A quotation in the Washington Outlook column of June 27 (p. 22) was attributed incorrectly. It was Phillip Straub, Garmin International's vice president of aviation engineering, who likened LightSquared's broadband wireless plan to starting “a lawn mower in a library.”
U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Central Asia will be able to supplement the tactical imagery they receive from airborne sensors with data from the Pentagon's first Operationally Responsive Space (ORS-1) satellite, launched June 29 after a 30-month development.
The Paris air show was dominated by airplane and engine orders—enormous numbers of them. But suppliers were generating their own news, including PPG Aerospace's introduction of a process for making cockpit and cabin windows that the company says saves weight and lightens life-cycle costs.
There was more window news in Paris. In a new five-year contract, Airbus named the Nordam Transparency Group as its supplier of cabin windows for the A320 family, including its New Engine Option program that led all orders at the show. Nordam will fulfill the “multi-million-dollar” contract with its trademarked Nordex 188 stretched acrylic. The work will require 15 new employees at its Tulsa, Okla., factory and is due to begin Jan. 1, 2012. At peak annual production, 60,000 panes will flow out of Tulsa.
EU carbon credit prices dramatically crashed at the end of June to lows not seen since the start of the global economic downturn in 2009 as the emergence of a new policy proposal to increase energy efficiency in the 27-member state bloc combined with widespread fears over the Greek economy to push the value of emissions permits down.
Once the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) enters service, operators who need engineering and spares support will have their phone calls answered, at least initially, in a somewhat unexpected location: the Boeing Operations Center in Long Beach, Calif.
Direct analysis of the material in the spectacular ice geysers erupting from fissures at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus have buoyed scientists' belief that there is a liquid-water ocean under the moon's frozen surface. Measurements with the Cassini probe's cosmic dust analyzer found evidence of an “ocean-like” composition in the relatively large grains of ice near the moon's surface, adding weight to earlier suggestions that the geysers are produced from a liquid-water layer between the moon's rocky core and its frozen mantle.
Astronomers are savoring the flexibility they have gained by flying the world's largest infrared (IR) telescope following a June 23 Pluto occultation that required an 1,800-mi. dash to a sweet spot for viewing over the mid-Pacific Ocean. NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia), a Boeing 747SP modified to carry a 2.5-meter IR telescope, used a High-speed Imaging Photometer (HIPO) to make the observation, which occurred when Pluto passed before a distant star.
In the span of one week, President Barack Obama praises an aerospace supplier for contributing to the U.S. manufacturing base—then slams tax incentives that have helped sustain the aircraft industry during tough times. Visiting Alcoa's Davenport Works in Iowa, Obama said, “Almost every airplane in the world has some kind of Alcoa product in it.”
The biz av community was already upset with Obama over the administration's plan to dismantle the Block Aircraft Registration Request program, which allows owners to withhold aircraft registration numbers from online flight-tracking programs.
Meanwhile, contractors breathe a sigh of relief over not having to disclose to whom they make political donations. Word emerged in the spring that a potential new executive order from the Obama administration would require federal contractors to disclose certain political donations made in the two years before they bid for work (AW&ST, May 16, p. 21).
Budget politics continues to dominate debate on Capitol Hill, and the Senate has agreed to stay in session this week, rather than proceeding with a scheduled July 4 recess. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says defense and war costs have grown 74% since 2001, when the government was running a $128 billion surplus.
A major obstacle blocking Israel's purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been cleared, perhaps signaling that the U.S. is relaxing its hard-line approach to exporting JSF technologies that may be crucial to securing additional foreign sales.
As the tight race between Alenia Aermacchi and Korea Aerospace Industries in Israel's trainer competition approaches the finish line, the Israeli air force appears to be favoring the Italian M-346 over KAI's T-50 Golden Eagle. “Both are excellent platforms,” a senior Israel air force official tells Aviation Week.“But the Italian offer seems more attractive in terms of costs.”
Reaching a production agreement with Boeing is a cornerstone for a broader strategic plan for Alenia that includes a further round of internal reorganization beyond the one now under way. The current effort involves cutting the headcount by 1,000 and the integration of key functions—procurement, information technology, marketing and human resources—in three separate companies, Alenia Aeronautica, Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia North America, as part of Finmeccanica Group.
The power structure in the U.K. Defense Ministry will undergo sweeping changes under a series of reform proposals aimed at curing years of poor planning and weak program oversight. But there is growing concern that some of the reformist zeal could backfire and erode skills to manage major projects.
China's military build-up and increased assertiveness over its claims in the South China Sea is eliciting a strong response from Southeast Asian nations, which could turn this area into one of the most heavily patrolled on Earth. Recently there has been a spike in hostile incidents in the region. For example, Chinese vessels cut the cables of Vietnamese oil surveying ships and Chinese personnel reportedly erected posts on a shallow reef about 125 nm from the Philippine province of Palawan.
Cyberoperations against the U.S. thus far have been largely confined to reconnaissance and mapping. But full-scale attacks may not be far off. Recently confirmed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says there's good reason to believe a sneak cyberattack on the country's key power supplies is likely. Moreover, an FBI cyberexpert says the only reason cyberjihadists have not unleashed a major strike is a lack of terrorist leadership focus on organizing the efforts of Middle East hackers.
Only months after selecting Boeing as its KC-46A contractor, the U.S. Air Force has learned that the company intended from the outset not to develop the KC-135 replacement at the agreed-upon $4.4 billion target—or, even, the $4.9 billion contract ceiling.
Industry observers often are struck by the rate at which new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) of all sizes are making their debut around the world. Even more striking are the technical advances to increase UAVs' tactical and strategic value. Among the most innovative are Israeli manufacturers pursuing electrically powered systems that combine ease of handling and economy with extended range, as well as advanced-technology payloads and propulsion systems.
Bill Sweetman (Washington), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
The latest Internet coup for China's aviation-mad corps of photographers shows a new unmanned aircraft with a joined wing and tail that could make it a reconnaissance truck with considerably increased range and payload and better handling at high altitudes.
Advanced autonomous technology has made an unlikely combat debut, guiding aerial cargo drops to more accurate touchdowns close to forward bases in the Afghan mountains, as the U.S. Army continues to push the frontiers of unmanned systems.
One of Europe's leading space companies is placing a high-stakes bet on governments increasingly outsourcing key space activities. Astrium Services, a division of European aerospace giant EADS, is taking privatization of satellite communications and remote-sensing services further than any other company in the industry so far, spending hundreds of millions on its own and in some cases assuming big risks, sometimes with little or no government backing.
Michael Mecham (San Francisco), Andy Nativi (Paris)
Boeing has shifted Alenia Aeronautica to a secondary role for development and production of the composite horizontal stabilizer for the stretched 787-9 as it also broadens the role of its own factories for the new airplane's vertical stabilizer. The two production moves are not directly connected but they reflect a general drive by Boeing to gain greater direct control over the twinjet's manufacturing processes while strengthening the company's supply base.
Republic Airways Holdings plans to acquire 80 Airbus A320-family NEO (new engine option) aircraft and as many as 80 Bombardier CSeries aircraft for its Frontier Airlines low-cost subsidiary, but these deals should include an asterisk. Frontier is struggling just to remain afloat and Republic might not continue to own it. With the first CSeries not scheduled for delivery until 2015 and the first NEO in 2016, the uncertainty surrounding Frontier and its future ties to Republic makes those orders suspect.
