When is a projection of a further slowdown in commercial aviation optimistic? When it assumes strong economic growth in the middle of this decade, no industry consolidation and restoration of the relationship between economic activity and airline fares. And when it doesn't estimate the effects of war.
The idea of equipping U.S. commercial transports with self-defense systems to protect against attacks by terrorists with shoulder-fired missiles gained momentum on Capitol Hill last week. House Transportation aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (RFla.) emerged from a closed door hearing to say he now favors moving ahead immediately. Mica wants to fund R&D on adapting military systems for use on commercial jets at a cost of about $30 million including certification. He said he will find a way to expedite this. c
Robert Wall (USS Abraham Lincoln In The Persian Gulf)
After spending much of the Afghanistan conflict serving as a communications jammer, EA6B Prowlers are expected to revert to their more traditional radar jamming mission in the event of war with Iraq.
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP. HAS SOLD four S-76C+ helicopters to Senior Taxi Aerea. Based in Porto Allegre, Brazil, the company specializes in transportation support for offshore oil platforms. Although other operators in Brazil already fly more than 40 S-76s in offshore operations, Senior Taxi Aerea will be the first to use the advanced S-76C+ version. Deliveries will begin late this year, according to Jeff Pino, Sikorsky's senior vice president for marketing and commercial programs.
GETTING THE MESSAGE In a bid to make psychological operations more effective, the U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom) wants to rapidly field an improved leaflet delivery device. The command, which is largely responsible for generating the military's leaflets, wants to find a method to precisely air-drop the material so the leaflets won't be blown off target. The Wind-supported Air Delivery System would be able to autonomously fly to a target area and stay on-course even when it is windy--not unlike the U.S.
Ken Torok will become president of Singapore-based UPS Asia-Pacific, effective in April. He will succeed Charles A. Adams, who is scheduled to retire. Torok has been district manager of UPS' South Florida operations. David Abney has been appointed to succeed Ronald G. Wallace, who has retired as president of UPS International.
CHEAP SATS More praise for unmanned aircraft comes from U.S. Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper. "I predict we're going to see a lot of Global Hawks out there," he said, speaking of future acquisitions and operations. "I think they're going to do much more than the reconnaissance and surveillance mission. We're going to look at this capability [of staying aloft for 24-30 hr.]--whether it's this particular machine or not--for communications relays as substitutes for low-orbiting satellite constellations.
Lockheed Martin Corp. has received an additional $100 million from the U.S. Army to accelerate production of the new PAC-3 Patriot air defense missile. The increase means missiles produced under the second and third low rates-of-initial-production contracts will be delivered nine months sooner than had been planned.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board and NASA are ready to lead a critical series of debris impact tests using complete wing leading-edge systems and a landing-gear door taken from the original shuttle orbiter Enterprise. They will use the Enterprise hardware to help determine whether a large piece of external tank foam could have fatally damaged Columbia, or whether other "aging spacecraft" factors such as materials degradation could have played a pivotal role in the tragedy.
OFF TO AN ASTEROID Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) plans to launch its Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft-C (Muses-C) asteroid sample return mission in May to the Asteroid 1998 SF36. The spacecraft is planned to arrive at the asteroid about two years after launch by an ISAS M-5 three-stage solid-fuel rocket from the institute's Uchinoura Launch Center at Kagoshima, on Kyushu Island. The spacecraft is designed to touch down on the asteroid and collect surface material to be placed in an internally carried capsule.
Anthony L. Velocci Jr. (New York), David Bond (Washington)
The full-blown financial crisis in which the U.S. airline industry seems hopelessly entwined could soon start to look more like a death spiral than an economic tailspin, depending on how an Iraqi war plays out. For the first time, some leading analysts and industry officials are talking about the possibility--if not the probability--that virtually every major U.S. carrier will be forced to file for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. The lone exception: Southwest.
Robert Wall (USS Araham Lincoln In The Persian Gulf)
U.S. Navy officials are hoping the aircraft carrier armada assembled within striking distance of Iraq will validate more than a decade of investment following the last major confrontation by demonstrating new warfighting capabilities.
