Airbus has sealed the deal to sell its Laupheim plant to a Diehl/Thales joint venture; the transfer should take place on Oct. 1. This is the first successful site sale for Airbus, which made disposal of several facilities a key element of its Power8 cost-savings plan. Talks are still underway with GKN to take over parts of the Filton, England, location, but efforts to unload aerostrutures facilities in Germany and France have failed over a host of issues. Laupheim is active in cabin work, and will now also pursue business outside Airbus.
Canadian buyout firm Onex Corp. and investment bank Goldman Sachs raised eyebrows when they paid $3.3 billion to acquire Raytheon Aircraft last year. After all, the Wichita, Kan.-based business and general aviation aircraft manufacturer had once been such a mess that no buyers would touch it, let alone pay a premium (AW&ST Jan. 1, 2007, p. 26).
International Launch Services says the Aug. 14 launch of the third Inmarsat 4 satellite on a Proton M Breeze M has been delayed because of a problem with a vendor-supplied onboard computer. A new date will be released once a new unit has been installed and tested. The flight will be the Proton M’s first since a failure in March stranded an SES satellite. The new spacecraft will enable Inmarsat to expand its Broadband Global Area Network over the Asia-Pacific region, giving the high-speed mobile satellite network worldwide coverage.
The Russian Defense Ministry is working on a long-term strategy covering the period to 2030. A draft of the ministry’s “The New Face of the Russian Armed Forces Until 2030” is being circulated among senior officials. According to Russian news agency Novosti, the draft document stresses the importance of high-precision conventional weaponry as a complement to sustaining the strategic nuclear triad.
International Air Transport Assn. Director General Giovanni Bisignani recently warned that rising fuel prices are setting the stage for a global airline crisis, a situation he described as unprecedented in aviation history. IATA forecasts a $6.1-billion industry loss this year with crude prices at $135 per barrel. Several Wall Street investment banks see oil settling in at $200-250 per barrel. Some analysts argue economic sustainability of the industry as a whole is unlikely without government intervention, even if oil adjusts to $100 per barrel.
While an anticipated wave of retirements has kept the aerospace and defense industry on edge for the past couple of years, many older employees have simply stayed on in their positions. But that only delays the expected “silver tsunami”—with 26% of aerospace professionals eligible to retire this year alone—according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). In a just-released report on ideas discussed at a May AIAA workforce forum, participants urged a number of actions to fill the soon-to-be vacant positions.
Iridium Satellite has tapped Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space for the final phase of the procurement process for the company’s replacement satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. During this last nine-month phase, the two companies will vie for the prime contract, slated to be awarded by mid-2009. The current generation of Iridium satellites is expected to begin reaching the end of its operational life around 2014. Iridium NEXT will replace the company’s current system of low-Earth orbiting satellites with 66 new spacecraft covering the entire globe.
Lockheed Martin continues to struggle to gain momentum in flight testing of the Joint Strike Fighter, with the first F-35 again grounded by component failure and while the second aircraft heads toward a hiatus in flying that will last into early next year. The issues will not affect the overall schedule, says Lockheed, but they are preventing key risks being retired early. These include additional noise tests funded by the Australians at a time when the F-35’s environmental impact has become an issue for some international partners.
Eric Dixon has been promoted to assistant manager from Learjet 60 training program manager at the Atlanta Learning Center of New York-based FlightSafety International .
Neither fuel prices nor a deteriorating economy kept aviation enthusiasts from their appointed rounds of EAA AirVenture 2008 and its new technology offerings.
Realigning its network and downsizing its fleet paid off for the JAL Group in the first quarter. Revenue gains through June rose ¥6.1 billion ($55.8 million) to ¥428.1 billion, and the air transport sector achieved an operating profit of ¥3.3 billion, compared to a loss last year, despite drops of 5.7% in international passenger demand and 0.3% on domestic routes. It said high fuel prices have prompted it to revise a route plan approved in February, which called for increasing services on some profitable routes but cutting flights on marginal ones.
With F-22s from Alaska now stationed temporarily on Guam, USAF has sent E-8C Joint Stars aircraft of the 16th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron from Robins AFB, Ga., to Kadena AB, Okinawa, to conduct exercises with E-3 AWACS aircraft of the 961st Airborne Air Control Sqdn. Joint Stars will pass ground targets to the AWACS to correlate with the air picture, which is then broadcast to E-8 and other aircraft to provide a common battlefield picture.
