Opportunity delayed: Saudi Arabia is putting off a decision on buying as many as 100 Lockheed Martin F-16s - powered by either GE F110 or Pratt&Whitney F100 turbofans - for at least six months and maybe as long as a year. The Kingdom's ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar, says upgrading its aging fleet of Northrop F-5 fighters with AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) is a higher priority for the moment.
ALLIEDSIGNAL INC. named Geoff Wild president of its Electronic Materials business, Santa Clara, Calif. Before coming to AlliedSignal, he was president and division director of Johnson Matthey Electronic Materials, the company said yesterday.
Allison Engine Co. and the United Auto Workers should be done tallying up this week's ratification vote early next week, after negotiators late Sunday night worked out a deal averting a walkout by 2,000 UAW workers at the Indianapolis-based enginemaker. Neither side will talk publicly about terms until the votes are counted.
Pentagon Comptroller John J. Hamre told Congress yesterday that half of the U.S. Air Force's proposed plan to head off a potential $15 billion cost overrun on the F-22 fighter program is "pretty solid." He said "we have to take a look at" the other half. Hamre, testifying before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, assessed the plan in response to a question from Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.).
FAIRCHILD FASTENERS, Chantilly, Va., completed its acquisition of Simmonds S.A. from Mines de Kali Sainte-Therese S.A., Fairchild Corp. said yesterday. Fairchild said it acquired common shares and convertible notes representing 84.2% of Simmonds. It said it will tender immediately for the remaining shares and convertible debt of Simmonds held by the public. If the tender is successful, it said, the total cash consideration will be $25 million and the assumption of approximately $33 million in debt.
Turbomeca Engine Corp., the U.S.-based small engine unit of France's Labinal, has added T4 harnesses from all variants of Turbomeca's Arriel helicopter engine to the company's in-house repair and support capability. When the cone-shaped ferrule solder joint becomes loose, or if the probe is broken, customers can now send the harness to TEC for repair. Once the harness successfully completes functional testing, TEC can recertify the harness as serviceable.
Boeing and McDonnell Douglas shareholders will not consider approval of companies' proposed merger during annual meetings scheduled for late April, the companies announced yesterday. The annual meetings will be April 25 for McDonnell Douglas and April 28 for Boeing. Special July meetings will be held to act on the proposed merger. The meetings will take place simultaneously at each company's headquarters.
Congress must approve the Pentagon's $2 billion fiscal 1997 supplemental budget request before the end of March or readiness will suffer, Defense Secretary William Cohen told the House Appropriations panel on national security yesterday. If the funding doesn't reach the Pentagon by the end of next month, a number of training programs will be put on hold, translating into decreased readiness, Cohen said.
BANNER AEROSPACE, Washington, D.C., filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a rights offering to holders of its common shares. It has also agreed to acquire Fairchild Scandinavian Bellyloading Co., subject to stockholder approval. The rights offering will entitle holders of common shares to receive one right for every 4.5 shares held.
BOEING CO. said three top executives were elected senior vice presidents by the board of directors yesterday - Theodore J. Collins, senior VP and general counsel; Alan R. Mulally senior VP and president of Boeing Defense&Space Group, and John D. Warner senior VP.
The Pentagon needs to start thinking now of ways to modernize the U.S. Air Force's aging fleet of Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili told the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on national security. Shalikashvili said yesterday he will ask AF Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman to look into the issue.
U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION is expected to announce, perhaps today, that the Pentagon will allow FAA the use of the GPS L-2 signal, which is needed to improve the accuracy of precision approaches. The change of mind follows a weekend meeting of officials from both departments.
ORGANIZERS of the Australian Air Show expressed disappointment that Russia, making its first appearance at the event (DAILY, Feb. 20), failed to put any real combat vehicles on display, according to reports from Sydney. The Russians, represented by Rosvooruzheniye, which offers Sukhoi aircraft, displayed only military technical exhibits, mostly models. A spokesman said a special government decision required for displaying combat vehicles had not been received in time because of organizational and financial difficulties.
