By Benjamin S. Lambeth Rand 276 pp., Softcover, $20,00 Ben Lambeth provides insight into the birthing pains of flex targeting, before it enjoyed its current success chasing the Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership deep into their cave complexes, with a new study of air operations in Kosovo.
The Air Force Special Operation Command's AC-130U gunships, used almost daily in the air war in Afghanistan, are scheduled for a targeting system upgrade. The Air Force wants to replace the All-Light-Level TV subsystem, used to spot targets, with a multispectral, 360-deg. field-of-view sensor to meet more challenging requirements. The goal is to allow AC-130U operators to detect, recognize and identify hostile and friendly forces on the ground in a wide range of environmental conditions. Imagery enhancement is deemed necessary to meet target identification demands.
Alcatel Space has landed a $118-million award from APT Satellite Holdings of Hong Kong to build the APSTAR VB satellite, reinforcing its position in the Chinese satcom industry. The 50-transponder Ku/C-band spacecraft will act as a backup for APSTAR V, to be launched in 2003.
Dashing predictions of a compromise with Russia (see p. 100), President Bush pulled the U.S. out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, signed with the Soviet Union in 1972. The withdrawal takes effect in six months, and reverses the White House effort last summer to devise a new strategic architecture that would have interlinked each nation's offensive and defensive missile forces in a unitary framework (AW&ST July 30, p. 26).
Doug Shaw has been named president of Atlantic Aviation Flight Services, Teterboro, N.J. He was corporate senior vice president at Newark, Del. Randall Wood has become director of operations. He was director of flight standards.
European political leaders are scrambling to save two key strategic program proposals even as they prepare to lead a U.N.-sponsored international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. Prospects for the A400M airlifter, an essential element of Europe's new rapid reaction force, appeared to improve last week following what appeared to be a last-minute breakthrough in Germany, whose still-undecided 73-aircraft commitment is considered the key to the program.
In a second phase of the industry consolidation that began last May, China's policy makers are looking at the performance of local airlines with an eye to weeding out the unprofitable ones. This move is part of a broader strategy of making the nation's enterprises more competitive now that China is a member of the World Trade Organization.
Executives of ailing French carrier Air Lib are scheduled to complete a new rescue plan this week, in a desperate attempt to halt massive losses. President Jacques Chirac stressed that Air Lib plays a critical role operating routes between Paris and France's overseas territories.
THE LATVIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE has contracted with Lockheed Martin to buy a TPS-117 long-range transportable radar system, which will be used to expand the range of Baltnet, a cooperative air surveillance network covering the airspace around Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Slated for delivery in 2003, the radar will be used by the Latvian air force for air surveillance and air traffic control, and will be linked to a TPS-117 that Estonia purchased in March. The system can be transported in two C-130 aircraft, and can be set up and operating in 30 min.
With the combat experiences of Afghanistan already being evaluated, currently favored projects involving unmanned aircraft, small weapons and precision sensors are proliferating and gaining visibility even though most are still waiting for promised federal funding to appear. Discussions at the UAV USA conference held Dec. 10-11, also reflected new momentum for projects and upgrades of technology deemed successful in the Afghanistan conflict.
China is planning its first international maintenance, repair and overhaul exhibition for Oct. 15-18, 2002, in Xiamen, the southern coastal city that has become one of the country's busiest MRO centers. Called the International Aviation Maintenance Equipment and Technology Exhibition, the show's sponsors include AVIC I&II, China's state-owned research and manufacturing organizations formerly known as Aviation Industries of China, but now called China Aviation Industry Corp.
Richard L. Murdock has become director of quality systems and compliance and Bob Minnis director of engine certification programs for Superior Air Parts Inc. of Dallas. Murdock was director of manufacturing certification services for New Piper Aircraft Inc. Minnis was vice president-engineering for Consolidated Fuel Systems.
Joseph P. Clayton has been appointed president/CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio of New York. He was vice chairman of Global Crossing. Clayton succeeds founder and chairman David Margolese, who has resigned as CEO.
Delta Air Lines' passengers from the U.S. will soon be able to board TGV high-speed trains at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport that will connect them to French provincial cities such as Lille, Lyons, Nantes and Poitiers. Delta and TGV Air, an SNCF French railways subsidiary, last week concluded a code-share agreement covering eight French destinations. A train station is located below CDG's Terminal 2. Last year, TGVs carried 80 million passengers on SNCF's domestic route system.
The Czech Republic ordered 24 JAS 39 Gripen combat aircraft valued at about $2.7 billion. First delivery is planned for 2005. The Czechs required Saab and BAE Systems, which are jointly promoting the JAS 39 in export markets, to offer a generous offset program that could amount to as much as 150% of the procurement spending's value. The JAS 39 is powered by a Volvo Aero RM12, a derivative of General Electric F404 produced in Sweden.
Bombardier Aerospace and Raytheon Co. will split a potential $780-million order for new business jets from Avolar. Letters of intent call for the UAL Corp. business-aviation subsidiary to purchase 57 Learjets from Bombardier and 25 Beechjets from Raytheon.
Robert J. Einhorn has been appointed senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is former assistant U.S. secretary of state for nonproliferation.
George N. Tompkins, Jr., a partner in the aviation group of Washington law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis, has been named to the board of the International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden, Netherlands. c For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the WORLD AVIATION DIRECTORY published by the McGraw-Hill Aviation Week Group. For information on ordering, telephone U.S. ONLY (800) 257-9402, outside U.S. (609) 426-7070 or Fax (609) 426-7087.
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) will be the centerpiece of military reforms triggered by operations in Afghanistan, say senior Pentagon and aerospace industry officials. Even President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who have become notorious for military pronouncements which lack detail, are beginning to nod in the direction of new investments.
Boeing announced plans to cut another 1,000-1,500 employees at its Ridley Township, Pa., rotorcraft production facility near Philadelphia. The latest action will cause employment at the facility to fall to 3,500-4,000 by mid-2004, Boeing said. Lower production rates for the V-22 tiltrotor Boeing builds with Bell Helicopter Textron and fewer international sales for the CH-47 Chinook are prompting the layoffs.
Navies from India and the U.S. were scheduled to complete combined search-and-rescue operations in the Arabian Sea on Dec. 17, the prelude to an unprecedented level of military contact between the two countries, according to defense officials in New Delhi. The initial priority will be to keep sea lanes of communication open in the Indian Ocean region to assure safe passage for oil tankers sailing out of the Persian Gulf.
Incoming Administrator Sean O'Keefe has made clear he's ready to clean up the fiscal mess that developed at NASA under the leadership of Daniel S. Goldin. He and his White House masters should be careful not to confuse that mess with the priceless national asset they have been entrusted to safeguard.
Of all the small-cap defense contractors that stand to benefit from the U.S.' renewed commitment to military preparedness, Alliant Techsystems would seem to be as well positioned as any.
Restructuring in the U.S. satellite industry is generating new opportunities for fast-growing SES Global to mesh together its far-flung network of operating companies and to mold it into an efficient worldwide system.
