The crew of "Dark Angel," a B-24D Liberator, had enjoyed an easy mission that October night in 1944. A supplies drop to the resistance behind German lines had been completed without a hitch. Stripped of its armor, the B-24D had exhibited impressive performance during the low-level, high-speed run that had gotten it past both German flak and determined night-fighters. The aircraft commander, Lt. Elmer Heaberlin, turned toward the North Sea, headed for the crew's home base in England.
Former astronaut Robert Cabana has been appointed deputy director of the NASA Johnson Space Center. He was director of flight crew operations and has been succeeded by Kenneth Bowersox, who recently commanded the sixth expedition to the International Space Station. Cabana succeeds Brock (Randy) Stone, who is retiring.
Johann Heitzmann has been appointed head of the EADS Military Aircraft Div. He succeeds Aloysius Rauen, who will become chief executive of Eurofighter. Heitzmann was head of the EADS Defense Electronics Div. and has been succeeded by Bernhard Gerwert.
The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has broken off talks with Space Imaging for a second 0.25-meter-resolution commercial imaging satellite. Digital Globe won the initial NextView contract, but NGA was interested in contracting with Space Imaging, too, to shore up the U.S. commercial space imaging industrial base. Space Imaging officials were disappointed, but noted the company has a healthy business base, including $200 million in revenue last year.
Most U.S. soldiers and commanders are not prepared to fight modern insurgent groups, according to recent analyses by military academics. "The visualization of authority [and insurgent organizations] by military professionals is a hierarchical pyramid," said a former professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. "When they have to go after a system that operates like [a swarm of] lightning bugs, it's hard for them to grasp the model." Analysts also note the rise of special operations units as the primary operational force in Afghanistan and some phases of the Iraq conflict.
Deutsche Post Chairman Klaus Zumwinkel says the company will continue to pursue potential foreign acquisitions, particularly in the U.S. and Asia. The company's DHL parcel express unit recently struck a partnership agreement with Lufthansa Cargo, and is looking to expand its ground network in North America (AW&ST Feb. 23, p. 47). However, Zumwinkel said he saw mail opportunities as well. The company reported earnings of 1.3 billion euros in 2003 on sales of 40 billion euros.
A Japanese/South Korean venture to initiate the world's first digital multimedia broadband broadcasting system is on its way to becoming a reality with launch of the Loral MBSAT spacecraft on board a Lockheed Martin Atlas III. The 9,100-lb. spacecraft is finishing its climb toward geosynchronous orbit this week following placement in an elliptical transfer orbit early on Mar. 13 by the International Launch Services (ILS) mission. The MBSAT project is a combined effort by the Mobile Broadcast Corp. of Japan and SK Telecom of South Korea.
Russia's force projection by going "beyond a 'buyer-seller' relationship with India by moving into weapons research and development" (AW&ST Feb. 2, p. 57) presents an interesting perspective on establishing an industrial-military cooperation in a region of potential geopolitical tension.
An 80-million-euro ($98-million) cash infusion from three international investors has guaranteed survival of Italy's low-fare carrier Volare. The 40-million-euro contribution from Argentinean investor Eduardo Eurnekian, and 20 million euros each from the Tricolore fund and merchant bank Interbanca, will also allow the carrier to expand operations. Gino Zoccai, who previously owned 69% of Volare Group shares, now holds 32%, and the Eurnekian-led trio another 32%. Private investors hold minority stakes.
NASA's new lunar exploration program will start modestly with a $300-million orbiter using recycled planetary instruments to scout a landing site for future humans, but experts believe it could evolve into a surface complex that private industry would operate after NASA moves on to Mars.
General aviation is an incessant caller at Washington Reagan National's door--and won't stop knocking until it regains the right to operate at the airport, shuttered to it since Sept. 11, 2001. The reasons for wanting to return are basic: to stem devastating financial losses and to boost the nation's economy, regional business and tourism. GA leaders argued their cause in testimony on Mar. 16 before an aviation subcommittee hearing set to consider the reopening of the airport.
