The Russian Duma, fuming about START 2's cost and NATO expansion, seeks to delay the disarmament treaty Russia's ratification of the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is embroiled in a legislative uproar, threatening the bulwark of U.S./Russian nuclear disarmament.
The outcome of the latest round in the Joint Strike Fighter competition pits a somewhat traditional, conservative approach against a more revolutionary one. The latter's potentially higher payoff may play better with skeptical lawmakers. But it will put to the test the Pentagon's ambitious strategy to infuse commercial practices into military aircraft design and development.
In an about-face, France's Snecma is preparing to acquire Societe Europeenne de Propulsion (SEP), abandoning its plan to sell its stake in noncore affiliates and subsidiaries such as SEP, Messier-Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza.
Following in Rockwell International's footsteps, Texas Instruments Inc. has decided the time has come to offload its defense business--despite its earlier insistence that the operating unit was a valued part of the company's long-range business strategy.
Killer-scout tactics developed by Air National Guard pilots are tailored to the capabilities of today's laser-guided bombs, which have become the ``weapons of choice'' for tactical missions since the gulf war.
Some Wall Street analysts are advising FlightSafety International Inc. stockholders to avoid hastily tendering their shares to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. at the price it is offering to acquire FSI (see p. 31).
Photograph: The RAH-66 Comanche is set to fly again in November when test pilots will begin retracting the landing gear to push the helicopter toward its top speed of 170 kt. As the RAH-66 Comanche program prepares for its third round of prototype flights, U.S. Army and Boeing/Sikorsky officials revealed that tests of the design show dramatic increases in the scout/reconnaissance helicopter's projected low-observability compared to current first-line rotary-wing aircraft.
The Rockwell/Hughes/E-Systems team competing for the Air Force airborne laser (ABL) program plans to flight test a 1/4-scale beam director nose cone around the end of October, just before the mid-November selection of one team for further work.
The U.K. is seeking bids for a new, long-range electro-optical reconnaissance pod system for Tornado and Eurofighter 2000 aircraft, part of a comprehensive program to upgrade its surveillance capabilities.
Next month, Spar Aerospace Ltd. will report a dismal third-quarter performance, which is expected to bring the Canadian company's losses through Sept. 30 to an estimated $17-18 million.
Honeywell Inc., in Wall Street parlance, is a hot stock--it has nearly doubled in price in the last 18 months. While impressive, some analysts believe there are a lot more gains to come.
Securities analysts expect sales of Bombardier Inc.'s new Global Express business jet, unveiled last week in Toronto (see p. 65), to contribute substantially to the Canadian company's revenue and earnings growth, starting in 1998.
If Russia's combat training problems are not resolved in the near future, the air force will be gripped by a deep crisis which will hit fighter aviation first, according to some senior generals.
Characterizing the stock of AMR Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. as undervalued, NatWest Securities analyst Susan Donofrio last week initiated coverage of both major carriers, with a ``buy'' rating.
Two senior MiG pilots from the Czech Republic air force earlier this month flew eight evaluation flights in F-16D aircraft at Lockheed Martin's Ft. Worth facility. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are considered likely candidates for admission to NATO. The primary goal in reorganizing their military forces is to develop military training and doctrine compatible with those in the West.
As a designer and producer of FAA-approved aftermarket jet engine components, the Heico Corp. is dwarfed by original equipment manufacturers Pratt&Whitney, a unit of the United Technologies Corp., and the General Electric Corp.'s aircraft engine division.
The U.S. Air Force has formed its first operational unit to fly a new generation of long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles--the 11th Reconnaissance Sqdn.
Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's long-endurance, Tier 2+ unmanned reconnaissance aircraft will rely on clever tactics rather than stealth to operate over modern battlefields.
The U.S. military is relying more on joint operations and training to perform day/night combat search and rescue while exploiting the latest technology such as satellite navigation and communication equipment, as well as night vision goggles.
SOUTH KOREA WILL USE A PORTABLE computer diagnostic system for flight line maintenance of its F-16 aircraft. The three box system, produced by Paravant Computer Systems Inc. of Melbourne, Fla., replaces what previously took 31 pieces of test equipment for the F-16. For most preflight and troubleshooting, a technician need only take two of the boxes, which one person can carry. The system could be used by a variety of modern aircraft, with software tailored for each one, according to Paravant.
The top managers for six large U.S. aerospace companies are meeting with executives from five French, German and Italian companies to outline teaming for a new multibillion dollar air/missile defense system sparked by reinvigorated transatlantic cooperation.
