Women are battle-ready. So says Australia's Defense Dept., which recently recommended women be able to assume combat roles. There's one stipulation--women are to meet the same rigorous physical requirements as men. The proposal followed a three-year army study of women in combat. Women in Australia's services now are prohibited from participating in full armed conflict or using weapons unless for self-defense.
Iberia and British Airways, both members of the Oneworld alliance, have informed the European Union of plans to deepen their cooperation on South Atlantic routes. The two carriers are seeking to widen code-sharing operations on flights between Europe and Latin America and jointly develop flight schedules. BA and Iberia already code-share on routes between Spain and the U.K. and recently extended their cooperation to long-haul routes to Bangkok and Lima. BA owns a 9% stake in Iberia which recently was fully privatized.
NASA plans to fund two unmanned aircraft projects totaling $8 million over four years--down from the $12 million over a three-year period initially proposed--after receiving pressure from aerospace and government organizations. General Atomics' Altus will be assigned to fly severe weather missions from Cape Canaveral, and Aerovironment's solar-powered Pathfinder Plus UAV will be operated by Clark University to conduct observations of coffee crops in Hawaii.
The June 17-24 Paris air show will provide the European aerospace/defense industry with a timely opportunity to present newly established cross-border companies such as EADS, Airbus' single corporate entity, Astrium and the MBDA missile group.
Sabena has asked Airbus to temporarily suspend deliveries of leased A320s until the Belgian carrier completes a new business plan, expected in early June. Sabena is conducting a major review of its operations, including its flight network, in an effort to restore profitability. Fifteen A320s are still to be delivered by Airbus out of a 34-aircraft order. Swissair, which owns a 49.5% stake in Sabena, is expected to decide on its future role with the Belgian carrier this summer.
Bernard L. Schwartz stepped down as chairman and CEO of Globalstar after the faltering low-Earth-orbit satellite communications venture posted a $145-million loss for the first quarter. Olof Lundberg, former chairman and CEO of ICO Global Communications, was named to succeed him at the Loral spinoff, which also counts Qualcomm Inc., Alenia, China Telecom (HK), Dacom and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace among its partners.
The nearly two-month-old pilots' strike at Comair has relegated the premier regional carrier of Delta Air Lines to a moribund state from which it may not fully recover, for many months, perhaps even years.
Jeremy Llewellyn has been appointed director of materials in the Materials Div. of Total Engine Support Ltd. (U.K.). He was financial director and has been succeeded by Matthew Burris, who was financial controller of Corus plc.
Australia's Virgin Blue and rival Ansett Australia joined in a little two-part harmony in the wake of Impulse Airlines' recent announcement that it would fold under Qantas' wings (AW&ST May 7, p. 26). Officials of Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand-Ansett Group earlier this month began exploring cooperative efforts to combat the feared end result of the proposed Qantas-Impulse deal: Qantas' market dominance. The Virgin Blue-Ansett duo caught the attention of Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which last week inquired about the carriers' objectives.
BAE Systems is examining how best to benefit from a series of U.S. export reforms announced last year and whether they could improve operations between the company's U.S. business units and the rest of the organization.
NASA has handed over formation-keeping control of the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite to software on board the orbital technology demonstrator, achieving for the first time autonomous formation-flying technology that will enable a host of new multi-spacecraft missions in the years to come.
Robert A. Keyes has been named chief financial officer of Airlease Ltd. of San Francisco. He was senior vice president/ senior finance manager of the Bank of America Leasing&Capital Group.
John Myers has been appointed senior vice president of the AeroCentury Corp., Burlingame, Calif. He was vice president of Raytheon Aircraft Credit Corp.
James D. Shields (see photo) has been appointed vice president-programs and Joseph M. Wolfe, Jr., (see photo) vice president-finance and administration/treasurer of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc., Cambridge, Mass. Shields was vice president-strategic development for Litton-TASC Inc. He succeeds Matthew W. Ganz, who is now CEO of Draper subsidiary Navigator Technology Ventures. Wolfe was vice president-business management and administration/chief financial officer of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Oak Ridge, Tenn. He succeeds David C.
NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz has been selected to receive the 2001 Wyld Propulsion Award from the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Other upcoming AIAA awards and their recipients are: John J.
As the Bush Administration completes its nuclear posture review, the aging of those weapons and hurdles to keeping them operationally viable are emerging as key issues that will need to be addressed. The scope of the problems has been highlighted by a group of experts conducting a congressionally mandated, three-year assessment of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Furthermore, holes in the nuclear weapons stewardship program were also brought out in congressional testimony by John A. Gordon, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
France has opted for the EADS/Israel Aircraft Industries Eagle 1 to meet an air force requirement for a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The companies' bid was selected over a rival offer from France's Sagem and General Atomics of the U.S. with the latter's Predator UAV. A contract for an initial demonstration phase is expected to be signed at the Paris air show next month.
Japan's defense agency plans to send a team of representatives from the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) to the U.S. specifically to collect information on U.S. Air Force aerial refueling operations. The information will be used by the ASDF to select a tanker/transport later this year. Modified versions of the Airbus A310 and Boeing 767 are contenders, but the 767 may have a competitive advantage because of commonality with four 767 AWACS aircraft already in service with the ASDF.
Ed Pease has become senior vice president-government relations of Rolls-Royce North America Inc., Chantilly, Va. He was a Republican congressman from Indiana.
BAE SYSTEMS' ADVANCED THREAT infrared countermeasures/common missile warning system (ATIRCM/CMWS) has completed a series of live-fire tests at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range, N.M. ATIRCM/ CMWS is intended as the next-generation countermeasures to protect aircraft from IR-guided missiles. Live missiles were fired at a cable car with an IR source that simulated a helicopter. Also on the cable car to protect it were the ATIRCM/CMWS systems. Ten launches were completed with missiles fired from various angles and ranges.
NAVCANADA WILL ADD TWO MODE-S monopulse secondary surveillance radar systems in northern Canada as part of its radar modernization program. Raytheon Systems Ltd. U.K. will supply the Condor Mk. 2S systems that the Canadian division will install. The Iqaluit, Nunavit, radar should benefit North Atlantic traffic, and the LaRonge, Saskatchewan, system should simplify airspace control procedures.
Williams International, maker of turbofan engines for small business jets, is exploring the possibility of retrofitting Jetstream 31 turboprops with Williams FJ44 engines, but the feasibility and economics of such a project have yet to be demonstrated.
In the absence of profitability, Delta Air Lines plans to terminate the New York-Lyons nonstop route in late August. The U.S. carrier's decision is a serious blow to local authorities and to the French transport ministry. Delta's decision could seriously undermine ongoing efforts to promote secondary gateways, slow down Charles de Gaulle's robust traffic growth and delay the need for Paris' proposed third airport (AW&ST May 14, p. 84).
NASA Glenn Research Center has installed a large stereoscopic wall display system for engineers to immerse themselves into huge graphics of computational fluid dynamics and structural analysis solutions. ``The display wall is ideal for showing large amounts of data where one can look up close at small details or step back and get the big picture,'' said Jay Horowitz, director of the display laboratory. NASA plans to have engineers at several centers collaborate, each viewing their own immersive display connected by high-bandwidth links.
