William B. Scott's great article "Northern Command Adds Teeth to Homeland Defense, Security" (AW&ST Oct. 7, p. 29) missed a major point regarding the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA), which generally prohibits U.S. military units from intercepting vehicles, vessels and aircraft, or making arrests on behalf of civilian law enforcement authorities.
Sue Baumgarten has been appointed president of Raytheon International Inc. She succeeds Hansel Tookes, who plans to retire. Baumgarten was vice president-strategy and business development for the former Raytheon Electronic Systems, El Segundo, Calif.
Spirent Systems' Onboard Performance System (OPS) software will be used on the U.S. Navy's VQ-7/E-6 Boeing 737-200 Tacamo and Airborne Command Post missions in support of nuclear deterrence. OPS allows pilots and dispatchers to calculate weight, balance and takeoff/landing performance criteria based on real-time airport, environmental and airport system conditions.
A cruise missile to be carried on new Franco-Italian frigates will provide European naval forces with a land-attack capability nearly comparable to that provided by the Tomahawk for the U.S. Navy. European missile manufacturer MBDA recently began work on a two-year product definition and risk reduction study program for the missile, the contract for which was awarded in September. Full-scale development is scheduled to begin in 2005 (AW&ST Feb. 18, p. 28).
European scientists are now adopting a more optimistic stance about ozone depletion. Although the danger has not entirely disappeared, long-term measures adopted in the 1980s are beginning to show good results. Moreover, scientists tend to downplay the airline industry's responsibility for the greenhouse effect, a position strengthened by the emergence of a new generation of environment-friendly turbofans and absence of sizeable supersonic transport operations.
AEROSANCE HAS RECEIVED FAA APPROVAL to install its PowerLink full authority digital engine control (Fadec) in a number of general aviation piston engines built by Teledyne Continental and Textron Lycoming. The Fadec features an electronic control system that fully and independently varies spark and fuel for each cylinder, allowing the pilot to control power through a single device--the throttle. The system has been installed and tested on Continental IOF240, IOF550 and TSIO550 engines, as well as the Lycoming O360-series powerplants.
Marlin Dailey has been appointed vice president-European sales and Daniel da Silva vice president-customer support for Europe, both bassd in Brussels, for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
France Telecom Mobile Satellite Services has launched a new satellite-based vehicle tracking service for sea, road and air transport. Using compact (1.1-kg.) low-power (2-watt) Inmarsat-C terminals developed by Thrane & Thrane, easyTrack is available in two packages. Under the basic plan, users receive basic position indications every hour and a complete position reading, including speed, every 2 hr. The second plan allows transmission of 120 64-character e-mail messages every month.
Air China has selected International Aero Engines V2500 powerplants for the eight Airbus A319s the carrier has on order. The engines are valued at a total of more than $100 million.
ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP. and the University of North Dakota's UND Aerospace have reached an agreement whereby the university will assess pilot qualifications and provide supplemental training for customers buying the Eclipse 500 jet. The assessment is aimed chiefly at preparing pilots to enter training to obtain an FAA type rating to fly the airplane. Using facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., which also is headquarters for Eclipse Aviation, UND will provide Eclipse 500 customers with an independent, third-party evaluation of a pilot's skills.
Aeroflot, continuing to lead Russian network airlines in financial performance, reported operational revenues of $1.3 billion for the first nine months of the year, compared with $966 million for the same period last year. The carrier posted a net profit of $43.2 million compared with $17.3 million in 2001 and served 4.2 million passengers in the period, with the overall load factor increasing 2.4 percentage points to 69.5%.
Ralph Nilsson (see photo) has been named president of the Taunton, Mass., division of San Diego-based StratEdge. He was process cell manager and product marketing manager for Alpha Industries, Haverhill, Mass
DELTA AERO-TAXI, A EUROPEAN-BASED operator, has ordered seven Cessna Citation Mustang entry-level business jets for use in a new fractional ownership program to be located in Florence, Italy. The Mustang, introduced in September at the National Business Aviation Assn. show, is tentatively scheduled for FAA certification under Part 23 rules in mid-2006. Performance is projected to be a cruise speed of 340 kt. and a maximum altitude of 41,000 ft.
