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Airports of Thailand will take up to a year to fix the runways and taxiways and stands at Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Cracks have appeared in the surfaces, a depression has developed in one runway and aerobridges are out of action. The airport, built on a drained swamp, won't be able to handle as many aircraft as planned while it's being fixed, so the government is asking airlines to temporarily send domestic services back to the old Don Muang Airport. Budget airlines were trying to get back to Don Muang anyway, because it's cheaper.
Shortly after 9/11, executives from some of the leading aerospace companies in Tulsa, Okla., sat down to discuss impending layoffs. In the ensuing months, the region lost about 20% of its aerospace jobs as downturns intensified in the airline and commercial aircraft industries. But those executives now meet to talk about a new problem: how to attract and retain qualified workers. "The discussion has almost completely turned around," marvels Mary E. Smith, vice president of economic development at the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce.
In the end, US Airways took No for an answer. It had no choice. The prospective $10-billion merger with Chapter 11-mired Delta set in motion last November by the high-flying US Airways died a quiet death Jan. 31 when the Phoenix-based airline withdrew its offer. Also stilled were the massive network-carrier consolidations rumored to be the inevitable result of a Delta-US Airways deal.
The U.S. nuclear weapons complex could get a boost of what Defense Science Board (DSB) members say is much-needed attention, the lack of which has led to "triage among demands to sustain a healthy nuclear enterprise," the DSB says in a December report. The board suggests the Nuclear Weapons Council should direct that the Reliable Replacement Warhead, a redesign of existing weapons, be pursued, including a plan to produce a predetermined number of them by 2012.
Engineers at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) are placing kinetic-energy interceptors and kill vehicles in simulated orbits in support of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Frank Brenner has been appointed director of operations for the air traffic control center unit of Germany-based Deutsche Flugsicherung. He was director of operations for the aeronautical data management unit.
India will settle a $3-billion debt with Russia by undertaking a series of aviation ventures that could give Moscow an inside track on a range of upcoming aerospace and defense programs. Agreements setting up the necessary partnerships were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India late last month. Enhanced aerospace and defense ventures have long been anticipated between the two countries, which have shared a venerable work history, but the degree to which that would be extended was unclear (AW&ST Jan. 15, p. 408).
The Government Accountability Office has denied a protest by Smiths Detection over the award of Homeland Security Dept. contracts to Science Applications International Corp., American Science & Engineering Inc. and L-3 Communications Security & Detection Systems. The awards followed a request for proposals for the research, development, testing and evaluation, pilot deployment, production and operational deployment of the Cargo Advanced Automated Radio- graphy System Program.
The two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station were scheduled to conduct their second extravehicular activity (EVA) on Feb. 4, after replumbing half of the ammonia cooling system for the U.S. Destiny laboratory module Jan. 31. Michael Lopez-Alegria, the Expedition 14 commander, and flight engineer Sunita Williams reconfigured one of two cooling loops to Destiny from a temporary setup using radiators on the P6 truss to the permanent system delivered with the P4/5 Truss element last year.
Alenia Aeronautica has conducted the first flight in Italy of its Sky-X next-generation, unmanned demonstrator aircraft. The UAV is now based at Amedola AB for flights that will build on two years of test-flying the design in Sweden. The 18-ft. wingspan, jet-powered UAV weighs more than a ton and carries a 240-lb. payload. The low-observable design is expected to have a top speed of 350 kt., ceiling of 25,000 ft. and withstand 5g.
The Port Authority (PA) of New York and New Jersey expects Stewart International Airport to bring a sigh of congestion relief to Newark-Liberty, JFK and LaGuardia airports. The Port Authority's board authorized the $78.5-million purchase of the Newburgh, N.Y.-based airport's operating lease in January, and the PA plans to take over operations in October. The former U.S. Air Force base was privatized in 2000 and is following a 20-year redevelopment plan to meet the growth needs of the Hudson River Valley and beyond. The 680-acre airport is located about 55 mi.
