Attracting and retaining the next generation of aerospace professionals is now a top-priority concern for the U.S. and Europe, according to government and industry leaders. However, because children's brains are literally being ``wired'' differently by their ``light screen''-dominated environment today, getting young people to study science and mathematics, then choose aerospace careers, will require much different approaches than have worked in the past.
Sukhoi has emerged as the victor in Russia's long-running design-bureau battle to lead development of its air force's so-called fifth-generation fighter effort. Ilya Klebanov, Russia's industry, science and technology minister, said that on Apr. 26 the government's military-industrial commission made the decision to award Sukhoi the role of lead developer for a fifth-generation fighter to succeed the Su-27 Flanker and MiG-29 Fulcrum. Klebanov added the MiG Corp.
Dramatic changes lie ahead in the way the U.S. Air Force conducts the business of command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, although senior leaders acknowledge that achieving C2ISR ``integration'' will be a daunting challenge. The main goal of the C2ISR initiative is to move data from any sensor to any shooter on the battlefield in a seamless manner to catch the most difficult targets before they can get away. This includes mobile and concealed targets, as well as time-sensitive ones.
Sir Colin Chandler has been named deputy chairman of London-based EasyJet plc, and is expected to become chairman next year when Stelios Haji-Ioannou is scheduled to step down. Chandler was chairman of Vickers Defense Systems.
ANTHONY L. VELOCCI, JR.DOUGLAS BARRIE ( NEW YORK LONDON)
The pending elevation of the president of BAE Systems North America to the board of directors of U.K.-based BAE Systems plc is fueling speculation that further strategic moves to strengthen the parent company's position in the U.S. market may be in the offing. Mark Ronald, who heads the Washington-based subsidiary of BAE Systems North America, is set to join the board in the near future. Analysts, industry observers and some company insiders, however, believe BAE harbors further ambitions in the U.S.
Pressured by members of Congress, NASA is looking for ways to increase the crew size on the International Space Station beyond three to enhance science productivity on the orbiting outpost. But the simplest near-term fix also comes with some congressional pressure. Russia's Soyuz capsules already serve as a three-seat lifeboat for the ISS crew, but NASA runs smack into the Iran Non-proliferation Act if it wants to buy more of them to boost crew size.
Boeing's Connexion will use PeopleSoft's customer relationship management software. Connexion also has settled on Op40's Distributed Internet Service software for its Web-based applications management. . . . DHL Airways is using Maestro Lines and Maestro Crew from SBS International, a Boeing subsidiary, for air crew scheduling. . . . Dassault Systemes has agreed to integrate Hibbit, Karlsson & Sorensen's Abaqus simulation software into its Windows-based Version 5 computer-aided design and manufacturing software. . . .
The Star Alliance is laying plans to expand into Eastern Europe and Northeast Asia as it renews efforts to ensure the efficient integration of its far-flung global airline network. The first new member is likely to be Poland's LOT, which the Frankfurt-based group has been trying to snare for nearly three years. LOT signed a preliminary agreement with Star leader Lufthansa in Warsaw a month ago. Although the accord is initially geared to code-sharing on routes between Germany and Poland, starting on June 1, it is clearly intended as a steppingstone into the alliance.
Pierfrancesco Guarguaglini has been appointed chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica, and Roberto Testore has become managing director. Guarguaglini, who succeeds Alberto Lina, was head of Fincantieri, while Testore is a former top executive of Fiat. The Italian aerospace/defense group's long-overdue management reshuffling is expected to end uncertainties on envisioned strategic alliances and could lead to more domestic consolidation initiatives. Finmeccanica is Alenia Aerospazio's parent company.
Two Russian Tu-95 Bear-H cruise missile bombers were intercepted over international waters off the coast of Alaska by F-15C fighters from Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage in late April. The Bears were believed by U.S. Defense Dept. officials to be on a mission associated with an annual spring training exercise in the Russian Far East.
Astronomers are using the back seat of a NASA F/A-18 fighter to search for Vulcanoids--hypothetical asteroids within the orbit of Mercury. Their orbits would be 0.07-0.21 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, which is at most a 12-deg. spacing as viewed from the Earth. Objects that close are hard to detect because the Sun creates a twilight background, and Vulcanoids have yet to be sighted. The F/A-18 flying high would eliminate much of the atmosphere's glow. The notion of Vulcanoids arose in the late 19th century.
