The U.S. Navy and Air Force have ordered 59 Raytheon T-6A Texan II aircraft and technical support valued at $148.3 million for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System Program. The Navy will receive 28 aircraft and the Air Force 35.
The PowerXpress PPC6 commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) single-board computer is available in two air-cooled environmental levels, and is designed to meet needs of systems in sheltered defense environments where the expense of a fully ruggedized conduction-cooled board is not justified. It features the latest PowerPC 755 and 7400 processors supported by ultrahigh-bandwidth databuses. These include an L2 cache bus at 200 MHz., a 100-MHz. memory bus yielding sustained data rates of more than 400 Mbps. and a 64-bit 66-MHz. PCI bus.
The U.S. Navy is preparing to kick into high gear its efforts to replace P-3 and EP-3 aircraft after more than two years of hemming and hawing over what to do about one of its largest pending development and acquisition efforts.
Ken Possenriede has been appointed chief financial officer, Stephen O'Sullivan executive vice president-new business development, Ludo Van Vooren vice president-communications, Barry Lerner vice president-government sales, Craig Jeffries chief marketing officer and Jim Mandracchia chief strategist, all for Reston, Va.-based Exostar. Possenriede was finance director of the systems integration staff of the Lockheed Martin Corp., while O'Sullivan was executive vice president/general manager of North American operations for BAE Systems Regional Aircraft.
Frederick W. Reid has been promoted to president/chief operating officer and Vicki Escarra to chief marketing officer from executive vice president-customer service of Delta Air Lines. Carolyn Ezzell has been named London-based vice president-Atlantic region, Steve S. Smith managing director of worldwide sales and Debbie Siek vice president-reservation sales. Ezzell was director of airport and customer service at 15 European airports, while Smith was director of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
French engine manufacturer SMA and U.S. light airplane builder Cirrus Design Corp. have agreed to flight test and certify installation of a four-cylinder 230-hp. SR-305 turbo-diesel engine in a Cirrus SR22 airframe to be designated the SR22tdi. Plans call for initial deliveries to begin in 2002, but the aircraft would be available only to European customers, according to Cirrus officials. There are no plans to offer the engine option in the U.S., at least in the near-term.
Georges Bridel has become head of advanced design at the EADS (Germany) military aircraft division. Bridel, who was deputy head, succeeds Hannes Ross, who has retired.
Northwest Airlines mechanics ratified the tentative agreement between the airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., which represents 9,795 mechanics, cleaners and custodians. Members voted 82% for, 17% against the four-year contract that will make Northwest's mechanics the highest paid in the industry. The contract, the first since 1996, gives mechanics an immediate 24.4% pay hike and a 37% raise over four years. Also, mechanics get a one-time bonus of $13,750-25,000, depending on annual income.
AeroVironment has shipped its giant Helios solar-powered drone to Hawaii for an attempt to reach 100,000-ft. altitude this summer, and recently completed a 7-hr. functional test of the aircraft. The Apr. 28 test revealed a number of minor discrepancies but no showstoppers, said AeroVironment Vice President Robert F. Curtin. The schedule is still being studied, but he estimated Helios could fly from the Barking Sands airfield on Kauai in the first half of June.
In the hope of drawing greater attention to the growing mission area and reinvigorating classified space projects, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is making sweeping changes to how the Pentagon manages its space programs. The decisions unveiled last week aren't surprising, since most were recommended by a commission Rumsfeld chaired before being named defense secretary. ``We need to ensure that the management and the organization of our national security space program reflects the importance of space to the nation today,'' he said last week.
Strict new rules at NASA governing how satellites are discarded at the end of their service lives have engineers pondering whether to send a space shuttle after the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The 15,000-lb. UARS has been in low-Earth orbit since Discovery left it there in 1991. Its mission was to run 18 months but it's still returning useful data. Ghassem R. Asrar, associate administrator for Earth science, says NASA wants to bring the spacecraft down in about a year to free funding for other activities.
David P. Berman has been named CEO of Airia Ltd. of London and Annapolis, Md., a joint venture of the former Live Inflight Video Entertainment and Inmarsat Ventures Ltd. He was senior vice president-North America of the PanAmSat Corp.
Kaman Instrumentation's DIT-5200 is a differential measuring system that utilizes high-precision inductive technology for critical angular measurements. While differential systems have traditionally been costly, Kaman is offering the DIT-5200 at an affordable price owing to a new commercial off-the-shelf design.
Japan's Transport Ministry has awarded a 9-billion yen ($72.6-million) contract to Rocket System Corp. for launch of the replacement MT-Sat in the summer of 2002 on an H-2A. The spacecraft combines weather and air traffic control capabilities and replaces one lost in November 1999 when an H-2 launch failed.
Analysts say online consumers are gravitating to air carrier Internet portals to purchase airline tickets, wooed in part by brand trust and exclusive low-fare promotions. It's a trend that's expected to continue as more customers get online and carriers attempt to capitalize on the rock bottom distribution costs they can achieve when selling tickets on their own sites.
A bill to reduce flight delays by letting airlines meet and discuss schedules has flown through the House aviation subcommittee without amendment. Introduced by Don Young (R-Alaska), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the measure aims to ease antitrust barriers that prevent airlines from agreeing how to cut back on the waves of scheduled flights that can't all land and take off on time at peak hours at congested airports.
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David Whelan has become vice president/chief technology officer of the Boeing Space and Communications Group, Seal Beach, Calif. He was director of the Tactical Technology Office of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
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Northrop Grumman's surprise bid to buy Newport News Shipbuilding is based on ``concerns'' about preserving competitiveness and avoiding antitrust issues associated with General Dynamics' offer to buy the company.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., a risk-sharing partner on Embraer's ERJ-170 program, has been selected by the Brazilian manufacturer to make the wings for the largest member of the Embraer family, the ERJ-190, the company announced last week. This notice coincided with the implementation of the -190 Joint Definition Phase, which will lead to the final design of the -190.
American Airlines has ordered 15 Boeing 767-300ERs equipped with GE engines. Part of the order will replace nine Pratt&Whitney-powered TWA 767s that are not compatible with American's fleet. The remaining airplanes will replace Airbus A300-600s on North Atlantic routes. The A300s are due to be reconfigured for two-class seating and flown on routes to Latin America and the Caribbean.
