The FAA’s new en-route air traffic control system saw its operational debut on June 17 at the Salt Lake City center. The En Route Automation Modernization system is first being used on selected sectors during the late-night shifts. ERAM will replace the existing Host system at all FAA centers, after operational testing at Salt Lake City. This multibillion-dollar program is regarded as one of the most complex and expensive FAA has attempted.
At the beginning of June, Kazan Aviation Production Assn. delivered two modified Tupolev Tu-214SR VIP transports to the Special Air Detachment responsible for transporting the president of Russian Federation (State Transport Company Rossiya). The Tu-214SR is fitted with a new interior and specialized communications equipment—with a distinctive dorsal antenna fairing. The administration of the Russian president ordered six of the special-mission aircraft in 2005. The other two are scheduled for delivery in 2010-11.
Presidential science adviser John Holdren says Obama wants to receive “all of the reasonable options” for future human spaceflight activities from the expert panel that started reviewing them last week (see p. 40). “This is a president who gets it,” Holdren tells the panel headed by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine, restating the president’s “commitment to continued U.S. leadership in space, to go back to the Moon and destinations beyond low Earth orbit.” That gives panelists an enormous amount of clout in setting space policy, says Sen.
Volcanic activity in Russia’s Far East is expected to cause flight diversions, delays and cancellations. The Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands, near Japan’s Hokkaido Island, began belching ash plumes on June 12. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways reported the activity would cause international flights to be diverted, resulting in delays of 30-60 min. Air Canada issued a similar travel advisory for flights between Vancouver and Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Air Line Pilots Assn.
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 flew daily at Le Bourget as the first unmanned air vehicle (UAV) in the official flight display. The Austrian-designed aircraft’s certification, and flight tests in April at the CEV flight test center in Istres, France, helped it gain approval to perform at the show. The VTOL UAV’s capabilities include automatic launch, 6-hr. operation with a 55-lb. payload and landing on flight deck-equipped ships. Shipboard trials were held in April on a Pakistan Navy Type 21 frigate and a 51-meter-long Spanish Guardia Civil vessel.
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley says one issue that worries him is how to satisfy the seemingly insatiable desire for unmanned aerial vehicle intelligence data. Though UAVs require fewer forward deployed forces, their long time on station demands a huge cadre of pilots for operation. During a short appearance at the Accenture chalet during last week’s Paris air show, Donley said the service must embrace the use of single pilot-sensor crews to operate multiple UAVs at once from the same ground station.
Your article “Corporate Casualties” (AW&ST May 4, p. 36) notes business aviation may be stabilizing, but not recovering. The article implies business aviation recovery is tied to economic recovery. The opposite is true.
A Persian Gulf area surveillance satellite project that had long been expected to emerge under a regional government framework now appears on the verge of kicking off with the aid of private financing.
Boeing said its total order book reached 10 net orders through June 16 with the sale of two 737-800s to MC Aviation Partners AP, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, and one to a Boeing Business Jet client. Boeing also reported that American Airlines is the buyer of eight 737s previously carried on its unidentified list. Boeing has 52 737 orders for the year, and nine 777s. But it has lost one 747, five 767 and 45 787 orders.
United Technologies Corp. (UTC) has spent very little on acquisitions this year, but President and CEO Louis Chenevert says that shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the aerospace and industrial conglomerate is hoarding cash—like EADS—to ride out hard times. UTC has spent only $120 million of the $2-billion war chest it stockpiled for acquisitions in 2009. Aerospace properties are a top priority, but Chenevert says many sellers have overestimated their companies’ worth (an assessment being echoed by aerospace financiers).
The F-22 isn’t the only point of disagreement between House Armed Services and President Barack Obama’s Defense Dept. team. In revising the Fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill, the panel directed the Pentagon to continue the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and buy more carrier-based aircraft to close a fighter jet shortfall.
Israel’s Urban Aeronautics has begun ground tests on its Mule ducted-rotor unmanned aircraft, with the first hover flight expected in two months. The VTOL Mule is being aimed initially at autonomous resupply missions. The vehicle is designed to carry a 500-lb. payload with 2-hr. endurance at 100 kt. Development is being funded privately by Urban, which is seeking manufacturing partners to put the vehicle into production for deliveries beginning in 2014.
