A Washington conference this week aimed at furthering progress toward an international aviation infrastructure heard the civil aviation directors of several nations outline problems that will hamper transition anytime soon from the current national and regional systems.
Raytheon reported its win of a $1.12 billion contract from the National Science Foundation to provide science, operations and maintenance support services for the U.S. Antarctic Program.
Lockheed Martin Information Systems, Orlando, Fla., is working under a $12 million delivery order from the U.S. Army to upgrade the U.S. Special Operations Command's AC-130U simulation testbed at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Lockheed Martin, which initially developed the aircraft's virtual battle management center in 1997, will now refine the simulated flight deck to train aircrews in weapons operations and distributed simulation exercises.
LOCKHEED MARTIN Federal Systems, Owego, N.Y., said it has received a $23.9 million contract from Northrop Grumman to install the Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-24(v)6 DIRCM system on 59 U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft over the next four years. The Directed Infrared Countermeasures system will be installed on a mixed quantity of MC-130E Combat Talon I, MC-130H Combat Talon II, AC-130H and AC-130U gunship aircraft, Lockheed Martin said.
Alcatel received a $6 million subcontract from the Litton's Guidance&Control Systems division to upgrade the information systems on 27 Navy CG-47 class ships, Alcatel reported. The contract will be awarded in a series of options over a three-year period. The information systems upgrade is part of an award announced by Litton in June
Tests last month at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., showed that new infrared countermeasures technology being developed by Lockheed Martin's Sanders unit and the U.S. Navy can decisively defeat IR-guided air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, Sanders said.
Broadband satellite applications able to take high-speed data "the last mile" to the user are likely to propel an "explosion" in near-term commercial space industry growth, overwhelming any negative effects from the high-profile Iridium bankruptcy, executives from across the commercial space spectrum told a Washington audience yesterday.
Avcorp Industries Inc., Vancouver, said it has combined its Metal Products, Composites and Proprietary Products units into the Integrated Products Div. Also, with completion of design and development of components for the CRJ-700 aircraft, the company has decided to integrate the Engineering Div. into the Aerostructures Div.
British Aerospace has cancelled a 10-year, 67 million pound ($110 million) subcontract that it awarded Cobham's FR Aviation in December 1996 for work on 21 rebuilt Nimrod MRA.4 aircraft for the Royal Air Force. BAe will take over the production and final assembly.
BFGoodrich Co. has acquired the ACES II ejection seat product line from Boeing, the companies reported yesterday. Terms of the purchase, which includes production, research and development programs and related assets, were not disclosed.
NASA plans to roll the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vertical Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center today, after completing wiring inspections and repairs and settling issues concerning a bad batch of thermal protection tiles and a broken drill bit in one of the engines.
Aerojet, Azusa, Calif., said it has earned the highest possible rating from the U.S. Air Force for work on the Defense Support Program (DSP) for the period October 1998 through September 1999. This is the second straight year the company has earned the 100% fee. In August 1998, Aerojet delivered the last DSP sensor and is now focusing its DSP work on a post-production support contract worth $264.7 million through 2001. Aerojet also is working on one of DSP's eventual replacement, the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High.
The second U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter battalion has been certified combat ready after eight months of training at Fort Hood, Tex., Boeing reported. The Apache Longbow battalion, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., is equipped with 24 helicopters. The Army's 2nd Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, received its certification Oct. 28 during ceremonies at Fort Hood. The Army fielded its first combat-ready Apache Longbow battalion in October 1998. Training included more than 3,000 flight hours.
PROBABLE CAUSE of the crash of a Korean Air 747 into mountainous terrain in Guam on Aug. 6, 1997, was the captain's failure to adequately brief and execute a non-precision approach and failure by the first officer and flight engineer to effectively monitor and cross-check the captain's execution of the approach, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Contributing to these failures were the captain's fatigue and Korean Air's inadequate flight crew training, the board said.
Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Phil Condit, responding to criticism by National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall, said the company needs better communications across its divisions. Hall said at a Washington conference that the safety board wasn't told until three months ago of a 1980 Boeing report that "discussed the high temperatures in the center wing tank's configuration on the military version of the 747." Some have said the report could have helped prevent the July 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, a 747.
GEN. JOSEPH W. RALSTON of the U.S. Air Force was appointed yesterday by NATO to succeed Gen. Wesley K. Clark as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. The appointment will become effective next May. In addition to the NATO position, Ralston will be assigned as commander in chief, U.S. European Command.
German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping called for European countries to combine their selection of a new military transport aircraft in the first few months of next year with formation of a joint European airlift force, according to reports last week.
A bankruptcy bailout of ICO Global Communications by Teledesic LLC and its founder and co-chairman Craig McCaw won support yesterday from Teledesic investors in the Arabian Peninsula and Hong Kong, Teledesic reported. Top officials of Abu Dhabi Investment Co., which provided $121 million in investments for Teledesic earlier this year, and Hong Kong-based Satellite Holdings Ltd. both endorsed McCaw's plans in a Teledesic press release.
Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory executed a trajectory correction maneuver on the Mars Polar Lander Saturday, firing the spacecraft's thrusters for 12 seconds to set up a Dec. 3 landing at its primary landing site near the planet's South Pole.
TIMKEN CO., Canton, Ohio, said it has won FAA-Parts Manufacturer Approval for its line of aircraft landing wheel bearings. The approval, it said, defines the Timken bearings that can be sold through the distribution channel to replace bearings. The FAA approved 40 parts in September and another 134 in late October.
Boeing has temporarily halted delivery of four jetliner types until it and the FAA can decide what to do about a cockpit insulation shield that doesn't conform to FAA flammability regulations. The company was still expected to deliver 620 jetliners this year. Work was stopped on 34 747s, 757s, 767s and 777s, but hundreds of the aircraft are in service with the so-called drip shields which prevent condensation from reaching cockpit wiring and instruments, and which apparently have been produced and installed on the Boeing jets since 1993.
SINGAPORE AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING (SAM) and Messier-Dowty International are setting up a joint venture company in Singapore to produce landing gear assemblies and related components beginning on Jan. 1. SAM will transfer its present landing gear unit to the joint venture while Messier-Dowty will provide support, technical assistance and transfer of know-how. The companies expect the venture to be profitable form the second year of operations. The initial focus will be on manufacturing small and medium size landing gears and components.
The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said yesterday that it is opposed to new TV legislation being considered by Congress. SBCA said a bill under consideration would restrict programming choices currently available to millions of consumers by depriving them of superstations, sporting events and distant network signals.
Rolls-Royce said it has completed its acquisition of National Airmotive Corp., Oakland, Calif. Rolls-Royce reached a deal with First Aviation Services Inc. in September to acquire the aero and industrial engine repair and overhaul business for $73 million (DAILY, Sept. 13). With the addition of National Airmotive, which will be known as Rolls-Royce Engine Services - Oakland Inc., Rolls-Royce's repair and overhaul network now comprises 15 facilities either wholly or partly owned, on four continents, servicing 48 different types of engines.
