Elaine Seat has been appointed program director for the University of Tennessee aerospace MBA program. She has been a visiting professor in the College of Engineering and was a design engineer and engineering manager for Lockheed Martin Energy Systems.
A flurry of exchanges of defense delegations between India and Israel have erupted in the past month to fast-track 21 major procurements that the previous Indian government approved in February but current political leaders may walk away from. The concern is that Israel will seek other buyers if its deals with India appear to be going sour.
Guardian Technologies International's PinPoint threat identification and detection system combines software with artificial intelligence to augment traditional baggage-scanning equipment, greatly improving the detection of guns, explosives and a wide variety of threat items in checked and carry-on baggage, according to the company. The technology also has applications for full body scanning, cargo scanning and detection of money laundering and illicit drugs.
John L. Bean has become senior vice president-government business for Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth. He was vice president/general manager of F-16 programs for Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, also in Fort Worth. Bean succeeds Terry Dake, who has retired.
The Cockpit Security Technical Corrections Act has been introduced in Congress. This long-awaited legislation will force the Transportation Security Administration to implement the federal flight deck officer program as Congress intended in the FFDO legislation signed in November 2002.
A whistle-blower's revelations about poor testing at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Nagoya Guidance Propulsion System Div. has prompted the Japanese Defense Ministry to demand new tests of the Type 88 (SSM01) surface-to-ship missile system. MHI's previous structural tests were conducted with insufficient loads, the ministry says. It was tipped off by a company insider. MHI apologized and is to rerun the tests. The improved SSM is being developed for Japan's army; deliveries are set for 2008.
The Pentagon may place greater emphasis on the sea-basing option for its kinetic energy interceptor (KEI). The ship-based version of the boost-phase interceptor weapon was to trail the land-based model by about two years--the latter is slated for fielding around 2012. However, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) representatives now suggest it would make sense to accelerate the ship configuration, notes Frank Moore, general manager for missile defense at KEI prime contractor Northrop Grumman. Discussions still are in the early stage and revised program plans haven't been drafted.
Further procurement of Japan's Mitsubishi F-2 close air support fighter is in doubt. In a reexamination of major defense acquisitions, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba issued a harsh initial assessment of the fighter, which is Japan's largest program. He hasn't acted yet, but has said the F-2's cost/benefit ratio needs to be studied. Orders have been placed for only 75 of the 130 aircraft the Japanese Defense Agency (JDA) contemplated in 1995 when production began.
Explosives detection technology for aviation security is now deployed widely in the U.S., and the major players in this sector are working to provide improved processing speed and more integrated systems at lower cost.
Mars Express, the first European Space Agency spacecraft to reach the red planet, has amassed a stunning gallery of images and other data from Mars orbit since controllers started switching on its instruments in January. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and its mapping spectrometer are well on the way to meeting ESA's goal of producing high-resolution images and mineral maps of the whole planet. Another instrument has confirmed the presence of methane in the atmosphere, raising the possibility it was produced by volcanic activity or even life. The 1,120-kg.
Consultants at Unisys R2A express some long-term concerns for the impact of pay raises on Southwest Airlines' cost structure. The recently approved contract with Southwest flight attendants calls for a 31% pay increase over the six-year life of the contract, with no productivity improvement, the Unisys August "Scorecard" observes. Together with rising fuel prices, the recent pay increase helped boost the cost per available seat mile beyond 8 cents for the first time since 1994. Payroll costs have increased steadily as a percent of total costs since the mid-1990s.
US Airways said it will ask the Internal Revenue Service for permission to spread out from 18 months to as much as five years the $67.5 million it is required to contribute for the 2004 plan year to the defined-benefit pension plans for its Assn. of Flight Attendants and International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers units. With this approval, the company would count $28.6 million it has already contributed to the plans this year toward the last 2003 plan year payment, which is due Sept. 15. The carrier is trying to conserve cash for the winter (AW&ST Aug.
North America has another maintenance, repair and overhaul center trying to capitalize on the growing trend toward outsourced maintenance, a trend that traditional airlines are embracing following the success of low-cost carriers in that area. Less infrastructure investment and liability often translate to reduced expenses, and airlines are preoccupied with lowering costs in the current economic climate.
Space Systems/Loral is in talks with Boeing to acquire its Kent, Wash., high- bay and thermal-vacuum facility. SS/L has rented Boeing's facility for years to supplement vacuum tests normally carried out on its 1.13-million-sq.-ft. campus in Palo Alto, Calif.
MBDA's Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile system (Asraam) officially entered service with the Royal Australian Air Force's Air Combat Group Base at Williamtown at a roll-out ceremony Aug. 20. The Asraam, a high off-boresight dogfight weapon with imaging infrared seeker, is already in service with U.K. Royal Air Force's Tornado F3 and Eurofighter Typhoon, and is scheduled to be fitted to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the RAF and Royal Navy. MBDA is jointly owned by BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica.
David Pearman has been appointed general manager of the General Dynamics Aviation Services facility in Las Vegas. He was senior operations manager at the Westfield, Mass., facility.
The U.S. Army hopes to demonstrate this week the ability to use a laser to shoot down mortar shells, a weapon type that has proven devastating to deployed U.S. forces, says Maj. Gen. John Urias, the program executive officer overseeing the service's directed-energy efforts. But Urias acknowledges the hardware still is in its early development stage. In fact, the next-generation mobile tactical high-energy laser effort recently suffered a setback when Israel, the development partner, had to cut funding.
Vision Fire & Security has released Vesda LaserFocus, a cost-effective very early warning smoke detection system designed to protect small critical areas. The air-sampling smoke detector offers ultrasonic flow sensing, a circular display, preengineered piping options and ease of installation and maintenance, according to the company. It is underwriters laboratory (UL) listed for UL268 open area protection and UL 268A for duct detection.
Castle Industries provides support for fabrication of precision assemblies, machined metal components and formed sheet metal parts. The company's range now includes production of custom vacuum-formed panels for military and government aircraft interiors. The process begins by producing a precision-forming tool, manufactured using a multi-axis CNC routing machine, the company says. The wooden tool is then used to vacuum-form panels and stiffeners that are trimmed and laminated to form a strong interior panel.
Instruments on the Cassini spacecraft have found two tiny moons orbiting Saturn, bringing the total number of moons counted around the ringed planet to 33. More discoveries are likely, as the planned Cassini imaging sequence includes closer looks at gaps in the rings where additional moons are expected to lurk. The two newest finds--designated S/2004 S1 and S2--measure 2- and 2.5-mi. across, respectively. Until Cassini, the smallest confirmed Saturnian moon measured about 12-mi. across.
Space Systems/Loral is in the final stages of emerging from federal bankruptcy proceedings with what it feels are two key assets--technical strength and financial stability--at a time when it sees new opportunity in government contracting and an upturn in the commercial market.
In the wake of a fierce salary disagreement with British Airways, the Transport and General Workers' Union late last week voted a 24-hr. walkout of baggage handlers and additional ground staff scheduled for Aug. 27.
What does NASA do when it wants a few good ideas on how to encourage more private-sector participation in its exploration programs? It offers study contracts. Responding to the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, the space agency is soliciting "comments and ideas from all sources regarding possible effective and efficient steps" it can take to gain access to private-sector technology. The commission, headed by former Air Force Secretary E.C.
Hurricane Charley damaged and destroyed record numbers of aircraft and hangars when it slammed into the west coast of Florida, then raced across the state on Aug. 13.
