Northrop Grumman has named its team to compete for the five-year, $9-billion Netcents program that is to provide the U.S. Air Force, Defense Dept. and other federal agencies with information technology services. Among the 10 large and 24 small partners are Computer Sciences Corp., SAIC, Dell Inc., Verizon Communi-cations and AT&T in the U.S., and Siemens AG and T-Systems in Germany. The award is scheduled to be announced next month.
Scientists and engineers at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory are examining technologies that could result in the development of supersonic combustion ramjets 10 times larger than existing ground test demonstrators. "We know how to make our current two-dimensional scramjet work, and it seems that it's good enough to fly and validate our technologies. It's also the right size for the hypersonic cruise missile mission," Bob Mercier said. He's the deputy for technology in AFRL's aerospace propulsion division here.
AT THE ABYSS: An Insider's History of the Cold War By Thomas C. Reed Presidio Press; a Ballantine Books Div. 368 pp., Hardcover ($25.95) From nuclear weapon designer to U.S. Air Force secretary and national security policy advisor for President Ronald Reagan, Thomas Reed was an inside player throughout the Cold War. In At the Abyss, he recounts many previously untold stories about a multi-decade, toe-to-toe standoff with the Soviet Union--and just how close the world came to all-out nuclear war.
German CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters operating in Afghanistan will be fitted with an EADS missile warning system. The German military procurement agency is initially buying six AAR-60 Missile Launch Detection suites. A decision on whether to expand the program to more of the CH-53 fleet is expected in the near future, according to EADS.
Air Line Pilots Assn. President Duane E. Woerth and ALPA Inter-national President-Canada Kent Hardisty have requested a fall meeting with the new Canadian transport minister, Jean Lapierre.
There is surely deja vu for European and American airline executives reading our stories this week about the growth of "the Southwest effect" in the Asia-Pacific region (see p. 40). But just as the European model for low-fare carriers was only an adaptation of what America pioneered, so the Asia-Pacific model will find its own way. To begin with, one will talk about discount markets--plural--in Asia far more than in Europe and the U.S.
I can't agree more with Ray Erikson and Philippe Cauchi (AW&ST Aug. 2, p. 6) encouraging Boeing to start selling its model 717 more aggressively. As a frequent-flier, my schedule is framed around avoiding the smaller, cramped regional jets of Bombardier and Embraer. These RJs were made to bring speed and comfort to replace the Metroliners, Saab 340 and others on 1-hr. flights from outlying cities to major hubs. Instead they are becoming aircraft de jour flying between major cities and sometimes on nearly transcontinental runs.
Experiments in the Nevada desert are using unmanned aircraft to find the exact location of enemy electronic emissions, such as the mobile phone of a terrorist in a fast-moving auto. U.S. Air Force researchers say they've been able to locate such targets, as well as mobile missile systems, within tens of meters and often in less than a minute, which makes them vulnerable to attack before they can flee surveillance.
The International Assn. of Machinists, which declared "war" on United Airlines after the carrier said it wouldn't continue pension fund contributions while it remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, petitioned the bankruptcy court Aug. 11 to appoint a trustee to manage the airline. United's incumbent management is recognized by the court through Aug. 31 as the only entity entitled to develop and present a plan to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy. United has applied for an extension through Dec. 31.
As "Reality Bites" reports, the Bush administration's plans for future manned space exploration are already foundering (AW&ST July 26, p. 39). Record budget deficits and ever-growing costs of returning the space shuttle to flight and completing the International Space Station have taken their toll.
Overcrowding and delays at Chicago O'Hare Airport--and, in 2000, at New York LaGuardia--could have been predicted if the FAA had adapted software it uses for managing air traffic operations and used it for simulations of airline scheduling practices, Transport Workers Union (TWU) dispatchers tell the FAA. "Many of the automation tools necessary to support analysis and human-in-the-loop simulations are already in place," the union says, and they should be used when the FAA assesses market-based demand-management concepts for the mid- and long terms.
Virgin Blue, feeling the heat of competition down under from the May launch of rival Qantas' Jetstar, has set its sights on the fast-growing economies of China and India to develop its own low-fare challengers to Qantas' Singapore-based discount airline, Jetstar Asia. With the announcement of India's civil aviation policy expected soon, the carrier reportedly held talks with India's only startup, Bangalore-based Air Deccan.
