The U.K. Ministry of Defense is discounting reports of continuing cost increases and delays in Britain's military procurement programs set out in the National Audit Office annual report for 1998. Pointing out that the cut-off date for the report was March 1998, the MOD claims that many of the criticisms already are being met by the Smart Procurement initiative launched in the government's Strategic Defense Review, published last summer.
Six U.S. Air Force's B-2 bombers dropped more than 650 Joint Direct Munitions during Operation Allied Force, an AF general said yesterday. The $2 billion bombers, flying from their home base at Whiteman AFB, Mo., participated in 34 of the 53 Air Tasking Orders prepared during the NATO air campaign, said Brig. Gen. Leroy Barnidge, who commands the B-2 wing. On 15 nights, two B-2s flew tandem missions, and in 19 flights a B-2 operated singly. On all occasions, the bomber's weapons were 98% effective.
IDC Aerospace, LLC, a joint venture formed by Derco Repair Services, Inc., and Intertechnique, S.A., of France last year, has moved into a new, 20,000-square-foot facility in Milwaukee. IDC was formed to support fuel system component test, repair, overhaul and distribution.
Rolls-Royce said its Trent 895 turbofan has received U.K. and JAA certification. The 95,000-pound thrust engine is due to enter service on British Airways' 777 jet transport early next year.
With final figures now in, Europe's Airbus Industrie consortium continued to extend its new order lead over Boeing in April, a month in which Airbus's single-aisle orders outpaced Boeing's by a ratio of more than 13 to one, boosting the still soaring CFM International orderbook.
GE On Wing Support, Inc., signed a memorandum of understanding with Asiana Airlines, Inc. of Seoul, Korea, to study setting up a center at Kimpo Airport, to be based at Asiana's repair facility.
NASA has sent the contractors and its own engineers conducting its space transportation architecture studies back to the drawing board for more work on safety and reliability, and is in discussions with the White House on human spaceflight missions beyond servicing the International Space Station, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said yesterday.
GE Engine Services, Inc., and LOT Polish Airlines agreed to form an engine maintenance and repair joint venture at Warsaw, Poland. Central European Engine Services, Sp.z.o.o., initially would service LOT's CFM56-3 engines, then expand to other customers and engines.
A U.S. appeals court overturned a $1.2 billion damage award to Boeing and General Dynamics over the Navy's cancellation of the A-12 aircraft and remanded the case back to federal claims court.
OFFICIALS of several major aerospace firms have committed to attend the 1999 Taipei Aviation Fair, which will start on Aug. 14, according to Yang Shih-chien, Taiwan minister without portfolio.
Dean Borgman has become president and chief executive officer of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., effective June 30, the company reported yesterday. He succeeds Eugene Buckley, who retired as chairman and CEO on June 30. Borgman joined Sikorsky in October 1998 as president and chief operating officer. Before coming to Sikorsky, he served as senior vice president in charge of Boeing's Mesa, Ariz., helicopter facility. He joined the Mesa unit in 1981 when it was part of McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co. He also is president of the American Helicopter Society.
U.S. Army officers yesterday gave lawmakers their wish list of improvements for the AH-64 Apache helicopter, which included a second-generation forward looking infrared radar (FLIR) and improved electronic jamming capability.
Boeing completed the forebody of its X-32B concept demonstrator aircraft and delivered it to the company's X-vehicle assembly facility in Palmdale, Calif. The forebody came in ahead of schedule, under cost and under weight, the company said, allowing an early start of final assembly. It is scheduled to be mated with the center and aft fuselage sections this week.
Aloha Airlines chose Pratt&Whitney's Columbus Engine Center, Columbus, Ga., to overhaul and repair the Hawaiian carrier's JT8D engines and engine modules. No contract value was given.
Enginemaker Pratt&Whitney introduced a new combustor system to meet more stringent environmental standards, and is making it available as a retrofit kit. P&W says the new combustor, available for the JT8D-217, 217A, 217C and -219 series engines, "exceeds all ICAO standards for new production engines and qualifies for the Swiss Class 5 emission category."
Kollmorgen Corp., Waltham, Mass., said it has completed the acquisition of its long-time naval systems partner, Italy's Calzoni S.p.A. Calzoni designs and builds motion systems and components primarily for naval platforms and is a leading maker of submarine masts. Calzoni has facilities in Bologna, Milan and Florence, and recorded 1998 sales of about $25 million.
In a bid to reduce operating costs for airlines across the Asia/Pacific region, 16 countries plan to establish a Pacific United Airspace Management team by March as a first step toward installing a joint air traffic control system.
Half of GE Aircraft Engines' anticipated $11 billion in 1999 gross revenues, or $5.5 billion, will be booked by GE Engine Services this year, reports GEAE chief Jim McNerney. In its first year, 1996, the aftermarket unit logged $2.3 billion in sales. 1997 sales were $3 billion, and last year's were just under $5 billion. The future looks good to McNerney, too. "Between 1995 and 2005, the installed base [of GE engines] will double," he said. That will help build the demand for GE Engine Services.
Litton Systems Canada Ltd. and Litton's Applied Technology Div. in San Jose, Calif., both pleaded to three counts of conspiracy to resolve allegations related to the employment of foreign sales agents, Litton reported Wednesday.
Congress would be better able to fund the annual defense budget if women voters were stronger supporters of national defense instead of wanting to spend money on "touchy feely things," Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told reporters at a Washington breakfast yesterday. Stevens, who has complained that budget caps limit adequate funding of defense, said the defense budget process doesn't have to be changed on Capitol Hill.
Canada's military is coating their entire fleet of more than 200 T56 engines with a proprietary coating developed by Standard Aero called AeroBlue to improve gas turbine compressor components' resistance both to corrosion and erosion. There's also a proprietary application process for the coating, which can be stripped and reapplied without affecting base materials, the company says. Standard Aero is based in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Western Pacific Data Systems (WPDS), La Jolla, Calif., won a contract to upgrade its GOLD software for the Naval Sea Systems (Navsea) and Space and Naval Warfare Systems (Spawar) Commands. The contract, from Lockheed Martin Services Group, Chesapeake, Va., calls for material management and maintenance support for the AN/SQQ-89 antisubmarine warfare system, WPDS said.
The FAA yesterday denied that the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) program has fallen behind schedule. It disputed a statement by an official of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) union, who said that "only eight weeks into reworking the STARS project, FAA mismanagement has caused the project to fall seven weeks behind."
President Clinton on Tuesday signed the National Missile Defense Act which makes it U.S. policy to deploy an NMD system as soon as technologically feasible. The bill originated in the Senate from Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and was later also passed by the House. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said the White House has signed the bill at the right time as concern over North Korea's missile testing grows.
