Development of the new Ka-60/-62 medium twin-engine helicopter—Kamov's first non-coaxial aircraft—is gaining pace, backed by military orders and government subsidies. Russian Helicopters, the holding company for the country's rotorcraft industry and Kamov's parent, is simultaneously preparing both the Ka-60 military transport and Ka-62 civil version; the latter has a maximum takeoff weight of 6,500 kg (14,300 lb.) and can carry 12-15 passengers at 290 kph (180 mph) over a range of 750 km (465 mi.).
Smashed to smithereens, a return to Earth orbit for retirement, or a voyage into deep space—those are the alternative fates that have awaited the Chinese lunar probe Chang'e 2 since its launch last October. Now the decision has been made: Chang'e 2 will go to the second Sun-Earth Lagrangian point this month, laying the groundwork for Martian missions.
Amy Butler (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
The outcome of talks under way in the U.S. Air Force on what new technologies to include in the second tranche of GPS III satellites will affect how much this multibillion-dollar constellation can support the FAA's next-generation air traffic management system.
Gerd Gruppe has become director of space administration at the German Aerospace Centerin Cologne. He worked for the Bavarian state government for more than 20 years.
Prices for European Union Allowance (EUA) carbon credits traded in the 27-member state bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS) jumped at the end of May to above €17 ($24.47) per metric ton following a decision by the German government to shut down all of the country's nuclear power plants by 2022.
EADS's Airbus unit delivered a record 510 commercial jets in 2010, netted 574 new orders and announced multiple increases in production rates to satisfy robust demand. But the European A&D powerhouse continues to struggle to find a formula to translate its sales success into bottom-line results. EADS ranked ninth among the 10 companies with revenues of more than $20 billion, eking out a paltry 2% operating profit margin that trailed its peers. Meanwhile, the company's plan to grow its U.S.
Sean E. Menke has become president and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Airlines, Memphis, Tenn., succeeding Philip H. Trenary. Menke was a managing partner at Vista Strategic Group of Denver.
Anand Ramachandran and Peter Watson have been appointed to the aircraft finance team at Investec of London. Ramachandran spent 12 years at major Indian carriers, including Kingfisher Airlines, Reliance ADA Group and Jet Airways. Watson was head of sales and marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Hong Kong Aviation Capital.
Large U.S. A&D contractors continue to outperform their European peers by a wide margin. The revenue-weighted TPC score of U.S. companies with sales of more than $5 billion was 73, compared with 58 for comparable European contractors. TPC advisers attribute the gap to problems that have long bedeviled the European giants, such as interference by governments advancing an overriding interest in jobs over profits.
The first Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial system has landed at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., the U.S. Air Force's second main operating base for the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft. The Block 20 aircraft temporarily deployed to Grand Forks from Beale AFB, Calif., on May 26, ahead of the expected arrival in July of the base's first of 10 Block 40 Global Hawks. They will be equipped with the new ZPY-2 synthetic-aperture radar/ground moving-target indication sensor. Grand Forks was previously a KC-135 aerial-refueling tanker base.
In the U.S., the top eight gateway markets handle 90% of the volume. Brian Clancy, a consultant with Logistics Capital & Strategy LLC, explains that in 2010, the main gateway “clusters” were the New York/New Jersey area, followed by Chicago, the express shipment carrier hubs—Memphis, Tenn./Anchorage, Alaska; and Louisville, Ky.—and then Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.
USAF Col. Alvin Bedgood (see photo) has been appointed commander of the Civil Air Patrol's Southeast Region, taking the reins from Col. James Rushing. Bedgood will also serve on CAP's National Executive Committee.
The Indian air force (IAF) has long had big ambitions, and the pending arrival of a new leader with a broad agenda indicates there will be no easing up in efforts to strengthen the service's capabilities. The first major revamp of the IAF's order of battle—revival of border air bases to counter Chinese air force deployments, along with quick acquisitions of new weapons and systems—will be operational priorities for Air Marshal Norman Browne, who takes over as IAF chief at the end of July when Air Chief Marshal P. V. Naik retires.
Luxembourg's SES SA and television and broadband satellite operator Wananchi of Kenya have formed a joint venture to set up a direct-to-home service in East Africa. Dubbed Zuku TV, the operation will provide pay TV service in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi and elsewhere in East Africa, using SES capacity beginning in July. The European company will also set up a training program for installers; a pilot program already is operating in Nairobi.
USAF Maj. Gen. (select) Russell J. Handy, commander of the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq and director of Air Combat Command in Baghdad, has been named director of operations, plans, requirements and programs of Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Pearl Harbor-Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Maj. Gen. (select) Timothy M. Zadalis, director of air plans for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, U.S.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington), Mark Carreau (Houston)
Earth spins below the empty payload bay of the space shuttle Endeavour during the just-concluded STS-134 mission, the last for the newest orbiter in the retiring shuttle fleet (see p. 29). A slow exposure from the International Space Station cupola on the nadir side of the Harmony pressurized node streaked the lights of Southeast Asia on the surface below, while distant stars stand still in the blackness of space. Canada's Dextre special-purpose dexterous manipulator hangs in front of the camera at top, grasping a cargo transport container (CTC) in one of its arms.
June 13-14—White Eagle Aerospace's Short Course: “Directed Infrared Countermeasures.” Wingate by Wyndham Hotel, Oro Valley, Ariz. Call +1 (520) 219-0526 or see www.whiteeagleaerospace.com June 14—University of Westminster Aviation Seminars. “Air Transport Marketing: Practical Techniques and Strategies.” June 15-17—“Regional and Low-Cost Air Transport: Opportunities and Challenges.” Both in London. Call +44 (207) 911-5000 ext. 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171 or see www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation
With a new round of Rafale upgrades nearing completion, the French military and defense industry are starting to look at the long-term future of the twin-engine fighter.
U.S. Army countermeasures, missile and engine competitions are pitting long-entrenched suppliers against newcomers waving the banner of acquisition reform and brandishing the results of company-funded testing they claim reduces costs and risks. The Army is closing in on selecting a successor to its AGM-114 Hellfire missile, awarding contracts to demonstrate replacements for a troubled laser missile jammer and launching a competition to develop a follow-on to the T700 engine powering much of the service's helicopter fleet.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) will be conducting interviews and an on-site investigation to determine whether Delta Air Lines improperly interfered in the latest union representation election by flight attendants, the board says in a June 1 letter to the airline and Association of Flight Attendants (AFA). But NMB officials also might be considering another factor: Delta's claims that it was merely responding to an enormous effort by the AFA to win the vote via a “fear and smear” campaign and voluminous and intrusive contacts with employees. In the Nov.
In 2008, Finmeccanica made a bold push into the U.S. defense market by buying DRS Technologies. But the hefty purchase price of $5.2 billion saddled the balance sheet of the Italian aerospace giant with a lot of goodwill. “Finmeccanica paid a very high price for DRS, and that has crippled them for some time,” says TPC adviser Charles Armitage. Finmeccanica now plans to sell off non-core units of DRS to help pay down its debt.
Sept. 12—A&D Finance Europe. London. Sept. 14-15—MRO for Aircraft & Engine Leasing. Dublin. Sept. 26—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum. Zurich. Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011. Madrid. Sept. 28—MRO Military Europe. Madrid. Oct. 12-13—Fifth Edition of Lean Six Sigma for MRO Forum. San Francisco. Oct. 20-21—MRO IT. Chicago. Oct. 24-26—A&D Programs. Phoenix. Nov. 8-10—MRO Asia. Beijing. Nov. 16-17—Lean Six Sigma for MRO Europe. Amsterdam.
