In addition to a defense budget request that is expected to be on the order of $394 billion for Fiscal 2004, Congress is preparing to receive a request for an approximately $20-billion Fiscal 2003 supplemental to cover unpaid bills, says Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. But that's not all: the supplemental amount doesn't cover potential operations in Iraq. One Pentagon official noted the Defense Dept. already is quietly working on a second spending request that would be made later in the year.
The British government aims to secure an inside track on U.S. missile defense efforts, covering full "insight" into the development program, and the possibility of U.K. industry participation. Bringing to an end months of speculation on the British government's position on missile defense efforts, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon last week stated the government's "preliminary" intent was to respond positively to Washington's request to use a U.K.-based radar for missile defense purposes.
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Ireland's defense ministry has awarded to Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft a $43-million contract covering eight PC-9M Advanced Turbo Trainers and a training and logistic support package. The PC-9Ms are scheduled to be delivered next year.
Russia's leading airlines are strongly criticizing the Russian industry's inability to develop competitive commercial transports and offer efficient product support.
United Technologies Corp. has reported a 54% increase in both net income ($533 million) and earnings per share ($1.06), for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, compared with the same period a year ago. For the full year, earnings rose 15%. Revenues for the fourth quarter and full year were up 3% and 1%, respectively.
Lygo Shoots Back Adm. Sir Raymond Lygo, K.C.B. The Book Guild Ltd. 566 pp., Hardcover, 18.5 pounds ($30.00) Adm. Lygo has written a fascinating book for anyone interested in British naval aviation from the 1940s on, the workings of the British Admiralty and the aerospace industry from an insider's view. Adm. Lygo began his estimable career as a Royal Navy Spitfire pilot and finished his professional journey as managing director and CEO of British Aerospace, now BAE Systems.
Continental Airlines lost $109 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 and $451 million for the year, and senior officials predict further bloodletting throughout 2003 as yields remain weak and fuel costs rise.
The Italian government is mulling whether to deploy a helicopter squadron in support of army forces it will soon commit to operations in Afghanistan. The army is to send a regimental battle group to Bagram, Afghanistan, to carry out counter-Taliban operations in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Units will conduct patrol and surveillance operations.
In a world of topsy-turvy airline leadership, Singapore Airlines is an exception. After a long deliberation, it said last week that it has found a successor to Cheong Choong Kong, who has led that profit-machine for 19 years. The airline's board said Chew Choon Seng, 56, now senior executive vice president for administration, will take over as CEO in June.
Howard Farr has been named managing director for Europe of Loral Skynet, Bedminster, N.J. He was vice president-European sales at New Skies Satellites.
Top-level British defense ministry officials met earlier this month to draw up a hit list of procurement programs valued at some 1 billion pounds ($1.58 billion) that could face the ax. The defense ministry's Policy and Plans Steering Group (PPSG)--made up of senior armed forces officers and civil servants--met the second week in January to discuss cuts as part of the ongoing planning round.
U.S. Army officials this month expect to take delivery of the first of 121 Army Airborne Command and Control Systems (A2C2Ss), but already see signs that homeland security missions could increase demand for the specially configured Black Hawk helicopters. The first batch of five A2C2S helicopters will serve as prototypes and be dedicated to validating the system's performance during development and operational tests throughout the year. The command and control gear is to be housed in a UH60L-type Black Hawk.
Increasing concerns about aviation security, and the expectation that women will comprise more than one-half of all business travelers by 2005, helped prompt Air Security International to expand its safety seminars with one designed especially for women.
USAFR Col. Kim Dougherty has been appointed vice president-national security for the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She was principal deputy assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, specializing in National Guard and Reserve matters.
Darleen Druyun (see photo), former principal deputy assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition and management, has become deputy general manager of Washington-based Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
While it awaits the arrival of its first Boeing 767 tanker/transport in fiscal 2006, Japan's air force will conduct the first operational inflight refueling exercises in its history. The exercises for its F-15J air interdiction fighters will use Boeing KC-135 tankers operated out of the U.S. Air Force's Kadena AB on Okinawa. Eight Japanese pilots using four F-15Js will take part in the training exercise over the East China Sea.
Astronomers believe they have spotted some of the first stars to shine in the Universe, poking through the hydrogen cloud that blocked light in the "cosmic dark ages" to form faint images in the Hubble Space Telescope's newest instrument. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) installed last year has found about 30 faint red galaxy-like objects in a dark section of sky in the constellation Virgo that, based on their color, could have formed when the Universe was a little less than 1 billion years old (image shows three of the objects).
The Russian air force is planning to upgrade 20 Sukhoi Su-27s fighters up to the level of fourth-generation multirole combat aircraft, according to air force commander Alexander Mikhailov. Enhanced systems will include a new radar, avionics suite, weapons control system and modified flight deck. Russia also plans to upgrade Mil Mi-24 tactical helicopters to enable night/all-weather operations.
A federal court has approved a plan for GE Capital Corp. to take a 5% stake in US Airways Group Inc. in exchange for $830 million in financing. The deal was included in a series of motions approved by Judge Stephen Mitchell of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that are crucial to the carrier's efforts to reorganize under Chapter 11.
