The U.S. Navy has ordered CVN-77, its 10th Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Lockheed Martin will integrate the ship's warfare systems--a role performed by the Navy on previous ships. New technologies include open architecture information network and multifunction radar with antennas integral with the superstructure, which has been redesigned to reduce the ship's radar signature. Scheduled for launch in 2008, CVN-77 is the first of a planned three-ship transition to CVNX--the Navy's next class of large deck carriers.
U.K. no-frills carrier EasyJet is offering signing bonuses of up to 30,000 pounds ($44,000) for type-rated 737-700 captains. Airline officials said the move was aimed at cutting costs by eliminating type-rating training expenses and to meet planned growth. The market for pilots has become increasingly competitive with the boom in the low-cost airline sector in the U.K. and Ireland. At the beginning of the year, Ryanair signed a five-year agreement with its pilots after they threatened to strike over pay.
Aviation Week&Space Technology is adding to its staff and promoting others within the Editorial Dept. Frank Morring, Jr., who has been senior managing editor of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily newsletter, will join the magazine later this month as senior space editor. John Croft, a former NASA engineer and associate editor of Aviation Week's Airports newsletter, has started work at the magazine as a transport editor.
Sandy Crosby (see photo) has been promoted to managing director of system operations control for Trans World Airlines from director of operational planning.
The X-43 research vehicle has been integrated with its modified Pegasus booster in preparation for a captive carry test with NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft. First flight of the Mach 7 Hyper-X scramjet aircraft has been pushed back at least several months from the previous December timeframe, according to program officials. If all goes well during this month's flight readiness review, first flight of the 12-ft.-long X-43 could be conducted between late April and mid-June.
Recent tests of ultrawideband technology to determine its potential for interfering with systems crucial to aviation safety were largely inconclusive. The report from the Commerce Dept.'s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) underscores the difficulty of assessing the cascading effects that large numbers of these radically different ultrawideband (UWB) devices could have, based on tests of only a handful.
Officials at Continental Airlines have confirmed that discussions ``with third parties regarding strategic alternatives'' have taken place, as U.S. airline industry consolidation last week appeared to be closer to reality (see p. 45).
Wall Street is applauding Alliant Techsystems Inc.'s announcement last week that it plans to purchase Thiokol Propulsion from Alcoa Inc. for $685 million in cash. Thiokol is a leading supplier of rocket propulsion systems for space launch vehicles, with sales of about $570 million. ``This is a home run,'' Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Pierre Chao declared. Assuming the transaction is approved by antitrust regulators--and that may be a big ``if''--Chao expects Alliant's earnings to increase by 5-10 cents a share in the first year and 50 cents in the second year.
Space Systems/Loral is backing off from plans to build a broadband ``Internet in the sky'' satellite constellation, Chairman Bernard L. Schwartz told an investor conference last week. ``We have concluded that we do not have the in-house skills to develop the marketing resources to competitively deploy such a system,'' he said. Loral will instead focus on building satellites for others, managing constellations and leasing transponders.
Northrop Grumman has decided to build a third prototype vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft after the first crashed last year. The second prototype is currently being tested in a manned-configuration, while the new aircraft, to be flight ready late this year, will be unmanned.
The crash landing of the Antonov An-70 prototype threatens to further delay the troubled airlifter program, and has Ukrainian and Russian engineers scurrying to recover. The second--and only--prototype of the four-propfan transport made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff from Omsk in Siberia on Jan. 27, damaging the aircraft and injuring four of the 33 people on board. Two of the engines had failed.
Most Russian air force pilots saw training levels increase slightly last year, but fighter pilots received only a fraction of the flight time they required. Commander-in-Chief Gen. Anatoly Kornukov referred to 2000 as ``a year of stabilization'' for the Russian air force. Training levels were up, as the number of exercises rose by a third, from roughly 300 in 1999 to 400 in 2000. Overall, Russian air force pilots accumulated on average 25-30 hr. flight time during the year, slightly higher than in 1999.
Elizabeth Harraway has been named director of marketing for Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Galileo International Inc., Windsor, England, effective Feb. 1. She has been director of advertising and promotions for Hertz Europe.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector is building 55 replacement wings for the U.S. Air Force's fleet of more than 500 T-38 trainers. The wings will extend the service life of the twin-engine, supersonic jets during the design and manufacture of an all-new, improved wing that would keep the T-38 in service for another 40 years. Delivery of the interim wings is scheduled to begin in October and continue for 54 months. All T-38s will be retrofitted with the new wings beginning in 2006, according to the company.
NASA and Russian space officials will meet in mid-February to discuss International Space Station policy on the flight of non-astronauts to the ISS on board periodic week-long Soyuz crew rescue vehicle changeout flights. The case of Dennis Tito, 60, a wealthy Los Angeles businessman, has spawned the discussion. Tito earlier contracted MirCorp for a flight to the Mir space station. With Mir about to be deorbited, that agreement, costing Tito up to $20 million, was transferred last week to the Russian Aeronautics and Space Agency.
General Electric Co. could cut more than 75,000 jobs, or about 15% of the corporation's 450,000 workforce, after the industrial giant acquires Honeywell International, according to a report in the current issue of Business Week, also a McGraw-Hill publication. Business Week's information was based on interviews with Wall Street analysts and people close to the company.
A review by the U.S. Justice Dept. antitrust division and a possible lawsuit by former Trans World Airlines owner Carl Icahn could delay American Airlines' acquisition of ailing TWA. But the delay would only slow the inevitable now that a bankruptcy judge in Wilmington, Del., has approved American's financing plan and rejected objections by Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Icahn, say several industry analysts.
BAE SYSTEMS CANADA WILL SUPPLY navigation equipment to Saudi Arabian Airlines to upgrade its Boeing 747-200/300 and -SP aircraft to be compatible with its newest transports. The first installation is slated for April. BAE's CMA-900 GPS-based flight management system, operating with Honeywell's air data inertial reference unit, will let the classic 747s take advantage of important future air navigation system benefits, including shorter oceanic routes and equal treatment when flying through congested areas, according to BAE.
A U.S. Air Force/Boeing Delta II launched from Cape Canaveral Jan. 30 placed a USAF/Lockheed Martin GPS Block IIR navigation spacecraft in an initial 11,000-X 100-naut.-mi. orbit. Total mission cost is about $100 million, split evenly between the spacecraft and the booster.
Members to be appointed to the Presidential Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry may find a large stack of briefings and white papers on their doorstep when they report for work. The commission, mandated by the Fiscal 2001 Defense authorization, must be organized by Mar. 1 to start evaluating the industry's needs on subjects ranging from export license reform to R&D. Several organizations have done their own studies, and the resulting reports are proliferating.
The European Commission and aerospace industry executives have unveiled ``A Vision For 2020'' report which outlines the ambitious goals of attaining ``global leadership'' in aeronautics and creating a ``world class air transport system'' for Europe.
Two of Oklahoma State University's basketball players and eight others were killed in the Jan. 27 crash of a Raytheon/Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop, No. N81PF, near Denver. According to preliminary accident information, the aircraft had departed Jefferson County Airport near Byers, Colo., in snow and mist under an IFR flight plan. It was one of three chartered aircraft flying the team and OSU members home after a game with the University of Colorado. The aircraft was in level flight after departure, then radio/radar contact was lost.
After several buoyant years, commercial transport sales are expected to decrease slightly in 2001. However, no significant market downturn is in sight, according to Airbus Industrie executives.
