delay would risk serious industrial disruption, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. are redoubling efforts to ink a deal by the end of November.
Bombardier Aerospace plans to lay off 2,000 employees during the next nine months, while amending produc- tion rates. Three-quarters of the job losses will be at its Montreal site, with the rest in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Randall Deal has been named Atlantic City, N.J.-based Northeast U.S. sales manager for Raytheon Aircraft Services. He was director of sales and marketing for Raisbeck Engineering.
Both pro- and anti-shuttle individuals (AW&ST Sept. 27, p. 9) have their points. A large orbiter does allow astronauts some leeway with which to apply force with stability, unlike a capsule from which one cannot escape. The failure of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Challenge shows that true robots have a way to go.
German retail giant KarstadtQuelle, co-owner of tour/charter operator Thomas Cook with Lufthansa, says a reorganization announced late last month will have no impact on its 50% stake in the venture. Thomas Cook, like KarstadtQuelle, has been performing poorly, weighed down by low travel demand and competition from low-fare airlines.
The 8-lb.VideoRay is a portable, affordable way to get in the water in moments to inspect piers, ports and hulls. Starting at $5,995, the camera performs underwater security sweeps without the cost of--or danger to--divers, according to the company. Operated by one person from deck or dock, VideoRay can be sent into the water to inspect for explosives before ships dock. Used in conjunction with scanning sonar and GPS, VideoRays can quickly and precisely locate and identify plumes of divers or targets.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL HAS EARNED APPROVAL from the European Joint Aviation Authorities for the training company's G-550 full flight simulator located in Savannah, Ga. The device already has achieved FAA Level D qualification. In addition, FlightSafety received approval recently for its Level D simulator at the Dallas/DFW learning center for the Embraer ERJ-145/135 regional jet. The unit is the 18th full flight simulator for the ERJ-145/135 in the company's training network.
Jordan Aerospace Industries will supply 16 CH2000 surveillance aircraft to Iraq under a recently let Pentagon contract. The award to JAI partner TransAtlantic Traders is worth about $12 million. The Pentagon is buying the aircraft in two batches of eight aircraft each. The Iraqi air force will operate the aircraft, which are fitted with a Harris communications system, a Flir and multi-sensor imaging payload. The CH2000 is powered by a Lycoming 0-235 engine for 99-kt. cruise speed. Other performance parameters include a 1,640-ft. takeoff distance, 750-fpm.
Michael A. Taverna (Bordeaux and Biarritz, France)
Dassault Aviation engineers say their next-generation ultra long-range Falcon 7X is proceeding on schedule toward an inaugural flight in the first half of 2005, and is more than meeting major production and design performance goals.
USAF Brig. Gen. (ret.) Stanley A. Sieg (see photo) has become director of the FAA Logistics Center at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. He was director of logistics for the Air Force Materiel Command.
The emergence of novel propulsion and payload technologies for weaponry will increasingly stress U.S. test and evaluation infrastructure, requiring a revised assessment approach. Directed-energy weapons (DEW), such as lasers and high-power microwave (HPM) packages, place a new set of demands on the Pentagon's T&E capacity. In the case of lasers, there's a lack of appropriate infrastructure; while for HPM systems, a range of measurement and effectiveness issues needs to be addressed.
Photron USA Inc., a manufacturer of advanced high-speed, high-resolution imaging systems, has the world's fastest high-speed digital video camera, the company says. The slow-motion video imager, the ultima APX-RS, captures 3,000 frames per sec. (fps.) at 1,024 X 1,024-pixel resolution, up to 10,000 fps. at 512 X 512-pixel resolution and 250,000 fps. at reduced resolution. The easy-to-use high-speed CMOS sensor with 10-bit mono (30-bit color) fidelity has anti-blooming properties and variable aspect ratios.
Willis M. Hawkins, a principal designer of the C-130 Hercules airlifter, which is still in production after 50 years, died Sept. 28 at home in Los Angeles. He was 90.
T he U.S. Air Force and several defense companies are sorting out how to react to the revelations of the extensive transgressions by former USAF acquisition executive Darleen Druyun. Further legal actions are possible.
Jonathan A. Greenberg has become vice president/general counsel/secretary of the United Industrial Corp., Hunt Valley, Md. He succeeds Robert W. Worthing, who will become part-time special counsel. Greenberg was senior corporate counsel at Manugistics Inc., Rockville, Md.
The Greek government is reconsidering plans for industry restructuring while also reviewing procurement priorities. The privatization of Hellenic Aerospace Industries (HAI) appears increasingly unlikely, with the government now more focused on identifying a strategic partner for the state-owned aerospace manufacturer. Acquisition plans are also under review now that the planned purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon to meet the air force's future fighter requirement is in doubt.
Lufthansa Technik and TEAC Aerospace will use the NBAA venue to unveil a satellite-based moving map display for business and commercial aviation applications--a further sign of LHT's growing interest in both the inflight entertainment market and the business jet sector. LHT's first foray into the inflight entertainment (IFE) field was Nice, an Ethernet-controlled cabin management system, unveiled at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Geneva in May (AW&ST June 7, p. 38).
