Douglas Barrie (London and St. Louis), Amy Butler (Washington and St. Louis), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
Emerging cruise missile requirements on both sides of the Atlantic are symptomatic of increasing activity—if not funding—across the breadth of the guided-weapons sector as armed forces look to next-generation systems to meet an ever-widening threat spectrum and often increasingly stringent rules of engagement.
Following the signing of a Space Act agreement earlier this year, General Electric and NASA Glenn Research Center are teaming on a wind-tunnel test program to evaluate open rotor counterrotating fan-blade systems. Tests of a one-fifth scale blade set will begin late this year and continue into mid-2009, says GE’s Ted Ingling. Using scaled versions of the original configurations developed for the GE36 unducted fan (UDF) of the 1980s as a starting point, the program will begin by comparing measured results with modern analytical techniques.
A new agreement between the Indian Space Research Organization and French space agency CNES sets the policy for distribution of data received from Megha-Tropiques. The Indo-French project is scheduled for launch in 2009 for tropical weather monitoring. Under the policy, the global community will have free access to Megha-Tropiques data for weather and climate-change studies after calibration and evaluation of the payloads by scientists from both the agencies.
Brian H. Sako (see photos) and Philip R. Schwartz have been promoted to distinguished scientists and Joseph J. Sacchini to distinguished engineer, at The Aerospace Corp. , El Segundo, Calif. Sako was a senior engineering specialist in the Structural Mechanics Subdivision of the Vehicle Systems Div. He was recognized for achievements in the mathematical analyses of complex engineering data and the development of algorithms and mechanical engineering analysis tools in support of advanced national security space missions.
Jennifer Moulton has been appointed senior vice president-sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Dublin-based AWAS . She was vice president-sales for Europe.
The spate of fatal cargo accidents continues with two back-to-back crashes, underlining the need to mitigate the risks of freight operations. On July 7, representatives from the NTSB, FAA, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney sped to Bogota, Colombia, to help investigators seeking clues to the crash of Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164, a Boeing 747-209BSF (N714CK).
Riaz Saloojee has been appointed president of Saab South Africa. He was the executive in charge of Southern Africa for Saab International. Ulrika Fager has been named press secretary for Saab at its headquarters in Linkoping, Sweden, effective Sept. 1. She was head of external communications for SAS Scandinavian Airlines Sweden.
Perry Tanner, who has been vice president-corporate marketing for Atlanta-based EMS Technologies , now will be vice president-marketing and information management.
Japan Airlines will pull out of northeastern Japan’s Fukushima Airport in January and might drop its daily service between Kansai International Airport and London Heathrow by March.
Michael O’Donnell has been named director of the FAA Office of Airport Safety and Standards. He has been executive director of the South Carolina Div. of Aeronautics and succeeds Dave Bennett, who has retired. Randy Fiertz has been appointed director of the Office of Airport Compliance and Field Operations. He has been senior FAA representative for South Asia. Frank SanMartin has become manager of the Airports Financial Assistance Div. in the Office of the Associate FAA Administrator for Airports. He has been manager of the Airports Law Branch.
Aiming to broaden and deepen its aerospace expertise, South Korea is planning to develop a regional jet airliner, a very light private jet and an all-composite light propeller aircraft. The proposal for a 60-seat regional jet revives the country’s long-standing ambition to take a major role in developing and building a commercial aircraft, an ambition that dates back to the K100, a 93-123-seat aircraft that was proposed for codevelopment with China in the mid-1990s. It would also strengthen the trend for new aircraft programs appearing in Asia.
The Netherlands government is locked in a head-to-head battle with the country’s aerospace and defense industry over its decision that industry should pay 10.3% of all revenues from F-35 Joint Strike Fighter-related orders through 2053 to the state. The revised percentage, replacing the preliminary figure of 3.5%, was announced July 1 by Minister of Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven.
Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
With no all-new military rotorcraft program starts on the horizon, the U.S. industry faces the prospect of an endless cycle of modernization. Unless more science and technology dollars are dedicated to development, proponents fear, future helicopters risk being little more than legacy platforms with new paint.
Britain’s Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator will fly in 2010, with the French-led Neuron to follow in 2011. Both will use the same model of Rolls-Royce Adour engine—though ironically, propulsion is one area that is underfunded by both nations in terms of future development. Europe will conceivably be in a position to begin fielding operational UCAVs toward the end of the next decade, but both programs already build on years of predominantly classified research and development.
The U.S. Army has declared a Nunn-McCurdy cost overrun for its Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program, indicating further problems in the effort to field an armed commercial derivative of Bell’s 407. Last November, Army and company officials said the effort was back on track after a per-unit cost increase to $9 million from $5.5 million.
Jay Schaefer has been named vice president-finance/treasurer, Ben Minicucci vice president-Seattle operations and Tom O’Grady chief compliance officer/deputy general counsel for the Alaska Air Group . They all held the same positions with subsidiary Alaska Airlines. Dan Russo has been promoted to vice president from director of marketing and communications for subsidiary Horizon Air. Lane Kemper has become managing director of customer service call centers for Alaska Airlines. She was director of reservations in Seattle.
Tim Budden has been named president of Esterline Avista , Platteville, Wis. He was vice president-engineering and succeeds Jim Schneller, who has retired.
Iran’s latest test of its long-range missile capability bolsters U.S. arguments for basing an anti-ballistic missile defense system in Eastern Europe, says Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “This certainly addressed the doubts raised by the Russians that the Iranians won’t have a long-range ballistic missile for 10-20 years,” Gates told a Pentagon press briefing the first day of Iran’s latest missile testing (see p. 60). The U.S. is negotiating to base 10 ballistic missile interceptors in Poland, and just inked a deal to base a missile tracking radar in the Czech Republic.
With a panoramic view of downtown Chicago, Jim McNerney’s offices atop Boeing Co.’s skyscraper headquarters provide a fitting backdrop. As the chairman, president and CEO of a company whose sales rival the gross domestic product of Vietnam, he has to take a big picture view of the business landscape. So when asked to name the issues he’d like to see the U.S. presidential candidates address, McNerney doesn’t talk directly about airplanes or weapons systems. His top three desires are an articulated national energy policy, an upward “rebalancing” of the U.S.
Boeing has begun flight testing the AH-64D Apache Block III. The latest upgrade of the attack helicopter is on track to enter service with the U.S. Army in 2011, and will incorporate composite main rotor blades. uprated face-gear transmission, digitally controlled engines and new open-architecture avionics designed to increase connectivity, enhance situational awareness and allow control of unmanned aircraft. The first of two avionics-test aircraft flew on June 27, followed on July 5 by an aircraft fitted with the new rotor blades.
A recent diverted flight for a U.S. Navy Global Hawk maritime demonstration vehicle provided infrared data to firefighters battling this summer’s California wildfires on the locations of hot spots and movement of the blazes. Some of the fires could not be seen with visible light sensors because they were obscured by smoke. This image and nearly 700 others were collected after one of two U.S. Navy demonstrator aircraft conducted a mission over Hawaii for a series of Trident Warrior military exercises there.
For years, Bush administration officials and members of Congress have accused some NATO members of not pulling their weight in Afghanistan. But British Defense Secretary Des Browne says it might be more productive to focus on the transformation of Canadian, Danish, Dutch and other forces from a peace-keeping to a war-fighting role in Afghanistan.
