India is expected to test-fire its Agni-III missile this year, which extends the surface-to-surface ballistic missile's range to 3,000 km. (1,900 mi.), according to a senior defense scientist. The original Agni had a 750-km. range; the Agni II was extended to 2,000 km.
A month after narrowly winning a recertification election, the engineers' union at Boeing's Wichita, Kan., plant strongly rejected a three-year contract offer because members said it contains medical benefit traps that favor non-union workers. Boeing's contract with the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit (WTPU) of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) ran out on Feb. 19. Members are working under their existing contract.
The British Defense Ministry's ability to meet tight timetables on its future aircraft carrier is being cast into doubt as it considers backtracking on the intended procurement strategy. The ministry is on the brink of ditching its proposed route to procuring two 60,000-65,000-ton aircraft carriers by appointing a prime contractor, and instead is considering what some ministry insiders are calling "alliancing."
With Airbus having achieved its long-standing goal of capturing at least half of the market for commercial aircraft outfitted with 100 or more seats, some observers, particularly those who still view the aerospace and defense industry from the U.S. perspective, may think the transformation of Europe's sector is complete--that it has reached its zenith and will remain there.
Russian helicopter manufacturer Rostvertol intends to finance preproduction of the Mil Mi-28N Havoc all-weather attack helicopter from funds raised by a partial share sale. The move may also clear a path into a consolidated Russian helicopter enterprise. The company, which is privately owned, plans to sell a stake to the Russian Ministry of State Property in order to garner program funding.
European low-fare airlines are examining the pros and cons of forming an alliance. At least two multilateral alliances are already in the negotiation stage and could form the basis for an agreement between the low-fare carriers, similar in many ways to that of the sector's big network players.
Airlines Belgium, an all-new Belgian charter carrier, is scheduled to begin operating this week. It was formed by Germany-based TUI to replace local players, including the ill-fated Sobelair that recently ceased operations after filing for bankruptcy. The Belgian TUI affiliate owns five Boeing 737s, will take delivery of a 767 in June to serve long-haul destinations and plans to lease three more 737s during the summer peak season. TUI, the world's biggest leisure group, last year had 20.3 billion euros ($25 billion) in revenues.
Japan stiffened its laws against unruly passengers on Jan. 1, and Japan Airlines is the first carrier to seek a prosecution. The accused male, while traveling from Tokyo to Zurich, became unruly after being told not to smoke in the lavatory or use his cell phone in flight. On Mar. 19, he was charged with an inflight safety violation.
Air Canada is taking many small steps and a few stumbles while walking the restructuring tightrope. The carrier's pension plan is posing one of the biggest obstacles that could hinder restructuring efforts. Air Canada's equity plan sponsor, Trinity Time Investments, on Mar. 17 announced it was reconsidering its entire C$650-million ($488-million) equity investment in Air Canada as a result of "union intransigence" in refusing to discuss pension structure.
EADS executives are predicting that 20% of the European conglomerate's total sales will come from the Asia-Pacific region within five years and 30% by 2015. To reinforce that goal, the company is pushing establishment of new joint ventures in India.
WorldView, DigitalGlobe's next-generation imaging satellite, is being designed to collect up to 500,000 sq. km. (193,000 sq. mi.) of half-meter (1.6-ft.) resolution imagery in a day, according to company officials. It will offer 50-cm. (20-in.) panchromatic and 2-meter multispectral resolutions, and eight color bands--the industry-standard red, blue, green and near-infrared, plus four new ones, "coastal," yellow, red-edge and a second near-infrared. The new bands will contribute to precise change detection and mapping capabilities.
While it is too bad that so much funding was sunk into the Comanche program, there is much to be gained from its development (AW&ST Mar. 1, p. 21). The concept of the Comanche is obsolete. The way forward would be to split the program into two tracks. One track would see development of a UAV or UCAV based on the Comanche. The resulting aircraft would be capable of completing many of the missions designated for the Comanche.
