The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is putting together financial aid options for the Russian Federation's ballistic missile early warning system. Russian leaders have not officially asked for funding, but congressional and military advisors in the U.S. are proposing six potential packages to be offered - possibly at the next meeting of the two sides, to begin March 10 in the U.S.
Turkey, which had been expected to shorten the list of competitors in its competition for a new attack helicopter, has retained all five. Competing for the $3.5 billion, 145 helicopter program, the Defense Industry Executive Committee said, are the Agusta A129, the Bell King Cobra, the Boeing AH-64, the Eurocopter Tiger and the Kamov Ka-50/2. The winner is expected to be chosen by the end of the year.
Boeing Co. is selling its McDonnell Douglas Technical Services (MDTSC) subsidiary to the MDTSC management team and CIVC Partners, an affiliate of the Bank of America. Terms of the deal, announced just a day after Boeing said it will sell components of the company that don't contribute to the core business, weren't disclosed but Boeing said it is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 1999.
The utility of U.S. Navy strike aircraft to citizens threatened by chemical and biological weapons may seem doubtful. However, Navy Secretary Richard Danzig promises to address that issue in a paper slated for release this morning on the Web. His work, entitled "The Big Three: Our Greatest Security Risks and How to Address Them," was funded by the Center for International Political Economy, based in New York City. It names chemical and biological weapons as one of the top threats. In a session with reporters last week in Washington, Danzig declined to name the other two.
STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, Trenton, N.J., said Boeing has chosen its Maintenance Data Recorder (MDR) as standard equipment for the CH-47SD Super D Chinook helicopter. The cockpit voice/flight data recorder is identical to the unit already used in Boeing's AH-64D Longbow Apache helicopter. MDR deliveries for the Chinook will begin in July 1999, and are continuing for the Longbow Apache.
AIRTRAN AIRWAYS' first Boeing 717-200 flew for the first time yesterday, and will join the Boeing 717 flight test and certification program. The first flight took place from the Long Beach, Calif., Municipal Airport. AirTran has ordered 50 of the jets and holds options for 50 more. The first is set for delivery at the end of this summer.
Hewlett-Packard Co. is creating a business unit that will concentrate on aerospace, air transportation and federal government customers, HP executives told The DAILY. Teams from the Palo Alto, Calif., computer hardware and services company will focus on specific customers, such as Boeing or Lockheed Martin or a federal agency, from the standpoint of complete enterprise solutions, and will operate under client business managers. The change is part of a larger reorganization.
British Aerospace's 1998 earnings before exceptional items and goodwill amortization climbed 17% to 708 million pounds ($1.13 billion) as the company's order book reached a record 28.1 billion pounds ($44.84 billion), BAe reported.
Pratt&Whitney is converting a used Boeing 720 aircraft into a flying test bed for its new PW6000 engine for the Airbus Industrie A318, and hopes to have the job done in time to start flight tests about a year from now. It's an aggressive schedule. If all goes well it means flight tests will start only six months after the first experimental engine is built. But company managers say they've learned from their experiences developing the growth version of the PW4000 for Boeing's 777 and Airbus' A330 that early flight tests are the way to go.
The House Armed Services Committee yesterday approved - by an overwhelming majority of 50 to 3 - a bipartisan bill declaring that it is the policy of the U.S. "to deploy a national missile defense." Only three Democrats voted against the straight-forward, 15-word policy declaration: Reps. Lane Evans (Ill.), Thomas Allen (Maine) and Cynthia McKinney (Ga.).
EG&G Logistics' share of the Lockheed Martin-led Kelly AFB engine maintenance work comes to $70 million during the next 15 years, EG&G Technical Services reported Thursday. In addition, "there is potential for additional work from the team's efforts to perform other military and commercial aircraft engine maintenance in San Antonio," the company says. EG&G's Kelly Distribution Center will receive, store and issue parts and supplies, as well as handle other logistics functions.
U.S. Defense Dept. executives yesterday outlined plans for the Army's Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system and the Navy's Theater Wide System to compete for the role of the leader system in the upper tier theater missile defense funding profile for 2002-2005. A decision on which system will get the larger share of the funding could come within 60 days.
ISRAEL'S EL AL took delivery this week of its first Boeing 737-800 airliner. The type seats between 162 and 189 passengers, and El Al has decided to configure this 737 with 146 seats in two classes to "focus more attention on passenger room and comfort," said Joel Feldschuh, president.
Poland's national airline, LOT, ordered six firm Embraer RJ-145 regional jets powered by Rolls-Royce AE 3007 engines, business the U.K. enginemaker says is worth as much as $65 million including options for another six twinjets. "New orders such as this continue to verify the unmatched capabilities of this airframe and engine combination in the 50-seat regional marketplace," says Al Novick, VP of customer operations, corporate and regional airlines. The 7,600-lbst. AE 3007 is the sole powerplant for the RJ-145.
Splitting work on the largest repair and overhaul deal in U.S. Air Force history between Oklahoma's Tinker AFB and Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, (DAILY, Feb. 15) reflects both the pros and cons of the evolving quasi-private approach to getting the uniformed services out of the support business, say Capitol Hill observers.
Even in the face of top-level overtures from the U.S., the European Union will probably approve banning hushkitted jetliners from Europe's skies beginning on April 1, the U.S. Commerce Dept.'s senior trade official told Senate lawmakers Tuesday. Cabinet chorus
