David W. Welp, former senior vice president, has been appointed executive vice president. Lawrence G. Schmidt, former vice president, was appointed senior vice president.
McDonnell Douglas' F-15D demonstrator last week showed off the F-15E Eagle's manned tactical reconnaissance capability by flying an ATARS suite in a conformal pod, according to MDC. The 1.6-hour test last Wednesday from St. Louis, the first of six or eight company-funded flights, proved the airframe's compatibility with electro-optical (EO) linear array-type recce systems and gathered several high-resolution tactical images, MDC said.
The Teal Group, a defense and aerospace market analysis firm, has faulted the Chinese government for making "unsubstantiated accusations of sabotage" following the Jan. 26 failure of the Long March CZ-2E booster to launch the Apstar 2 satellite. In a new historical report on space launch and payload failures, Teal didn't take sides in the dispute over whether the satellite or Long March launcher was to blame for the Dec. 21, 1992, loss of the Optus B2 satellite.
Aerospace companies which reported their quarterly financial results last week are turning in not only profit growth-now familiar to aerospace- watchers as companies have attacked costs-but revenue growth, which the industry's bankers think is an encouraging sign. "Everyone's happy with profit growth, but after years of profits from efficiencies, you like to see your clients actually make some money," quipped a VP with a major aerospace lender.
First firing of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile was conducted Friday at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the U.S. Army said. "It flew, and it flew perfectly," an Army spokesman said, adding that it was an "exceptionally clean test." The test was initially scheduled for last September but problems, including integration incompatibilities between Lockheed's THAAD missile and launcher, delayed the launch (DAILY, April 10, page 45).
Ron Whillock has been named vice president-human resources. Whillock replaces Terry Powell, who has been named vice president-human resources for the Lockheed Martin Information and Technology Services Sector, Bethesda, Md.
Due out this week is the long-delayed NASA safety report on the severe allergic reaction astronaut Bonnie Dunbar suffered last October when she was administered two chemicals designed to trace kidney function (DAILY, Nov. 4, 1994, page 185). Laurie Boeder, NASA's chief spokesperson, said Friday that officials at Johnson Space Center, where the chemicals were administered, have returned the draft report to agency headquarters with their comments, and the team of safety and spaceflight managers who drafted it expect to finish their work by the end of the month.
Andreas Breitsprecher has been appointed vice-president press and information. Breitsprecher succeeds Christian Poppe, who was appointed senior vice-president communications as part of the change in the presidency of Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG.
Crew members aboard Russia's Mir space station will be using "wet wipes" instead of taking showers for personal hygiene in the months ahead as a result of the planned Shuttle/Mir phase of the International Space Station program.
All that aside, the hearing isn't expected to last more than a day. And Specter is said to be pushing for a quick confirmation vote by the full Senate. The reason: The intelligence community hasn't had a director since R. James Woolsey resigned 15 weeks ago, thanks in part to Gen. Michael Carns' withdrawal last month (DAILY, March 14, page 383). "I think this is going to be a pretty easy confirmation," says one Hill source.
Still no word from acting DCI Adm. William Studeman on whether he will stay at the agency when a new director takes over. Studeman, the deputy intelligence director, would have been forced out if Carns was confirmed because the top two intelligence slots by law cannot be filled by members of the military. But the rule doesn't apply now because Deutch is a civilian. Studeman hasn't made up his mind on his future, a CIA spokesman says.
Hassan M. Nagib, an internationally recognized expert in fluid dynamics, has been named dean of Armour College and vice president for the main campus of Illinois Institute of Technology (ITT).
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Donald R. Beall has been awarded the Navy League's Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award for his outstanding contributions to the enhancement of U.S. maritime strength and national security during his 27-year career at Rockwell.
Byron Harrison, who once supervised inspectors at Lucas Industries' Lucas Western operation in City of Industry, Calif., has pleaded guilty to faking test and inspection reports on fighter aircraft gearboxes. Harrison, a 34-year Lucas veteran, admitted that for over three years, until last April, he faked inspection records for gearboxes on F-14s, F/A- 18s, B-1s, B-2s and F-16s, including 33 gearboxes delivered under a 1992 contract for F/A-18s known to have never been inspected.
Robert C. Mason has been named vice president. Mason will continued to be responsible for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems line of business, for which he was named managing director in February.
Expect some sharp questions-and statements-when Director of Central Intelligence-nominee John Deutch undergoes his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) is also expected to use the public hearing to score some points in his bid for the presidency. Two issues that will arise: the cabinet-level status President Clinton intends to give Deutch, and the intelligence community's past failures to keep Congress fully informed of its activities, including CIA links to alleged assassins in Guatemala.
Does the strategy of having bombers move from the initial stages of one major regional conflict to another nearly simultaneous MRC mean that the bomber is getting short shrift at the Pentagon? Not if you listen to Joshua Gotbaum, assistant secretary of defense for economic security. He tells a Senate Armed Services subcommittee that the Dept. of Defense has added two new "sector assessments"-heavy bombers and Meals- Ready-to-Eat.
F-22 FIGHTER is the subject of a "dear colleague" letter from Reps. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.) and Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.). The April 12 letter, rather than asking directly for support of the program, asks colleagues to read an article on the plane in the April issue of Air Force Magazine. It says the article "describes the compelling reasons why we need to produce the U.S. Air Force F-22 'air superiority' jet fighter."
Northrop Grumman's F-5E advanced avionics demonstrator aircraft made its first flight April 20, flying from Los Angeles International Airport to Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will undergo nearly six months of flight testing. The tests will evaluate a new digital avionics package and provide data to the U.S. Air Force to help formulate decisions about technology updates to the F-5 series, Northrop Grumman said.
Pratt&Whitney will begin shipping engine upgrade kits to the Royal Netherlands Air Force this year to bring their F-16s' F100 fighter turbofans up to the -220 power and durability standard under a new $90 million contract, P&W reported Friday. The air force flies 92 F100-PW-200-powered F-16s, along with 42 with the -220 engine, and P&W Government Engines and Space Propulsion's Customer Support&Services Dept. will supply 106 -220E kits to the Dutch by 1999.
