Northrop Grumman said it has begun installing the last in a series of 44 ARSR-4 air route surveillance radar systems for the FAA and Dept. of Defense. Installation and checkout for the final system at Ajo, Ariz., are expected to be completed by July. The first systems was commissioned by the FAA at Tamiami, Fla., in April 1996. The contract was awarded in 1988.
AH-64D Apache Longbow this week is making its first appearance at the Australian International Air Show, according to Boeing Co. It said the production helicopter will be available for demonstrations to officials who have expressed interest in the helicopter. Boeing said a tour of Australian defense facilities is also planned.
Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing propulsion system completed what the company believed was the first ever conversion in such a large propulsion system from vertical to horizontal flight mode and back to vertical.
The FAA has commissioned its Multi-Sector Oceanic Data Link (MS-ODL) system at the Oakland, Calif., Ocean Air Traffic Control Center, according to Raytheon Co. It said the commissioning follows several months of testing and controller training. MS-ODL extends the FAA's current operational role to all seven sectors covering 18.7 million square miles of Pacific Ocean airspace, Raytheon said.
Orbital Sciences Corp. posted record sales of $734.3 million in 1998, 21% higher than 1997, but a net loss of $6.4 million due to one-time, non-cash accounting charges. In 1997, Orbital earned $23 million on revenues of $606 million. The accounting charges that resulted in the 1998 loss consisted of:
A GPS-aided version of the guided Multiple Launch Rocket System flew 49 kilometers and impacted 2.1 meters from its target in the last of five flight demonstration tests last week. The U.S. Army launched the missile from an MLRS M270 launcher at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on Thursday. The flight used GPS-aided inertial navigation incorporating an inertial measurement unit, GPS receiver, guidance computer and four-axis canard control system.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin has agreed to consider merging the three components of Russia's nuclear triad into an integrated "Strategic Deterrence Force." On Feb. 10 Yeltsin signed an edict setting up a "Commission on Unification of Strategic Nuclear Forces" to study the question.
British Aerospace yesterday resurrected its BAe 146/Avro RJ as its offering in the already crowded market for large regional jets. The Avro RJX is being offered with four new AS9777 engines from AlliedSignal. Alan Stiley, VP sales and marketing for BAe, told reporters in Washington that BAe has authority from its board to conditionally offer the RJX in 70-seat, 85-seat and 100-seat variants.
A Russian Proton rocket launched Loral Skynet's Telstar 6 communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Feb. 15. The Proton lifted off the pad at Site 81 at 8:12 Moscow Time (05:12 GMT) and six hours later Telstar 6 separated from the Block DM3 upper stage in geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite was acquired by Loral tracking and control facilities, which will be responsible for further operations.
THREE RUSSIAN COSMONAUTS will join 1999 Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station, NASA said. Valery Tokarev, a colonel in the Russian Air Force, has been named to STS-96, the first logistics flight to the Station. He replaces Yuri Malenchenko, also a colonel in the Russian Air Force, who was previously assigned to the mission, and is now assigned to STS-101. Boris Morukov, a Russian Air Force pilot who commanded the 16th basic expedition to the Mir space station, has also been assigned to STS-101.
Vice President Gore's idea for a million-mile-high satellite with a continuous view of the sun-lit earth gets a $75 million boost in NASA's 2000 budget. The Triana satellite, being built by Scripps Institution of Oceanography for a December 2000 launch, is intended to inspire more students to scientific careers (DAILY, Oct. 29, 1998). NASA is adding three other experiments to the program, Ghassem Asrar, associate administrator for earth science, told the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics last week.
The U.S. general aviation industry has set a new record for billings in 1998 for the third year in a row, and for the fourth consecutive year, "shipments have increased dramatically," according to General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen. Billings were a record $5.9 billion, up from $4.7 billion the previous year, while shipments totaled 2,220, the first time since 1985 the industry has shipped more than 2,000 aircraft, Bolen said. The industry shipped 1,569 aircraft in 1997.
A British Army armored battle group and an initial force of up to 2,350 personnel are being sent from Germany to the Balkans to ensure a rapid response as part of a possible NATO-led operation in Kosovo. U.K. Defense Secretary George Robertson, making the announcement late last week, said NATO countries had to be ready to send forces to Kosovo as quickly as possible after a peace agreement. The deployment would parallel the progress being made with current peace talks at Rambouillet to implement a political agreement in the area.
Rolls-Royce signed a 150 million pound ($245 million) contract with British Aerospace for through-life support of Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk. 871 engines for Australia's Lead-in Fighter Hawk aircraft.
Boeing Co. yesterday won a $1.8 billion U.S. Navy contract modification for low rate initial production of 14 F/A-18E and 16 F/A-18F aircraft and associated hardware to be completed by September 2001.
The U.S. Air Force will establish two full-size expeditionary forces by October and they will be ready to deploy by January 2000, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald G. Cook, director of Air Expeditionary Force implementations and deputy chief of staff for air and space operations. The organizations will likely be headquartered at Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C., and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. The aircraft and personnel will remain geographically separated until they are called up for a mission.
NATO is planning for possible air strikes against Serb forces, if they derail the peace talks now underway, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said yesterday. The final decision about the use of force is expected later this week, after NATO leaders evaluate progress at the talks. In October, member nations gave the secretary general authority to attack and recently emphasized their stance, Bacon said. The secretary general is only required to consult with allied leaders before attacks begin.
Lockheed Martin Vought Systems, Dallas, and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) have established a joint venture company for Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile work in Germany, Lockheed Martin reported. The new company will be known as GLVS-Gesellschaft fur Luftverteidigungssysteme GmbH, or "Air Defense Systems Co."
ARGOS SATELLITE LAUNCH by a Delta II rocket, slated for Feb. 13 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., was scrubbed after a momentary spike in one of the two power sources to the first stage electronics package. Boeing said the next attempt would not take place before next weekend.
