U
P
D
A
T
E

Home | UPDATE | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Inside | Datafiles

UPDATE 
Week ending October 7, 2001
+++ Swissair bankruptcy chaos +++ China orders 30 Boeing 737 +++ Erieye delivered to Greece +++ EU and Russia sign space partnership +++ Athena I launch from Kodiak +++ US finishes Quadrennial Review +++ News in brief +++

Swissair bankruptcy chaos
Schweizer Airline bricht zusammen

Swissair operated around 50 per cent of its published global flight programme at the end of the week, after a Government cash injection. Earlier, the airline was grounded when money ran out. The latest status of the demise of a once proud airline was as follows:
On October 4, the SAirGroup asked the appropriate courts to place its SAirGroup holding company, SAirLines, Swissair AG and Flightlease under "Nachlassstundung" (a form of moratorium on debt enforcement under Swiss law). If approved, the status will put a moratorium on the enforcement of the debts of the companies concerned for a specific period. "Nachlassstundung" suspends all payment demands and interest thereon, suspends limitation periods and protects the companies concerned from debt enforcement by creditors. The status has no impact on existing contracts of employment. The approval of "Nachlassstundung" for the SAirGroup holding company and SAirLines is the responsibility of the Zurich district court, while responsibility for Swissair and Flightlease lies with the Bülach district court. These bodies will decide on the appointment of a "Sachwalter" or official commissioner to supervise the proceedings. None of the other legally-independent companies of the SAirGroup are affected by this procedure. All these companies - Atraxis, Avireal, Balair, Cargologic, Gate Gourmet, Gourmet Nova, Prohotel, Pro Taxi, Rail Gourmet, Restorama, SR Technics, Swisscargo, Swissport and The Nuance Group - will continue with their normal business operations. Further requests for "Nachlassstundung" (for Cargologic, Swisscargo and Beyoo) are currently being prepared.
On October 1, the SAirGroup announced it will sell its 70-per-cent stake in Crossair to UBS and the Credit Suisse Group. Crossair will assume responsibility for parts of Swissair's flight operations no later than the beginning of the winter schedules on October 28, 2001. The events taking place in the USA on September 11 have had a strongly negative influence on the results of the SAirGroup as well as on the outlook for future results. At the same time, efforts to improve the Group's liquidity and equity basis by selling off non-strategic business activities and by refinancing the Group's aircraft fleets, were substantially hampered. The SAirGroup estimates that by the end of 2002 the negative influence on the cash flow and equity basis will amount to approximately CHF 3.1 to 3.8 billion.
This represents a thoroughly new situation for the company compared to the one faced at the end of August. The Group's Board of Directors is forced to take immediate and drastic measures. The Board has therefore decided to sell the Group's 70-per-cent stake in Crossair to UBS and Credit Suisse Group at current market price. The two banks will grant the SAirGroup an additional bridging credit of CHF 250 million that will allow the Group to finance activities in its airline-related business units up to a point where they may, possibly, be sold.
Crossair plans to take over individual segments, amounting in total to two-thirds, of Swissair's flight operations, thereby creating a competitive Swiss airline that would be active on a world-wide basis. This would take place no later than the beginning of the winter timetables on October 28. The trimming of the route network and the fleet will also cause a capacity reduction at Swissair that will result in the loss of 2560 jobs, 1750 of those in Switzerland. Operations will be maintained at normal levels in all other Group companies.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


