Researchers plan to flight-test a one-third-scale version of an electric-powered, tail-sitting, vertical-takeoff-and-landing single-person aircraft called the Puffin.
Students at the University of Southern California are working with the U.S. military to demonstrate global cargo-container tracking from space for the Homeland Security Dept., using a triple-decker Cubesat. Under development at USC’s Information Sciences Institute—which is working with the USC Space Engineering Research Center in a “teaching hospital” approach for mentoring young engineers—the “Aeneas” satellite will consist of three 10-cm. cubes carrying new technology for Cubesats in radio frequency, computer and distributed operations.
Mark W. Kenny (see photo) has been appointed Washington-based vice president of Irregular Warfare Programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp. He was director of the U.S. Navy’s Office of Irregular Warfare. Edward J. Bush has become vice president of C4ISR Networked Systems for the company’s Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector. He was director of Sensor Exploitation Systems and Colorado Operations.
BAE Systems hopes its admissions of guilt and agreement to pay $447 million in fines will end corruption investigations on both sides of the Atlantic. The fines are the result of long-running investigations by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office and the U.S. Justice Dept. In the U.K., BAE Systems agreed to “ plead guilty to one charge of breach of duty to keep accounting records in relation to payments made to a former marketing adviser in Tanzania,” concerning the SFO investigation. It will pay £30 million ($47 million) .
Japan’s expanding Skynet Asia Airways placed an order last week to lease a Boeing 737-800 from Dubin-based aircraft lessor AWAS. The aircraft is to be put into service this summer and marks the start of the airline’s fleet renewal effort. The planned turnover of the carrier’s fleet to 737NGs from nine 737-400s plus the opening of a fourth runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport later this year, represent a firm foundation for growth, according to airline CEO Masataka Ito.
The death of Rep. John P. (Jack) Murtha (D-Pa.) leaves a sudden vacuum in one of the most powerful aerospace/defense positions on Capitol Hill that could have a long-lasting impact on the industry, depending on how it is filled.
Regarding the article “Technology vs. Terrorism” (AW&ST Jan. 4, p. 24), bear in mind the comments of then-opposition leader Stanley Balwain when he shocked the U.K. in 1932 by saying: “I think it is well also for the man in the street to realize that there is no power on Earth that can protect him from being bombed. . . . The bomber will always get through . . .” He was, of course, referring to fleets of aerial bombers in a war between nations. However, his words can easily be applied to terrorism. The U.S.
Russia has begun flying a stealthy fifth-generation fighter to rival the U.S. F-22, but Western analysts question whether Sukhoi can develop and deliver the aircraft by 2015 as promised. Sukhoi’s T-50, which made its 47-min. first flight on Jan. 29 from the KnAAPO facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, is the prototype of the PAK FA “future front-line aircraft,” the first new-generation fighter for the Russian air force since the Su-27 Flanker entered service in 1984. India plans to co-fund development and co-produce the new aircraft.
Tim Brady’s characterization of flight instruction as “repeating the same hour 1,000 times” (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 54) ignores the reality of such instruction in a dangerous way, inverting the established priorities of aviate-navigate-communicate.
The Airbus A400M customer nations and parent company EADS are closer to an agreement over pricing of the military transport, but an actual deal was still not reached last week after several rounds of negotiations . Industry sources sa y talks are likely to continue for at least several days .
The Spanish interior ministry has agreed to acquire 12 Eurocopter EC135 P2i light-twin helicopters for law-enforcement and search-and-rescue missions. Six will be operated by the Guardia Civil and six by the National Police, which already fly 14 EC135s between them. Deliveries are planned for 2010-12.
Bolstered by a growing demand for design work on the A350, A330F and other models, Airbus North America Engineering (ANAE) is set to add 80 engineering jobs at its Wichita, Kan., site and is ahead of schedule with expansion plans at its Mobile, Ala., facility. In addition, Airbus says the new hires will “allow us to do repair engineering as well—the first time we’ve had that ability in the U.S. In Mobile, it’s primarily cabin and stress engineering.
