WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 Newest NASA telescope now named after Spitzer WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 7E7 go-ahead signals big shift in manufacturing 25 State campaign goal: Help Boeing compete with Airbus 26 Budget, probes roil military transformation plans 28 Pentagon, intel agency ex- pand fleet of UAVs 29 Defense Dept. report finds industrial base shortfalls 30 Summit collapse could slow European defense strategy
Judging from the reaction of investors, Boeing Co.'s decision last week to begin offering the proposed 7E7 to airline customers was a non-event (see p. 22). Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. In point of fact, it carried great implications and may have been the most defining decision the company has made in many years. The shocker would have been if Boeing had failed to take this next step toward the expected production go-ahead in 2004.
Military investigators will seek to determine why a French air force CASA C-212 airlifter crashed on Dec. 17 in southwest France, killing all seven crewmembers and troops on board. The Toulouse-based twin turboprop's controlled flight into terrain occurred in daytime and good weather conditions.
EUROPEAN CONNECTION The European Commission has approved the transfer of a portion of passenger name record (PNR) data from European airlines to U.S. homeland security authorities. Although the information is being passed electronically to the U.S., it is not clear if that transfer is legal under European law. A Homeland Security Dept. official said 34 out of about 60 elements of PNR data will be sent, and include name, date of birth, ticket number, travel itinerary, the name of any companion, method of payment for the ticket and when it was purchased.
President Bush's decision on the direction of the U.S. space program is likely to shape the endeavor for at least a generation, but mainly as a focus for what is sure to be a wide-ranging public debate over where, why and how much.
The new Australian Hypersonics Initiative is coordinating research on hypersonics, both for air-breathing scramjets and atmospheric entry for interplanetary spacecraft.
Douglas Barrie (London), Michael A. Taverna (Dubai)
Russian guided-weapons builder Novator is continuing to work, albeit slowly, on an ultralong-range air-to-air missile, with a version on offer for export to a select customer set.
DEEP DIVING The Japanese space agency JAXA will try to recover a strap-on solid rocket booster motor from deep water near the Philippines to better understand why it failed to separate from the sixth launch of its H-IIA booster on Nov. 29. Launch safety officials at JAXA's Tanegashima launch center were forced to destroy the vehicle and the two reconnaissance satellites it was carrying (AW&ST Dec. 8, p. 39). The SRB is thought to have fallen near the coast of the southern island of Mindanao, where the water is 16,000-20,000 ft. deep.
Michael Andersson has become president of Saab Regional Aircraft Services. He succeeds Hans Almer, who has retired. Andersson was vice president of Saab Aircraft.
PARTY LINE Boeing should tighten ethics controls over its employees--particularly new hires--argues a company-chartered panel scrutinizing the corporation's performance in this area. The review was sparked when Boeing was found in possession of Lockheed Martin proprietary data regarding the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) competition. Similar missteps had occurred before. However, the group headed by former Sen.
The ability of the U.S. defense industry to support the military's warfighting goals is under review, with signs emerging that the Pentagon needs to strengthen niche areas to preserve its supplier options.
An attempt to commemorate the Wright brothers' flight of a century ago at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., didn't get airborne on Dec. 17. A historically accurate replica of the aircraft headed down a wooden rail, failed to lift off and settled unceremoniously into a mud puddle. The Wright Experience team's Kevin Kochersberger, an engineering professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, was at the controls. He had flown the same aircraft on Dec. 3 a total of 115 ft. Orville Wright flew just 120 ft. in 12 sec. in 1903 in 27-mph. winds.
HUSH KIT The distinctive noise of helicopter blades could be headed for extinction if the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has its way. The Pentagon's research arm wants to develop a tool that could accurately gauge future rotorblade performance, regardless of their shape. Existing computational models don't adequately predict pressure distribution on a blade, making experiments with novel designs more difficult. Just delivering computational fluid dynamics models that predict airflow around a blade isn't likely to be enough, though.
