The Bush administration is reviewing national defense policy on "space control." But it's looking like there may not be big changes. That's because the Clinton administration stealthily crafted a much more aggressive stance than previously thought on protecting the nation's space capabilities and denying an adversary the use of space. Publicly, the Clinton administration acted as if the Pentagon's space force options were fairly limited. But the national policy established in secret some time during 1996 actually gives Strategic Command fairly wide latitude.
Jetsgo, the Montreal-based discount carrier founded in June 2002, is taking delivery of its eighth MD-80 jet aircraft, which will enable expansion to Calgary and Edmonton and new long-range services. Airline President Michel Leblanc said Jetsgo, a private company, was profitable in its first six months, with an average load factor of 74.7%. Its strategy is based on taking a small market share on popular short-haul routes in eastern Canada that can connect with long-haul flights. Services to New York and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., have "been going well," Leblanc said.
Analysis that finds the "case for any new bomber options has been undercut by events and technology" (AW&ST Jan. 13, p. 28) needs to be questioned. Such analysis seems to be ignoring the implications of technical developments that permit the stand-off, all-weather precision engagement of fixed and moving targets using seekerless munitions such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition and Joint Stand-Off Weapon (AW&ST Dec. 2, 2002, pp. 66-70).
Honda Motor Co. and Teledyne Continental Motors Inc. have agreed to conduct a joint feasibility study for a next-generation piston engine for general aviation aircraft, now under development by Honda. It will examine potential business opportunities for both parties, including marketing, manufacturing and servicing, as well as identifying launch customers for the engines, according to Teledyne Continental. A prototype engine designed by Honda has been undergoing testing for the past two years at Teledyne's facilities in Mobile, Ala.
The Franco-American political dispute regarding Iraq has not yet dampened the drive to forge more defense-related transatlantic partnerships, French aerospace industry executives say. However, relationships were seriously shaken in the last few months by the perceived shutout of some of Europe from the Joint Strike Fighter program. Moreover, France's vocal opposition to the Bush administration's policy on Iraq continues to be a factor.
Midwest Airlines decided to officially change its name and symbol on Mar. 1 to coincide with the recent delivery of its first of 25 new Boeing 717-200 twinjets--and the start of strategic planning for the future. According to Midwest Chairman and CEO Timothy E. Hoeksema, the company opted to eliminate the word "express" because customers associated it with regional operations--not the carrier's nonstop service to major destinations. He said the booking confusion resulted in the loss of millions of dollars each year.
James L. Peck Jr., Frank C. Weaver and Miller Adams, all from Boeing, and Angele D. Harrison and William Harrison, 3rd, both from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. (LMAC), are among 2003 recipients of Black Engineer of the Year awards. Peck, a space shuttle engineer with Boeing's NASA Systems division in Huntington Beach, Calif., received the Outstanding Technical Contribution Award. He designs optical communication systems for payloads and has evaluated optical systems that can be applied to next-generation light and space vehicles.
Swiss International Air Lines may have reduced fleet size, manpower and European destinations (AW&ST Mar. 3, p. 15), but it plans to maintain frequency and capacity on Moscow routes, where there is steady growth in passenger volume. Markus Albrecht, airline's general manager for Russia and Ukraine, says the 116,300 passengers were carried at this route last year, 10% more than its predecessor Swissair in 2001. From Moscow, Swiss operates operates two daily flights to Zurich and one to Geneva.
Want to stimulate interest in space exploration? How about offering a $50-billion reward (1/10th NASA's estimated cost) for the first organization to transport and safely return a person to Mars. Award money was used to inspire many significant accomplishments in global exploration. It is time to use prize money to explore outer space and fulfill currently unattainable feats with reasonable expense. Money could come by making painful cuts to our existing "status quo"-oriented space program.
Funding for expansion at Kansai International Airport serving the Osaka area, and development of a new international gateway at Nagoya, dominate the fiscal 2003 budget plan that begins Apr. 1 for Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The total budget is $3.9 billion, 0.3% less than fiscal 2002, and continues the ministry's policy of spending more on expansion and improvement at large city airports such as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya than at small city airports.
The U.S. State Dept. is flying highly modified, armored agricultural aircraft in Colombia, spraying illicit coca crops with herbicide. Eight of the two-place Air Tractor AT-802 single-engine turboprops have been built in Olney, Tex., and at least three are being flown in Colombia by contractor pilots under a U.S.-Colombian drug interdiction program. The eradi- cation effort is focused on industrial fields of coca, which often are defended by workers who fire at spray aircraft.