China orders 30 Boeing 737
Boeing 737-Großauftrag aus China

China Aviation Supplies Import & Export Corp. (CASC) and The Boeing Company signed an agreement today for the firm order of 30 Boeing 737 jetliners. The agreement was concluded at a signing ceremony at the Department of Commerce, in the presence of Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans. Vice Chairman of the State Development Planning Commission Zhang Guobao led the Chinese delegation. Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, headed a delegation from The Boeing Company. "Today's announcement reflects an expansion in bilateral trade between China and the United States and it underscores the strength of Sino-US relations," Zhang said. "China is modernizing its commercial fleet to improve airline efficiency and profitability. Our near-term focus is fleet renewal. The airplanes in today's announcement will replace older aircraft in the China fleet. We believe the 737 is one of the most suitable choices because the airlines recognize the jetliner's reliability and efficiency. In addition, the flying public has become accustomed to 737 dependability and comfort." The order is worth approximately $1.6 billion at list prices. The airplanes will be delivered 2002 through 2005 and are allocated to the following airlines: China Southern Airlines (20 x 737-800), China Eastern Airlines (4 x 737-700), Hainan Airlines (3 x 737-800), Shanghai Airlines (2 x 737-800, 1 x 737-700) The order brings the total Boeing airplane orders from China in 2001 to 40, including six 737-700s for Air China, two 747-400 freighters for China Southern Airlines and two 757-200s for Xiamen Airlines, all of which were previously attributed by Boeing to unidentified customers.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Erieye delivered to Greece
Griechenland erhält Erieye AWACS

The Hellenic Air Force took official delivery of two Erieye systems on September 24. This is the first European-built, Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system to enter into NATO service. The delivery is a part of the USD 600 Million Erieye order that Ericsson received at the end of 1999 from the Hellenic Air Force. Approximately 400 guests were attending to the ceremony, including Greece's Minister of Defense and the Commander in Chief of the Swedish Air Force. During the ceremony one Erieye aircraft took for an operational mission. On a large-format screen, the guests were able to follow in real time the down-linked radar picture from Erieye as it monitored large portions of Greek airspace.The two Erieye systems are considered to significantly enhance the power of the Hellenic Airforce and to put Greece in a position to surveille the Greek airspace on a 24 hour a day basis. Erieye is the first operational AEW&C in a new generation of high-performance and cost-effective, systems that incorporate new technology featuring an electronically scanned antenna. The radar sweep is entirely free from moving parts and has a range of 450 km. Besides Sweden and Greece, Brazil and Mexico have also bought the Erieye system.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


EU and Russia sign space partnership
Raumfahrt-Kooperation zwischen EU und Russland

On October 3, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, and the Director General of the Russian Space Agency, Youri Koptiev, signed a Joint Document on the Euro-Russian Space Partnership in the margin of the EU-Russia summit. The aim of this declaration is to further strengthen the long-standing cooperation in this field, including the European Space Agency and Rosaviakosmos. Areas of special interest will be the following : Launch services, notably the possibility of launching Soyuz rockets from the European space center in Kourou; Satellite navigation systems such as Galileo and Glonass; the initiative for building a European capacity for Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). Furthermore, the partnership will include new space program activities encompassing space science and technology, crewed missions, planetary exploration, the utilization of the International Space Station and the development of future transportation systems. A high level Steering Board will be established to implement the partnership for space and to ensure that each joint program satisfies well-identified goals and requirements ; a fair and cost-effective division of activities is established ; a financially-viable scheme is implemented within each project ; the expected benefits accrue to each party.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Athena I launch from Kodiak
Erster Satellitenstart in Alaska

An Athena I launch vehicle roared into space from the Kodiak Launch Complex this evening carrying four individual satellites to two different Earth orbits for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense Space Test program. It was the first orbital launch from the Kodiak Island site and the first time Athena had launched from the site. The launch vehicle lifted off at 6:40 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (10:40 p.m. EDT) and headed south over the Pacific Ocean tracked by radar from Cordova, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The first satellite to be deployed was PICOSat at 63 minutes after launch followed by Sapphire and PCSat seven minutes later. After the second target orbit injection, Starshine 3 was successfully deployed 129 minutes after liftoff.
The Athena I launch vehicle is capable of boosting payloads of up to 1,750 lbs. It was designed to use proven concepts, systems and hardware. The first stage is a Castor 120â solid rocket motor built by ATK Thiokol Propulsion Company of Promontory, Utah. The second stage is an Orbusâ 21D motor built by Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion of San Jose, Calif. General Dynamics Space Propulsion Systems of Redmond, Wash., built the orbit adjust module (OAM), which houses the attitude control system and avionics systems. The OAM provided the "burns" needed to deploy the four satellites in today's mission.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


