The U.S. Air Force has put its new Litening infrared and laser-targeting pods into combat in Afghanistan on board older Air National Guard F-16s. The aircraft have an ability to pick up a laser illumination regardless of whether it was generated by a ground party or another aircraft. In addition to the new technology, airpower's success in Afghanistan was ``made very much better by the people on the ground [who are designating targets],'' said new Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper. ``We're wildly successful. I wish we could have done this in Kosovo.
Alcatel will sell 4.2%, or 7 million shares, of its stock in Thales, a move that will decrease its holdings in the defense electronics contractor to 15.8%. The move will contribute 270 million euros ($239 million) to the troubled telecom giant's bottom line while allowing the strategic partnership between the two firms to be maintained. Thales expressed satisfaction with the sale, noting that it would raise the percentage of shares on the market to 45%.
Geci International, a French engineering group, has launched a utility twin turboprop called Skylander and hopes to obtain FAA and European JAA certification in September 2004. Powered by 1,100-shp. Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6A-65Bs, the unpressurized Skylander will carry up to 19 passengers or 3 metric tons of freight. A maritime patrol version also is being planned.
Application of antitrust laws and regulations will play a key role in the U.S. aerospace/defense industry's continuing consolidation, as has been the case since the early 1990s. But the pattern of merger reviews by the U.S. Justice Dept., especially from 1994-97, probably runs counter to popular belief. Until regulators blocked the union of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman in 1998, the general perception was that government had a laissez-faire attitude toward proposed mergers. In fact, that remains the prevailing view in some industry circles.
Transatlantic industrial relationships are likely to follow an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary path for the foreseeable future. This means the potential for full-blown mergers uniting large U.S. and European prime contractors--a subject of much speculation--probably will remain a distant prospect, at best. More transatlantic acquisitions will happen, of course, but they are more likely to be small and medium-sized transactions. That is not to say some major players have never explored such a union.
Fred Buttrell, who was senior vice president-strategy and business development for Delta Air Lines, has been appointed president/CEO of Delta Connection Inc. He succeeds David Siebenburgen, who will retire but remain chairman of Delta AirElite Business Jets. Joe Kolshak, who was director of investor relations, has been named vice president-flight operations, for mainline Delta. He succeeds Dave Bushy, who will remain a Boeing 767 captain and be the airline's liaison to industry groups for pilot resource planning, training and recruitment.
The Senate has long been frustrated with Pentagon accounting problems and lack of transparency on where money is spent, and now the Defense Dept.'s inspector general has found new ammunition for lawmakers. Investigating an allegation that the Environmental Technology Laboratory mischarged costs to Advanced Sensor Applications Program, the IG indeed discovered that $1.6 million couldn't be properly accounted for. The project is a cooperative effort between the Defense Dept.
The U.S. Aerospace Commission and the Defense Dept. envision a number of near-term measures that could aid U.S. aerospace companies and enhance their long-term financial outlook. Pentagon acquisition chief Edward C. (Pete) Aldridge told the commission last week at its first hearing that two policies are being developed that could improve contractors' balance sheets. One is focused on helping companies eliminate excess capacity; the other is more directly related to profit policies.
U.S. heavy bombers have appeared in the Afghanistan conflict as little more than distant contrails, but the small force--primarily 18 Boeing B-1s and B-52s operating from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean--has dropped most of the 4,700 tons delivered by the Air Force, which comprise 72% of the war's total.
Norman Mineta and Tom Ridge, whose workloads have mushroomed since Sept. 11, each in its way, are trying to do quickly what many aviation industry professionals would be impressed with if they can do at all. Mineta, the secretary of Transportation, and Ridge, President Bush's Homeland Security czar, outlined their immediate plans Nov. 27 at Aviation Week's homeland security and defense conference in Washington. For each, work will not be slowing down for the holidays.
Marshall Aerospace will provide spares and rotables support for RAF Tristars, under a contract for up to 10 years that takes effect in January. The contract includes simulator, ground and test equipment support.
The U.S. Air Force is going to consolidate the intranets from 110 bases around the world into a single electronic portal called My.AirForce. The centralized system is to start operating in early 2002 and will include millions of pages from 28,000 information systems and 1,500 Web sites. Up to 1.2 million users will have access with varying levels of security, using 128-bit SSL encryption.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $4.5-billion contract to sustain the B-1B bomber fleet for the next 15 years. Boeing also will be responsible for upgrades on the aircraft.
