Russia's Vladimir Putin went to the Star City cosmonaut training center last week and, according to Russian news accounts, proclaimed that his country ``will fulfill all its commitments'' to the International Space Station (ISS). The acting president's views of the NASA-led station had not been known, and his government had approved a commercially oriented effort to reactivate the aging Mir station, using funds it is ``borrowing'' from those NASA sent to Moscow for the ISS.
Weak military air traffic management in Kosovo's airspace and the flight crew's lack of vigilance are cited by French investigators as probable causes for last November's accident, near Vociturn, of an ATR 42 twin turboprop operated on behalf of the U.N. All 24 persons on board were killed when the aircraft crashed near the top of a mountain (AW&ST Nov. 22, 1999, p. 19). According to the investigators' preliminary report, which was completed late last week, military controllers may have ``forgotten'' the ATR 42 during its holding pattern over a mountainous area.
Snecma last year made a $260-million net profit on $4.9 billion in revenues, including 71% in the export market, and booked orders valued at $4.6 billion. Sales in 2000 are expected to continue at a robust pace, according to company officials.
Australia's largest financial institution, AMP, has taken a 20% stake in Impulse Airlines of New South Wales, clearing the way for it to acquire five Boeing 717s. Three of the five are expected to be from Boeing's 717 test program. The AMP investment is said to be A$15 million ($9.75 million).
Long known for its launchers, Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is making a push into the remote sensing business with plans for a constellation of electro-optical and radar imaging satellites.
The Pentagon is calling for profit incentives to encourage the defense industry to pursue high-risk research in new technologies. Industry also needs greater latitude in allocating the independent research and development (IR&D) funds it invests in military-related projects, Undersecretary of Defense Jacques S. Gansler told a House panel last week.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems and Aerostructures division will supply two additional Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles, one synthetic aperture radar and engineering/manufacturing support, under a $71.9-million contract modification from the U.S. Air Force.
MiG Russian Aircraft Corp.'s Project 1.44 fighter technology demonstrator has made its long-delayed maiden flight. The 18-min. flight on Feb. 29 was conducted at the company's flight test facility at the Gromov Flight Test Institute in Zhukovsky, 30 mi. southeast of Moscow. After takeoff, the aircraft climbed to 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.) and flew two circles at about 600 kph. (375 mph.) above the airfield before landing.
FLS Aerospace has won a seven-year contract from Sabre Airways to provide technical services and heavy maintenance for five Boeing 737-800s that the carrier will introduce this year.
Congress and the Transportation Dept. are prodding the FAA to improve its performance along a broad front, from budget management to airport security. At both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, officials say the FAA needs to straighten out accounting procedures for research and development (R&D) funds, coordinate more closely with NASA and buck up the training of security officers.
The military services say combat readiness shows signs of improvement after years of decline, but the recovery has a long way to go. With two years of funding increases for spares and training in their pockets, the military's vice chiefs of staff, who are responsible for the services' day-to-day operations, say the key now is to sustain the spending hikes well into the future. Readiness pressures are expected to persist because a slew of old aircraft and other aging weapons require ever more spares as their service lives are extended.
The U.K. is set to decide as early as the end of the month on how to meet a short-term airlift requirement which could have major implications for a long-term solution.
To help offset the high cost of fuel, Federal Express Corp. will boost its fuel surcharge to 4% from 3% on most domestic and international services. The increase is effective Apr. 1.
U.S. Air Force officials worried about having enough money for additional new Boeing C-17s may receive some unexpected congressional help when the retirement of C-141 airlifters starts threatening the existence of Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units. Right now, only the ANG airlift unit in Jackson, Miss.--which retired Rep. G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.) protected for many years--is slated to get C-17s to replace its C-141s.
The job of top FAA managers is to deal with an endless stream of crises, some of their own making, but most not. Transportation Dept. Inspector General Kenneth E. Mead's description of the administrator's job fits other posts at the FAA as well: ``It's one perpetual treadmill of hot-button issues that call for reaction quickly.'' Mead has dealt with the agency in various posts for 15 years.
The liftoff of Atlantis in April on a logistics flight to the International Space Station will debut the shuttle's new glass cockpit, one of the most significant program upgrades since first launch 19 years ago. The new system will give shuttle commanders and pilots a major increase in situational awareness. This would be especially important for any launch abort cases, where additional unambiguous information, displayed more clearly, could mean the difference between life or death to a crew.
American aviation industry leaders are spurning a proposed compromise between the U.S. and European Union that would permit transports with hushkitted engines to continue serving Europe provided a more stringent noise-emissions standard is developed. U.S. and EU officials were optimistic early last week that the compromise, initial terms of which were proposed by the EU, could form the basis for a pact that would end a months-long standoff over how aircraft noise emissions are to be regulated.
Marwan Kashkoush has been promoted to president of the Hydraulics Group of the Parker Hannifin Corp. of Cleveland from president of Parker's hydraulics business in Europe. He succeeds Don Washkewicz, who is now corporate president/chief operating officer. E.R. (Jerry) Hall has become vice president-operations for the Hydraulics Group. He was president of the Latin America Group. Hall has been succeeded by A. Ricardo Machado, who was general manager of the Automation Div. in Brazil. John Oelslager has been named president of the Filtration Group.
Lufthansa has rejected a predatory pricing claim lodged with the European Commission by Go, British Airways' low-cost subsidiary. Go Chief Executive Barbara Cassani said Lufthansa ``systematically engaged in anticompetitive behavior'' to push it off the London Stansted-Munich route. Go plans to temporarily halt services on the route on Mar. 25 and claims Lufthansa planned to hike its fares on the route soon after. Lufthansa denied the charge, saying current prices will be retained until May.
The fifth drop test of NASA's X-38 series was canceled on Feb. 26 due to avionics problems while being carried by the B-52A mother ship. The test is tentatively rescheduled for Mar. 29.
Raytheon Co. has begun selling $2 billion worth of newly issued bonds in privately-negotiated transactions. Proceeds will be used to reduce short-term debt and improve the company's capital structure. Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baaa2 rating to the debt offering, with a negative outlook. The latter reflects uncertainty about how well management has addressed problems with the company's overall performance as well as its weakened balance sheet.
There may be ways to accelerate the fielding of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) missile defense program if the early test phase is successful, said Lt. Gen. Robert Kadish, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Office. The Army and BMDO have just begun engineering and manufacturing development of Thaad, with the goal of fielding a system around 2007. But if the initial EMD flight tests are successful, Thaad could reach the field as much as 18 months sooner, he said. Two paths are being looked at.
