The U.S. Army has modified hard landing techniques and added reinforced parts to its 11/2-year-old primary training helicopter fleet to halt cracking of an interior bulkhead. Inspectors found rippling of the exterior skin, paint chipping and ``cracks in the [landing gear's] aft cross-tube support area'' on some of the 87 Bell TH-67 Creeks, according to a senior Bell Helicopter official. The training helicopters are assigned to the Army Aviation Center at Ft. Rucker, Ala.
PREDICTING MISSILE STRIKES HAS IMPROVED since Desert Storm, when alerts revealed which countries Iraqi missiles were headed for, but not their precise targets. Now two prototype Joint Tactical Ground Stations are operating in Germany and South Korea. The latter ``provides support for the three [infrared early warning] satellites looking at that Peninsula [primarily North Korea],'' a senior Ballistic Missile Defense Organization official revealed.
NO ROGUE STATE WILL HAVE a long-range missile capable of hitting the U.S. before 2005. That is the latest estimate given to a House panel by the head of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Army Lt. Gen. Malcolm O'Neill. More worrisome in the short run, O'Neill said, would be the clandestine purchase of a system like the Russian SS-25 ballistic missile. A modified SS-25 is being marketed as a commercial space vehicle, but it failed after a launch late last month, wiping out Russian, Mexican and Israeli satellites (AW&ST Apr. 3, p.27).
RUSSIA HAS BETTER defenses against tactical ballistic missiles at least until the upgraded PAC-3 Patriot is fielded, senior Ballistic Missile Defense Organization officials told members of the House Committee on National Security. The Russian SA-12, which has been offered for export, has ``a bigger, hotter missile, designed for the ATBM role,'' a BMDO official said. ``I wouldn't consider it equal in terms of cost and operating effectiveness to the [U.S.-built] Patriot,'' the official said. However, the Russian system was designed for two types of missiles.
LOOK FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT OF IPTN'S N250 twin-turboprop on Aug. 17. Officials of the state-owned Indonesian manufacturer will say only that the first flight is to take place in July or August, about three months later than originally planned when the 60-seat aircraft rolled out last November. So why bet on Aug. 17? Because it is Indonesia's independence day and long-time watchers of IPTN chief H.J. Habibie note he is heavy on symbolism.
S.M. Akram has been promoted to Texas regional sales manager of SimuFlite, Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. He was Central Region sales manager.
Night operations at Garrett Aviation Services' Islip, N.Y., facility include towing a Cessna Citation 3 (foreground) while a Falcon 50 is prepared for flight in the hangar.
Orbital Sciences Corp. launch of a science spacecraft and two Orbcomm communications satellites for initial testing marks the start of the company's plans to establish a 26-satellite worldwide personal communications system. The remainder of the spacecraft in the Orbcomm constellation are scheduled to be placed in orbit on Pegasus boosters over the next two years, with up to eight of the 89-lb. satellites to be lofted by a single booster. A circular orbit 740 km. in altitude was the target, and project officials said the orbit achieved was 738 X 739 km.
McDONNELL DOUGLAS CORP. has approved production of the 7- or 8-seat MD600N multirole light helicopter. Plans call for completing FAA certification in 1996, with initial deliveries beginning almost simultaneously. The MD600N is a derivative of the MD520N, and features a six-blade main rotor and a more powerful turboshaft engine. Two aircraft will perform an accelerated flight test program.
Imagine U.S. and allied troops embarking on an intricate, large-scale combat operation, the success of which depends on the element of surprise and critical timing. Land, sea and air forces are involved. Now imagine some unique rules of engagement: Enemy aircraft are allowed to fly above these forces, transmitting images back to their command centers. Reconnaissance aircraft of noncombatant nations and companies also are allowed free passage, providing militarily useful information to any buyers.
Raytheon Co. will realize a long-standing goal later this month when it purchases E-Systems, Inc., one of the U.S. aerospace/defense industry's most elusive acquisition targets of the last two years. ``We've had E-Systems on our radar screen for a long time,'' Raytheon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dennis J. Picard told AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY. ``The problem was they weren't for sale.'' That changed last week, when the two companies announced they had reached an agreement. The purchase price is $2.3 billion or $64 a share.
