The U.S. Marine Corps, stopping short of attributing the April 8 crash of an MV-22 Osprey that killed all 19 aboard to pilot error, released the final word on the accident investigation yesterday by saying a "combination of human factors" caused the crash.
Giving life to Europe's "greatest program," European defense ministers yesterday announced plans here to jointly procure 225 A400M military transport aircraft, including the U.K.'s previous commitment for 25 aircraft, being developed by Airbus Military Co. "This is a program that underlies our shared commitment to enhancing Europe's defense capabilities," said U.K. Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon. With the additional commitment from the U.K's partners, the A400M has the green light to move forward, he said.
The Royal Australian Air Force has given the Lockheed Martin C-130J airlifter its Military Type Certification, allowing the RAAF to begin initial military operations with the plane. Lockheed Martin said the full clearance - adding the go-ahead for paratroop, airdrop, assault landings on unprepared fields, and maximum alternate weights missions - is anticipated early next year. Australia recently took delivery of the last of the 12 C-130J-30s it had on order. Italy on July 14 issued its C-130J type certification.
Boeing and Khrunichev plan to convert the backup FGB control module that the Russian company built into a commercial space module that could be attached to the International Space Station as early as mid-2002, the pair said today.
LaBarge Inc., St. Louis, has won a contract from Boeing to supply wire harness assemblies for U.S. Air Force T-38 trainers. Under the contract - expected to generate about $350,000 this year and, with options, some $10 million over the next eight years - LaBarge will produce a variety of assemblies to be used as part of the T-38 Avionics Upgrade Program. Through the program, Boeing has developed and is installing a new avionics package in the T-38 fleet to more closely simulate current and future fighters and bombers.
Boeing expanded its annual market forecast to include the aviation services that airlines need for their growing and aging fleet operations. The company hopes to capitalize on the aftermarket aircraft services and announced several new deals for its services unit. The total market - services plus future new airplane deliveries - is estimated to be worth more than $4 trillion over the next 20 years, according to the company's Current Market Outlook 2000, released at the Farnborough Air Show.
The U.S. Marine Corps' number one priority for the next Quadrennial Defense Review is the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, according to a top USMC official. "We in the Marine Corps think that our number one priority going into the QDR for the future...[is the] Joint Strike Fighter as the answer for the Dept. of Defense," Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle, Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation, said at a conference on the QDR last week on Capitol Hill.
Aerospace companies reported a number of developments at the Farnborough Air Show, including the following: -- Lockheed Martin's Eagan, Minn., operation said it plans to deliver the 28th Anti-Surface Warfare Improvement (AIP) aircraft in September, completing the first phase of the initial contract awarded in 1994. In addition, it said, the Royal Netherlands Navy's request to sign the letter of offer and acceptance for the P-3C Capabilities Upkeep Program (CUP) was approved by the Netherlands Parliament.
While the U.S. Navy recently awarded a contract to Raytheon Co. for engineering and manufacturing development of the Land Attack Standard Missile (LASM), the program is intended to be an interim effort while the service refines its requirements. The $46.5 million contract, announced in early July, followed a contentious contest between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
NASA handed Boeing a stop-work order yesterday on the Propulsion Module for the International Space Station, signaling the $542 million project will likely be put up for bids before the summer is out. An agency spokeswoman said no decision had been made yet on opening the project for bids. Station program mangers are scheduled to meet in "a couple of weeks" to review design options for the module, which is intended to backstop Russian Progress capsules for Station reboost (DAILY, July 27).
South Korea yesterday signed a $700 million contract with Korean Aerospace Industries for production of 20 new Lockheed Martin Block 52 F-16 aircraft. The jets will be in addition to 160 F-16s already operated by South Korea. The signing followed an agreement penned earlier this month by the U.S. and Korean governments for the foreign military sale (FMS) portion of the Korean Fighter Program, Lockheed Martin said. First delivery is slated for July 2003.
Lockheed Martin's Sanders unit said it will build five AIMS antenna group systems and related spares for the U.S. Navy under a $5.7 million contract. The group is part of AIMS the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System, Identification, Friend or Foe, Mk. XII, system. AIMS is used on CG 47 class cruisers, DDG 51 class destroyers, LHD 1 class helicopter assault ships, LPD 17 landing platform docks, and the CVN 68 class aircraft carriers.
