IRAN HAS INTENSIFIED ITS WATCH over the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf. Fiberglass body target drones have been newly employed to keep track of the fleet along with the usual allotment of U.S.-built P-3 Orions and patrol boats. Iranian officials said the UAVs' use was in retaliation for U.S. spying on their war games in the area, which involved 100 vessels. The aircraft carrier Nimitz arrived in the gulf last week, two weeks ahead of schedule.
Regional aircraft makers are jockeying for a slice of the 70-seat jet market while keeping an eye over their shoulders on Boeing as forecasts indicate a growing shift toward larger turbofan-powered aircraft.
U.S. authorities say Russian organized crime appears to be steering clear of nuclear theft and smuggling, but warn that the potential for criminal involvement is serious and immediate. They also warn of ``immense gaps'' in U.S. intelligence on Russian crime organizations and of the increasing likelihood that such groups will find their way into the Russian military. All agree the threat should be accorded a higher priority by the Clinton Administration.
THE ``THRUSTSSC'' JET-POWERED CAR has broken the sound barrier four times on land, and tentatively set an official land speed record of Mach 1.017 at Black Rock Desert, Nev. The U.K. team, led by Richard Noble, is the first to definitively drive supersonically and is returning home to savor their victory (AW&ST Oct. 6, p. 28). Driver Andy Green set the record on Oct. 15 with a north run at 9:09 a.m. reaching an average speed of 759.3 mph. over a mile, or Mach 1.015. The required run in the other direction was made at 10:04 a.m. reaching 763.0 mph., or Mach 1.020.
Construction of a new, 20-gate terminal at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Tex., is proceeding toward its scheduled opening for passenger traffic in May 1999. Another five gates would be added later that year. The city is spending about $537 million to convert the former Bergstrom AFB into its primary commercial airport. When the new facility begins operating, Austin's Robert Mueller Municipal Airport is scheduled to be closed, but plans call for converting it to non-aviation activities.
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., is the chairman of the Committee on Science of the U.S. House of Representatives. A Republican, he has represented the Ninth Congressional District of Wisconsin since 1979. Although his state has little direct interest in space, he has been a long-time supporter--and friendly critic--of NASA.
Richard T. Dagiel has been promoted to manager of corporate quality from assistant to the vice president-engineering of the NTN Bearing Corp., Mount Prospect, Ill.
The Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn, the largest, most complex and expensive planetary flight ever undertaken by the U.S. and Europe, is outbound on what promises to be one of the great explorations of the early 21st century. Cassini is this week already 2 million mi. from Earth, essentially falling toward the Sun and the inner solar system on the first leg of a circuitous 2.2-billion-mi. voyage to Saturn following a precise launch Oct. 15 and initial checkout of the plutonium powered vehicle in deep space.
Boeing is scheduled to begin operational tests of two Rolls-Royce RB211-524G/H-T engines from Cathay Pacific's fleet this month. Retrofit by the joint Cathay and Rolls-Royce engine affiliate, Hong Kong Aero-Engine Services Ltd., the -524G/H-T program replaces the engine's complete high-pressure system with Trent 700 technology. Besides reducing engine weight by 200 lb., the modification is expected to better fuel burn by 2% and lower NOX emissions by about 40%. It also improves temperature margins so the engine can operate about 60C hotter than a standard 524G/H.
Easier satellite programming is the aim of Pacific Sierra Research and ILOG Inc., which have combined their scheduling software products for use with Satellite Tool Kit's mission planning software. Pacific Sierra produces a commercial application package for the space industry called the Generic Resource, Event and Activity Scheduler (Greas). ILOG Solver and ILOG Scheduler are 2D and 3D data visualization tools.
Spencer Dickerson, who was executive vice president of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives (AAAE), has become executive director of the International Assn. of Airport Executives (IAAE). Will James, who was the AAAE director of accreditation and training, has been appointed IAAE managing director for Canadian affairs.
U.S. AIR TRAFFIC was disrupted Oct. 15 when overnight removal of ceiling tiles left the operations room of the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (Tracon) facility covered with irritating dust and mold. Controllers reporting for the morning shift reported a variety of breathing and skin ailments, forcing the facility to use a skeleton crew to manage traffic into and out of the metropolitan New York area. That resulted in more than 1,000 cancellations and flight delays at the area's three main airports and more than 200 delays to other U.S.
An optical method to measure the state-of-charge of lead-acid batteries has been developed at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. The system may have defense and aerospace applications as it is nonsparking and not susceptible to electromagnetic interference. The technique measures the change in battery sulfuric acid concentration through the optical absorption of the electrolyte at certain absorption peaks of pure water, according to Jonathan D. Weiss, senior technical staff member.
In a long-overdue consolidation initiative, France will form a defense/ space ``national champion'' centered on Thomson-CSF. The government has decided to combine the state-controlled Thomson-CSF defense electronics company with Dassault Electronique, Aerospatiale's satellite branch and Alcatel-Alsthom's military telecommunication/satellite businesses. The Lagardere group's rival proposal to join forces with Thomson-CSF, backed by British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA), was rejected.
Stephen Henderson has been named vice president/general manager of the Component Services Div. of BFGoodrich Aerospace's Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Group, Everett, Wash. He was general manager of sales and marketing for GE Engine Services.
To justify Navy aircraft carriers, Rear Adm. Daniel J. Murphy, Jr., the director of surface warfare, notes that the Air Force tactical fighter wing in Saudi Arabia can't be scrambled just any old time the U.S. wants. ``The Saudi government is sensitive to when . . . aircraft flying from its territory can respond,'' he says. Carrier-based aircraft, he reminds, can fly from international waters without foreign restrictions. Murphy wants a minimum of 12 carriers and a new one built every five years to maintain the industrial base.
Putting unmanned combat aircraft on cruisers and destroyers appeals to Murphy. But first the Navy wants a UAV on ships for gunfire targeting, battle damage assessment, communications relay and over-the-horizon reconnaissance. Murphy is ``very excited'' about a vertical-takeoff UAV demonstration the service has on tap next year.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman's Commercial Aircraft Div. are implementing an Accurate Fuselage Assembly program using a three-dimensional, digital database to build fuselage panels for the Boeing 747 that eventually will eliminate ``hard'' tooling and reduce cycle time and costs.
A SPECIAL ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIES ASSN. STUDY raised a red flag on one area of growing importance for the military--information superiority. Despite recent emphasis on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) procurements, the study concluded that the Pentagon will not be able to achieve its information superiority goals by relying on commercial computing and communications systems alone. Unique military technologies will have to be developed quickly to gain the advantages that the Joint Chiefs of Staff envision, according to T.K. Jones of Boeing, who headed the study.
Six-year-old Transaero Airlines expects to post its first profit in 1997, prevailing despite Russia's economic upheaval. Pretax profits for Russia's first privately owned carrier are projected to reach nearly $60 million by year's end. Debt is about $30 million and is declining for the first time since Transaero began service, with nonscheduled flights, in 1991. Its tiny 14-aircraft fleet consists entirely of U.S.-built Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft, except for one Russian-made Ilyushin Il-86.
