Changes the Army is making to the requirements for its future airborne signals and imagery intelligence collection program are driving the service to buy a more sophisticated system that calls for an aircraft with more performance.
Speaking of the Senate, if history is any guide, the chamber's new majority leader, Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), will be a strong advocate for science and technology. He was one of the founders of the Senate S&T caucus. Sure, the Princeton- and Harvard-educated physician is more interested in the life sciences. But Frist has complained about military test program expenses being hidden in research budgets, and pushed for all federal research spending to be doubled. He also has complained about sloppy accounting at NASA.
Spectrum Astro has received a contract worth up to $34.4 million from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to work on the kinetic energy interceptor project, through August 2004. Spectrum is to deliver a spacecraft to collect near-field infrared experiment data. The goal is to measure plume, hardbody and background data to develop seeker algorithms for the future kinetic energy interceptor.
Richard Ashooh has been named Washington-based vice president-legislative affairs for BAE Systems North America. He was vice president-public affairs for BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems, Nashua, N.H.
Rockwell Collins Inc. last week posted flat year-over-year sales and net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, while Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) reported a 19% drop in net income on an 18% decline in revenues. Despite these anemic results, both commercial aerospace suppliers produced clear evidence they are successfully managing their overall businesses through the worst aviation downturn since World War 2.
The U.K. Defense Ministry may unveil this week the result of its light force antitank guided weapon competition, with the U.S. Javelin touted as the winner. The Raytheon-Lockheed Martin team is understood to be preferred to the MBDA-Rafael Spike bid.
Record cargo, passenger and aircraft movements at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) last year and a busy holiday season in Japan have provided strong evidence of a turnaround from the Asia-Pacific region's turn-of-the-century recession and the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
NASA is moving ahead smartly with its new space transportation plan, leaving the normal legislative and executive policymaking processes to catch up later. Because of time pressure, Congress won't get a chance to focus on the plan released late last year as an amendment to NASA's Fiscal 2003 budget request until after the Fiscal 2004 budget is released early next month. Meanwhile, some details of the plan conflict with Clinton-era presidential policy that has yet to be revised by the Bushies.
The Big Three engine makers will use manufacturing, fuel burn and environmental improvements they would have applied to the Sonic Cruiser as they answer Boeing's call for powerplants for the 250-seat aircraft that will go instead.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. HAS SELECTED the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F turbofan engine to power the new Citation Mustang business jet tentatively scheduled to receive FAA certification in 2005. Each engine will be rated at 1,350 lb. of static thrust at sea level flat-rates to ISA +10C, and incorporate dual-channel, full authority digital engine controls. Cessna had been considering a similar engine designed by Williams International.
Airbus' 555-seat A380 loves composite materials and the Japanese are happy about it. The new aircraft has created such high demand that Japan's Toray Industries, regarded as the world's largest manufacturer of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, is to increase its annual CFPR production rates for the A380 to 2,600 metric tons (5,720,000 lb.) from 800 metric tons, as of August 2004. Coupled with domestic demand, A380 production is expected to reach 9,100 metric tons a year, nearly half the world's production.
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Marshall O. Larsen (see photo), who has been president/chief operating officer of the Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C., is scheduled to become CEO on Apr. 15. David L. Burner, who has been chairman/CEO, will remain chairman until the October board of directors meeting, when the board is expected to name Larsen chairman/CEO. Burner is expected to retire on Apr. 30, 2004.
Delta Air Lines, which lost $363 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 and $1.3 billion in the full year, reported cash-positive operations during the past three months and projects more in the next three. But the carrier expects revenues to remain depressed and thinks travelers already are jittery about the possibility of war with Iraq.
Lockheed Martin has teamed with Raytheon, SAIC, L-3 and others, to design a battle management and communications package for the U.S. Air Force's next-generation surveillance and intelligence aircraft.
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NASA used a Boeing Delta II rocket to launch two scientific satellites early last week, one to keep track of the condition of Earth's icecaps and the other to study the hot plasma that surrounds the solar system.
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson wants to start an airline in the U.S. (AW&ST Nov. 18, 2002, p. 21)? Only an idiot would think we need more empty seats flying around the U.S. He wants us to open our skies to foreign airlines, but it's OK for the rest of the world to restrict U.S. airlines in their domestic markets.
Sherwin L. Burman has been appointed chief financial officer of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Airport Authority. He had been acting CFO and was a partner in Deloitte and Touche.
Cessna Aircraft Co. is aiming its Model 680 Citation Sovereign at a gap that exists in the traditional midsize cabin business-jet segment, and has scheduled FAA certification for late this year, followed by initial customer deliveries. The twin-engine Sovereign will compete chiefly against the Raytheon Aircraft Hawker 800XP and the Gulfstream 100 as well as larger midsize cabin jets at the upper end of the market, such as the Falcon 2000 and Gulfstream 200. The Sovereign's cabin will accommodate 8-11 people, depending on seating configuration.
USAF has canceled its next Red Flag exercise, which was set for this month, because the lead unit, the 4th Fighter Wing from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., received deployment orders.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia has taken delivery of its sixth Boeing 737-300, secured under a long-term lease from Ansett Worldwide. AirAsia, the region's first low-cost airline, launched service last year.
