U.S. Air Force officials plan to turn the new Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) jam-proof communications satellite over for operational use in early 2012 after a protracted journey into orbit and subsequent testing period. The Lockheed Martin satellite, worth more than $1 billion and launched Aug. 14, 2010, experienced an onboard liquid apogee engine failure, forcing operators to employ other thrusters for a 14-month journey 22,000 mi. into geosynchronous orbit. To date, they have demonstrated use of the new, higher data rate capability provided by AEHF.
It is hard to tell if USAF Gen. (ret.)Michael Hayden, former director of both the National Security Agency and CIA, was being coy, ironic or very straightforward when he suggested the “Stuxnet” attack on Iran's nuclear industry was “incredibly precise” and targeted enough to have been carried out by “responsible nations.” That addresses, to a degree, the notion that the U.S. and Israel in some way colluded to slow down Tehran's nuclear program. Hayden made the comment at the Black Hat Abu Dhabi conference for cyberoperations specialists.
Airbus Military now projects type certification for the A400M airlifter will be delayed until the second quarter of 2012. A few weeks ago, Airbus Military officials still thought a 2011 certification might be possible. Issues have been finding the right weather conditions to allow completion of the anti-icing trials and a delay in some flight trials because of problems with the TP400D turboprop.
Oman is adding 12 F-16 Block 50s to its fleet under a $600 million foreign military sales deal with the Pentagon. The contract covers 10 F-16Cs and two F-16Ds. Oman also is in talks with Eurofighter for purchase of the Typhoon.
The World Trade Organization's long-running effort to adjudicate large commercial aircraft subsidies is due for another airing on Dec. 19. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) will hear U.S. objections to the EU's claim that it has withdrawn subsidies, which the EU published on Dec. 1. The EU insists it has fully met its obligations to withdraw subsidies, a claim Washington rejects. On Dec. 19, the EU delegate is expected to formally introduce the Dec. 1 document outlining how the bloc has complied with the WTO's findings and the U.S.
The 251 new orders Boeing added as of Dec. 14 marked its best week of the year and raised its net order intake to 778 for 2011. Orders for passenger aircraft include Southwest's agreement to buy 150 737 MAXs and 58 737 NGs; and two 777s and 10 787s from Etihad. Also coming in were orders for two 777s from unidentified customers, six 777s from China Southern Airlines and the revelation that six previously ordered but unidentified 777s belong to Hong Kong Airlines.
Boeing also received orders from FedEx for two 777Fs and 27 767-300Fs, the latter as replacements for some of the carrier's ancient MD-10Fs. FedEx is deferring delivery of 11 other 777Fs. The moves will allow FedEx Express to lower its operating and maintenance costs, and to balance international capacity with expected demand, the carrier said. FedEx's original plan was to replace the MD-10s, which are operated in domestic U.S. service, with MD-11Fs that would be moved from international routes as the carrier took delivery of 777Fs.
Boris Chertok, who led development of flight control systems for rockets and spacecraft from the beginning of the Soviet Union's program and was the longtime deputy to General Designer Sergei Korolev, died Dec. 14 of pneumonia at home in Moscow. He was three months short of his 100th birthday. An aviation expert during World War II, Chertok followed the Red Army into Germany at war's end to recruit German engineers and learn what he could about their work on the V-2 ballistic missile and other rocket weapons.
The FAA has granted Boeing type-design approval for four 777 models to fly extended operations (ETOPS) up to 330 min., boosting the long-distance safety rating for the big twinjet by 123 min.
With the first version of the Trent XWB engine for the Airbus A350 poised for the start of test flights, Rolls-Royce is already stepping up studies of what comes next in its big-engine lineup.
Don't tell Gary Kelly and Laura Wright, but they are notable throughout Europe's aerospace community. Southwest Airlines' chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively, may not be aware that their U.S.-based airline's business model has cast such a long shadow abroad. However, they should know that the low-fare carrier's setup has been a universal source of inspiration for nearly four decades.
With the end of the year fast approaching, there are two significant pieces of unfinished aviation-related business that official Washington needs to complete as soon as possible. The first, of course, is FAA reauthorization, which is now in its 22nd extension. The FAA has been limping by on short-term extensions since 2007, and the latest one is set to expire on Jan. 31.
With the setting of a Feb. 7 launch date for the first commercial spacecraft to attempt a linkup with the International Space Station, NASA managers hope to launch a new economy in low Earth orbit (LEO) as well. If Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) succeeds in berthing its Dragon cargo capsule at the orbiting outpost, the way will be open for regular commercial cargo deliveries by the end of 2012. A year ago the company became the first to launch a private spacecraft to orbit (see photo) and recover it after reentry.
One maxim around here says that congressional compromises offend in proportion to their age. A deal reached a day ago is acceptable, if still regrettable; but a deal reached a month ago can become totally unpalatable—even to the very people who agreed to it. Thus is the case with the so-called sequestration effects of the emergency deficit-cutting and debt-ceiling deal passed into law in August.
Defense contractors are breathing easier this week after they appear to have dodged a new restriction on how extensively their salaries can be covered under federal contracts. The move was part of the annual defense policy bill, which was rushing to completion in Congress last week. The Senate's version of an earlier bill tried to limit salaries to $400,000, but the final congressional compromise keeps the covered level at nearly $700,000 and even allows the government to provide exemptions.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
The U.S. Air Force is planning to develop a heavier, more powerful version of the jet-powered, reduced signature Predator C Avenger unmanned aerial system (UAS) for deployment soon in combat zones.
Michael Mecham (Seattle), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
In what is probably the year's most exotic approach to space launch, billionaire entrepreneur Paul Allen and aircraft designer Burt Rutan aim to use the equivalent of two Boeing 747-400s to carry a Falcon 9-derivative rocket to 30,000-35,000 ft. for an air-drop launch of satellites or humans into low Earth orbit.
Commercial Earth observation was all but invented in France, yet companies here that pioneered the high-resolution optical imagery market a decade ago have been edged out in recent years by tough competition from the U.S. That could change, however, with the planned launch of France's first Pleiades high-resolution Earth-observation satellite this month, one of two next-generation optical-imaging spacecraft designed to serve military and civil users while reserving capacity for commercial customers.
Anyone who has been following the progress of the Joint Strike Fighter program knows it has had many ups and downs, and each week seems to bring at least one new development. Interpreting what it all means at any given time is akin to reading tea leaves. The latest is last week's news that Japan has chosen the F-35, but that was counterbalanced by an unflattering review of the program's technology assessment leaked from the Pentagon.
In English-speaking countries, people like to keep up with the Joneses. For South Korean defense ministry officials, it is important to keep up with the Tanakas. That is one reason why Japan's expected order for the Lockheed Martin F-35 is likely to result in sales of more than the 42 fighters that industry officials anticipated Tokyo would buy. Another is that the aircraft chosen for Japan's fighter program for this decade may well be built throughout the 2020s, long after the initial requirement is filled.
While Japan expects to receive its first F-X fighters for training in 2016, a new report suggests that the F-35 will not meet its 2015 target for starting initial operational test and evaluation, which would delay the completion of certificated training plans and syllabi.
