Japan and the U.S. Navy plan to expand their cooperation on theater ballistic missile defense. The two have partnered to develop upgrades to the ship-based Theater Wide exoatmospheric anti-missile system, specifically to work on an advanced sensor and kinetic warhead, second-stage propulsion and a lightweight nose cone. The arrangement could grow to include ship-based radar and systems tied to the missile defense mission, according to U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Rodney Rempt, who oversees the service's missile defense efforts.
Mexico has awarded Brazil's Embraer a contract to provide an EMB-145 airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) and two EMB-145 maritime patrol aircraft. They are to constitute the backbone of a new surveillance program being organized by the Mexican government. The aircraft are specialized for monitoring aircraft and ship movements with radar and electro-optical sensors, as well as for monitoring radio communications and other electronic signals--all key tools in the war against drugs, smuggling and illegal fishing.
Bombardier has received FAA type approval for the 70-seat CRJ700 series regional jet. Fourteen customers have placed 175 firm orders, plus 313 conditional orders and options, for the derivative aircraft.
An Arianespace Ariane 5 successfully launched the Japanese/Orbital Sciences BSAT-2a and the Eutelsat/Alcatel Eurobird communications spacecraft from Kourou, French Guiana, on Mar. 8. Total payload mass for the flight was about 9,600 lb.
The White House has nominated Edward (Pete) Aldridge, CEO of The Aerospace Corp., to become undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Aldridge is a former Air Force secretary, and he also served for seven years as director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
Jack May has been named acting director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City, Mo. He was deputy regional director of the National Weather Service (NWS). May succeeds Dave Rodenhuis, who has been appointed senior adviser to the NWS Office of Strategic Planning and Policy, Silver Spring, Md.
Space issues have been pretty far back on the stove as the incoming Bush Administration sets up shop, but once the White House gets organized to tackle them it will find plenty of simmering issues to occupy its attention.
France-based Sagem has received an order for 50 Sigma laser gyro inertial guidance systems from the South Korean navy, and contracted to supply Sigma INS units and other avionics hardware to modernize Brazil's Mirage 50 fighter fleet. Along with an INS on-condition maintenance award from the French air force, the contracts are worth a total of $70 million. The company was also selected to provide the Sicops-Base secure communications system for the French air force's operational command/control network.
Former Sen. Sam Nunn and germ warfare experts are lobbying for a global early warning communications network, and a parallel detection system to shore up security against terrorist biological attacks. Based on advanced information technology and sensors, the systems should be distributed all around the globe, Nunn says. The expense would be substantial, although he helped craft legislation in the mid-1990s to fund research for such systems. Only governments could afford to finance far-flung deployment of detection sensors, he says. Nunn is a trustee of the Carnegie Corp.
Investigators are looking into several theories behind why a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400 aircraft was destroyed by an explosion as it was being readied for a flight from Bangkok to Ching Mai on Mar. 3. Traces of the bomb-making material Semtex were identified in the wreckage, and authorities called the bombing ``sabotage.''
An article on solar sail in last week's issue (p. 26) mistakenly said a submarine-launched rocket had never reached orbit. On July 7, 1998, a Russian Delta IV-class submarine launched a SS-N-23 rocket to place the 22-lb. Tubsat-N communications relay satellite into a 480 X 248-mi. orbit (AW&ST July 13, 1998, p. 78).
Le Bourget Airport will remain the venue for the Paris air show for at least the next 25 years under terms of an agreement between the show's organizers and the ADP Paris airports authority. The long-term commitment will sustain a major investment plan involving construction of additional buildings and displacement of a main road and a traffic circle to eliminate congestion at peak hours. This year's event, scheduled for June 16-24, will host nearly 2,000 exhibitors and 503 hospitality chalets.
As the Bush Administration tries to formulate its plans for a national missile defense architecture, it faces the stark reality that the development of any system will take longer than has been promised in the past.
The FAA has mandated a new set of Boeing-recommended inspections on 767 elevator power control actuator bellcranks, and the manufacturer is working on a redesign of a key part after one-time inspections ordered last year turned up PCA failures that weren't being detected by routine maintenance checks.
French aerospace leaders are worried that the U.S.' national missile defense initiative would exacerbate an already huge technology gap between Europe and the U.S. ``We are convinced that NMD would serve as a formidable research vehicle for American industry, and provide our U.S. competitors with a powerful new asset,'' said Jean-Paul Bechat, president of the Gifas French aerospace industries association. He is chairman/CEO of Snecma. ``It's time for [European governments] to take another look at research budgets,'' he warned.
British Airways and Continental Airlines plan new international service from two U.S. gateways. Continental has launched nonstop air service between New York and Hong Kong, while BA will on Mar. 25 begin San Diego-London service. Both carriers will use Boeing 777-200s for the long-haul flights. BA's daily service to London Gatwick will be the first transatlantic nonstop service in the history of San Diego.
Speaking of working online, AeroInfo Systems Inc., a Boeing subsidiary, has released MaintStream 2.2, its aircraft maintenance-planning software, which it says can process data 25% faster than current systems. Airlines can use MaintStream to create a detailed fleet maintenance plan for a 10-year period, working over an intranet or the Internet. Tasks include regulatory reporting, job card definition, work package creation, work flow tracking and other functions, AeroInfo President Richard Macdonald said.
Widespread misconceptions about international laws governing space weapons and what constitutes ``peaceful uses'' of space have hampered the progress of recent top-level Pentagon wargames and the development of military doctrine.
A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 landed over the top of a US Airways Metrojet Boeing 737 on Mar. 4 at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) International Airport. The FAA is investigating the incident as an operational error and a runway incursion. The agency said US Airways Flight 2627 was holding for takeoff 600 ft. behind the Runway 27R touchdown zone at 10:15 p.m. when Delta Flight 323 landed in front of it.
Michelle Schopp (see photo) manager of technical services for Executive Jet Management Inc. of Cincinnati, has received a 2000 FAA Good Friend Award. Schopp was cited for ``her relentless commitment, total professionalism and unwavering dedication . . . and she has proven herself to be a true friend of the FAA and the Cincinnati Flight Standards District Office in particular.''
NASA managers are quietly honing a list of projects that could be killed to offset some of the $4 billion in cost growth projected on the International Space Station program. The goal is to find $1 billion in non-spaceflight cuts--roughly the cost growth projected for the station in Fiscal 2002. Human spaceflight honcho Joe Rothenberg is struggling to cover the projected overrun without tapping other NASA ``enterprises''--aeronautics and the sciences--by ruthlessly dropping projects under his control that don't directly support the station or shuttle (AW&ST Feb.
German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping has denied reports that Germany may delay the delivery of Tiger attack helicopters. He said the purchase agreement was binding. However, Scharping did acknowledge before a parliamentary committee that about $104 million of expenditures in the current air force budget plan remain to be funded.
The United-US Airways-American airline mega-deals seem unlikely to pass regulatory muster as proposed. United and US Airways agreed last week to extend beyond Apr. 2 the deadline for completing their merger, to allow the Justice Dept. more time to review the proposal, particularly the involvement of American. United agreed to notify Justice 21 days before closing the US Airways deal, and will provide additional details on the separate but related accord that would give American 20% of US Airways assets.
