Northrop Grumman has been awarded a seven-year, $337-million task order in support of the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. to design, operate and maintain the classified network infrastructure for its headquarters and outposts nationwide. As part of the award by the General Services Administration Federal Technology Service under the Millennia Government Wide Acquisition Contract, the company's Information Technology sector will provide secure network services for a predefined number of locations, including approximately 600 federal, state and local sites.
The most crucial elements for fighting a war in the first decades of the 21st century will not be directed-energy weapons or computer network attack, promising as they may be, nor will it be the accuracy of bombs or the range of new sensors.
The Pentagon is exploring how it can pack more punch into its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter even as managers continue to wrestle with setting the configuration of the multi-service aircraft. Current plans call for the F-35 to be able to carry four 250-lb.-class Small-Diameter Bombs (SDB) in each of its two internal weapons bays. But studies are underway to assess whether more of the bombs can be carried on the fighter by altering slightly how the weapons are packed into the bays, says USAF Maj. Gen. John Hudson, JSF's program director.
European leaders fear that the call for a freeze in the French defense budget and a U.K. decision to hold a referendum on a constitution for the European Union will throw plans to reinforce Europe's military effort into disarray.
NASA and the U.S. Air Force have flown two solid-fuel rockets with aerospike nozzles to collect flight data on the inside-out nozzle configuration. In back-to-back flights at the Pecos County Aerospace Development Corp. Flight Test Range in Fort Stockton, Tex., NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center and the Air Force Flight Test Center sent two 10-ft. solid rockets aloft to more than 26,000 ft. at speeds greater than Mach 1.5 to collect flight data on aerospike nozzles.
In a related development, Alcatel and EADS said they had jointly tendered a bid for Germany's Satcom Bw II milsatcom network, which is also due to be decided this year. Deutsche Telekom leads a rival team that includes OHB System, Thales and, reportedly, a U.S. partner thought to be Loral Space & Communications.
To become a more formidable foe in future conflicts, the U.S. Air Force is focusing on faster decision-making and wider sharing of classified data, as well as designing machines to talk to each other and exploiting the computer systems of its foes.
President Bush's plans for deep-space human exploration will require more than new vehicles to blast crews safely to Mars. Today's generation of spacesuits won't work on that planet, where stronger gravity poses a weight problem not yet encountered by shuttle and space station astronauts as they float in microgravity.
May 17-19--Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference. CS First Boston Headquarters, New York. June 2-3--Netcentric Conference & Exhibition, Washington Convention Center. June 2-4--Homeland Security Summit & Exposition. Washington Convention Center. Sept. 14-16--MRO Europe. Bella Center, Copenhagen. Oct. 12-14--MRO/Asia. Shanghai Convention Center. Nov. 16-17--A&D Programs. Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS May 10-16--ILA, Berlin www.ila-berlin.com
Fred W. Kirby has become vice president-flight operations for Cleveland-based Avbase Aviation/UltraJet. He was director of vendor standards for NetJets Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
Emirates plans to launch its first passenger service from North America to the Middle East on June 1 with Airbus A340-500 daily nonstop flights between New York JFK International and Dubai. Service from San Francisco is expected to follow. The airline is offering passenger amenities in all classes of the ultra-long-range aircraft. Emirates' A340-500s are configured for 12 first-, 42 business- and 204 economy-class seats and have a belly-hold capacity of 14 metric tons of freight. The 12 first-class seats recline to flat beds and offer sliding doors for privacy.
Vnukovo, the oldest and third-biggest Moscow airport, just opened a new international terminal. The three-level, 25,000-sq.-meter facility will allow airport managers to pursue an ambitious goal: double passenger traffic to 5 million in 2005, from 2.7 million in 2003.
Your accolades for European aerospace were misplaced, as it is those governments that are creating the advantage (AW&ST Mar. 29, p. 74). The European companies are making the most of that advantage, which includes low-interest loans to develop commercial products, preferential treatment for pro-curement of European commercial and military products, and special government- to-government support for sales of commercial and military products. All these support actions create an uneven economic playing field.
Japan's air force has retired the last of its Mitsubishi T-2 combat trainers in favor of the trainer versions of its two front-line fighters, the Mitsubishi F-2B and F-15DJ. Mitsubishi built 96 T-2s in 1969-86, which logged about 307,000 hr. training 1,450 fighter pilots.
The newest two-man crew on the International Space Station picked up another task within a day of their arrival--fixing an outside component that failed and took an attitude-control gyro down with it.
The Bush administration wants to put off for two years requiring 27 visa-waiver countries to use machine-readable passports because few will be able to meet this fall's deadline. The machine-readable passports follow the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard for biometrics using facial recognition. A digital full-face photo is stored on a computer chip along with biographical information.
American and United airlines are again paring down flight operations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to avert congestion and a summer of delay discontent among passengers.
Bravo to Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt for making a plausible, tangible case for "figuring a new way to return to the Moon" (AW&ST Mar. 15, p. 70). I am neither a scientist nor do I have any knowledge of how helium-3 translates to marketable, fusion BTUs. But I do understand business and the prospect that there's a buck to be made on a new frontier. Capitalism makes the case for going to the Moon again, not merely the "novelty" of setting foot on it. Just like the American frontier, the Moon has become the exciting place to be. [email protected]
Rolls-Royce and American Airlines have inked an agreement aimed at expanding the role of Texas Aero Engine Services Ltd. (Taesl)--a joint venture formed in 1998 and based at Alliance Airport north of Fort Worth. During the next five years, Rolls plans to send Taesl $900 million worth of overhaul and repair engine work for the RB211 and Trent 800 series. If Taesl meets projected business goals, another $700 million of work would follow. The facility, which is staffed chiefly by American Airlines mechanics, employs more than 530 people.
The European Parliament has voted to refer the passenger name record agreement with the U.S. to Europe's highest court to see if it violates privacy laws. The move puts in legal limbo the way some European airlines are sharing such data with the U.S.
Engineering teams developing next-generation commercial transports and business jets place full confidence in composite materials: They significantly contribute to a reduced airframe weight and lower direct operating costs. Rapidly evolving technology has enabled major manufacturers to noticeably expand the use of composite materials in all-new aircraft such as Airbus' 555-seat A380, the proposed Boeing 7E7, Dassault Aviation's Falcon 7X and Gulfstream's 550.
USAF Lt. Col. Shane Hershman, Maj. Bob Colvin, 1st Lt. Matt Clausen and MSgts. Shawn Brumfield and Chris Dockery have been awarded the Clarence Mackay Trophy for 2003 from the Arlington, Va.-based National Aeronautic Assn. Their unit, known by the call sign "Vijay 10," was cited for planning and leading a portion of Operation Northern Delay in Iraq, the main supporting action for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Mar.
DGA said Italy and Spain are poised to join the French-led unmanned combat aerial vehicle demonstration program, in which Sweden and Greece have already agreed to participate.
John Anderson, the Australian deputy prime minister for transport and regional services, is concerned about aviation security in Papua New Guinea, after a Papua New Guinea newspaper reported that a passenger on a domestic Air Niugini flight in December 2003 was found to be carrying 200 sticks of dynamite in his briefcase after the plane landed. An Australian government spokesperson said there is great concern that terrorists might use a neighboring country as a launching pad for an attack.
