Pakistan-manufactured UAVs--the Vector Mk-2, Nishan Mk-2 and Hornet Mk-5--are being marketed to Asian and Gulf countries. ``We are holding serious negotiations with some countries in these regions and expect the deals to be finalized soon,'' Ijaz A. Khan said last week at the Dubai air show. Khan is group captain of the National Development Complex, a subsidiary of Pakistan's National Engineering and Scientific Commission.
DASSAULT AVIATION WILL USE hydromechanical flap, airbrake and electrical power generation and management systems manufactured by TRW Aeronautical Systems in the company's new Falcon 7X long-range business jet that is under development. TRW will establish a management team to focus on the new program. The airplane is projected to have a range of 5,700 naut. mi. and be capable of flying nonstop Paris-Los Angeles (westbound) or eastbound Paris-Tokyo (AW&ST Nov. 5, p. 56).
China is training a dozen astronauts for manned flights starting as early as 2002 and developing a new booster fleet comparable in concept to the U.S. Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. It is also undertaking work on diverse new spacecraft. As it prepares to eventually send Chinese astronauts into space, the world's most populous nation is also making new overtures to join science operations on the International Space Station, said Luan Enjie, director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
More airborne firepower may be in the cards for the Marine Corps. Commandant Gen. James Jones said he hopes to redress a ``significant weakness'' in fire support by suggesting the service buy ``new production'' AC-130 gunships. AC-130Us are now operated only by the Air Force's special operations units. He said his life had been saved by a gunship during an overnight firefight in 1968, and is now ``kicking himself'' for waiting so long to suggest the cannon-equipped aircraft be adopted by the Marines.
Space launches were off 27% from the 2000 rate in the first six months of 2001, according to a new survey by the Teal Group. The 27 launch attempts worldwide represented the sharpest drop in the launch rate in five years, Teal said. The survey counted 12 civil space launches, nine commercial communications satellites and six military payloads. ``One of the things that we find interesting about the decline of launch missions lately is that the number of missions carrying commercial satellites dropped at a faster rate,'' stated Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at Teal.
A British AIrways Concorde made the aircraft's first eastbound flight in passenger service in 15 months on Nov. 8, flying from New York's JFK International Airport to London Heathrow in 3 hr. 30 min. Capt. Mike Bannister, chief Concorde pilot and a veteran of 4,000 supersonic flights, was at the controls. He pushed the throttles forward with reheat engaged and the aircraft accelerated to liftoff. The fully loaded aircraft (the takeoff weight was 183,000 kg.) climbed at 4,000 fpm as the battered Manhattan skyline receded off the right wing.
Subodh Karnik has been appointed senior vice president-network and revenue management for Delta Air Lines. He was vice president-finance and corporate development.
Eurockot has landed a contract to orbit Servis-1, a spacecraft being developed by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization to test know-how intended to enable off-the-shelf components to be used in space environments. Servis-1 will be launched from Plesetsk in northern Russia in 2003. The company also announced that the first commercial payload for its Rockot booster, the NASA/DLR Grace scientific mission, will now take place next spring rather than this month as initially scheduled.
Aviation industry leaders are hoping last week's Dubai air show will mark the beginning of ``back to business'' after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that have pushed international air transport into its deepest crisis since the gulf war.
The Boeing Sonic Cruiser offers the potential of providing the first big productivity increase for an aircraft since the Boeing 707, according to Henry C. Joyner, senior vice president of planning for American Airlines. The time savings anticipated on trips across the Atlantic and between North and South America ``could change how you think about flying and scheduling international markets,'' Joyner said. A preliminary review of the potential indicates that aircraft utilization rates could increase and on-ground time decrease.