The FAA’s Fiscal 2011 budget request sends the strongest signal yet that the Obama administration is dropping plans to introduce aviation user fees, at least for now. Aviation policymakers and industry groups were watching carefully for any user-fee language, so its omission was a major talking point. Even though turning to user fees could have relieved some pressure on the federal budget, it appears that the administration decided this was one battle it did not want to fight.
The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. budget includes funding for 1,000 advanced imaging machines country’s airports, but the airline industry, represented by the Air Transport Assn. (ATA), is objecting to security fees that would fund this program.
European missile manufacturer MBDA is adding a member to its Simbad naval short-range air defense system, the Simbad-RC remote weapons station. The system uses the Mistral 2 missile to provide close-in air defense, with single- and twin-turret configurations as the baseline. Simbad was developed to address close-in air defense requirements for fast patrol boats and support ships. The operator is remotely located within the ship, and can control one or two launchers. The basic Simbad can be upgraded to the Simbad-RC standard.
The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIRS) is readied for installation in the Npoess Preparatory Project (NPP) weather satellite at Ball Aerospace’s Boulder, Colo., facility. But the spacecraft will have a new name as a result of a White House directive. The Office of Science and Technology Policy decided to dismantle the joint Defense and Commerce Dept. National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, or Npoess, and allow the two departments to embark on separate programs to meet their unique needs.
Some savings from reduced overhead and streamlined facilities are being realized from the establishment of the United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin/Boeing joint venture formed in 2006 to oversee their Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. But the White House’s proposed cancellation of NASA’s Constellation P rogram is not going to help, says Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space. Each of Constellation’s Ares V launchers would require six RS-68 liquid-fueled engines, which are also used on the Delta IV.
Japan has previously thwarted industry expectations over the release of a request for proposals (RFP) for its F-X program, and it looks like it could happen again. Most recently anticipated to hit the street by March of this year, there are now suggestions Tokyo’s RFP could be held up until May. Were the request to emerge in May, Tokyo would likely aim to select the aircraft to replace its remaining F-4s by the end of 2010 , for an in-service date of 2015.
Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport will deploy an airport surface surveillance system this year as part of a runway upgrade project. The system, provided by the Czech Republic’s Era Corp., will be integrated with the airport’s existing Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System to provide air traffic control tower operators with more accurate data about the position of aircraft and vehicles on runways, taxiways and ramp areas.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of debris and dust in the asteroid belt that astronomers believe may be the result of a hypervelocity smashup between two of the rocky bodies.
The Asia-Pacific region last year became the world’s largest market for air travel and its lead is expected to widen further, according to Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Assn. (IATA). In 2009, 647 million people flew on scheduled airlines in the region , compared with 638 million in North America. The Asia-Pacific region is accounting for more than 25% of all airline travelers and that is forecast to rise to nearly one-third by 2013, when an additional 213 million will fly on the region’s carriers.
Douglas Barrie (Singapore), Robert Wall (Singapore)
As the first phase of India’s fighter competition nears conclusion, weapon trials are at center stage. Aircraft firings of air-to-air and air-to-surface ordnance are being examined prior to winnowing the field of candidates. Last week it was the turn of the Lockheed Martin F-16; the process will conclude in April with the Eurofighter Typhoon. The F-16 tests took place recently in California, with more trials due in Fort Worth. The same phase of trials for the Boeing F/A‑18E/F is due soon, to be carried out from NAS Lemoore, Calif.
Inmarsat says it has made its first call using a new global satellite phone intended to provide a handheld voice and data service that is competitive with Iridium and Globalstar. The phone— developed by Sasken Communications Technologies and produced by Elcoteq—is on track for a June rollout, Inmarsat says. Known as IsatPhone Pro, the handset will offer voicemail, text and e-mail messaging in addition to telephony, and will be targeted initially at the oil and gas industry, energy companies and other professional users.
The first rule of wing-walking is: Never let go of what you have until you have a firm grip on the next thing. President Barack Obama’s Fiscal 2011 budget proposed to Congress would have NASA take the risky step of ignoring this rule in its human spaceflight endeavors (see p. 20).
