Tricia Paoletta has been appointed a partner in the Washington law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. She is a former director of telecommunications trade policy in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and has been head of the international telecommunications practice at the law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
Alexis C. Livanos (see photo) has been appointed vice president/general manager of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Systems Div., Azusa, Calif. He will remain vice president/general manager of the Navigation Systems Div., Woodland Hills, Calif. Livanos succeeds Salvatore M. Romano, who is now vice president/program manager of the Space-Based Infrared System Program for Northrop Grumman.
While NASA engineers and consultants scramble to put together a robotic Hubble servicing mission to replace the shuttle mission canceled by Administrator Sean O'Keefe (AW&ST June 7, p. 32), agency bean counters are looking for a way to pay for it. The Fiscal 2007 budget plan has a funding wedge of $300 million, but that's only for something to go grab the big telescope and dump it safely in the Pacific by 2011, and doesn't even include an Atlas V or Delta IV launch.
The U.S. Air Force has placed an order with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates valued at up to $5.7 million for the development of capabilities for a flight path safety system designed by MDA's Information Systems group.
NASA's astronauts aren't exactly ready to kick the tires and light the fires for a ride on human-rated Atlas V and Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs), an early candidate for getting the proposed Crew Exploration Vehicle to orbit. In a May 4 white paper the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center calls for an order of magnitude reduction in the fatality risk on ascent, and frets that an EELV simply may not be up to the task even with upgrades for human safety.
The USAF needs brand-new KC-767s and additional KC-10s. It is about time for the U.S. government to speed up the KC-135 tanker replacement process and go forward by choosing the Boeing 767-based offering as soon as possible.
General Dynamics will acquire Newton, N.C.-based TriPoint Global Communications, a privately held provider of ground-based satellite and wireless communication equipment and integration services for video, voice and data applications worldwide. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is subject to normal regulatory approval; it is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004. TriPoint Global Communications will become part of the General Dynamics' C4 Systems business unit.
Barbara Taylor has been promoted to corporate director from assistant director for standards for customer support for FlightSafety International and is based at its Hurst, Tex., facility. Craig Newell has been promoted to manager of the Wichita (Kan.) Learjet Learning Center from assistant manager and Tony Ossipov to assistant manager from director of training at the Teterboro (N.J.) Learning Center.
Concerns over rising fuel prices, renewed terrorism and softening capital markets have forced the French government to lower its expectations for the initial sale of stock in engine maker Snecma.
The FAA has proposed civil penalties of $1 million against United Airlines and $1.5 million against United Express regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines--both for failure to follow aircraft maintenance procedures and for continued operation of aircraft in noncompliance with regulations. FAA alleges United operated 263 Boeing 777 flights on which emergency escape slides were unusable because a safety maintenance pin was installed in the slide.
Pierre Sparaco (Toulouse, France), James R. Asker (Toulouse, France)
Airbus expects to increase production rate of its single-aisle twinjets by 20% next year in yet another indication that shaky times in the airline business are slowly drawing to an end. "I am pleased at our [financial] performance and pleased at the market's recovery," Chief Executive Noel Forgeard says, adding that Europeans are weathering the airline industry's seemingly interminable downturn "extremely well."
BAE Systems submitted a counterbid on June 3 to acquire the whole of land-systems manufacturer Alvis, which already is the subject of a bid from General Dynamics. BAE holds a 28.7% stake in Alvis. BAE is offering 320 pence ($5.88) a share, compared to the 280-pence offer from General Dynamics. The Alvis board of directors has withdrawn its recommendation to accept the General Dynamics offer, and is now recommending acceptance of the BAE bid. General Dynamics said on June 3 that "it would not revise or extend its offer beyond 1 p.m.
It probably won't be a complete loss for some of the companies shut out of the $10-billion USVisit contract awarded to Accenture by the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. (see p. 44). Even though they were on losing teams, Lockheed Martin and Anteon, in particular, are expected to ultimately play roles in developing this automated entry/exit system for those traveling to and from the U.S.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector has selected the company's Navigation Systems Div. to develop a new integrated tactical cockpit for 75 U.S. Navy E-2 Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Design and development will take place at the company's Navigation Systems Div. in Woodland Hills, Calif., with production at a Northrop facility in Salt Lake City. The cockpit will reduce the number of instruments, gauges and displays to improve pilot situational awareness.