It looks like aviation might take a back seat to other homeland security issues now that the Democrats control Congress. In a speech outlining the House Homeland Security Committee's agenda this session, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) focuses on improving security for mass transit, rail and bus systems; doubling the size of the Border Patrol; and improving intelligence and information-sharing among federal, state and local agencies. Except for concerns about securing air cargo, aviation is barely mentioned.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. raised $497.9 million on Jan. 26 in a public offering of 13 million shares of its stock, and the company stands to take in $74.7 million more if underwriters fully exercise an option to buy as many as 1,950,000 shares to cover over-allotments. AMR told investors it was trying to strengthen its balance sheet in the transaction--its cash stood at $5.2 billion last Dec.
Ian Thomas has been appointed vice president of Boeing International and president of Boeing India. He succeeds Anil Shrikhande, who has been named vice president/country leader for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Thomas was its London-based vice president-Europe.
The U.S. Air Force once planned for the F-22 to emit very little as a means of protecting its stealth. Now they realize that with all the extremely detailed optical and electronic information it can detect, the Raptor has a stunning, real-time intelligence gathering and fusion capability. As a result, operational planners want to get the information off stealthy fifth-generation aircraft to others as fast as possible. USAF initially settled on the Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) as a stealthy link that could push 10 mb. to a range of 100-300 mi.
EADS will join the National Aero- space Program run by Singapore's agency for license, technology and research as a Tier 1 member. The program focues on inspection, modeling, security, materials and coatings, as well as manufacturing, automation, communication and electronics.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an uncontained engine failure Jan. 25 on an America West Express Bombardier CL600-2B19 Challenger (N17337). The jet aircraft was climbing through 24,000 ft. en route from Denver to Phoenix with 54 people on board when at the left engine cowling, fan and other forward components separated from the aircraft. According to the NTSB, the crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Denver at 5:30 p.m. The fuselage, left engine pylon and tail section were slightly damaged.
China says it will launch a pair of satellites in June and October to support broadcast coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games. A polar-orbiting weather satellite, a Fengyun-3, will be launched in the autumn. The Fengyun-3 series replaces the Fengyun-1 series, one of which, Fengyun-1C, was expended in China's Asat test last month.
Hainan Airlines Group is buying a 22% stake in Shenzhen Finance Leasing Co. Ltd. to develop its aircraft leasing business. Both moves seem to be aimed at the domestic market. In December, Bank of China bought Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, which is focused outside of China but is expected to help the bank develop a domestic aircraft leasing business.
John Newton has become vice president-used aircraft for the Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan. He was senior vice president of Textron Financial Aviation Finance.
A new take on old Chinese proverbs: "When the winds of global public opinion are blowing against you, change the subject." This is what China People's Daily, the official Chinese government newspaper, has done. It totally ignored the destruction of the FY-1C polar-orbit weather satellite by a Chinese anti-satellite weapon Jan. 11, instead reporting that China is about to launch a brand-new satellite to replace older versions.
BAE Systems, which won a protracted campaign to supply the Indian air force with Hawk advanced jet trainers, is the likely contender to fulfill a similar requirement for the Indian navy, which needs around 24 carrier-capable aircraft to support pilot training for its incoming MiG-29K fleet. The navy expects to receive the Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov, now called the Vikramaditya, in 2008 with 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four twin-seat MiG-29KUBs.
Charles J. Brinkman (see photos) has been named vice president/general manager of the Advanced Concepts and Technology Div., Chineta K. Davis vice president/general manager of electronic systems operations and Gloria A. Flach vice president/general manager of engineering and logistics, all for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector. Brinkman was director of surveillance and remote sensing, while Davis was vice president- corporate business development.
Aerospace and defense (A&D) organizations find themselves vying for employees alongside an expanded playing field of technology-related firms, many of which are better equipped with the experience and infrastructure to compete successfully for talent. In order to deliver on the war for talent, A&D organizations need to focus on applying innovative and game-changing thinking to how they attract, deploy, develop and retain critical talent.