Lockheed Martin has delivered the first U-2S reconnaissance aircraft to the U.S. Air Force with an upgraded cockpit that replaces about 40 1960s-era instruments with three large multifunction displays. The aircraft--delivered to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif., last month--is the first of 31 operational U-2S aircraft and four two-cockpit trainers that are to be modified with the glass cockpit at a rate of six aircraft per year through 2007. ``It is a new chapter in the life of the U-2, and likely not the last,'' according to Maj. Gen. Robert F.
An Abidjan, Ivory Coast, court confirmed that Air Afrique will be dissolved. The bankrupt carrier, jointly owned by 11 African governments, investors and Air France, recently ceased operations and could not devise a workable rescue plan.
Boeing and CargoLifter plan to jointly evaluate the merits of airship technology in an effort that could lead to joint development programs. The companies late last week announced that they signed a letter of intent ``to investigate business opportunities beyond CargoLifter's current focus.'' One of the future development angles could be a new stratospheric airship with civil and military applications. The agreement was signed by George Muellner, president of Boeing Phantom Works, and CargoLifter Chief Executive Officer Carl von Gablenz.
Fractional ownership operator Executive Jet Inc. has changed its name to NetJets Inc. Market research indicated that the two names were confusing to prospective customers, the media and NetJets fractional owners. Chairman/CEO Richard T. Santulli said the name change reflects fractional ownership as NetJets' primary business.
Cathay Pacific has placed firm orders for six aircraft--three Boeing 777-300s and three Airbus A330-300s--for delivery in 2003-04. The company anticipates returning furloughed aircraft to service. As expected of an airline with a maintenance affiliate that partners with Rolls-Royce, all of the new aircraft will be powered by Trent engines. The Hong Kong carrier currently operates five 777-200s and seven -300s, plus 20 A330s for short- and medium-range regional routes.
Britain is in talks with the U.S. and exploring the possibility of becoming a partner in the latter's X-45 uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle program, its involvement potentially modeled along the lines of its participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Substantive--though still described as informal--active discussions are taking place between British Defense Ministry officials and their Pentagon counterparts, according to British and American industrialists.
Russia's NPO Saturn and Snecma of France have submitted a joint proposal to equip the Sukhoi/Ilyushin/Boeing Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) with the SM146--a new turbofan engine being developed by the engine manufacturers. In addition, NPO Saturn and Snecma have agreed on a memorandum of understanding with the Central Institute of Aviation Motors, the All-Russia Institute of Aviation Materials, and the Gromov Flight Research Institute for engineering, materials and flight test support.
Reconnaissance aircraft will need a number of multiband, phased array antennas to provide the directional signals needed for the next generation of high-capacity data links for recce and intelligence networks. Scientists from the Air Force Research Laboratory, RST Scientific Research and Texas A&M University propose using a fiber-optic link to carry radio-frequency signals between the antenna and signal processor, avoiding the losses from coaxial cables and wave guides. Converting from RF to optical and back without distorting the RF signal is essential.
Rockwell Collins has demonstrated a high-speed satcom data link that will be available in September, giving passengers e-mail and Internet access on equipped aircraft. It will use the aircraft's existing satcom antenna and a Sat-906 high-power amplifier. The HST-900 high-speed transceiver provides 64 Kbps. and is designed for upgrade to new generations of high-speed links with minimal impact, according to Collins.
The U.S. Air Force has flight tested JDAM Mk. 82 guidance kits for 500-lb. warheads at Eglin AFB, Fla. An F-16 launched the weapon from 20,000 ft. on a flight path that scored a direct hit, according to Boeing. The Mk. 82 JDAM is scheduled to be available for the B-2 bomber in 2004.
David A. Kipp has become chief operating officer of the Transportation Div. of Ross & Baruzzini of St. Louis. He has been the project executive for several airports and airlines for aviation facility design projects.
USAF Lt. Gen. Robert C. Hinson, who has been deputy commander-in-chief of the U.S. Strategic Command at Offut AFB, Neb., has been confirmed as vice commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo. He will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Thomas B. Goslin, Jr., who has been commander of the the command's Space Warfare Center. Goslin will, in turn, be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, who has been commander of the 3rd Wing of Pacific Air Forces at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Brig. Gen. John G.
SES Americom is seeking to offer satellite TV and high-speed Internet access services to U.S. residential users in a move that could affect plans to consolidate the American direct-to-home satellite broadcast market. Americom, which is owned by SES Global of Luxembourg, petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for a direct broadcast service (DBS) license at 105 deg. W. Long. and a Ku/Ka-band license at 105.5 deg. W.
