WorldSpace Corp. engineers have demonstrated two techniques that will allow subscribers to receive the company's digital satellite radio signals in automobiles, including in densely built cities. The Washington, D.C.-based company used Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen of Erlanger, Germany, to test Time Diversity reception using WorldSpace satellites, and Multi-carrier Modulation (MCM) terrestrial rebroadcast for urban use.
ITT Industries Inc. said that Henry J. Driesse will become president of its defense business, McLean, Va. Driesse, 56, has been president and general manager of ITT Industries Avionics Div., Clifton, N.J., since September of 1991. He succeeds Marvin Sambur, who will continue with the company as president and general manager of the Aerospace/Communications Div., Fort Wayne, Ind. Driesse has worked with ITT Industries and the predecessor ITT Corp. since 1981.
ORBIT/FR reported revenues of $4.4 million, up 57.1% versus the prior year and significantly expanded gross margins for the second quarter of fiscal 2000. The Horsham, Pa.-based company had a net loss of $186,000, or $0.03 per share for the period, compared to a net loss of $459,000, or $0.08 a share a year ago. Gross margins came in at 28.7% versus 14.0% in the comparable quarter last year.
PRIMEX TECHNOLOGIES INC. has won a $2.54 million U.S. Air Force contract to design and develop a Surface Target Ordnance Package (STOP) munition. The Primex Technologies Warhead Systems/OTI Group, Niceville, Fla., will manage the contract, awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate at Eglin AFB, Fla. It also will design and test the warhead. Other components will be produced by subcontractors throughout the U.S. Flight test support will be provided by Primex Aerospace, Redmond, Wash. Flight demonstrations will be completed in 2002.
AN MH-53E MINE-SWEEPING HELICOPTER crashed during a training mission about 15 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Tex., yesterday, killing at least two crewmembers and injuring another two, the U.S. Navy said. Two additional crewmembers were still missing as of press time.
The "single-point" failure in the upper stage assembly of the booster in the July 8 National Missile Defense test that caused the unsuccessful separation of the kill vehicle is likely to have originated in the commonly used 1553 databus, Pentagon Spokesman Ken Bacon said.
Three airlines have selected BAE Systems Canada's satellite communications antenna - British Midland, Virgin Atlantic and Scandinavian Airline System. The Montreal-based company said the CMA-2102 Aero-H High Gain Antenna System was chosen by all three in support of their new aircraft. British Midland will use the system in its A330s, and SAS will use it its A330/A340 airliners. Both are new CMA-2102 customers. Virgin Atlantic chose the system for its A340-500/600 aircraft. The system is already aboard Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 747-400s and A340s.
In a move to save money and improve operational readiness, contract pilots from EG&G Technical Services will soon be employed by the U.S. Air Force's 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph AFB, Tex., to help train navigators and naval flight officers in T-43 aircraft, the AF said. The shift will save $1 million over the seven years of the contract and release 25 or more military pilots now filling training billets, according to the service.
A Russian Soyuz/Fregat rocket orbited the remaining two satellites in the planned four-satellite Cluster constellation for the European Space Agency yesterday, completing a launch campaign that faltered on June 4, 1996, when the first Ariane 5 failed on ascent with the original Cluster quartet aboard. Liftoff from Baikonur's Pad 6 came at 7:13 a.m. EDT, and the Euro-Russian Starsem joint venture that provided the launch reported the two satellites reached their initial orbit as planned.
BFGoodrich was tapped by Bombardier to provide a landing gear system and flight control actuation components for the CRJ900 Series regional jet. Deliveries are slated to begin in 2001. Since the jet's launch at the Farnborough Air Show, Bombardier has received order/options and letters of agreement for 62 aircraft.
A demonstration solid rocket motor built to power submarine launched ballistic missiles with "low-cost" commercial technology and manufacturing methods has been test fired for a third time at the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, Calif. The static test of a motor chamber, propellant and nozzle components burned for its full duration and met its performance predictions, according to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, a member of the Fleet Ballistic Missile Integrated Product Team that is developing the new motor.
A $1.5 billion contract awarded to 11 companies by the Defense Information Systems Agency provides cyber assurance services to the Dept. of Defense and other U.S. government agencies. The contract, awarded July 27, has a three-year base period with four one-year options.
