A U.S. F-16 fighter is believed to have destroyed an Iraqi Roland missile air defense site early yesterday with a High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday. The confrontation came two days after four U.S. fighters fired missiles at Iraqi jets.
Boeing has delivered two more 767 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to the government of Japan. The company said the aircraft were delivered to the Japan Defense Agency through representatives of the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
ROBERT LEDUC has been promoted by Pratt&Whitney President Karl Krapek to executive VP from senior VP. He will continue to oversee large commercial engine programs and take on responsibility for sales, marketing and strategic planning.
Fairchild Corp. has no current plans to consolidate any operations in the 16 manufacturing operations it will have in the U.S., Europe and the Far East after its anticipated acquisition of Kaynar Technologies. An article in The DAILY of Jan. 5 left out the word "no."
The first production Merlin HC Mk3 helicopter flew for the first time Dec. 24 from GKN Westland's airfield at Yeovil, U.K., Team Cormorant reported. The helicopter is the first of 22 slated for delivery to the U.K. Ministry of Defense later this year. Service entry is planned for April 2000.
CHAIRMEN of subcommittees of the House Armed Services Committees were named yesterday. They include Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), military procurement; Herbert H. Bateman (R-Va.), military readiness; Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), military research and development; Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), military installations. and Stephen E. Buyer (R-Ind.), military personnel.
Thermo Instrument Systems Inc., Waltham, Mass., will begin a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Spectra-Physics AB for 160 Swedish krona per share, Thermo reported yesterday. The total value of the deal is about $355 million. The offer will not extend to shareholders in the U.S.
The challenge in developing and deploying a sea-based national missile defense (NMD) system would not necessarily be technical, but rather in convincing Russia that the U.S. should be allowed to pursue such an option, a White House official said yesterday. Robert Bell, the White House's special assistant to the president on national security, told defense reporters at a breakfast in Washington that one of the inherent problems with the ABM Treaty is that it does not allow for a sea-based NMD.
Boullioun Aviation Services has placed its first order for Airbus aircraft - 15 A320s and 15 A319s valued at $1.3 billion. Boullioun, which has always bought Boeing airliners and which was founded by Tex Boullioun, a former Boeing executive, has purchase rights for additional Airbus aircraft and the option to switch among the A320, A319 and A321. Robert Genise, president and CEO of the Bellevue, Wash., aircraft leasing company, said it will receive the planes between February 2002 and November 2006.
Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., yesterday announced formation of a commercial space business to provide satellite systems to global customers.
MACDONALD DETTWILER of Canada will build and operate Radarsat-2 for the Canadian Space Agency under a $305 million cost-sharing deal with the government that will see the Richmond, B.C.-based company operate the satellite and commercialize its data. Canada's government expects to recoup its $225 million investment in the satellite by considering the money "prepayment" for data, while MacDonald Dettwiler will try to build its $80 million investment into a going satellite Earth-resources concern.
Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are developing robotic spacecraft rendezvous and docking technology with potential applications on the International Space Station, a sample return mission to Mars, and on automatic resupply flights to military satellites in low Earth orbit.
The Pentagon budget may have to withstand cuts in aircraft and ship programs if that's what it takes to adequately fund curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said yesterday as the 106th Congress convened. Warner already has formed a new SASC subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities that will focus on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, information warfare and non-traditional warfare (DAILY, Jan. 4).
Peter M. McVey has been appointed vice president, International Tank Programs. He will head all international tank business activities including the Middle East and Far East programs. Paul E. Funk, currently vice president - Middle East Operations, will become vice president - Customer Service and Support at General Dynamics Land Systems. Simon T. Honess, currently vice president - Business Planning, is reassigned as president of AV Technology in Shelby Township, Mich.
AlliedSignal Inc. said it will realign its aerospace businesses, a move that is expected to save between $30 million and $50 million annually. A company spokesman said the exact nature of the realignment is still being determined, but the process is designed "to provide a sharper focus on market requirements instead of on products." "What we need to do is more of an emphasis on markets and making ourselves more accessible to customers, while not losing our focus on particular products or services we provide," the spokesman said.
Frederic A. Lanes, retired Captain U.S. Navy, has joined the company as vice president, Corporate Development. James J. Murphy has been appointed vice president and general manager of the company's DRS Precision Echo unit in Santa Clara, Calif.
IRIDIUM completed $1.95 billion of new financing Dec. 23 with an $800 million Senior Secured Credit Facility; a $750 million Guaranteed Credit Facility, and $400 million in vendor financing from Motorola. Chase Securities Inc. and the Barclays Capital division of Barclays Bank PLC arranged the secured credit and guaranteed credit facilities, which replaced Iridium's previous $1 billion secured facility and $275 million guaranteed bank facility.
The board of directors announced the following new officers: Patricia A. Mahone, assistant general counsel, Iridium LLC, is the new SIA chair; Michael Fitch, vice president of regulatory affairs and spectrum for Hughes Communications Inc., is vice chair; Larry D. Atlas, vice president government relations for Loral Space and Communications, is the SIA treasurer. The executive committee respresentatives will be:
Ken C. Chin has been named president of the TLSI Division of the corporation, succeeding Morton Pullman, who is retiring. William C. Miller has been appointed vice president, Program Management, Communication Systems Division.
Northrop Grumman said it will take pretax charges of about $125 million in its 1998 fourth quarter related to Boeing 747 fuselage work and the Directional Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) program. The company said yesterday that lower 747 fuselage delivery rates caused an increase in the estimated cost to complete work on the current production block, and work on the test phase of DIRCM development was more expensive than originally predicted.
FAA and industry officials yesterday announced launch of an ambitious program that, if successful, will initially result in American Airlines becoming the first carrier to use Controller/Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) by mid-2002 at Miami International Airport. In subsequent phases, the technology will spread to other users and to airport and oceanic uses. Robert Baker, executive VP-operations for American, told a packed auditorium at FAA headquarters in Washington that launch of the program was a "ground-breaking day."
BOEING won a three-year, $331.9 million extension to its contract for payload ground operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, bringing the total value of the 15-year contract to $1.8 billion. The fifth and final contract extension ends Dec. 31, 2001.
Robert Del Boca has been appointed president of the Laser Systems Division located in Orlando, Fla. Clark (Corky) Graham has been appointed vice president of Sperry Marine, Inc. and will oversee the companies comprising Litton Marine Systems. He succeeds Paul David Miller who left the company to join Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
