Donald C. Winter, vice president and deputy general manager for group development at TRW Space&Electronics in Redondo Beach in Calif., will succeed Odeen as executive vice president and general manager.
Philip A. Odeen, currently executive vice president and general manager of TRW Systems&Information Technology in Reston, Va., has been named executive vice president, TRW Washington Operations.
Brazil's Embraer won an order yesterday from Sichuan Airlines for 10 ERJ-145s, its first order from an Asian carrier. The order, reportedly for $200 million, consists of five firm aircraft and five options, with the first delivery planned for next April. "This marks a major milestone for Embraer," Executive Vice President Frederico Curado said in a statement. "The Chinese market is a very important market and we see a rapid growth for its regional aviation industry."
Eurofighter Simulation Systems GmbH, a joint venture of five European companies, has been established to supply simulators for the EF-2000/Typhoon fighter. The Munich-based company's objective is to furnish Eurofighter Jadflugzeug GmbH with the Simulator Specific System for the Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids System (ASTA), according to Italy's Alenia Difesa, one of the joint venture companies. The others are CAE Electronik and STN Atlas Elektronik of Germany; Indra Sistemas of Spain and Thomson Training and Simulation of the U.K.
A 747-400 freighter rolled off Boeing's assembly line in Everett, Wash., on Dec. 13 - the first step on its way to becoming the U.S. Air Force's prototype Attack Laser aircraft.
Randy W. Carson has been promoted to senior vice president and group executive for the Cutler-Hammer Group, effective January 1, 2000. He replaces David M. Wathen, who has accepted the position of principal at Questor, a private equity fund partnership.
Russia's military has purchased 10 silo-launched Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles this year as part of a plan to upgrade its strategic missile regiments, but the cost of combating rebel forces in Chechnya is making it difficult to continue the strategic modernization. According to Yuri Solomonov, Director and General Designer at Moscow Heat Technology Institute (MIT), which heads the research and development program for the solid-fuel missile, plans call for one missile regiment per year to be rearmed with the Topol-M in the near future.
Boeing said yesterday that it has unannounced orders for 163 jetliner orders worth over $9 billion. The change in policy - it previously did not reveal such orders before they were announced by customers - follows media stories comparing Airbus' 417 orders to a lower number for Boeing. With the new orders, Boeing's total is 368. Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial, said the customers will remain unnamed until they make their own announcements.
Cathay Pacific Airways has ordered three more A330-300s for delivery in the first quarter of 2001. The contract increases Cathay's total firm orders for A330/A340 aircraft to 26 including 15 A330s. Airbus said the additional Cathay orders will have the increased maximum take-off weight of 233 tons, providing additional range or payload.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., has been awarded a $589 million U.S. Navy contract for 12 more Trident II D5 missiles, the company said. The missiles will be retrofitted into four Ohio-class submarines, currently carrying Trident I C4 missiles, at their home port in Bangor, Wash., LMMS reported.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) signed a contract for its third buy of Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) TV targeting pods while taking delivery of its 1,600th LANTIRN from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., the company announced.
The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team said it has installed the first flight engine on the X-35A demonstrator at its Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif. The Pratt&Whitney JSF119-611 engine was installed in a "record time" of three hours, the company said. "First-time fighter aircraft engine integration is one of the true arts of fighter aircraft design and one of the strengths of the legendary Skunk Works," said Harry Blot, vice president and deputy JSF program manager.
Lockheed Martin this week opened Kelly Aviation Center, its new engine overhaul and maintenance facility at Kelly AFB, Tex. The company teamed with Tinker AFB, Okla., to win the 15-year, $2.6 billion Air Force maintenance contract for the facility in February. The Lockheed Martin Aircraft&Logistics Centers team, which includes Standard Aero, Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp., AESYS and EG&G, will maintain the TF39 and T56 engines.
The Department of Energy awarded Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) Defense Inc. a $10.9 million, five-year contract for policy and technical analysis, management and administrative support, ACS Defense announced. The contract is to support DOE arms control initiatives through the department's Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation and the International Policy and Analysis Division, according to ACS Defense.
Russian space officials have told NASA it could be as late as May 2000 before they are ready to launch the Zvezda Service Module to the International Space Station, adding as much as another six months to the schedule for assembling the orbiting laboratory, according to the top Station official at NASA headquarters. Unlike past delays, when Russia's cash-starved space industry was unable to complete assembly of the critical propulsion and habitation module, this time the problem is with the big Proton rocket that will launch it.
KELLSTROM INDUSTRIES said its Solair Div., Euralair Industries and Israel Aircraft Industries have formed an alliance to provide "total support" packages for Boeing 737 operators in Europe. The alliance will offer airframe maintenance, including C and D checks; component maintenance, including APU, landing gear wheels and brakes; and supply chain management, purchasing services, inventory lease, warehousing and warranty administration. It will operate out of Euralair's LeBourget facilities.
The Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency is assisting with the demilitarization of Russian ballistic missile submarines, according to Jim Davis, the agency's director. One of the jobs of 2,000-person DTRA, formed 14 months ago to bring together components of the Pentagon that deal with weapons of mass destruction, is to audit demilitarization of all Russian submarine classes, Davis told a group of reporters in Washington Tuesday.
