Five former test pilots are scheduled to be added to the Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, Calif.: James D. Eastham, Robert C. Little, Bruce A. Peterson, Russell M. Roth (posthumously) and Rogers E. Smith. Eastham tested and helped develop the first Mach 3-plus aircraft--the A-12, YF-12A and SR-71--and was the Hughes Aircraft Corp.'s engineering test pilot for the Falcon Missile Project.
U.S. forces in Iraq were equipped with an unprecedented capability to keep track of their own, but the military plans further enhancements since "friendly-fire" killings still hounded the campaign with more than 20 deaths caused by such incidents. The U.S. Army equipped more than 2,000 vehicles and about 200 aircraft with its Blue Force Tracking (BFT) device. British forces were given 75 of the kits so U.S. forces wouldn't mistakenly attack them.
TEAR DROPS Meanwhile, the NRO, bleeding from recent bad publicity about flawed program management and failed satellite launches, will try to recoup its political fortunes "with a brilliant, very public display of some eye-watering proposals" for the introduction of new technology in a few weeks, a Navy official says. Among them will be the use of sensor-loaded, long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned aircraft as a much cheaper alternative to satellites.
The age 60 mandatory retirement rule is not only a safe and sound one, but it allows other younger pilots to enjoy the same careers as those who are approaching age 60. Ward's and Stowe's letters seem to be about themselves with no consideration for the advancement of junior pilots. Both of these retired pilots enjoyed aviation careers with advancement because of the mandatory retirements of senior pilots. Throughout my 30-plus years of flying, I never once heard any of the younger first officers advocate a change in the retirement rule, other than lowering it to 55.
PARTNERING Rockwell Collins and Sandia Corp. have entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore the application of new technologies to the aerospace and defense market. The memorandum calls for both companies to share their knowledge and capabilities. They will collaborate in selected technology and product development and manufacturing efforts. Additional information is available at www.rockwellcollins.com.
GROWTH RECORD Delta Connection carrier Comair is on course for record growth this year in terms of fleet expansion. The carrier has taken delivery of 23 CRJs and is scheduled for 10 more aircraft this year. The addition of 33 aircraft in a calendar year is the largest fleet expansion in the carrier's 25-year history. By year-end Comair's fleet is expected to include 156 Bombardier jets. Thus far this year, Comair has added nearly 200 flights and 11 new destinations.
After many months of fits and starts, Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system is now becoming a reality, with initial hardware contracts out and the Egnos wide area augmentation system, which will precede Galileo, in the final phase of technical validation. The 3.2-billion-euro ($3.5-billion) satnav network is a cornerstone of the European space effort and a key element in plans to forge a unified policy between the European Union and the European Space Agency, which has traditionally handled space affairs.
Boeing Co. is reassessing the business rationale for a dozen or so of its biggest programs across the corporation through an independent cost-evaluation unit. The team will examine whether their chances for success outweigh the business risks associated with them. The team also will participate in program reviews. Some Wall Street analysts welcome the unit's formation, especially its potential usefulness in evaluating commercial projects.
Despite considerable cross-Atlantic work, technical questions cloud the issue of whether interoperability between the Galileo and GPS satellite navigation systems is possible.
Top Bush administration officials are engaged in what NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe described as "fulsome debate" over the future of the U.S. space program, while senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill geared up last week for a season of hearings on the Columbia accident with calls for a clear vision of just what the U.S. wants to do in space.
INTEGRATED SYSTEMS WIN Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector has been named an industry partner on the U.S. Army's Future Combat System (FCS) program by Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), the program's lead system integrators. This marks a major expansion of the sector's role as a provider of integrated systems solutions for the Army. Integrated Systems will develop and produce the FCS program's Class IV unmanned aerial system (UAS) based on the RQ-8 Fire Scout VTUAV system now in test and evaluation for the U.S. Navy.
