In a surprise initiative, Snecma will acquire the Labinal group for an estimated 1.1 billion euros ($996 million), obtaining control of turboshaft engine manufacturer Turbomeca. It will resell Labinal's automotive business to Valeo.
French investigators will seek to determine causes for the May 2 accident, at Lyons-Antoine de Saint-Exupery airport, of a Learjet operated by U.K.-based Northern Executive Aviation. The aircraft, which was en route to Nice, on the French Riviera, had diverted to Lyons after the pilot-in-command reported an engine failure. It rebounded after a hard landing and the nose section was destroyed, killing the two flight crewmembers. Three passengers, including Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, suffered minor injuries.
Senior intelligence officials are starting to worry that their agencies' efforts to respond to the cries from tactical commanders for more information may be causing shortfalls in other areas. ``I hear the director of the CIA [George Tenet] saying we are devoting too much time to the tactical level,'' said a senior Pentagon official. Ever since the 1991 Persian Gulf war, military commanders have been pushing the intelligence community to be more responsive to their needs. But now that may have gone too far. Tenet is telling the Defense Dept.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Goes meteorological satellite launched May 3 on an Atlas-Centaur will be used initially for a novel series of tests with an older Goes spacecraft to obtain stereo images from geosynchronous orbit of Atlantic hurricanes and other storms.
British Airways was on the verge late last week of completing the sale of its 86% stake in loss-making French subsidiary Air Liberte to Taitbout Antibes BV, an investment company. Taitbout is controlled by Marine Wendell, which has a 51% stake in AOM, another French domestic carrier, along with co-owner SAirGroup. The sale, anticipated to generate about $70 million, eliminates a financial drain on BA, which was unable to make Air Liberte profitable in the face of increasing competition.
Eutelsat has confirmed that it will launch a 3-metric-ton telecom satellite, W4, on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIIA on May 15. The satellite, built by Alcatel Space, is one of a group affected by a thruster glitch currently being investigated by propulsion system manufacturer DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (AW&ST Apr. 24, p. 60). Nineteen of W4's 31 Ku-band transponders are to be switched into a high-power fixed beam over Russia. Sesat, another Eutelsat spacecraft orbited on Apr. 17 by a Proton booster, is also intended to serve the Russian and CIS market.
Bruno Sainjon has been named vice president-strategy, defense and space of Groupe SNPE. He was the French defense ministry's adviser for economic and financial affairs.
Alcatel Space has delivered the first of two digital audio payloads for XM Satellite Radio. To be integrated with a Hughes 702 satellite bus, the payload is to be launched later this year by a Sea Launch booster. The second payload is to be handed over later this month. XM plans to begin operations at the end of 2000 using a new operations center in Washington (AW&ST Apr. 24, p. 19).
The dwindling number of prime aerospace/defense contractors probably will shrink by at least one or two more players within the next year or two as consolidation pressures continue to shape the global aerospace/defense industry. That's in addition, of course, to the many deals that almost certainly will be struck among second- and third-tier players. ``There definitely are some elephant deals left,'' said Craig Oxman, managing director of Credit Suisse First Boston.
Defense Secretary William Cohen has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee not to mandate a six-month delay in moving the Joint Strike Fighter into its engineering and manufacturing development phase. The congressional committee was considering the move because of perceived immaturity in the program. Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) wanted to make sure all JSF prototypes are tested adequately before entering the next phase. That concern could be addressed more directly, Cohen wrote Warner.
Three major airlines are expected to join Emirates and sign commitments for A3XX mega transports in the next few weeks, according to Airbus Industrie executives.
China Airline President Sandy Liu says accident investigators have cleared Capt. Gerardo Lettich, 58, of blame for the crash of the Mandarin Airlines MD-11, which killed three passengers among 315 on board last Aug. 22 while landing at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport. Mandarin is a subsidiary of China Air and was operating the flight on its behalf from Bangkok to Taipei with a stopover at Hong Kong. The landing attempt was made with crosswind gusts of 55 kt. during Typhoon Sam. However, the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Dept.
Mirroring the frayed state of U.S./Russian relations, Moscow's latest national security concept shifts emphasis from internal to external threats, pointing to the West as its principal adversary.
Regional airlines added 28 firm orders worth a total of $411 million to manufacturers' already bulging regional jet orderbooks last week as the sector continues its vigorous growth spurt.
The U.S. Air Force has killed a key Joint-STARS radar upgrade as part of its latest budget deliberations. The Radar Technology Insertion Program (RTIP) was supposed to improve the radar so it could meet target tracking requirements for the next decade. Industry officials see several motivations for the budget action. One theory contends the money is needed to fully fund the F-22. A second holds that USAF officials believe Congress or the Defense Dept. will restore the funding because RTIP enjoys support in those camps.
Fairchild Aerospace and FlightSafety International have entered into an agreement in which FSI is to build and operate two FAA/Joint Aviation Authorities-certified Level D simulators for training in the 44-seat 428JET and 70-85-seat 728JET. Both aircraft are in early production stages. Sites for the simulators are yet to be determined.
ROCKWELL COLLINS INTENDS TO EXPAND its in-flight entertainment (IFE) capabilities by acquiring Irvine, Calif.-based Sony Trans Com which produces IFE systems for commercial aircraft. Collins estimates that adding the company to its Passenger Systems IFE business in Pomona, Calif., will generate annual revenues of $500 million by 2001.
Hector Alvidres has been appointed engineering manager of Keith Products in Dallas. He was head of testing for the T-6 Texan II for the Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., is flight testing an advanced cooling vest for crewmembers in high-performance aircraft. The Aircrew Personal Environmental Control System, or Apecs, uses 180 ft. of sewn-in plastic tubes as part of a vest that is worn near the skin. The tubes carry a mixture of 70% water and 30% denatured alcohol for anti-freezing protection, according to Nick Kiriokos, Apecs project lead.
The Royal Air Force has decided to dispense with the internally mounted cannon on Eurofighter, a move which will save the U.K. government 19 million pounds ($29.6 million) over the next 10 years, plus 3.5 million pounds a year in support costs during the operational life of the aircraft.
Australia has protested an incursion by armed Indonesian air force F-5Es against unarmed Royal Australian Air Force F-18As and a 707 refueling tanker south of Kupang, West Timor. The RAAF says its aircraft had arranged diplomatic clearances for their flight to Singapore for a joint military exercise with the Singaporeans, U.K., Malaysia and New Zealand as part of the Five Powers defense alliance. Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said they entered his country's airspace. The F-5s approached within 18 ft.
The trial of two Libyan nationals charged with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, more than 11 years ago began last week in a Scottish Court in the Netherlands. The long-awaited trial opened with prosecutors charging Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, both employees at the time of Libyan Arab Airlines, with conspiracy and the murder of 270 people on board the Boeing 747 and on the ground.
Billings for new light aircraft and business jets attained record first-quarter levels in the wake of increased shipments, exceeding $2.1 billion on deliveries of 613 aircraft. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA), the industry's previous high mark for first-quarter performance of more than $1.7 billion was set in the same period last year. In the first three months of this year, however, shipments by airframe builders rose 22.1% compared to 1999, and overall dollar value increased 12.3%.
