With the blessings of the Swedish parliament, the nation's military, led by the air force, is turning itself into an information-based, net-centric operation that relies on the collection and analysis of data and only the very pointed and optimized use of force.
American Airlines has purchased an additional six Boeing 777-200 Increased Gross Weight aircraft and three 737-800 transports, worth about $1 billion at list prices. Deliveries are scheduled to start in late 2001 and be completed by July 2002. The new 777s will expand Dallas-based American's 777 fleet to 43, and the 737s will bring its 737 fleet to 108. Regional airline affiliate American Eagle exercised options on six Embraer regional jets, with deliveries due in 2002. The exact model has not been specified.
James Robinson has been appointed president of Pratt&Whitney Aftermarket Services, East Hartford, Conn. He was president of the Fairchild Dornier Corp. in Germany and had been president of the Learjet unit of Bombardier Aerospace.
Dr. Thomas J. Tredici has won the Louis H. Bauer Founders Award of the Houston-based Aerospace Medical Assn., for contributions to aerospace medicine and the association. Also honored were: Jill Barclay, the Mary T. Klinker Award for creating a post-graduate short course in aviation nursing; U.S. Navy Cdr. Jennifer S. Berg, the Raymond F. Longacre Award for accomplishments in the psychological and psychiatric aspects of aerospace medicine; Dr. Jeffrey A. Jones, the Julian E. Ward Memorial Award for skipping from resident to NASA flight surgeon; and David G.
Senior Pentagon officials are putting financial pressure on Raytheon and Northrop Grumman by withholding the funds to upgrade the E-8 Joint-STARS long-range, ground-surveillance radar aircraft until the two companies reach agreement on how to tackle the improvement program together.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Edward G. Anderson, 3rd, has been nominated as deputy commander/chief of staff for U.S. Space Command and vice commander-in-chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command. He would succeed Navy Vice Adm. Herbert A. Browne, who is scheduled to retire Oct. 1.
Concorde's crash is expected to compel the French government to enforce urbanization regulations near airports and decisively pave the way for an all-new international hub set to complement Roissy/Charles de Gaulle. The July 25 crash into a hotel could have a dramatic impact on France's long-term airport strategy. In addition to mounting criticisms centered on aircraft noise and emissions, environmentalists and local residents are now concerned by safety-related issues.
Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $21.3-million contract with options from the U.S. Army for sales of Stinger air defense missiles, launchers and support equipment to Egypt and Italy.
Matthew G. McGarvey has been appointed vice president/corporate controller, Deborah A. Cook, director of revenue accounting, Margaret W. Studt, director of knowledge management, Michael J. Morrison, director of corporate finance and business affairs and John A. Kramer director of partner payments, all for XM Satellite Radio of Washington. McGarvey was a financial executive with Andersen Consulting, while Cook was a senior manager of planning and analysis for Bell Atlantic.
The history of unmanned aerial vehicles doesn't exactly inspire confidence. More have failed than succeeded, and the cost has been considerable. But two UAVs, Predator and Global Hawk, are demonstrating unprecedented capabilities and indicating a dramatic departure from the past. What is making the difference? Two things--process and people.
Astrotech Space Operations has received a $479,600 contract from NASA to support launch site payload processing services for Earth Observing-1 and Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C Earth-observation satellites for orbit via Delta expendable launch vehicles.
Boeing Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears, focusing as much on operational improvements as cash management, intends to pursue a ``major jump'' in quality across the corporation in the next 4-5 years. While declining to divulge just how big a gain is being targeted, Sears noted that in January 1999 when he still headed the company's St. Louis-based military aircraft business, he established as a goal a 90% improvement in manufacturing quality. After 18 months, that program is on track, he said.
Major business jet manufacturers expect demand for their products to remain robust for the foreseeable future, with sales and backlogs sustaining healthy levels of growth.
GE Aircraft Engines has won an order valued at more than $800 million from the International Lease Finance Corp. to supply GE-90 engines for 12 Boeing 777-200ERs, GE-90115B engines for eight 777-300s and CF6-80E1 powerplants for three Airbus A330-200s.
Southwest Airlines has terminated both pilots involved in the Mar. 5 crash of a Boeing 737 at Burbank, Calif. Although the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its investigation, preliminary data indicates the airplane was flying too fast on final approach and landed too far down the runway to stop safely. The 737 smashed through a fence at the end of the runway and was damaged beyond repair. The pilots, whose names were not available, were released by the airline on July 17 after completion of an internal investigation into the accident by Southwest.
The British Aviation Insurance Group is acquiring Associated Aviation Underwriters Inc., a U.S-based aviation and satellite insurance syndicate manager, in a deal which is expected to take effect in September pending regulatory approval. Plans call for the two groups to be integrated into a single unit by Jan. 1. While both trading names will be retained, the umbrella holding company is to be named Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers Ltd.
The U.K. is looking for an ``off-the-shelf'' solution to arm its light and rapid reaction forces with a new antitank missile after a decision to pull out of the pan-European, medium-range Trigat project. Britain agreed last year to begin production of the MR Trigat, which is already 10 years behind schedule, joining France and Germany. Belgium and the Netherlands have yet to sign and the lack of progress in moving the program into production meant further, ``unacceptable'' delays, British defense officials said.
President Vladimir Putin moved to assert his government's control over the military last week when he dismissed six senior military commanders. Among those dismissed was Col. Gen. Anatoly Sitnov, chief of weapons systems at the Ministry of Defense. Sitnov has clashed with Vice Premier Ilya Klebanov who has advocated more civilian government control over weapons system planning, development and procurement. The move also follows Putin's intervention in a dispute between senior military officials over funding priorities for conventional and strategic forces.
Reconnaissance satellite monitoring of China is a growing concern for U.S. intelligence operations, national security managers said. There are questions in the imaging community about whether enough resources will be available in the future for critical Chinese surveillance and analysis. Managers directly involved with U.S. recon satellite tasking and image analysis spoke to Aviation Week&Space Technology on background. The House Armed Services Committee has released a report detailing significant Chinese military modernization.
Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge has been promoted to vice president from managing director of airport operations and Barbara King to vice president from managing director for reservations of Trans World Airlines.