FOLLOW THE LEADER To ensure the viability of both of its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) contractors, Lockheed Martin and currently suspended Boeing, the Pentagon will use a "leader-follower" strategy in the competition for the next round of launchers, says Peter B. Teets, Air Force undersecretary and director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The goal is to ensure both have a stable business base by giving even the more expensive bidder a healthy share of the launch contracts--unless, of course, the losing bidder's price is outrageous.
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In moves that will make or break its attempts to survive the next two years without filing for bankruptcy protection, ATA Airlines has launched an exchange offer to extend $300 million in current debt and has renegotiated aircraft and other equipment leases with Boeing, GE and ILFC.
The U.S. Navy has selected CAE as one of the prime contractors eligible to bid for future simulation and training programs supporting the Naval Air Systems Command in the next eight years. The Navy values the potential training system opportunities at up to $3 billion.
Northwest Airlines, which began flying in 1926 as a U.S. mail carrier, has threatened to stop carrying domestic mail, claiming that mail carriage has become financially unfeasible under new postal rates and a sharp decline in volume. Northwest officials said they decided to drop U.S. Postal Service contracts but set no date. The decision also applies to wholly owned Pinnacle Airlines and affiliate Mesaba, but Northwest will continue to carry international mail. Northwest said its mail volume has declined 40-50% compared with 2002. U.S.
TESTING 1, 2, 3, IV National Technical Systems completed a series of acoustic tests in support of Boeing's Delta IV launch program. NTS reported that the acoustic tests were a portion of the final qualification and survivability testing for launch site ground support equipment. The trials were conducted at NTS' Santa Clarita, Calif., facility. Boeing personnel monitored the tests and supported functional checks on the units during the acoustic exposure.
WORK ON 728JET RESUMES . . . Static testing of the Dornier 728 regional twinjet, acquired in June by the Chinese investment fund D'Long International, has resumed in Germany. The tests, being carried out at the IABG test facility in Ottobrun, had been suspended when Dornier failed last year (AW&ST June 30, p. 47).
Korean Air will become an international carrier with passenger, cargo and aerospace interests when it acquires Daewoo Industries' stake in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's largest aerospace company. Under the terms of a preliminary agreement valued at about $85-108 million, Korean Air is to acquire all of Daewoo's shares in KAI. With similar tentative deals in the offing with Samsung Techwin and Hyundai Motor, the other group shareholders in KAI, the airline could also become the country's sole aircraft manufacturer.
GALILEO GENERATOR Saab Ericsson Space will supply a signal generator for Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system, in association with Astrium and Austrian Aerospace. The generator will be installed on an initial testbed spacecraft to be launched in the second half of 2005 to meet International Telecommunications Union rules for establishing use of frequency bands (AW&ST July 21, p. 17).
A British attempt to better a 40-year-old U.S.-held record for a balloon ascent ended in failure Sept. 3 when the planned flight had to be aborted following damage to the balloon. The two British crewmembers had intended to ascend to an altitude of 39,600 meters (130,000 ft.) in the balloon, called QinetiQ1, but the flight had to be scrubbed when, with 50% of the required helium already in the balloon, a significant failure of the fabric occurred.
Having already fielded an antiarmor weapon for use on the Hunter unmanned aircraft, the U.S. Army next month is slated to receive an upgraded version that expands the types of targets and increases the accuracy with which forces can attack adversaries using the UAV.
Long interested in boosting its airborne intelligence collection capability, the Australian military last week unveiled a testbed equipped with modern imaging sensors and slated to be upgraded with signals intelligence features. The project is built around a Raytheon Beech 1900C that will operate at 25,000 ft. to monitor its target. The system, designated an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) testbed, provides for several onboard operators, although information can also be downlinked to a ground station.
. . . AS ARJ21 PROJECT PICKS UP SPEED Meanwhile, Honeywell has revealed that it has been chosen to supply unspecified components for the rival ARJ21 twinjet, being developed by China's Avic 1. A number of major ARJ21 systems have already been selected, including the engines (GE), avionics (Rockwell Collins) and air-conditioning system (Liebherr). Honeywell said it would reveal the components to be supplied in mid-September at Aviation Airport Expo in Beijing.
