Current proposals for Germany's new multiyear federal spending plan are raising questions regarding the country's ability to meet requirements for reshaping its armed forces and turning them into a tool that can be used for European military and crisis management actions.
The Max65s die mold, vertical machining center helps reduce cycle times on complex cavities and cores by as much as 40% when compared with most other control technologies, according to the company. The machine has a 12,000-rpm. CAT40 high-performance spindle, and can maintain positioning accuracies to within 0.003 mm. and repeatability of 0.002 mm. The X and Y axes use linear guides, while the Z axis is a boxway design providing the rigidity necessary for fine finishes.
The next leap-ahead technology for military intelligence will be the ability to predict human action. ``The purpose of any joint intelligence operation is the fusion of information with the best exploitation capability so decision makers can be provided with the most current information about any subject,'' said Gen. Gregory Martin, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.
Kevin Conlon (see photo) has been promoted to chief operating officer from vice president-sales and marketing for Palomar Technologies Inc., Vista, Calif.
The Star Alliance is set to become firmly established as the second strong force at London Heathrow Airport now that the European Commission has cleared the trilateral alliance among BMI British Midland Airways, Lufthansa German Airlines and SAS Scandinavian Airlines. The decision weakens British Airways' dominant position at Heathrow and is interpreted as a further sign that the EC is firmly committed to increased competition at the world's most important international airport.
Thomas Imrich (see photo) has been named chief pilot for research for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle. He was the FAA's national resource specialist for air carrier operations.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON OFFICIALS SAY construction of a facility to train pilots and mechanics to fly and maintain the Bell/Agusta BA609 civil tiltrotor is tentatively set to start early next year and projected to be completed before initial deliveries of the aircraft begin in 2004. The building will be located at Alliance Airport north of Fort Worth and house classrooms as well as a full flight simulator qualified to FAA Level D standards, according to the company. Plans call for the Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. to assemble and flight-test the BA609 in Amarillo, Tex.
Passengers seeking information about Lehigh Valley (Pa.) International Airport operations may now do so through its ``wireless Web site.'' Using cell phones or personal digital assistants, travelers at any location may obtain directions to the airport, confirm travel plans or check arrivals/departures. Imirage developed the Liberator platform, which allows easy conversion of online information to mobile devices. The facility claims it is one of the first commercial airports in the U.S. to offer such information via wireless Web site.
Airbus is acquiring a 30% stake in Tenzing Communications as well as entering into a strategic partnership with the Seattle-based communications company to offer inflight e-mail and Internet access to airline passengers. The deal, which also makes Tenzing Airbus' ``preferred supplier'' for interactive services, values the company at $148 million. Tenzing's system is to be installed on an Airbus Corporate Jetliner and an A340-600 in the coming months. Retrofits on A330s and A340s are due to begin in the autumn.
USAF Col. Joel Maynard has assumed command of Operation Deep Freeze, the Defense Dept.'s support of the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). He succeeds Col. Richard Saburro, who received the Legion of Merit and the National Science Board's USAP medallion. Maynard was vice commander of Operation Deep Freeze and Air National Guard Detachment 13 in Christ- church, New Zealand.
Roger W. Smeltzer, Jr., (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager of the Carpenter Freeway facility of Dallas Airmotive Inc. He was senior manager of the facility when it was owned by the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
DBS Industries Inc. of San Francisco, makers of remote monitoring and control technology, has an answer to California's power crisis. In a demonstration last week, it said energy officials could use the Iridium satellite network to selectively manage energy loads of specific buildings by turning on and off noncritical air conditioning systems to try to prevent blackouts.
In its annual report, the Indian Ministry of Defense has named China as the country's ``main security threat'' and identified the Angi II intermediate range ballistic missile as part of its counter force. The report was released by Jaswant Singh, head of India's Defense and External Affairs ministries, who charged that China was engaged in a military buildup.The Defense Ministry said China was working toward becoming a superpower.
Northrop Grumman subsidiary Logicon Inc. has received two follow-on contracts totaling $89 million from Boeing to support the national missile defense pro- gram. Logicon will provide the ground software that plans the intercept trajectory, commands the interceptor and monitors its status.
Jim Koslosky, aeronautics director of the Kent County, Mich., International Airport, has been elected chairman of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives. Other officers elected are: first vice chairman, Gerald Olson, manager of the Cheynne, Wyo., Airport; second vice chair, Bonnie Allin, vice president-aviation services at Tucson, Ariz., Airport; secretary/treasurer, Bill Barkauer, director of the Morristown, N.J., Municipal Airport. First vice chair is Larry Cox, president of the Memphis Shelby County, Tenn., Airport Authority.
Moldite is a new lightweight, high-strength material suitable for a broad range of aerospace and defense applications. The key to this thermal-set resin composite ``sandwich'' is its proprietary core. The material has an exceptionally high stiffness-to-weight ratio and offers a high-performance alternative to materials such as ultra-high-strength steel and aluminum. Unlike other composite materials, Moldite core materials can be engineered to exceed the tensile strength of flanking long-fiber materials including carbon, glass or aramid fibers.
The Kleenall Series 30 delivers a 30-gpm. flow of ultra-clean (20 microns nominal) coolant while filtering out the finest chips from a machining operation, in a unit that is 42 in. wide X 36 in. long X 33 in. tall. As a result, users can expect significant reductions in costs associated with clogged coolant lines, damaged tooling, scrap, maintenance, chip disposal and coolant replacement. A rotating drum design combines with a self-cleaning backwash system to provide both continuous filtration of coolant and collection of rough chips and fine particulate matter.
A new catalog that features nine different light source technologies, supported by an inventory of more than 5 million parts, and includes complete technical specifications, drawings and applications notes, is being offered by Gilway Technical Lamp. Engineering Catalog 169 features a variety of new products, including: Mega Bright and Ultra Bright high-intensity LEDs and several new surface-mount packages; reflector assemblies for incandescent and halogen lamps; fluorescent and UV cold cathode lamps; and line filament, miniature and neon lamps.
This updated Web site features online buying and list prices for all products; the company says no other U.S. manufacturer of welding power sources and related systems provides customers with the capabilities of online shopping plus the expertise of a local distributor for sales and service. The Web site provides a product selector function that presents questions about the users' application. Based on responses, the product selector displays products that best meet users' needs, which is especially helpful for first-time users.
Raytheon will supply four radar enhancement Phase 3 and 4 classification, discrimination and identification phase kits for the Patriot Air Defense System radar under a $53-million contract from the U.S. Army.
Chris Chapman (see photos) has been appointed president and Mame McCutchin head of market development of NASA contractor Honeybee Robotics of New York. Chapman was vice president of Honeybee, while McCutcheon was director of business development for Pseudo Programs Inc.
Despite repeated reforms and a major restructuring in 1998, the national missile defense (NMD) program remains troubled. The Pentagon's missile defense honcho, Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, has informed lawmakers that delays in Boeing's operational booster production are so severe that they threaten to become a major problem that could prevent the NMD program from meeting its near-term deployment date of 2005. Although parts of the booster have been tested individually in space launchers, they still have never been integrated into one system.
An Airborne Express official said the company's freight business remains relatively flat, hovering at about the same level it was in the second quarter of 1998. Although overall volume of shipments has increased this year, yields have declined and as a result, Airborne has lost money for the past three quarters. In response to the economic downturn, ABX Air, the airline side of the company, is adjusting aircraft routes, consolidating certain flights and rearranging captain/first officer positions to streamline operations, according to the official.
