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Three more Japanese companies--Minebea, Showa Aircraft and Komy--have been tapped for the Airbus A380. Minebea will supply engineered rod ends, bearings and rod assemblies; Showa Aircraft, composite parts; and Komy, mirrors for overhead stowage bins. Twenty-one Japanese companies now collaborate on the mega-transport.
Finmeccanica CEO Roberto Testore has resigned, with his job being assumed by Chairman Pier Francesco Guarguaglini. The two men presided over a period of fast expansion at Finmeccanica, including the acquisition of a controlling stake in aero engine maker Fiat Avio (now Avio) and pending alliances with Alcatel in space and BAE Systems in defense electronics. But analysts noted that having separate top executives complicated the management structure.
Raytheon researchers say they are transforming the U.S. Air Force's search for a Hunter-Killer UAV by offering not an aircraft, but an operating system and architecture that can be adapted to any platform or list of intelligence collecting requirements. If researchers attract interest with the offering, Raytheon would then seek teaming arrangements with companies that build airframes, a process that company officials say is already underway.
Adam Aircraft has received FAA Type Inspection Authorization for its A500 twin-engine, piston-powered business airplane featuring centerline thrust. FAA pilots can now begin flight evaluations leading to final certification in the third quarter of this year.
On Sept. 12 at about 2:30 p.m., I observed an unusually loud airplane overhead. However, the airplane making the racket appeared to be 15-20 mi. east--headed away--and judging from the contrail, above 40,000 ft. What interested me most, besides the noise, was the appearance of the ubiquitous "donuts-on-a-rope" or "puff balls" emerging from the contrail about 30 sec. behind the airplane. Certainly it was a pulse jet, probably not supersonic at the time (no boom) so could it be that the "Aurora" finally has become operational?
Curators from the space-sample storage facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston have recovered a complete set of solar-wind samples from the wrecked Genesis probe.
Germany's parliament is expected to give the nod to the tri-National Medium-Extended Air Defense System (Meads) late this year or early next, allowing the country to formally follow the U.S. and Italy into the $3-billion design-and-development program. The industry team of Lockheed Martin, EADS and MBDA last week signed the contract for the air and missile defense project following months of occasionally tense negotiations over technology sharing. Italy and Germany plan to field initial equipment in 2012, with the U.S. to follow in 2014.
Following an in-depth strategic review, The Society of British Aerospace Companies has created Farnborough International Ltd. to allow a dedicated team to focus on the entity and its various enterprises as a stand-alone business, while ensuring that SBAC retains overall control of the biennial air show. Colin Way, previously with Marshall Aerospace, has been named director.
The International Air Transport Assn., which speaks on behalf of 277 member airlines, is submitting to governments and civil aviation authorities proposals for drastic reforms covering security, insurance costs, restructured air traffic management, liberalization and other critical issues. If IATA's unprecedented effort to revitalize the industry happens, it could translate into a much needed modernization. However, revising prevailing rules would require reconciling a host of governments, all with distinct views on air transportation.
Lockheed Martin has won a $30-million contract to supply integrated electronic warfare equipment for Omani and Chilean F-16C/Ds. Specifically, the company will integrate ITT's Advanced Integrated Defense Electronics Warfare Systems and the ALE-47 dispenser.
USAF Maj. Hank Griffiths (right), a test pilot for the 416th Test Sqdn. at Edwards AFB, Calif., and Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief William B. Scott discuss features of the USAF/Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Sniper targeting pod prior to an F-16/Sniper demonstration flight (see p. 52). Sniper's wedge-shaped sapphire window provides a +35-deg. (uplook) to a -155-deg. (down and aft-looking) field of regard.
In another AIAA honor, Eclipse Aviation President/CEO Vern Raburn received the Piper General Aviation Award for 2004, which is presented for "contributions leading to the advancement of general aviation." Raburn was cited for "revolutionizing personal air transportation [and] creating the opportunity for low-cost, on-demand, point-to-point travel that will open up tremendous new opportunities for consumers, businesses and aircraft manufacturers in the next century of flight."
Orbimage has been named a key supplier of high-resolution commercial imagery to the U.S. military. The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency awarded a contract to DigitalGlobe in 2003 under the NextView program. But to ensure the viability of the commercial imaging satellite industrial base, the Pentagon opted to fund a second contractor and tapped Orbimage on Sept. 30. The contract could be worth up to $500 million. Orbimage will provide imagery with at least 0.5-meter resolution. It will rely on the OrbView-5 satellite to help fulfill the contract.
USAF's Advanced Targeting Pod is destined for deployment to combat zones in the near future (see p. 52). Designated "Sniper XR" by its developer, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the relatively compact targeting system is carried on an F-16's right engine-inlet chin station. It gives pilots the luxury of detecting, acquiring and designating targets from long standoff ranges, keeping them out of antiaircraft threats' reach.
As President Bush readies to declare the first U.S. national missile defense system operational, the issue may finally emerge from the shadows of Iraq in this year's presidential election campaign. For U.S. aerospace companies, the outcome of the race between Bush and U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) has long held potentially huge implications.
Sir Richard Branson has created another airline: Virgin Nigeria. Virgin Atlantic has filed with the Nigerian government to form a new carrier that, pending approval, will launch domestic and international services by mid-2005 from Lagos Airport. Nigerian institutional investors, who have provided about $50 million, hold the 51% majority stake and Virgin Atlantic, which has invested about $24.5 million, holds a 49% share, according to Virgin Atlantic. Details about the new airline's aircraft, routes and fares are to be announced in the next few weeks.
The British Defense Ministry will use the ScanEagle lightweight long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle as part of its Joint UAV Experimentation Program. Part of the JUEP work for 2005 is to look at naval UAV applications.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has completed final environmental testing on NASA's two Deep Impact spacecraft, and will ship them to Cape Canaveral in late October. A December launch will set the mated "flyby" and "impactor" vehicles on a trajectory to intercept Comet Tempel-1 next summer. The impactor is designed to smash into the comet at 23,000 mph. on July 4, spewing material from the resulting crater and giving scientists their first looks at pristine substances linked to the origins of life on Earth.
NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers believe they're over the hump in redesigning the space shuttle external fuel tank, but still expect it won't be certified until after it's delivered late this year from the Michoud Assembly Facility here. Open issues will need to be addressed by the time of the flight-readiness reviews that will occur shortly before the shuttle returns to space.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) Oct. 12-14--MRO/Asia. Shanghai Convention Center. Nov. 16-17--A&D Programs. Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Oct. 12-14--Shephard Heli-Asia 2004, Bangkok. Oct. 20--Shephard ARA 2004, Bangkok Nov. 1-7--Air Show China, Zhuhai. www.airshow.com.cn Dec. 15-16--Shephard UV North America 2004, Washington.
Boeing has received a $300-million U.S. Air Force contract for support of its KC-10 refuelers. The deal also covers work on the Netherlands' KDC-10s. The company also won a $30-million contract for the first of five years of logistics support for Air Force One.
Peter Smith has become a non-executive director of British Airways Regional Cargo. He is retired chief executive of Menzies Aviation and had been deputy marketing director of British Airways.
The losing performance of F-15Cs in simulated air-to-air combat against the Indian air force this year is being perceived by some, both in the U.S. and overseas, as a weakening of American capabilities, and it is generating taunts from within the competitive U.S. fighter community. The Cope India exercise also seemingly shocked some in Congress and the Pentagon who used the event to renew the call for modernizing the U.S. fighter force with stealthy F/A-22s and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