Mergers and acquisitions have dramatically altered the global aerospace/defense landscape in recent years. The value of those deals easily exceeds $150 billion. Still, it isn't over. Many more companies will be acquired before consolidation runs its course. With that in mind, Aviation Week&Space Technology, in collaboration with Charles River Associates Inc. (CRA), undertook a six-month analysis of consolidation--past, present and pending.
General Electric outsources some of its information library support to Sopheon (www.sopheon.com), including services for the aircraft engines unit and the corporation. The library is used for research, development, and legal and business information. Employees can search for data themselves through a network portal, or e-mail the Sopheon research staff to help them. The library culls information from the Web, published literature and proprietary sources.
Douglas Barrie will join Aviation Week&Space Technology as London bureau chief on Jan. 7. Barrie has covered aerospace issues within Europe for numerous aviation and aerospace publications for the past 13 years. Barrie, a British citizen, graduated from Edinburgh University. He succeeds John D. Morrocco, former European bureau chief, who left the magazine earlier this year to join Boeing in Chicago. Pierre Sparaco, who is Paris-based senior European editor, will be promoted to European bureau chief, effective Jan. 1. Barrie will report to Sparaco.
EasyJet, a growing low-cost British carrier, is seeking to establish an additional hub at Paris Orly. Although it would operate initially between Orly and existing points in its route system, EasyJet also would like to serve Orly-Nice, France's second busiest city-pair. The carrier's cheapest fares on Orly-Nice would be as low as $38-52 and the highest price an estimated $120, a fraction of Air Lib's and Air's France fares.
The Navy was poised to ground seven EA-6B Prowlers and put restrictions on another 17 late last week because the aircraft's wing center section is aging faster than expected. Among the affected aircraft is one of two prototypes with the new ICAP-III electronic warfare system. The Navy will have to replace its center wing section to avoid disrupting ICAP development. As to the entire fleet of high-demand standoff jammers, the Navy will have to buy 18 center wing sections a year--not the hoped-for 10--to achieve its goal of having 108 operational Prowlers.
The Transportation Dept. will review the Orbitz airline-fare Web site ``within a few months'' and complete its updating of computer reservations system (CRS) rules ``promptly,'' Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta told Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.). The department first asked for comments on whether and how to modify its 1992 CRS rules in 1997, on the theory that reduced airline control of CRSs--and development of airline and third-party Internet booking systems--warranted rule changes.
The payloads for two delayed Atlas missions at Cape Canaveral were transposed in last week's issue (p. 25). The EchoStar 7 spacecraft will be launched on an Atlas III from Pad 36B, while TDRS I will be launched on an Atlas IIA from Pad 36A. Also, the TDRS delay is not related to a bureaucratic issue between NASA and Boeing, but rather Boeing's modification of a single-access antenna deployment mechanism unrelated to performance deficiencies on the earlier TDRS H multiple- access antenna.
Hard hit by the world airline slump, Japan's second largest carrier, All Nippon Airways, said it will suffer an 11-billion-yen (88.7-million) group net loss for the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, a surprising downturn from a 40-billion-yen net profit for fiscal 2000.
Pressure is mounting on the White House to speed up transformation of the military in response to Sept. 11, despite skepticism that the armed forces are the main key to eradicating global terrorist cells.
Qatar Airways has selected EADS Sogerma seats for its fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft and has installed in-seat DVD systems in six A320s. Seat deliveries begin this April. The airline will begin a launch study with EADS Sogerma for an aircraft maintenance facility. And, EADS Sogerma has been selected to provide total component support for Qatar's A300-600Rs and A310-300s.
The largest weapon dropped on Afghanistan--a 15,000-lb. high-explosive bomb--has been used for a third time. The most recent target was the southern defenses of Kandahar, the last major city held by the Taliban.
While Airbus officials think they have a shot at the KC-135 tanker-replacement program, the Air Force seems to be ignoring them. ``We are pursuing the idea of a Boeing 767 for several reasons,'' said the new Air Force chief, Gen. John P. Jumper. High among them is replacing the 707-like birds with aircraft whose reliability matches that of a new airliner. Another is Jumper's idea for a ``smart tanker'' aircraft. ``I sat bolt upright in bed and said, `Why on earth did we ever buy dumb tankers?''' he said.