US finishes Quadrennial Review
Neue US-Militärstrategie

The size of the U.S. military will remain about the same, but portions will be reconfigured to combat asymmetrical threats, according to the Quadrennial Defense Review released to Congress Sept. 30. A senior defense official said the QDR reinforces the need to transform the military. The report, available at www.defenselink.mil/pubs/qdr2001.pdf , is a 65-page blueprint for where the U.S. military needs to go to confront 21st century threats. "The report was animated in large measure by the notion that, while it is possible for us to imagine how we might be confronted with danger in the future, it was not always clear whence it would come or in what manner the threats would materialize," the official said. The report envisions a strategy less tied to countering threats from specific countries or groups than countering the threats themselves. In other words, the United States needs different military capabilities. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said America knew where threats were coming from during the Cold War. Today, this is less certain. The country needs capabilities to cover a broad range of threats from the conventional to asymmetrical. The official said that even before the events of Sept. 11, the QDR had concluded that terrorism, chemical and biological weapons, cyberattacks and missile threats would transform the strategic landscape. "Adversaries are acquiring such systems, and they've designed those systems and their acquisition to circumvent our conventional military capabilities," he said. "It is not a surprise that we were attacked in a way that our conventional military forces were not designed to defend against at that moment." The report concludes the United States should anticipate and be prepared to deal with asymmetrical threats to the United States, U.S. allies and U.S. troops deployed abroad.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

