Paul Kahn (see photo) has been appointed managing director of Thales Acoustics, Harrow, England. Kahn was group business development director for Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF) in Paris.
Having introduced three upgraded Citation business jets aimed at reinforcing the company's grip on the entry-level market, Cessna is forging ahead with the larger Model 680 Sovereign, which is designed to do battle in the competitive ``super-midsize'' cabin class. The company's original business jet, dubbed the FanJet 500 but later known as the Citation, made its first flight in September 1969, followed in 1971 by FAA certification to FAR Part 25 standards. Initial deliveries began in 1972.
Edwin P. Goosen has been named vice president-business development for Honeywell Defense Avionics Systems, Albuquerque, N.M. He was director of surface vehicle systems. Goosen succeeds Jeffrey Peterson, who has become vice president/location executive for the Albuquerque operation.
Aviation Week&Space Technology is compiling a book of key e-business and information technology applications used by manufacturers and operators of business, commercial and military aircraft, missiles and spacecraft.
National Reconnaissance Office Director Keith R. Hall has been asked to continue serving in that position in the Bush Administration. He has held the post since March 1997. The reappointment will make Hall one of the longest-serving NRO directors.
The smoldering debate over airline competition in the U.S. is heating up fast, courtesy of former Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater. Last week, in a policy address in New York just four days before the curtain came down on the Clinton Administration, Slater encouraged his successor-designate--Norman Mineta--to use the Transportation Dept.'s (DOT's) authority to promote competition more aggressively.
Legend Airlines' plan to resume service later this month was put on hold last week when money promised by investors failed to materialize. ``We were really surprised by the turn of events, but the lenders have indicated they still want to do the deal,'' said President/CEO T. Allan McArtor. Officials of the Dallas-based startup carrier had received approval Jan. 16 from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to borrow $19 million from Legend Funding Group (LFG). As part of that loan, another $1 million from LFG had been approved late in December.
Mark DeWitt has been named general manager of Able Engineering, Goleta, Calif. He was vice president/general manager of the Applied Solar Div. of Tecstar Inc.
Pentagon planners want defense expenditures to increase to 4.23% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product from today's 2.9%. With that, the U.S. Air Force wants $20-30 billion more annually. Of this amount, the service wants to spend an additional $8 billion per year for 11 years (2006-17) to rebuild its rapidly aging fleet of fighters, tankers, airlifters and reconnaissance/intelligence-gathering aircraft at a rate of 150-170 new aircraft per year.
The European Commission (EC) has approved the proposed merger between US Airways and United Airlines after the latter carrier agreed to divest some of its takeoff and landing slots at Munich and Frankfurt airports. EC authorities said that given United's close cooperation with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa, the merger would ``substantially reduce'' competition on transatlantic flights between the two slot-constrained German airports and Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Boeing Satellite Systems will begin production of the 11th UHF Follow-On (UFO) spacecraft after receiving authorization from the U.S. Navy (see rendering). The spacecraft, which is to provide global communications for the armed forces, is scheduled for launch in 2003. The satellite will also include a high-capacity EHF subsystem, which is intended to provide enhanced antijam telemetry, command, broadcast and fleet communications using advanced signal processing techniques.
In an attempt to help satisfy the growing need for aviation mechanics, technicians and management personnel, the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center (NAEC) has plans to double its existing space at the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex.
In its quest to detect and classify targets unable to be identified by current technology, the U.S. Air Force plans to demonstrate a hyperspectral imaging capability that could drastically increase the number of targets a U-2 or other airborne reconnaissance system can spot.
Eric Kirchner has become vice president-North America for Emery Worldwide, Redwood City, Calif. He succeeds John Zarras, who has retired. Kirchner was vice president-Western North America.
Russia is poised to sell S-300 air defense missiles to Iran, renewing concerns in the region about Tehran's efforts to boost missile technology efforts, including its Shahab-3 and -4 missile programs.
Incoming Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ``is a tough customer, but he's a friend of airpower,'' says a senior Air Force official who dealt with the Bush transition team. ``Rumsfeld's going to take a look at the Joint Strike Fighter program, get the thoughts of the advocates and the detractors and then call in the [Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force] service chiefs,'' he said.
t test engineers from the U.K.-based Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators for his work on the Concorde flight test team and during 20 years at Airbus Industrie. Iain McClelland, a flight examiner with the CAA, won the Brackley Memorial Trophy for his work with Associated Mission Aviation, a non-profit organization that provides food, fuel and medical supplies to remote villages in Indonesia. The Sir James Martin Award was presented to the Air Accident Investigations Branch team, which probed the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1998.
If the aerospace industry were being graded on its progress toward becoming lean, chances are it would score no higher than a C, and that might be generous. That's the assessment of James P. Womack, president of the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Deloitte Consulting partner David Fitzpatrick, two of the foremost authorities on developing and implementing lean production.
The Boeing Co. posted a strong fourth-quarter financial performance, led by the company's Space and Communications unit. Corporate-wide, earnings of $1.01 per share easily beat Wall Street's consensus estimate of 91 cents. That amount excludes $633 million in pretax, non-recurring charges but does include a lower tax rate. Overall sales were off 3%, to $14.7 billion. Commercial aircraft sales, while 13% lower than during the same period in 1999 due to production cutbacks from the peak in 1999, were still considered very healthy by Wall Street.
Now that the George W. Bush Administration is in place, there is much to be done on many fronts. The new team has the opportunity to address many issues involving the aerospace and defense industries, either botched by the Clinton Administration or just neglected. While every industry, private interest group or service sector is trying to lay claim to the attention of the new President and his team, the aerospace/defense sector has some unique problems, and thus challenges.
Northwest Airlines, already one of the top U.S. operators of Airbus equipment, has ordered 24 A330-300 widebody twin-engine aircraft for use on its transatlantic routes. Deliveries are scheduled from June 2003-06.
Patricia A. Mahoney (see photos) has been appointed vice president-regulatory policy, William E. Vaughan vice president for value-added reseller development, Jan W. Friis, Jr. , director of government affairs and Alan B. Renshaw director of spectrum management for Final Analysis, Lanham, Md. Mahoney was assistant general counsel for regulatory and trade policy for Iridium. Vaughan was executive director for global marketing and distribution at Orbcomm. Friis was chief of staff for several congressmen and Renshaw was manager of regulatory affairs for GE Americom.
The aerospace/defense industry announced or completed mergers and acquisitions valued at nearly $85 billion in 2000, compared with a previous record of $64 billion in the prior year, according to Defense Mergers&Acquisitions newsletter. The purchase of U.S. operations by European companies accounted for four of the top 25 deals.
EADS earned nearly $115 billion in orders last year, equivalent to five years of production. In addition to Airbus transports, the list included 5 billion euros ($4.75 billion) worth of helicopters, 3 billion euros of space hardware, and 1.6 billion euros of missile equipment. Co-CEO Philippe Camus said with the consolidation of Airbus sales into company accounts EADS edged ahead of Lockheed Martin as the second largest aerospace manufacturer, based on current exchange rates. He expects a launch of the A400M airlifter program in midyear.
Despite decades of failed reform, the Bush Pentagon is determined to shorten the time it takes to get new weapons into the field. Introducing weapons swiftly is paramount in a world of high-speed technological change, and the Pentagon's elephantine procurement system creates national security risks of its own, protests Defense Secretary-designate Donald H. Rumsfeld.
