EADS and Israel's Tadiran Communications plan to link forces in a move that will enlarge EADS' product portfolio and give Tadiran a strong beachhead in Europe. Under an agreement concluded last week, EADS will sell the Israeli company a 75% share in Racoms, a wholly owned Ulm, Germany-based subsidiary specializing in HF radios, VHF power amplifiers and NATO-compliant modems and protocols with annual sales of 45 million euros ($54 million).
U.S. special operations C-130s are on tap to receive new self-protection equipment that will alert them to potential threats at much greater distances and eventually allow aircrew to locate those emitters rapidly and precisely.
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Technical elements are falling into place for the tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System, but political wrangling within the Pentagon and among participating governments threatens to delay or even derail the start of the next phase of the project.
SAFETY STUDIES The new NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) at Langley Research Center has launched "pathfinder" studies on four programs to shake out the procedures it will follow to give the agency a second set of eyes on critical engineering issues. Ralph Roe, Jr., a longtime space shuttle manager just named NESC director, said the center is reviewing questions on the Calypso spacecraft, the upcoming Mars Exploration Rover operations on the planet's surface and the space shuttle rudder speed brake actuators.
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Like much of the electronic warfare world, Germany has turned to infrared missile warning equipment to achieve better performance and protection for its aircraft. With several years of development and trials now under its belt, one of the country's main efforts--dubbed PIMAWS, developed by Bodenseewerk Geratetechnik (BGT)--is poised for a crucial test phase. Engineers will attempt to validate whether their efforts have been successful and that the system can meet expected detection probabilities and the required low false-alarm rates.
China's Catic-HAFEI will establish a final assembly line for the five-seat EC120 utility helicopter, to be known locally as the HC120, a program jointly developed by Eurocopter, Catic and Singapore Technologies Aerospace. More than 400 EC120s have been delivered (AW&ST Oct. 27, p. 20).
Richard D. Stephens has been promoted to senior vice president for the Boeing Shared Services Group from vice president/general manager of homeland security and services for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Nancy Cannon has become vice president-people function/chief people officer and Rich Smoski vice president-employee services. Stephens succeeds Bonnie W. Soodik, who has been named head of Boeing's new Office of Internal Governance.
India is discussing establishment of a military base at Ayni, 10 km. northeast of the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe, in what would be the first Indian military facility established abroad. The plan would include runway and hangar upgrades costing around $11 million. Coming on the heels of joint naval exercises on the East China Sea with China set for last week, the move signals India's increased willingness to participate in stabilization of the Asian region.
The Wright Experience replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer made its first flight from Kill Devil Hills, N.C., on Nov. 20. Piloted by Kevin Kochersberger, the powered Flyer flew 119 ft., while not going over 10 ft. above the dunes. Considered a training flight, it will be one among many leading up to the Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s Countdown to Kitty Hawk celebration on Dec. 17.
The stakes could hardly be higher. Next year, A400M developers are to start selecting self-protection equipment for the military transport aircraft, and their decisions could shake up the European electronic warfare industry since few other programs loom on the horizon. In the run-up, executives are jockeying to draw attention to their companies' offerings. EADS Defense Electronics President/CEO Johann Heitzmann describes the A400M as one of the "must-win" efforts.
How many billions of dollars did the recent fires in California cost our economy? How much is it worth to our defense capabilities to have healthy aerospace companies? Instead of the Pentagon saying it will no longer provide former military aircraft for aerial firefighting, our lawmakers should appropriate funds for building first-line aircraft such as the C-17 to become firefight- ers. C-17 are designed to fly a 160,000-lb. payload from an unpaved 3,000-ft. runway.
Developers have taken a step toward tracking enemy emitters more precisely in an attempt to lift the fog of war from the electronic battlefield. During a recent laboratory demonstration, Lockheed Martin engineers working with Northrop Grumman and U.S. Navy officials were able to provide specific emitter identification (SEI) using the E-2C's new ALQ-217 electronic support measures equipment. SEI "fingerprints" a radar or similar system, allowing operators to distinguish different versions of the same type.
The Pentagon is bracing for massive cost growth on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, and it may also be headed for trouble on its newest satellite program, the Transformational Satellite satcom initiative. The military recognizes its EELV cost will spiral upward because of the lack of a commercial customer base for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V and Boeing Delta IV launcher family; however, Pentagon officials dispute assertions by the General Accounting Office (GAO) that major problems loom for the Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program.
Flight testing has begun of Boeing's X-45A in the Block 2 configuration. The two air vehicles began operating at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, Calif., earlier this month. During this phase, the Unmanned Combat Air Systems will demonstrate internal weapons release, automated mission replanning while in flight, multi-vehicle operations, and control of two systems by one operator.
FALLING STAR United Airlines wanted to continue a code-sharing relationship with Mexicana Airlines, sources say, but officials at the Mexican carrier felt differently about the bilateral partnership. Initial reports were vague as to why Mexicana wanted the linkup to end, alluding to unspecified changes in the marketplace. In the wake of the split of the two Star Alliance members, the Alliance Management Board convened Nov. 13 and mutually agreed that Mexicana will withdraw from the alliance. The date was fixed at Mar. 31.
TOO AGGRESSIVE The Pentagon has stepped up the intensity with which it is pursuing insurgents in Iraq to squelch continued attacks against U.S. troops, allies and Iraqi sympathizers. But the move is drawing some fire in Washington. Carl Levin, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, questions whether the use of AC-130 gunships and bombs represents an excessive use of force and "could fuel counterinsurgency." Levin particularly objected to an analogy used by Maj. Gen. Charles H.
Dr. Gary C. Hutchison has been appointed to the board of directors of the Denver-based Titanium Metals Corp. He succeeds Terry N. Worrell, who resigned to join the board of directors of Timet affiliate NL Industries Inc. Hutchison is a neurosurgeon at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
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Eric R. Byer has been named director of government and industry affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. He was manager of legislative affairs.
Europe has begun to put into place a multibillion-dollar research and procurement program, patterned after the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. and intended to make the continent safe from terrorist attacks and other civil defense threats.
STOP THE TWO-STEP A fully reusable two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle is currently beyond reach, says Pentagon space czar Peter B. Teets. A while back, the government gave up on fully reusable single-stage designs.