USAF GEN. JOHN M. LOH would like to buy 200-300 conventional air-launched cruise missiles and ``400 or so'' Have Nap standoff missiles to fill short-term needs as a result of the cancellation of the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile. But the head of Air Combat Command also sought congressional support for longer term efforts to find a replacement for TSSAM. Loh said the Pentagon has set and briefed to industry the operational requirements for a TSSAM replacement which would not be available until 2000-2002.
The European Space Agency has been forced to delay until late this year a formal commitment to participate in the international space station with the Columbus module and Ariane 5 resupply (AW&ST Apr. 3, p. 29). Although Germany last month was close to program approval, France, Italy and several smaller ESA member states are declining to move on about $2.3 billion in station related funding until their top officials get a look at the station's sticker price at a ministerial meeting in October.
Albert E. Smith has been appointed president of Lockheed Missiles&Space Co.'s Space Systems Div., Sunnyvale, Calif. He was SSD vice president/assistant general manager for commerical programs. He has been succeeded by David L. Klinger, who was vice president-military satellite communications programs. Myles Crandall will succeed Klinger. Mel Brashers was appointed executive vice president of the Lockheed Missiles and Space Systems Group, succeeding Minoru Sam Araki, who has been named president.
RUSSIAN ENGINE manufacturer Rybinsk Motors and CFM International (CFMI) signed a wide-ranging memorandum of understanding centered on the production in Russia of CFM56 turbofan engine parts. Rybinsk also will promote additional CFM56 applications in Russia and will obtain a share in CFM56s produced to equip Russian transports, a CFMI official said.
THE U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPT. will hear airline complaints about fees at Los Angeles International Airport and two airports operated by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. The cases will be heard by administrative law judges under new department rules published in February, based on a new law passed by Congress on Aug. 24 (AW&ST Mar. 13, p 32). The new law was in part a reaction to attempts by the City of Los Angeles to divert money from LAX. The judges will issue a decision by June 1, and the Transportation Dept. will review them by June 30.
The Russians are delivering to the U.S. Air Force a mobile, 15-million-watt generator that would allow their former foes to operate electricity-hungry, directed-energy weapons from hidden sites on remote battlefields or from space.
With a 19.6% growth rate last year, Seoul's Kimpo International Airport has become the world's fastest-growing airport, according to the Airports Council International. After Seoul, U.S. airports took the next five rankings on ACI's growth chart and six of the top 10 positions. Las Vegas' 19.2% growth was nearly as fast as Seoul's, and with 26.8 million passengers it handled nearly as many travelers as Korea's capital did. Seoul had 27.3 million.
Lockheed Martin is proposing to commercialize F-16 production operations at its Ft. Worth Co., which could reduce the cost of the aircraft by up to 15% and eventually be applied to F-22 production.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second section of the English translation of the French Commission of Investigation preliminary report of the June 30, 1994, crash of an Airbus A330 at Toulouse-Blagnac airport (AW&ST Apr. 3, p. 72). The aircraft, as part of Category 3 certification testing, was performing an engine-out go-around with autopilot engaged when lateral control was lost. The A330 was at too low an altitude at the time the crew regained recovery, and the aircraft impacted the ground, killing the test crew of three and four observers on board.
SWISSAIR WILL TERMINATE ITS COLLECTIVE working agreement with its pilots at the end of next March, unless a new pact is signed before that. The airline gave notice of the planned termination to Aeropers, the group representing the pilots, after almost a year of preliminary discussions on proposed changes to the agreement.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT REMAINS NIL for the Administration's air traffic control privatization initiative, but Rep. Jim Lightfoot (R.-Iowa) is hoping to breathe new life into reform. A member of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, Lightfoot has introduced a bill to restore the FAA's independence from the Transportation Dept.
Beech Super King Air 200 aircraft equipped with Litton maritime surveillance radars have been playing a major role in the fisheries dispute off Newfoundland by directing Canadian Coast Guard cutters to intercept Spanish trawlers. Canada is trying to prevent Spanish trawlers from fishing in the Grand Banks even though the area in dispute is beyond Canada's maritime boundary, which extends 200 mi. off the coast. Canada has closed the Atlantic fisheries due to devastation of several fish species.