The U.S. this week will mark a full year since Patriot batteries shot down a British Tornado returning from an Iraq mission, killing both crewmembers. But despite the high-profile incident--followed by the shootdown of a Navy F/A-18 a few days later--the Pentagon has refused to formally notify the victims' families or the public about what happened. Army officials were ready to present their accident findings, but the U.S. Central Command squashed that and the details have been held up in inter-service bickering about the wording.
Ronald D. Sugar, president/CEO of the Northrop Grumman Corp., of Los Angeles is among the new members elected to the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering. Other aerospace-related new members are: Siva S. Banda, senior scientist and leader of the Control Science Center of Excellence at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; George H. Born, professor of aerospace engineering sciences at the University of Colorado; David E.
The Transportation Security Administration has launched a privacy education program. All 53,000 employees of the TSA are to undergo web-based/multimedia training on how to protect the privacy rights of passengers. The TSA's ongoing program includes enforcement of internal controls on use of data and private information, as well as the appointment of an external privacy advisory board.
TSA also plans to start a 90-day pilot project in June for registered travelers, including frequent travelers. Airports being considered for the program include Boston Logan International, Washington Reagan National and Dallas Love Field.
Japanese-owned companies with long industrial ties to the airframer as suppliers of inflight entertainment (IFE), cabin and landing gear parts for the the A380, raising to 18 the total number of Japanese firms involved with the project. The suppliers are expected to earn more than $4.25 billion from the 555-seat double-decker transport, which is to enter service with Singapore Airlines in 2006.
NASA is adopting a wait-and-see posture after the leadership of its principal partner on the International Space Station (ISS) turned over as President Vladimir Putin reorganized Russian government following his reelection last week.
Lea Black (see photo) has been appointed vice president/ general manager of the Damar Machine Co., Monroe, Wash. She was vice president-operations at Giddens Industries, Everett, Wash.
The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. is expected to decide this week whether to begin operating two Hermes 450 unmanned air vehicles from Elbit Systems along the Mexico-Arizona border. The move is part of a $10-million border control initiative that also will see the assignment of four additional OH-6 scout helicopters to the fleet of aircraft operated by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforce- ment (ICE) and the border patrol.
Addressing a gathering of the Wings Club in New York last week, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Alan Mulally called the proposed 7E7 "Son of the Sonic Cruiser," and "The People's Choice." He said assembly of a 7E7 could possibly be pared to three days, noting the aircraft's market entry date is 2008. Timing will be ideal, he said, with most airlines posting substantial orders to replace large numbers of aging aircraft. Engine selection is closer at hand with a decision expected by midyear. One or more engine suppliers will get the nod.
Meanwhile, regional sands continue shifting. United on Mar. 9 signed up three new United Express carriers, while another of its regional affiliates, Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), actively plans its reincarnation as low-cost carrier Independence Air. Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America will begin operating as United Express carriers later this year from United's Washington Dulles and Chicago O'Hare hubs. According to United, Republic will fly 16 70-seat regional jets; Chautauqua, 16 50-seat RJs; and Shuttle America, 10 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft.
If America's muscles are being flexed in Iraq and Afghanistan, two of its major arteries, full of personnel and supplies, today run through Rhein-Main AB and Ramstein AB in Germany.
Seemingly going against the trend toward consolidation in the European airline sector, SAS Scandinavian Airlines is to be split into separate entities in an attempt to save the troubled carrier.
U.S. defense manufacturer General Dynamics is making a cash-bid for British land-systems specialist Alvis. The bid caught BAE Systems unaware. It took a 29% stake in Alvis in 2003, a move aimed at trying to ensure it would play a role in key future U.K. army programs such as the Future Rapid Effects System. The U.S. company cast an eye over BAE itself during 2003 as a possible merger or acquisition candidate, but decided against such a course.
The U.S. Army's aviation branch could be headed for even deeper trouble if efforts to revitalize the community by sacrificing the RAH-66 Comanche don't pay off, and there are signs that may be occurring.