There are many warfare challenges that would benefit by doing things at the speed of light (AW&ST Jan. 27, p. 50). There are many challenges, period, that would benefit by this capability. There is a semantics difficulty with terminology here, a cheap sales trick, if you will; we need to develop total optical systems, from sensor to actuator. A system that uses light in part, but electronics or something else in series is not a system that does things at the speed of light; all it amounts to is a lie by a digital sales weenie.
Lockheed Martin is planning a demonstration of advanced capabilities for the F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter beginning in November on a test range near Edwards AFB, Calif. These experiments are designed to show that a single F/A-22 can control four unmanned aircraft, that a limited jamming capability can be shared among stealth aircraft to create an offensive weapon and that F/A-22s will team with F-117s for 24-hr. stealth operations.
Russian civil aviation authorities are probing the crash of a 19-seat Czech-made twin-engine turboprop Let L-410 about 180 km. (112 mi.) north of Moscow, killing 11 people. The airplane belonged to a local aviation club and was carrying 23 parachute jumpers. Surviving skydivers said the airplane had gained an altitude of 3,900 meters (12,800 ft.) when it initiated a jerky roll left and then broke apart. In all, 14 jumpers managed to escape the falling plane and parachute to safety; nine others were killed, along with the two pilots.
The Philippines government's long effort to upgrade the Davao Airport as a southern international gateway took a severe blow last week when a terrorist bomb explosion killed 25 people, injured 145 and destroyed a large portion of the passenger terminal. The airport was undergoing an $82-million expansion that was slated to be completed in May. The opening of the expanded passenger terminal has been delayed for more than two years due to engineering, construction and other problems. So far, Singapore's SilkAir is the only foreign carrier flying to Davao.
Brazil's Varig and TAM airlines are said to have won Brazilian government approval to enter a code-share agreement on domestic routes. The carriers are joining forces in an effort to cut costs and continue operating under challenging economic conditions. The move follows the carriers' announcement last month of plans for a possible merger within six months. Rio de Janeiro-based Varig is the country's major carrier, and Sao Paulo-based TAM operates regional and domestic flights.
NASA's proposed Orbital Space Plane (OSP) may change drastically when it is upgraded from a crew rescue vehicle (CRV) that only goes down from the International Space Station to a crew transfer vehicle (CTV) that goes both ways. A draft of the interpretation document outlining the OSP program's understanding of top-level requirements for the vehicle says the crew rescue vehicle and the crew transfer vehicle may not be the same vehicle.
Seattle-based software-maker Tenzing Communications Inc. plans a near-term rollout of a higher speed version of its onboard email service for commercial airliners. The introduction follows a successful test of the 64-Kbps. Inmarsat-based system on an Airbus A318 in Toulouse last month.
The Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor was grounded late last week to replace 5,000-psi. hydraulic lines that feed the rotor swashplate actuators. Program officials expect the Osprey will be flying again on Mar. 18-20 after replacing 20 1/4-in. titanium lines in each aircraft. The problem was discovered in December when a tube burst during testing on the production line, but flight continued because officials initially believed the problem was isolated to a non-flying lot.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has announced the completion of its sale of TRW Automotive to the Blackstone Group. The company also lowered its 2003 earnings estimates by about 8%. The reduction reflects $100 million in additional interest expense as a result of the timing of debt repayment associated with the sale of the TRW property. Instead of earning $4-4.50 a share for the year, the company believes earnings will be $3.65-4.15.
Gene Ray, who is chairman/CEO of the Titan Corp. of San Diego, also will be president/chief operating officer, following the resignation of Eric DeMarco.
Stephen M. Spellman has become president/CEO of Champion Air, Bloomington, Minn. He succeeds Mike Gerend, who has resigned to take a new position. Spellman was vice president/chief operating officer.
Finmeccanica has acquired OTE SpA., which is part of the Italian Marconi companies, for 3 million euros ($3.3 million) while assuming debts of 7 million euros. Based in Florence, with factories in Genoa and Pisa, Italy, and Chelmsford in the U.K., OTE is chiefly involved in civil and paramilitary communications systems. In August 2002 Finmeccanica acquired Marconi Mobile, now known as Marconi Selenia Communications.
United Technologies Corp. has awarded $5.25 million in bonuses to its top five executives for helping to achieve certain financial targets in 2002--in part at the expense of thousands of employees who lost their jobs. At the top of the list is Chairman/CEO George David, whose $1.2-million salary is being supplemented by a bonus of $2.4 million. The perquisites, which will be paid through a combination of cash and stock, are based on the growth of UTC's earnings per share and cash-flow generation as a percentage of net income last year.