Goodrich Corporation is a major supplier to Lockheed Martin's F-22 "Raptor" fighter jet which has been approved for initial low-rate production. The company supplies the aircraft's landing gear, ejection seats, titanium engine bay doors, sensors and fuel delivery technology. Full production of 295 aircraft, which is pending Congressional approval, would lead to a significant revenue stream for Goodrich over the life of the program. Goodrich's scope includes the ACES II ejection seat -- the most widely used in production today. More than 8,000 of the seats, also in use on the F-16 and a variety of other tactical aircraft, have already been produced for the U.S. Air Force and international defense customers.
+++
Simon Oliphant-Hope, flying an MD 900 Explorer equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) PW206E engines, has successfully completed his mission to fly around the world. The trip started on September 4, from Shoreham (England) Airport at Eastern Atlantic Helicopters' base, flying eastbound over Europe and Russia, then flying through Canada, USA, Greenland, and arrived back home in Shoreham on September 24 at 16:10 local, in time for Heli-Tech where the helicopter is on display. "We congratulate Simon for his remarkable accomplishment and we are proud that our engines contributed to the success of his mission," said Eric Gizard, Vice President, Turboshaft Engines, P&WC. Throughout his flight, a network of P&WC field service representatives (FSRs) strategically located throughout the world supported Simon. "You are never far away from a P&WC representative, even when flying over Tatarstan," added Eric Gizard. Over 100 FSRs support P&WC operators world wide. The two PW206E engines ran dependably for 125 hours each. "With P&WC behind me, I felt confident that I could complete the trip successfully," said Simon Oliphant-Hope. The pilot was attempting to beat the FAI speed around the world, eastbound, without refuelling in flight record but due to delays and airspace restrictions following the September 11 tragic events in the United States, he stopped the record attempt. Simon and the Eastern Atlantic Team have dedicated this flight to all of the victims and their families.
+++
Boeing and TecSec, Incorporated, announced that they have recently formed a strategic relationship that includes a $10 million equity investment by Boeing. TecSec provides a patented and standards-based encryption technology called Constructive Key Management, or CKM. It is designed to secure digital information at the object level -- anything from a full-length digital movie to Voice over IP to wireless to a specific field on a form. And for greater efficiency, it allows the same secure data to be shared among large groups of users, each having different levels of access to the data. "Boeing sees significant potential for application of CKM across a wide variety of programs," said George Muellner, president of Boeing's Phantom Works R&D unit. "Information security is a must for workflow applications, digital rights management, communications, and collaborative engineering programs. This technology can provide a key discriminator for all these programs and true value to our customers."
+++
After its three-month journey in space, NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) moved into its new home a million miles from Earth and is ready to chart the oldest light in the cosmos. "We can now begin the process of observing the remnants of the early Universe," said Dr. Charles L. Bennett, MAP Principal Investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "There is great anticipation within the astronomy community about this mission because of the potential it has to give us key clues to the content, shape, history and the ultimate fate of our Universe." MAP, launched June 30, 2001, and was placed into a highly elliptical orbit around the Earth. From there, the spacecraft team executed a series of maneuvers using on-board thrusters to bring MAP around the Earth three times and position it for a gravity-assist boost from the Moon. The lunar swing-by occurred a month after launch, on July 30. Since then, MAP has cruised toward L2, a quasi-stable position one million miles from Earth in the direction opposite the Sun. While previous missions have passed through the L2 neighborhood, MAP is the first mission to use an L2 orbit as its permanent observing station.
+++