Dante Marzetta has been appointed senior vice president-airport services for Continental Airlines. He succeeds Mark Erwin, who is now president/CEO of Continental Micronesia. Marzetta was head of Continental's hub operation at Cleveland.
The NTSB may have a new chair and two new board members as early as this week. On Mar. 13, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the nomination of Ellen Gayle Engleman as chair, and Richard Healing and Mark Rosenker as board members. The nominations will now go to a vote in the full Senate. Engleman will serve as chair for two years, once approved, and then become a member of the board. She was administrator of the Transportation Dept.'s Research and Special Projects Administration, which regulates pipeline security.
Jan. 16, 1991; 1900 Hr.: "We're going!" That simple announcement from "Moondog," our radar navigator, triggered a flurry of activity. We were going to war with Iraq. Jamming last-minute gear into our helmet bags and survival kits, we jumped on a crew bus and headed for the mission briefing. As one of the designated lead B-52G crews, we had been on alert at Diego Garcia since deploying to the Indian Ocean island in August 1990. Twenty bombers were cocked and ready, loaded with the first mission's 36 UK-1000 time-delay weapons.
ARMS IMPORT RACE India has allocated $13.6 billion for its fiscal 2003 defense budget, a marginal hike over 2002, but concern about having to give back funds to the treasury has raised questions about the country's ability to stay on track for its weapons modernization programs. India spends 2.5% of its gross domestic product on defense. About a third of the budget will go for new hardware. The air force's goals include improved ground-based and Aerostat radars, upgraded Pechora surface-to-air missiles and the Su-30MKI fighter.
Sir George Edwards, the architect of Britain's aerospace industry in later decades of the 20th century, died on Mar. 2 . He was 94. Born only five years after the Wright brothers' first flight, Edwards was to be at the very core of the creation and development of the aerospace sector in the U.K. from the 1950s through the 1970s. He took up the reins of management at Vickers in 1953, with his career involvement a roll-call of key programs including the Viking, Valiant, Vanguard,Viscount, VC10 and BAC 1-11, along with the cancelled TSR-2.
Maj. James E. Noble, Jr. (Missouri Air National Guard St. Joseph, Mo.)
As an instructor pilot assigned to the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center (AATTC), I appreciate the concern of Claude Barnard in "Ease Up on C-130 Maneuvers" (AW&ST Jan. 27, p. 10). However, the goal of our training is to increase survivability of transport aircrews and aircraft operating in combat environments.
ESCORT SERVICE The Pentagon backs off its plan to provide fighter escorts for RC-135 Cobra Ball and Rivet Joint intelligence-gathering aircraft monitoring North Korea. Instead, the aircraft are flying tracks farther out to sea, beyond the reach of short-range MiGs. Meanwhile, the Air Force sends the first of what could eventually total six B-2s to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where they will be within rapid striking distance of Iraq. B-1s are already in Oman and Guam.
Thales has been tapped to provide Britain's next-generation integrated infantry system, further cementing its place in the U.K. defense community and boosting prospects for increased growth in its flourishing defense electronics business.
The full-blown financial crisis in which the U.S. airline industry seems hopelessly entwined could soon start to look more like a death spiral than an economic tailspin, depending on how an Iraqi war plays out. For the first time, some leading analysts and industry officials are talking about the possibility--if not the probability--that virtually every major U.S. carrier will be forced to file for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws. The lone exception: Southwest.
UAV UNIVERSITY The U.S. Air Force's 46th Test Group at Holloman AFB and New Mexico State University's Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) have teamed to create a joint regional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Test Center (UTEC). Plans call for the two organizations to share expertise, capabilities and infrastructure over a period of five years with the goal of becoming a national resource for the military and federal agency UAV community, according to Kathy Hansen, PSL's director of business development.
Thomas E. Romesser, vice president-technology development for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif., has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. The academy recognized Romesser for his pioneering contributions to high-power laser technology and isotope separation.
France will build an experimental early warning satellite system as a prelude to an expanded missile defense system capable of protecting European territory and population, not just battlefield forces, from attacks by rogue states. Acquisition of an advanced warning capability is considered the key to such a system, which NATO agreed to study at a summit in Prague last November (AW&ST Dec. 2, 2002, p. 34).