Thai Airways International President Kanok Abhiradee says the airline is looking at the Airbus A380 for high-density routes from Australia via Bangkok to London and Frankfurt, and currently operated by the Boeing 747-400. Although Kanok confirms the airline will buy the A380, he would not say how many would be ordered. Thai would become the fourth A380 customer in the Asia-Pacific region after Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways and Malaysia Airlines. Thai Airways plans to initiate its 10-year expansion plan late this month. It includes adding 27 destinations by 2007.
I read with interest about the problems facing firefighters battling forest blazes, with the U.S. government cutback on airtankers (AW&ST May 17, p. 31). Having worked and flown on U.S. Air Force C-141s for many years and being in Southern California where fires run rampant, I often have wondered why the federal government and private contractors did not use C-141s--which have been slowly phased out of operation since 1993--to replace C-130s and other older aircraft. The C-141 has great handling capabilities and a large cargo area for water tanks.
Humberto Moas has been appointed Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based sales director for new business aircraft for South America for Bombardier Aerospace. He was sales director for Latin America for used aircraft.
Gordon Walsh (see photos) has become senior vice president-finance/chief financial officer of L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems Div., Greenville, Tex. Shannon Nichol has been promoted to vice president/controller from controller. Walsh succeeds the late Peter V. Price and was vice president-finance/CFO of the Link Simulation and Training Div.
Low-cost champion Ryanair saw post-tax profit fall for the financial year to Mar. 31, down from 239.4 million euros ($292 million) to 226.6 million euros. Passenger numbers were up 47%, but yields fell by 14%. Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's combative chief executive, said the already fiercely competitive budget sector would claim casualties among his competitors in the next 12 months.
Often turbulent and rarely smooth, transatlantic defense-industrial relations are headed for rough weather, with problems building on several fronts. At the eye of the brewing storm is the thorny issue of technology access and sharing between Washington and its European partners.
Swiss International Air Lines has decided not to join the Oneworld airline alliance, citing high costs that would have outweighed the benefits of joining Oneworld, and a reluctance to disclose frequent-flier program information with alliance leader British Airways. Swiss now plans to focus on internal restructuring and returning the company to profitability. The decision is eventually expected to drive Swiss into the arms of the Star Alliance, whose leader, Lufthansa, has tried unsuccessfully to take over the troubled Swiss carrier.
Air New Zealand signed agreements on June 2 to acquire eight Boeing 777-200 ER and two 7E7 aircraft as well as rights to purchase a further 42 long-haul aircraft. Boeing had not yet confirmed the orders late last week. The airline has selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 as the powerplant for the two 7E7s under negotiation. If, as expected, the deal becomes a firm order, Air New Zealand will become the launch customer for the 70,000-lb.-thrust-class engine. Four of the 777-200 ERs will be purchased and the other four leased from International Lease Finance Corp.
OHB System has shipped the flight model of the European Physiology Modules (EPM), a medical research laboratory intended for the European Space Agency's Columbus orbital facility when it is launched to the ISS. The EPM consists of modules with standardized interfaces for cardiological, neurological, bone density and other experiments. One module, Cardiolab, was also developed by OHB. The EPM will be integrated by Columbus contractor EADS in Bremen, Germany.
Eutelsat's supervisory board has proposed a streamlined corporate management structure that would combine the existing two-tier organization, consisting of separate 15-man supervisory and four-man management boards, into a single board of directors with up to 12 members. Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta, who currently acts as chairman of the management board, would become a member of the board of directors under the new setup.
A Virgin Atlantic Airways Airbus A340 taxis behind other aircraft waiting at London Heathrow Airport on June 3. Failure of the flight data processing system (FDPS) at National Air Traffic Services' West Drayton center outside London at about 6 a.m. local time caused considerable traffic disruption. The FDPS is based on 1970s computer technology, and is due to be replaced before the end of the decade. All major airports in England and Wales suffered some outbound traffic delay, despite the FDPS being restarted within an hour of its failure.
