Thomson-CSF and Raytheon will soon announce a joint venture to build a ground-based radar and air-defense command and control system. The companies are considering making the announcement at Britain's Farnborough air show late in the month, but clearing the necessary regulatory hurdles could delay an official launch until later. The companies are looking at a system of mixed U.S. and French origins that would be marketed to NATO and other international clients worldwide. Much of the work has been completed and an organization and structure are already in place.
Air France and Delta are making a pitch for Thai Airways International, which is a founding member of Star Alliance, to join the new SkyTeam Alliance. The two airlines are to bid for the 10% of Thai that is to be offered by the government, which controls 93% of the airline. Air France uses Bangkok as its hub for Southeast Asia, while Thai has been publicly unhappy about the revenue it has been losing since Singapore Airlines joined Star Alliance.
Southwest Airlines plans to buy up to 290 Boeing 737-700 aircraft and has placed firm orders for 94 of the next-generation, twin-engine jets worth $4.5 billion. Initial deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2002.
The Deep Space 1 mission was threatened by the loss of its star tracker in November, but Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers have succeeded in reprogramming the telescopic Micas camera to take over the attitude determination function (AW&ST Jan. 31, p. 21). The new software started running June 8, and on June 21 it held the spacecraft in a constant Earth-point attitude while the ion engine was fired. The main difficulty with Micas is that it has a narrow 0.75-deg.
ENGINEERING SUPPORT SYSTEMS will supply avionics testing subsystems to the U.S. Navy that will test high-power RF transmitters, high-voltage power supplies and other critical components of radar and electronic warfare systems while operating at full power. Damaged or poorly functioning components show up quickly under those conditions. The Navy has placed two orders totaling $20.6 million in the past two months, with two more production options remaining.
Wall Street doesn't appreciate subtleties. A lot of very smart people will debate the details of how and why Iridium's plans for a worldwide satellite-based phone business unraveled: too expensive, too ahead of its time or simply not given a chance to mature; but investors aren't listening. From their point of view, there's $5 billion worth of assets, 66 satellites plus a few spares, uselessly turning their final few orbits before they're sent flaming through the atmosphere, literally up in smoke.
J-Squared LLC of Colorado Springs has developed a Quantitative Visualization system, essentially a collection of off-the-shelf software, to support testing at the U.S. Army's Yuma (Ariz.) Proving Ground. The PC-based system combines simulation, modeling and GIS map information with sensor data to provide a quantitatively precise visualization, or ``digital mirror,'' of tests. The easy-to-comprehend, visual QV format can be used to perform pre-test dry runs or fine-tune the test plan and instrumentation, according to James Fanning, a partner in the company.
Two recent problems with the vertical lift system on Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter design have been solved, company officials here say (AW&ST June 26, p. 44). The problem areas were in a gearbox where the drive shaft transferred power from the main engine drive shaft to the lift fan. Metal chips in a lift fan gearbox were the result of a 0.25-in. misalignment in two gears, which have been remeasured and adjusted. An overheating bearing was traced to the lack of a break-in period before the system was operated at full power.
There is little that is more critical to the satellite industry--indeed the whole communications industry--than the Federal Communications Commission. There is little of consequence to the industry that happens, for good or ill, which does not pass through the FCC. The commission makes decisions about domestic use of commercial spectrum, supplies critical expertise for U.S. government international spectrum negotiations, and is the lone agency representing the communications industry in debates about spectrum use within the U.S. government.
Korean Air is back. An aggressive program to revamp its safety record has paid handsome dividends--the troubled carrier officially marked its return to the aviation community last month by announcing its membership in the SkyTeam alliance, alongside partners Delta Air Lines, Air France and Aeromexico. The prodigal carrier also will return to a new home, Inchon airport.
Lockheed Martin has selected Boeing's 27mm. advanced gun for its Joint Strike Fighter design, the same weapon Boeing is using in its proposal. The gun is based on the BK27 built by Mauser-Werke Oberndorf of Germany. The Lockheed Martin decision means it will design the area where the gun will be housed around the Boeing weapon. However, Lockheed Martin hasn't made a firm commitment to use the gun in production, and could switch suppliers later.