Space Systems/Loral has landed awards to build a big new broadband spacecraft for Hughes Network Services and a pair of new telecom satellites for a big Intelsat expansion in the Asia-Pacific revealed earlier this month (AW&ST June 15, p. 42). Intelsat 19, to be orbited in 2011, will provide Ku- and C-band capacity to Australia and other Asia-Pacific areas for a range of applications, notably Intelsat’s fast-growing mobile maritime service. Intelsat 20, to be launched in 2012, will meet Ku- and C-band needs in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Russia’s MC-21 narrow-body airliner is to enter service in 2016, says Alexey Fedorov, CEO of United Aircraft Corp. The company’s Irkut division wants to select major partners for the A320/737-sized aircraft by year-end, when important design decisions are to be made. Fedorov says the project is “strongly supported” by the Russian government, which has allocated $3 billion in development funding. The MC-21 is to be available in three versions and is scheduled to make its first flight in 2014.
Lockheed Martin is three months into a funded study of an AC-130J gunship configuration for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. The aircraft would be based on the HC/MC-130J special operations tanker/transport the company is already developing for USAF. The HC/MC common-core configuration is based on the U.S. Marine Corps’ KC-130J tanker variant. The AC-130J study is focusing on the special interfaces and other changes required to adapt the platform to the gunship role.
It was unfortunate that “The Riddle of Flight 447” (AW&ST June 8, p. 26) described two flight control system failures in Airbus A330s, one of which resulted in “uncommanded climbs and descents and a rapid loss of altitude,” but overlooked an almost identical occurrence in a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 in 2005.
China Southern Airlines will build a base at Nanning in southern China for services to Southeast Asia, as part of an effort to increase its presence in Guangxi province. The local government will support this effort, as often occurs when Chinese airlines build up local operations. China Southern’s current base in the province, at Guilin, will become a major tourism hub airport, while Nanning would become an entry point for foreign services. China Southern will spend about $18 million on the Nanning base.
NASA’s Cassini Saturn probe has detected vertical structure in the rings of Saturn from a carefully timed imaging angle as the Sun approaches the planet’s equator. In this image, shadows cast by waves in the edges of the Keeler Gap, located in the outer A ring, stretch across the rings. The waves are generated by Daphnis, a tiny moon only 5 mi. across that perturbs the particles of ring material in the edges from its inclined orbit within the 26-mi.-wide gap.
The French National Assembly has approved a €186-billion ($257-billion) five-year defense spending bill, ensuring France will have sustained funding for modernizing its armed forces. The bill includes €108 billion for procurement of new hardware, with a strong emphasis on force projection, space systems, reconnaissance and other capabilities needed to meet contemporary military threats. Cold War-era programs such as the Rafale fighter and Tiger attack helicopter are given lower priorities.
Japanese defense officials are beginning to grow wobbly about an early decision on the F-X because it appears the F-22 will stay in production, and studies are underway to determine what is needed for an export version of the Raptor. Japanese air force officials told Aviation Week & Space Technology they need F-22’s speed and altitude in order to cover the western approaches to Japan. Japan has only one runway capable of handling fighters and that is in Naha, Okinawa. Yet the country’s area of responsibility extends to within 125-150 mi. of China.
The European Space Agency has signed a €37-million ($51-million) authorization-to-proceed agreement with Thales Alenia Space to begin development of a 1.8-metric-ton experimental reentry vehicle for Europe’s Future Launcher Preparatory Program (FLPP). The vehicle, known as the IXV, is intended to test various reentry technologies that could help baseline, among other things, a European download capsule for the International Space Station and a future lunar lander.
Elbit Systems’ Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle, the primary UAV system for the Israel Defense Forces and a part of the U.K.’s Watchkeeper program, has added some features to expand its mission effectiveness and operational capabilities. Its modified engine enables increased flight altitudes up to 20,000 ft., and the vehicle can now take off from higher altitudes and carry more payload weight. Also, its communication data-link range is extended to 250 km.
With the exception of the business aviation market and lower company valuations (who’s aren’t), the aerospace/defense industry today is doing pretty well. Production rates are robust, the outlook for many government contractors is bright, cash flow is strong, balance sheets are healthy, and everyone is making money. As one well-placed observer put it last week at the 48th Paris air show, “As a whole, the industry is in fantastic shape.”
Northrop Grumman is developing a vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned cargo aircraft concept called MUVR. The fan-in-wing vehicle is designed to operate from any aviation-capable U.S. Navy ship, carrying payloads up to 10,000 lb. The concept has been wind tunnel-tested and briefed to the Navy, but there is no formal requirement yet for such an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), according to Gene Fraser, vice president and deputy for strike and surveillance systems.
Astrium confirms it will build two medium/high-resolution wide-swath Spot satellites to replace Spot 5. Astrium Services head Eric Beranger says the spacecraft, to be launched in 2012-14, will be funded with a mix of cash flow, EADS corporate financing and debt. Astrium has also signed an agreement to build a satellite integration complex in Kazakhstan as the first step implementing an agreement made last month to supply a surveillance satellite system, including two spacecraft, to that country.
