Robert T. Hinaman has been named a managing director in the Washington office of Quarterdeck Investment Partners. He was managing director for global mergers and acquisitions for the Chase Manhattan Bank in London and Frankfurt.
John Lawson, retired president of Bombardier Business Aircraft Sales, has been named to the board of directors of International Water-Guard Industries Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia.
Boeing Satellite Systems plans to offer an upgraded BSS 601 satellite next year, making newer technology from the larger BSS 702 spacecraft available in a medium-size satellite. The working name of the new version is 601+, and it is to include later-generation avionics and xenon-ion propulsion system (XIPS) thrusters from the 702, as well as triple-junction solar cells with a higher power-to-weight ratio. The 601+ would be able to provide 10 kw. to the payload versus 8.5 kw.
The United Nations is poised to repeat the mistakes of the 1990s by sending understaffed, poorly supported weapons inspections teams into Iraq, former U.N. arms inspectors say. To make matters worse, they say the ground rules that replaced theirs would hamper the work even more, with new restrictions on who may serve as inspectors and on intelligence sharing. David Kay, the U.N.'s former chief nuclear arms inspector, said the peak number of inspectors and support personnel in Iraq in the last decade was about 150, a similar number to those being assembled now.
Lockheed Martin and International Launch Services (ILS) are completing the Atlas V launch contract for a Greek-owned satellite. The satellite will represent the first commercial payload for the Atlas V to be booked following the evolved expendable launch vehicle's initial flight in late August. The Greek mission, set for launch at Cape Canaveral in early 2003, also will be a demonstration of how ILS is able to switch payloads quickly to its Russian Proton partner to facilitate customer launch schedules.
Dassault Aviation executives are counting on a sharp boost in military activity and strong business jet sales to remain independent, despite renewed calls for consolidation of the European combat aircraft industry, most recently from EADS, which owns 48% of Dassault shares.
Boeing has received $270 million in contracts to initiate the lease of four C-40s (737-700s) for the U.S. Air Force. The first two aircraft were delivered last week to Andrews AFB, Md., where they will be based. The deal was seen as a trailblazer for the more complex lease of 100 767-200 tankers, but those negotiations have stalled.
Bae Systems and others who had their eye on the Navy's Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) may get another shot at involvement in the program, even though Boeing and Lockheed Martin were the only competitors to receive concept-development contracts. The Navy is considering awarding additional study contracts. BAE Systems wants to interest the Pentagon in the MRA4 Nimrod patrol aircraft that the U.K. is buying. The company is still looking for a U.S. industrial partner to serve as a prime contractor. But others also are interested in a piece of the action.
Meanwhile, Turkey awarded Thales a $400-million contract to supply maritime patrol and surveillance systems for navy and coast guard units. The award will cover nine systems for existing CN-235s, together with 10 additional systems for new platforms. The purchase marks renewed cooperation between Paris and Ankara, which had canceled or deferred a number of weapons deals following French parliamentary actions to protest against Armenian genocide.
Bruce Runnegar has been named as the next director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, which is at the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. He will succeed Nobel laureate and NAI cofounder Baruch S. Blumberg, who plans to step down. Runnegar is a professor in the UCLA Earth and Space Sciences Dept. and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.
Pratt & Whitney's F119-PW-100 engine for the F-22 Raptor received initial service release approval from the U.S. Air Force, signifying that USAF agrees the F119 is ready for operational service. ISR approval is granted only after testing demonstrates that a powerplant meets the maintainability, performance, operability and structural integrity requirements for which it was designed.
Alitalia executives are hoping that the strong recovery engineered in the first half of the year will not be jeopardized by a growing disagreement over a recent capital increase. The Italian flag carrier reported a reduction in operating losses of one-third, to 119 million euros ($116 million), in the first half of the year, before extraordinary items. Revenues also sank to 2.38 billion euros from 2.71 billion as the carrier cut capacity by 22% to reflect demand.
This is getting confusing. The Air Force is working hard on its Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A)--a next-generation surveillance, intelligence-gathering and battle-management aircraft built into an airliner design (see p. 48). A command-and-control demonstrator installed in an aged Boeing 707 aircraft was dubbed the Paul Revere MC2A-X. Meanwhile, the service asked Congress for $500 million in the Fiscal 2003 budget to fund a Boeing 767 MC2A testbed aircraft, so researchers could get a head start on integrating the system into its ultimate airframe.
On the other hand, the Air Force has leaked what the heart of the MC2A design is all about. In addition to its other tasks, the MC2A's Northrop-Grumman/Raytheon MP-RTIP radar will make it the central element of a ``three-dimensional, high-definition cruise missile defense system.'' A multi-element radar can search, jam and listen at the same time.
China Airlines is delaying its decision to buy up to 16 Airbus A330 transports in the wake of intense lobbying pressure by Boeing in favor of its long-range 777. The Seattle-based airframe manufacturer is attempting to convince the airline that the 777 is better suited for its operations than the A330s, which would replace aging A300-600Rs. Although in August China Airlines was prepared to move forward on the deal with Airbus, Boeing made an offer that includes acquiring the carrier's existing fleet of five A340-300s plus another two on order.
Angela Gittens, director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Dept., has been named to receive the Wright Brothers Memorial Award from the Greater Miami Aviation Assn. The annual award honors an individual whose contribution to aviation has gained national recognition. Gittens has been cited for redeployment of personnel to ensure security after Sept. 11, 2001, and the revalidation of her department's capital improvement program to preserve and encourage revenue streams.
Robert L. Del Boca (see photo) has become vice president-infrared countermeasures and laser systems for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Electronic Systems Sector of Baltimore. He was director of the company's Apopka, Fla.-based Laser Systems Unit.
Daniel Maiden has been named managing director of London-based Bombardier Flexjet Europe Ltd. He was commercial director and succeeds James Hoblyn, who has become vice president-marketing, sales operations and asset management of Bombardier Regional Aircraft.
The Rand-led Space Shuttle Competitive Source Task Force proposed several new management options that could be used to restructure the space shuttle program (SSP). If adopted, the options could move shuttle cost and safety management toward an operational, competitively sourced structure away from the more expensive research and development mode used for the first 21 years of the program. Among the options are: -- Functional Consolidation Model (see chart, p.
New software from ViaSat broadens options for computer users who want to establish an Internet protocol (IP) network over a network of radios. Instead of being restricted to a single radio type and protocol, ViaSat's PDC/IP software allows radios from different manufacturers to be used, as well as different IPs. Supported radio types include HF, VHF and UHF Satcom, and a variety of encryption boxes may be used.
Researchers saddled with putting together Paul Revere--the flying laboratory for investigating advanced command and control concepts for a next-generation, wide-body surveillance and intelligence-gathering aircraft--were handed a daunting task. They were provided an empty Boeing 707 in January and told to ``jump start'' development of the next-generation platform, decide who should be on board, what they should do and where they should sit.
Taiwan's Eva Air is requiring its pilots to speak English in the cockpit as well as during training to ensure there is no miscommunication. In addition, the airline uses only flight manuals and other cockpit publications written in English, chiefly to avoid bias in translation or interpretation, according to the carrier. Eva Air embarked on its ``English-only'' campaign as part of its overall economic development plan.
