Aviation Week & Space Technology

This vacuum hoist lifting system lets one person handle awkward and bulky loads without bending, reaching or stretching. The lifter features a lightweight vacuum head that is equipped with a vacuum gauge, quick release, check valve and fingertip controls on the handlebar that are fully integrated with the hoist. The lifter is powered by a remote vacuum station, and has a frame with two adjustable vacuum pads. Providing capacities up to 2,000 lb., the lifter is available with an extruded aluminum or steel frame.

The French army has awarded a three-year contract to Industria Aeronautica de Portugal to overhaul Puma transport helicopters.

Central/Southern US: (AR, CO, IA, KS, LA, MO, OK, TN, TX, UT), Central & South America: See Tom Davis above. Western US: (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, WA, WY), Western Canada: (BC, AB) Soulek & Associates; (818) 762-9988; Fax: (818) 762-9972; e-mail: [email protected] Midwest/Northern US: (IN, KY, MI, OH, WV, IL, WI, MN, WY, ND, SD, NE), Central Canada: (MB, SK) Charles Talley; (312) 346-7330; Fax: (312) 346-4462; e-mail: [email protected]

Rockwell Collins has signed a competitive partnership agreement with EADS for avionics sourcing. The long-term agreement is designed to permit improved conditions of supply while providing Rockwell Collins with access to opportunities across the EADS product line, which includes Airbus passenger transports, airlifters and helicopters. Honeywell, Hamilton Sundstrand and Thales are among companies that already have signed similar agreements with EADS.

Director of Inside Sales: Elizabeth Meyer; (212) 904-3675; Fax: 212-904-3993; e-mail: [email protected] Diane Soister; (212) 904-2897 or (800) 289-5813; e-mail: [email protected] Dept. Fax: (212) 904-3993 Europe/MidEast/Africa: See Vittorio Rossi Prudente above. United Kingdom, Ireland: Neil Walklett, Mongoose Ltd.; +44-(0)20-7306-0300; Fax: +44-(0)20-7306-0301; e-mail: [email protected]

The DGA French armaments agency has awarded a follow-on contract to EADS Launch Vehicles covering the 2003-05 development phase of the M51 nuclear warhead ballistic missile. The M51 would gradually replace the M45 on board the French navy's nuclear-powered submarines and is scheduled to become operational in 2010. EADS is the primary contractor, while G2P, a joint venture between Snecma Moteurs and SNPE, has overall responsibility for the propulsion system. The M51's weight at liftoff is 110,000 lb., but its range remains classified.

Publisher, Strategic Media: Gregory D. Hamilton, (212) 904-3259; e-mail: [email protected] Publisher, Aviation Week Business Intelligence Services: Mark A. Lipowicz, (212) 904-4626; e-mail: [email protected] Director, Brand Marketing and Custom Media: Chris Meyer, (212) 904-3255; e-mail: [email protected] Director, Marketing Services: Cathy Christino, (212) 904-2285; e-mail: [email protected] Director, Strategic Business Development: Dora Chomiak, (212) 904-6107; e-mail: [email protected]

The U.S. Air Force has reorganized its 20th Air Force security forces to increase efficiency and improve and control units charged with protecting nuclear missile sites. As of Jan. 1, forces were consolidated into groups at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Minot AFB, N.D. Previously, security personnel had been under operations and mission support groups--essentially a matrix-type organization.

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. has been awarded options for the FY03 close combat tactical trainer visual systems by the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation. The $10-million contract includes components and installation services for several CCTT M1A2, M2A2, M2A3, FIST-V and DI trainer configurations.

To purchase, Call Aviation Learning at: (800) 424-3933 or (585) 328-9974 on-line at www.aviationnow.com/shop Promotion/Sponsorship, Video Licensing: call: (212) 904 3231

It is "clear from intelligence that the [smallpox] genie is out of the box"--no longer the exclusive possession by Russia and the U.S.--and the technology and materials to use it as a weapon may have migrated to North Korea and then on to Iraq. So says Col. Erik A. Henchal, the commander of the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Henchal believes two key bio-threats to troops in the Middle East are Ricin (easily made from castor beans) and anthrax. However, Ricin doesn't lend itself to broad application, and the U.S. is prepared for anthrax.

Russia has completed a major launch surge that since late 2002 has orbited 14 spacecraft from eight countries, including four Russian military satellites. The missions have involved five launches, three of them from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and two from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia. One of those missions involved the Dec. 30 launch of a Proton M from Baikonur carrying the Canadian Nimiq 2 communications satellite (AW&ST Jan. 6, p. 27).