On Octobr 3, L-3 Communications announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Spar Aerospace Limited pursuant to which, L-3, through a wholly owned subsidiary, will offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of Spar for Cdn$15.50 per share in cash. The total value of the transaction is approximately Cdn$182 million, net of cash to be acquired of Cdn$47.5 million. The transaction is being unanimously recommended by Spar's Board to its shareholders. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Spar is a leading global provider of turnkey aviation life cycle management services, providing value-added engineering and upgrades for selected military and commercial aviation programs, component repair and overhaul and support services. Of Spar's total revenues, approximately 75% are derived from military customers. Spar's major programs include high-end aviation product modernization and services for the C-130 for a number of military organizations around the world, including the Canadian Department of National Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Mexican Air Force, Royal Malaysian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. Spar provides avionics maintenance, repair and overhaul for the Sikorsky S-61/H-3 Sea King helicopter for a number of military organizations including the Canadian military, the U.S. Navy and the Brazilian Air Force. Spar is also a full service provider for the Boeing 727 and 737 to a number of airlines, including Canada's WestJet.
+++
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Computing Devices Canada, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, announced that they have reached an agreement to offer an integrated mission system solution for Canada's Maritime Helicopter Project (MHP). James Satterwhite, vice president, business development for Sikorsky, said the agreement between the two companies would see General Dynamics become Sikorsky's partner in its bid for the MHP Integrated Mission System competition. Sikorsky's H-92 helicopter is a leading contender in the MHP Basic Vehicle competition. Under the agreement, General Dynamics would be responsible for design and integration of the mission system into the helicopter.
+++
To help meet its growing need for an affordable, effective, miniaturized munition, the U.S. Air Force has awarded a two-year, $47 million contract to Boeing to begin developing a Small Diameter Bomb system for manned and unmanned aircraft. The system includes two variants of the Small Diameter Bomb, a bomb carriage system, a mission planning system and logistics support. One variant of the 250-pound class bomb is equipped with an INS/GPS guidance system suitable for fixed and stationary targets. The second variant adds a terminal seeker with automatic target recognition capabilities more suitable for mobile and relocatable targets. Boeing has joined with Northrop Grumman on the mobile target variant.
+++
Bombardier Aerospace announced the launch of the new Bombardier PrecisionPlus upgrade for its widebody Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet, improving the aircraft's outstanding operating efficiency and performance capabilities. Developed by Rockwell Collins as an enhancement to the Bombardier Challenger's current Pro Line 4 avionics suite, the Bombardier PrecisionPlus upgrade offers several new features, three of which break new ground in the large business jet market. These innovative features include automation of both Vspeed calculation and thrust setting as primary information, and three-dimensional display of the aircraft's flight plan. Having received certification from both Transport Canada and the United States Federal Aviation Administration, the avionics upgrade has been installed on all new production aircraft since June 2001 and is now available to current Bombardier Challenger 604 operators through a combination of Bombardier and Rockwell Collins service bulletins.
+++
NASA has selected Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, to build the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft scheduled for launch in August 2005 to return the highest resolution images yet of the Red Planet. Lockheed Martin will build the orbiter bus and be responsible for integrating and testing six science instruments and two engineering payloads. Lockheed Martin will also provide spacecraft operations support for the five-and-a-half year mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission. The contract awarded to Lockheed is for $145 million, including the development and operations phases. The 1,800 kilograms (3,970 pounds) orbiter is twice the mass and will return over 12 times the data of the Mars Global Surveyor, which has been in orbit around Mars for more than four years and has returned more than 101,000 images of the surface. The Global Surveyor spacecraft was also built by Lockheed Martin under contract to JPL. The Mars Reconnaissance Obiter science payload currently includes the following instruments: a high-resolution camera, a visible/near-infrared imaging spectrometer, an atmospheric sounder, a wide-angle color imager, a shallow sub-surface sounding radar and a context imager. The engineering payload consists of a telecommunications package that will provide surface communications relay and approach navigation support, and an optical navigation camera that will demonstrate precision entry navigation capability for future landers and orbiters.

