The first of a new batch of 17 F-15E fighters flew for the first time April 1 at St. Louis, Boeing Co. reported. The planes are the first F-15Es to be built for the U.S. Air Force since 1994. Deliveries are slated to continue through early 2000, adding to the AF's inventory of 209 F-15Es, bringing the total to 226.
The U.S. Navy launched four Trident I C4 ballistic missiles in a test last month at the Eastern Test Range off the Florida coast, Lockheed Martin reported. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., builds the missiles. The company said the test was one in a series conducted by the Navy to monitor the safety, reliability, readiness and performance of the Trident I C4 strategic weapon system.
The Russian Space Agency launched the Progress M-41 automated cargo capsule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Friday with a load of supplies and fuel for the Mir orbital station.
The FAA plans to require damage tolerance testing of older transport aircraft under the principle that the start and growth of structural fatigue damage can be anticipated in time to avoid airworthiness problems.
Boeing Chief Operating Officer Harry Stonecipher has offered the U.S. Air Force a 15% discount and a comparable value of improvements for the C-17 airlifter in return for an additional buy of 60 aircraft, a Boeing spokesman said. The offer comes as the AF defines its air mobility needs for the 2025 period. A written report is expected this year that will detail AF procurement plans for its airlifter fleet.
The Egyptian Air Force has agreed to upgrade five Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft beginning this year, a company spokesman said. Egypt is the sixth country to add E-2Cs to its fleet. The Japanese Air Self Defense Force has also signed a contract to upgrade its fleet of the aircraft to the Hawkeye 2000 configuration. The new equipment, including a radar, infrared system and mission computer, will increase interoperability of the Egyptian fleet with U.S. and French fleets.
BOEING 717 is exceeding fuel burn performance targets by as much as 5%, Boeing said yesterday. Jim Phillips, VP and program manager, attributed the performance to more efficient engine operations and reduced airframe drag. The improved performance could mean savings equivalent to 5% at cruise and 2.5% during climb, he said. This would yield about 3% fuel savings on a 300 to 500 n.m. flight and a savings of 4% at 1,000 n.m. The 717 is powered by two BMW Rolls-Royce engines.
Moody's Investor Service said stubbornly low oil prices will present a medium-term challenge for the defense sector, but the effect on the sale of commercial aircraft should be moderately positive on a global scale. Moody's said defense sales to the Middle East, the world's largest arms-importing region, could be tempered because defense budgets are so dependent on oil revenues. It said a slowdown in Middle East sales, combined with recent downturns in Asia, could undermine the recent improvement in arms exports.
Japan has decided to produce four reconnaissance satellites to monitor missile and other military developments in North Korea domestically, although a top official suggested parts from the U.S. and elsewhere may be included in the design. Hiromu Nonaka, the Japanese Cabinet secretary, told reporters in Tokyo yesterday that while the government had decided to build the satellites in Japan, "we may buy parts from other countries such as the United States."
Top-level officials from the U.S. Defense Dept., Commerce Dept., Transportation Dept. and NASA will launch a review this month of the "operations, maintenance, improvement and modernization" of U.S. space launch ranges in the wake of repeated launch industry complaints that the facilities are outmoded.
TRW has delivered the first laser for a next generation lithography process called extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The company said its solid state laser is the enabling technology for a new type of EUV light source that will allow chip manufacturers to keep up with demand for smaller and faster microcircuits for the next 10 to 15 years.
Cuts in modernization investments have hit future U.S. space capabilities especially hard, leaving soldiers in the field waiting for needed systems like the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Space Command Gen. Richard B. Myers told senators. At a special March 22 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee at U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs, Myers reported a number of funding shortages among the service's space modernization accounts.
PALL CORP., East Hills, N.Y., sold its worldwide Well Technology Div. to Oiltools International Ltd. Pall provides complex filtration and separation services to the aerospace, health care and fluid processing markets. Eric Krasnoff, Pall's chairman and chief executive officer, said the Well Technology business is not related to Pall's core focus.
Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered 13 F-117 stealth aircraft based at Holloman AFB, N.M., to deploy to Europe in support of the allied air strikes on Yugoslavia. One of the jets replaces the F-117 that was lost March 27. Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said the planes bring the number of F-117s in the theater to 24, and the number of U.S. aircraft participating in Operation Allied Force to 220.
ELBIT LTD., Haifa, Israel, completed the merger of Inframetrics Inc. and Flir Systems Inc. Flir issued about 2.3 million shares of common stock to Inframetrics shareholders. Elbit made about $4 million from the deal.
China was confident enough this week about its Year 2000 systems testing to pledge that its air traffic control systems are Y2K compliant and that any remaining issues will be resolved by June 30.
LOGITEK INC., New York, entered in an Agreement and Plan of Merger with North Atlantic Instruments Inc. Logitek, which designs and makes electronic power monitors and controls, will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of North Atlantic Instruments.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has passed Boeing's Solar Orbit Transfer Vehicle (SOTV) space experiment through an interim design review, clearing the way for another review later this month as the four-year, $48 million project moves to a demonstration flight by 2003. Boeing Phantom Works yesterday termed the successful review "a major milestone" in developing the SOTV experiment, which will demonstrate that concentrated solar energy can power a low-cost upper stage to raise satellites to higher orbits (DAILY, Oct. 21, 1998).
Aydin Corp., Newtown, Pa., has won a six-year contract from Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems Inc. to supply transmitters to the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program. Aydin said the contract calls for delivery of up to 1,200 RF transmitters.
Public opinion here is strongly anti-NATO in the wake of the alliance attacks on Yugoslavia, but even stronger against going to war in support of Russia's traditional Serbian allies. Although the Russian government has sent a small naval flotilla into the Mediterranean Sea in response to the attacks, a public opinion poll shows only 2.8% of those polled think Russia should join the conflict on the side of Yugoslavia.
Rockwell Collins has acquired Flight Dynamics, a Portland, Ore.-based maker of Head-Up Guidance Systems (HGS). Rockwell Collins, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said yesterday that the acquisition expands its aviation electronics content across multiple platforms.
NATIONAL TECHNICAL SYSTEMS CERTIFICATION (NTSC), Boxborough, Mass., acquired Davy Registrar Services, Pittsburgh, and Scott Quality Systems Registrars Inc., Wayland, Mass. All three companies provide quality registration and certification services for industries, including aerospace. NTSC also will open new headquarters in Fredericksburg, Va. NTSC said the acquisitions will help the company expand is services both domestically and internationally.
Raytheon Co. completed upgrades to the MV-22 operational flight trainer and cockpit procedures trainer three months ahead of schedule, the company reported yesterday. The $13 million upgrade focused on replacing cockpit shells and the majority of the instrumentation. Raytheon said the trainers will be used by the new VMMT-204 flight squadron to train instructor pilots to fly the tilt-rotor aircraft.
REMEC INC., San Diego, completed the acquisition of Wacom Products Inc., Waco, Texas, a privately-held company that designs, develops and makes radio frequency filters for communication systems. Wacom's products include bandpass cavity filters, notch filters, duplexers, ferrite isolators, transmitter combiners and receiver multi-coupler systems operating in the 30 MHz to 1900 MHz range. Wacom also is developing a line of base station antennas for the two-way radio industry.