The NTSB dispatched a team to investigate the crash of an Eva Aviation Inc. Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that was missing on Mar. 22 after leaving Scholes International Airport near Galveston, Tex. The helicopter was last heard from about 30 min. later when it was 90 mi. south of Galveston over the Gulf of Mexico. It was headed for an oil exploration vessel. As of late last week, a large debris field had been found along with four bodies. The helicopter had a crew of two and was carrying eight passengers.
Thales Raytheon Systems has landed an award to supply a turnkey surveillance radar, communications and detection/control system to Indonesia. The venture, jointly owned by Thales and Raytheon, also announced the entry into operation of Switzerland's Florako air defense system, which was ordered in 1998 (see story, p. 35).
The U.S. national security space community stands on the threshold of creating interdependent systems-of-systems architectures that will enable effective network-centric warfare. But this new era is forcing Congress to make a tough choice: either commit to sustained, stable funding for tightly linked space systems, or sentence warfighters to living another 15-20 years with today's constraints. Not since the Cold War have national security stakes been higher, some space professionals believe.
With Airbus having achieved its long-standing goal of capturing at least half of the market for commercial aircraft outfitted with 100 or more seats, some observers, particularly those who still view the aerospace and defense industry from the U.S. perspective, may think the transformation of Europe's sector is complete--that it has reached its zenith and will remain there.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. tentatively chose US Airways over American, Continental and Delta for a newly available third-country code-share opportunity--the fourth--between the U.S. and Israel. American, Northwest and United are incumbents, partnered with Swiss International, KLM and Lufthansa, respectively. In addition, Delta code-shares with El Al and Continental operates nonstops from Newark.
Tiger Airways, the discount carrier started by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Singapore government and private investors, will lease four Airbus A320s when it begins operations in the second half of this year.
EADS' businesses in Russia will be coordinated by Moscow-based OOO EADS, which was formed last week. The European group's Russian Technology Office reportedly is evaluating more than 40 research and technology cooperation projects.
NASA's Messenger Mercury probe has arrived at Astrotech Space Operations near Kennedy Space Center, where it will be prepped for a May 11 launch to Mercury. Designed and built by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the 1.2-ton spacecraft completed three months of environmental testing at Goddard Space Flight Center before being shipped to Florida in an air-conditioned truck.
Marc Holtzman and Lon Levin have been elected to the board of directors of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation. Holtzman is president of the University of Denver, while Levin is vice president of Mobile Satellite Ventures and co-founder/senior vice president of XM Satellite Radio.
Marty Blaker (see photo) has become head of the Communications Dept. of the San Diego-based King Schools. He was manager of the user experience department for Microsoft's Flight Simulator.
WorldView, DigitalGlobe's next-generation imaging satellite, is being designed to collect up to 500,000 sq. km. (193,000 sq. mi.) of half-meter (1.6-ft.) resolution imagery in a day, according to company officials. It will offer 50-cm. (20-in.) panchromatic and 2-meter multispectral resolutions, and eight color bands--the industry-standard red, blue, green and near-infrared, plus four new ones, "coastal," yellow, red-edge and a second near-infrared. The new bands will contribute to precise change detection and mapping capabilities.
U.S. civil aviation accidents increas-ed in 2003 to 1,864 from 1,820 in 2002. The majority occurred in general aviation and air taxi operations, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary data for the year. General aviation accidents increased to 1,732 from 1,713, although the accident rate of 6.71 per 100,000 flight hours is relatively unchanged from 6.69 in 2002. The aviation sector operated 25.8 million flight hours in 2003, and its 351 fatal accidents accounted for 626 of the total 695 deaths for all of civil aviation in 2003.
The U.S. national security space community stands on the threshold of creating interdependent systems-of-systems architectures that will enable effective network-centric warfare. But this new era is forcing Congress to make a tough choice: either commit to sustained, stable funding for tightly linked space systems, or sentence warfighters to living another 15-20 years with today's constraints. Not since the Cold War have national security stakes been higher, some space professionals believe.