U.S. defense electronics giant Northrop Grumman and Germany's Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft have reached agreement over access to stealth technology, marking an important step forward in transatlantic arms cooperation.
New York-based Honeybee Robotics will begin work on a nuclear-powered drill to probe beneath the surfaces of Mars, Europa and other bodies under a $750,000 contract issued by NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets program. Based on recommendations from planetary scientists, the robotic drill would burrow hundreds of meters, and perhaps kilometers, below a lander on the surface in search of life or evidence of it.
The Prague Summit in late November was always important for the alliance, with the prospect of a further round of enlargement. Now it is the focus for major changes across NATO's agenda. You know the issues. Rather than list them, let me give you a glimpse of work in progress as we head toward Prague. First, enlargement. No numbers, no names for the moment. But I am happy that a sound consensus is emerging--a consensus that will strengthen NATO and contribute to the final end of artificial divisions in the Old World.
Beginning Jan. 2, American Eagle plans to become an all-jet airline in the Northeast U.S., terminating service of Saab 340-series turboprop aircraft. The eight 340s currently serving the region and maintained at Albany, N.Y., will be reduced to seven this month with further reductions due in December, according to Eagle President Peter Bowler. He said that as of Jan. 2 all routes will be flown by Embraer regional jets. In addition, the Saab maintenance base at Albany and pilot domicile at New York JFK International Airport will close.
There is a new Pentagon mission dubbed "deadly persistence." It is perhaps the most evocative manifestation of the sharp end of network-centric warfare, and is being conducted by the 80-kt. Predator unmanned aircraft armed with a pair of Hellfire missiles.
Policy advisers at the Transportation Dept. and Transportation Security Administration are working on unresolved privacy and legal questions with checked baggage screening that could pose major problems starting next year, according to one Transportation Dept. official.
Engineers are pleased with the results of camera tests on board NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which returned the first images of the probe's two targets Oct. 21. In a color composite (shown) of images collected with various filters, the southern hemisphere of Saturn is visible in summer sunlight, and the planet casts its shadow on its familiar rings. In the upper left of the image is Titan, Saturn's largest moon, its brightness relative to Saturn enhanced threefold for better visibility.
Sandia National Laboratories engineer Dick Jones took this photo of the new, turboprop-powered General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator B. The aircraft was flying near El Mirage, Calif., where CIA Gnat 750s and USAF Predator As were developed and made their early flights. Predator B will have six weapons stations (see p. 34). The expanding inventory of its weapons includes the 500-lb. Joint Direct Air Munition.
Boeing has selected the CsLEOS embedded operating system of BAE Systems for an upgrade of the autopilot flight control system panel, built by Controls, for U.S. Air Force C-17s.
Corrections: An item in the World News Roundup in last week's issue (p. 27) incorrectly stated the country that has chosen the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-135 radar jammer to protect its fleet of F-15K aircraft. The correct country is South Korea. Airbus partners, not the airframer itself, are the users of Vistagy's FiberSim software for the A380 (AW&ST Nov. 4, p. 21). Also, the image shown is of a generic inlet duct using Pro/Engineer software, not of the inlet on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. Coast Guard has selected the Eagle Eye tiltrotor developed by Bell Helicopter Textron to fulfill the tactical unmanned aerial vehicle element of the service's Deepwater program. Bell, which is part of a team led by Lockheed Martin, would supply 69 of the UAVs plus 50 ground stations. Up to four UAVs would be assigned to each of eight new USCG National Security Cutters and 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters.
The French Eutelsat payload for the first launch of the Boeing Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle is now atop the booster at Launch Complex 37 being readied for the planned 5:38 p.m. EST liftoff Nov. 16.
