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 Gregory S. "Speedy" Martin has withdrawn his nomination.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.
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.