The third prototype of the IBIS Ae 270 was rolled out earlier this month and will join the flight test program for the single-engine turboprop. Deliveries are to begin late next year. IBIS is a joint venture of Prague-based Aero Vodochody and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) of Taiwan (AW&ST July 23, p. 58). This aircraft and the first prototype are powered by Pratt&Whitney Canada PT6A-42 engines. The prototype first flew in July 2000.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. signed a definitive agreement under which Northrop Grumman will acquire the shipbuilder. After the transaction closes, Newport News initially will be operated as a Northrop Grumman sector. Longer term, the company plans to combine its two shipbuilding businesses into one operating unit.
Vowing to do whatever it takes to ensure Air Canada's future liquidity needs, the carrier last week reported a pre-tax net loss of about U.S. $101 million on an 18% drop in revenues for the third quarter. ``We will take further action as necessary to cut costs . . . as the outlook for at least the next two quarters is bleak,'' Chief Executive Robert Milton said. As of Sept. 30, Air Canada had approximately $567 million in cash, as well as a credit line of around $110 million that expires on Dec. 28.
Nickolas W. Vande Steeg has been promoted to corporate vice president/operating officer, effective Jan. 1, of the Parker Hannifin Corp. of Cleveland. He has been president of Parker's Seal Group.
Canada's CAE and the Bank of America have signed a 20-year lease, valued at $27 million, for one Airbus A320 and one A330/340 simulator. Two additional simulators will be installed in 2002. CAE's Toronto aviation training center is scheduled to begin operations this December, with anchor tenants Canada 3000 and Skyservice.
The airline industry's top priority is to devise efficient security measures to restore the public's confidence, according to International Air Transport Assn. officials. IATA Director General Pierre J. Jeanniot stressed that the best line of defense against terrorism is international criminal intelligence. It can be complemented, he added, by ``the potential for increased use of biometrics for everyone who comes in contact with an aircraft, or the airside of an airport.''
ESA's XMM-Newton orbital X-ray observatory has detected what astronomers think may be energy released from the ultra-rapid spin of black holes (see picture). A team of scientists led by Joern Wilms discovered a strong iron line X-ray glow in the accretion disk that far exceeds the energy levels that would normally be associated with a black hole of that size. The discovery was made while studying a black hole in the center of the spiral galaxy MCG-6-30-15, located 100 million light-years from Earth.
Employees of German charter carrier LTU International Airways have agreed to voluntary wage reductions in an effort to save the company from bankruptcy. The unions complied with the proposal when it became evident the company was heading into a serious cash shortage following the demise of its 49.9% shareholder, Swissair Group.
BEYOND 14 DIFFERENT TYPES OF U.S. AND BRITISH military fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft that are slated to have Northrop Grumman's AAQ-24 ``Nemesis'' directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) installed--including a variety of C-130 configurations, the EH-101 and BAe-146--the company is studying possible installations on a variety of civil transports used by European and Middle Eastern heads of state. The latter include 747, 707 and 737, and Gulfstream IV and V transports.
ICO Global Ltd., created by Craig McCaw from the bankrupt remains of ICO Global Communications, will not merge with Teledesic Corp. as previously planned. Instead, London-based ICO will continue to develop its mobile satellite telephone system, and Teledesic, based in Kirkland, Wash., will pursue a low-Earth orbit broadband satellite network designed to deliver high-speed Internet access.
Canada 3000, Canada's second largest passenger airline, last week sought bankruptcy protection in Ontario Superior Court after the Canadian Industrial Relations Board thwarted the airline's plans to close subsidiary Royal Aviation Inc. The carrier's restructuring plan includes a 30% reduction in seat capacity and elimination of 1,500 jobs.
Skyway Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines, ordered four Fairchild Dornier 328JETs and placed options on 10 additional aircraft in an order valued at $177 million. The four new aircraft will be added to the eight 328JETs now in Skyways' fleet, with the first aircraft set for delivery in January and the remaining three by year-end 2002.
THE NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT'S single-engine, turboprop-powered Meridian has received FAA certification for flight into known icing conditions. The approval automatically applies to new production units, but the more than 100 Meridians already in service also will be eligible for a retrofit program sponsored by the company. In addition to installation of anti-/deicing equipment, the airplanes will receive other production upgrades.
