No one ever said that wresting greater value from the supply chain is easy, but in some areas there are much smarter ways of doing business than is generally practiced now. One of those is how aerospace/defense companies purchase both direct and indirect goods and services. Truth is that most contractors who have grown through mergers and acquisitions simply are not leveraging their buying power. Another area is collaboration--or what passes as collaboration--among original equipment manufacturers and their supplier networks.
Incorporating a robust special-operations forces (SOF) contingent into major U.S. wargames the last few years has given senior military commanders and civilian leaders an appreciation for how valuable SOF teams will be in the current war on terrorism.
U.S. cargo and parcel express airlines, some facing red ink, are preparing to muddle through the next couple of months, hinging their hopes on a quick recovery of the world economy to restore business.
U.S. Air Force acquisition officials are considering a closely-held concept to develop a larger, possibly twin-engine version of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft in a move some fear could derail the current program. Pentagon officials are weighing the pros and cons of such a system, called the Global Hawk Block 20, which would increase the UAV's payload and flying performance. So far the idea is getting mixed reviews.
The Air Transportation Stabilization Board, newly open for business, is the product of a Bush Administration rulemaking nearly as fast-paced as the legislation that created it in the first place. The board, established to administer up to $10 billion in federal loan guarantees to airlines that can't borrow under reasonable terms otherwise, will operate under rules developed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The rules took effect Oct. 11, and airlines may submit loan-guarantee applications through June 28, 2002.
Kyle Franklin is just the type of person Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. executive vice president and general manager/JSF, has in mind when he discusses the Joint Strike Fighter program at Lockheed Martin. Burbage faces the challenge of hiring up to 4,500 engineers--some 60 per week each week for five years--should Lockheed Martin be awarded the JSF contract. Approximately 40% of the new hires will come straight from college campuses.
With the air war underway and Afghanistan's thin line of high-altitude air defenses knocked out, Pentagon officials are ready to launch a new, real-time strike operation designed to attack moving targets within 5 min. of identifying them. A key to the ``closed loop, C4I'' operation is keeping an Air Force general in the air over Afghanistan, giving him the authority to launch weapons against Taliban or Al Qaeda senior personnel once they move from their caves.
Additional U.S. Air Force aircraft have been dispatched to South Korea to beef up forces there because of the deployment of the USS Kitty Hawk to aid U.S. retaliatory attacks on Afghanistan, according to a South Korean official. He referred to a ``squadron-level'' deployment but gave no details.
Linda Hall Daschle (see photo), a former deputy FAA administrator and senior vice president of the American Assn. of Airport Executives, has been named co-chair of the Public Policy Practice Group at the Washington law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman and Caldwell.
Use of cholesteric (ChLCD) display technology in a ``mil-e-book'' portable electronic computer being developed for military applications by Kent Displays, Honeywell and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency gives this product the lowest power consumption and longest battery life of any other e-book technology, according to Kent Displays. The military e-book is designed to meet the demands of soldiers in the field.
Lack of situational awareness was believed, as of late last week, to be the most likely cause of the runway incursion accident at Milan's Linate airport, resulting in the crash of a Cessna Citation CJ2 business jet and an SAS Scandinavian Airlines MD-87--killing all 114 on both aircraft and four on the ground.
NASA's Odyssey spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars next week in preparation for a 2.5-year primary science mission to survey minerals and chemical elements that make up the surface of the planet. It will be NASA's first science mission to Mars since the ill-fated Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, which both failed in 1999 during the final stages of their journeys there.
Herley Industries' Microwave Systems Div. has received a five-year, $16.7-million order from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command for wideband telemetry systems slated to be used in the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-air surface guided missile.
The European Union has opened talks with the U.S. on airline subsidies, reflecting concern that the U.S. government gave its carriers an unfair advantage with bailouts that allowed them to offer deep discounts on transatlantic routes. The move is part of a package proposed by European Union Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, presented last week in Brussels, that is intended to lessen the economic effects of events of Sept. 11 on the European airline industry.
United Parcel Service has taken delivery of the first of 13 MD-11s to be converted to freighters by Boeing and Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd. (STA). According to UPS, another two aircraft are undergoing modifications and are scheduled for delivery at the end of this month. Boeing is responsible for acquiring the airplanes and STA performs the design, conversion and maintenance. The agreement between Boeing and UPS includes options for 22 additional MD-11s.
The contract for the program designed to greatly enhance the protection of Air Mobility Command transport aircraft against terrorist shoulder-fired infrared-guided missiles has been won by Northrop Grumman's Defensive Systems Div. of Rolling Meadows, Ill. Under the two-phase Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures program initiated before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, AMC aircraft such as C-5s and C-17s will be outfitted with existing missile warning and IRCM systems that can be updated with more advanced technology.
The Swedish civil aviation authority LFV forecasts a 10% reduction in airline traffic next year and zero growth this year in the wake of terrorist attacks in the U.S. A revised forecast, however, projects a rebound in 2003. The LFV plans to reduce its financial support of improvements at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, although funding will be provided to complete one terminal and a third runway is scheduled to open late this year. In 2000, more than 30 million people used Sweden's airports.
Robert M. Sorbello has been named senior vice president-engineering and technology for AirTV, Bethesda, Md. He was vice president-network engineering and infrastructure at Loral Cyberstar and Loral Orion Inc.
James G. Maser has been appointed president/general manager of the Sea Launch Co., Long Beach, Calif. He was chief systems engineer and will be succeeded by Kirk Pysher, who is being promoted from deputy chief systems engineer. Maser succeeds Will Trafton, who has become president of Boeing Launch Services Inc. and vice president/deputy general manager for Boeing Expendable Launch Systems, Huntington Beach, Calif. Trafton will continue as chairman of Sea Launch.
The Miniconoscan 3000 is a noncontact measurement system designed to make 3D measurements of metal, plastic and rubber industrial molds, machined parts and tools. It employs a patented technique called ``conoscopic holography'' that the company says allows measurements up to 500 points per sec. dynamically, while the stages are in motion. The company adds that the product is the only noncontact 3D measuring system that is collinear. It can be used for reverse engineering of both parts and molds as well as quality, maintenance and repair of molds.
Security against potential terrorist attacks has been substantially strengthened around the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) at Patrick AFB, Fla. AFTAC is one of the nation's primary intelligence centers for monitoring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons activities around the world.
The U.S. government has created a list of ``Most Wanted Terrorists.'' Osama bin Laden and 21 other people, including his lieutenants, are wanted for crimes committed since 1985. The U.S. is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the apprehension or conviction of bin Laden, and the Air Line Pilots Assn. and the Air Transport Assn. are funding an additional $2 million. Mug shots can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/fugitives.htm.
Frederic (Jake) Brace has been named chief financial officer of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. He succeeds Douglas A. Hacker, who is now president of United NewVentures. Brace was senior vice president-finance.
