Government-owned manufacturer Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) has received a boost through an order to upgrade a massive stockpile of missiles accumulated by India during the past two decades. The upgrade includes antitank missiles with a 10-year shelf life and surface-to-air missiles such as the OSA and Pechora that are safe up to 15 years. Officials said refurbishment would save up to 80% of the cost of building replacements.
TURBOMECA TURNS TO ASIA Turbomeca is reinforcing its Arriel 2 marketing and support structure in Asia. The French engine maker selected Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries as an authorized maintenance, repair and overhaul center for Arriel 2, and noted that it had received European certification for Arriel 2B1A, powerplant for the Chinese Z11 MB1 2-metric-ton helicopter. HHI, which will be the first designated Arriel 2 MRO center outside the Snecma group, already supports Arriel 1.
BLACKSTAR RISING? Add Blackstar Airlines to the list of aspiring startup carriers that want to offer luxury international nonstop service at "competitive" prices, this time from Los Angeles International Airport in large, underserved or high-yield markets lacking nonstop service by U.S. airlines. Seeking an operating certificate, the Los Angeles-based Nevada corporation told the U.S. Transportation Dept. it is negotiating to buy as many as 17 Boeing 747-400 aircraft and intends to configure them with about 300 seats, versus the usual 350-380, in three classes.
Douglas Barrie (London), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
Spacecraft controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, have given the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter an unwanted if not entirely unexpected first mission following its successful arrival at the red planet--trying to pick up a signal from Britain's Beagle 2 lander that rode the orbiter to Mars and then was silent after it descended into the atmosphere.
China launched the first of two Double Star scientific satellites Dec. 30 on a Long March 2C vehicle from the Xichang launch center. Developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency, which contributed eight on-board instruments, Double Star will build on ESA's Cluster mission to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere. The ESA instruments--spares from the Cluster project--are the first from Europe to fly on a Chinese spacecraft.
In what is becoming almost an annual ritual, the Pentagon is targeting the Boeing-led Airborne Laser (ABL) program for a significant funding cut and restructuring. As part of last-minute budget deliberations, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is reviewing its plans for the Boeing 747-based high-power laser project, which is designed to destroy ballistic missiles during their boost phase. Although Pentagon officials insist that the revised plans have not been fully formulated, they concede that some form of restructuring will occur.
HONDA'S HIGHWAY IN THE SKY? Honda Motors Co. officials are remaining mum about initial flights of a six-seat business-jet prototype "HondaJet" out of Greenville, N.C., except to say: "We do not intend to sell the aircraft." The company apparently is developing both the airframe and engine with an eye to eventually entering the aviation sector.
OPEN TO BIDDING Italy's Seven Group will not acquire France's ailing Air Littoral as planned. Despite a tentative agreement concluded in November, and the absence of urgently needed capital, a trade court terminated negotiations and, to buy time, rescheduled the deadline for acquisition proposals to next week. The Seven Group's ill-fated scheme involved close links between the French regional carrier and Bergamo-headquartered Azzura Air. Ionis Groupe, led by former airline pilots, is expected to submit an offering.
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Two developments during the holiday period, one that emanated from the National Transportation Safety Board and the other from the Air Transport Assn., illustrate anew the complexities of regulating aviation in the 21st century.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) Mar. 8-9--European Transport Leaders Conference. Merrill Lynch Headquarters, London. Mar. 10-14--Toulouse Symposium. Toulouse (France) Congress Center. Mar. 25-26--Defense Budget Conference. Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, Va. Apr. 20-22--MRO USA/MRO Latin America/MRO Military. Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta.
Bell Helicopter has received a $183.8-million contract to build three low-rate production AH-1Zs and six UH-1Ys. It is the first of two low-rate production buys; the second, with the same distribution of AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys, is slated for Fiscal 2005. The U.S. Marine Corps plans to buy 180 AH-1Zs and 100 UH-1Ys.
