John Martin's response to Gareth Williams of the European Space Agency (AW&ST Apr. 21, p. 6) regarding a redundant GPS states, "America is not at all interested." I beg to differ. Being able to track, target and strike with near global pinpoint accuracy, while denying that capability to a foe, is unprecedented and akin to being the only nation with a nuclear weapon.
The British Defense Ministry's top level procurement body, the Investment Appraisals Board, was due to consider purchase of the Hawk 128 advanced jet trainer, May 27. Also expected to be on the agenda was a choice between the Joint Direct Attack Munition and Paveway IV for the precision-guided bomb program. Paveway IV appears to be leading the competition.
I am astonished at the childish and unrealistic attitude of weapons designers toward polygraphs. The labs have been prime targets for foreign intelligence agencies for several decades. At a time when every American must endure increasingly invasive and inconvenient security measures, one can have little sympathy for members of the defense community who balk at a little invasion and inconvenience themselves. Most government offices and contractors would rightly fire you if you refused to cooperate with a proper security investigation.
The U.S. Air Force has selected Raytheon to develop an air-launched decoy aimed at spoofing enemy air defenses, but the service so far is holding off on pursuing an adjunct jammer.
The Pentagon is moving to a two-year budget cycle, overhauling the decades-old planning, programming, budgeting and execution process. The process will begin with an abbreviated budget review for Fiscal 2005, for which no Defense Planning Guidance will be issued. In the off-year, the services will have to submit so-called budget change proposals to adjust their planned funding in response to cost increases, schedule delays, congressional actions or other factors.
Rita Hirschmann has become chair of Hirschmann Industrial Holding Ltd., Zug, Switzerland, parent of the Jet Aviation Group. She succeeds Moritz Suter. Heinz Kohli has been named interim CEO of Jet Aviation and Theo Staub chief operating officer of Jet Aviation in the U.S.
OLYMPIC BOOST Initial in-orbit operations for Greece's Hellas Sat, orbited May 13 by an Atlas V booster, will be handled by SES Astra under a contract announced on May 14. SES Astra will also provide a pair of ground stations for commercial service, which is due to begin by next year, in time for the Summer Olympics in Athens. The spacecraft is owned by Hellas-Sat, a consortium comprising the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Avacom Net of Cyprus, the Cyprus Bank of Development, the Hellenic Aerospace Industry and Canada's Telesat.
The June 16-22 Paris air show is expected to emphasize the aerospace-defense industry's economic concerns rather than new technical achievements. Moreover, French President Jacques Chirac will be opening a show clouded by political tensions with the U.S.
The U.S. regional jet market is entering a new growth phase as major airlines and their regional carriers acquire next-generation airplanes designed to fly longer routes with increased service frequency. RJs and their growing role within a struggling U.S. airline industry were a major topic at the Regional Airlines Assn.'s convention held here last week. RAA represents 56 carriers in the U.S.
NEW LOW-FARE CARRIER IN THE WIND Another low-cost airline is set to challenge the traditional airlines in the lucrative Italian domestic market. Starting on June 18, Sicilian-based Wind Jet, with headquarters in Catania, will provide six daily flights to Rome and two to Forli. By the end of the month, new frequencies from Palermo and Lampedusa island are to be added. By August, the carrier plans to open new routes to Milan and Pisa. The pricing strategy is aggressive, with fares ranging from 19.99-99.99 euros ($23-116).
With an eye on the development of future tiltrotor aircraft, Bell Helicopter Textron is investigating several technologies that could enhance current designs.
Biggs C. Porter has become vice president/corporate controller of the Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass. He was corporate controller of the TXU Corp. Porter succeeds Edward Pliner, who is now senior vice president/chief financial officer.
In a related move, NATO has agreed to provide technical assistance to a planned 2,000-personnel Polish peacekeeping force in Iraq. Approved without sharp debate, the move mirrors broad support for a U.N.-sanctioned, U.S.-led peacekeeping and rebuilding effort in the country, and lifting of U.N. sanctions. Another 6,000 police and engineers from a half-dozen other European countries, including Italy, are expected to join the Polish-led force (AW&ST May 5, p. 35).