Rolls-Royce plc and New York-based Sequa Corp., through its Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp. subsidiary, will invest 44 million pounds in the formation of two new joint venture companies, one for turbine coatings and one for engine repair services. Turbine Surface Technologies Ltd., slated to launch in 2001, will develop technology coatings for Rolls-Royce turbine components. Based-near Rolls-Royce's Derby facility, the plant is expected to employ about 170 workers.
Raytheon Co.'s U.K. subsidiary was picked over BAE Systems as preferred supplier for the U.K.'s Successor Identification Friend or Foe (SIFF) program, valued at about $150 million. The system will update existing equipment to help ensure compatibility with NATO allies, and will include additional features compatible with civil air traffic control systems, the U.K. government said.
The U.S. Navy continues to investigate a crack found in a wing section test article of a non-flying F-14 Tomcat to determine if the problem is fleet-wide or just an anomaly. The service is attempting to stretch the life of the aging Northrop Grumman jet, set for replacement by the Boeing F/A-18E/F, to 118% fatigue life expended, or FLE.
Iran, North Korea and other countries continued to tap foreign sources in the second half of 1999 for help in developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the Central Intelligence Agency said in report released yesterday. Russia, China and North Korea continued to be key suppliers for other countries' WMD programs, the CIA said in the unclassified report, a semiannual assessment of weapons proliferation.
Motorola won a $49.7 million delivery-order contract from U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) for the Joint Services Work Station (JSWS) production program, intended to create a common operating battlefield view for all the U.S. military services. "The JSWS will allow joint service commanders to receive data on the same platform and see situations with a reliability never before possible and make decisions with certainty," said Mark Fried, corporate VP and general manager of Motorola's Integrated Systems Div.
DRS Technologies Inc. boosted diluted earnings per share 80% in its first fiscal quarter of 2001, posting $0.18 per share versus $0.10 a share in comparable period a year ago, and exceeding analysts' consensus of $0.14 a share. "The results...were outstanding by all measure," said Mark S. Newman chairman, president and CEO of the Parsippany, N.J., company. "DRS continued the momentum achieved in the prior fiscal year, posting new first quarter records in revenues, operating income, earnings, bookings and backlog," he said.
BFGOODRICH CO. said that Laurence Chapman, 51, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has decided to leave the company and that he will be succeeded by Ulrich (Rick) Schmidt, 50, currently vice president of finance and business development for the company's Aerospace segment. Chapman, who has decided to leave so he can spend more time with his family, will remain with the company through the end of the year. When Schmidt's new role becomes official on Oct. 1, he will report to Chairman and CEO David Burner.
Eurocopter Germany has selected the BAE Systems Canada CMA-3000 GPS-based flight management system for 32 EC-145 helicopters. BAE Systems Canada, based in Montreal, said it will supply 64 systems, with deliveries slated to begin this month. The CMA-3000 is installed on the Swiss Army Super Puma Mk1 and Bavarian Police EC-135 helicopters. In addition, Sextant chose the system for the CASA C-295 military transport program.
John Holum was appointed under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. Because President Clinton made the appointment last week during a congressional recess, Holum, whose nomination has been pending in the Senate since March 1999, can serve the rest of Clinton's term without Senate confirmation. Holum has been director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Raytheon Co. has won a $250 million contract to provide base operations support for the U.S. Air Force at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Johnston Atoll supports chemical demilitarization activities for the U.S. Army. Work under the base operations support program is scheduled to begin next month, Raytheon said.
The U.S. Navy is betting on innovative technologies, processes and people to keep its aging aircraft fleets flying until replacements arrive, an approach that could benefit other services as well, a top naval aviator told a Washington audience yesterday.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector dedicated a Palmdale, Calif., facility as the production center for its unmanned systems business. The 294,000 square foot facility at Air Force Plant 42, dedicated in a ceremony Tuesday, houses operations, assembly and integration testing, according to the company.
JOHN PELLER, formerly head of Boeing's National Missile Defense Lead System Integrator (LSI) program, has accepted a new position as Boeing VP of Strategic Missile Defense. Jim Evatt has been named acting vice president and general manager. Both positions report to Jim Albaugh, president, Boeing Space and Communications Group.
