Advanced naval guns that could replace land-attack and anti-ship missiles as well as defend warships from ballistic and cruise missiles have taken a step forward with the start of prototype electromagnetic railgun testing by the U.S. Navy. Railguns can fire guided projectiles farther and faster than conventional guns, rivaling the capability of high-speed missiles, but must overcome challenges with power, cooling and durability before they can be installed on ships. Ultimately, smaller versions could arm combat vehicles and gunship aircraft.
Advanced technology is helping to transform air traffic management across the globe, with a new Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) network—operated by Iceland's Isavia—set to extend coverage over the North Atlantic for the first time (see p. 45 and a special report on air traffic management that begins on p. 41). This is one of the network's ground stations, co-located with a communications site in the southwest of Iceland. The ADS-B antenna is on top of the mast. Isavia photo by Johannes Long.
With nearly two-thirds of its global workforce located in France, Safran Chief Executive Jean Paul Herteman says his company is fiercely determined to retain industrial skills at home, where the Paris-based propulsion group has invested heavily over the past few years, including construction of six new facilities since 2010.
India's ambitious in-house civil aircraft development program, which looks to build a 70-90-seat regional jet, has run into its first spots of turbulence—a turf war over who the overseer should be, entangled with a generous measure of institutional red tape that is delaying investments.
Air Force chief Gen. Norton Schwartz says the service must keep its forthcoming long-range bomber under $550 million per copy (in fiscal 2010 dollars). “If it doesn't, then we won't get a program,” he declares. “Either you deliver or you are out of there.” He emphasizes that the program, estimated to include the purchase of 80-100 stealthy bombers capable of carrying nuclear arms, is needed to project the kind of power long enjoyed by the U.S. The Chinese and Iranians, he says, have some of the world's best air defenses. “They are not doing this for the fun of it.
I am tired of reading that the latest administration program is smart, as in the “smart defense approach” mentioned in an article about the Pentagon focusing on the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions (AW&ST Jan. 9, p. 21). Not only does the use of the word seem self-congratulatory, but the latest defense plans are largely budget-driven, not a result of being astute. An unanticipated decision by an adversary can quickly make a “smart” decision look like a dumb one.
The U.S. airline industry's chief trade group wants the government to get out of its way. Airlines for America (A4A) is reiterating complaints that carriers are overburdened with regulations, mandates and taxes. But A4A is also calling on the feds to create a “national airline policy” under which the government would work to curb speculation in oil futures, promote alternative fuels, challenge unfair practices that U.S. airlines face abroad and better coordinate modernization of the aviation infrastructure. A4A also wants the 25% limit on foreign ownership of U.S.
India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and France's Snecma are close to finalizing plans for a new 20,230-lb.-thrust turbofan engine to be developed and built under a joint venture, potentially for the Asian giant's light and advanced medium combat aircraft.
Chris Scolese, NASA associate administrator, has been appointed director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Robert Lightfoot, director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will become acting associate administrator. Orlando Figueroa has been named chairman of NASA's Mars Program Planning Group in Washington. He is a former NASA program manager.
Near Space Corp. (NSC) is to begin construction this spring on a $6.9 million, 31,000-sq.-ft. commercial high-altitude balloon launch facility at its home base in Tillamook, Ore. NSC is one of seven suborbital flight providers in NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. The company expects to launch 10 research missions this year to altitudes exceeding 130,000 ft. NSC's balloons can support payloads up to 1 ton. NSC's Eric Byers says the balloons typically have loiter times of 3 hr., but with proper ballast can achieve 48 hr.
NATO has tapped a Finmeccanica/Northrop Grumman team to provide the cybersecurity backbone for the Computer Incident Response Capability full-operational capability effort. They will receive around €50 million ($67 million) to protect 50 NATO locations.
Airbus Military has signed a contract with the Kazakhstan defense ministry for two C295 military transports. The deal includes options for six more. The first of the C295s is to be delivered by April 2013, the company says.
The Boeing-versus-airlines fight continues, with the Aerospace Industries Association putting pressure on leading lawmakers to pass Export-Import Bank legislation. Funding officially expires in May but could stop sooner, when the bank reaches its lending cap. “The timely reauthorization of the principal government agency charged with supporting the export of American goods and services is critical to sustaining and growing high-skill, high-technology and well-paying U.S. jobs,” says AIA President Marion Blakey in letters to House and Senate leaders.
Russia is moving forward with its aggressive plans to enhance the country's combat aircraft prowess, with commitments to modernize its carrier strike force and long-range interdiction capabilities. On March 1, the defense ministry signed a contract with Sukhoi for delivery of 92 Su-34 bombers through 2020. The deal, estimated to be worth 100 billion rubles ($3.4 billion) is the largest for the ministry since the end of the Soviet era, and brings the total number of Su-34s ordered to 124.
Controllers are checking out the U.S. Navy's first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-1) military communications spacecraft after its launch on an Atlas V, but it will be at least next year before troops can use its high-capacity new Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) payload for communications in motion.
Boeing is to break ground March 5 on a new delivery center for its 747, 767, 777 and 787 programs in Everett, Wash., that will be three times larger than its current facility. Since the older facility opened in the late 1960s, when Everett was building only the 747, about 3,500 aircraft have moved through it. The new facility is due to open in about a year.
Air Astana of Kazakhstan's $1.3 billion order for four 767-300ERs and three 787-8s underscores the pace that Boeing is achieving in orders this year. Through Feb. 28, the company had 385 orders—370 combined for the 737NG and 737 MAX—compared to just 55 a year ago and 57 in 2010. The 787 is accounting for 13 of the new orders; last year, Boeing had none at this point, as the aircraft had not yet entered service. Boeing collected 45 orders for the 787 for 2011, all after it began service with All Nippon Airways.
April 2-3—Engine MRO Forum. Dallas. April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012. Dallas. April 4-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition. Dallas. April 23-25—NextGen Ahead: Air Transportation Modernization. Washington. May 8-9—Civil Aviation Manufacturing. Charlotte, N.C. May 23-24—MRO Regional: Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia. Vilnius, Lithuania. Sept. 19-21—MRO IT Conference & Showcase. Miami. Oct. 9-11—MRO Europe. Amsterdam. Nov. 6-7—A&D Programs. Phoenix.
Look for new legislation aimed at speeding the integration of unmanned aircraft into civil airspace. House Armed Services Committee member Michael Turner (R-Ohio) was instrumental in last year's defense authorization directive to create six sites for testing UAVs within U.S. airspace. And this year, Turner tells us, he may try to “formalize” the relationship between the Pentagon and the FAA to force faster integration.
David Fulghum (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
As the U.S. reorients its forces to the Western Pacific, its strategy is already jeopardized by newly emerging cyberthreats as well as financial, personnel and technology shortages. For example, one key surveillance and targeting tool—the long-range, active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which is installed in the U.S. Air Force's and Navy's best warplanes—is vulnerable to cyberattack.
Saddled with mounting debt and heavy losses, India's airlines are caught in a no-win situation. Passenger traffic is increasing, but costs are rising faster. The airlines want to grow and modernize their fleets to cater to passenger demand, but financing planned fleet expansion is problematic. Indian banks, which have about $7 billion already tied up in the airlines, are worried about their exposure to the sector and are unwilling to restructure loans to carriers, including state-run Air India.