+++
Boeing Satellite Systems signed a contract on September 28, 2001 with Space Communications Corporation (SCC) of Tokyo, Japan for a Boeing 601 communications satellite. The satellite, designated SUPERBIRD-6, is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2003.SCC will select the launch vehicle at a later date. "Boeing is very honored to build its third SUPERBIRD satellite for SCC," said Randy Brinkley, president of Boeing Satellite Systems. "Our first, SUPERBIRD-C, was launched in July 1997, then SUPERBIRD-4 was launched in February 2000. These satellites, along with SUPERBIRD-6, have established a strong continued relationship with SCC, and we are pleased that they have returned to us once again to meet their satellite needs." SUPERBIRD-6, slated for an orbital slot at 158.0 degrees East longitude, will provide business telecommunication services using Japan Beam and Steerable Beam. The satellite has a payload of 23 active Ku-band transponders and four Ka-band transponders.
+++
Volvo Aero Corporation of Sweden, a key supplier to the Gripen new-generation multi-role fighter program, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three Czech aerospace and aviation companies as part of the Gripen industrial cooperation and offset program for the Czech Republic. Volvo, which supplies the General Electric/Volvo F404/RM12 engine that powers Gripen, has signed MoU's with Walter a.s., the Prague-based manufacturer of aero engines, LOM, the Czech Republic's largest military aircraft aintenance, repair and overhaul company and Mora Aerospace a.s., the Czech aeroengine component manufacturing company.
+++
Boeing is being awarded a $156,625,420 (estimated) firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide for fiscal year 2002 contractor logistics support for the KC-10 aircraft and the KDC-10 aerial refueling system.
+++
Embraer has announced that, since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th , it has been discussing the impacts of these acts on the Company's business with its worldwide clients. Specifically, the discussions with its clients, always regarded by Embraer as long-term partners, have focused on the impacts of these recent events on demand and client operations. Although there have been no cancellations of firm orders, it was deemed necessary to reprogram aircraft deliveries. Accordingly, the Company reprogrammed to deliver 160 aircraft versus the planned 185 in 2001 and has adjusted deliveries' forecast from 205 to 135 units for 2002. Given its present solid economic and financial condition, as best evidenced by its strong net cash position and its firm order backlog of US$ 11.2 million on Sept. 28, 2001 (represented by 543 commercial and corporate aircraft orders), the Company is adjusting its operations in order to preserve its strength and capacities to resume growth as soon as necessary.
+++
ESA engineers have saved the life of a crucial environmental spacecraft, enabling the decade-long European Remote Sensing program to continue on track. The orbital rescue took place on terra firma, as teams from ESTEC, ESOC and Astrium came up with new navigation techniques so the ERS-2 satellite could outlast failed gyroscopes. The team wrote software to make the new methods work, proceeding as cautiously as surgeons operating on a frail human patient. As with any terrestrial PC, an input of indigestible code risked a crash. Control of the van-sized spacecraft - in polar orbit 780 km up - could have been lost for good. "It was risky," said Miguel Canela of the ERS-2 gyro-less project. "We had to rearrange onboard memory to free space for the new software, written in an antiquated language from 15 years ago, when ERS-2 was first designed." The software was exhaustively tested on simulators before being uplinked to the satellite. Even then, they only dared run it in pieces, over the course of a week.
+++
A newly created headquarters unit will oversee the way U.S. Air Forces in Europe supports contingency operations in the European theater. The new USAFE Theater Aerospace Operations Support Center, activated here Oct. 1, focuses on the day-to-day aerospace mission and revolutionizes the way the Air Force operates in Europe. UTASC merges the missions and resources of several units in USAFE. It combines the USAFE Air Operations Squadron, the USAFE Air Mobility Operations Control Center, 1st Combat Communications and the 32nd Air Operations Group, including the 32nd Air Operations Squadron, the 32nd Air Intelligence Squadron, and the 32nd Information Warfare Flight.
+++
GE and Honeywell announced that they have terminated their merger agreement. The merger required regulatory approval, but the European Commission prohibited the merger on July 3, 2001. In connection with the termination, GE agreed to reimburse Honeywell for merger-related expenses and agreed to extend two financing arrangements on mutually acceptable terms. In addition, GE agreed in principle to acquire two businesses from Honeywell with estimated, aggregate 2001 sales of $35 million (Tensor, an oil and gas sensor business, and Honeywell Advanced Composites) and certain technology related to micro turbines and fuel cells. Terms were not disclosed. GE and Honeywell also released each other from all merger-related claims.
+++
A government-industry team accomplished the first precision approach by a civil aircraft using a military Global Positioning System (GPS) landing system Aug. 25 at Holloman AFB, N.M., Raytheon Company announced recently. A FedEx Express 727-200 Aircraft equipped with a Rockwell-Collins GNLU-930 Multi-Mode Receiver landed using a Raytheon-developed military ground station. Raytheon designed and developed the differential GPS ground station under an Air Force contract for the Joint Precision Approach and Landings System (JPALS) program. The JPALS system is being developed to meet the Defense Department's need for an anti-jam, secure, all weather Category II/III aircraft landing system that will be fully interoperable with planned civil systems utilizing the same technology. Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force have been conducting extensive flight testing for JPALS at Holloman over the last three months.
+++
Vietnam Airlines, based in Hanoi, has taken delivery of its first new generation ATR 72-500, following an order for 3 ATR72-500s placed in February 2001. The remaining deliveries will take place in February and June 2002. The ATR 72-500's entry in Vietnam Airlines' fleet is part of a fleet development plan. These new generation aircraft will be put into service on the Vietnamese regional network and will also allow the airline to operate on some international destinations. Vietnam Airlines now serves to 15 domestic locations and 25 major international cities.
+++