Boeing said the U.S. Navy has approved low-rate initial production of its Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). "This milestone signifies the success of our engineering and manufacturing development efforts and represents the transition to production," said Boeing JHMCS Program Manager Stephen Winkler.
NASA has decided to send an advanced rover to Mars in 2003 instead of an orbiter with a high-resolution camera, and may send two of them to press the search for water if the funding is available, the U.S. space agency announced yesterday.
Bombardier has formally launched a 90-seat variant of its Canadair Regional Jet, but the future of the proposed BRJ-X 100, with ten more seats, remains a subject of speculation. The Canadian manufacturer said a projected market for at least 800 larger regional jets over the next decade drove the decision to go ahead with the CRJ900, which is a derivative of the 70-seat CRJ700. The 700 is in certification flight testing and is making its public debut at the Farnborough Air Show.
Curtiss-Wright Corp. created a new Miami-based business within its Accessory Services business unit to expand inventory and maintenance products for airline customers. "The creation of the Aviation Logistics business is another example of Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems' focus on leveraging internal assets to create new growth opportunities with our existing customer base," said Martin Benante, chairman and CEO of the Lyndhurst, N.J., company.
Eighteen heavily-armored Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft operated by the Peruvian Air Force will reinforce national efforts against drug trafficking, according to President Alberto Fujimori.
Docking Russia's Zvezda Service Module to the International Space Station Tuesday night ended a frustrating two-year delay in assembling the orbiting laboratory and cleared the way for a busy five years before completion of the baseline model.
The General Electric-Pratt&Whitney Engine Alliance venture is making a strong showing here this week as Airbus and Boeing continue to hype their new large aircraft. The joint venture is pressing its sole product - the GP7000 turbofan - which must be ready to power either the Airbus A3XX or Boeing 747X by 2005. Alliance President Lloyd Thompson has been meeting potential buyers of both aircraft at the show to discuss specific operating data and to persuade them to select the GP7000 over the Rolls-Royce Trent 900.
Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said yesterday that President Clinton's upcoming decision on the question of a National Missile Defense system will be a "recommendation," leaving his successor to decide whether to go ahead. Cohen, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, elaborated on testimony he gave the day before to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said he told the committee that he neither recommended a decision to delay plans nor a decision to go forward. He said he "tried to lay out the options that would be available to" President Clinton.
Northrop Grumman said its AN/AAR-54(V) passive missile approach warning system has been chosen by Germany's Ministry of Defense for application to C-160 transport aircraft. The company is working under a contract covering a nine-month aircraft integration and test program. An 18-lot option is expected to be exercised upon successful completion of the program, with an option for five more systems. The AAR-54(V) tracks multiple sources and classifies each as a lethal missile, non-lethal missile or clutter.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) are teaming up on a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (HALE UAV) system. The two companies inked a memorandum of understanding here yesterday, hitting on a prime theme at the show this year - transatlantic ties.
Lockheed Martin has assembled a team of major U.S. and European contractors to pursue a new NATO missile defense study program. The team chasing the NATO Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense feasibility study includes TRW, Aerospatiale Matra Missile, Alenia Marconi Systems, Astrium, BAE Systems, EADS Defense and Civil Systems and Military Aircraft, Fokker, LFK, and Matra BAe Dynamics. Lockheed Martin will coordinate between the companies and NATO.
About two-thirds of the Senate Democrats yesterday urged President Clinton to delay a decision on deploying a National Missile Defense, saying the technology isn't proven and the risk to national security is too great to proceed. In a letter, 31 Democratic senators said they expect Clinton to announce a decision later this summer, and that they would prefer "not to take any steps toward deployment at this time."
An F-22 fighter launched an AIM-9 missile over test ranges at China Lake, Calif., the U.S. Air Force reported. The July 25 test, it said, marks partial completion of a major milestone that the F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, Calif., must complete this year. An AIM-120 missile, it said, is slated to be fired in the fall. The test took place as Raptor 02 flew at 20,000 feet and a speed of Mach .07. It evaluated the fighter's ability to fire an air-to-air missile from an internal weapons bay.
