A draft of the Pentagon's UAV road map for the next 25 years, due out late this month, says the Defense Dept. will spend about $10 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles by 2010 to quadruple today's 90-aircraft inventory. The strategy is mirrored in the proposed Fiscal 2004-09 defense plan recently sent to Congress. It identifies $4 billion for unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) and $1 billion for the Predator, including 100 baseline aircraft and new turboprop-powered Predator Bs, new infrastructure, and research and development.
Jerry Mack, who is vice president-safety and technical affairs for commercial programs for Boeing, has been elected chairman of the Civil Aviation Council of the Washington-based Aerospace Industries Assn. Vice chairman is Michael Romanowski, director of product safety, certification and airworthiness for the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Phyllis Piano has been elected chair of the Communications Council. She is vice president-corporate affairs and communications for the Ray- theon Co.
Senior U.S. intelligence officials are grappling with the need for more global coverage, and are fretting that the current operational pace is straining their organizations.
Acting on the heels of increased estimates by US Airways of its profitability through the rest of the decade, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board confirmed its approval of a $900-million loan guarantee when the carrier emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has started development of a second-generation aircraft self-protection system for use on commercial jets. Robert Iorizzo, president of the company's Electronic Systems unit, said one of the project's goals is to make the system more affordable by halving its cost, to around $1 million. The company expects to bring the product to market in about 24 months. A Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act has been introduced in Congress (AW&ST Feb. 10, p. 17).
NASA might want to look at carrying the XSS-10 to check the inflight condition of the shuttle heat tiles. If the technology had been available for this Columbia flight, it might have helped save the crew. Tom Bargeron Birmingham, Ala.
The Chicago skyline looms behind an extended concourse of the American Airlines hub at O'Hare International Airport. "De-peaking" flight schedules at Chicago and Dallas have saved the carrier $100 million a year (see p. 53). Joseph Pries photo.
Aeroflot, Russia's largest carrier, continues to lead Russian network airlines in operating and financial performance, carrying 5.5 million passengers in 2002, an increase of 2.6 percentage points compared with 2001 figures. Aeroflot, calculating financial results on RAP (Russian Accounting Principles), reported a 2002 net profit of $74 million compared with a pre-tax profit of $39.5 million in the year-ago period. Operating revenues increased 3.5% to $1.4 billion, and operating costs totaled $1.3 billion.
These nano-miniature interconnects for ultra-dense applications feature ruggedized, polarized metal shells for board-to-cable, cable-to-cable and board-to-board applications in conditions of extreme temperature, high vibration and shock. Shown are several connectors from the N-Series line that feature 0.025-in. pitch contacts side-by-side and 0.125-in. offset contacts row-to-row available in horizontal or vertical configurations, with pins or sockets in 10 sizes from 9-85 contacts.
Hitco Carbon Composites Inc. will supply up to 60 additional large composite tailcone structures for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport. The initial contract included 124 structures, 110 of which have been delivered.
The Intraflight Datalink between two F/A-22 Raptors flying at Edwards AFB, Calif., has been deployed successfully, according to Lockheed Martin. The IFDL helps preserve the aircraft's stealthiness by providing an encrypted radio and wireless communications modem that is designed to allow pilots to talk covertly and share data from each other's onboard and offboard sensors, including targeting information from the fighter's APG-77 radar. IFDL is part of the Communications, Navigation and Identification suite supplied by the Radio Systems Div.
Also, James L. Sanford, who is vice president-contracts and pricing at North- rop Grumman, has been elected chairman of the Procurement and Finance Council. Chairman of the Space Council is Ray Ernst, who is senior director of military programs for Lockheed Martin's Washington Operations. Vice chairman is Don Brownlee, who is director of tactical weapons and systems for Aerojet. And chairman of the Technical Operations Council is Anthony Gentile, who is vice president-engineering and OEM marketing for the Goodrich Corp.
The Chicago skyline looms behind an extended concourse of the American Airlines hub at O'Hare International Airport. "De-peaking" flight schedules at Chicago and Dallas have saved the carrier $100 million a year (see p. 53). Joseph Pries photo.
I have been disturbed at the timidity, lack of vision and lack of proportion of many in the U.S., indicated by their reaction to the loss of Columbia and its crew. Space exploration in the 21st century, both robotic and manned, represents the beginnings of what is likely to be the great exploratory challenge for centuries. Yet the deaths of seven people are leading many in the U.S. to conclude that manned space exploration should be suspended because it is too dangerous.
The Pentagon's enthusiasm for unmanned combat aircraft is growing so quickly that requirements, established only a couple of years ago, have fallen far behind what the military actually wants, a fact reflected in the proposed Pentagon budget for Fiscal 2004.
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Your article "USAF Imagery Confirms Columbia Wing Damaged" (AW&ST Feb. 10, p. 22) both heartened and concerned me. It heartened me because I am beginning to see a serious and credible investigation into the Columbia destruction. We eventually will understand how and why this occurred. I am concerned, however, by the continued pessimistic and judgmental tone regarding survival of the astronauts and the shuttle.
The British government approved the deployment of army units and light armor at and around Heathrow airport last week amid concern over a possible missile attack against commercial aircraft. Troops were deployed on Feb. 11, with police also carrying out random vehicle searches in the London area, after speculation that intelligence had been received suggesting a possible missile attack connected to Al Qaeda. The government reportedly considered temporarily closing the airport.
In a sharp departure from its longtime disinterest in acquisitions, Ryanair is taking over Buzz, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' low-cost affiliate. In the wake of this move, Ryanair's traffic is expected to grow to approximately 24 million passengers in 2003-04, positioning the Irish carrier to challenge Air France as Europe's third largest international scheduled airline (behind British Airways and Lufthansa).
T.J. Reeves (see photo) has been named director of operations for Dassault Falcon Jet's facility in Wilmington, Del. He was a program manager at the Science Applications International Corp. and previously commanding officer of U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Logistics Sqdn. 39.
Juan Carlos Hernendez has been named vice president/chief operating officer for Dominican Republic operations for Viva Airlines Inc., a Paterson, N.J.-based subsidiary of The Auxer Group.