U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is defining requirements for a family of systems that will detect an attack on U.S. military space platforms, identify and locate the responsible party, then classify and report pertinent information to operators and users. Collectively referred to as the Rapid Attack Identification, Detection and Reporting System (Raidrs), the defensive counterspace capability will comprise ground- and space-based sensors, information processing networks and a global "reporting architecture," according to AFSPC officials.
The U.S. Air Force is about to formally embark on a multibillion-dollar space communications project in which it hopes to avoid past troubles in developing such systems, but critics charge that the strategy is fraught with risk.
James Beer (see photo) has been appointed senior vice president-finance/chief financial officer of the Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. He succeeds Jeff Campbell, who has resigned. Beer has been vice president-Europe and Asia for AMR subsidiary American Airlines. He will be succeeded by Craig S. Kreeger, who has been vice president/general sales manager. Kreeger, in turn, will be succeeded by David Cush, who, as a vice president, oversaw the strategic reorganization of the St. Louis hub.
FULL FBW NH90 FLIES The full fly-by-wire version of the NH90 transport/frigate helicopter has made its maiden flight. The full FBW version, representative of the production helicopter, was installed on prototype 3, which initially included mechanical backup controls on the copilot's side for safety during earlier phases of testing. Prototype 4 will also be reconfigured for full FBW capability, which has already been qualified on a high-speed Dauphin demo. NH90 will be the first series-produced helicopter to be equipped with full FBW controls.
Government officials in Israel plan to cut as much as $915 million from 2004 defense spending, thereby reducing expenditures to around $7-8 billion, an amount that critics say will damage the country's defense industries and cause layoffs. Vigorous opposition to the plan is expected since the cut is more than twice what had been expected. However, Israel planners appear to be following a U.S. template that helps reduce costs by spending more on UAVs, some of them armed, and less on a large force structure of manned aircraft and armored ground forces.
The Czech government has confirmed it is to lease 14 Saab/BAE Systems JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft to replace its obsolete Mikoyan MiG-21 Fishbeds. Delivery of the aircraft, 12 single-seaters and a pair of two-seaters, is slated for mid-2005.
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics a $222-million contract to start with the conversion of the first of four ballistic missile launching submarines (SSBNs) to guided-missile subs loaded with cruise missiles, unmanned aircraft and other land-attack weapons. The USS Ohio is the lead boat, to be followed by the USS Michigan, USS Georgia and USS Florida.
Japan Airlines and GE Engine Services are to create a GE90 overhaul center for Asian services at Tokyo's Narita airport. JAL's Engine Dept. services 200 powerplants annually of nine different types, including GE's CF6, but the GE90 will be a new type.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturali-zation Service has latched on to one of General Atomics' new and bigger prototype Predator B unmanned aircraft to monitor illegal traffic across the border between Mexico and California. The UAV can stay aloft for a day and a half following the progress of those who smuggle humans, drugs and other contraband.
KEPD-350 TRY-OUT The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration has carried out a captive carry trial of the EADS-LFK KEPD-350 long-range land-attack cruise missile on the Saab Gripen fighter. Two production standard missiles were carried along with two AIM-120 and two AIM-9 air-to-air missiles. The KEPD-350 is already on order for the German air force, and Sweden has an interest in the acquisition of a weapon in this class.
Dominique Paris (see photos) has been appointed senior executive vice president, Yves Imbert senior executive vice president-strategy and development, Jean-Paul Herteman executive vice president-propulsion and Dominique Hedon executive vice president-equipment, all for the France-based Snecma group.
State and local government officials, labor leaders and community activists took a "one strategy, one voice" approach to Boeing's announcement last May that it would hold a U.S. competition for the final assembly site to build the 7E7. With Gov. Gary Locke leading the charge and a member of his cabinet, Martha Choe, director of the Community Trade Dept. and Economic Development Agency, heading the day-to-day campaign, the state's competing regions were brought into a single effort called "Action Washington."
