LE BOURGET, France - A Eurohawk unmanned aerial vehicle prototype equipped with a non-operational electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensor will perform its first demonstration flight in October, industry officials said June 17. The first European flight of the Northrop Grumman M-Q4 Global Hawk derivative should shortly precede the release of an early solicitation by the German military, said Bob Smith, Northrop Grumman's business development director for unmanned systems. The flight had been delayed by Operation Iraqi Freedom.
LE BOURGET, France - A top Boeing executive is downplaying the threat of a congressional challenge to the Defense Department's proposed $15 billion lease of 100 Boeing 767-400ER tankers. The U.S. Air Force is drafting a report to send to four Capitol Hill defense committees, which will launch a mandatory 30-day review period before a contract can be approved. "I don't think it will be as difficult to get through the congressional reviews as you might think," said Howard E. Chambers, Boeing's vice president for airlift and tanker programs.
Pratt & Whitney confirmed June 16 that its engine for the Joint Strike Fighter has successfully passed the milestone of critical design review (CDR), showing that requirements of the system development and demonstration program are being met.
LE BOURGET, France - The proposed military avionics project of Finmeccanica and BAE Systems is close to reality, according to Finmeccanica President and CEO Pier-Francesco Guarguaglini. The new joint venture, referred to as AeroSystems, will be "colossal," with annual revenues of 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion), he said.
LE BOURGET, France - "Chronic underfunding of defense programs in Europe in the face of robust U.S. spending is a recipe for several unappealing results," said Lockheed Martin's senior vice president for corporate business development, Robert Trice.
LE BOURGET, France - In spite of short-term uncertainty caused by the present crisis in the commercial aviation market, "long-term expectations are good," observes Giorgio Zappa, chairman and CEO of Alenia Aeronautica. With a flexible and diversified strategy, aimed at maintaining the company's financial and economic performance while increasing its competitive level, Zappa sees the company in 2003 as achieving target performance despite unfavorable market conditions.
LE BOURGET, France - U.S. officials guiding development of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) are willing to negotiate opening assembly lines for its international partners. An early round of talks begin in August when U.S. officials hope to learn what each of its 10 international partners desire for the production phase of the contract that starts in 2006, said Col. Dennis Dwyer, deputy director of the international directorate.
AEGIS BMD: The June 18 test of the Missile Defense Agency's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system will occur between 4 and 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, according to the Defense Department. The test will use a new solid divert and attitude control system (SDACS) to guide the warhead to its target (DAILY, June 16).
LE BOURGET, France - A newcomer at the Paris Air Show is EMIT, an Israeli UAV design specialist that has three new UAVs on display - Sparrow, Butterfly and Blue Horizon. Sparrow was designed as a 'sub-tactical' low-altitude observation and surveillance UAV, capable of deployment from land or sea. Launched by bungee or pneumatic launcher, the 40-kilogram (88-pound) Sparrow can carry a payload of 12 kilograms (26 pounds) on a six-hour mission.
DREAMLINER: The Boeing Co.'s new 7E7 will be named "Dreamliner," the company said June 16. Boeing also named some partners for the program - Alenia Aeronautica, Fuji, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Vought Aircraft will participate in the design and construction of large airframe subassemblies, Boeing said at the Paris Air Show.
LE BOURGET, France - Lockheed Martin's AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) will fly again in an operational test June 20, a company executive said June 16 at the Paris Air Show. This would be the first flight since program officials reported two test failures out of three recent tests. The U.S. Air Force is pressing ahead with the original test schedule despite the setbacks, said Randy Bigum, Lockheed Martin's vice president for strike weapons. Two missiles will be launched during the test, he said.
To remain in step with future commercial Internet technology, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to make all its computer networks compatible with Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) by 2008. DOD's Internet and intranet communications currently use Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), as does most of the rest of the world. IPv6 is expected to supersede IPv4 over the next several years.
LE BOURGET, France - Pending final approval of a roughly $15 billion deal to lease aerial tankers, the Boeing Co. plans to "aggressively" apply similar alternative financing methods to some other Pentagon programs, a top company executive said June 16 here at the Paris Air Show.
LE BOURGET, France - BAE Systems CEO Mike Turner criticized the United Kingdom's increasing reliance on private financing initiatives (PFIs) to fund military acquisition programs. "PFIs don't work," Turner told reporters here at the Paris Air Show. PFIs allow the government to lease certain kinds of equipment and services. The U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) uses the financing tool to reduce capital expenditures from the government's budget.
The market for electro-optical equipment for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is likely to double to nearly $500 million annually by 2010, according to a June 16 report by the Teal Group of Fairfax, Va. Although nearly half the current market consists of research, development and equipment testing for the high-endurance Global Hawk UAV, that percentage will decrease as unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) and other programs come online, according to the report, "UAV Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) Sensor Market Overview."
NEW DELHI - India is displaying its Advanced Light Helicopter, Dhruv, at the Paris Air Show, marking its first time to fly outside India. "It will in fact be the first time a helicopter fully conceptualized and built in India will be put up for demonstration in any international air show," said an Indian defense ministry official.
The Pentagon is forming a Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) to lead its new initiative to reduce aviation accidents and other mishaps throughout the Defense Department. The council will review accident trends and recommend safety improvements to the defense secretary, according to a draft of DSOC's charter that was obtained by The DAILY. The council will be expected to look to other government agencies and the private sector for ideas on reducing mishaps, the charter says.
LE BOURGET, France - Continental Airlines has extended its contract with Honeywell to provide 10 years of wheel and brake service. The $115 million contract covers Continental's Boeing 737, 757 and 767 fleets, amounting to more than 350 aircraft. "Continental's contract extension reflects our customer's confidence in Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems' technological expertise in wheels and brakes," said Peg Billson, Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems vice president and general manager.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee is expected to add $42 million to the U.S. Navy's fiscal 2004 budget request for procurement of Raytheon's Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS), a congressional source said June 16. The increase would be contained in the FY '04 defense appropriations bill that the subcommittee tentatively is scheduled to take up June 18.
LE BOURGET, France - Singapore is requesting full access to manufacturers' source code as a key condition for buying up to 20 fighters, a top minister told reporters June 15 here at the Paris Air Show. Singapore is scrutinizing six candidates to replace its A-4 fighter fleet - Boeing's F-15E and F/A-18, Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 60, Dassault's Rafael, Eurofighter's Typhoon and Sukhoi's advanced Sukhoi-30, said Cedric Foo, Singapore's minister of state for defense.
LE BOURGET, France - On home turf and fresh from two major program milestones, EADS is poised to show off the breadth of its operations in the next few days. The European aerospace giant recently registered key program launches that give it a boost going into the Paris Air Show.
LE BOURGET, France - Many transatlantic industrial leaders agree the political rancor that curbed U.S. participation at the 43rd Paris Air Show isn't likely to alter financial bottom lines in the short term, or long-term plans to forge closer cooperation on defense projects. In what Scott A. Harris, president of Lockheed Martin's division in Europe, on June 16 called a "particularly tense transatlantic moment," industrial leaders are striving to strategize amid a political rift caused by France and Germany's opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
