The domestic route carrier of JAL, Japan's largest airline, purchased two CRJ200(1) Series jets from Canadian-based Bombardier Aerospace and retained options on three additional aircraft. "We have seen tremendous success in the North American and European markets with the Canadair Regional Jet while our market forecasts point to an increasingly important market in the Asia-Pacific region -- most notably Japan," said the President of Bombardier's Regional Aircraft, Steven A. Ridolfi. "Strategically this is an important sale for us."
MEASURING SUCCESS: The various branches of the U.S. military are each developing their own individual "system of systems" programs for the 21st century. The Army has its Future Combat System, the Navy has its Cooperative Engagement Capability, the Air Force has its Expeditionary Aerospace Force, the Marine Corps has its Operational Maneuver from the Sea, and the Coast Guard has its Deepwater concept. While they are bold visions, there is a question about how to measure their progress. The Defense Science Board says the Dept.
European Commission officials and an American diplomat criticized the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's intention to lodge a formal complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization about the European Union's hushkit regulation. "We regret this because it will complicate things even more," the spokesman for EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said Thursday in Brussels.
Theodore Austell III has been appointed vice president, International Policy. Frederick W. (Rick) Sine has joined Boeing Airplane Services as vice president.
M. Terry Higginbotham has been appointed vice president, Military Helicopter Marketing responsible for the marketing of Kaman's military products. He will also have collateral responsibilities for Kaman Aerospace Corp.
Martin E. Dandridge has been promoted to sector executive vice president of Integrated Systems and Aerostructures (ISA). Alan Doshier has been appointed to succeed Dandridge as sector vice president, Airborne Ground Surveillance and Battle Management Systems. Phillip Teel has been appointed to succeed Doshier as sector vice president, Program Operations.
'EXTREMELY GOOD' DATA: Was last week's national missile defense test a failure just because the kill vehicle missed its target? A senior military official stresses that the while the test didn't meet its first objective, the second objective was to "collect data," and the result there was "apparently extremely good." He says "a miss doesn't necessarily mean a failure; a hit doesn't necessarily mean success."
LAST ONE STANDING: Bernie Schwartz, CEO of Loral, is working hard to convince Wall Street that the Globalstar low Earth orbit satellite network will succeed where others have failed. Schwartz assures investors there is money to be made in satellite telephony market despite the bankruptcies of ICO and Iridium. One possible revenue source -- the Pentagon, which tried to tap Iridium for handheld satellite field telephones. Schwartz has also put more of his own money on the line lately, purchasing 100,000 shares last fall.
Pratt&Whitney will decrease its workforce by up to 1,700 people on top of the 3,500 other positions the company has already eliminated since beginning its restructuring plan in 1998. The reductions will be achieved through a mix of layoffs and voluntary retirement opportunities for non-engineering salaried workers, primarily in the company's Connecticut manufacturing facilities. The company will begin the process this month and continue throughout 2000.
POST-CORONA RELEASE: Time is running out for the government to complete its review of imagery collected by now-obsolete spy satellites that followed the trailblazing Corona system, and there is a chance some may be released this year. President Clinton ordered a five-year review with his Feb. 22, 1995, executive order releasing the Corona images, but the National Reconnaissance Office hasn't gotten through all the interagency wickets required before there can be another dump of previously classified data.
The scope and nature of export controls may need to change to reflect the post-Cold War environment, the blurring distinction between civilian and military technology and changing trade interests, but this doesn't necessarily mean the present regime should be thrown out, according to panelists at an American Enterprise Institute discussion last week in Washington.
Roger F. Starr, Jr., currently senior vice president and general manager of the firm's contract at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), has been named president of Sverdrup Technology, Inc., effective February 1. P. David Elrod II has been appointed general manager of the AEDC Group, replacing Starr. Paul McCarty, director of the AEDC Group's Facility System O&M department, will replace Elrod as deputy general manager.
An Atlas IIA booster launched the first of four upgraded U.S. Air Force Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS III) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Jan. 20. Liftoff of the 47th consecutive successful Atlas-Centaur from Complex 36A was at 8:03 p.m. EST. The satellite was placed in the planned transfer orbit of 19,292 n.m. by 123 n.m. The USAF's 3rd Space Launch Squadron and Lockheed Martin managed the launch. Lockheed Martin built the $200 million spacecraft and the $80 million launch vehicle.
Jim Taylor has been named president, Teal Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of SL based in San Diego. He replaces Bill Carpenter, who announced his resignation last year, but will remain a director of Kreiss Johnson Technologies, representing SL Industries investment in this company.
TURKEY MOVES ON TWO PROGRAMS: Turkey is moving ahead on two military aircraft programs. The navy has decided to acquire eight additional Sikorsky S-60 helicopters for $240 million. It already has eight on order and ultimately wants 28. Meanwhile, resolution of problems over funding for a new early warning aircraft has revived the program, and a decision is expected in coming months. The favored contender is said to be a Boeing 737 fitted with Northrop Grumman's electronically scanned radar.
NASA's top management decided last Thursday to shut down radar mapping from the Space Shuttle Endeavour a day early next month to give the crew extra time to retract a 200-foot mast manually instead of simply jettisoning it in the event of a malfunction.
The wings of the first 737-700C (convertible), an airlifter for the U.S. Navy, have been joined to its fuselage, Boeing announced. The navy is buying the newest member of the next-generation 737 series to begin replacement of its fleet of C-9 airlifters. Designated C-40A, the Navy version of the 737 will be certified to operate in three different configurations - all passenger, with 121 people; all-cargo, with up to eight pallets; and a combination that will accommodate 70 passengers and up to three cargo pallets.