Alaska Aerospace Development Corp., Spaceport Systems International and Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority jointly won a $49-million award to provide orbital and suborbital launch services to the Pentagon and other government customers using surplus demilitarized ICBMs and commercial rocket motors. The contracts will allow the Air Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program to use commercial launch facilities to support national space research and development. The work is to be completed by mid-2011.
Lufthansa and Air-India have signed an initial agreement for an alliance to start Oct. 1 to develop India-Europe-U.S routes and integration of their respective frequent-flier programs. That's not surprising considering that Lufthansa is a founder of the Star Alliance. India is one of the "white spaces"--places where airline alliances haven't made an impact--on the Star Alliance's map of the world. Air-India Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas commented recently that a hookup with Lufthansa could be the first step toward the airline's entry into Star Alliance.
Tour helicopters in New York are now flying under heightened security after credible and specific threats to them in the run-up to the Republican National Convention on Aug. 30. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Yolanda Clark says "there is some linkage" between the focus on the threats to the helicopters and those to the city's financial district revealed recently. In addition, she notes that events leading up to the November presidential elections--such as the upcoming political convention--provide "inviting targets" for terrorists.
NASA is moving ahead with the sole-source procurement of a Canadian robot to service the Hubble Space Telescope, gaining confidence the International Space Station (ISS) technology can perform all of the tasks shuttle-launched astronauts were scheduled to do before the Columbia accident changed everything.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $32.6-million contract to purchase spares for the Advanced EHF program. The spares buy became necessary after the service cut Advanced EHF satellite production to three from five satellites, with the last delayed one year. The service also recently had to push back some Advanced EHF launches because of development problems with cryptological gear.
Joseph A. Czyzyk, who has been CEO of the Los Angeles-based Mercury Air Group., also will be interim chairman. He succeeds Dr. Philip J. Fagan, Jr., who has retired as chairman.
The saga of the U.S. Army's botched procurement process for the precision-guided mortar munition (PGMM) keeps getting more bizarre. After Alliant Techsystems was awarded a contract for the laser-guided mortar, losing bidder Lockheed Martin protested and its charges about shortcomings in the Army's source-selection methodology were upheld by the Government Accountability Office. The service agreed and has asked bidders to resubmit. The proposals were due late last week.
Despite a government pledge of 50 billion yen ($455 million) to develop a fully indigenous 30-50-seat regional jet, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is finding the market difficult to read. It was supposed to have chosen an airframe size by last March. Under the circumstances, part of the industry is now pushing for the airframe to be based on the P-X, an antisubmarine warfare aircraft Kawasaki Heavy Industries is developing as a replacement for Japan's P-3C Orions. If the P-X is the chosen airframe, it would seat 80-100 passengers--far larger than what MHI has in mind.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT Co. OFFICIALS ARE REASSURING existing and potential customers that the company, which has suffered a series of financial setbacks in recent years, is now financially stable. David Copeland, vice president of sales and marketing for the Kerrville, Tex.-based manufacturer, says Allen Financial Holdings, which owns Mooney, has approved the company's business plan for the next three years. In addition, Mooney has upgraded two of its airplanes and renamed them the Ovation 2 GX and the Bravo GX, both of which feature Garmin G1000 glass cockpits.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will be making a bid for Pacific Rim service, according to Cleveland Mayor Jane L. Campbell. At a celebration opening the extended Runway 6L-24R, now 9,000 ft., the mayor promised an extension of Runway 6R-24L to 11,000 ft. from 9,000, which would permit international flights without restrictions. The city is looking to complete the planned extension by 2007. A Continental Airlines transport provided the inaugural landing on the recently extended runway on Aug. 5.
I read with amazement the letters belittling the accomplishments of Burt Rutan and SpaceShipOne (AW&ST July 26, p. 6). Rutan is destined to be remembered as one of the most talented aeronautical designers and engineers of his time.
As a 777 captain flying nonstop New York-Hong Kong and Tokyo routes, I read with interest your article on ultra-long-range ops (AW&ST July 5, p. 40). Economics is why my airline uses type-rated first officers to fill my seat while I rest in the crew bunk. At issue is the legal view you presented that I be held accountable for the errors that may occur while I engage in a legal rest period. Although I have the highest confidence in my crews, it seems incredulous that any authority could prosecute me for actions that occurred while I was sleeping.
USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles Coolidge, Jr. (see photos), has been named vice president-Air Force programs for EADS North America and U.S. Army Lt. Col. (ret.) Norbert H. Fortier director of Army transport aircraft programs for EADS CASA North America. Coolidge was vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Fortier was rotary wing branch chief for the Maritime and Rotary Wing Program Executive Office of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