The Pentagon's Inspector General and the U.S. Marine Corps are at odds over whether some of the 22 deficiencies the V-22 Osprey experienced during operational evaluation are ``major.'' The Marines obtained a waiver for the shortcomings going into OpEval, which triggered the IG investigation. The finding isn't expected to slow the program. Marine Corps officials stress that none of the waivers are related to safety of flight.
Jerry Caler has been named vice president-stations of Atlantic Coast Airlines. He was station director of US Airways' hub at Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport.
Malaysia Airlines has submitted a proposal to the Malaysian authorities for a 50% price hike on domestic fares, according to the airline. Apart from Indonesia, other Southeast Asian countries charge from 25-160% more for domestic sectors.
The 60-in.-dia. solid rocket motor for Boeing Delta IV Medium-plus boosters has completed its qualification program (see photo). The Alliant Techsystems graphite epoxy motors, designated GEM-60, will be used to augment thrust of a single Delta IV common booster core (CBC). Three versions of the Medium-plus booster for the commercial market are planned by Boeing, each distinguished by the number of SRMs attached to the CBC and the size of the second stage and payload fairing.
Boeing plans to lay off up to 900 employees at its Huntington Beach, Calif., facility in the next two years in a continuing effort to consolidate Delta launch vehicle production operations. Meanwhile, another Southern California company, Hughes Space and Communications, said it is searching for 800 engineers to support its new satellite orders, programs and payloads. Boeing is in the process of acquiring Hughes Space and Communications.
Investors and bankers got burned to the tune of $5 billion when the Iridium satellite telephone project collapsed. So does that mean they've given up on space? Hardly. If anything, investment capital has increased in space projects, especially those targeting red hot markets such as the Internet, broadband connections and multimedia content delivery. And Iridium's failure has been somewhat offset by the Internet revolution and the spectacular success of the direct-to-home satellite television industry.
PILOTS FOR REGIONAL AIRLINES and business aircraft soon will be able to review and practice operating Honeywell's FMZ-2000 family of flight management systems on a personal computer. FlightSafety International will provide the PC-FMS software, which will use authentic FMS aircraft code, for Honeywell.
Ronald C. Richman (see photos) has been promoted to vice president of the Manufacturing Div. of the Nordam Group, Tulsa, Okla., from general manager. Other recent promotions were: Donald R. Clark to vice president from general manager of Repair Div., Meredith Siegfried to manager of international operations for the Repair Div. from manager of strategic marketing development and Andrew Altendorf to vice president of World Aviation Associates from director of sales and marketing for the Manufacturing Div.
The erosion of the commercial satellite launch market has undercut one of the building blocks of the Defense Dept.'s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, but U.S. Air Force officials believe there still is sufficient demand to sustain deals with Boeing and Lockheed Martin to develop a family of launch vehicles.
The FAA last week said it wouldn't suspend Alaska Airlines from heavy maintenance operations but would continue ``stringent oversight'' of the carrier for 30 days.
NATO leaders are ``winning the argument over reduced budgets for defense in Europe,'' says the organization's Secretary General, Lord George Robertson, a long-time advocate of advanced military technology as Britain's minister of defense. ``There are very few countries now contemplating defense cuts and the majority of countries are actually reshaping their armed forces and indexing their expenditures to inflation or are involved in increases in defense expenditures,'' he said.
While being the only competitor in a particular marketplace might seem like an enviable position at first glance, Globalstar--the only one of the three low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite communications companies not to go belly up--would prefer to have some competition to keep its products on the cutting edge and its service providers sharp.
SMITHS INDUSTRIES' FOUR-DIMENSIONAL flight management system (FMS) has been certified by the FAA for an upgrade to the U.S. Air Force's E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post. It is the first of the company's FMS military applications to receive FAA certification. The FMS is being used in USAF, U.K. and Spanish C-130s, and the Navy plans to incorporate it into the E-6 Tacamo aircraft. The FMS is based on technology used in the Boeing 737 and will be provided in the next-generation series technology.
