First flight of the Boeing X-32A Joint Strike Fighter has set in motion a relatively focused test program aimed at fulfilling three specific government requirements for the two JSF contenders. The aircraft must demonstrate low-speed handling characteristics, short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) operations and the capability to meet multiple service requirements while maintaining a high degree of commonality among each contractor's JSF variants.
Russia's abject military retains ``islands of excellence'' in missiles, satellites and germ warfare research, despite 10 years of extreme reductions in its defense budget, according to a partisan congressional critique of the Administration's Russia policy.
The focus of many U.S. plans for beefing up the firepower of stealthy manned and unmanned aircraft--which require internal carriage of their weapons--is development of the small smart bomb (SSB).
BRITISH RAF FLIGHT CREWS will have displays that are much more readable in sunlight when AMLCDs (active matrix liquid crystal displays) replace their CRTs. This attribute is important for crews using video imagery from forward-looking infrared (Flir) sensors and from targeting pods--the Thermal Imaging and Laser Designator (TIALD) and the Convertible Laser Designator Pod (CLDP). The display, which BAE Systems calls TV-TAB, is monochromatic but paves the way for a full-color AMLCD upgrade, according to the company.
NASA has decided to recycle the structural test article for the International Space Station's Unity Node as the U.S. Propulsion Module. It will backstop Russian hardware to raise the station's orbit and maneuver it out of the way of orbital debris. Boeing will build the module, working under a planned change order to its prime station contract. The space agency halted work at Boeing on an earlier version when costs crept more than $200 million above the $540 million budget.
Roger N. Beachy has been named to the scientific advisory board of Washington-based Spacehab Inc. He is president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.
Orbcomm, the low-Earth orbit satellite data and messaging service based on simple satellites launched in stacks of eight, has filed for protection under U.S. bankruptcy law because it needs ``just a little more time and money'' to get its business off the ground.
The U.S. government has tacitly agreed not to interfere with the sale of the Israel Aircraft Industries' Green Pine fire control radar to India, according to Indian and Israeli officials. A contract for the radar--an element of the Israeli/U.S. Arrow anti-ballistic missile system that would be used as a stand-alone system by India, was signed more than a year ago. The U.S. is reportedly opposed, however, to the proposed sale of two IAI-developed Phalcon airborne early warning systems to India.
The FAA and the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority have signed an agreement to cooperate on the investigation and prevention of incidents regarding shipments of dangerous goods. The agreement clears the way for greater information sharing between the U.S. and U.K. on safety alerts, incident reports, investigations and enforcement actions.
Raytheon Co. has broken off negotiations with striking members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1505 and filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.
There's new fuel for the presidential campaign debate about national missile defense (NMD). The Cato Institute publishes a report concluding that one oft-discussed alternative to what the Pentagon has been working on is neither cheap nor easy. Writing for the think tank, consultant Charles V. Pena says dreams of a boost-phase NMD system on ships similar to the Navy Theater-Wide system are chimerical.
The FAA's grounding of Pro Air terminates a three-year effort by the Detroit airline to establish itself as a low-fare operator and to serve the city's big corporations with contractual scheduled service.
Even though French military procurement spending will remain flat next year, Defense Minister Alain Richard says the armed forces will stand by their commitment to new programs such as the European A400M airlifter.
The pilot and eight passengers who survived the ditching of a single-engine Antonov An-2 biplane in the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 19 while fleeing from Cuba to Miami will be allowed to stay in the U.S. The aircraft was headed west away from Cuba when it crashed about 300 mi. from the Florida coast. Moments after the An-2 takeoff from a rural airport, Cuban authorities notified the FAA that the aircraft had been hijacked. One survivor with serious injuries was airlifted to a Florida hospital. One Cuban man drowned.
James A. Dailly has become vice president-contracts, Walter Galloway vice president-sales, Cameron Mountenay vice president-business development and David Penhorwood vice president-international development, all for Bombardier Aerospace Regional Aircraft of Toronto. Dailly was vice president-sales for Asia-Pacific and Galloway general manager of asset management. Mountenay was controller and Penhorwood director of international contracts.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Denice D. Denton have been appointed to the scientific advisory board of ScienceWise.com, Gaithersburg, Md. Denton is dean of engineering at the University of Washington.
A Lockheed Martin-led team will modernize U.S. Air Force missile warning, air defense and space operations command and control systems under a contract award that could be worth approximately $1.5 billion.
Amsterdam-Schiphol's fifth runway is scheduled to be completed in late 2003. The Dutch government this month ratified the long-awaited plan to provide more runway capacity to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' main hub. In an agreement with environmentalists, aircraft will only approach the additional runway from the north to reduce noise. The need to build a fifth runway at Schiphol was discussed for the first time nearly 30 years ago, but decisions were repeatedly postponed.
Eutelsat has inaugurated a subsidiary in South America that will increase the presence of European satellite operators in the Americas. The affiliate, Eutelsat do Brasil, will allow Paris-based Eutelsat to provide video and Internet services to customers in Latin America, using its Atlantic Gate position at 12.5 and 8 deg. West. Two new spacecraft, Atlantic Bird 1 and 2, are to be launched to this slot next year. Eutelsat has filed for an operating license in Brazil, and already has licenses from the U.S. and Canada.
Boeing is mounting a ``very aggressive'' marketing campaign for its 747X aircraft with Singapore Airlines, according to BAE Systems' chief operating officer, Mike Turner. BAE is part of the Airbus Industrie consortium, which has been working to turn the carrier's expression of interest in the A3XX into a firm order. Singapore Airlines is a key target for both manufacturers.
Southern Belgium's Charleroi airport, dubbed Brussels South, expects to attract more traffic, including low-cost carriers and long-haul operators, after completing an additional passenger terminal in the next few years and extending the runway's length to 12,160 ft. from 8,360 ft. The Walloon region, which owns a controlling stake in Brussels South, plans to invest 112 million euros ($100.8 million) to revamp the airport.
Intelsat has ordered launches for three additional satellites--905, 906 and 907--from Arianespace. The decision followed an award from Eutelsat for three extra launches, raising the European firm's order book to 49 launches.
British Airways and KLM strategists are back to the drawing board after the two carriers' decision last week to call off merger talks underway since June. In a joint statement, the British and Dutch airlines said it was not possible to resolve the complex commercial, economic and regulatory issues involved in the proposed deal.
France Telecom and EuropeStar have established a joint venture, Stellat, to jointly offer broadcast and IP services in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. France Telecom will have a 70% share in the venture and EuropeStar, 30%. EuropeStar is jointly owned by Alcatel Spacecom and Loral Space&Communications. The first satellite, Stellat-1, will be built by Alcatel Space Industries and launched in April 2002 to replace a Telecom 2 spacecraft at 5 deg. W. Long. (AW&ST Sept. 11, p. 41).