Officials from NATO toured a Boeing 707-300 aircraft re-engined with four Pratt & Whitney (P&W) JT8D-219s, as part of their AWACS upgrade evaluation. The visit was in response to a request for information (RFI) issued earlier this year by NAPMA, the executive agency for NATO's 13-nation board of directors. NAPMA officials at the visit included Col. Reinhard E. Unruh, Chief of Plans, Development and Liaison Branch. Unruh said that NAPMA officials had previously planned to make a trip to Connecticut to gather more information on P&W's RFI response, and were pleased to be able to tour the aircraft at the same time. "It's impressive to see the actual hardware, the re-engined B707,'' he said. "It demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of a re-engining program, and we appreciate the opportunity to get a first hand look at the Pratt & Whitney solution.'' NAPMA plans to present results from the RFI responses to NATO's board of directors in November. If the board decides to move the program forward, the formal request for proposal (RFP) would be issued in 2002.
+++
The Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 COMANCHE team will consolidate its senior leadership into the Joint Program Office (JPO) and relocate the office from here to the Stratford, Connecticut area beginning early next year, the two companies announced. The consolidation and moves will affect only a small portion of the approximately 1,000 Boeing and Sikorsky employees assigned to the COMANCHE program, the companies said. Most of the Huntsville-based JPO staff of approximately 25 will move to Connecticut.
+++
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has placed an order for an integration system from Saab for new precision engagement weapons for Sweden's JAS 39 Gripen valued at SEK 500 million. The system will provide JAS 39 Gripen with the capability to deliver precision laser-guided weapons. The new weapons will be procured by FMV.The order also includes acquisition of weapon pylons of NATO type for deployment on the JAS 39 Gripen. This enhances Gripen's overall capability for interoperability for participation in international peace-keeping missions.The weapon pylons, which have been developed by Saab and BAE SYSTEMS, are to be manufactured by Denel in South Africa. This forms part of the industrial participation package from the sale of 28 Gripen aircraft to South Africa.
+++
The RAAF's new fleet of 33 Hawk Lead-In Fighter aircraft will be complete after the arrival of the final two aircraft from the United Kingdom. These new training jets, known as Lead-In Fighters (LIF) have been supplied by BAE Systems to replace the Macchi jets which were retired by the RAAF earlier this year after three decades of service.
+++
Dr Fritz Otti, formerly Executive Vice President Corporate Finance at Austrian Airlines, is to be appointed as the company's new Executive Vice President Corporate Strategy and Corporate Projects. Dr Otti will assume his position with effect from 15 October 2001. In this function, he will report directly to Vagn Sørensen, Austrian Airlines Group's Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO since October 1st, 2001.
+++
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. ("CD&R"), a leading private equity investment firm whose partners include seasoned CEOs and other senior operating executives, today announced that Jack Welch has become a Special Partner of the firm. In this role, he will work with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on a host of strategic issues related to current and future investments, including executive leadership, change management, and performance improvement initiatives. In addition, he will offer counsel to the firm as it expands globally, according to Joseph L. Rice, III, Chairman.
+++
MTU Aero Engines, a DaimlerChrysler affiliate, has two new members on its board of management effective October 1, 2001. These are Dr. Michael Süß, new head of production and engineering, and Reiner Winkler, new head of finance/controlling. The appointments come as a result of the supervisory board's meeting on Friday, September 21. Dr. Süß succeeds Dr. Klaus Steffens in the latter's position as vice president, production and engineering. Steffens has had combined roles as corporate vice president and president & CEO since April 2000. Reiner Winkler replaces Bodo Uebber, who will take a position at DaimlerChrysler Services.
+++
Lufthansa has reaffirmed its commitment to all of its current U.S. gateways. The airline will continue to serve all 14 U.S. destinations. The entire global Lufthansa route network is still open to passengers who fly from the United States. All Lufthansa stations at the airports remain in operation. Beginning October 1, some schedules will be adjusted to reflect significantly lower demand for air travel. On the Atlanta-Frankfurt route, six of a former total of seven flight pairs per week will be served. Five of a former total of seven flight pairs will be offered on each of the Dallas-Frankfurt, Houston-Frankfurt and Philadelphia-Frankfurt routes. On the Phoenix-Frankfurt and Los Angeles-Munich routes, the Lufthansa flight schedule will retain three of a former total of seven weekly flight pairs. Lufthansa will still offer four flights a day to New York. Passengers on any of the affected flights may change their bookings without penalty. Lufthansa Vice President for the Americas, Thomas Winkelmann, said, "We appreciate the significant measures the U.S. government is implementing to restore public confidence and, as air travel patterns return to normal, we hope to be able to add more flights to our U.S. schedule."
+++
SPACEHAB, a leading provider of commercial space services, announced that its subsidiary Space Media, Inc. (SMI), has received a $750,000 equity investment from escottVentures II, LLC, of Melbourne, Florida. SMI's primary business activities are the STARS Academy global education program and The Space Store, an online retail business. escottVentures II has assumed a seat on SMI's board of directors along with its equity stake. SMI intends to use this venture capital investment to help build worldwide enrollment in its STARS Academy global education program and sales of space and educational merchandise through The Space Store.
+++

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*September 30, 2001 *September 23, 2001 *September 16, 2001 *September 2, 2001

*August 26, 2001 *August 19, 2001 *August 12, 2001 *August 5, 2001

*January - July 2001

*January to December 2000 *January to December 1999 *January to December 1998 *January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

Home | UPDATE | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Inside | Datafiles
Copyright 2001 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated 5 October 2001
FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany