It is a sad day when USAF stabs its country in the back by not buying American. I hope it was not the statement by USAF Gen. (ret.) Charles Horner that the Airbus design is newer, in a Point-Counterpoint (AW&ST Nov. 19, p. 58). The Airbus is a stretched A300 with a modified wing from the early 1970s. The 767 is an early ’80s aircraft. Horner may have led USAF down an un-American path.
Avionics, engines, radars and weapons systems will be upgraded for five Indian air force MiG-29 squadrons under a $964-million contract with RAC MiG. First proposed three years ago for $104 million less, the contract covers about 70 aircraft and will bring work to government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and Bharat Dynamics Ltd., besides foreign contractors. The original N-019 radar is to be replaced by the Zhuke-ME passive radar and a glass cockpit.
The Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group (Suirg) has issued the formal findings of a field test that it says conclusively demonstrate WiMax communications pose a significant interference threat to C-band fixed satellite service (FSS) communications, even for signals well in excess of 12 km. (7.5 mi.) away. The study showed data in the best of conditions to be degraded to 10-4, compared to a nominal figure of 10-8. Subsequent calculations indicated FSS antennas cannot coexist with WiMax systems unless they are 50-200 km.
Kevin Vandeberg has become an aviation planner in the Huntsville, Ala., office of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon Inc. He was director of operations at Huntsville International Airport.
Two Los Alamos scientists are developing a concept for recovering carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and producing carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.
Cessna is preparing to take the first production 162 SkyCatcher light sport aircraft skyward this spring, following initial flight of the prototype. The manufacturer’s entry into the light sport aircraft market lifted off from Cessna Aircraft Field shortly after 7 a.m. on Mar. 8. Engineering test pilot Dale Bleakney flew the SkyCatcher for 1 hr. to test aircraft controllability and stability over Wichita, Kan.
In the ongoing quest for alternative, environmentally acceptable fuels, algae and other biomass materials are looking promising as feed stocks for processing and refining. However, finding the needed landmass to support this endeavor is problematic, according to a new report from the International Air Transport Assn. (IATA).
Continental Airlines is the first major U.S. carrier to begin looking for alternative fuels and the first to do so using a narrow-body airliner. A Continental official notes that the Boeing 737 is the most common aircraft in the airline’s fleet. Boeing and GE Aviation will join in the demonstration flight set for the first half of 2009 using a CFM56-7B engine.
The Italian air force, as part of its overall operational assessment of the weapon, is carrying out trials examining the capability of the IRIS-T imaging-infrared guided missile to deal with advanced flares. The air force’s experimental trials unit, known as the RSV (Reparto Sperimentale Volo), is staging the tests from its base at Pratica di Mare, near Rome. The program involves a Eurofighter Typhoon from the air force’s 4th Wing, with a Lockheed Martin F-16 ADF from the 37th Wing being flown as the target aircraft.
Your report “Company Aloft” (AW&ST Feb. 4, p. 18) on the interception of a Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber by an F-22 reminded me that the English Electric Lightning played such a role in NATO Northern Europe for nearly 30 years, a result of its extraordinary climb performance. I was project leader of a team of young engineers in the Elliott company in the late 1950s that designed an automatic interception computer to assist pilots to perform the most efficient flight from takeoff up to target closure at around 37,000 ft.
L-3 Communications has agreed to purchase Northrop Grumman Electro-Optical Systems, which produces night-vision and applied optics products, for $175 million in cash. The acquisition, which is expected to close by June 30, will be L-3’s largest since Michael Strianese became CEO in October 2006 and put more focus on organic growth.
Continued failure to meet financial expectations has driven down Air Berlin’s share value by around 20%. After falling short of expectations earlier in the financial year, there is concern 2008 will be another problem year. Air Berlin’s net result dropped to €11 million from €50.1 million as revenues grew to €2.54 billion from €1.58 billion. The plunge is blamed on the flawed integration of LTU International Airways.
A cutting-edge engine design and composite wing are two of the technical features that Mitsubishi expects to distinguish the MRJ70/90 regional jet family in a crowded field.
The Finnish army has taken delivery of the first of 20 NH90 TTH tactical transport helicopters that will replace its fleet of aging Mil Mi-8s. The helicopter was handed over at the Eurocopter plant near Marseille, France, where it was assembled. Patria, a Finnish-based company partly owned by EADS, will complete the following 19. The Finnish delivery is the first of 25 scheduled for this year as the TTH ramps up to full production. Italy, Germany, Sweden, Australia and Oman also are destined for delivery by year’s end, according to Eurocopter.
A full-duration test of the powerpack for the J-2X upgrade is now scheduled for Mar. 19, but could be delayed as the engine-testing effort at Stennis Space Center ramps up. Duct damage in a 36-sec. test Feb. 15 pushed the target for a full-up test of the turbomachinery with ingited liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel back to Mar. 9 (AW&ST Mar. 3, p. 16).
The U.S. Navy has approved the second low-rate production buy of Airborne Laser Mine Detection Systems (ALMDS) for its MH-60S helicopter. Three units were approved for $25 million. The system uses laser detection to locate mines in shallow water and allied nations have also showed interest in this capability. The Navy is now conducting operational tests on two units. Orders for 25 systems are expected to complete low-rate initial production in 2010. Northrop Grumman produces the ALMDS.
Martin Jurich has become general manager of the Cessna Aircraft Co. ’s Wichita (Kan.) Citation Service Center. He held the same position at the Toledo (Ohio) Citation Service Center.
The European Commission is forcing Finmeccanica, Piaggio and Avio to repay the Italian government around €450 million ($688.5 million) that Rome provided in state loans the EC has deemed violations of subsidy rules. The companies have 60 days to repay a first installment exceeding €100 million. The other payments can stretch out until 2018. Review of the loans began in 2003, starting with six programs but growing to 17 aerospace projects that benefited from zero-interest long-term research and development loans provided by the economic development ministry.
With Vandenberg AFB launch pads for the Boeing Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Atlas V rockets now in service—the first Atlas V launch occurred Mar. 13—officials at the Space and Missiles Systems Center in Los Angeles are looking at what’s next for military launch. The elusive concept of reusable systems appears to be the only way to get cost efficiencies beyond what is offered by these newest boosters, says Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, the center’s director. Knowing the pitfalls of past failures, Hamel says he’d like to develop a reusable first stage as a first step.
Amy Butler (Washington), Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Robert Wall (Paris)
Boeing is risking a potentially huge backlash from the U.S. Air Force after the company protested the loss of a $35-billion tanker award to a Northrop Grumman/EADS team. Also on the horizon is a more daunting future as European rivals pour into the Pentagon market, bolstered by victory in the high-stakes KC-135 replacement program.
One of NASA’s leading Democratic overseers in Congress sees the need for a hefty boost in agency spending, and wants to send a signal to the next occupant of the White House to that effect. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chairman of the House Science Committee, says the short-term NASA authorization bill he and his congressional counterparts hope to adopt this year (AW&ST Mar. 3, p.
Mike Rinn (see photo) has become vice president/program director for the Airborne Laser for Boeing Missile Defense Systems . He succeeds Greg Hyslop, who is now vice president/manager for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program. Rinn was air vehicle integration and test director and ABL deputy program manager.
French prosecutors are calling for manslaughter charges to be brought against Continental Airlines and four people believed to be connected to the crash of an Air France Concorde in 2000 in which 113 people died. French legal officials have not decided whether to implement the request. A titanium strip from a Continental DC-10 caused a tire to burst on AF4059; tire debris then punctured the fuel tank.
Initial development trials of the European Meteor rocket/ramjet-powered air-to-air missile have ended following a successful guided firing at the Vidsel missile test range in Sweden. The missile, being developed by MBDA, was launched from a Saab Gripen against an MQM-107B high-subsonic target drone. The shot was the last in a series of firings to prove the missile’s basic performance. During the fly-out to the target, the missile’s data link was used to communicate with the launch aircraft.
European Commission investigators have raided the offices of Air France, Alitalia, KLM and Lufthansa to investigate claims of price-fixing on flights to Japan. The offices of Japanese airlines have not been visited.