Brett Cumberland has become vice president-solutions development for the global transportation industry practice of the Unisys Corp., Blue Bell, Pa. He was chief information officer for Abercrombie and Kent and had been vice president-airline solutions at Sabre Inc.
Air Canada's recent order for 90 new regional jets must be bittersweet for Bombardier Inc. (see p. 35). On one hand, clinching the sale of 45 RJs, with options for 45 more in the current market environment, would buoy any marketing team. The order is valued at about U.S. $1.3 billion, and will help shore up the company's backlog and production outlook. On the other hand, Air Canada split the order between Bombardier and its Brazilian rival, Embraer. Moreover, the 45 RJs that Embraer will supply are at the higher end of the 50-100-seat market range.
FRENCH FIRE BALLISTIC MISSILE France has fired a full-scale inert version of its new M51 nuclear ballistic missile. The test firing, performed from an undersea caisson near the French naval base in Toulon, was intended to validate missile behavior in the first instance of the trajectory, between the firing command and breaching of surface. The M51 is scheduled to enter service around 2010.
John Kaldeway has been named chief operating officer of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. He has been vice president-transition programs. Kaldeway will be succeeded by Gordon Grant, who has been director of special projects.
Lord Sainsbury, Britain's science minister, had it exactly right--and exactly wrong--when he commented on the initial failure of the Beagle 2 lander to communicate from the surface of Mars after its descent on Dec. 25. Sainsbury properly called for a Beagle 3 project under the auspices of the European Space Agency's Aurora planetary exploration program. It is encouraging to see British leaders vigorously pushing space-based science again after 40 years of quiescence.
Michael S. Gilliland has been appointed president/CEO of the Sabre Holdings Corp. of Fort Worth. He succeeds William Hannigan, who is now president of the AT&T Corp. Gilliland was president/CEO of Sabre subsidiary Travelocity and has been succeeded there by Michelle Peluso.
Mesa Air Group and Atlantic Coast Airlines are revising their New Year's resolutions, as Mesa's visions of an ACA takeover fade with the old year. U.S. District Court here in mid-December enjoined Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group from proceeding with takeover attempts of ACA, which operates as a United Express carrier at Washington Dulles Airport. Those attempts grew increasingly hostile, starting in October with a stock offer and ending with a request-for-consent solicitation that would have replaced ACA's board.
The first production PAC 750 XL bound for the U.S. market was lost 210 mi. offshore after pilot Kelvin Stark reported a fuel shortage, performed what appeared to be a successful ditch at sea but then was lost with the sinking aircraft as a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 circled overhead.
PILOTS' STEW The legal dispute between pilot groups at Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Assn. over representational issues has entered the discovery phase. The pilots, who are members of the RJ Defense Coalition, accuse ALPA of inequitable representation that favors mainline pilots in contract bargaining.
RAPID FIRE The Pentagon is facing an aggressive flight test schedule in 2004 for its ground-based, mid-course missile defense project after having lost most flight test opportunities in 2003 due to technical problems. With the White House's announced goal of having the system operational by late summer, developers are left with little time to complete critical tests. The rapid pace begins early this month, when Lockheed Martin is slated to conduct the first flight test of its interceptor.
The United Arab Emirates will receive some of the 3,253 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser tail kits the Pentagon is buying from Lockheed Martin under a new $53-million contract. The bulk of the deliveries, though, will go to the U.S. Air Force, which employed the munition during last year's war in Iraq.
Alex Albert Beehler has been named assistant deputy undersecretary of Defense for environment, safety and occupational health. He succeeds John Paul Woodley, who is now assistant Army secretary for civil works. Beehler was director of environmental and regulatory affairs for Koch Industries.
LOCALS SEEK HUB CAP The controversy surrounding DHL Express' plan to expand its Belgian hub is intensifying. In less than 10 years, the courier operator's Brussels Zaventem-based fleet is estimated to increase to 75 all-cargo aircraft, up from 24, on the condition that more nighttime takeoff/landing slots, which are needed to serve additional city-pairs, are obtained.
