The U.S. Air Force recently activated a ``space aggressor'' squadron to emulate enemy tactics that could disrupt U.S. and allied combat operations by leveraging commercial space and information resources. The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron, which is part of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever AFB, Colo., will participate in military exercises, playing the role of an enemy using open-source space and information assets against ``blue'' or friendly forces. It is divided into four functional flights--Imagery Exploitation, Electronic Warfare, Red Attack and Space Control.
Two microsatellites developed by the U.K.'s Defense Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) are to act as testbeds for more than two dozen emerging technologies and components while operating in the harsh environment posed by geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The aerospace and air transport industries in recent years have played a major role in transforming the economic climate in France, chiefly because the country has embraced globalization and tapped market forces within the private sector, according to Felix G. Rohaytn, departing U.S. ambassador to France. He cited Air France, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., and Airbus Industrie as thriving enterprises. ``It is healthy for Europe to have a strong defense industry as long as it is open to cooperation as well as competition with U.S.
THE NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND AUTHORIZED low-rate initial production of the integrated mechanical diagnostics health and usage monitoring system (IMD HUMS) for the Marine Corps' CH-53E and MH-53E helicopters. The system monitors rotor track and balance, engine performance, gearbox and drive train health and is a product of BFGoodrich Aerospace, Integrated Avionics Systems.
Philippe de Pooter has been appointed director of sales and marketing at Brussels-based Virgin Express. He succeeds Paul Sies, who has been promoted to director of planning and strategy.
Senior Air Force officials are worrying about surprises they may experience in coming years as the current fleet of aircraft ages with few replacements in sight. ``We have never worked with a geriatric fleet,'' says Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan. He claims that even if all modernization programs now planned are executed, the average age of the service's aircraft will reach 30 years about 2019. That trend, in part, is driving the Air Force's research spending, which is increasingly focused on how to keep old aircraft flying and operationally relevant.
NASA's X-38 Vehicle 131R did a slow, 360-deg. roll after release from its B-52 carrier aircraft on Nov. 2. It was the first free flight of the vehicle, which automatically stabilized under the preprogrammed deployment of a drogue chute and made a successful landing under parafoil on a dry lakebed runway, as scheduled, at Edwards AFB, Calif. The vehicle sustained no damage in the test. Project officials said they would have to do some trouble-shooting to figure out why the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) prototype rolled at an estimated average rate of about 20 deg. per sec.
Spanish flag carrier Iberia and domestic rival Air Europa are discussing a potential merger. Majorca-based Air Europa, with a fleet of 50 aircraft, is owned by the Gobalia travel group. The negotiations may delay plans by Spanish state holding company SEPI for a stock market flotation of 54% of Iberia planned by the end of the year. SEPI previously sold off 40% of Iberia to a group of investors including British Airways, which took 9%.
Robert M. Reeder has been named senior vice president-information and communications services and Gregg A. Saretsky has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-marketing and planning of Alaska Airlines. Reeder has been director of development for specialized internal data processing systems.
China's leaders have hardened their view that the country's international situation is deteriorating and distanced themselves from more positive assessments made only two years ago, when they said military crises were on the wane. Moreover, the government's third white paper, ``China's National Defense in 2000,'' has fingered U.S. policies as the culprit. The result, say regional analysts, will be an increase in China's military spending to improve the country's ability to defend itself.
The European space agency says extremely precise orbital injection has enabled engineers to double the initial service life of Cluster II to four years. Cluster II, a quartet of spacecraft intended to investigate the interaction of solar winds with the Earth's magnetosphere, was launched by a Soyuz/Fregat booster on July 16 (AW&ST July 24, p. 75; July 10, p. 31). Its package of 11 instruments is to be commissioned in December.
Jupiter will be the subject of studies by two NASA spacecraft during the next few months, as Galileo and Cassini join forces to observe the planet's moons, atmosphere, magnetosphere and thin rings. Galileo has been orbiting Jupiter since late 1995 and is to pass close to the moon Ganymede on Dec. 29. Cassini, launched in 1997 on a long and complex trajectory to Saturn, is scheduled to make a gravity-assist flyby of Jupiter on Dec. 30. Cassini's closest approach to the planet will be at a distance of 6 million mi.
The U.S. Navy is juggling many technical and operational options for unmanned aircraft, but it contends that this reflects a broad interest in such aircraft that is tempered by slim budgets. However, there is no confusion about the basic need for such vehicles. The service wants, in this order: -- A shorter range tactical UAV for reconnaissance of the battlefield and designating targets. Currently, the Navy is developing the vertical takeoff UAV (VTUAV), based on a helicopter airframe, for that mission.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans denied the Allied Pilots Assn. a delay in paying a $45.5-million fine to American Airlines. The penalty was levied against the union for a ``sick-out'' in February 1999 that cost the carrier more than $220 million in lost revenues. When and how the fine will be paid has not been determined, according to an APA official. In addition, union President Rich LaVoy and Vice President Brian Mayhew resigned late last month after pilots rejected a one-year contract extension in September.
William L. Baker has been named chief scientist for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M. He was senior scientist for the directorate's High Power Microwave Div.
Data from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board indicate that the same percentage of helicopters were involved in midair collisions during the 1990s as were airplanes, and that vigilance in the cockpit remains the first defense against colliding with another aircraft.
Louis Larouche has been appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of Mindready Solutions Inc. of Montreal. He was managing director for professional services for Bell Canada.
Scott Reichhelm has been appointed regional vice president-aircraft sales for TAG Aviation, White Plains, N.Y. He was vice president-aircraft sales for Jet System, also of White Plains.
An Ariane 4 has orbited the first satellite for an Alcatel-Loral joint venture, EuropeStar. It was the 59th straight successful launch for the booster. EuropeStar will be located at 45 deg. E. Long. where it will serve Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and southern Africa. The venture started business this summer with a satellite provided by Korean Telecom, Koreasat-1. Renamed EuropeStar B, this spacecraft is operating at 47.5 deg. E.
Kathy Kopf (see photos) has been named color systems manager and Mary Keefer operations manager for the aerospace service and training facility of Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings, Andover, Kan. Kopf was color group manager, while Keefer was customer service manager.
Robert Lee Murrer has become director of product development for Carco Electronics of Pittsburgh. He was chief engineer of the Kinetic Kill Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulator at Eglin AFB, Fla.