NEW TRAINING EXERCISE Boeing subsidiaries Jeppesen and Alteon (the former FlightSafetyBoeing) will jointly market aviation training services for commercial aircraft operators. The collaboration "is precisely why Boeing has acquired" the two companies, said Vice President Ray Marzullo, who heads Boeing Flight Services.
Air France's last Concorde flight, AF001, is scheduled to depart from New York JFK airport on May 31. British Airways will follow the same path by the end of October. The French Concordes will soon rest in museums, including at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is to be inaugurated in December at Washington Dulles International Airport. "We had more requests for donations than we have aircraft," Air France Chairman/CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta acknowledged.
Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, leader of U.S. Joint Forces Command, is pursuing a vision of the U.S. military's future in which everything from command-and-control systems to operational concepts is "born joint," and where the services can mount joint ops faster in a "plug-and-play" environment.
Charles H. Kaman, founder and former chairman/CEO of the Kaman Corp., Harold Rosen (see photo), a consultant and former 37-year Boeing employee, and Ed Link, who in 1929 developed the first pilot training device, are among the new members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Akron, Ohio. Kaman was recognized for contributions to the helicopter industry. In 1945, he patented the concept of rotor control based on servo-controlled flaps, which were added to the edges of rotor blades to improve stability and ease workload.
Paris-based European Bureau Chief Pierre Sparaco this month took his last supersonic transport trip to New York. The Air France Concorde's flight time from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport was 3 hr. 33 min. While at JFK, Sparaco, who has covered the Concorde since the program launch in November 1962, discussed its 27 years of operations with Axel Kuzinsky, who heads Concorde maintenance for Air France at the airport. Arriving in New York 2 hr. 27 min. "before" takeoff time--thanks to the 6-hr.
EYEING HISTORY For the first time, the 1903 Wright Flyer will be on display for close inspection at eye level, when the National Air and Space Museum opens an exhibition on Oct. 11. The historic aircraft has always hung high above the entrance to the museum, but it will be at ground level in the new exhibition. The focus will be on education, showing that Wilbur and Orville were not a couple of bicycle mechanics who got lucky, but the founders of a methodical new field of engineering.
Michael A. Taverna (Milan and Cascina Costa, Italy)
AgustaWestland and Bell are discussing a rearrangement of workshare for the BA609 tiltrotor that is likely to give the Italian company an equal role in the program, further cementing ties with the Textron affiliate and giving it a firmer foothold in the U.S.
Barring yet another last-minute hitch, by the time the Paris air show arrives, Europe may finally have formally launched the A400M airlifter. The A400M will be one of several multinational procurement efforts that will be a focus of attention. The continuing fallout from the Iraqi war, in terms of political implications and weapon system performance, also will represent topics of considerable interest.
The Mars Exploration Rovers are complex spacecraft developed under a tight schedule, a classic recipe for disaster. NASA is fully aware of this, and unlike the agency's prior "Faster, Better, Cheaper" philosophy, is now willing to throw money at the problem. Today's tune might be called "Faster, Better" but not "Cheaper." Can extra resources make up for limited time? The answer will be revealed as the mission unfolds, but since the project is a single data point, there won't be much statistical confidence in the result.
U.S. Joint Forces Command held the first wargame recently at a new facility designed to link simulations from all the military services, allied services overseas, federal agencies and academia in a virtual environment designed to run continuously. This network is expected to play a major role in the Pentagon's efforts to transform the U.S. military--an endeavor that will rely heavily on simulation and experimentation to develop joint operating concepts.
ROSOBORONEXPORT IN PARIS Russia's defense export agency is coordinating the country's 37 aircraft and system manufacturers for the upcoming air show. Sukhoi is expected to display the Su-27SK, MiG will feature the upgraded MiG-29M2 and Yakovlev plans to bring the Yak-54 and Yak-130 trainers. Kamov and Mil helicopters, missiles and engines will also be spotlighted, in a clear indication that efforts are underway to woo the export market.
EXPANDING SERVICES Mesa Air Group is negotiating with Frontier Airlines to extend its services when the existing agreement ends in July. Using 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200s, Mesa has been operating as Frontier JetExpress serving Denver, Boise, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Tucson and Ontario, Calif. In addition, Mesa is scheduled to begin operating 10 Bombardier/de Havilland Dash-8 turboprop transports in July under a new code-sharing agreement with United Airlines.
