The U.S. military is increasingly likely to confront directed-energy (DE) weapons in combat situations, but Pentagon officials believe truly tactically relevant weapons of this type are still far from being fielded.
Jean Pierson, former managing director of Airbus Industrie, has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from The Wings Club of New York. He was cited for his contribution to the global commercial airline industry, including the launch of the A320, and positioning Airbus as a leader in aircraft manufacturing.
A new $200-million U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin DSCS III Defense Satellite Communications Spacecraft is undergoing checkout in geosynchronous orbit following a successful launch Oct. 19 from Cape Canaveral on board an International Launch Services/Lockheed Martin Atlas-Centaur. The satellite will eventually be parked over the eastern Atlantic.
Robert Davies (see photo) has become chief executive of Druck Holdings plc., Leicester, England. He was vice president/general manager of the sensors component division of TRW.
The National Air and Space Museum has acquired a Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicle for its collection. The little reconnaissance aircraft--its wingspan is just 17 ft.--has been in service for 15 years. An interesting footnote in the vehicle's career is that it may be the first unmanned system to which enemy troops surrendered. A video camera on one of the drones, launched off the battleship USS Wisconsin during the Persian Gulf war in 1991, captured images of Iraqi soldiers waving a white flag at the Pioneer.
As part of an effort to strengthen the naval component of the European rapid reaction force, France is planning major upgrades to its frigate and amphibious assault ship fleets but remains undecided about a second aircraft carrier group.
DDC-I of Phoenix has introduced a Very Smooth Migration (VSM) package to support flight-critical software when firms decommission their DEC VAX hardware, which is now being phased out by Compaq. The theory is that customers' operating systems and applications represent a far greater financial and intellectual investment than their underlying hardware. . . . SkyMall Inc., which reports reaching 500 million passengers with its inflight catalog, says it's time to tap into e-mail. It's joined inflightonline to create an inflight e-mail catalog. . . . Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CLAIMS great success in applying commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products, architectures and acquisition-reform concepts to the computer-replacement program for the Joint-STARS aircraft, which is entering the forward and retrofit phase. The 37-month, $140-million program to replace the general-purpose computers, workstations and paired-wire networks with COTS products began in 1997 with goals to minimize total life-cycle cost (LCC), get the benefits from COTS, establish a truly open architecture for future upgrades and technology insertion.
TAG Aviation is moving ahead with plans to develop Farnborough airport as a business aviation center, following approval by local authorities. Plans for the airfield, home of the biennial Farnborough air show, include doubling the number of air movements from 14,000 to 28,000 per year, including 1,500 movements for larger aircraft such as the Airbus A319 and Boeing Business Jet.
With chances for the rapid liberalization of postal services seemingly more remote than ever, parcel express companies are counting on legal action to maintain a level playing field between the two industries. Conflict between the two sectors first developed in the mid-1990s, when the Dutch post office acquired parcel express operator TNT and Deutsche Post AG (DPAG) acquired half of DHL with Lufthansa. In October, DPAG moved to gain full control of DHL (AW&ST Sept. 25, p. 70).
Third-quarter earnings of U.S. major airlines displayed a stark split between winners and losers. Rising fuel costs were largely to blame for disappointing results. Fuel price hedging eased the cost problem for most of the profitable carriers, but analysts are beginning to question what may happen after hedges come to an end in 2001.
Boeing, Northrop Grumman and United Technologies all reported strong third-quarter earnings, as productivity gains continue to take hold and companies press for higher operating margins. ``The common thread here is the improved management by these companies of their portfolio of businesses,'' JSA Research analyst Paul Nisbet observed. ``Instead of focusing on growth by acquisition, their primary attention is on programs with good growth potential and pruning the ones that don't fit.''
Computer Sciences Corp. has won a five-year, $36-million contract to provide test support services for the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirkland AFB, N.M.
Charter operator American Trans Air has contracted with Rolls-Royce to upgrade the RB211-524B4 engines on its fleet of 19 L-1011 Tristars. The three-year modification package, worth $63 million, includes an enhanced combustor and improved high- and low-pressure turbines, as well as spare engines.
MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS)-based photonic switches will help boost bandwidth in all-optical networks of the future, according to analysts at Cahners In-Stat Group. Currently fiber-optic networks are slowed by converting photons to electrons for switching, and then back. Over 24 companies are working on photonic switches, and some are already shipping products, the company says. It forecasts photonic switches will be the first MEMS devices to pass $1 billion in sales by 2004.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. WILL OFFER THE SANDERS AN/ALQ-204 Matador infrared countermeasures system as an option/retrofit on the company's long-range Gulfstream V business jet. Six Gulfstream IVSPs have already been equipped with the system, which is designed to protect the airplane from IR-guided missiles.
The South African government has chosen BAE Systems as the preferred bidder for a minimum 20% stake in Denel's aerospace and ordnance businesses. Negotiations on exact equity percentage and the final structure of the deal are to be completed by the end of the year. Denel already has a close relationship with BAE Systems and Sweden's Saab following South Africa's decision to purchase Gripen and Hawk aircraft.
El Al's board of directors has appointed David Hermesh as president of the Israeli carrier pending government approval. Hermesh, an executive at the Israeli Discount Bank, succeeds Joel Feldschuh, who resigned in September.
RANNOCH CORP. WILL INSTALL an airport surface monitoring and surveillance system to prevent runway incursions at the Naval Air Station North Island, in the San Diego area. Rannoch has developed a number of different technologies for advanced surface movement guidance and control systems, including multilateration, automatic dependent surveillance- broadcast, radar data fusion and aircraft inductive-loop surveillance systems.
Scott J. Paige has been appointed executive vice president/head of the special finance group for aircraft, aerospace and satellite businesses for the Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp. in New York. Angela Bozorgmir has become a vice president in that group.
Boeing plans to acquire Hawker de Havilland--which had revenues of more than $92 million last year--through its Boeing Australia Ltd. subsidiary. Hawker de Havilland, which designs and builds commercial and military aircraft structures, has manufacturing operations in Sydney and Melbourne. The company is being acquired by Boeing from Tenix Holdings International Pty Ltd., a privately held company.
Austrian Airlines' plans for its membership in the Star Alliance are in question following a European Commission letter expressing ``serious doubts'' about the carrier's application for exemption from European Union competition rules for close cooperation with Lufthansa and SAS.
The Globalstar satcom system will provide satellite-based voice and data communication for the Arnav Aeronautical Network (AAN). Arnav Systems plans to offer general aviation cockpit services such as satellite telephony and data services, graphical weather services, e-mail messaging and cockpit Internet connections. The initial market envisioned for such services includes cargo aircraft, emergency services, search and rescue, government agencies and other aircraft with long-range telephony and data link requirements.
The market for commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) through the course of the next decade is likely to grow to about $44 billion by 2010 from around $31 billion this year, according to analysts. So there is no doubt that somebody is going to make a lot of money in the MRO business. The question is, who?