TEXTRON'S board yesterday declared a two-for-one common stock split, subject to shareholder approval. It also approved a 14% increase in the regular quarterly dividend to 50 cents from 44 cents, the sixth year of double-digit dividend increases. The board recommended that shareholders vote to increase the authorized number of shares to 500 million from 250 million.
LOCKHEED MARTIN AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS appointed Air New Zealand Engineering Services (ANZES) an approved Hercules Service Center. Lockheed Martin said the appointment means it now authorizes ANZES to provide repair, maintenance, overhaul and modification services on Hercules aircraft at its Christchurch, New Zealand, facility. It said ANZES has extensive experience servicing the C-130 for the Royal New Zealand and the Royal Australian air forces, and LC-130s operated by the U.S. Navy for the National Science Foundation expedition in Antarctica.
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin publicly conceded for the first time yesterday that the first-element launch for the International Space Station is likely to slip about seven months because NASA's Russian partner has not kept its side of the bargain that brought it aboard the orbiting laboratory as a full partner.
British Aerospace reported better than expected pretax profits in 1996 of 440 million pounds ($717 million) while denying recent reports of 16 billion pound merger talks with GEC. Chief Executive Sir Richard Evans confirmed that exploratory discussions had been held about meeting the threat posed by recent U.S. defense company mergers. The talks mainly focused on how the two U.K. aerospace groups would fit within the overall European consolidation, but have progressed no further than similar talks among French, German and Italian aerospace groups.
The People's Republic of China is beginning development of a multi- role fighter that could enter service with the air force and navy around 2015, according to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence. China's design bureaus are competing to develop the fighter, still in the "early stages of conceptual design," ONI said in the 1997 edition of "Worldwide Challenges to Naval Strike Warfare." The aircraft, designated XXJ, will have "an emphasis on air combat and a reduced radar signature design," it said.
TURKEY has ordered the Innovative Ground Penetration Radar (IGPR), a mine detection system, from Israel Aircraft Industries' ELTA Electronics unit, IAI announced. It said the system is based on ELTA's EL/M-2190 High Resolution Ground Penetration Radar and can detect both plastic and metal mines. It is mounted on a remote controlled vehicle.
An earlier deployment of the low satellite component of the Space- Based Infrared System (SBIRS) as directed by Congress would greatly increase risks and costs, the General Accounting Office says in a new report. Last February, Congress directed restructuring of the program to allow SBIRS-low deployment in fiscal year 2002, instead of the original date of 2006. The Dept. of Defense hasn't implemented the directive, instead planning for a 2004 deployment.
CESSNA AND THE CITATION X DESIGN TEAM are the winners of the Collier Trophy for 1996, the National Aeronautics Association announced yesterday. The aircraft was cited for being the fist to "forge new ground by bringing to civilian aviation an airspeed and performance level previously attained only by high performance military aircraft." It has a Mach .92 cruise speed.
The lack of an operational flight trainer for the C-2A aircraft at NAS Miramar, Calif., led to commission of errors by crews during emergencies, according to the Pentagon Inspector General. The U.S. Pacific Fleet Airborne Early Warning Wing at Miramar "did not have a C-2A Greyhound operational flight trainer because the Navy deleted C-2A Greyhound operational flight trainer funding," the IG said in a Feb. 14 report released this week. "As a result," it said, "C-2A Greyhound flight crews committed errors during actual flight emergencies."
The Senate Budget Committee claims deletion of money in Administration budgets for fiscal 1998 and future years that is planned for international programs, and that is targeted by the "Stop Corporate Welfare" coalition, will yield little, if any, deficit savings. The coalition, made up of House lawmakers and outside interest groups, recently released a plan to eliminate a host of programs that it said would save $3.9 billion over a five year period (DAILY, Jan. 30).
Boeing Co.'s Rocketdyne Div. received a $35 million contract from the U.S. Army for further development of its kinetic energy anti-satellite (ASAT) system, but flight testing isn't funded. The U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command has been developing the ASAT. The new contract, awarded Monday as part of a $44 million program, will be to "develop an operational weapon control subsystem," the Pentagon said. Although no demonstration is planned, subsystem technologies will be integrated to demonstrate hit-to-kill performance.