The Verified Identity Pass (VIP) Clear registered traveler program has recovered a missing laptop computer containing unencrypted data from 33,000 pre-enrolled applicants. But the headaches aren’t over for the leading airport fast-lane vendor: The Transportation Security Administration is reviewing the incident and has suspended Clear from enrolling any new customers for now. VIP discovered the laptop was missing from its San Francisco airport location July 26 but found it in the same office Aug. 5.
The U.K.’s Qinetiq Group will boost its presence in the U.S. intelligence community via its recent agreement to acquire Virginia-based Dominion Technology Resources Inc. for $104.5 million. The U.S. company’s expertise focuses on mission architecture engineering, integration and operations support. The acquisition will be organized under the Mission Solutions Group of Qinetiq North America.
It’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon and blame market speculators for record oil prices that are pinching consumers and wreaking havoc on airlines. If only those nefarious market manipulators would stop their meddling, the thinking goes, oil prices could return to their natural levels, order would be restored in the airline industry, and a commercial aerospace downturn would be averted.
The FAA is taking the unusual step of offering to subsidize the installation of electronic flight bags and aural alerting systems on airliners to help avoid runway incursions at key airports.
The U.S. Air Force Space Command will hand over historic Space Launch Complex 36 (SLC 36) at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., for commercial launches arranged by the State of Florida. Pending environmental review, SLC 36 will be reconfigured to handle several light- and medium-lift launchers for missions to low Earth orbit and higher. The state legislature has appropriated $14.5 million in Fiscal 2009 to Space Florida, the state’s aerospace development organization, to begin work on modifying the facility.
Taylor W. Lawrence (see photo) has been appointed president of Raytheon Missile Systems , Tucson, Ariz. He succeeds Louise L. Francesconi, who will be retiring Sept. 1. Lawrence has been vice president-engineering, technology and mission assurance at Raytheon Co. headquarters, Waltham, Mass. He will be succeeded by Mark E. Russell (see photo), who has been vice president-engineering for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Lynn A. Dugle (see photo) has been named vice president/deputy general manager of Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems.
Airline passenger growth has slowed significantly going into the summer months and cargo volume is declining, according to an International Air Transport Assn. June report. The negative performance has IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani warning that “with consumer and business confidence falling, and sky-high oil prices, the situation will get a lot worse.” June passenger traffic saw only 3.8% growth, which significantly lags what carriers have seen year-to-date. The average for the first six months was 5.4% growth.
Finmeccanica is finalizing key elements of its enlarged U.S. footprint, coming to terms with U.S. partners on C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft production and preparing financial resources to complete the acquisition of DRS Technologies. After several weeks of difficult talks, Finmeccanica Chief Operating Officer Giorgio Zappa says the two companies are close to an agreement about partnering on the C-27J. “We are working out with Boeing and L-3 Communications some legal and industrial details, but we have solved the main issues,” Zappa says.
Chinese engineers have made 36 improvements to the Long March 2F rocket for the launch of the Shenzhou 7 manned capsule scheduled for October. The design changes improve reliability and safety, says the Xinhua state news agency. One tackles a vibration problem while others introduce monitoring functions. The rocket earmarked for liftoff of Shenzhou 7 has arrived at the launch site at Jiuquan for assembly with its boosters and the spacecraft, and for system checks.
BAE Systems and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) are teaming up to compete for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Joint Allied Threat Awareness System (Jatas). The objective of the Jatas program is to provide cost-effective, advanced missile warning capability, aircrew warning of laser-based weapon systems and a Hostile Fire Indicator for small arms, rockets and other threats.
Boeing has pushed its 777 order count to 46 for the year thanks to British Airways and Delta Air Lines. BA bought two 777-300ERs directly and will lease two more from GE Commercial Aviation Services that were previously carried as unidentified on Boeing’s web site. Delta ordered two more ultra-long-range 777-200LRs. Boeing also gained a 737 Business Jet order, raising its net total for the year to 551.
A pledge by European Union ministers to place the organization at the center of space policymaking, coupled with European Space Agency efforts to broaden support among its members, could boost Europe’s chances of carving out a key role in international exploration and other big-ticket space endeavors.
An initial three Australian Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters have arrived at Darwin, the army’s main operating location for the system. The army plans to base 17 of 22 of the rotorcaft at Darwin. They will be be operational with the 1st Aviation Regiment (either the 161st or 162nd Reconnaissance Sqdn.). The units are co-located with the army’s 1st Brigade, partly to ensure close air-ground integration, Australian defense officials suggest.