Paul Graziani, president/CEO of Analytical Graphics Inc., Malverne, Pa., has received the CEO of the Year Award and Marcus C. Hansen, president of Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems, King of Prussia, Pa., the Enterpriser Award, from the Eastern Technology Council in partnership with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The awards are given to technology industry leaders to recognize achievement in Greater Philadelphia.

Aloha Airlines plans to increase services to the U.S. mainland and Pacific destinations now that it has completed a $45-million loan package. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board late last month backed the package by issuing a $40.5-million loan guarantee to the privately held carrier.

The Pentagon is reaching out to foreign companies for help in a highly specialized area of signals intelligence, opening a door for overseas suppliers to become involved in an area that is usually off-limits. The Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center wants to initiate a Foreign Comparative Test program to improve throughput and performance of specific emitter identification systems that are able to analyze an electronic emission in detail and effectively fingerprint it to tell one source from another.

The discovery of guns and explosives in a car parked at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is reviving airport security concerns in France and around Europe. The French police last week arrested a baggage handler in a CDG parking lot while he was stashing arms in the trunk of his car. The investigation is focused on whether this is a terrorist-related incident. As of late last week, Abderazak Besseghir, a 27-year-old French citizen of Algerian descent with no criminal record, had not been linked to a terrorist organization.

Peter Beaulieu, vice president of Associated Aircraft Manufacturing and Sales, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been elected president of the Washington-based National Assn. of Aircraft and Communication Suppliers Inc. Other new officers are: vice president, Brian Cole, vice president of the United Aeronautical Corp., North Hollywood, Calif.; vice president, Steven Wilk, vice president of Dixie Air Parts Supply Inc. of San Antonio; and secretary/treasurer, Homer Garten, president of Camar Aircraft, Camarillo, Calif.

A new look at an old analysis has reenergized the FAA in its push to eliminate the decades-old threat of fuel tank blasts in thousands of aircraft in the commercial fleet. Speaking to reporters at the W. J. Hughes Technical Center in New Jersey on Dec. 12, John Hickey, the FAA's director of aircraft certification standards, revealed that the FAA had experienced a "remarkable breakthrough" in its effort to come up with an economically viable way to make fuel tanks explosion-proof through inerting.

A mid-December launch has propelled New Skies Satellites a step closer to the ranks of the major global satcom operators, just as an ongoing industry-wide shakeup threatens to render the transformation moot. The liftoff of New Skies' NSS-6 on Dec. 17, carried into orbit by an Ariane 4 booster, will allow New Skies to move beyond its present status, based primarily on over-ocean coverage, to that of a truly global operating company.

Benet Wilson has become senior manager of corporate communications for Rolls-Royce North America Inc., Chantilly, Va. She was director of corporate communications for the Mesa Air Group in Phoenix.

Jessie J. Knight, Jr., has been named to the board of directors of the Alaska Air Group Inc. He is president/CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the California Public Utilities Commission.

WORLD WAR II MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER JOSEPH J. FOSS DIED JAN. 1. HE WAS 87. CONSIDERED "OLD" AT AGE 27, FOSS HAD TO CONVINCE U.S. MARINE CORPS OFFICIALS HE WAS CAPABLE OF FLYING F4F FIGHTERS IN THE PACIFIC THEATER. IN OCTOBER 1942, HE SHOT DOWN FIVE JAPANESE AIRCRAFT IN ONE WEEK--THREE IN ONE DAY--TO BECOME AN ACE. A MONTH LATER, FOSS HAD DOWNED A TOTAL OF 19 AIRCRAFT AND BEEN SHOT DOWN HIMSELF. HE EVENTUALLY WAS CREDITED WITH 26 CONFIRMED KILLS AND 19 PROBABLE KILLS, EQUALING EDDIE RICKENBACKER'S WORLD WAR I RECORD.

Your article "Prague May Spring Airlift Surprise" (AW&ST Nov. 18, 2002, p. 36) was sort of deja vu.

Alcatel said it has delivered the imager for the Helios IIA reconnaissance satellite to Astrium in Toulouse, France, which is building the defense satellite. The second-generation instrument is designed for better high-resolution image quality and day/night detection with an infrared channel. The French, Belgian and Spanish defense ministries have joined resources on the two-satellite Helios II project, with Helios IIA set for launch late in 2004.

Mark B. Dunkerley has been appointed president/chief operating officer of Hawaiian Airlines. John W. Adams, who has been president/CEO, will become chairman/CEO. Dunkerley was COO of the former Sabena Airlines Group.